This was a long post filled with gems of eloquence and insight, but it was lost because I had work to do and my session timed out.
EQ2’s Update #19 went live yesterday. This patch introduced a new newbie experience – characters level 1-19 now start out as their final class, get their class-defining abilities (like dual wield or heavy armor) from the start, and depending on their starting city, get different newbie quests. From today until next week, characters may also transfer free to a server of their choice, as next week, many servers merge. Lastly, the new armor, spells, weapons and other sundries made by crafting have simplified recipes; the raw materials craft the final item directly, without subcombines. Already existing recipes have not been changed (yet, anyway).
I definitely had to check out the new newbie island. And who better to go through it than our dear Noffin? Especially since his previous life had been tragically terminated by an automated cull of low level “placeholder” characters before the patch.
The humming of bees and the gentle cries of hawks calling to each other as they soared in the island’s warm winds were Noffin’s first memories as he came awake. Questions about where he was, even who he was, ran from him like the chickens of Rivervale. This then, is paradise? thought Noffin. Then, I must have died when… it doesn’t matter. If this is paradise, there must be ale and… pie.
Pie. Gaping blank spaces in his memory did not worry Noffin. But no halfling worthy of his race could bear the thought of a lonely pie, cooling on some table, untasted…
“Excuse me, sir, if you please, could you tell me, how long until dinner?” asked Noffin of an equally lost dwarf standing nearby. The dwarf, however, seemed dazed, standing still, unaware. Dwarfs! Perhaps those tall folk would know…
But they were all worried about some goblins. Goblins? Past the Wall? But… oh, yes. Rivervale was lost, wasn’t it? When Luclin exploded like that.
Wow, talk about getting carried away. The new starting experience for the good side very much reminded me of the old one; I hear the evil one is different, but I did not try that one last night. Dina will make new armor for him and send it along, and then, perhaps we can get a good picture of Noffin.
I took advantage of the free character transfer service to bring Nashuya, Etha, Tipa, Verd, Dera and Tsuki to the Befallen service ahead of Dina arriving next week with the Immortals guild tag.
And I have to say… Nashuya and Dera together were sensational. But I couldn’t group up and rush right out to defeat the nasties. Oh, no. No no no.
First I had to completely redo their hotkey bars, as each of them had a mess of new spells replacing their old spells.
Nashuya completely shook off the remnants of the Crusader class. Instead of helpful buffs and heals, she now had disease and poison as befit a knight of death. However, she sure was missing some of those buffs and heals.
And Dera, the Inquisitor, found the same; some of her nice buffs (like Symbol of Transaal! THEY TOOK SYMBOL! /cry /sob) were removed, she got new debuffs, many were just renamed, but I feel that Inquisitors took a step backward from their Templar cousins in sheer healing and buffing potency.
Eventually, the team was good to go, and did some decent destruction to the undead of the Commonlands. Nashuya’s quest gauntlets inched ever closer, but honestly, every fight was close and I looked for easier prey. I camped Dera and put a movie on and went to seek Nashuya’s fortune solo.
Lightbringer Wisp, dead (and Nash’s first heritage quest thereby begun). Lots of sandstone giants decimated! Level 21 dinged! Group offer, obtained! Yay!
But they had no healer! Boo! So I logged Dera in.
Now Dera… I haven’t played her since I restarted on Faydark with Dina. So I was about as rusty as Freddy Kruger’s razors. Still, just one death that I probably couldn’t have helped (and several close calls that I most definitely COULD have helped), two spells for Nashuya, some new upgrades for Dera… the Fallen Gate revamp is quite nice, actually.
Oh yes, and the opportunity to join a guild. Dera, guild invite. Nashuya, no guild invite. Etha (when she logged in this morning to grind some alchemy (ding 24!)), guild invite. Tank, no guild invite. Healer, guild invite.
Could it be more plain? I didn’t accept any of them, though.
I went to bed late, tired, but happy. EQ2 is just so much more fun than WoW.
I like it.
