So Matt has got a couple of new games recently, and I’ve been wanting a game. The only one that looked remotely interesting was the Vampire game. But my heart truly lies with Everquest. So, we activated our accounts again on Friday, and we’ve been playing EQ2 this weekend during the baby’s naps.
And it’s so much fun. 🙂 I wonder what it is about that game that I like so much? I think I enjoy it even more because Matt and I can play together. When we first got EQ2, I found it unenjoyable and tedious, and so did Matt. I asked Matt why we enjoyed it now when we didn’t when we first got it. He said he thinks it’s because we knew the first EQ inside and out, and EQ2 is very different. We weren’t approaching it as a new game, but as an extension of the old one. I agree with this. I would get really frustrated because I was an excellent healer in EQ but was a crap healer in EQ2 because the strategy is different.
I also think it was because we were in the mindset of just getting through the lower levels as quickly as possible to play the high-end game. We had played the low levels many times in EQ, so, whenever we made new characters, we knew exactly which zones would level us really fast. And when we got EQ2, we entered the game with that mindset: get through the low levels as fast as possible to get to the high-end game. But the game didn’t work like that, and, once again, I was getting frustrated. And it quickly became tedious just fighting mobs to level.
When we logged on this time… well, now we have a baby and everything is on her schedule. So we knew that we would have to quit playing at a moment’s notice when she woke up. So we didn’t go in with the mindset of just trying to level quickly. We went in with the mindset of exploring and questing — taking it a lot slower and having fun. Also, since it’s been so long since we played EQ, we didn’t try playing our old strategies. We just learned how to play our new characters. We’ve died a few times figuring out the strategies, but it was fun this time, not frustrating.
So I have a game again. It’s so nice. It’s an escape. I turn my mind off for an hour or so while the baby is sleeping and explore an online world.