Feldon 
From SmokeJumper on the EQ2 Forums:
I’ve said this before, but it gets lost on these boards, so I’ll throw it out there one more time. Warning: This isn’t short.
The second half of Velious was designed to be a separate expansion pack. We fully intended *and started* to create “Velious Part II” so we could launch it next year.
But we decided it would be a lot cooler, and honestly, a lot better business, to release new content constantly throughout the year, so that you always have something new to look forward to and to play, rather than race through one set of content once annually and then sit around waiting for the rest of the year.
But content takes time to create. LOTS of time. (We have many parallel developments going constantly here, with staggered release schedules.) The art team has been banging on Withered Lands, Skyshrine, Cobalt Scar, Siren’s Grotto, and a lot more, some of it for over six months now. That art starts wrapping up soon so it can move over to design and they can start making it breathe…and there’s still more to do (like remaking Qeynos) before the art team starts making other content beyond that.
So we instead decided to release “Velious Part II” as new content and make it continuing expansion content releases for those that bought Destiny of Velious. In between those releases, we also determined to revamp Freeport, Qeynos, and to add as much content as possible to the already existing areas so that even players that don’t own Velious would see new content constantly.
And yes, all for free.
We *like* giving content away for free. We like it as players, and we like it as developers. Our job is to entertain you. More content does that job well. So that’s why we made the switch.
There may come a day when we decide to charge for area and quest content again. But we would prefer to not do so. We’d rather find other ways to sustain the business and let you guys just keep finding new stuff and enjoying the game. We know that this is an original concept in our niche of the industry. Certainly, none of our major competitors does this. Maybe that’s not a good reason to try something, but it does mean we’re breaking new ground. And we like that. So we’re finding new paths.
As for AoD, I’m going to let it speak for itself. I gave the press tours myself and I watched how impressed the journalists got as they found out more about the features. We know these features are game changers in many good ways, and the vibe we’re getting from “the world out there” is that people are starting to notice us again, which is just cool for so many reasons, I don’t feel the need to elaborate. So yeah, the expansion is completely worth the money. Personally, I’d buy it in a heartbeat as a player.
Beastlords are a blast, I’ve always wanted to build content in an MMO as a player (Dungeon Maker), Mercenaries are just danged useful and let you explore so much more of the game as a small group, and Tradeskill Apprentices, and Reforging…well…it’s just a very good collection of features that are level-agnostic and fun for tons of people.
You’ll have to decide for yourself, however. That’s just my opinion. But if it’s raids, dungeons, PQs, new quests, etc. that you want…well…it’s coming. Lots of it. And there’s no new admittance charge.
and also:
We really believe in the “voluntary” vs. “involuntary” model that we’re adopting. It’s much more democratic and you players will be voting directly on what gets done and what doesn’t, both by actual voting, and by deciding what to buy and when.
We really believe this game is as good, if not better, than every one of it’s competitors. We intend to become more and more unique over the years so that EverQuest II widens its lead by doing unusual things and focusing on the entertainment of you, the players.
I know that the proof is in the pudding. But it’s happening already.
Why he talked about an unfinished Adventure Pack as it is a State of the Art Expansion in MMo-World. And it´s interesting to know who is “the world out there”… their favourite Pizza-Dealer ?
greets
SALES, once he realized the expansion is selling at record lows then our point will come across.
Saev
zomg another karl
I think AOD will appeal to new players
but for existing players, seems like an overpriced ticket to Beastlords
personally, I’ll wait for x2SC promotion and get it for 20.00
Why are comments on articles auto-hidden now?
And I doubt the expansion will be sold at record lows, just asking in game many people will be picking it up. There’s just a larger vocal minority then normal. Personally, I’m looking forward to the new DoV zones, but hope it’s not all Drunder type stuff. I’d like another overland zone.
so smokejumper said “We really believe in the “voluntary” vs. “involuntary” model that we’re adopting”
Thus begins the nickle and dime to death of the existing player-base. So in other words get ready for more decisions on what your willing to pay for in the future. I see we come full circle back to adventure packs like we were in the beginning, having learned nothing from the first three like bloodline chronicles.
I have to say i never called out smokejumper before but honestly I think some of the decisions he is making right now is going to do more harm than good in the long run.
Splitpaw Saga was really good for the first while after it was released, I didn’t leave there for weeks. Unfortunately it got nerfed hard, but it was still worth it for the reduced price. The Fallen Dynasty was the best adv pack they had, two overland zones with solo, group and raid dungeons? Didn’t know people disliked that one.
