WoW EQ Next!

Well there is a twitch imbedded in the link but  I am not sure how long it will stay. 

Things I have learned so far

1) There  are two games in development and of them is World building for the second game AND you get to help!!

2) Holy world deformation Batman!!! This puts Battlefield to shame!

3) EQ Landmark is playable this yr!

4) Wow on Spell effects! Will they kill my CPU?

5) New Art design!!!!

Anything else i missed? What do you all think?

A New article from MMORPG.com 

http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/952/feature/7640

Yes, yes promises always get kicked ot the curb but 

"...You’ll begin your life in EverQuest Next with one of handful of classes.  That’s it... at least until you discover the others. There are no levels in EQN, all of your progression will come from exploring the world, unlocking classes and experimenting with weapons and spells.  That’s right folks, EQN is bringing back the glory of exploration for purpose in that it’s going to actually ask you to, well, you know explore the world to unlock things. In the example Dave gave us, an adventurer comes upon a farmer who’s being besieged by legions of orcs.  He begs you for help. Or, if you prefer, you can help the orcs take control of the farm and do away with the farmer.  If you help the poor guy out, maybe you’ll find out he’s actually a hedge Wizard and will teach you the art of magic.  Or perhaps you help out the orcs instead (because orcs are awesome, that’s why) and they’re so impressed with your combat prowess that they’ll teach you how to become a mighty warrior.  There won’t be some golden exclamation point over the farmer’s head, and it won’t be clear from the get go how this whole experience would go down or what your rewards would be.  And what’s more is that once you do it, it won’t be there for the next person. That’s not to say that others couldn’t learn wizardry or the art of war, but rather this will be EQN’s way of combating guides that lay out exactly how to find and do everything in the game.  Dave and his team want to make sure that the sense of wonder, exploration, and accomplishment are put back into the MMORPG." Wow!

I'm not a fan of the destructible environment, but everything else is freakin awesome. Can't wait for this game. And Landmark is like Minecraft of steroids - and I love me some Minecraft.

They did mention PVP and the whole destructable world discussion which he used an example of a group of players defending a castle vs catipults and they would all be destructable. Very little pvp info though but it was mentioned. The whole monsters move around and setup camps based on their needs and wants is pretty cool.

The land of Norrath changes every day, based on the actions of all players… including you. Cities rise and fall, kings live and die, even the gods may change. You won't want to miss a moment of it!

Your choices will rule your destiny. Do you save a villager's burning farm or choose to do nothing? Do you clear orc camps away from Qeynos or help them destroy the city? You will make your own story — and shape the world for those who follow you.

Will be playing this game.

After watching, I am completely amazed at what SOE is accomplishing with EQN!  I for one am excited about EverQuest Next Landmark, where we as the players can craft our own buildings, land, etc....  As Nightfall stated, the spell effects are exceptional...but am concerned as well on the system being taxed.

Twitch video:  http://www.twitch.tv/everquestnext/c/2681152

Beta signup:  https://www.everquestnext.com/beta-registration

Well they are using those cell-shaded, cartoon-ish graphics, which tend to be far, far less cumbersome and resource heavy. That and the fact that these kind of graphics tend to age better than "realistic" or true-to-life graphics are probably the primary reason why EQN and Wildstar are going with the cartoon look.

SOme more stuff..

