World of Warcraft Versus Everquest II

In the world of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs), there are literally hundreds of games to choose from. However, there are a few that really stand out because of their high quality and high fun factor. One of these is Sony's Everquest 2, the sequel to Everquest, the first hugely popular MMORPG in the US. Another is Blizzard's juggernaut, World of Warcraft, which currently has over 8 million subscribers worldwide. This article is for those players new to the genre, (often called "newbies" by experienced players) who want to choose what game to play, and need help deciding.

Both games are based in Tolkien-esque fantasy worlds, with elves, orcs and dragons. To play them requires a subscription, both of which cost around 15 dollars per month. This ongoing subscription fee is in addition to the original purchase price of the game.

One thing that entices some players to a game is the graphics. People do not want to play a game that doesn't look good to them, regardless of the content. Some people prefer very realistic, serious graphics, while others like a cartoonier, cutesy feel to their games. While there are some who don't care much either way, others will be swayed to a game merely by a single screenshot.

The graphics between these two games, Everquest 2 and World of Warcraft, are very dissimilar. Everquest 2 has a very realistic feel to it, with more subtle, earthy tones and colors, and more genuine looking textures. Everquest 2 strives to be more serious, graphics wise. World of Warcraft, on the other hand, has a brighter, less realistic, more fantasized color scheme to it, less subtle textures, and many more cutesy character. For instance, the Gnomes of World of Warcraft are large eyed, baby looking creatures. Everquest 2, on the other hand, has gnomes looking like grizzled short people. One small thing I've noticed is that graphical flaws are more noticeable in EQ2. Similar visual bugs in WoW often go unnoticed because of the stylized nature of its graphics. In balance, both games look great in their own right.

Some people play MMORPGs for the questing aspect of the game. This often includes slaughtering various nefarious monsters (whether they are the Evil Demon who wants to destroy the world or a lowly orc pawn) and completing tasks (some large, grand quests, such as finding the Legendary Sword for destroying said Evil Demon, and some that are a little less grand, such as collecting rat tails. Why they want rat tails, I don't want to know!).

World of Warcraft has a large amount of quests throughout the many areas of the game. Some of these are serious; some are extremely funny, with tons of pop culture references. The thing about the quests in World of Warcraft is that although there are a fair amount of large quest chains that have to do with the overarching plot, most quests chains are smaller, sometimes single, self contained quests that have little to nothing to do with the world plot. Also, it is very difficult to get to the highest level with quests alone. You would have to do some "grinding" (fighting groups of monsters over and over until you are at the level you need to be).

Everquest 2, on the other hand, also has many quests (more than World of Warcraft), but the main difference is that most quests in Everquest 2 are in long chains (finish a quest, the guy tells you to go to another guy, do his quest) that explain much of the plot and history of the different areas, and usually each quest chain will show you a new area or two, including special instanced dungeons (personal copies of the same dungeon for your group, so you don't encounter anyone trying to get your Evil Demon. Or your orc, for that matter.). Also, it is possible to achieve the highest level with quests alone, and barely have scratched the surface of the world's quest lines.

Another popular feature of many MMORPGs is PVP (Player vs. Player). This is handled in slightly different ways in Everquest 2 and World of Warcraft. For the most part, characters are divided up into two different factions, and the players from opposite factions can attack each other.

One of the differences is in how they are divided. In World of Warcraft, your race decides your faction. If you choose to play an Orc, you will be in the Horde faction, but if you choose a Gnome, then you will be part of the Alliance. No matter what, no questions asked, no changing.

Everquest 2, on the other hand, is a little bit looser about the factions. The factions are, basically, good and evil. Some of the races are good, some of them bad. A few others, on the other hand, can choose which they want to be. Not only that, but you can do a quest to defect to the other side, although it is hard to do.

In World of Warcraft, some servers are designated as PVP servers, which means that no matter what, someone on one faction can attack someone from the opposite faction, no questions asked. On the other servers, however, you can only PVP like that if you activate an option on yourself. That way, no one is being killed by high level PK's (player killers) as they are trying to get their rat tails or other quest items.

Player vs. Player in Everquest 2 works similar, at first glance. Communication is limited to your own faction, as is grouping, and members of the opposite faction can and will kill you. One difference is that only those within a certain level range can kill you, depending on the zone. The higher level zones have wider level ranges, so the higher level the area, the more people who'll be able to kill you. PVP in Everquest 2 feels more like an afterthought; it was really not designed as a PVP game. If PVP is what you enjoy, then World of Warcraft has the clear edge.

Crafting is another big reason people play an MMORPG. Trade skills involve the collection of raw materials used in crafting, and using them to manufacture useful items. This can range from metalworking, to leatherworking, to mining, to the creation of jewelry. Some people take joy in harvesting the ingredients, from skins, to metals, to jewels, or herbs. These raw materials are used to make the finished products, which could be armor, clothes, jewelry, gadgets, weapons, shields, potions, and much more.

In World of Warcraft, both gathering abilities, like mining, and crafting abilities, like alchemy, are grouped up into "professions". Any character may choose two professions, although if you dislike them, you may get rid of them to get a new one. Crafting is simple in World of Warcraft, for if you have the supplies, and are near the facility needed to make the item (forges, looms, etc.) you just click a button and it creates it. Gathering can be a lot of fun, as you have to hunt for "nodes", clickable things that pop up here and there, which contain the supplies to make items with. Examples of nodes are various plants, and veins of metal, which sometimes contain jewels.

Everquest 2 is a much more complex crafting experience. Gathering skills are still there, but players can choose to do them all, unlike World of Warcraft, which restricts you to a maximum of two specialties. Everquest 2 has a far larger number of recipes than World of Warcraft. In fact, many players specialize in crafting as opposing to fighting, whereas in World of Warcraft, crafting is nearly always a secondary pursuit to adventuring.

Also, the act of crafting items in Everquest 2 is much more involved. You still can't do anything unless you have the items on hand, and are near the facility needed, but once you click "create", you have to use special skills to counter problems that pop up (Ah! The soup is burning, so stir, stir, stir!). It's not just a matter of clicking "combine" and walking away.

This article compared many (but not all!) of the features of Sony's Everquest 2 and Blizzard's World of Warcraft. Everquest 2 is probably a better choice for players who enjoy lots of questing and crafting. But if you want to engage in PVP combat, World of Warcraft is the game for you. Whichever game you decide to play, I wish you happy adventuring!