Class

Alright, today is the conclusion of my discussion of Scott's Producer's Letter. I am going to focus on the proposed changes to the Archetype system.

The original Archetype system was a good idea in concept. A player comes to an island as a mage. As she learns about her power, she decides she is more in tune with the elements and likes dealing damage so she naturally follows the path of the sorcerer. Upon learning the arts of the sorcerer, she finds she enjoys blasting many enemies at once, leading her to grow into a warlock.

Again, a great idea, in concept. And I certainly don't blame the people who came up with it. I likely would have suggested something similar.

But in a practical sense, it just doesn't work. When I was leveling up my Mage I had not the slightest clue of what playing a Necromancer would be like. On my fighter alt, I don't have the foggiest idea of how it feels to play a Paladin or a Bruiser. And doing that quick quest in which you "feel out" each class certainly didn't shed any real light on it.

You don't know what it's like to be an Illusionist until you're actually out there mezzing a bunch of mobs. And some five minute quest is not going to change that.

What's more, when I rolled up an alt, I really wanted to play a Coercer. But I said to myself, "Do I really want to go through the same levels I just went through again?" No way. I ended up going with a Scout just because I wanted variety.

Most players know what they want their final class to be when they start their character. I'd say it is the vast majority. And you want to play that character, not a generic fighter or mage. It's so much more fun. I know there must be a few who don't know what final class they want to play and I'm not saying that's a bad thing. But even for them the new system works because they can get a much clearer feel of how each class plays under the new system. If you're going to get bored with mezzing, better find out at level 5 then level 25.

I fully support the new system because I feel it will not only greatly improve the replayability of EQII but be a better introduction for new players.

But even better, there's a bonus. It sounds like the changes will also include a ton of new content with different islands for good and evil along with "all new population, rewards, quests, and goals." Scott also mentions a "lot more involvement with your racial background through quests and lore," something I feel is extremely lacking in the current game. There is absolutely nothing in the game to make me feel like a High Elf or a Troll other than the visual look and a few NPC's in the starter towns. Anything rectifying this would be fantastic. A quick comment: Don't stop there. Why not add racially specific quests at the higher levels?

I can't wait to roll an alt under this new system. Heck, I'll roll a bunch and actually get a feel for every class without having to go through hundreds of levels.

The betrayal quest will remain in existence as outlined here.

As you can tell from yesterday's post and today's, I'm quite excited about what we have to look forward to in EQII (but don't worry, I haven't lost my critical edge - I have a few negative posts waiting in the wings).

One final note. For both the PvP and the new Class system, I strongly urge that SOE not roll these out at the same time as the expansion. For one, I hated the way the combat changes and DoF were lumped together. Also, I feel these new changes will give players a lot of new stuff to do which is perfect for the lulls between expansions. At the risk of repeating myself, I would also prefer to wait for the PvP until it is very well balanced, rather than have it sooner.

But on the other hand, I can't wait to see this stuff. And I haven't felt that way about EQII in a while.