Everquest versus Anarchy Online (A Review)

Anarchy Online has been out almost a month now. I know there have to be some Everquest players out there wondering about Anarchy Online and how it compares to EQ. I beta tested Everquest and have been playing it ever since. I also beta tested Anarchy Online and have been playing it since it was released a few weeks ago. Of course, I have seen a lot more of EQ than AO, so there are things that I can’t compare quite yet, but I still thought I would give you my initial impressions to help you decide if AO is a game you might want to try. So here is my comparison and review. Playability This is something I feel needs to be stated right up front, because I am going to try to ignore it for the rest of the review. At the moment, Anarchy Online is not a quality, playable game. The game was released with Funcom fully knowing that it was bugged, incomplete and unplayable. I was a beta tester and I was astounded when I discovered that the version we were playing those last weeks of beta was truly just a step from the release version. Frankly, I believe that any legitimate company should hang their heads in shame after releasing a game in this bad a shape. Funcom then rubbed salt into the wounds of even their most loyal customers by announcing that the game was “110%” playable two weeks after release, setting off the clock on the 30 days you get with your purchase and assuring that they will start charging people for a game many cannot yet play. The lag in the game is horrendous. Anytime you get close to more than a handful of other players, your frame rate drops to almost nothing and you find yourself standing in place. What’s worse about this is that you can’t sit or move your curser enough to even log out of the game, and you are often forced to stand there for five minutes or more hoping to just get out of the game. Of course, you can always alt-tab to windows and control-alt-delete the game closed, but that seems like a pretty extreme measure. Basically, this means that you are better off just not trying to play during the typical prime time hours. The pathing in the game is so bad that when you are in a mission your best chance is to move to a room, stand still and wait to see what starts to shoot at you. Of course, then it is often in another room and shooting through the walls, but at least you can shoot it back that way. Mobs can attack you through walls and across the playing field without you even seeing them or knowing where to go to fight back. Quite often you will lag out during a fight, which makes it impossible to use your special attacks, and then come back in and find out that you died. High patience and a low frustration level are required to play this game right now. A high performance machine and high speed internet connection are also a lot of help. If you go in expecting a beta quality game, you will probably still be amazed at the problems. Still, many people are able to play the game, so for those of you who are willing to overlook the obvious problems and want to delve into the actual game lurking behind the bugs, I’ll try to give you my view of how it plays. Graphics and Sound The graphics of Anarchy Online are crisper and more realistic than those of Everquest. There are nice little touches that really add to the feel of the world. The sky effects are pretty amazing and there are things like little robots and flying birds that add a touch of realism to the game. The player models are stunning and the number of outfits you can wear are astonishing. I created a female character just to experiment with the rather racy outfits you can buy at the store. This is definitely a PG game. With all the variety, I don’t doubt that you could really get to the point where you can recognize a person just by his or her looks. They also programmed some fun emotes into the game, letting you really express yourself. I know I got a lot of work out of the /anger command when the zones weren’t working right after release. Still, even with such crisp graphics, I find the world to be a little drab. I am sure it is by design, since Rubi-Ka is defined as a dead world that is slowly being terraformed, but there is very little color and variety amongst the cities and zones. Part of the fun in Everquest is zoning into a new zone and seeing how different it is from the rest of the world. Everquest has forests, plains, jungles, oceans, lakes, mountains and a whole variety of other types of terrain. From what I have seen so far, much of Anarchy Online is the same. So, while I like the individual graphics in AO better then EQ, overall I think I prefer the look of Norrath to the look of Rubi-Ka. When it comes to the sound track and sound effects, AO has EQ beat by a mile. I always thought that the music in Everquest was almost an afterthought by the developers. If I recall correctly, music was not even introduced into the game until several months after its release. A good soundtrack can help get the heart thumping and add to the excitement of a battle. AO has this and EQ doesn’t. When I play EQ, I find myself turning down the sound, but when I play AO I like to really crank it. Soloing and Grouping This is an area where these two games differ significantly. Everquest is strictly a group game. While soloing is possible, it is difficult to do and time consuming. In general, groups are easy to form and, because the classes are so well defined, you can form a group of total strangers and fairly quickly figure out everyone’s role in the fights to come. Anarchy Online is just the opposite. It is very easy to solo, and in many ways it is preferable. I have found it very difficult to find a group because most people have quickly discovered that you can get higher experience and better rewards by soloing. Moreover, when you do get into a group most people are confused about what they are supposed to do and in the end everyone basically just blasts away at the mob until it is dead. I assume as people get higher in levels and more specialized that things will change, but groups will never be as easy to define as in Everquest simply because the professions in AO are not so easily pigeonholed into defined roles. This has led to an interesting development in the game. Anarchy Online is simply not as social a game as Everquest. There is no general chat like the zone chat of Everquest and with fewer groups and faster leveling, it is much harder to meet people and make friends. It is more like a bunch of single player games being played simultaneously on the same server. Some of this is due to the lag, which causes most people to do everything they can to avoid other players, but even without the lag, I doubt this will ever be much of a group game. The advantage of this soloability is that Anarchy Online is able to be played in short bursts. If you only have an hour or two to play Everquest, it is almost not worth playing. By the time you log in, get to a zone, find a group and get into a rhythm it is time to log back out. However, with Anarchy Online, you can grab a mission, play it through and gain a half a level’s worth of experience and a nice reward all within about a hours playing time. This alone makes it a far better game for the casual gamer than Everquest. Still, I like the social aspects of Everquest and find Anarchy Online really lacking in that regard. Without more chat features and more incentive to group up with other players, the game will never really seem like a MMORPG to me. What I have discovered is that when I have an hour to play and just want to play a quick solo game, I log onto Anarchy Online. But when I know I can really sit down and immerse myself into the game, a find myself going back to. So far, I don’t think AO has the same addictive hook that EQ can exert on you. Classes/Professions