AOC /EQ2 or LOTR

[Peppered]

I tried playing WOW agin and I remebered why I quit the first time,
the end game in wow is boring to me, I wait to find a tank and once we get one I dont have the time to the heroic or raid somtimes. End game soling seems borring do to it is the same daily quest over and over.

So I am looking at EQ2/AOC and LOTR I need a mmo that has a decent poplation still so I can find groups but also has good solo content threw out the game.
I have a I7 260 oc to just 3.3 right now will push it further later on, a Nivida 285 GTX, a 1080p monitor and may get a couple Solid state Drives befoer I recive my coply of win7 pro, so I shoulkd be good for any of those games.

I realy enjoy a good group more than solo but dont always have the time to group or look for one.

So if there is anyone that has been or played these games it would helpful if you could give me some advice.
Many thanks

 

[darkrisen2003]

As Always since im playing EQ2 right now thats where my vote will go. The population is fairly low but there are more than enough people playing to accomplish any goal you may have. You can solo any class to max level and there is definately not a lack of things to do in end game. Get into a god guild like mine and you will really enjoy the game. WOW is a game I can never go back to. I hated being forced to play certain ways or just not get anywhere and the freaking immiture kiddies running around etc etc etc. EQ2 is not like that at all. If your an asshat you suffer the consequences and everyone will know about it and will not group with you etc.

If you are interested in giving it a try let me know and I will send you a recruit a friend invite.

 

[Malladine]

AoC:
Reached lvl 54 out of 80 and quit.
1. I solo'd more playing AoC...by far. When i grouped it was mostly for PvP "instances"
2. World pvp was fun and combat fast paced and reactive.
3. The dungeons are small and limited in comparison with lotro
4. crafting seems limited, though i may not have reached a level where it really kicks in.
5. character progression is a little too reliant on equipment for me. It's similar to the "WoW" system overall.

LoTRO
Playing this now, currently lvl 29 out of 60.
1. The one dungeon i've been to seemed ideal in length and content (great barrows), fun!
2. I've grouped many times...probably half the quests i have right now, (i have 23/40 max quests) are group recommended. I've also solo'd a great deal as well. Good balance imo.
3. Crafting is a huge amount of fun for me and on top of that it is practical from the start
4. Combat's slower and more static than AoC, but not bad.
5. character progression is dynamic and expansive! Messing with deeds and traits is fun for me.

Overall both games have their appeal, but the world pvp in AoC just wasn't enough to keep me playing, especially since open pvp really doesn't work in a level based game, imo.

 

[Eluros]

Disclaimer: I play LotRO, and have never played EQ2 or AoC. I can't argue for or against LotRO relative to those games. I can tell you what I know about this one, though.

LotRO has lifetime subscriptions, which are, in my humble opinion, a phenomenal deal-- I bought one in December of 2007, and, even at the lower $10 price they offered sometimes, I'm already getting free months. Considering the span of time that most people play MMO's, having an option without microtransactions or recurring fees strikes me as an awesome model that I'm surprised other companies don't copy.

If you wish to PUG (random people), your likelihood of finding a group is largely server dependent; play on Brandywine, Elendilmir, or Landroval. However, I almost never PUG-- I play with my "kinship", which is much more fun, since we can chat on vent and we all know each other. Here's out kinship page on the LotRO website:

http://my.lotro.com/kinship-ar...ruchai_and_the_elohim/

There is tons of solo content; Lothlorien, a level 60 zone, is almost entirely (about 92%) solo, and all about building your reputation with the Galadhrim who live there.

A new expansion pack is set to be released this year, as well as another major free content pack (Volume II, Book 9).

Overall, I would highly recommend LotRO. I don't know whether it's better or worse than EQ2 or AoC, but you certainly can't go wrong with it. Plus, legendary items that level with you!

 

[Malladine]

Oh, i'm on Arkenstone btw. Plenty of population there too so far.

Eluros: how much is lifetime now?

 

[Eluros]

Originally posted by: Malladine
Oh, i'm on Arkenstone btw. Plenty of population there too so far.

Eluros: how much is lifetime now?

Malladine, I'm on Arkenstone too; that's funny! Mind if I ask who your toons are? I'm Eluros and Elurosil on Freep side; Shakmalak in the Moors.