• There are no levels in EverQuest Next.  Progression is based on tiers and horizontal gameplay.  There are 40 classes to “obtain,” and each is advanced individually once obtained.
• Player stats are called attributes.  Equipment will not provide attributes.  Additional attributes will be extremely rare and will require tremendous effort to modify.  All attributes will have impactful meaning for all classes.
• Discovering new classes will occur at varying rates and occur through quest type events and may be restricted by player behavior and the impact of emergent AI.
• Armor (and the ability to craft intricate armor components) will be a major form of character customization, and many custom items will be recognizable on sight.
• The ability hotbar will have a maximum of 4 weapon skills and 4 class skills at any given time.
• Each class comes with 4 class specific skills.
• Crafting skill will not be advanced by repeatedly making the same item over and over.
• Crafting components remain useful based on their properties, not on a crafting level.
• Rallying Calls (public quests) will be ongoing until players on a specific server complete each stage.
• Player housing will be in game, but no details are available yet.
• There are at least 6 starting races: High Elf, Dark Elf, Human, Kerra, Dwarf and Ogre – there will be more, but as of yet unannounced.
• Old school style mage pets are in EverQuest Next
• Gear system provides 5 visual slots (chest, back, etc.), but each slot is made up of individual components that may also be swapped out.
• Homage will be paid to the EverQuest franchise through locations, armor – an example used was the Flowing Black Robe.
• Families of armor can alter your look – not just cloaks, but quivers, etc.
• Exploration will yield a variety of useful items: i.e. resources, recipes, collections, etc.
• Storylines will be important, the world will evolve, its occupants will be relatable.  In short, “everything matters.”
• Parts of the environment that are destroyed will be regenerated over time, the speed of which will be determined by population and the extent of the damage done.
• Gravity will be deadly – every action has a consequence, the same with unsafe travel.
• The world is vast; travel will require a time investment and a money investment.

The first word in the title to this thread is "WoW". 

I have to agree.  EQ Next does look/feel remarkably like World of Warcraft.

For those of you who do not want to watch the 1.5 hour video, let me sum up the "4 holy grails" of EQ Next, as discussed in the video:

[Four holy grails]

1. Changing core game
- multi classing. (40 classes to find)
- Able to mix/match/customize the classes you find.
- Weapons are crucial to your gameplay

2. Blow up anything anytime anywhere
- Destructibility
- PVP, PVE applications
- World has many layers of depth.
(Can pick up a shovel, and dig a tunnel to new content)

3. A life of Consequence
- redid how AI works in the game.
- game remembers everything you did.
- no more static spawn points. (ie:  bottlenecks)
- npc's are dynamic.
- your actions against npc's could have undesirable change/consequences.

4. Permanent Change
- Rallying Calls
- similar to public quest - everyone is on it at same time
- must accomplish several things to progress to next stage
- you probably won't know why/how the next stage was triggered.
- the new stage creates a whole new set of dynamic quest objectives
- When complete, a new rallying call will emerge somewhere else in the EQ world.
- Establishes lore (permanent change to the world).
- The lore/world changes will be different/unique for every server.  

The video concluded with the mention of another SOE game called "Everquest Next Landmark, slated to be released later this year.  Here's a recap of this game:

- Everquest Next Landmark - (a SOE game that will be released later this year)
- Collection of persistent worlds
- Procedurally generated.
- Give the player all the tools to build the content (as long as customer service allows it).
- Everything in game is made of voxels. Can manipulate any voxel with insane detail.
- Player Studio (create assets, and put them up on market to sell to others.)
- Best player content will be implemented into EQ Next.

I worry that SOE, in an attempt to rush EQ Next to market, has created this "EQ Next Landmark" as a means to get players to create much of the content that will then be used for EQ Next.

In regards to EQ Next, I did like the lighting effects.  A landscape will look much different as the sun rises/sets/disappears.  Warm/cool.

I did not care for the "SOEmote", where your character's expression will change depending on the expression on your real world face.  I liken this to the /dance emoticon in other games.  Sure it's entertaining for a minute or two, but then becomes useless.

And finally, I did like the idea of their "heroic movement system".  This system allows you to vault over objects, slide down hills, teleport jump/leaps.  Gives some excitement when you have to run from point A to point B.

At the end of the day, EQ Next is remarkably similar to World of Warcraft in appearance.  If you ask me, I think SOE is trying to steal back World of Warcraft's customer base.

There are no levels in EQN, all of your progression will come from exploring the world, unlocking classes and experimenting with weapons and spells

This right here is something I have been really wanting from the moment I started playing MMO's.

I hope they can deliver on this vision. Seems like there is a lot of work to do yet.

Looks like action combat with no tab-target?