Im thinking this is more about testing different ideas before EQNext comes out. Personally my favorite model is charge me $15-$20 a month and then once a year $50 for an exansion. Then keep the free portion capped at level 20.
So…let me see if I can figure this out.
This expansion originally would have included some part of the content now being released for free. Instead, that content now goes to everyone, AoD purchase or not.
But those who do buy it still get charged the full price.
So, we’re subsidizing everyone else.
Jebus. I come here to get away from this crap. Maybe not much longer at this rate. [Speculations re: political leanings of dev staff redacted by order of the Overlord]
I’m a newer player…and I would like to make EQ2 my main game. But honestly…I can’t buy this expansion ($40) AND DoV ($40) PLUS a $15 sub just to be current — that’s a $95 investment. That would cost MORE than SWTOR which is a brand new game.
It’s very hard to justify the expense of these MMOs anymore.
Seriously…the pricing structure of this game is bizarre. And it’s a shame. Because I’ve played almost all MMOs (back to Shadows of Yserbius), and I really like EQ2’s dungeons and group content (the group content that I’ve seen, that is.)
I personally think that the new free to play model is a very good model. We need some new life to get some of the stick in the muds moving.
As far as the expansion, yea, I am gonna buy it. Do I think it is a little over priced, kinda, but if you actually stepped back and added up ALL the stuff they have in there, and added up how much each piece would be if you bought them on marketplace, you would find the cost to be cheaper as a bundle.
I don’t agree with a lot of what smokejumper has done, but I do agree that this current model has merit. Heck, it will be nice to have my wife and kids able to play again as they are not hard core players, but do enjoy the game and are more than willing to buy some stuff here and there vs a monthly subscription.
People always say we should put our money where our mouth is, well this model allows us to do just that. So I will say it again, put your money where your mouth is and that will decide what is added or not added in EQ2.
@Lashe
you can level to 90 without buying any expansions
SOE has x2SC specials throughout the year where you only pay halfprice for anything that be bought w SC (including expansions)
It isn’t too late. Abandon the so-declared expansion for some reason which will put a good SoE spin on it. Place all the parts on Station Cash. You can sell the parts for more than the whole. This will allow players to purchase what the want, or can afford, as they go along. You can also offer the complete package as a deal.
Velious II as an expansion? Don’t get me started. All I can say is that EQ1 developers did it in one release. Nuff Said!
@Electri
I agree completely with the split it up and offer it through Station Cash.
About the Velious 2 thing, that was their initial plan, but when the community created quite an uproar about it, with comments such as yours about EQ1 doing it in one expansion, they announced they were going to release it for free as part of DoV. It’s stuff like this that shows they are in fact listening, and they aren’t the money grubbing whores many claim they are, well not completely.
I’ve been saying that since they first announced that there would be no new content in AoD, Electri.
Piecemeal the thing out through station cash. Want to play a beastlord, $10, want access to the dungeon designer $5, item reforging $5, and so on.
I’m not interested in the dungeon maker. So what I keep finding myself reduce it to is $40 for Beastlord. Then a few moments later I remember
Oh but wait there are mercenaries too — meh, may be fun to tool around with for a while, but whatever.
Oh yeah and don’t forget the reforging. What is this really? I’ve read vague stuff about being able to break down and modify item stats as well as changing the appearance. Will I need the xpac to use reforged items? Are the reforged items even tradeable/commissioned? Crafting requirements? Is this the feature that’s going to fill in the gap of the $40?
Sounds like SJ is being poked in some tender spots…
SJ has addressed the issue of splitting up the expansion into a la carte items, and said that the higher ups were not ready to go to that business model.
There still are so many misconceptions going around..
1. EQ2 will be free, no lvl cap, up to SF expansion (level 80 content I believe). There are restrictions for being completely free, but SC purchasable options to bypass most of those restrictions. Or just subscribe as normal.
2. DoV expansion is not free (SC or $$), lvl 90 content, and additional content is coming for this.
3. AoD expansion is not free ($$, SC later), no content, just OPTIONAL features. Granted, some quite desirable while others not depending upon your point of view.
SJ’s post above lightly dances around the fact that the optional features that is AoD is more or less priced high for what it is. I might expect $40 to be the total price of all of the features bought individually, but you’d think it would be a bit cheaper as a package. I’d feel much happier if it was at $30 at the least.