A lifetime subscription is, I believe, $300 currently. I got one for $200 because I had a Founders Referral, back when they still acknowledged those. $300 divided by $15 means you'd have to play for 20 months to outweigh that. If you're paying $10 a month (which some are), it'd obviously take 30 months. If you're paying $15 a month and think you'll play for around 2 more years (or more), you can save money with the lifetime.

 

[Malladine]

Right...i'll probably skip the lifetime, but then again they seem to be putting a lot of effort into content.

Like I said i'm only 29, I started not even a month ago. But the name is Shimazu, a Warden

 

[Eluros]

Originally posted by: Malladine
Right...i'll probably skip the lifetime, but then again they seem to be putting a lot of effort into content.

Like I said i'm only 29, I started not even a month ago. But the name is Shimazu, a Warden

Ah, well, very cool! If you're ever on and need a hand with something, have a question, or anything like that, feel free to shoot me a tell if I'm on. Just mention you're from the Anandtech forums so I can recall who you are.

 

[Malladine]

Thanks, same!

 

[Eluros]

Originally posted by: Malladine

Thanks, same! Not that my help could mean much to you...

Nah, you'd be surprised how many times there are when it's nice to know low-level players. Besides, Garth Agarwen-- one of my favorite instances, and is around level 35-- is getting reworked for Book 9, and I fully intend to run through it to see what changed; I'll probably guide a group of lowbies through so they can get the gear and experience.

Besides, always nice to have connections outside one's kin. Nice to know what's going on in the sociopolitical climate, and different perspectives can help out.

 

[natebigdawg]

for the OP, not sure if Age of Conan ever did get DX 10 but LOTRO looks awesome and your rig would run it flawlessly! I really think that LOTRO has some of the most breathtaking vistas for any MMO and if you are a Tolkien fan, you will really have the books come to life for you.

I am also a lifetime subscriber and have my wife with the same deal. You would be suprised how many adults play the game and even families. Very fun and friendly for the most part and again there does seem to be a lot of content development even now. The developers keep you busy especially if you are not too hard core of a player.

 

[Malladine]

Yeah, fairly mature playerbase in lotro, another plus.

Age of Conan does have DX10 now, it looks slightly better than lotro including animations. The water effects are about equal.

 

[Elcs]

Having played both for approximately three months, I can say LoTRO blows AoC out of the water... However, I have not played DX10 AoC in its "new and improved state".

I played AoC from June-August 2008 and LoTRO from December08 to March 09.

 

[Peppered]

Thanks so much for all the Info I also Played EQ1 and even if they have others you can rent or buy to help you the end game is hard also takes a long time to get others set up for a raid and i work a 12 hour swing shift so I can never be in high end guild. Was offered many times when I played my Enchanter but I couldnt comit to there times that you have to be on. Do to my work and faimly.
AOC looked nice from the video I saw, the graphics were unreal but that dosnt make for a fun game it helps a lot but there is much more to it.

 

[ITPaladin]

I have played LOTRO and EQ I/II.

LOTRO's UI has been said to be a clone of WoW (never played it).

There are things to do that are simply relaxing in LOTRO (crafting is super easy. If you have a large stack, set the amount, click, go afk...as opposed to EQ II's hands-on active/reactive crafting), fishing (haven't been in-game since they introduced this), farming (part of the crafting), running around looking at the sights (rainbow in The Shire after a storm), or just standing around listening to the great mood music.

EQ II has changed over the years to be super easy compared to what it was. There is so much solo content, especially in the Kunark expansion, that you don't need to group. If you want to get the good stuff, of course some raids may be in order. If lucky you can find an open raid or a guild willing to bring you along on the easier ones (don't expect an easy time getting your Kunark epic if you need Venril Sathir like one of my characters still does).

A good thing to do is ask around, make initial characters on servers and see what the population is/will be during your normal play times.

After playing Eve Online for a while, I wish these games had a one-world server system too. It is wishful thinking though given the lack of patience people have on these other games regarding travel times (OMG I have to wait FIVE minutes at the portal??!!).

 

[Peppered]

Thanks I will give EQ a try, I need to wait til I get my new isp fist that is this coming monday. I cant stay on line long right now after having dsl for a year and a half and it being rock solid for some reason i cant stay conected anymore. and they have been to my house 4 times in the last month and a half to try and fix the problem.