As for graphics the character models are cartoonish, there is a lot of time for our feedback to improve them, this is the one thing that has not impressed me. The environment looks great imo.

Of all the descriptors to be used for this, the last thing I expected was someone to compare this to WoW. I can't think of a fantasy game that is less like Warcraft than this.

> Of all the descriptors to be used for this, the last thing I expected was someone to compare this to WoW. I can't think of a fantasy game that is less like Warcraft than this.

The comparison to WoW is based on the character models and, to some extent, the environment - it has a very 'cartoonish' graphic style.  Other than that, yeah, this game is very different compared to WoW.

Jand

After watching the video mentioned in this thread, and seeing the cartoon-like character models and cartoonish environment, I had the overwhelming impression that they were trying to immitate World of Warcraft.  I'm not saying this is a bad thing.  (I'm not saying its a good thing either.).  

What I am saying is that the video mentioned that SOE was taking the best parts of other games and infusing them into EQ Next.  World of Warcraft did something right, as WoW converted many gamers from EQ/EQ2 to WoW. 

I did not say the game mechanics of EQ Next is anything similar to WoW; it's not.  The 4 holy grails (game mechanics) were very interesting.  Earlier this year, I posted a comment in a thread of my predictions for EQ Next.  So far, I've been right.  Time will tell if my prediction about EQ Next and the PS4 come true.

A multi-class system with at least 40 unique classes will make EverQuest Next something they want to play. 

EverQuest Next Class System Updates

• Goal is iconic abilities with new functionality.
• Warriors are destructive and strong.  Have a leap, whirlwind, and shield bash abilities.  Animations are inspired by the incredible hulk.
• Tempests are a storm themed class with two-handed swords and lightning effects.
• Classes must be fun to play and to look at.  Each class must have a personality.
• Class choice will determine your armor and weapon options.
• Weapon choice will determine which 4 weapon abilities you have.
• Classes that use the same weapons have different animations, enabling players to identify what class someone is playing by watching them move.
• Character ability types: movement, offensive, defensive and utilities.
• Progress earned on a specific class may be applied to any other class that a player has discovered – much like diverting AA experience currently.
• No dedicated tank or healer roles in group play.  Everyone is responsible for their own safety.  Combat model will not support that type of play.
• You can still play specific roles within combat, and some classes can be built to tend toward support, defensive, etc.
• Utility classes will be rewarded for their efforts.
• Players may customize their class by choosing abilities from any of the classes they currently possess.
• Example Classes: Blademaster, Rogue, Wizard, Tempest
• Character abilities are pick and choose, weapon abilities are not.
• A class is defined by armor type, weapons, and weapon abilities – those cannot be changed.
• A class also has four other abilities grouped by type (movement, defensive, offensive, utility) that can be swapped.
• Items often modify class abilities and make a difference in how you play.  Abilities + Items = Class Build.  Examples are Brain Burn, Teleport, Spell Reflect, and Stun.
• Emphasis will be on customizing your class with multi-class abilities.
• Players can name custom classes.
• Ranged abilities will “definitely have range.”
• Item releases compared to League of Legends champ releases and Magic’s sets.  Each changes strategies.
• Many abilities will not require a target – swing a long sword, hit anything in its way.  More action oriented.
• Raids do not require specific classes or roles, but there are some that are raid or dungeon crawl specific.
• “No specific role or pair of roles will be integral to unlocking the encounter,” but there will be group responsibility.
• “Did your best healer quit the guild?  No worries, it’s no longer going to be detrimental.  Time to move on.”
• Tactics are more important than roles.
• Newly added weapons will give the game more abilities.
• Many variations of pets: permanent and single fight.
• Player pets will also use the emergent AI system described in the EverQuest Next keynote.
• The combat style seen in the debut video is not the norm.  Those were highly advanced characters versus weak AI.
• Eight combined abilities is like choosing eight spell slots in EverQuest.
• There is no artificial limitation to the number of classes or abilities that you can collect.
• AI will not be tricked into fighting someone.  They will know how you are hurting them, and they will stop it.  You will want friends playing with you.
• Another goal: longevity.  Additional classes can be added after launch.
• Multi-classing reminding some of AA builds, mixing and matching situationally.
• Faction limitations are a possibility for race/class combinations.
• You don’t have to multi-class, and they will work to make sure classes are not useless in certain situations.