This new business model (expansions that offer “features”), will also let them get around having all future expansions include the previous ones. In other words, DoV included all previous expansions. AoD will not include all previous expansions. And so on.
So now, latecomers to the game will need to shell out just as much money as the veterans for all the content. This is good or bad, depending on who’s side you’re on I guess.
SJ (and others) have said a lot of things about how the higher ups feel, and then those things are reversed a few months later. So I have no confidence that a la carte is off the table completely.
The Beastlord and DYOD are perfect vehicles for spending station cash on. As SpineDoc said on the official forums, will we pay three times? (sub, xpac, SC)?
I admire anyone who is posting still on the official forums, since threads critcizing the xpac are being shut down left and right. Reason? “Too much poking” says RadarX.
I think I would pay $20 for the expansion … so waiting for double station cash. A beastlord might be fun, and I might use a merc, although anything that is designed to make mistakes and probably end up killing me hardly seems worth a couple of pp so I can solo some content.
Perhaps SJ’s producer’s letter, published here, will give people more confidence in buying this xpac. I think “wait and see” is the prevailing attitude here, at least from the vocal posters.
SF has quest content to level you to 90 (and will be included for free)
DOV did not raise the level cap
I just don’t like the idea of paying for something that comes out in increments. Just because you have the ability to add to the game over time doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be released complete.
If I quit playing EQ2 before the remainder of the content is released I miss out on what I paid for.
If I quit playing EQ2 before the remainder of the content is released I miss out on what I paid for.
Also, if you quit before you play through everything released to date, you miss out on what you paid for. (To be fair, for most folks Drunder and Elements of War fall squarely in that category, but that’s another complaint that’s done to death as it is, froglok coiffure and all…)
@Greygore… so wait 1 year for all of velious or have 2 six months releases of smaller content? I prefer small regular releases of “features” and content.
Secondly, mercs bought me back to EQ1 and they do open up a lot of content options that otherwise would be harder to approach and they are WAYYYY more convenient than waiting on the right class to join your group. But surprising in eq1. Players were willing to “put up” or suspend their mercenary when real player came along. and pop him back out when the additional player left.
I don’t 100% support it but since i’ll be playing for a while, I realize it’s a compliment to DOV as a “high level” expansion. AOD is a “casual” or “level agnostic expansion”.
Lastly, my biggest gripe is commented above. Yeah it free to play to 90. But, until you find the expansions on sale, its free to play but $95 to have the “whole” game.
P.S. Now that we have flying mounts when we going to get explore the exploded remains of the moon Luclin. Ssra Temple anyone?
@Karl – Ty for the fix, as my guild is locked in Tier 6 content at the moment, I haven’t experienced SF yet. (lol, yes, my best toon is lvl 60 with more AAs then I can use.)
@Greygore – If you quit playing but had already purchased DoV for that account, then you have access to ALL of the DoV content, current and forth coming. The content being released incrementally is part of DoV. It’s free to those whom have purchased DoV. Doesn’t matter if you hadn’t played since DoV launch, if you come back and have DoV, you have the new content for DoV.
I give a thumbs up for the new strategy of free content, paid for extra features. I guess I just don’t like being told something is worth a certain amount, without it being proven when your already locked into a gaming commitment:
SJ: “We know that this is an original concept in our niche of the industry. Certainly, none of our major competitors does this. Maybe that’s not a good reason to try something, but it does mean we’re breaking new ground. And we like that. So we’re finding new paths.”
I like something new, just don’t make me pay full price for being an industry experiment that feels incompletely thought out. I understand software costs money to write, and that a charge of some way is needed. But most people that perform social experiments voluntarily get compensated in some way for it, instead we are being charged full price for it.
I think Feldon mentioned this in the past, but the only way SOE will save face with me on this expansion is if they will do an a la carte for the features so I can cherry pick what ones I want to buy on my individual accounts and not have to buy a full expansion for each one of them.
@Taka
I agree with you having to buy both AOD and DOV is overpriced
(unless its discounted)
One thing you might want to think about Karl and others is the fact that if you are a regular subscriber you will get 500 sc a month now. What this means to you is if you don’t want to spend or can’t spend the cash right now, just let your balance build up some and buy it with the sc you have built up that you get FOR FREE just for being a recurring subscription.
People are getting all up in arms over something that if they would just sit back and think and be patient, they can get for no additional cost.
Good point Kruzzen. I’ll just wait till I get it for free.
