Best Classic Server!

[Ryoz]

Hey all,

Fairly new to this scene. I've been watching EQClassic for a while now, but I came across this site and got pretty excited. I'm looking for some suggestions for some solid classic emu servers (hopefully with some type of exp + bonus).

Any suggestions? I see quite a few...

[buffhouse]

None of them are very classic. Classic EQ isn't that great. Insane agro ranges, getting killed by hordes of greens that are 10 levels below you when you just want to explore a dungeon. Top guilds finding every tradeskill price problem and sharing it on IIRC making cash, duping everything, trading no drops through long convoluted methods, leveling from pathing problems while yapping endlessly in OOC about how they kill yellows easily etc etc. Maxing thier AA by macroing handing in a quest item over and over. Spreading rumors and false information just to get other people on the server to try stupid stuff.

All while Brad talked about the vision and took drugs.

The new game is equally nuts. Wizards with 13000 hit points. The entire game balanced on items alone. All the original treadmills replaced with clicking or grinding to get to the new treadmills.

The magic of the original EQ was not in the game world or the graphics. It was with the people that came to play it.

[Kagatob]

None of them are very classic. Classic EQ isn't that great. Insane agro ranges, getting killed by hordes of greens that are 10 levels below you when you just want to explore a dungeon. Top guilds finding every tradeskill price problem and sharing it on IIRC making cash, duping everything, trading no drops through long convoluted methods, leveling from pathing problems while yapping endlessly in OOC about how they kill yellows easily etc etc. Maxing thier AA by macroing handing in a quest item over and over. Spreading rumors and false information just to get other people on the server to try stupid stuff.

All while Brad talked about the vision and took drugs.

The new game is equally nuts. Wizards with 13000 hit points. The entire game balanced on items alone. All the original treadmills replaced with clicking or grinding to get to the new treadmills.

The magic of the original EQ was not in the game world or the graphics. It was with the people that came to play it.
I lol'd. Good stuff.

[trevius]

I know you asked for EQclassic, but if you want +exp rates you would most likely be best off on a custom server IMO. Though, I think the best way to find a good server is to log into the login server and look at the server list and try some of the servers that have the most people on them. They are all sure to be fun. I have played on multiple custom servers and I would recommend trying any of them. The ones I have spent time on are Zeb, EZ Server, Scars of Amerous, and my own server, Storm Haven (of course).

The only popular servers on the list that you probably want to avoid are the ones with CEQ (Chinese Everquest) in the name. They are all Chinese servers with the exception of KMRA, which is English with Chinese as an option.

[Yeormom]

EQClassic has AA's? lol

[Nagus69]

Hi Ryoz,

i also used to play on Saryrn! I just started to play on the EZ server now. Its really fun and a good mix of getting all spoon fed and having to work for things.

You get exp 4x as fast so you can level to 50 within a cpl of hours without going crazy (+25 mana/hp/end regen starter item helps -manastone is in too ;)

Epics can be purchased for 0 plat but you have to work for 1.5 and 2.0.

I made a monk and cle 2box - name is Tyler. Come in and say hi!

p.s. friend list dont seem to be working - have to manually check /w all Tyler etc.

[partylwc]

Actually Gnomish Proving Grounds is a pretty good server for eq classic.. We are currently just in the old world and are loookign for more players to join before we advance to kunark. 2x xp; 2x loot; a good base of people ( usually 10 people when i log on) my wish is to see 20 or so.

[ChaosSlayer]

None of them are very classic. Classic EQ isn't that great. Insane agro ranges, getting killed by hordes of greens that are 10 levels below you when you just want to explore a dungeon. Top guilds finding every tradeskill price problem and sharing it on IIRC making cash, duping everything, trading no drops through long convoluted methods, leveling from pathing problems while yapping endlessly in OOC about how they kill yellows easily etc etc. Maxing thier AA by macroing handing in a quest item over and over. Spreading rumors and false information just to get other people on the server to try stupid stuff.

All while Brad talked about the vision and took drugs.

The new game is equally nuts. Wizards with 13000 hit points. The entire game balanced on items alone. All the original treadmills replaced with clicking or grinding to get to the new treadmills.

The magic of the original EQ was not in the game world or the graphics. It was with the people that came to play it.

well said.
I want to add huge arse and totaly empty zones like WK, and a 30min LINE just to get into a group in orc camp in EC or goblin basement in HH

On top of that continiuous bullshit from Brad and then from SOE that "feature X will NEVER be implemented cuase it horibly violates game vision and gameplay balance!", only to have 6 month later :"look what WE come up with!"

yeah EQ1 SUCKED and still sucks. the only reason we played it cuase it was first and the only. And of course - its the people who make the mmorpg.