• Eight classes should* be available at the start of the game. SPECULATION: Warrior, Wizard, Rogue, Cleric, Druid, Ranger, Shaman, Enchanter.
• The roughly thirty-two other classes are" found" throughout the game (rewards for questing, adventuring, raiding, looting... ect)
• Classes will be continuously added to the game.
• You can switch at any time (while out of combat). And there won't be a limit  to the number of classes one character can collect (barring faction allegiances... ect) .
• "The Holy Trinity" is gone, there will no longer be traditional tank/healer/dps roles.
• Everyone is responsible for their own safety.
• You may advance another class without playing it IE: tier up your rogue while gaining experience on your warrior.

After the design team dropped the BOMB that tanks and healers wouldn't be required for raiding all hell broke loosing during the Q&A. And the VAST majority of questions asked were something to the tune of:

"I play a Tank/Healer, how are you going to incentivize support roles if they aren't required?"

"I play a Tank/Healer in Neverwinter/Guild Wars 2 and I am never picked in favor of DPS. Why will I be picked in EQN?"

"Ambiguous class roles destroy team work, how are you going to combat that?"

To which SOE creative director Jeff Butler replied:

“I think one thing that you’ll see from us and we’ll demonstrate this as we get deeper into combat, is that we have a very detailed and intricate plan for moving around and fighting. The NPCs are capable of executing strategy and tactics and you’ll require your own intricate tactics to overcome them. We are saying that no one specific role or pair of roles is required in unlocking the strategy to defeating an encounter. It’s not to say that we are walking away from roles and it’s certainly not to say we are walking away from responsibility, both personal strategic and tactical responsibility….

 Effectively we want every single person playing the game to have fun, I refuse to have my guild fall apart because one member doesn’t want to play anymore and he is our primary healer. This is a responsibility that we created as game developer and we are abandoning it, we are not going to put players through that, we have seen the damage it has caused over the past 15 years and we are moving past it with this design.”

Landmark update

Today’s EverQuest Next: Landmark Details

• Developers are building EverQuest Next with the same tools players will use in Landmark
• Players using Landmark will have an upkeep cost on the claimed area they are using.
• All players will have a simple character avatar; a scaled down version of an EverQuest Next avatar.
• Players may participate in multiple plots/land claims.
• Everyone who participates in a build gets credit/reward for their effort.
• After an item is built, it may be painted.  Brushes are adjustable.
• Players will be able to set up custom activity alerts about the builds they are participating in.
• Players may ‘tag’ and theme their builds so others can find what they are interested in.
• This tagging process will involve some browser and phone functionality and support.
• The player map is the gateway and portal to other builds.  Players will be able to queue up locations to visit.
• Players will be able to rate and subscribe to builders they like.
• Seasonal contests and challenges will be present.
• When players sell their builds, they are selling a blue print, not the object itself.
• Templates will help players build and are not meant just to be used in the Player Studio.
• Players can assign percentages of royalties to be paid to players who participate in their builds.
• No limit to what types of items players can build – Sci Fi, fantasy, modern, etc.
• There will be size limits on items.  No cities, can build villages and dungeons.
• Builds that make it into the actual EverQuest Next release will have to fit a specific theme, be consistent with lore.
• Retail price of EverQuest Next: Landmark – $0.00
• The first Landmark release will include buildings only, no flora or fauna.
• The Player Studio will be US only to begin.  They are working to expand further.
• No system requirements are available yet.
• The team is debating internally about the use of 3D software to be used alongside game tools.
• No Minecraft-style creative mode in Landmark.
• There will be some microtransactions, but ultimately very little for sale in Landmark

