Everquest 2: Part three of GamerGod interview with the Dev Team.

GamerGod has released part three of their Dev Team interview, lot of great information coming now as we close in on release!

by Staff on 08/04/2004
GamerGod: The EverQuest II development team has stated a few times that this is not "EverQuest"... that more casual gamers will feel empowered and enjoy this game much more than the heavy "uber guild"-dependent namesake. Can you give us a few examples of what a casual player will be able to do to keep up with in this game and help them feel a part of the community, on a par with the folks who spend day and night in game?

EQ2 Dev Team: Our main goal has been to ensure that players logging in for short blocks of time have plenty of options available to immediately feel that they're making visible progress in the game. Some of the ways we accomplish this are by providing ample solo content for all classes, opening up the artisan archetype to all players, and by allowing advancement within the social structures of the player's home city.

That said, advancement in this type of game does depend on a certain time investment. The players who invest many hours into the game will be able to acquire even greater rewards.

GamerGod: EQ is vast now, after seven expansions. How many of the old zones have been planned for release that we will recognize as being a part of today's EQ? Also, how many new ones will we not recognize?

EQ2 Dev Team: The cities of Qeynos and Freeport, as well as the zones of Antonica, Thundering Steppes, Commonlands, Nektulos Forest, and more are based on locations familiar to EverQuest players. We've introduced many twists and turns to make these locations fresh and new, and have also introduced new zones such as Nektropos Castle, Stormhold, and the Wailing Caves. I'm not going to list every location, though, because that's something we want players to explore and discover on their own.

GamerGod: Can we look forward to the Bazaar being available during launch?

EQ2 Dev Team: We won't have a single marketplace zone like the Bazaar in EQ. Merchants will be spread throughout the cities, and there will be separate markets for each city as well as a "black market" that shuttles goods between them.

GamerGod: With every race being able to play any class, can we assume that because of "stats" many classes will still remain in certain races for the "edge" their race bonuses give? Or is that all a thing of the past?

EQ2 Dev Team: Having high scores in key stats will provide an advantage to certain race/class combinations. However, our design goal has been to make all stats meaningful so that well-rounded characters will also have advantages of their own.

GamerGod: Will there be a "zone bonus'" like we saw in EQ? Or will that be something added over time, as we saw with EQ?

EQ2 Dev Team: We have the ability to change the experience modifiers of each zone. More challenging areas are designed to offer the greatest rewards.