In my opinion, Anarchy Online went the wrong way with their profession system. I don’t doubt that there will be some significant changes as they start to see how the players deal with it. Anarchy Online tried to overlap the professions and also, through a skill system encourage diversity even within the professions. In and of itself, this is not a bad thing. This supposedly lets the players determine their own destiny rather than be pigeonholed into a role determined by the game designer. Unfortunately, from what I can see, it has had the opposite effect. First, the professions don’t vary that much from each other at the start. Because of the easy availability of healing and nano restoring devices, everyone in the game can heal themselves and cast multiple spells. Plus, everyone can wear the same armor and use the same weapons. Naturally, everyone is going to start to figure out the best weapons, armor, nanos, etc and use their skills accordingly. This is especially true because you get so few improvement points that you feel you can’t waste any on any skill that is not strictly necessary. So what you get are few actual variations in classes. Maybe they will vary more in later levels. Also, with the sole exception of the doctor, all of the AO classes are attack classes. With the exception of the doctor class, there are no true support classes. There are classes that could be used in support roles, but because most players will spend a lot of time soloing, players who choose those classes will inevitably end up spending their improvement points on attack skills rather than support skills. This really hurts the grouping process and also reduces the variety in the game. In contrast, Everquest’s class system is very well defined, with each class getting their own specialties, armor, weapons, spells, etc. This can sometimes be frustrating, but it builds up a very well developed reliance upon other players and encourages grouping and interaction. It also makes it easier to know who and what you are dealing with. When you meet a level 25 barbarian shaman, you pretty much know what he can and can’t do. That certainty is not present in AO. On top of that, EQ’s variety increases replay value. The class and race you choose in EQ will significantly effect how and where you play the game. Play an Ogre Warrior and then play a High Elf Wizard, and you will find your aproach to the game to be completely different right from the start. In AO, the breed and profession seem to have little effect on how you play the game. Everyone gets weapons and spells. They may vary in name, but they all work pretty much the same. Are you really going to stop playing your level 150 character and start over with another profession that does much the same thing, only shoots pistols instead of machine guns? So I have to give Everquest’s system the nod over Anarchy Online. I have a feeling others may disagree on this. There is something to be said about having the ability to diversify your character. Still I know that when I switch from a Rogue to a Warrior in Everquest, I will get a completely different game experience, whereas in AO switching from a fixer to a soldier will not really change your style a whole lot. Items and Quests This is an area where Anarchy Online has really improved over Everquest. I love the generated mission system. You go up to a mission generator, put in your parameters and request a mission. You will then be sent to an area to perform a duty, whether it is fixing a machine, killing a traitor, finding a lost item, or some other similar quest. When you get there, your own private dungeon is created. It generally takes an hour to finish and at the end, you usually get a nice reward. You can do missions privately or in a group. This sure beats Everquest’s go camp 10 monsters for a cheesy reward quest system. However, the missions are better in concept in execution, which is a general theme running through much of Anarchy Online. I know I promised not to mention this again, but right now AO is a truly flawed game. Missions are often broken and can’t be finished. The pathing is so bad that you have no idea which Mob will start to shoot at you and you can often find yourself firing at a Mob through a wall while another one stand right in front of you oblivious to your presence. When you lag, the doorways disappear and can’t be crossed, stranding you in the middle of the mission. Still, assuming all of this gets fixed, the missions may well be the best part of Anarchy Online. Anarchy Online also gets a huge thumbs up for making their equipment level sensitive (well actually skill level sensitive, but it works the same way). There will be no twinking in AO, so a newcomer will not find himself wondering why everyone else in the game his level seems to be decked out in great gear while he’s scrounging for enough credits to buy the basics. Plus, equipment drops randomly in accordance with the level of the mob, so there is no camping in AO either. And on top of that, just about everything can be bought in the stores. You are not going to be forced to sit in one place for 15 hours just to get that Phat Lewt. These are huge plusses in Anarchy Online’s favor. There is a negative side to this though. Because it is so easy to get the items you want by yourself, there is little trade going on. Also, there seem to be few, if any, unique or rare items. I always thought items in EQ should drop more randomly, but that doesn’t mean they should become more common. I think that the lack of rare items in AO will somewhat take away from the competition that a true game player likes to feel. While a game should not be all about Phat Lewt, that is still a fun element of EQ that seems to be missing from AO. Still, overall I like the way AO handles quests and items better than the way EQ handles them. Overall Game Play So which game is more fun to play? That’s really the bottom line in evaluating a game. When you are sitting at the computer looking at the AO and EQ icons side by side, which one are you more likely going to click? Well, that’s a complex question. They are both fun games. If you can afford both, I recommend you play both. Why? Because of the differences. While they are supposedly of the same genre, in many ways these are completely different games. AO is a nice solo game that has the added advantage of having other people around to occasionally chat with and interact with and even group with. You can play it for an hour and actually accomplish something. Plus, I haven’t even mentioned the pvp aspects, mainly because I have not tried that yet. EQ is a great group game where you can really lose yourself in a group experience. When you have enough time to truly immerse yourself, this is the game to play. In all, even after setting aside the bugs and lag and lack of playability of AO at this time, I definitely prefer Everquest over Anarchy Online. Of course, EQ’s had more than two years to polish and hone itself to relative perfection, and I’ve also played EQ a lot more than I have played AO, but I doubt that even in four months or so when Anarchy Online finally reaches its potential and becomes a truly final product it will surpass Everquest. This does not mean Anarchy Online is a bust. If you can get past the bugs and the lag there is a pretty nice game in there. If you only have the ability to purchase one more game this year, then by all means save your money and wait for The Shadows of Luclin expansion or perhaps Dark Age of Camelot. If you don’t mind paying $50 for something that is flawed but still kind of fun, then this game is worth a try. Whatever you do, don’t cancel your EQ account though, because you may find yourself wanting to come back in a month or two and you will want that level 60 warrior still sitting there when you return.