 

[Psynaut]

I played a character in EQ2 to level 80, then raided for a while. I had fun. (I was a long time EQ player back in the day.)

 

[datalink7]

LOTRO has been incredibly fun for me. I tried EQ2 back in the day after I quit WoW but it didn't grab me.

If you like Middle Earth lore LOTRO is awesome. It is super cool going to see Weathertop, or Moria, or visiting Elrond in Rivendell. They did a really good job of making you feel a part of the story.

 

[SlickSnake]

I got EQ2 and tried it out shortly after it launched, and didn't really like the clunky combat system or the game itself overall. I played it for about a month, and hadn't been back since even when offered free game play to resubscribe.

I thought about trying LOTR, but I keep reading mediocre to poor reviews about that game, and so I never tried it.

I also played WoW for a couple of years, and just got burned out completely on the overall gameplay style and the laughably dated and garishly colored kiddie cartoonish style graphics and I likely won't go back anytime soon.

I bought AoC at launch a year ago and the game was so buggy with crashes and lockups it was nearly unplayable. But the graphics were top notch, and I hoped the game would get better at some point. I decided to resubscribe last week, and have been pleasantly surprised by the game and game play now.

It is 100% stable on my system, which is only a single core AMD 3800 with 2 gigs of memory and a 9800 GT OC video card. With my graphics set at mediumish to high settings I get 35-60 FPS average, which is completely playable even with PvP battles. If you have a copy of the game already it requires an almost 3.5 GIG D.L. which is pretty intense for bandwidth limited ISPs like mine, which is the only draw back to resubscribing. For the free trial offer, I assume it's also just as large a D.L. I'm currently grinding 3 classes at the same time, since once you do the quests once it seems easier and faster to reorganize them and do them again for the other classes. I currently have 3 level 30ish players, and at 40 you can get a mount. Which is also a free mammoth mount for resubscribers and a 20 space bag, plus a 20% discount.

 

[ITPaladin]

Originally posted by: SlickSnake
I got EQ2 and tried it out shortly after it launched, and didn't really like the clunky combat system or the game itself overall. I played it for about a month, and hadn't been back since even when offered free game play to resubscribe.

This is why people don't come back that tried it at the beginning. They think MMOs always stay the same from launch.


I thought about trying LOTR, but I keep reading mediocre to poor reviews about that game, and so I never tried it.

Wow what reviews were you reading?
Everything I read from launch onwards had good things to say: Gamespy - 4 1/2 stars, CVG - 9.2, IGN review 9.0,
Gamespot - 8.3, etc...keep in mind these were all from the first few months and year. Much has been added including legendary weapons / etc that level with you.

 

[GarfieldtheCat]

I haven't tried AoC, but I liked LOTRO over EQ2. Both were good, but I love the Tolkien books, so that tipped the scales for me.

Both are good and worthy of trying out to see what you prefer.

 

[gizbug]

LOTRO will be a better buy in the long run. More updates, more people playing, more polished. Been playing it since beta test (although I am on a 3 month break, got bored with MMO's. Same ol grind every day gets boring)

 

[Malladine]

Yeah, the grind is still present, if you let it be...

I feel it a bit, but get mostly i focus on epic quest chains and the main quest chain to give me a sense of progression

 

[Peppered]

So what I see so far is EQ 2 has better end game solo things to do, But from the videos I saw they are far behind in the Graphics. It is a older game so that is to be expected. It also sounds like it has a lager world if that is right to say to explore do to all the expansions. But being so easy to solo it may be hard to find groups until you get high in lv.

LOTR has better Graphics a lager amount of folks playing it. Better story behind it, but may be a just a grind to a high lv thne finding a lose of things to do once there. That is the point I am at with WOW a loss of things to do other than PVP wich I dont care a lot for or waiting to go on a raid or heroic group.

AOC sounds like it turns into mosly PVP in the end too but from what I saw the better Graphics of the 3

 

[ITPaladin]

"Better" is subjective.
Any MMO that is level based is going to have top heavy servers.
Even LoTRO servers can suffer from this. I have had a hard time trying to get help on certain books since no one is around to do them (Evendim area, group required for the level). The only way is to schedule help from kinship.