Agnarr! Should You Try It? (EQ)

Over the weekend Dire and I managed to hit 25 on the new EverQuest Agnarr server. After playing halfway to the current cap of 50, I have to say that this is a server that we will be playing on. But, there always is a but, with many things to consider. Once expansions unlock I think it will be better time spent because of various considerations of how the game plays, content available and mechanics which all can be pretty time consuming. Interested in my thoughts overall on the server? Read on.

Agnarr is not quite classic EverQuest, but if you want to play on an official server that mimics classic this is your best bet. While not as hardcore as Project 99, an emulated unofficial version up to Velious, it still is the best option while supporting the EQ franchise simply because it will go up to PoP with LDOn and LoY. That was the golden era in my eyes. Though I still do play current EverQuest, those were where all the memories were made, where the game formed a shape in my mind. If you missed out on classic EQ then you do get to see the lands included in launch, experience groups in this era, barter in the EC Tunnel, (which is now the Commonlands, as they are merged into one zone), for the next three months. If you were there and need a hit of nostalgia, it's great for that too.

Groups are filled with a lot of returning players, if you are in the slower paced leveling group. I think all the power players are close to cap or have already hit it. Forums say it is nasty once there because of camp stealing and greedy players rolling need on everything, because you know, everyone needs Krono, or so they say. However, we had some really fun groups. But this is EverQuest and the groups can last a long time, with a lot going on, this did start to fatigue Dire. There is also the need vs greed issue. You need to establish which the group is doing. We had people needing everything in our first group, leaving us with nothing to sell. I have never seen this in EQ, ever.

But all is not bad. There is some real fun to be had here. Lots of memories. Lots of laughs. This is a great place to play if you want to see how things were as far as travel and places to group, back in the day. We had a real blast the first three days. It was really an experience I will always treasure, I absolutely loved being there from the start. I think joining at anytime though will still hit that sweet spot of a more classic era, even once everything is unlocked. There are certain things only available now, such as the pre-nerf Guise of the Deceiver, it should be available until Kunark. I am guessing the Circlet of Shadow possibly? Places to solo and duo are limited due to a limited number of zones released in classic, but they are there. Groups are the place to be for leveling though, and we enjoyed the chance at finding groups in zones we had not grouped in for over a decade. At one point we say almost EIGHTY /pick zones up for Unrest!

However there is a lot to consider. Mages are great solo classes, and here too, until around 20. Pets basically have zero AC and get beat down quickly. They will get a bump in Luclin, then once LDoN hits, they will be un-nerfed. Soloing and duoing here is possible but not efficient. So grouping is the best option. The XP is slow, but that is not a bad thing. I play on FV server, which has a boost, and I could get a character to 25 several times faster, and it feels too fast sometimes. I like the pace of Agnarr, but that was also with an xp weekend. I did like taking things slow, feeling that those spells I was grabbing would do me well for a ways. And speaking of spells, there are many intelligence caster spells that are only player made. Some of these are being sold for a steep price, another thing to consider. If you want to make them yourself, you could do that with time invested. If not you are going to pay and pay well. Which kind of rubs me the wrong way because while this is the classic experience, these are not all the same helpful people. I have seen people already telling others to mail them money and then not send a spell in return. Don't do anything without a trade window!!! I don't like buying spells from people at all, which is my biggest turn off here, simply because the economy is ruined from the start due to greedy players. It is going to take time to balance out, I think it will once Luclin hits with the Bazaar, that is still a ways off.

Economy, where do I even start. This server, like all servers, allows Krono to be sold for plat or traded with other players for gear. The problem here is there is a massive amount of people here to only farm Krono and they are trading items for multiple Krono (these Krono cost 20$ a pop!). The thing is these items will be flooded into the market only to devalue as the server goes on, in three months they will hugely devalued, almost to the point of being useless to most current content, they will never go up in value. People need to think long and hard and be patient on how they sell/trade Krono. There are far more people buying than selling, the sellers need to keep that in mind. I saw people selling them for TEN plat the first night. So, for now, the economy here is terrible. Cruddy items are being sold for far more than they will ever be worth, mostly in the rush to grab up Krono. There are still people selling things for decent prices, these get snapped up fast though.

Don't get me wrong, I love this server and the whole idea that goes with it. I just want to put out some things I learned while playing here. It is so awesome to see the old world so full of people. The tunnel in the Commonlands is bursting with people, it really warmed my heart to see this. Every time I run through on a normal server I feel a little bit sad, this is how I remember it used to be. Overall people are nice. I helped people find places, gave some advice when asked and just had a good time. If you are on the fence, I'd say try it, but if you are strapped for time maybe consider playing it after an expansion or few have unlocked. These will unlock every three months. By next year, around Oct, they should all be unlocked. It won't be the same but there will be improvements and people wanting to start up in Kunark and Luclin too.

This server really made me fall in love with what EQ is all over again, that is something that is very hard to do. You know where to go to level, do you know where to get these nifty little items that were so great in classic though? The best places to farm a few plat? Little things that make you feel lost again, but in a good way. Smaller than the world, not the hero, but one of many heroes on this journey. I am very excited about the server in the long run. It is truly an experience that I am glad I will be part of. This is the first time locked progression server I have really taken much part in, other than popping in for Fippy in 2011. I applaud the team for releasing this server, as it has been asked for over and over. It was a huge success for the launch and I think it will continue to be.

Where do we stand playing here? For now we will be playing on weekends mostly, at least until more content unlocks. For us, that just works best, Once everything opens up I think we'll have a lot of playtime racked up on this server with a whole new roster of alts. It it worth trying? I hope maybe I could help share some insight of what the server is like, how it will take time to build a better economy, and maybe if this is or is not the time for you to start in. I would advise logging in and playing to six or ten at least, you can solo very easily and check out the world, 'listen' to the busy chat, check some places, basically have a character there for when you are ready to play. Plus, you can grab a name while it is still early!