Why raid?

[numenorean]

I figured this was a good place to pose this question. You all are pretty die-hard EQ'ers. You have committed a lot of time, energy and etc to the game. You've seen or done about everything out there. So much of that has required raid level game play.


So let me ask you these questions ....

1. why raid? doesn't it get dull after a long time of constant back to back raids?

2. (more importantly) how do you keep constant night after night raiding from getting boring? Especially nights when you're hitting the same mob over and over for keys or an exceptional piece of loot.


I was always curious about this, and I figured this would be the place where there would be some real long time experience backing these replies up. Personally I've always become bored to tears raiding constantly every night, or even 3 or 4 nights a week. Whether I was killing Nagafen at 45, Trak at 55, BoT bosses, the zeks at 65. It always felt like the same thing just with different twists or tweaks...

I was wondering what keeps you folks going so hard....because I remember when HOSS was on Sol Ro and were the first ones to start raiding Nagafen and Vox weekly. Some of you have been at this for a LONG LONG time.

Just curious is all.

[Vidmer]

One of the big reasons is that of accomplishment. Beating the uberbad03 for the first time gives me a sense of euphoria. That feeling remains for the next few encounters with the mob and the memory of that feeling keeps my spirits up for the gearing up that is necessary.

Another is that the raid level content of EQ is unique in the gaming world; so many people performing specialized tasks in which one error can doom a nights effort. The sheer amount of teamwork required is staggering. When the guild "clicks" it feels to me as listening to a symphany; every instrument performing yet the whole is far more beautiful then the individual.

[Gemmi]

<Grin> Vidmer is right about the symphany. Often, even if it is the "same" mob, it seldom is the "same" encounter, the variables make each fight (for the most part) unique from the last time. Different group members, experimentations, etc.

Some of the best moments, longest laughs, etc come from fights done regularly, when just something out of the blue happens. To me, it makes all the hard work pay off when we finally get it down just right.

And sometimes, we don't come out like a symphany. Sometimes we are more like Eminem.

I go to all the raids I can, and seldom get on any more for anything else, unless it is to assist someone, my 2nd favorite thing to do.

[numenorean]

I see.

So what role does loot play? I know in some newer or lower powered guilds loot may play a big role, but I see names on the HOSS roster that have been around since Sol Ro days, and loot most definitely can't be such a big deal for someone going at this for that length of time. I heard Tilea say the other day on druzzilro.com that the loot just isn't such a big deal anymore since she's seen some of the best loot in the game come and go throughout the days.... so loot can't really be that big of a deal anymore can it?

btw the replies are good....I think its seldom that hardcore EQ players really talk about what keeps them doing what they do night after night. I admit, I didn't have it in me....the raiding, while fun at first, got real old time after time...after the first time or two for a particular encounter I lost interest..I usually kept going out of guild loyalty or desire to help friends....

[Zappo]

how do you log in and raid:\

[Jalynfane]

Not in Hoss but I will chime in anyway.

Comraderie.

No matter how boring raiding got, it was made worth it by being with my guildies and beating or dying to whatever mob we were on at the time. I would say the biggest reason we all stuck to eq for so long was the fact that we all felt like family and close friends.

I only wish I could have let Thuggo one last time before I hit cancel account.

Jaly
Phank

PS. Come play SWG, Intrepid server.

[Varran]

I really kind of enjoy the endless beating your head against a mob searching for some way to win the battle, and then finally something just clicks and he/she goes down. Like our xegony win for example. Stuff like that just cant be replaced by anything in this game.

Every person in a raid (especially in time) has to do their job and do it very well. There is little room for errors on some of the fights, and being surrounded by skilled players all focused on the prize and having it all come together is such a rush.

[Vinen]

Best is when you think your gonna Fail IE over 50% of the clerics are down early in a fight and... you get back up on your feet and knock the mob down.

[Talas]

Yea, the best victories, by far, are those where you are down for the count and rise up to clinch it at the very end. That's what keeps me going! :D

[Maegwin]

What keeps me raiding? I enjoy watching the Shadowknights die...and the paladins too.

and...no, just watching them die makes it all worth it.

And the best victories are when the paladins and shadowknights are all dead, but we still win!

:p :D :p :D

[Rika]

There is nothing else to do between the hours of 6 and 11pm on most days.

[Talas]

btw, i slaughtered rika in a duel once!

[Grabbit]

Me too~



Marauder Grabbit the Assassin (http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=97756&resize=true)
65 Halfling Deceiver
Township Rebellion
Stormhammer

"The more we sweat in training, the less we bleed in war."

[aed]

I slaughtered Grabbit in a duel once~.

snare landing on first attempt lead to a dead and quite pissed grabbit :D.