I think a lot of the issue here is AOD is not what most players expect from an expansion pack. This change causes resistance (as most change does). I think it’s a risk they are taking by going this route, and time will tell if it was a good risk or not.
Personally, I prefer a more traditional expansion – New zones, quests, items, and features. I also think AOD would be more appealing if they also had a new starting area and/or a new race to go along with the new beastlord class.
@Kruzzen valid point if they continue to allow expansion purchases with station cash. I don’t see why they wouldn’t.
To your point, A year and some change of recurring sub gets you all expansions (so far) at no additional cost. So cost of entry back to $15. Well played.
I’ll gladly admit that with AOD the 1-90 leveling process will indeed be a different creature.
You know, I posted above about my experience of being a new player and being daunted by buying AoD + DoV. However…I’ve had a think about it and read your comments.
I think what has been hard for me to digest is that AoD is COMPLETELY OPTIONAL…I’m still struggling with that. As far as I can tell, there is no need for me to buy AoD at this point. Heck…I’ve been playing for about one month, am still a level 21 Templar, and am still focusing on getting my transmuting and adornment up to level 21. I would think it’ll be months before I even get to level 90 or have any need/desire to purchase AoD (or even Velious, for that matter.)
That being said…it’s still daunting for me to decide whether I should stick it out with the knowledge that likely the cost of the xpacs will fall (or double SC days)…however, SWTOR is almost here and I could get the entire (and brand new) game for LESS than the undiscounted cost of AoD+Velious…meh…I’m struggling really hard with what to do!!!
I am finding it hard to want to buy the expansion I was super excited at first announcement but now its become less and less interesting. Personally I have lost faith in SOE they promise the world and deliver very little. Suppose to have working Group builder that feel in the same trash bin the LFG tool did and SOE has done nothing about it.
Which makes me fear what will happen with the Dungeon Maker and merc and crafting instructors and item revamps and webpage revamp and freeport and soon qeynos revamp and merging all servers to free to play.
If they failed with one thing on the plate which was just to add a dungeon finder that works how am I suppose to trust them with all that they have promised for and around the expansion of AoD.
Dungeon Finder works fine, if you need more Shard of Love house items.
“There may come a day when we decide to charge for area and quest content again. But we would prefer to not do so”
Thats actually better then the crap you have now, Fallen Dynasty was worth it and so was splitpaw saga. What your doing now is ripping people off because someone put their foot on their mouth when they said Velius with 1 purchase would give 2 parts of the expansion and now your thinking oh crap no money next year.
Yeah, they want to micro-transaction everything but can’t make that immediate jump right now, so they will give you a familiar “expansion pack” that everyone will buy and then realize they are just getting features, and then down the road they will use that as an excuse to sell everything piece-meal which is fine with me. It is just coaxing the player base and not disturbing the revenue flow that has to be handled carefully.
@Lashe
If your main toon is only level 21, then you won’t be needing Velious for a while, that expansion is 100% end game.
If you’re paying $15 a month, just do what most of us are going to do, and wait for the SC to pile up, and get AoD for free.
Worst case, I’ll wait for the next double SC weekend, and pay $20 for it. I’m not paying $40. $20 for mercs and a new class is fair.
Just so there’s no confusion:
There is no doubt that they will have new content in February, namely new raids and new dungeons, and you’ll be able to play them whether you buy Age of Discovery or not.
What I am really curious about is whether AoD is going to include a Char Slot for the Beast Lord or will I have to fork over an additional $10 bucks for that as well? That and the prospect of buying DoV for my second account making me think seriously about giving SW: ToR a go. I think EQ2 is/was(?) one of the best MMORPGs going, but looks like they gonna drive the bus off a cliff.
What’s funny is AoD does not include any of the previous EQ2 expansions, so new players or returning players will be completely lost and upset when they realize they also have to purchase DoV.
@Feldon
True, but if the difficulty curve follows drunder and eow, then most of the player base will never see it. (I hope this is not the case)
Sony’s execution has been terrible of late, dungeon finder being the most recent example of a feature being the hot item of the month only to die faster then for how long it was hyped up. The expansion could be fantastic, and the new content could solve all the woes of most of the vocal player base. The only thing is looking at Sony’s recent history…
I know a few people that ordered the expansion without looking up any info about it. If sony’s execution follows their current trend then they will make alot of people mad.