Additional Panel Details and News Gatherings

• The demo shown in the EQN debut was more of a tech demo; no enemy pathing, some were not fighting back.
• The land mass shown in videos may not be known as Antonica
• No zones, the world will be seamless
• Oceans are not in game yet, though the engine is capable of rendering fluids.
• Mining tunnels is in game and functions currently.
• Class progress can be limited by choice – a player cannot pursue Paladin and Shadow Knights paths, for instance.
• Rangers have been confirmed as a class.
• Bows are a weapon type.
• Combat will not be handled via auto-attack.  Similar to NeverWinter combat, but more advanced.
• Crafting comparable to that of Star Wars Galaxies, but more advanced.
• There is no experience granted for killing mobs, no grinding.  Combat and questing is handled as a series of objectives.
• There are more than two factions in the game, not simply good v. evil, Freeport v. Qeynos, etc.
• The game will be heavily gear dependent and crafted and dropped items will be of comparable value.
• Players can choose the style of their look – giant shoulderpads or not, scantly clad to Joan of Arc.
• Items have a sub component system allowing further customization of a specific armor set.
• All items will be “Bind on Equip” (or pickup, the author is unclear).
• Multiple servers with varying rule sets are possible, but undetermined at this point.

Not sure how I feel about the Holy Trinity being gone as I am not GW2 did the best job with it. I also didnt enjoy the agro issues in Neverwinter. Anyway some more stuff

http://www.reddit.com/r/EQNext/comments/1jm875/talked_to_darrin_lead_game_design_at_the_pool/

"

• There is NO XP from mob killing, no grinding, etc etc. Essentially what we're looking at is a set of objectives and how we go about completing those objectives will be up to us. It was said that one may be able to tier up without even having to fight." Say what?!? Hmm XP gone, not sure what I think about that!

Beta will be international

LORE

EverQuest Next Lore

• The lore of EverQuest Next will be a complete reboot of the franchise, drawing on the nostalgia of all previous EverQuest games, but providing distinct differences throughout.
• Consider it similar to the Star Trek film series reboot; retelling and reimagining EverQuest.
• They would like the lore to branch out beyond the game into books, etc.
• The team’s motto for how they will introduce lore to players is “show, don’t tell.” Trying to get away from only reading NPC text.
• As example, if a city has a problem with orcs, a player might find graffiti on a city wall telling them about the conflict.
• There will still be tons of lore that is accessible through dialogue and in books if players want it.
• Major characters will actively participate in the world.  You will not just be told that they are important.
• “Villains are people, too.”  Want villains to be truly hated by the player base (Editors note: Hello, Gynok Moltor).
• They want the game world to be a character as well.
• World built on 20,000 years of history comprised of 4 eras.
• The Dal Era covers 2,000 years.  Began with the Age of Ascension, until Elves learned advanced exploration (world spires, etc.).
• Alliances were formed with multiple races; Elves formed an alliance with dragons; the Age of Allies.  This is the Golden Age of Norrath.
• The Shissar betrayed the Elves and almost conquered the world.  They were eventually turned back by Elven allies.
• Leads to the Takish Age, filled with racial tension.  Elves are very suspicious.  Koada’Dal controlled magic and oppressed the dragon allies and draconian races, such as Kobolds.  The Dragons retreated to Velious.
• There is one race of Elves with multiple cultures within.
• The Sundering: Takish’hiz, the capital of the Takish Age, destroyed.  High magic was broken, civil wars set in.  Eventually, an unsteady peace resumed.  Ashfang replaced Takish’hiz.
• The Dragon War: Dragons were no longer concerned about the Elves, considered a score to settle.  Draconic armies marched on Faydwer.  The Combine Accord was created and fought back against the dragons.  Dragons conquered Faydwer, forcing the Combine forces to flee.  The last stand was made at Bastion, the last stand of the Teir’Dal.
• The Age of Exile ensued as the Combine fled to Kunark and remained enslaved by the Shissar for 500 years.
• The Iksar eventually aid the Combine, starting an uprising and drive the Shissar back.  The Iksar remain free, but maintain many of the ‘bad habits’ of their former captors.
• EverQuest Next begins with the Age of Heroes.  The Combine returns and forms the city of Qeynos.
• They arrive with nothing, and the city is similar to Mos Eisley in design; a type of ‘wild west.’
• How Qeynos evolves is now up to the players.
• Regarding religion, gods are a tangible influence.  They are not standing around as raid targets.
• No one has seen a god, only hold beliefs.
• The Seraphs: The Combine worships 8 gods, including a fresh take on the known EverQuest gods.  Drinal, Luclin,  Solusek, Mithaniel Marr, Karana, etc.  Several other changes.
• There are no purely good or bad gods.
• You will never be locked into the belief in a god.
• There will be no “!” or “?” floating over NPC’s heads in EverQuest Next
• Your choices will affect your options, but they are not irreversible.

