Computer resources and Graphics

The first apparent difference between the 2 games is how resource hungry EQ2 is compared to WoW. This has been said before in all sorts of reviews so I will not dwell on this aspect very long but will touch a few things. The water is very well rendered, much better than WoW and generally so is the world. As you know WoW is very cartoony whereas EQ2 is more “realistic”. I guess it comes down to personal preference but to be honest as they are so very different its difficult to compare one to the other, its like comparing pears with apples. The only thing that really struck me in EQ2 was that the armour renditions on characters are very well done. Even at level 5 my mage has a beautiful padded robe.

Verdict: EQ2 does have the edge, however, these 2 worlds are so different graphically its very hard to draw a clear winner, as in the end its really down to personal taste. On the computer resources needed the clear winner is WoW as it requires about a 1/3 of what EQ2 does.

Character creation

In WoW your choices are very limited when designing your character, as we are told, this saves a lot of resources (see above). In EQ2 you really get a broad choice even in the smallest detail, you can really spend a lot of time designing your character if you wanted too.

Verdict: EQ2 is the clear winner.

Entering the game

As you first start the game in both worlds there is an introduction to how events shaped recent history. WoW’s introduction is a nice movie type one whereas EQ2 is rather static and dare I say boring? Later as you chose your race in WoW you get another film introducing you to your race whereas EQ2 has you play a brief tutorial aboard a ship where the basic commands are explained to a player. Then later as you leave the ship to another starting area you chose your class and are outfitted accordingly by an NPC standing at the dock.

Verdict: The first impact with the game is definitely in favour of WoW.

Starting out

In WoW as you start out you immediately see NPCs around you with gold exclamation marks over their head, even just as pure curiosity you are drawn to these characters to discover that they have quests for you and so your adventure begins. In EQ2 you have (as said above) first a brief tutorial outlining commands for you and then dropped on a starter island where you can level up to level 6.

This section merits a bit more attention. When I started playing WoW I immediately found myself immersed and even without any kind of tutorial understood how everything worked really fast. I played EQ1 for 3 years, did the EQ2 tutorial and started out very confused anyway. Luckily the starter island is not too big so after talking to all the characters I managed to find out the quest NPC for my Hallmark quests (these are the ones that allow you to progress in your chosen class, more on this below).

Already at this point I was wondering what I was doing in EQ2 and only stayed because I wanted to write an editorial on the 2 games for you. I am glad I stayed, as soon as I started to figure out a bit more what was going on, my experience changed in EQ2.

Verdict: WoW is the clear winner in this area as it makes you feel at home right away even for a person that has just approached a MMORPG for the very first time. EQ2 is poor in this department but give it some time and your game experience will change.

Interface

Both Interfaces are very good, EQ2 has the edge over WoW in that you can just move everything around on screen just by clicking and moving. Some things are a little more complicated in EQ2 like what the 5 buttons that light up under your health and mana bars are, but with a little time you will learn that its where your concentration spells are shown. In EQ2 there are some spells (like buffs) that require concentration points to keep active, once you filled up all slots you can’t cast any more until you cancel some others.

One place that WoW is better, is in the on screen mini-map which EQ2 lacks altogether. This gives classes (that have the abilities) to be able to track things on the radar like mineral deposits, people, animals and so on right on the mini radar screen.

Verdict: EQ2 is the winner of this section because of the ease to customize the interface although WoW gets an honourable mention for its onscreen mini-map.

Quests

EQ2 and WoW have similar quest systems with detailed explanations on both and EQ2 has an on screen step by step explanation of your current quest. If you install Cosmos in WoW then this will superior but as we are talking of just the games out of the box EQ2 has the edge because you can see the steps you need to take right on screen. Furthermore, in EQ2 you can store up to 50 quests vs. WoW’s 20.

Another nice touch in EQ2 is that all quest givers tell you what their quest involves in real life voices so you don’t have to read the quests.

Although all the above is nice, WoW and its simple yellow exclamation and question mark system is far superior and user friendly. Not only, but (at least from what I have seen so far) are in greater number, no need to camp in WoW to gain exp and have fun. I’ll touch back on this as I level up a bit in EQ2.

Verdict: WoW wins in this department because of user friendliness.

Classes

First off in EQ2 you can play any class/profession you chose as there are no restrictions. Once you decide which discipline you will follow: Fighter, Mage, Priest and Scout (you could also be just an artisan too if you so chose). These are your first class groupings you will chose from at the beginning, later at level 10 you can do your Hallmark quest to become further specialized and later at level 20 you will do your last hallmark quest for the last specialization. Yes, you must be confused by now, lets take my example, I started as a mage, so at level 10 I’ll be able to chose from Sorcerer, Enchanter and Summoner. Finally at level 20 I’ll be able to chose from an Illusionist and a Coercer as I will go enchanter as was my character in EQ1 for 3 years. Yes all very confusing but provided you made the right choice in the beginning (i.e. mage, fighter..) you have additional levels to play before making your final decision on what class you will play in the end. Its actually a little more complicated than this as you can only chose certain final professions based on your initial alignment choice: good or evil.