Rocky,
Of course it will. It is the second half of Velious. It had better be harder and give some progression or it is worth it. If people need content for the lower levels, there is a plethora of it from 1 – 90 all the way up to sentinels fate. If you want to move into the high end, get DoV.
There is nothing in AoD that is game changing in my opinion, well maybe beastlords since we all know they will be WAY OP’ed when they come out. It is a nicety, nothing more. you want new sparkly effects for your gear, contact an AoD member. You want mercenaries to do the job becasue you can’t find a PuG, become an AoD member. If you want some extra discretionary AA, get AOD. If none of this applies to you, enjoy the current content.
Now I will agree that SOE’s execution of things lately has been pitiful. I don’t think the developers of EQ2 even consider this an xpac, but that is my own opinion. But lets face it, they are not the ones who set the price, that is alll marketing. And we know how good marketing is. **Cough**
If you don’t want to buy AOD right now, wait till it gets all fleshed out and then buy it if you want it. Heck, by then we will all be hitting new content. 🙂
Looking forward to Feb. 🙂
Every time SJ sets us up that he’s going to talk about AoD, the majority of the volume of his content is not AoD, but rather about the “free”ness blah blah blah of DoV content and the decisions behind it. I think this constant association with the DoV content contributes to the confusion about the expansion. Someone needs to tell him that when he says he’s going to talk about AoD, to talk about AoD. I don’t see how he expects to defend the value of AoD by talking about DoV.
I’m buying four copies of AoD for myself and Mrs Bhagpuss.
Before EQ2X we had had two accounts only since beta. We bought TSO and didn’t much like it. We bought SF and liked it better but not that much better. We didn’t bother buying Velious at all until six months after release.
By then we had two accounts each – our Access accounts and silver accounts on Freeport. We added the Velious expansion to the Silver accounts, even though it means we have to pay additionally for unlockers for everything we do there because the Silver account characters are now by far the ones we play most often.
We still aren’t interested in adding Velious to the Access accounts. Those characters don’t need anything it offers. Age of Discord, however, has stuff that all our characters want. Consequently, whereas had SoE stayed sub-only and offered a traditional expansion again we’d not have bought it at launch, now we are pre-ordering four expansions and paying extra on top of that as well.
SoE is getting a lot more money out of us, but that’s because they are now offering us a lot more that we want to buy.
That said, I would prefer to see all the features broken up and offered piecemeal in the SC store, just so we could spread the cost a little over time and pick and choose a little more. But on balance, this is still the most useable expansion we’ve seen since Kunark.
“There is no doubt that they will have new content in February, namely new raids and new dungeons, and you’ll be able to play them whether you buy Age of Discovery or not.”
That is assuming your raid leader dose not give ya the boot for being 20AA under the cap. Our leaders been cool about it, seems like very few are buying. Those that are buying it, only care for the beastlords.
Well I tolerate DOV content but only to a point, after raiding in Drunder, Kael (and the other Zone) (I can not remember) for the last few months it has more than gotten old, I mean really old, its not even fun to log into raid to go pound on the zeks, or even raid the same place over and over and over again, While I can applaud SJ and there team for the AOD content, I do not feel that it should have taken precedence over DOV. SINCE DOV released and the Easy Mod/ Hard Mode was introduced raiding has become more redundant, and honestly the gear that you get between the easy/hard is not that impressive, I mean really, easy is 123-129 to hard 139-149 stats I mean really, is it that hard that in lieu of AOD that they actually spent the time to give us some additional DOV content this year so we don’t have to continue banging our heads against the walls with these boring arse zones, I mean really, but SJ has a budget and they needed money so, out comes AOD and its glory…. Bah.. Is it really worth the 60 bucks? No, not if you compare AOD v; other expansions, it brings u a BL class. worth $9.00 on the open market, your very own grp of NPC’S, which in Beta didn’t work so well in hard zones — cost $5.00, Forging, tradeskilling – deduct 4.50 for thinking we needed that, is this new Tradeskill going to give us the opportunity to make MC gear that compares to Fabled gear—-Nope. What is left, O i have it, 20 extra AA – that can be used where, not in the spots we want maybe we revert back to tradeskilling? cost – 2.50 So add it up — cost 12.50 about the cost of BL Chronicles if you didn’t have the Station Account.
I’m with Smokejumper on this one, the current expansion is only 6 months old (and most players have not gotten all that far through the raiding even, or the dungeons).
