Occasionally I get a tell from a cleric I know in world who keeps saying I need more rants. Last night I again responded 'there is nothing new. EQ has been the same for the past 7 months' (since Kunark release). He responded 'but that's a good thing'.
While it's true some amount of predictability is good, stagnation is not. EQ is in a state of stagnation. I predict Velious will give us nothing new. In fact from the screenshots I've seen, and articles I've read, it's just the same old monsters with new faces.
Here is the thing; those of us who were around when dinosaurs roamed Norrath remember when Soulsek temple didn't exsist. We remember it wasn't even a hole in the wall. When it was added, it added a new dimension to EQ. Lots of quests for each class, new class questable armor for all. The key; it broke the mold. You now had something to gain other than by a means of "kill, rest, repeat". Well, sad news folks, I highly doubt we will see a change break the mold like that again for a long time.
Summary / Solution / Truth
EQ is stagnating. I don't care what you say, it's going to take a lot of work to break it's new mold. Here is why:
The current EQ fomula is "kill, rest, repeat" any quest you do, at some point will involve this.
I personally have a problem with this.
I also have a problem with 'epic' quests taking dosens of players. I heard from a friend that a paladin he knows now has his FA at 35 th. What's to stop this from being 20 th? or 10 th ? Where does personal achievment go with rewards based on raids? (This is a rhetorical question, it doesn't, personal achievement is removed when you require the help of others.)
Lets analize other media for a moment.
Some of my favorite TV shows are; Buffy, Angel, Farscape and (Stargate) SG-1.
Not one single show revolves around loot. I remember Buffy got a very cool looking axe from a Demon plane. SG-1 has Zat guns which are very useful, yet they prefer their own equipment.
The common draw is that you get to see a familiar factor (the characters) in an unfamiliar environment. The draw is not the loot, but the newness of the adventure and the places they go. When do shows get less interesting, have a lower draw? When they repeat adventures. Ever watch Ally McBeal? How about Voyager? Cool, but I can miss a show and not freak out. The reason; they both often use the same scenery repeatedly. They don't delve too deeply into the characters, but more simply have them interact with each other and gain humor and amusement from that interaction.
How about music; seen TRL on MTv, or listen to the radio? I haven't lately. Same reason. I was very into TRL a few weeks ago. They would play songs I liked but I wouldn't know when that would be. There was familiarity, but also variation.
EQ has been the same since the opening of Solusek. It's made minor improvements since then, but to keep us interested there gonna need something big.
A massive graphical face lift, something on the order of Soul Calibur for the dreamcast. Faster graphical manipulation a-la Rune.
Maybe a better fixed reward structure. Items That are easily attained, but have level restrictions and are no drop. Or maybe more god, or even race specific items.
Quests which bring up puzzle screens, being logic, not spawn, or delivery driven.
These are the kinds of things that will breathe new life into the game.
But then again, as we near a 2 nd birthday for EQ I'm sure the execs are amazed and impressed some of us have been there for "the full ride".
Sure, I'm still playing, but it's only because of nights like last night *. The game itself is unchanged.
* - Last night of 2 hours playing I was only on about 1.5 hrs, but in that time rezed 4 people, making them very happy, changing an otherwise ungainful night.