Old EQ player New to the Server

[Sabersyi]

Hi All

I started playing EQ some time in may of 1999 and played till around that time in 2005. I really enjoyed the game a lot the first few years and then it started to lose its luster. The game had just changed so much the last few years I played to the point that it just wasn’t the same game for me any more.

I moved on to other games like EQOA, EQ2, D&D online, GW, and yes WoW. They all had good and bad things about them, but not one of them has given me that feeling I had the first few years that I played EQ. I just wish I could get that feeling back once again J.

I liked the old days when you needed to get somewhere you had to run, take a boat, or get a port from a Druid or Wizard.

The only real down sides to EQ in my opinion was it took forever to level and raids taking 70 or more people to do them.

I feel WoW is set on supper easy mode, which is really boring, but I do like the ideas they have for 5 man instances and 10 man raids.

Are there vary many players on this server?
How long has the server been around?
Are there a lot of hackers or hacking going on?

I would just like to hear some insight about the server from players who have played EQ retail and who have been playing on this server as well.

Thanks for your time and insight.
Gyirosyi

 

[Cyzaine]

1 Are there vary many players on this server?
2 How long has the server been around?
3 Are there a lot of hackers or hacking going on?

1) We usually peak during US raid times (after work on the pacific coast specifically), and thats around 550 people or so. The number of those boxed is a point of debate (we legally allow any player to run a MAX of 2 characters at once), but its very rarely more than 25%.

2) Someone more knowledgeable then me can answer this, but we've been around in one form or another for years... I've personally been here 3 and it certainly existed for a few years before that. I'm embarrassed I don't have an actual number handy.

3) Are there hackers? Yes they exist. Are we vicious when we find them? Forum search for Banfest if you are bored sometime. We have a number of tools we use to help catch hackers, and everyone makes a mistake sooner or later.

 

[Volga]

Gyirosyi,

You sound exactly like me dude.. exactly...

I've only been here for a couple days and I'm still trying to decided on which duo I wanna box. From what I can tell there are quite a few folks on and surprisingly it's not all end game. I see folks LFG and LFM in all level ranges which was a surprising shock to me.

As to your questions ...

I haven't seen less than 200 online yet
No idea,
No idea but from what I read - they take a lot of measures to counter bots etc..

 

[cats74]

I have been playing for 2 years or so. Left for 1 year in the middle. And I love this place..
Although I don't have any 65's, I don't often sit lfg when I want one, and there is never any sitting in one place waiting hours for a spot to become available in group. The gm's respond within a decent amount of time to legitimate /petitions, and they run the server legit.
The ability to 2box makes some hunting at least possible when you either can't find, or don't want a group, if you pick the combo of charcters well. I actually didn't have the hard a time with a Shammy/Enc box, but it is a hard box, I will say that.
In short, I am sure you will love it here. Oh yes, and the monthly cost is outstanding for what you get.
I am sure you will love it here. I have found that friendly folk are sometimes hard to find, but such is part of any MMORPG I think. But will say you can always find a friendly folk at my guild. Do a /who all Moontree and send one of us a tell. We quite the friendly bunch at Moontree. Mind you the fact the guild was started for the sole purpose of helping out new players. So on behalf of Moontree, welcome, and we hope you decide to stay. And consider participating in our event. The prize is a complete set of gear! Check out these threads for more info.
http://forum.shardsofdalaya.com/showthread.php?t=20307
http://forum.shardsofdalaya.com/showthread.php?t=20378

Hope to see you there at the event!

 

[Merrin]

I'm very much the same way. I started EQ in 1999, and no other game has ever given me the same feeling except for shards. While only about 5% of the content here is the same as EQ Live, I find it to be a very enjoyable difference. Leveling here is much faster, there is a ton of raid content (I have a 65, but I haven't done any of it, except for adepts), the devs are dedicated to optimizing and protecting the original content and the players. I think the server has been around for 7 or 8 years, and there has only been one expansion. The rules are zero tolerance for the most part, but if you adhere to them I think you'll find them more than fair.

 

[Akom]

I am in almost exactly the same boat, Gyirosyi. I got a craving for the old EQ and while poking around my old EQ Server forums (Ayonae.ro) someone suggested SoD.

So far, I love it. I got a couple of my friends who used to play to play with me.

If you do end up playing, do yourself a favor and go to the Wiki and do some reading. At the very least read the Game Mechanics and Differences Between Live and SoD topics. They've implemented some very cool features that you should know about from the get-go.

 

[hikage]

Hi Gyirosyi. Here's my perspective on the game:

I played live from the beginning in 1999 until around planes of power expansion (2002/2003?). I began playing here in late 2005. SoD captures the feel of live up to Velious incredibly well. However keep in mind this is a completely different game-- this is all custom content. An entirely different world, and different lore (tons and tons of lore actually.) There are similarities to live, but they are very basic at best-- such as some zone connections (although many are different here,) and things like expecting to find gnolls in blackburrow. That said, all the custom content is amazing.

There's quite a few developers, and gm's who donate their time to actively work on maintaining the game, and create new content. Although this is a free server, and the staff doesn't make a dime from it, the experience rivals that of games produced by for-profit studios.

The combination of an active staff maintaining the game, a good player base, the classic EQL feel, and completely new lore/content makes for a pretty awesome experience. I absolutely loved my time playing live; it was unforgettable. However I think the time I've spent in SoD far surpasses the enjoyment I received playing live.

Regarding your questions-- like others have said, at peak time you can expect to see nearly 600 people online. Disregarding the huge purge of macroquest offenders being banned (aka Banfest 2009), I don't know how much hacking goes on. At least not enough to ever affect my gameplay. I don't see people speedhacking or anything like that, the staff is pretty awesome at catching people breaking the law. As for how old the server is? I think it's been around since maybe 2003, although I'm not entirely sure when it first began. It used to be called Winter's Roar, and changed to Shards of Dalaya at one point due to legal issues which I don't know the entire story of.