AoD is optional for casual players, and needed for raiders at the cutting edge, for everyone else its optional, I’m not seeing anything there that is neeeded for the current content because if the expansion did not appear then all the current content would be just as doable without it.
I detect hints that they will go back to the old scheme of paying for access to content since he hints at it being under consideration. Personally I’m going to wait and see on it myself, while I still see a need to have content that is released in big chunks now and then (ideally with a all-in-one expansion pack) I think this idea of releases throughout the year has promise.
I think that is the whole point.
If AoD is optional, and I think it is. Then it is not a compelling set of features. Nor does it provide a scintilla of extra content.
In that case why is it still priced as if it was a “must have” expansion?
Now SoE can charge what they like. If people see value for money they will buy it, some will even buy it out of habit.
But no one should be at all surprised that the community think it is a rip off and a sick joke.
One one of the recent articles someone mentioned they did not think this would be a record low expansion for EQ2, I disagree. Most everyone I’ve talked to is not interested in this “expansion,” though I know there are some who are. Not to mention the playerbase has to be at an all time low with the current state of the game, there is no way this will not be a record low expac in terms of sales both at the end of launch day and in the long run, imo. In the past, if you played the game you bought the most recent expac, this is not the case now.
I think with the direction SoE use now for EQ2, one Year and EQ2 is completely dead.
In my Opinion they try to do the same thing like NGE in SWG, even if costumer dont like it, they bring it live. Never heard what the playerbase want…..SoE Never change.
yep they seem to be testing the waters for what their new business model will be. using an older game that isnt doing so well makes sense from a business point, but in reality it is a pretty terrible thing to put a loyal playerbase through.
smokejumper said it best when talking about the FP revamp “we are taking a city you have known and loved….. and changing it.”
i have tried all that i can to keep my faith in the EQ name but all these changes, this expansion, and their plans for the future just kept chipping away till there is nothing left.
i think SoE plan is stretching EQ2 till end of DoV Part two, its februar 2013. End Summer/winter 2013 they release EQNext. Maybe im wrong but i think that makes Sense.
I pre-ordered the “xpac” then, last week, actually read what lovely content/features it contains …… I have never used SC before as thought was a complete rip off but, based on the description of what my money will be buying – waiting until the features appear there and maybe buying a couple. VERY disappointed in the complete lack of content and so happy I wasn’t daft enough to waste my cash up front. Sorry SOE but this will be the first xpac I haven’t been able to bring myself to shell out for and, after playing since beta that kind of hurts.
Smoke is doing what he does best, blowing more smoke. Between SWTOR and Skyrim, and other MMOs, the ship is sinking fast due to the lack of resources they have assigned to the game. When as part of the implementation of the feature pack they tell you in a webcast that it is not ready but they are releasing it anyway. /verysadface
I have been browsing the official boards, and there are quite a few posters, like myself, who are waiting for the double SC to buy this thing. I am sure they won’t do double SC for a couple of weeks, but if they want to boost sales I think it’s going to have to happen before January.
Someone did put up a description of the mercs, and which ones work best, at least in beta — they don’t sound bad, just slow to respond. They are five plat to rent for level 90, plus the gold to keep them going AND they take half your cash from the loot tables. Someone explain why, if you are PAYING for this feature as part of the xpac, they made it such a plat sink? I guess they really do want to discourage the casual player from using them? My character doesn’t make that much plat, honestly, to use one very often. If the idea was to make it fun to explore new areas, they certainly curtailed that by making it so darn expensive. Some people think it’s cheap, however, I suppose those with a lot of plat already will have no problem with using them. Sort of a vicious cycle thing, the more money you have, the easier it is to get more! Plus people have already found an exploit, which I assume they will stop in the near future, since it’s pretty obvious.
This f2p will get alot more ppl to play and some will stay and pay, theres only a few draw backs on that i just stay otta 1-9 chat. trash comes with free games if ya ever played one! smokeblower just doing his job as best he can so bear with them patches bugs and we get though this as we have with all then othere stuff , more content and more area’s will get some of our old friends back, fer awhile anyhow i do look forward to something new in this xpac hope its NOT LIKE MOORS I hadda stop playing eq2 for 9 moes on that mistake!!!! hope its good and I hope this new luanch pad works, I never could get the old one to work right( Rains Perma )
I pre-ordered it but I found the price to be harsh. I since pulled back my pre-order. But heck I really want to play a Beastlord. Seems unfair to charge so much for a new character. I will wait until price is better.