[partylwc]

well said.
I want to add huge arse and totaly empty zones like WK, and a 30min LINE just to get into a group in orc camp in EC or goblin basement in HH

On top of that continiuous bullshit from Brad and then from SOE that "feature X will NEVER be implemented cuase it horibly violates game vision and gameplay balance!", only to have 6 month later :"look what WE come up with!"

yeah EQ1 SUCKED and still sucks. the only reason we played it cuase it was first and the only. And of course - its the people who make the mmorpg.

In my very humble opinion eq 1 didnt suck. It was good. It was addictive.. huge, fantasy.. the people that made up the game made it good to.

There where somet hings that sucked about eq1.. The original UI sucked with the small little screen; the incredible time it takes to get from zone 1 to zone 2 kinda sucked to ( but hey it made the world feel big.. which it is/was and got bigger.

I honestly like the original game up to PoP - Though I didnt play past PoP and honestly PoP was the expansion i disliked the most. My Favorite expansion was luclin or Kunark but i defenetly liked velious to. Everquest really applied a good adventure when playing it and in the beginning you never knew what to expect.

[unknownhost]

people dont realize how cold a place original eq was.

exp was PAINFULLY slow, hell levels and class/race penalties (although halfling i know got a bonus to exp!) didnt make it any more fun. basicly if a human druid needed 100% to level than a hybrid needed an aditional 50% + if were ogre or troll then another 50% on top of that for 200% per level or some such pain... the exp penalty was the balance for hybrids being essentially warriors with spells...

meditation/downtime SUCKED , mana regen was rare (pretty much enchanters only and their friends) , and surely i dont miss staring at my spellbook with my cleric for pretty much 70-80% of his life to 50.

corpses could very easily be lost. there was no summon corpse spell for quite awhile. gm's didnt summon them for you unless it was bugged in a wall.


heck you had to /petition to get your last name at level20. petitioned one day, next day or two gm showed up on me in unrest and bestowed my grandness upon me. :D

tradeskills were just too confusing at the very begining. i didnt bother with them til after i was a year into the game other than fabricating some patchwork armor.

where was the medium bronze armor in the begining? took me forever to fill the gaps on my human cleric back on xegony. by the time i did get at_least_bronze in every slot it was loong past time for upgrades beyond that.

yay for the lines at drelzna, evileye,an frenzied ghoul! and pretty much everywhere else with decent loot.

yet for all that i thuroughly enjoyed original eq, it was so new and different compared to any other mmorpg available at the time. (pretty much UltimaOnline only thing out there and it hadnt been long since they completely redesigned the game nearly eliminating the pvp aspect while doing so)


anyways, i dinged my second character to 50 the night before kunark released, i remember being so pissed that they raised the level cap and we had to start grinding again haha. think my greatest accomplishments back then were being on Xegonys first vox raid(failed, didnt help that the GM's broadcasted to the entire server the time of the "event" our guild was doing an 300+showed up, yay crashing!) and our guild took down phinigel before kedge was itemized.(though definately not first on xegony hehe!)

fond memories!

[wysh]

people dont realize how cold a place original eq was.

exp was PAINFULLY slow, hell levels and class/race penalties (although halfling i know got a bonus to exp!) didnt make it any more fun. basicly if a human druid needed 100% to level than a hybrid needed an aditional 50% + if were ogre or troll then another 50% on top of that for 200% per level or some such pain... the exp penalty was the balance for hybrids being essentially warriors with spells...

meditation/downtime SUCKED , mana regen was rare (pretty much enchanters only and their friends) , and surely i dont miss staring at my spellbook with my cleric for pretty much 70-80% of his life to 50.

corpses could very easily be lost. there was no summon corpse spell for quite awhile. gm's didnt summon them for you unless it was bugged in a wall.


heck you had to /petition to get your last name at level20. petitioned one day, next day or two gm showed up on me in unrest and bestowed my grandness upon me. :D

tradeskills were just too confusing at the very begining. i didnt bother with them til after i was a year into the game other than fabricating some patchwork armor.

where was the medium bronze armor in the begining? took me forever to fill the gaps on my human cleric back on xegony. by the time i did get at_least_bronze in every slot it was loong past time for upgrades beyond that.

