I was browsing Steam games awhile back (and refusing to buy anything; have to play all the dreck I have already bought and never played) when I noticed a different entry – Everquest 2.
Having played the game forever, and seeing it on Steam, meant that it was time to download it and give it a try once again. Same with Lord of the Rings Online. So I let Steam do its thing over the next couple of days and download both games and update them. Lord of the Rings, however, has yet to be opened.
EQ2 is quite a bit of fun still, the game that I needed at the moment. It’s very familiar, thoroughly polished, and I know it backwards and forwards. So I dived in and tried to figure out all the mammoth changes; I keep an eye on things via TAGN posts but otherwise I haven’t thought about the game for (checks blog) right about 3 years.
The current incarnation of EQ2, run by Daybreak instead of Sony (To the extent that’s its a real change and not just a name) includes three levels of account access. I think. That’s part of the reason for this post, the actual rules do not appear to be published somewhere I can access them.
It appears there are 3 levels of accounts in EQ2. Free, Silver, and Gold. Free is anyone signing up for the first time – makes sense. Silver appears to be anyone previously in a Gold account, or former subscriber from back in the old days. Gold is anyone paying $15 a month.
Why would you want to get a Gold account ? One would think this would be an obvious, and clear choice; one would be wrong. A few features are prominently displayed whenever I log in :
- 500 Daybreak cash (DBC) currency per month (Nice)
- Ability to sell items on the broker (SUPER NICE!)
- 10% Discount on the premium store items (Feh)
- Five additional character slots (Hmmm)
- Exclusive In Game Items ! (???)
I have not been able to figure out what the “Exclusive In Game Items” are. The character slots are a mixed bag, since if you let your gold account lapse, those five characters are now lost to you until you resubscribe. Plus, I have plenty of characters already (7 unlocked, 1 locked). It feels like the character slot unlocks are a better deal.
The broker, now. I love the broker. Always did, always will. It’s a fun marketplace for items and gives you the chance to make money with enough effort, or a few coins with very little effort; and of course you can buy most anything your heart desires – and your wallet can afford. So for me, the broker is the real draw for Gold access.
Other reasons are not displayed. I could only find one.
- Ability to change the XP / AA slider
This is more useful than it might first appear. Number one, I forget how all the AA’s work and the additional ones that have appeared after I quit; and number two, I’d like to get Tez up to level 100 (the new max level). The slider, for Silver accounts, is set at 50/50.
But I have resisted. I usually subscribe to EQ2, then quit playing, and waste my money. I hate doing that. But what I did note is the price of plat, and therefore wondered about the wisdom of paying to sell on the broker.
It costs $15 to place items for sale on the broker for one month; that is, for that month you can place items to sell. They can sit there forever after and not sell, finally selling after six months, but you cannot place new ones after the month. Plat prices on the grey / illegal market however are around $15 for 300k platinum. I could not resist, and I am now sitting on a hoard of plat. More than I could ever have gathered playing the game.
But prices are inflated too. These used to go for less than 10 plat.
I burned 2,000 DBC on unlocking two additional slots; everyone is unlocked except for my Heroic character from 3 years ago, who I never played – Level 85 Dwarf Guardian. The tradeskill XP comes fast and furious; with Vitality you can gain a level from a single writ, without it will take maybe 5. I seem to recall it taking a lot longer back in the day.
So I play, and enjoy. Tez is still questing; I want him to ding 100 so that a +20% XP bonus kicks in; same for Tlaloc the provisioner; and I’ll continue to look for the reasons / or not reasons/ why one would purchase a gold account.
To Game For Life 