Comments

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The king is dead. Long live the king!
# Jul 25 2001 at 1:51 AM Rating: Default
I have been playing AO since release and played EQ since beta. The two games are both enjoyable. I choose to quit EQ for AO for the simple reason that I'm hopelessly bored with Everquest. Its gotten so bad with me that I would probably quit EQ for online ping pong or something. hehe Its not because I have ever had any bad experiences with EQ or issues with the gameplay itself, its just that after a couple years, you need to move on.
AO is good for now. Untill something better comes along, I'll still be playing AO.

I felt so good after deleting my EQ account, it was like the monkey was off my back. Lost a level 60 enchanter, 55 druid, 53 warrior. I could give 2 sh#@s about it. lol
RE: The king is dead. Long live the king!
# Jul 25 2001 at 1:01 PM Rating: Default
yeah same here. i just had my wife take everything off my character accounts for her account. now I'll be deleting my eq account this week.

I'll be loosing a 30 warrior, 30 rogue and a slew of pvp characters.
Bruiser
# Jul 25 2001 at 1:35 AM Rating: Default
Ahh, yes, forgot to add.
With any Rpg you have to consider one thing, a good majority of people playing are kids that have no background in roleplaying. Their main objective being, be Leet or Uber. Unfortunately both UO and EQ have not been able to steer clear of that, even the older " Roleplaying " shard on UO was plagued with ' I ownz ju ' punks. Oh well, live fast and die young. What'cha gonna do? Eh?
Bruiser
# Jul 25 2001 at 1:31 AM Rating: Default
I'm not gonna beat around the bush here. For all of you folks that switched over to AO; that's great. For those that are staying in EQ, let those AO folks move on to the other side of the fence. As always the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Something new comes along, people wanna give it a try. Let's admit it, we're all looking for that perfect game that fits what we've been dreaming of for ages. A D&D game or a Sci-Fi game(depending on preferrances). A game needs to be one thing, challenging, but playeable, plain and simple. So get off your band wagons, play the damn game you want to and move on. Nuff said.
RE: Bruiser
# Jul 25 2001 at 12:03 PM Rating: Decent
I've read most of the posts up to this point and I have to say that i couldn't agree more with you. While I haven't played AO some of the features sound very interesting and game-enhancing. But if you look at it this way, AO developers had a chance to play EQ and they have the benefit of hindsight as to what could be better. As for myself, i've been playing EQ for 7 months now and don't think that i'll be leaving anytime soon. I guess for ppl who want to get away from the tedious leveling of EQ then AO is better. But for ppl who casually play the game like I do and like to look back and see how far they've come along, then i would go for EQ :)