yay for the lines at drelzna, evileye,an frenzied ghoul! and pretty much everywhere else with decent loot.

yet for all that i thuroughly enjoyed original eq, it was so new and different compared to any other mmorpg available at the time. (pretty much UltimaOnline only thing out there and it hadnt been long since they completely redesigned the game nearly eliminating the pvp aspect while doing so)


anyways, i dinged my second character to 50 the night before kunark released, i remember being so pissed that they raised the level cap and we had to start grinding again haha. think my greatest accomplishments back then were being on Xegonys first vox raid(failed, didnt help that the GM's broadcasted to the entire server the time of the "event" our guild was doing an 300+showed up, yay crashing!) and our guild took down phinigel before kedge was itemized.(though definately not first on xegony hehe!)

fond memories!

Some people enjoyed classic EQ for these exact reasons.

[ChaosSlayer]

Some people enjoyed classic EQ for these exact reasons.

masochists ? :D
I know I know. I was one of those people who DEVOTLY "played" eq to the best of my ability from October 99 till October 2005.

Now after seeing EQ2 has done it - i realise how stupid we were and how much evereything sucked: the game does not have to put you through YEARS of painful Xp grinding to be addictive

for all the things I liked about EQ there were some horible flaws:

-insane XP grind to get anywhere
-standing in hour long lines just to get into Xp group or waiting for 15 minutes after EACH solo light blue kill just to get hp/mana back
-horrifying death penalty, and death/corpse run loops who could easily make you loose few levels just trying to get your corpse back
-horibly unplayable as solo or less than a group content
-horible itemization - pre kunark having full set of bronze for nagafen raid was prety much a standart - so thats what - 30 levels just to complite a single set of armor?
-horibly planed encounter where your reward was based on how rare mob spawns rather than how hard he is to kill - Ghoul Arch magus o average spawned once in 5 hours after mindless kiling of place holders and only had 10% chance to drop SMR
-outrages customer service

thats NOT soemthing what qualifies as "enjoyment"

EQ2 has demonstrated that game can be addictive wihout havign to force everyone into holy-trio grind groups. That quests rewards can actualy be worth something by the time you can complite them. Encounters content which is NOT only suited for groups or uber raiders and based ONLY on how many people you can drag along to kill a single boss
Crafting system which actualy as impressive as combat! (And rewarding until they screwed it up)
In zone respawn points so you don't have run from god knows where just to get your corpse or beg 2 freakin hours just to get a bind

the list just goes on.

[Tantalar]

what made classic EQ so good was that it was so slow to level and so easy to lose exp if you didnt know what you were doing. This made it so that you would really develop your character and save up PP so you could buy and trade and sell. In a game like WoW you dont really have this long grind. You just sort of reach end game very quickly even if you are not hardcore.

In old EQ it was all about supply and demand. Something was hard to get and it was rare for it to drop. This increased the price of that item. It was actually rare. In WoW it doesnt even matter. When I quit the game it was on its way out (with the first expansion)

I really liked how hardcore old EQ was. If you screwed up and got killed you were punished. It actually meant something to die. Nowadays in MMORPGS everything is just... too easy. There isnt enough brutalizing punishment, and things are WAYYYYY to easy. The oldschool EQ crafting system is incredible and vastly superior to any other system out there. The best way to control a game is by making stuff rare and or hard to come by. I would be in full support of a game just like oldschool EQ where it was even harder to level up because as a casual player I was able to reach level 60 and then sort of feel like I had done all there was to do without even going to most of the world.

The world in classic EQ (well trilogy) is just so huge. This also contributed to the economy because most people back then didnt know where all of the loot came from. Often times it was from zones that I never even heard of. In WoW and new age MMORPGS you can explore the entire world in less than an hour.

Dungeons in old EQ are incredibly intricate. Nowadays dungeons are made up of a few huge boxy rooms. Very straight forward... Nothing elaborate at all - pathetic. Old EQ dungeons are like huge mazes. I easily can get lost in countless zones simply because they are so hard to navigate through and remember where you are (as it should be) This is yet another unmatched quality of classic EQ.

