Everquest vs Project 1999: An Honest Comparison(and rant)

I dont like live but i love the TLPs and i love P99. Everquest itself is amazing even live, i just dont like it myself but i do catch myself hoping onto to live evrry now and then

I am 100% challenged by EQ P99 because I didn't play it in 1999. It's all totally new to me, so I am in fact creating whatever nostalgic sense of team work and exploration that was in original classic.

Jesus man you couldn’t make a unbiased video if you tried, modern EverQuest is a ghost town filled with boxers and solo players in fact you can play most of the game solo just go play wow at that point, I get it you don’t like p99 but your being dishonest by not stating any positives that p99 has over retail which is many by the way, cringy video to watch enjoy your dying servers

Modern EverQuest is just a straight up clone of nearly every other modern MMORPG. It offers almost nothing that I can't find in something else like WOW or LOTRO or <nameyourmmo>. All of these games have the same game-play loop. Find a quest giver, kill 20 boars, turn in quest. They all cater solo gamers for the most part. Nobody hardly communicates outside of a guild. They feel generic and over-produced.
On the other hand, there is almost nothing like EQ P99 available to play anymore. It's much more of a sandbox, more open-ended, more extreme highs and lows. The game hasn't been tailored for an "experience". It just is what it is and it is up to you to find your own fun. Players talk to each other more because there is a need for binding and ports and grouping. You often can't just insta-port to your guild-mates for a raid. You often are stuck on the other side of the world and have to make do.
EverQuest P99 to me feels FAR more what an MMORPG was originally envisioned to be in the beginning. A true world that you need to make your way in. Ultima Online worked this way too.
Modern mmos like modern EQ have simply gone away from this model. That is undeniable.

E99 is for ppl without lives. Eq retail has no soul.

Oh wow, great video. Then you mentioned Blood Oath and that jarred me, they were my first guild on Mith Marr! I remember Drucylla, Bergman, Daffodil, Dagouaan.....great days. Great to see the OGs are about to this day

Problem with p99 was and still is the same. Players who build their life around 20 year old pixels ruining the raid scene for the rest of the folks. Ive tried it a couple times and it's always the same.

Yea p99 is pretty much dead. It does have some boomers that still play it. It has a couple hundred players at peak times. REAL EQ still has thousands .

loose-lynn? ..... it's LUCK-LYNN !!!

I've not played on p99, however i do have a question, if its locked in Velious era? Don't people get bored? Or do they keep rerolling new characters? my main on live is 22 years old (in RL), cant imagine what I'd do with a 22 RL char on p99, surely u would have done everything and got best in slot armor, and competed all ur quests as well as be max xp?

Classic EQ was less a challenge than it was a tedium. As someone who played then and is playing P99 now, it's a tedium.

Got kinda cringe at the end there. Not sure why you'd think EQ is too complicated... Nothings ever been hard about EQ, even in p99 -- it's just a time sink.

Also, Kronos ruin the game. Duno if he said that but EQ live has Kronos which encourage people to 6 box with 4 mages 1 enc 1 cleric and farm Kronos to sell for 10 dollars each on ectunnel. Disgusting. Cant imagine the loser who thinks making 10,000 dollars after nonstop playing a game and having no social life for 6 months is worth it. Fuckin idiots on there man.

I'm new to EQ and came to P99 for an unforgiving & challenging experience, similar to my full loot PVP MMOs. Already befriended two dope grinding buddies on my 2nd day grinding outside Neriak.

Well within the first 10 minutes, I think Project 1999 wins. The amount of level creep stuff you're referencing just sounds like a massive headache.

I don't play games based on how quickly I can get to max level. I play them based on how enjoyable the journey is to get there.

It is without Equal... but what about Splenda?