As a sidenote, i'd like to say that I think Allakhazam's review was not baised and fair. Props to you :p

Wreak Havvoc
Drinal
What shall i comment on?
# Jul 25 2001 at 1:22 AM Rating: Default
well this is my opinion...AO might be pretty fun since I love to solo on EQ as a paladin(yes you heard me)...but I likely won't be running out to buy it anytime soon. I'll someday help create my own mmorpg and play it instead. Til then I'll stick with EQ and my friends who play it. WWII online is interesting also, last I heard it was horribly buggy, but that was a few weeks ago. probably cleared up many of the bugs by now... I wouldn't have ever bought EQ had all my friends left "The Realm". I haven't played DragonRealms in years...I quit playing it way back when AOL had it and started charging for it :D

I really like the mission concept in AO though.
wow, you guys seem to $*%#
# Jul 25 2001 at 12:23 AM Rating: Default
i quit for several reasons:
1) EQ because of the people that play it, everyone i encountered bashed all the other mmorpgs and when i asked them if they played it they said no and gave some lame excuse
2) i also quit EQ because my friend is a serious addict (4+ accounts)
3) i'm more of an infantry combat type which means i'm getting WW2 online ASAP
RE: wow, you guys seem to $*%#
# Jul 25 2001 at 1:06 PM Rating: Default
these games can be verry addicitve. I got so disturbed watching my boss spend $600 real cash for in game currency every month. He would buy 10,000 plat a month. He and a lot of the people I worked with, had 4 accounts. They would play simultaneously. This is a bit too much. It can happen with AO as well, but I think there is one difference.

The reason why they bought all this for EQ was that in EQ it takes a lot of time to get something nice - which encourages a quick fix (spending real cash.) in AO though, you can get cool stuff without having to do this. I can make 35,000 credits in a few hours in AO at level 12. Althought that doesn't buy me high level gear, it does get me really nice things for my level. I dont feel a need or see a need to buy in game thigns with real cash. my 2 cents.
What is seems
# Jul 24 2001 at 11:13 PM Rating: Default
I'm sorry to say this because someone is going to get angry and the fit is going to hit the shan (I love that term)

But what seems like happening here is there are two groups (that I choose to explain :))
a. Longtime AO player. Argument: This game is great, I play it alot, it does have problems but it rocks!

B.I tried AO for 5 minutes, didn't start up, gave up. Argument: Too buggy
ok maybe not 5 minutes, but sheesh, some of you guys are just giving it a day or two. I had a game (this was a while ago, and it wasn't very popular) that took like a month before I could play...and god I love that game...:)
(well I used to, it, uh, doesn't compare now)
Role-playing
# Jul 24 2001 at 11:06 PM Rating: Decent
I will never switch to the Sci Fi games because i have played DnD for so long and other fantasy games. I love reading fantasy and playing a fantasy based race like elfs. Thats why im staying with EQ until a new fantasy game comes out besides DAOC doesnt sound like DnD fantasy type game. Talking about only graphics is just not right I even play Muds(text type games of many types) and paper pen RPG and they prove to be fun with no graphics. I dont want to play a MMORPG that has guns and weapons like that(Why use swords and stuff like that in games when you can use guns that just seems odd.
RE: Role-playing
# Jul 25 2001 at 1:08 PM Rating: Default
i can understand your position, but i have to say... EQ is a very poor example of DnD. DnD had roleplaying. When EQ started there were tons of RPer's. Now they are few and far between. Where did all the roleplayers go??? and in DnD you had risk to yourself often from other players. The PvP system really isn't suited for that... maybe Sullon Zek... that seems promising... but still... where did all the Rper's go????
RE: Role-playing
# Jul 25 2001 at 12:29 PM Rating: Decent
I would have to agree with you I have tried AO and it doesnt fit my likes of a game.
Heh
# Jul 24 2001 at 10:31 PM Rating: Default
I both bought EQ and AO at a very early stage *just a few days after release*. There is no competition as in quailty wise , EQ is much better . Well, at least i can AT least log into the game on the very first try .With AO even after a week of reading forums and trying out solutions i still cant even get to the char create screen *sigh*. You guys can say my com sucks or you suck go learn very com tech stuff but im just a normal player , i payed for a game and expect it to be playable . NOT me buying, it and go running around fixing it
RE: Heh
# Jul 25 2001 at 1:26 PM Rating: Default
If you can't get to character creation, then yeah your computer prob. does have problems. At this point in AO I dont think very many people are still having problems that early on in gameplay.

You may have to settle for substandard games as EQ until you upgrade. BTW. the sepc's for Luclin are higher then AO... so you better upgrade now, or you'll be complaining when EQ upgrades to Luclin.

