Played Lately: Everquest 2

• I took it as a personal challenge when Exeter from LootBot3000 said I should say "Hi" to him in Everquest 2 the next time I was in the game. How rude!, I thought. Doesn't he know how many alts I have to level in WoW ? Or how about my warden in LotRO, languishing at level 40? I'm supposed to abandon them for a third game? I was so affronted that I promptly reactivated my account, rolled a new Wizard on the Antonia Bayle server, and set out to give him a piece of my mind.


• Why a wizard? Though this may seem obvious, but I really like playing spellcasters in these games. That has not always been the case. When I play the two times prior, I tried a swashbuckler and a warden. Neither of those, you can guess, are magicians. Since my main in WoW is a mage, I thought I should see how EQ2 handles a similar class. And thus, I have a wizard.


• Since you get a choice of starting areas, I chose Gorowyn. I started a character there previously and knew it was a smooth and fun experience. Sure enough, it was just as easy to jump into as I remembered. Timorous Deep is so streamlined that those first twenty level absolutely flew by. Actually with all the bonus experience I got, I ended up at level twenty-four before I exhausted every quest I could find.


• From Gorowyn, I followed the breadcrumb trail to the Butcherblock Mountains. I jumped on the back of a griffon and flew off, even though that zone is on an entirely different land mass. I bet that bird-thing was tired afterward. Butcherblock was the zone I floundered in during my prior attempt to play. Part of that is my general unfamiliarity with EQ2. Part is that while Timorous Deep is solo-only, but Butcherblock is based on the older EQ2 model of group-friendly content. Part is that the mobs are so tightly packed in most cases that I end up in some neverending battle as mobs stream into my fights. And part is that wizards are the very definition of squishy.


• At this point, as much as I enjoy that start, I'm at the gritting my teeth and pushing through for newer content. Or at least something that recaptures the feel of those first levels.


• As for Exeter, I waited till I hit level 15 before saying anything. I didn't want to roll a level 1 alt and leave it at that. I have some pride, you know.