Classic EQ has boats instead of instant teleports - enough said

Raid encounters were EPIC and required tons of people. Id rather have an epic gathering of people who just zerg something than have an actual strategy. Its realistic. Absolutely awesome how old EQ raids used to be. Gather up all your friends and everyone and just run in and sacrifice yourself for the cause. It didnt matter what gear you had or what weapon you were using... awesome

Quests were awesome. Well most of them are silly but quests in classic EQ are really well done and you dont have some glowing path that shows you exactly where you have to go for each step of it. You are not spoon fed like in all these new MMORPGs. EQ was hardcore. Hell, I couldnt even imagine how the hell anyone could figure out how to get the veeshan peak key without a strategy guide lol.

So much content, so many zones, so many different options. Infinite stuff to explore... I have played the game a lot for a long time and there are still zones that I have never been to in Trilogy era. I would rather pay $50 a month to play a populated trilogy EQ server than get a lifetime membership to play every MMORPG out there!

[Yeormom]

The reason you didn't like EQ1 was you had the power gamer outlook. EverQuest was never about trying to max your level when Verant ran the shop. It was about the social experience and progression through content. Everyone didn't have to be 60 to take down high end mobs, even through Velious. If you rushed the game based on level, you really missed out.

It was definately not friendly to those unguilded.

[Felwithe]

I prefer the classic game - I actually like hell levels and slow exp. If you like PvP, then TZ/VZ is the place for you. For blue server fans, the best I've seen so far is Murdersmithy - it's a new server, but it is currently original and Kunark, does NOT have extra exp. I prefer this, because I think old school Everquest has a lot to offer at all levels, not just trying to grind to the top so you can finally have "fun" raiding. The server population is low right now, and I'm not sure the GMs really want it to go too high, but it certainly has possibilities.

[Babul]

Eq as been a milestone much of us played when still new on mmporg games it was an unrepeatable experience, every game that came out after was a sort of clone with minor exceptions.

Sure enough looking at it today even with all the improvement in the UI and some new graphics the game is old.. I mean the combat system is really basic click and wait.. also the mobs have always been way way overpowered , last year i reopened for a bit my account just to seem my lv 50+ SK unable to kill any solo light blue mob without ending almost dead and with these huge downtime every fight..

yes EQ was nice but it had a lot of stupid thing which they still have not fixed it is basically impossible to play it if you are solo and not in a guild.

[bigsol81]

I personally liked EQ for its difficulty.

Back before EQ, I played UO. Before they incorporated non-PvP areas and the whole ridiculous Felucca/Trammel idea, it was somewhat intense. You'd leave town afraid that you might get killed and lose everything. People didn't carry more than they absolutely had to, and you were quick to make friends so you'd have someone to help you if you were in a bind. UO had both strong community AND a strong player-based economy.

EQ was similar. It was hard, it forced you to THINK. Doing quests required you to use your brain and deduce where to go, preferably with a knowledge of the land. By comparison, games like WoW just give you a waypoint "go here, then here, then here" system and simplify everything. EQ just dropped you at your starting town with a newbie weapon and a note that equated to "Go find your guildmaster on your own. Good Luck!"

Games today are too easy and meant for people with short attention spans. Yes, you had to grind for months to get anywhere in classic EQ, but the game wasn't about grinding, or leveling up to get "uber" for most players. I played for two years and only made it to level 37 on my ranger, and I LOVED the game. I wasn't obsessed with leveling, just with finding new places and meeting new people to group with.

Classic EQ was great, despite the characteristics that some might call "flaws".

[Bah1337ed]

You forgot to add how everything you did in that game was so open based as far as their spell system went. Using root spell to crowd control. Having to actually type out words or phrases to npcs to get the next line of dialog

Where is freeport?
Freeport is where?
What about freeport?
When is freeport?
Who is freeport?
Random npc: "freeport is not a person but a city"

Not to mention random guards in highhold who just picked up your things, or being able tgo give your pets items to use.

Simply put oldskool eq was like driving a manual car

Most mmo's today are like driving automatic

[ChaosSlayer]

Simply put oldskool eq was like driving a manual car

Most mmo's today are like driving automatic

eq was more like a rusty bicycle which kept loosing random parts every 5 minutes with no spares ever to be found :grin:

[Mexenlives]

i prefer a manual transmission. puts you more "in control" of the car =D

[hawkaya99]

I started my ranger i think on march 23 1999. I played until july i think, not sure. I had accrued a total playtime of about 14 days and my character was level 14.

I find it strange how everyone acts like old eq was somehow boring or horribly mean. Why? I never once thought there was anything wrong with it. I never felt pressured or beat down. I enjoyed myself. Yes, I died sometimes. Most of the time I spent just exploring the area in and around qeynos. There was a lot to see back then!! I spent a lot of time in pickup groups and making friends. The corpse runs and slow experience never crossed my mind!!! So that's why I don't understand why people think it matters - it never mattered to me.