;)
Heh
# Jul 24 2001 at 10:25 PM Rating: Default
AO is no EQ
# Jul 24 2001 at 9:55 PM Rating: Default
Wow this review is pretty biased towards AO.

I am stunned anyone with a straight face can even begin to compare it to a fun game like EQ. AO is sub Asherons Call level of quality in terms of game design and in a class of its own when it comes to stability (there has never been a worse launch and I was part of UO, AC and EQ).

Add on top of this the inability to cancel your subscription if you have a number or upper case in your user password plus zero phone support and a customer service representative constantly telling everyone there is no problem (game laggy? avoid cities is funcoms answer, great huh?).

I feel funcom ripped me off for $60 and I thank god I was able to finally cancel my account after trying for two weeks.

The only people who should consider purchasing AO are those who are completely sick of AC, UO or EQ and even then you have to wonder is AO worth $13 instead of $10?

AO is the most tedious peice of garbage it was ever my misfortune to beta test and the release was actually worse than the beta.

A tedious unispired product with unfixable technical flaws and zero customer service.

If you are still tempted to try this POS due to the propaganda of the FAK's here then at least try it out on a friends box first. You wont regret avoiding buying this turkey.




RE: AO is no EQ
# Jul 25 2001 at 1:35 PM Rating: Default
I really can't see how you enjoy EQ. But alas you do. I played EQ for 2.5 years. Saw where it was headed and got so bored with it.

Ask yourself this: what level are you? what is your goal? most eq players will say my goal is X level. When you reach X level you realize that, this really isn't good enough you need Y level... and when you reach Y level you realize the same thing and you want Z level... there is no pay off.

PvP looked promising but failed every time in EQ until Sullon Zek. But still there is a MAJOR problem. EQ does not evolve. it is static. Check out the stats for Sullon Zek on everquest.com Go on, check out the stats. The neutrals are winning by a HUGE margin. but so what??? players repop and political boundries do not change. clearing west commons of all the human guards does not give your team control of the zone. in 30 min. all guards repop and everything resets.

This isn't so much about AO.. but EQ. EQ is a static game. I imagine you haven't played long and EQ is still fresh and new. When you give it a couple years and find that your hell levels require you to spend 15 hours a day every weekend and 4 hours a day on weeknights - for a month to get out of the hell... then you start thinking, "why am i wasting my time for? what am I going to get if i'm 31, instead of 30? or 46 instead of 45?" The pay off isn't there.

Don't let the game fool you. There is no pay off. more spells/skills is a joke. most melee classes don't get much from 30 till 50. maybe 1 skill if they are lucky. Casters get spells but the creatures they fight get harder. So everything zero's out. There is no payoff. Sometimes my wife says, "hey I just got this high level item..." i go over and look at her character and it doesn't even show up on it! Where is your pay off? I played for 2 years to get a character made that fit the RP persona i made him. I spent real $$ to buy plat so that i could shape the character the way he should be.

This shouldn't happen. characters should be able to look well dressed at level 1. Characters like monk's shouldn't have to go around and kill spiderlings and other forms of nature to level up. Paladins shouldn't group with Necromancers. and Rangers and druids shouldn't be slaughtering bears and wolves. AT every turn EQ violates it's own integrity.

RE: AO is no EQ
# Jul 24 2001 at 10:25 PM Rating: Default
You know, the constant comparison between EQ and AO is making me sick. AO is in no way like EQ, other than the fact that they are Online RPG's. Depends on how you look at it really. AO is not a POS, I can stay connected on AO for as long as I want, Ao has just forced me to take a careful look at my windows system and tweak it a bit further. Funny what a few changes will make. Actually, the tweaks I have done and published actually make EQ run Smoother, not that i'll play EQ more, but AO is definately a keeper. I've bought 2 copies myself and I in no way feel ripped off. Funcom has excellent support, albeit no phone support, but I can live with that. And as a side note, if you don't know how to tweak yer machine and if you Truly don't Like AO, then that will make it better for the ones that actually are playing it by having one less EQ junkie on the server lagging it down..
DR?
# Jul 24 2001 at 9:45 PM Rating: Default
With so many messages, I don't know if anyone will ever read this...but it seems to me that AO is an interesting combination between EQ and Dragonrealms by Simutronics - or rather Dragonrealms is an amalgam of the other two (despite being text-based). DR is very challenging, but is easily played solo with wonderful support for social interaction.

Just a thought that popped in my head reading this thread.

