Hacking and slashing got you down? Are you just tired of clicking to just advance your character in Diablo 2? You tired of being able to advance through a game by yourself? Are you tired of the bad grammar of online punks who think they Ownz j00 and Roxxors everyone else? Well then I humbly say you should welcome yourself to the world of Everquest. Why do I say that? Well for starters in this game you cannot progress to the maximum level by yourself. This game requires you to use your social skills in order to make friends, group with people, and to have the highest honor in joining a guild.

    There are 15 races and 15 classes to choose from. Each race has its own strengths and weaknesses and the classes make the stats more unique for that specific race class combination. An elf warrior will not be as strong as a Ogre Warrior due to their differences in strength. All the races and classes have their own benefits though. If grouped properly a group of the perfectly distributed will be able to take on most anything they want except for god like monsters.

    Everquest is an extraordinary game because it has a massively laid out geography. With six continents and a moon to visit with all the expansions bought. They have also added planes that are out of this world and have a tough requirement to enter. You cannot just create a character and hope to attack the planes and get the godly armor. Most planes require you to go on an extensive quest in order to receive pieces for the key. The most fun though you can get from this game is knowing that you can make friends and possibly a family with your fellow guild mates.

    You start out with a weapon and a class guild tunic and have to make your way up on the food chain. You can go from level 1 to level 65. I will tell you this cannot be done in a week like on Diablo. Even with a high level character helping you kill creatures you still receive a set experience even if the creature is 20 levels higher than you to insure that there won’t be any unbalancing in the game. You gain currency and items from killing creatures. The currency is setup to include copper as the least worth, then silver, then gold, then the big bad platinum that will allow you to buy the best that you can buy. You cannot buy the best gear mind you, the best gear is reserved for people who take the task to destroy a dragon that might require you to have 100 people to even stand a chance.

    Throughout your quest to reach level 65 you must be require to explore and discover new areas that are more challenging and require groups to be able to live. There are more than 70 zones (areas) to visit and find quests, experience making creatures or dungeons and the planar areas. You might come across one of the most unique zones which is the east common lands otherwise known as the Bazaar. We call it the Bazaar because most of Ever Quest trading will take place there. Most of the great people will come there to sell high and buy low to make quick cash. If you know what items are worth then you can use that knowledge to help improve your cash flow. Money means you will be able to get the best for your level.

    Each class has specific skills it learns throughout its quest. Ranging from increasing ones defense to increasing its offense. Spell casting to trade skills and languages. There are a ton of languages to learn. It is fun sometimes to learn all the languages so that you know what everyone is saying no matter what but you can also confuse people by talking in ancient dragon tongue to complete confuse those who do not know that tongue.

    Each player has the option of becoming a master trades man. You can blacksmith, jeweler, baker, Fletcher, the list keeps going on about all the possibilities that you may have as a money making business. Some classes and races will perform certain trade skills better than the average joe. A jeweler will need high charisma and wisdom but being a troll you have terrible charisma because trolls are hated. A high elf enchanter is the most commonly used combination to be a jeweler which is the most profitable business in the game.

    Each player will have a faction system. The faction system is installed to see if a certain thing will kill you on site or protect you from harm. A troll is not welcome kindly in any good aligned cities. Though you start out with a set faction, killing certain creatures will either make a faction rise to improve and make you well liked or to lower your faction to make you hated. Some factions you must have to complete the class specific armor and weapons that are the most powerful in the game.

    There are a ton of different item quests so don’t feel bad if you don’t have Giant faction to get their armor. The dragon family is just as good but lacks some AC but makes up for that in stat increases.

    Graphics wise this game is good. It has some square ness to it but the detail that they put into making it diverse and immensely wide and open make it one of the greatest environments I have seen. The clouds move. The trees sway in the wind. The ground moves when a giant is chasing you so he can kill you. The sun rises and sets. The Dwarven city has jewels that even sparkle.

    The dragons and gods have a different look and feel to them because they want them to stand out from the rest. The giant god Cazic Thule makes you feel small due to your not as big as his toe. The god Innrounk floats above you so he’s harder to hit. Trakannon hits you with poisons and knocks you back so you die before getting to him. The Dwarven king Dain knocks you up into the air so you take damage from falling.

    The navigation system they installed helps out players when traveling. Sense heading is your best and trusted friend. Always make sure you train it. This game is so huge it’s easy to get lost. So I recommend getting maps of all the zones you are not familiar with.

    In all I say this game is a trend setter not a trend follower. There has never been a game as big as this, and I don’t think anything will rival this online game for a while. There is no competition. The people online are so helpful to newbies that you’ll start to feel at home in a few gaming hours. Be prepared to spend a lot of your life on this game. I’ve spent the past 5 years playing this game for days straight even missing school so I can run my guild with my dad.