I quit because I wanted to play UO. But I came back in 2000 and have played everquest off and on ever since that time. I've not liked what everquest has become. It's not that things are easier, it's that things don't feel conssitent anymore. I feel lost in the vast array of zones and lore, it almost seems disconnected to me. I think of when I first started playing and everytying was so much simpler back then. Why did everquest have to become so top heavy, why did it have to become so spread out.

[germish]

Hola gang, it's Malicious/Soothe.

Just thought I'd say hey and attempt forums. GPG seems to be great for what I want. I like faster leveling and greater chance of gear dropping, But I have to agree with the previous post. When I played live I was care free. I think I got a Barbarian Warrior to about 52 before I quit live, sadly I switched too SWG, which also died out for me. Then EQ2/WoW/and back too EQEmu. Sadly I'm having more fun the ever on the EQEmu, being able to two box is the greatest. I can actually do something when nobody is online!

Anyways... thanks for puttin up with my crap and letting me play along. :D

[joeyftw]

well said.
I want to add huge arse and totaly empty zones like WK, and a 30min LINE just to get into a group in orc camp in EC or goblin basement in HH

On top of that continiuous bullshit from Brad and then from SOE that "feature X will NEVER be implemented cuase it horibly violates game vision and gameplay balance!", only to have 6 month later :"look what WE come up with!"

yeah EQ1 SUCKED and still sucks. the only reason we played it cuase it was first and the only. And of course - its the people who make the mmorpg.

eq1 was everything i wanted and still want. sony just messed it up.

[cerotoneN]

Yea I played EQ for about 5 years and I do remember starting right when velious came out and I remember one day leveling my 19 cleric in oasis of marr and then luclin came out and I went to paludal and the xp was like super turbo mode.

Anyway, I just really hate how newer MMOs (WoW and WAR, maybe LOTR) are all about these chores; constantly right clicking on glowing things and going back to people with flashy things above their head then getting another task to go kill these many of this or what not. Just give me a zone and a few bandit camps ok.

Honestly, I wonder what company will develop an MMO that steps away from this chore system - it's stupid pathetic boring.\

Anyways. Installing Titanium now I can't wait to play EQ again, dream come true!

[clericgildina]

Honestly, I wonder what company will develop an MMO that steps away from this chore system - it's stupid pathetic boring.!
I played EverQuest from shortly after the release of Kunark up to the release that introduced the Berserker (I believe it was Gates of Discord). At the time I was under the age of 16, legally couldn't get a part time job, and had no source of income. I couldn't afford to buy all the expansions so I was always really far behind. I only ever had: Classic, Kunark, Velious, Luclin and Planes of Power. Ruins of Kunark is my favorite game of all time. That continent was just so perfect to me. Ya it was an EXP Grind in oldschool EQ but it always felt rewarding to play EverQuest and to get levels in EverQuest. If I was able to kill something I felt I shouldn't have any chance of killing, it felt like a reward.

I later went and played Guild Wars after I quit EverQuest and I have to say that I completely agree with your assessment. In EverQuest you could stumble onto a quest, or look it up online, either way it still turned out to be epic. You would be travelling across two or three continents to get all the pieces (even for mid-level) quests. To me that made it so exciting. In Guild Wars NPC that gave out quests have gigantic floating exclamation marks above their heads. You are then given direct way points that will lead you directly to where you have to go and you have the ability to travel just by clicking buttons on your map. Quests were terrible in Guild Wars and there was no reward to them.

The opinions on the state of MMOs always seem to be straight down the middle it seems. Some say grinding is terrible and a waste of time, others say grinding is part of the experience and they need something to keep them interested. To me the entire problem with the current state of MMOs is due to instancing. That was the worst decision ever. Some of my favorite moments in EQ were rushing to get camp position in a zone when you were racing another group. You start to set up a raid and another guild comes to set up a raid as well. Even dealing with people trying to steal your named spawns, was fun. It was all interaction, got you fired up and made it INTERESTING. Instancing took away that interaction with opposing groups which is sad in my opinion.

[Elc]

I like the way that EQ2 handles most of it's instancing. It tends to have the main dungeon being shared, with an instanced area way down deep where you can fight the big boss of the dungeon, get your loot, and be locked out for a day or so.