Volrathe of Quellious
Craylin, et. al. of Elanthia
Funcom's Phone Support
# Jul 24 2001 at 9:32 PM Rating: Default
Now, the very words.. Phone Support, is a total joke. Anyone that is playing this game has an Email address.. Why do you need a phone to talk to someone telling them why yer crashing every 5 minutes and lagging in the cities. There are fixes galore out there, and Email works just as well as calling up a human and whining.. think about it, would you want to be in charge of Funcom's Phone Support, listening to all the constant crap every second of every day... I think not.. Kudo's for Funcom not having phone support! This is the 2000's man...Email is the thing...
RE: Funcom's Phone Support
# Jul 24 2001 at 9:33 PM Rating: Default
And also, would you want to be in charge of Verant's Phone Support? hell no you wouldn't...
i'll stick to eq
# Jul 24 2001 at 9:26 PM Rating: Default
It seems to me that if u are a sci-fi/trekkie/serious role player or wish EQ had guns, AO is the better game to for u. Since I play EQ for the social aspect, and the sheer challenge, and because i love the fantasy world it is set in, i will stick with it. I would rather be an elf who slays dragons than a nano-something-or-other any day. And EQ gets more player-friendly with each patch and expansion, IMO. No game is perfect, but EQ is the only "video game" I have ever played regularly, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.
RE: i'll stick to eq
# Jul 24 2001 at 9:35 PM Rating: Default
It's a challenge, up until you turn level 50, then it becomes a total drag. EQ sucks man.. Get EQ's ***** out yer mouth..
To All great
# Jul 24 2001 at 9:26 PM Rating: Default
Man, you hit the nail on the head. AO is such a wonderful game, I haven't played EQ since Ao was released. Yes, AO is buggy, but so was EQ in the beginning. This Luclin expansion is a joke to everyone that enjoys playing EQ. It is Verant's last attempt at keeping their stock, meaning you, involved in the game. All Luclin means to me is this.. More camping for useless crap. Are they going to raise the level cap to 70? Does this interest you? Doesn't to me. Also, to that person up there that has said Funcom was Rude to them via E-Mail.. Funcom has been nothing but TOTALLY nice to me and my wife. They have been VERY quick, sometimes taking 3 hours for a reply back. Also, to anyone submitting a bug report.. you have to take into consideration that the people at Funcom's english is probably a bit rusty. You must word your bug reports in a clear and consise manner. Cutting out the useless American lingo and chatter in your submissions will help speed the reply process up.

Take Care! And AO Forever...

What the hell is EQ anyways?

Jorgami
High Council of The Syndicate
RE: To All great
# Jul 25 2001 at 2:28 AM Rating: Default
100% completely agree with ya! Funcom has already shown themselves to be attentive and extremely patient in the customer service department. We've had patches almost every day! Only 1 1/2 hour patches at the most, but if that doesn't show they care and are listening I don't know what does. Everytime the forums tell of a problem...boom...next day patch, problem fixed. This is real, no playing favorites, just trying to show everyone what real customer service is. People are so used to not getting any response to issues in other online games. I know, this might not last and that will be the true test but for now, Funcom has definately set a new precident in customer service.
RE: To All great
# Jul 24 2001 at 10:50 PM Rating: Decent
Not raising the cap of lvl.
Let's wait
# Jul 24 2001 at 9:03 PM Rating: Default
from what i have been playing so far, AO's design is way better than EQ in many ways. It solved many problems that online RPGs had for so many years. for example, the ingame friendlist works like ICQ, i really like that idea. and offering players a bunch of dress, weapons in order to make everybody looks different, i like that very much. i mean you all wanna be unique right? that's why some people play online game because they want to show how cool or good they are (like me). there are alot to say about AO over EQ. basically, i would say AO brings RPG (no matter online or offline) into a new level of realism. there isn't really any big wrong with the game. it's the company (Funcom). if Funcom would release AO when they are all ready. i believe there won't be any arguements now. i believe all of you would say "that's right" if you have played AO...right?
AO CS
# Jul 24 2001 at 8:13 PM Rating: Default
AO custom service is .. well.., believe or not, there is no phone support. This won't be much an issue if they reply your email fast enough, which they don't. The semi-daily update from developer is nice however, they infom you about varies things they are working on every 2 days or so.

It's a good review, except few minor misconception. For one thing, you can't level that efficitively once you get past lvl 30 and still decide to stay solo. Yes you could still lvl solo if you try really hard, but it gets harder and harder to solo.


