An Honest Comparison Between EQ2 And WoW

If you didn't know, both EQ2 and WoW are MMORPGs, and among what I have played they are arguably the two most popular recent games of the genre at the moment (with the exception of Guild Wars, which is due to some other factors). Having played both a bit, I thought that I would convey my thoughts about each. I'll try to make it as unbiased as possible, and frankly I like both very much, but perhaps this could be more informative than the numerous one-sided reviews unknowingly bashing a game that the reviewer did not even play (or even actually seen played in some cases). Perhaps this is why both games got three out of five stars on EBGames.

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Background: The background and story behind EQ2 and WoW both go back a bit, but are fairly similar in many ways since they revolve around typical fantasy plots. The EQ storyline is deeper, simply due to EQ1 and its many expansions (I think 11), among a few related games and 500 years being added on for EQ2. There's a bit going on, although it may be a little tough for a new player to know everything on which EQ2 is based without playing a bit. WoW is based on the story of its three hit strategy games (and WC3 had an expansion, not sure about the older ones). It has its various storylines that come together, although there is not really as much involved as with EQ2. However, it is open enough that the plot can easily be built, so I would draw no conclusions from this. As for the quality or creativity of the plots, I think they're about the same.

Quests: If there were anything that were almost identical between the two games, this is it. Both have thousands of quests. Both make quests significant for advancement. If there were any real differences though, while many quests exist of similar lengths, some of EQ2's quests are a little more involved and longer. On the other side, item rewards tend to be a little better (in general) for WoW's quests in comparison to difficulty. Both of these can be good or bad depending on your perspective.

Progression: WoW feels a little more casual than EQ2. Leveling does not take quite as long in WoW as EQ2, although EQ2 rewards more abilities and things (and in some cases you gain abilities for progression through a level in EQ2, such as maybe level 13.6 for example). In EQ2 you gain entirely new abilities at each level at no cost, but almost every ability can be upgraded to different levels (apprentice levels, adept levels, and master levels). Those upgrades can be looted or scribed (crafted), with the top level abilities as rare loot. In WoW you buy abilities and higher ranks from NPCs, with a few exceptions. The level cap in WoW is currently 60 (going up to 70 with the next expansion), and the level cap in EQ2 is currently 70.

Classes: EQ2 has more classes than WoW (24 classes in EQ2, 9 classes in WoW). This can be good and bad. EQ2's classes seem more specialized with less overlap, except among some basic ability types. This makes characters quite diverse in comparison to WoW, but could in some cases force more of a compromise than you would like when you choose your class (but this depends entirely on what you want your character to be, a class could also very easily fit your idea quite well). In WoW there is more overlap, and therefore more possible play styles for one character but less diversity. One particular downside for WoW, though, are the rather strict race requirements. Want to be an Alliance druid? You must first be a Night Elf. Want to be a Horde mage? You must be a Troll or Undead. This further contributes to the diversity issue, and could stand in your way of an ideal character for your roleplaying desires. In EQ2, every race can be any class, with the exception of a few classes specific to good characters and evil characters (which only requires that your character is in the appropriate city). This allows for a ton of opportunities for creating a unique identity.

Tradeskills: Both have similar tradeskill professions, so I won't really get into them. However, there are some big differences in how you actually construct stuff. In WoW it is fairly typical and simple: You gather the parts, you use the right tools or crafting medium if applicable, and you combine them into an item for which you have a recipe. Quick and simple so you can get on with your adventuring. EQ2, however, has a system where you interact with the item's construction. Parts have varying qualities, the finished item would have varying qualities (most recipes don't have one set item), and the actual process requires your involvement. Stuff will happen, such as a tangle when crafting leather equipment, a dangerous reaction when mixing a concoction, or overheated metal when blacksmithing. You need to use the appropriate abilities to get around the problem without damaging the item, or even causing injury to yourself. As such, it is funny that if you're really absentminded, you can actually die in the process of tradeskilling.

The diversity of items and the interaction with the crafting process, though, has a downside for some people: It takes longer. This particular area is quite strong in EQ2, but it isn't really for the casual player.

Player vs. Player: I think WoW is stronger here. In WoW, PvP is potentially strong on any server, even the "normal" servers where it is optional. In EQ2, PvP is absent with the exception of arenas on normal servers, although EQ2 does have servers with PvP rulesets where the two sides openly fight each other. I haven't actually tried one of EQ2's PvP servers (they're fairly new), but I think they're still working some things out with them.

Graphics: EQ2 goes for the realistic look, while WoW has a more cartoonish appearance. Both have great graphics, but they're different styles. WoW's graphics are simplistic, but well designed. EQ2's graphics are detailed, and are also designed well, but may appeal to an older age group. The potential for EQ2, visually, is quite awesome in many ways, to the point of water that ripples in three dimensions as you swim and brick walls that have meshes to de-flatten™ the cityscapes. The problem is that you need a powerful computer to see all of it. I can run WoW on almost the max graphics, but I run EQ2 on 2/3... And EQ2 is still a little choppy in some places because of it (I tend to stretch the graphics as far as they are playable). Regardless of EQ2's detail though, don't underestimate the look of WoW. The world and terrain is also quite awesome compared to other games. The one particular downside of WoW's graphics, though, is that its character models are not quite as diverse or detailed as in EQ2 due to fewer options. They also don't really react to the environment as realistically, since they tend to just stand there staring ahead, periodically looking around, or bouncing around impatiently. In EQ2 they stand there, but look at either what you targetted, or if you did not target anything will look around at other creatures or characters who stand near or pass by. I'm splitting hairs here, but it just makes them look more lifelike in my opinion. The downside of EQ2, though, is that there are two model sets: 'normal' and 'alternate' ("SOGA"). You give your character two appearances, one for each model, and view whatever types you want. In my opinion the default models don't look as good as the alternate models, and they're what a lot of new players tend to view without knowing otherwise, but that isn't really a huge deal later on.