The thing holding me back from playing P99 is getting a copy of EQ Titanium. I'm old school and refuse to download an illegal copy of the game, and I'm not paying the ridiculous prices people want for it either.

p99 best

This analysis is off base due to lack of understanding that instancing = terrible idea. An artificial limitation on what is possible is the worst possible interaction experience and part of the reason that EQ lost its magic. What you fail to understand is there are still new feats and adventures being done to this day, on P99, both individually and in the raid scene. The challenge isn't to face new raids and new mechanics, it's to innovate new tactics to the current content.

People don't to play live eq because it has placed limitations on people seeking adventure. It's a shell of its former self.

Should you play EQ in either forms shown in this video in 2022? I would say no, but...

Here's why I say no. EQ is a very dated game. While it revolutionized the genre of MMORPGs, back in 1999, it has not aged well. The controls are clunky. The mechanics are weird (calculating mitigation is a literal 23-step algebraic formula, not an exaggeration). And playing with others can be a chore.

When playing EQ, the controls are going to be your first hurdle. You're going to want to remap many controls. The great news is, just about everything can be remapped. The bad news is, just about everything can be remapped, and finding the control for what you want can be a hassle. Some of them use legacy names not used by modern MMORPGs. For example, EQ is a Tab-Target MMORPG. But tab doesn't cycle through targets. It swaps between you and your last target. You can change this.

But dang.. if its so customizable, what's the issue? Mostly comes down to how the character moves. The mouse look and turn is awkward. Side to side movement is very clunky, and moving while using the mouse to look around can cause issues. This becomes apparent in tight spaces (most dungeons) where using A and D to turn is actually easier. Part of the skill in controlling your character will be adjusting camera distances and angles, and alternating between mouse turning and keyboard turning depending on the situation (really important for kiters and pullers).

As I said the mechanics are weird. EQ uses a d20 rolling system to determine how much damage from an attack you take. There is a piercing value (damage an attack will always do), which is modified by a roll of 1 through 20 multiplied by a second number. There is another modification done too (otherwise level 1 rats would one shot you), but its been a while since I looked at the tables. Your armor (Mitigation AC, for added convolution, on P99, your mitigation AC and evasion AC are added together to give you just AC, this was fixed on live somewhat recently) matched to the attackers attack power. Now there is modifiers based on about 20 other different variables.

And it gets worse. Take about 20 people currently playing EQ. Now ask them what Charisma does for enchanters and bards. You'll get about 20 different answers. Good luck figuring that one out. Though most will say they do nothing (at least as of early 2021), though I've managed empirical evidence showing otherwise. There's quite a few threads on this. I'm going to refrain from discussing it here. Its a dead horse anyway.

Now I'm going to go into why you should try EQ. Or more specifically the 'no, but...' part.

So I said that grouping with others can be a chore. In live EQ.. its not going to happen. People simply don't group, and when they do, its with people they've known for a while. You're not in that clique. And you have a few months to a few years of time before you can be considered. Pick up groups are non-existant. People use mercs and molo (solo with merc), or box (playing multiple accounts and forming their own parties). In TLP, its about the same but not as extreme (due to True-box), usually after they are past the Planes of Power expansion. TLP prior to PoP are actually quite good for grouping.

And that is where it is really worth getting into EQ. There is a social experience in EQ in this specific setup you are not going to find on Live EQ, P99, EQ2, or any other MMORPG. When you play modern games like Lost Ark, FFXIV, ESO, etc. You load into a dungeon, group pulls and keeps going till the bosses are down. Then you exit. Process is around 15-20 minutes, tops. In EQ when you get a group, its a multi-hour affair. There is going to be chaos, routine, and downtime. During the routine and downtime, you've got nothing else but each other. Its a really cool thing to see. The only other game I've seen give this kind of social interaction is Phasmophobia.

P99 is going to be akin to the TLP server known as Agnarr. Both are locked at a specific expansion. Which puts them both in this weird twilight zone. You might be able to find groups at low level 1-20 content, have it peter off until you reach 60 and then it picks up a little again. But you're likely going to be playing with geared up characters that are the players' 5th, 6th, or 7th alt at this point.