RE: AO CS
# Jul 24 2001 at 8:17 PM Rating: Default
i thought the customer service is better in AO. i have sent about 3 emails to Funcom, and they always reply me with solutions after day or two. unlike EQ, the giant barely takes opinion from people.
#Anonymous, Posted: Jul 24 2001 at 8:05 PM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) personally i don't like Allakhazam's review. he said to do some comparison, but most of the review is about how AO got itself screwed up. Allakhazam should not be the one to judge these two games, he is obviously on the EQ side since he hosts an EQ related website. and he said himself in the review that he haven't even tried some of AO's features like PvP. "how the hell did you make a comparison on something you don't even really know the difference, Allakhazam?"
RE: all great
# Jul 24 2001 at 8:41 PM Rating: Default
after writing this, i did realize Allakhazam also hosting AO site. i just wanna apologize saying that he is not in position to write a review.
RE: all great
# Jul 24 2001 at 8:37 PM Rating: Default
Ao.allakhazam.com - He runs both
AO
# Jul 24 2001 at 7:54 PM Rating: Decent
AO was one of the worst games I have ever had the misfortune to purchase. I say was because I canceled my account within a week and returned the game(yes they took it back opened just tell them you didnt see that it was a pay game). This game is a perfect example of throwing a game togehter as fast as you can for release(***** it we will patch it later mentality). As if all that isn't enough, they are even rude in their email responses. Do yourselves a favor and stick with EQ.
Customer Service
# Jul 24 2001 at 7:41 PM Rating: Default
One thing you didn't comment on is customer service. Everyone know that Sony/Verant CS in EQ just plain sucks ***. They don't give a **** about their customers and I for one will not be buying another Sony/Verant game anytime soon - including Star Wars Galaxies (sorry Raph).

Does anyone have experience with AO CS yet? I know it can't be worse, but is it any better?
Grouping Misconception
# Jul 24 2001 at 6:50 PM Rating: Default
I saw that someone posted that experience in groups is the same as in solo. That's incorrect. The longer your team stays together, the higher your Team Level climbs, and along with it experience bonuses and additional items.

"Whenever you are in a team you will gain levels in Team Levels. The better your team works together the higher your team level will raise. The higher your team level is the more bonus your team will recieve (xp and items). So the best thing to do is work together in a team for a long period, and make sure you have a really good group. It will pay off :)" -Marius Enge
Oh my
# Jul 24 2001 at 6:27 PM Rating: Default
It seems to me if you want a very simple game where items and xp are easy to get..go AO.

If you want a challenge..go with EQ. When I get a great item or complete a quest I feel excited. when you gain a level I know I achomplished something. I don't enjoy the whole....sit, pull, kill mob lvl thing but I love the work it takes to get an item or quest done. ahh the challenge..

AO = easy, can be sole'd for ever.
EQ = challenge, work with a team approach
RE: Oh my
# Jul 25 2001 at 7:54 AM Rating: Default
EQ is only a challenge because it eats so much of your life away. I've played EQ for a over a year, devoting 15 hours on a Sunday or Saturday for some friggin raid, spending 3 hours sitting at the zone to Seb or KC lookin for a group, camping some uber *** item for 12 hours to make my warrior competative with others my level and the list goes on and on! EQ is a collection of stuff a friend told me in the EC tunnel the other night as I said my goodbyes (canceling account), but he pointed out that AO is gonna be the same. I agreed with him till last night on AO.

I was wandering through a 25% field (means pvp is possible) and I was jumped by a Omni faction fixer! Oh my god! I was so stoked I wanted to kick his *** LOL. EQ has never made me hunt someone through zones to try and catch them or had my attention like AO did at that moment.

I already enjoyed AO so much more than EQ (no raids, no camps, no twinking, etc) and was looking forward to pvp in AO and that made my night when I got ambushed.

If you're sick of the monotonous (spelled right?) nature of EQ then definately go with AO. People are right too, as I level it gets tougher and tougher to solo in AO and soon my friends and I will be grouping constantly. =)


Clatu Bladedancer
55th Myrmidon and Poet of Kelethin
Seventh Hammer
Some Reality injected....
# Jul 24 2001 at 6:19 PM Rating: Default
AO is the big, new thing out currently. EQ will be losing those who are most Avant Garde obssessed to AO. AO will lose that same block of folks to DAoC, Horizons, etc.

Graphics, gameplay, etc are, IMO, are like comparing apples to oranges between the two. AO has been out a few months, EQ has been out two years. EQ has, or had, an obligation to maintain the ability to be run on the system it was initially designed for. Things have changed more than a bit since then, but EQ has kept itself back, more or less, to prevent its' customer base from suddenly being unable to play. AO was designed with today's systems in mind and thus can take advantage of Tech EQ can't gracefully use. VI is seeking to do more with today's tech level with its' intro of SoL. I will personally withhold judgement until I see it, and even then will take it with a grain of salt as it is only in the new zones. I do not expect VI to remake the entire world just for those who buy SoL.

The pigeon-holing that some of you decry is one of the strengths of EQ. Instead of looking for the same magic combo that everyone uses (ie like in AC), you are required to learn how to play your role in a group. Some folks can't take that sort of necessary effort. So sad.

As far as EQ not being an RPG, what exactly do you people expect? An RPG is not a rules set, but a mindset. If you don't believe that, cruise down to your local Game Store on RPGA night and watch the ones what are just there for the Phat Lewtz. They don't RP anymore than the d00dz in EQ. RP is an agreement, tacit or not, to suspend reality in a consensual environment. We all agree to do so, to an extent, to play this game at all, but many non-RP types are not willing to do the work necessary to properly RP and maintain a persona. For this failing on the part of the player you seek to crucify EQ? Is this logical?

