Ready to 
Help I’m easily distracted and I can’t play EQ2 anymore oh look fire!
Jacqueline DiOrio
September 21, 2009 9:05 AM ET in Gaming
One time, her and I were so close...
“I AM THE GOD QUEEN!,” I shouted gaily, my voice ringing across the green plains in front of me, echoing back to the mountains and beyond. I raised my hand in a fist, clenched triumphantly, claiming the land before me as my own, ready to explore all the hidden treasures it had to offer, when–
“Jackie, stop being ridiculous and heal the tank!,” my guild leader’s voice crackled from Ventrilo over my headset, pulling me back to the group. I quickly turned back towards our tank (another guild leader, no less) and popped off a few heals. One of our guild jokes was that I was the “God Queen of Norrath,” or as one guildie referred to me, “The Drag Queen of Norrath.” God Queen is actually where I got my current name from–the Gnome Queen. I used to sign onto the accounts of my friends occasionally and proclaim in guild chat that I had taken over their characters with my godly powers.
At that point in the game, which was Everquest 2, I was a 70 level character, and I had a great guild. I was a feisty little gnome druid, and as such, could find a group or raid whenever I wanted (healers were always in demand). I had decent gear, a large house in game, and I loved playing. That’s when I walked away from the game almost entirely…
Team Fortress 2 had just been released, and I quickly became a huge fan of it. I joined Icrontic, found friends to play with, and started playing it instead of playing Everquest 2. Later on, I began playing Left 4 Dead as well, and a few other casual games. (Damn you Popcap). But despite the fact that I’ve barely logged into Everquest 2 in years aside from the occasional group and some crafting (I did manage to get my little gnome to level 79), I still profess to love the game.
I love my guildies, who I consider my real life friends, and even attended one of their weddings just last year. I adore raiding and grouping, and I am fond of playing both my little gnome and my sassy ratonga crafter. But even though I still think the game is fantastic, I don’t really play it, and I’m often asked why, especially becauase I didn’t have the problem of addiction that many people have with MMO’s.
The issue is that Everquest 2, like most MMORPG’s, requires so much time and effort to play properly. Let’s take joining a group, for example:
- Log in
- Decide where you want to go
- Find a pick up group in channel chats that’s going there, or find friends to go
- Go to the bank or broker to make sure you have the requisite gear and other items
- Travel across the game world to get to the place where you’re grouping
- Wait for everyone else to form up, then…
Finally enter the instance, go through it, possibly pause or be delayed by deaths, group members having to leave and finding people to replace them, or sticky spots inside of the instance. Then, if all of that goes well, you might finally get to the end of the instance–and if your roll is right, get what you came for.
This doesn’t always take a huge amount of time, but most of the time it does. On top of that, it’s hard to just up and leave a group, especially if you’re the healer. It’s considered rude to desert a group unless you have an emergency, work, or you had a pre-determined time when you had to leave. Leaving for any reason, especially if you’re just -gasp- bored, is strongly frowned upon.
Certainly, it can take less time if you have friends or if you’re in a more raiding oriented guild (I was in a large family-style guild) but those have their own issues. Often, raiding guilds require you to be in game at certain times, perhaps several times a week, for raids. It is sometimes possible to find people that you can group with at reliable times, go through instances quickly, and even leave if you have to, but in my experience finding these groups is rare.
By comparison, when I play Team Fortress 2 or Left 4 Dead, I can log in and instantly be playing. I don’t have to travel anywhere, it’s rare that I have to wait very long for other people to play, and once things get going, it’s fun the entire time. When I get bored or have to go, I can just log out. No issues, little whining, and I know that I’m not abandoning anyone.
But it's so much easier just to burn things
I actually often end up playing TF2 or L4D for the same amount of time that it would have taken to do a group instance in EQ2, but I feel like my time is used so much more efficiently in the other games. I wish that there was a way that I could do this within the context of an MMO too. Perhaps if EQ2 had a “quick instance” system–where you’re instantly transported with your group to specific areas that don’t take a long time to run through. That way, you can quickly pop in and get to where you need to, and run through it fast. If you want to do one of the more intensive instances, that’s also still around to do as well.
Having an easier inventory system would be helpful too–I’m disorganized, but it would make my life so much easier if I could just search through my inventory by typing a command rather than having to go bag to bag. Having a faster travel system would also make things easier. They have improved, but knowing that a friend that was in town could be with you in your instance in five minutes would make grouping more efficient overall.
Basically, I’d just like a way in which I can enjoy my game in an efficient way, with less wasted time. Right guys? Guys?
But then again, I know that compared to many game players, I have a pretty short attention span, and I don’t like to be tied to a set schedule. I know tons of people that are quite fine with all of the requirements of MMO’s, and don’t mind having to abide by a schedule of times (or perhaps just don’t have a social life, NERDS).
What have your experiences been with large intensive games like MMORPG’s? Have you had the same problems with them that I have, or just the opposite? If you’ve put down a beloved game, why? Do you want to return to it? I’ve considered returning to my adorable little gnome, but despite how fast she runs–she just can’t run the game the way that I want to. I guess I’m stuck with pyro-ing it up for now.
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