But overall, I cannot recommend EQ in any form to the average player. There are much better and populated games out there. If you're a player who doesn't mind older stuff, and can tolerate some of the outdated systems. EQ is actually not bad. Its heads and tails better out of the box than Lineage/2 or FFXI (it actually can utilize WASD movement with mouse look). And far more accessible, outside of P99 of course (where you have to obtain it from sources that are technically on the wrong side of the law, yes I know Daybreak gave P99 their blessings, but they didn't give the distribution sites the same permissions).

P99 is also ran by regime leadership with past and current corruption. I wouldn't touch p99 again for anything. So many people get bans and the leadership is a pile of poop. I had a petition in for 3 months before any action was taken. Stick to live or play p99 knowing at anytime your account will be gone with no support.

Project 1999 is for people who can't afford a subscription. Honestly Project 1999 isn't for people who have responsibilities or time limitations. I've seen people have to wait 12 hours or more on numerous times just getting an Ancient Cyclops rings on P99.

I think there are good points brought up in this video, specifically the argument about repeating content you've done before. The first time versus the hundredth time are vastly different experiences. However, in regards to challenge, although yes classic melee wasn't the pinnacle of diversity with auto-attack and a couple combat moves, flooding your hot bars with moves is a delicate balance. There is a point where there are too many abilities that are either redundant or aren't as efficient in a rotation as others. Eventually you find the cookie cutter rotation and just cut out the fluff you don't need.


But speaking of balance, I think there is a nice middle ground available to players these days that want to bridge the gap between classic experience and modern day experience. And that is through the EQ Emulator community. They have currently crafted an emulated server environment that rolls through Omens of War and if players take some time to understand how to customize it, can customize their entire EQ experience. The "choice" you mentioned about current EQ, well that's present in this community a thousand fold. You can turn no drop off, you can alter quests, zone lines, restrict expansions like 1999 while still allowing quality of life improvements, maintain revamped zones or revert to classic. There are a ton of options present and I personally think its the best of both worlds. But bear in mind, I'm doing this for a solo/family experience, where it is just myself and a few members of my family so we can re-experience Norrath in our own vision. If you're seeking community, there are custom servers, like P99 but with separate visions (some Luclin locked servers, OoW, PoP, etc). Search up EQEmu if you're curious, but I think its a solid way of customizing your experience, while also preserving the king of MMOs no matter what happens to Daybreak or the private servers.

P99 is fun but has some massive corruption issues end game... darkpaw should shut it down

feeling some nostalgia this week and stumbled across your video (4 years later) and I really enjoyed watching / listening.

Old EverQuest 2 is really easy compared to modern. The modern EverQuest 2 requires lots of skill and dedication

good vid. I'm an EQ veteran from the early days. Believe me, no one could easily solo yellows without gear. The hit table was much more tilted against hitting higher level mobs.

Titanium was my first copy of eq. actually still have it, along with my dad’s

Great video, I have to agree with many of your points. Current live EQ is better from a quality of life standpoint. Instance zones helps give everyone a chance to try content without fighting over it. The recovery system lets you get back to the action much faster. Sitting there for 10 minutes to recover health and mana doesn't make you hard core, it makes you sleepy. I have played on P99 & Live EQ a lot this past year. Both have toxic players who think the game revolves around them. You'll find toxic people anywhere.

Wish they'd have 99 servers that comes out every 3-5 years that slowly go up to PoP. Call it project 2002.

There are many valid reasons a significant portion of the Everquest playerbase prefers the "Brad" era of Everquest (Classic to Velious). You should attempt to examine those reasons despite your personal (and commendable) bias to play Live. I gave it a good try on FV many years ago but really it wasn't the same game anymore. I enjoyed it, but nothing compares to the original for me.