Crafting

Crafting a Game World

• “You’re in our world now!” – “our” now meaning both the developers and players.
• The 2011 reset of the game design added constructible and destructible environments.
• Places in the game are now like different Lego themes.
• When texture resolutions increase and decrease, the process is blended with the hope that the player will not notice the change.
• There will be no harvesting nodes.  The world is built with resources, and resources are found where you would expect them to be.
• Harvesting should be more fun and is used as a way to encourage exploration.
• Crafting: Players will make most of the items in EverQuest Next.
• Anything that is made may be broken down into the resources that were used to make it.
• There will be a large inventory to decrease going back and forth between storage.
• The game world heals itself after being ‘destroyed.’  The current limit is 5 minutes, though subject to change.
• No comment on a death mechanic, but lava is dangerous.
• Part of EverQuest Next’s huge game world is the verticality of its design, the depth of the game continents.

Round table polls already up on EQ nest site

During the EverQuest Next Debut panel for SOE Live, a new community program called Round Table was announced for EverQuest Next and EverQuest Landmark. Since the new EQN site is now live, we have the first four questions available to answer. Choose wisely as our opinions will help impact the game itself! You can vote here on the new Round Table page.

• To what degree should players be able to change the appearance of armor?
• Should female dwarves have beards or not?
• How complex should the Landmark design tools be?
• Should the Ratonga be in EverQuest Next?

This game is definitely worth watching.

The games new implemented things like destruction are  some very attractive  new editions to the  MMO market. The huge unfortunately thing is to me the graphics took a HUGE step backwards from the eq2 days . One thing I totally hated  about wow was the stupid cartoon look. It seems Eqnext took the easy way out and dumbed down the graphics if you compare  videos from eq2 with those of Eqnext you can truly see just how pathetic the graphics are in Eqnext.

I think on the graphics front you have to make a choice the increase in particle effects that can come from everything now will have an impact on performance. Unlike EQ2 where that isn't an issue you can jackup the character graphic. EQ2 even today maxing out all setting can push the highest end gaming rig. So to add that level of detail plus all the added particle effects could really limit the people that could play this game.  This is just speculation on my part it could be that this style of graphics just appeals to a larger audience. It almost seems like they are going for the disney animation look on the characters. The armor details we have seen so far look great as far as their detail goes so that is a plus. The world graphics look great so no complaints there but I agree I prefer EQ2 character models.

With everything else this game seems to be able to do if this is the only issue for me I'll have no problem making this my game of choice.

The graphics choice is one of longevity. Making awesome, ultra-realistic graphics limits your subscriber base due to creating high system requirements. It also makes the game age quickly because the quality of graphics is constantly improving. Making dramatic, more artistic cell-shaded graphics broadens your customer base by allowing even the worst computers to run the game. It is also an ageless graphics style because it does not depend on technology improving.

I love the graphics style of EQNext already. Not sure I'm entirely sold on the environments yet, but the character models look great. I'd say the graphics in EQNext are somewhere between WoW and Borderlands - gritty and real like Borderlands, but far more detailed and not to the "Sunday comics" level of WoW. Both BL and WoW were immensely successful, so I think EQNext has the right idea.