The World: The world of EQ2 seems larger, but there is more wilderness. Some of the areas are quite cool, such as a region of floating continents, among all of the basics such as a desert, grassy plains, a snowy place, a fiery place, a forest, etc.. However, there seems to be less 'civilized' terrain in EQ2, which may or may not be a good thing to you. EQ2 centers around two big cities that are at war, while WoW has many towns scattered around. WoW's world is very similar in some ways to EQ1's world, with ships for travel, scattered towns, and unusually abrupt climate changes.

Both are cool, but maybe WoW's world would have an easier time holding your interest if you're a casual player.

The Endgame: Won't speak for this, because I don't have the means to fairly compare both at the moment.

Guilds: This is something fairly similar in both games. Custom ranks and other stuff are present in each. EQ2, however, has a guild bank and a more informative guild screen listing members' achievements and stuff. The main difference, though, is that WoW's guild system is much easier on newer guilds. There is no level progression for guilds in WoW, which means that all guilds are kinda on the same playing field. However, in EQ2 there is a rather involved level system for guilds, intertwining your guild into various aspects of the game. NPCs could react to you differently based on your guild, your guild could unlock the ability to purchase items otherwise unattainable such as some rather cool mounts, among other things. This makes it a little tough for a casual guild to succeed, however if you plan on spending time with it, this could potentially feel more rewarding.

Updates: EQ2 has more updates than WoW. There are fixes and tweaks released almost every couple days, every few weeks there tends to be a 'Live Update' providing new content and features, they have released two "Adventure Packs" which are like mini-expansions providing extensive dungeon regions, and two full-fledged expansions. WoW also keeps stuff fresh, but doesn't seem to update quite as much.

Community: EQ2, to me, has a more mature community. A lot of its players seem to be D&D players, and this brings the average age up a bit and it tends to show. WoW's community seems younger, but its spectrum is just much wider. There are mature players in the game as well as some immature players, but the immature players are obviously 'louder' and stand out more. To explain what I'm saying a little better, if someone is asking for help on a quest, he/she would be more likely to get constructive help from a player of EQ2 than of WoW (where I've seen, unfortunately fairly often, openly sarcastic "help yourself" remarks in response to newer players, which is truthfully rare in realistic circumstances on EQ2 of what I have seen). WoW is more competitive though, which is indeed a good thing for some people.

What EQ2 Has That WoW Doesn't:
- Player houses. All players have a house or apartment where they can place furniture and pets, set up crafting stations, and even set up shops. Other players can be allowed access if desired, so they can be fairly fun in some cases. Some of the furniture has special effects, such as music boxes that change the background music to EQ1 tracks (holiday rewards last December), a bottle that transports you to a personal instance, an orb that projects images of another location, pets that walk around and can do stuff, among other things.

- Lots of voiceovers. Apparently hundreds of hours of them, some of which are done by known actors and other known people such as Christopher Lee (who played Saruman in LotR). The majority of NPCs have voices, although you'll need to download the optional voice packs to keep them up to date (otherwise you just see text).

- A command you can type to bring up a Pizza Hut (if I remember) order form, from which you can order a pizza delivery while playing... So hunger pains will never interrupt your game again. How nice

What WoW Has That EQ2 Doesn't:
- More extensive transportation. While ships and griffons exist in EQ2, there is more stuff in WoW along those lines. One thing in particular is that WoW has old-EQ1-styled ship transportation, where you sit at the docks waiting for your ship to arrive, then you jump on, and are off on your short journey to wherever it goes while you watch the world go by from wherever you decide to wait on the boat. That's awesome in my opinion for some reason, because it makes the world feel bigger, and it makes you feel like you're far from home when you go off adventuring somewhere. I always liked getting on the ships in EQ1 until they were basically nerfed (not sure if they brought them back, but if they did they have been made obsolete by portals)... And WoW has revived them. Cool stuff.

- A decent taming profession. EQ2 has pet classes, but they summon their pets from spells and your character doesn't really get attached to his/her pet. Star Wars Galaxies used to reign supreme when it came to creature handling, but they nerfed it (although they say they're bringing it back someday).

WoW picked it up though, and while the hunter class doesn't quite match SWG creature handlers in terms of taming and controlling pets, it is still quite awesome in my opinion. It's the one class that doesn't really have an equivalent in EQ2.

- Server queues.

It's not that WoW's servers are necessarily more populated (they just have more servers), but queues physically aren't implemented in EQ2. Good thing for EQ2, even though it's a tiny bit of a gamble for them. Their servers get maintenance and/or a restart early every morning though, and with the zones and whatnot, there aren't usually overpopulation effects or too much lag. With a seamless world such as with WoW, lag effects are more of an issue, but not so much with EQ2 unless there is a huge population on at a given time.

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Anyway, that's about it... Hope you found this review interesting or something, heh, not sure exactly why I wrote it, but I obviously did.