In WoW everything is very straight forward in this respect you chose a class, decide if you want to go Alliance or Horde and see which races can play it keeping in mind their race traits and you are set, nothing more nothing less.

Verdict: In simplicity WoW wins hands down, in long term I am more in favour of EQ2.

The “feel”

It seems to me that EQ2 has taken the best parts of both EQ1 and SWG, added great graphics and melted it into one. If you are a novice in MMORPGs I think you may be discouraged by EQ2 especially at the beginning because of the steep learning curve. If you have played other Sony games things will be much simpler for you although still not quite straight forward.

As I started playing EQ2 I became evermore discouraged, not so much from the complexity but because I saw how WoW tackled various things better, especially for beginners. I found myself saying many times “damn in WoW they did it this way which was much better”, to a point I would have quit EQ2 if it were not for writing this article.

However, I am glad I did not as you go on it starts to slowly grow on you as the original EQ1 feel is back. That game was also a nightmare to learn at the beginning but the similarities between the 2 are nice and for a long term EQ1 player like me are comfortably familiar.

WoW does not have this first steep hurdle to get over, as everything is well done, “uber” user friendly and you will find yourself right at home.

Verdict: EQ2 will grow on you for sure, might just take time depending on how well “versed” you are in MMORPGs, WoW will jump at you right from the start, independent of your previous online games experience.

“Zoning – please wait”

In WoW you get zone loading screens when you switch continent, enter dungeon instances and not much more.

EQ2 is what seems a continuous “zoning - please wait”. That is a bit ungenerous granted, however, when even running through a gate from one city area to another you have to “zone” it gets to you… compared to WoW anyway :).

Verdict: WoW wins hands down

Directions

In WoW when you ask a guard for directions in searching a particular trainer/bank/auction house its pretty easy, you just right click and a menu to chose from will come up. Say you chose the bank a yellow arrow will come up on your mini map and you can just run in that direction, when close you will see a flag and that is where the thing you were looking for will be located.

EQ2 does this differently, say you are looking for Joe Blog ask a guard “where Joe Blog” and they will point you in the right direction, not only but a trail you can follow will appear.

Verdict: They are both great as in WoW you can find trainers and such but not an individual NPC but in EQ2 you can. I wish both had what the other is missing :)

Group vs. Solo

One thing that immediately becomes very apparent in EQ2 is that this game was made with groups in mind and not solo play, which is very different to WoW. In WoW almost all quests are solo(able), only Elite quests and those that require you to go to instanced dungeons are group orientated.

Personally I like being able to chose if I want to solo or group and not having a choice get to me, not because I don’t like to group but because sometimes when you have little time you just log on, do a few quests and log off without the overhead of first finding a group, waiting for everyone to be ready and then start the quest by the time you have to log off!

Verdict: WoW wins in this section because of versatility.

Patching

Patching your client in WoW has been less than satisfactory in beta with their use of Bittorrent forcing players to download at slow rates, therefore taking a long time even for small patches. EQ2’s patching is fast and seamless, no waiting around for hours in order to start playing and aggravating people on patch days!

Verdict: EQ2 patching system is far superior than WoW’s (at least the beta version of the game) I have not had the chance yet to try the new one (if there is one).

Bugs!

Pleasantly surprised by both games that seem virtually bugless! Why am I surprised? Guess you never played SWG or other MMORPGs before as they released! 

Verdict: Both great!

Final words and conclusion

EQ2 definitely has a very steep learning curve for a beginner as you progress and level up though things will get easier for you. This game has a lot of potential if you can get though the initial stages. I hope they adopt WoW’s quest system though as this alleviates a lot of frustration, again at least in the beginning.

Would I recommend it? Definitely to a seasoned EQ1 player as it is very similar in many ways with shining graphics (which come at a price though, i.e.. you have to buy a new PC probably to get the most it has to offer, and even then it might not be enough).

WoW will appeal both to a MMORPG veteran and newbie alike, something that will have to pass the test of time is the end-game content where we know EQ was master of all.

So in conclusion both are great games but my personal bias goes to WoW even if I have played MMORPGs now since beta testing UO! If you have purchased EQ2 you can’t go wrong as I am sure in time you will love it but if you are still making a decision on what to buy I’d tend to advise you to take a look at WoW first.