As far as the npc AI ,  org EQ npc AI  back in 1999 is still better then a lot of games npcs AI made today .

Mobs ran if low on hp unless undead and even then  some mobs ran, mobs assisted each other, mobs would use their best spells, ablities just like a player would,

 Heal  each other, buff , debuff players, mez or charm player characters etc  unlike most games today where the npc mob AI is  bad ,  they bascily just let you kill them .

 Games need to bring back a death penalty  other then a armor repair , most players in EQ  were good players  and because of a  harsh death penalty it made them even better players because people would push the limits of their ablity to avoid death at all cost ...  unlike games today where death is a means of fast travel . or people sucide across a zone until they die  to map out a zone haha .

  Open world dung while at times  could be annoying most of the time they were great , some of my best friends in Eq i meant in a open dug, clearing to a camp to rez their corpses etc hehe .

    I will be keeping an eye on this game. Thank you for al the updates

  Open world dung while at times  could be annoying most of the time they were great , some of my best friends in Eq i meant in a open dug, clearing to a camp to rez their corpses etc hehe .

Castle Mistmoore: the original HARD MODE

I was an original EQer from Day 1 when the game was released.  I hope Sony can pull this off but it seems MMO fans over the last few years have been let down and let down every time a new MMO is released.  None of them seem to be able to develop the kind of staying power that the original EQ1 (and later WoW) had.  Server drama, guild vs competition, server politics, individual reputation/infamy, etc were all things that made EQ1 unique.

One thing that a lot of people may not know about EQ1 was that it pretty much forced you to group with other players in order to do anything.  Only a couple of classes could solo and even then it was risky and required some skill.  Every MMO since EQ1 has catered to solo play which means most of the content is easy.  EQ1 was all about skill and teamwork especially in dungeons.  I hope EQ Next follows that formula that made EQ1 so challenging.  

I was a ranger in EQ1. I could solo. And what I couldn't solo, I would two or three box "solo" lol (enchanter and shaman on my other accounts).

Some classes could solo, but soloing in EQ1 meant you were kiting the mobs around and avoiding getting hit.  soloing did not mean going toe to toe with a mob.  Almost all soloing consisted of snaring or rooting the mob or using a pet to tank it.  For those who didn't play EQ1 but have played later MMOs, regular mobs in EQ1 (both outdoors and in dungeons) were like elite mobs in WoW, Rift, etc dungeons.  

I hope they can deliver what was shown. This could be as groundbreaking (hehe) as EQ was...well when first released. Keeping my fingers crossed but I don't really trust SOE a lot.

http://www.eqnexus.com/2013/08/soe-live-everquest-next-panel-videos/

All panels posted in one place plus Q&A. I am totally stoked for this game. I wish we had a ETA. Yes EQ Landmark will be out early 2014 but NEXT could be out 2015 for all we know and much like ESO has fallen in interest of many gamers so will EQ:(

Landmark is due this winter!

EQ next will launch 2014 landmark Dec 2013

I'm glad to see some EQNext discussion going on here. I just finished watching the Reveal videos and am cautiously excited about it (and I never played any previous EQ games).

I have been playing eq2 since launch and played eq1 since around the time LDoN released (when I discovered MMOs).  I am waiting to see what SOE has on the horizon.   I am curious to see how this class system is going to work.  I like the idea of no grind, being able to switch classes.  Right now, one of my biggest peeves with eq2 is starting over again when I am sick of a class.  Starting back at lvl one, no gear, tons of spells/CAs/Gear to upgrade (most of lower lvl gear is obsolete at that point).  I mean at lvl 95 my Defiler has 5 hotbars, so does the coercer and my warden and dirge (warden and dirge are in their 80s).  I don't even use half of the spells, but need access in a hurry should we have to have water breathing (priest) or some other utility.  I do like the simplicity of GW2 with the no healer....and the limited CA/Spells.   

I still have an active sub but don't play often at all.  I am lucky if I login once a week. More like once every few weeks.....

Will be interested to see where this game is heading in development.  Thanks for posting.