The magic of EQ was making friends in a new and mysterious world, growing together as players and learning about the real people behind the keyboard (no voice chat). The modern game can be played without interacting with anybody. There was a time when you had to talk to people for ports, rezes, buying gear, selling gear, getting buffs etc. Before health and mana regen became instantaneous, group members would actually chat with each other while they sat to regen health and mana. The problem I think some people have with modern everquest is that they had to ruin old content when they came out with new content to the point where you basically weren't playing the same game anymore and at that point you may as well just try a new game. There were no shortages of new MMO's to try.

I never played everquest but I decided to pick it up recently.
I couldn't get into the modern everquest servers, but I found i really enjoyed p1999. I found modern everquest even more complicated than p1999 and the low-level grouping scene on modern was almost non-existent. I imagine you're probably right though that the more enjoyable raiding/endgame experience happens on modern/TLP servers.

I would love to see this game simply remade with modern graphics. That would hook me like no other MMO ever has. Still play P99, but man the graphics are dated.

I have been inspired! I enjoyed this video immensely. I will be going back to EQ after 17 years. I've forgotten Everything. I think I shall enjoy returning and walking the lands of Norrath again. And I'm gonna do it on FV.

Good video.
You need a challenge ?
Do the solo artist challenge on p99.
Warmup, disciple, grandmaster, etc...
You ll love it.
As an enchanter, shammy or necro, hell, give it a try with a Monk!
Crawling Howling Stones with a chanter is an awesome expérience.

Great video and information man

You Sound Like A Necromancer I Raided With On Bristlebane. . .

I don't think anyone bashing P99 has ever even tried it. Lol. People like to say they are such "jerks." But have you talked to anyone in-game? The community is amazing. There's something to be said about knowing the GRIND it takes to level your toon, to hunt for your body in a dangerous zone and and knowing the frustrations of losing a level due to death. The people in general care about their character and helping out their fellow comrades. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten free gear, free buffs, free ports, people sending me a tell to move my body to the zone entrance just out of kindness. People are respectful not to kill steal or to take over camping sites because their character means something to them. There is so much more trolling on the live servers. Especially now that people make newbs to sit out at the bazaar and can hide behind their low level toon to act like an idiot. I personally miss the boxing experience. It's nice when you feel like soloing but don't have the time to wait 800 years for your mana bar and the experience to crawl up. If p99 allowed even just two-boxing (no more than that) it would be perfect. Sometimes the grind does get a little crazy much when you have a life at home lol.

im thinking 99 is a better option as you actually have to quests or camp to get satisfaction of playing.. ever quest is by far the BEST MMO as you can play both, and the ppl are very deep into everquest so it feels like a great escape from real life bullshit... started playing again 2021. plaid this game from 1999 to 2005 pvp server raided everyday was incredible...

The audio on this video is so painful...

P99 is Everquest for me.

Completely biased non-biased review.

As soon as port books and graveyards were introduced eq was dead.

dude it took me like 10 minutes to install p99 not sure what you were doing.

There's no way of recreating the original EQ spell effects in current EQ right? You can turn off the character models, but everything the (spell-casting) character does doesn't capture that initial magic (pun intended)

i like p99 because i dont have to pay for it and there is more people to play with

Loved this video. Thanks for the real talk at the end! You did a great job.

You lost me at the end but until then the video was good. I've returned to live servers many times over the years, sometimes for a few months and sometimes for a couple expansions, but TLP or P99 offers the gameplay I prefer by a longshot. Live EQ feels like mostly a solo boxing server unless you're a raider, and multi-boxing can be fun but also costly. The classic servers have a better sense of community and offers some great interactions. I am not into hardcore raiding or I might agree with your overall opinion, as old school raiding is far more toxic. From a group or solo perspective, TLP or P99 allows for more fun and challenge.

The last big bump of leveling and grouping with new people on live was when FTP launched in 2012 and that was a blast. I loved returning and level locking every 5 levels and grouping across the world with new people for the AA farming in zones I had never even been to before. I was not a fan that they made AA so easy, although I totally understand why. I left live at the start of Burning Lands and though I am sure to return for awhile, I can't see modern EQ ever becoming as engaging as P99 or TLP of the year.