I played AO in beta and decided not to buy it when it went live. I did so primarily because I realized that I do not have the patience to be a beta-tester. I did so also because I am happy with EQ and do not feel the need to rush off to somethign new and different simply because it is new and different. No reason to leave a good thing simply because I am familiar with it, but then again I have a real attention span and am not quite so distracted by the shiny objects in unproven games. Heck, I did not start playing EQ until August of 99 simply because I wanted to make sure it was not going to fold just after I dumped my hard earned cash into a new system to run it (yes my old comp was that bad).

Lastly, to those who gripe because VI "bans people without warning them", please think about the big picture. First off, the incident that you are likely referring to was an example of exploits so blatant than any normal person that plays this game would be affronted. Second, people have complained for how long that VI does not stop abusive folks? Back in the arly days when you KS, train, abuse, etc and get away with it, everyone whined that VI should not let people act this way. Then the PnP came out and those same whiners shrieked because they had a set of rules they had to conform to even when it did not suit them. People have whined for the same amount of time about how uber guilds did unfair things. VI comes down on one guild for it and everyone is up in arms. I ask again, what exactly do you expect?

Personally I consider EQ to be nothing short of the single most impressive thing to hit my computer since e-mail was invented. As of this date, none of its' competition is even close to doing what EQ does, and I doubt they will surpass it enough to draw me away any time soon.

I play EQ primarily because of the people online. Until such time as the people I enjoy playing with dissappear, I will play EQ. That simple. I will try other games (DAoC and SWG are VERY likely possibilities), but until a game far surpasses EQ (and AO is not even close), I will stay where I am at now.

Enoy em both, and good hunting.

Bulvai Hammersson, Mystic - Quellious
AO vs EQ
# Jul 24 2001 at 6:04 PM Rating: Default
I must confess straight off: I have a good amount of experience with AO (a couple of lvl 20 characters out there, and I have played several others to about lvl 11 or so). At the same time,
my experience with EQ is somewhat limited - I have not had much fun with it, so I only have one character at about lvl 14, I don't even remember anymore).

I am sticking with AO. Let me tell you why.

Despite all the technical difficulties, which by the way are being cleared up at an incredible rate, Anarchy Online is not boring. I had a very interesting experience during the first month of playing. I have started a character of neutral alighnment. At the same time I had a friend who started out at Omni-Tek. I was hoping that despite of this minor difference of stance we could play together. And so I tried to get to make it all the way down south on foot.

I never made it of course but the experience of trying was incredibly exciting and real. When it says in the review that Rubi-Ka is a monotonous and uniform world - this is false. I have seen beautiful forests and mountains, rugged terrains, deserts, sunsets and sunrises (multiple suns and moons). All very detailed, complete with unique landscape features. And keep in mind, I was only lvl 8 trying to make it across the world filled with terrifying highly aggressive creatures. I had to run away from an NPC bandit gang. I also had to be very subtle trying to get direction from a group of Clan soldiers who could have killed me very easily. I did not see a whole lot, just what's around the road. It took me about three hours real time to cross the planet (teleports help). On my way, I met another fellow who was trying to cross the border between neutral zone and Omni lands, and we travelled together. We tried twice, and twice were unsuccessful. Both times we made it all the way from Newland to Four Holes just to be slayed by one kind of a wild creature or another. At the end it was well worth it. I have seen Rubi-Ka landscape unlike anything people experience when they are practicing in their newbie pen. At one point I have achieved a complete immersion into my character and into the world which surrounded me. His goals and aspirations became real to me, as well as the limitations and obstacles. For me, this is the most significant difference between AO and EQ. AO is an RPG in the true sense of the word. It is a world in which you can create a character who will struggle against his/her limitations and strive too. You are of course well advised to optimize your race/profession/skill set. At the same time you are allowed to make the choice, and not be handed over a pre-canned character who is so restricted that he/she is not really yours. In AO, there is a true sense of ownership of your character.

Oh, that's enough ranting for me. Get the game people, you will love it!








EQ is getting old
# Jul 24 2001 at 4:24 PM Rating: Default
EQ is starting to suck....getting old and boring....i think luclin will add many more things but still the new items will just be better than the old ones in the same way....thats all just seems so boring....yes AO may have problems but i think they have the right idea....i think AO and games in the future like it will attract more people than games like EQ...i love that u cant twink in AO....and also that things drop randomly....it will ensure that more people are out doing missions and gaining lvls....I think if we give AO some time to get its **** together it will become a much better game than EQ
#Anonymous, Posted: Jul 24 2001 at 4:23 PM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) EQ is getting off to easy. There are bugs in it today that remain only because they have been doctrinalized.
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