/aed

[Qaediin]

I love the challenge of each mob. Every one is basically alot different. I love raiding more than i do xping. I log on and talk to people/buff them etc and AFK off and on most the time now. I wait till raid time and then prep and go and see how far we get. I have been playing for 3 years july 25th and first thing i thought when i logged into EQ was "this game sucks ass" i promptly called my sister and yelled at her for telling me to buy this stupid game. Well 390 days played later im still at it:)

[Elidroth]

Vidmer hit on the key point. EQ is the ONLY game out there right now that has the raid-level element. Every player has a key role and one mistake can ruin the whole thing.

Right now we're working on Vallon Zek in Pland of Time.. and I love learning the new fights.. I love the fights that are HARD. My favorite times in EQ are when whatever guild I am in pushes hard, learns an encounter, develops a strategy, and finally executes it and kills the latest 'big monster'.

[Rhedd]

Tilea has accepted 1 peice of loot since her time in Hoss that I am aware of =o

She just likes raiidng i thinks! shes cute too =\

Ps Hi Til!

[Grabbit]

lol I remember that Aedail. Snare is the devil~

Wounded my pride that day. I've come to my senses since then, and realized rangers > rogues in pvp anyway. :(


Back on the topic.

My reasons for raiding are probably a bit different than most people. I really enjoy the companionship, and the excitement of taking down the most difficult mobs in the game, but I actually prefer spending my time with 5 or 6 friends in a dungeon or trying to single group raid level targets. Raiding provides abilities and items that allow our small bands to accomplish more.

I'm very excited about LDoN. If it's what I think it is, it's an expansion tailored to exactly how I like to play everquest.

Marauder Grabbit the Assassin (http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=97756&resize=true)
65 Halfling Deceiver
Township Rebellion
Stormhammer

"The more we sweat in training, the less we bleed in war."

[Dharrk]

How much Sony pay you to say that? :D

[Zarxen]

I'm with Grabbit. That's how I would prefer to play the game. Well actually then again I did play like that to some degree at one time.

[BurnemWizfyre]

My Favorite part about raiding is hearing the healers bitch about healing me, The Shamans bitch about buffing, the chanters bitching about breaking mezzes, the tanks cursing they dint get heals, the mages wishing they were necros, the necros dotting mezzed mobs, the druid who doesnt know how to heal, the sk and paladins constantly bashing each other...It all leads to quite funny guild chat.

Seriously though, The people are the biggest reason...its fun to beat something that requires alot of people, yet to do it with less then most do it with. Thats what hoss is to me, people who use alot of people to do something, but do it with alot less then most people use. Killing the same uber mob over and over and over like youre refering to isnt fun no, but its the things you do while youre killing that mob that are fun. When the mob dies, guess what people you like get loot, and knowing how happy they are makes you happy.

FYI SoE Sucks Cock--Thx for youre time.

[Crimsonbanshee]

Come back zarx !!! ><

[Talas]

One of the best (and used to be most frequent) experiences while raiding had to do with Korona swearing at ML for screwing up. I honestly think some people screwed up on purpose just to hear his infamous words fly across /gu.

Korona tells the guild, 'CLOSE F*CKING GATE, IS THIS YOUR FIRST TIME KILLING YELINAK!?!?!?' rofl :)

[Buazag Bonesteel]

Yessir....it's never been about the game for me.....always been about the people. A big group of people I have fun hanging out with and killing stuff that the majority of players will never see.....that's been the thrill that kept me playing for so long.

I enjoyed the single group type stuff a lot. I have some good memories of things like owning the tower of frozen shadow with just me, Tarissa and Sakekak. Or some of the hunting that I did with Sirensa, Drakky, Famor, Zyklan etc...

But the best part of EQ for me was always the raiding. Logging on and seeing what we as a guild were up to that night. What big badass mob were we going to tackle. The cameraderie that goes along with 50 or so people all getting together with a common goal and knowing that everyone has to pull their weight or the raid will fail. The learning of new tactics and strategies, the excitement of getting new drops that we haven't seen before.....the anticipation of new zones....all of that made EQ a blast.

All good things must come to an end and EQ was no exception. I don't play now but I wouldn't trade my playing days and memories of it for anything. I didn't even leave with any bad feelings for SOE. I think overall they did a pretty good job. With a game that has over 400k people playing there just isn't any way to keep everyone happy all the time. I had things that I wish were different the same as anyone else.....but in general I thought they did a good job. The only reason people bitch about SOE and the "vision" so much is that they have so much invested in the game that it's very important to them. If it was a shitty game then no one would care, they just wouldn't play.

So I don't see myself ever having the time to devote to another EQ type game in the future.....but I can also say that I will almost definitely buy EQ2 when it comes out and at least try it out even if I never have the time to achieve what I did in the first one.

[Strahd]

Rangers suck!

[Tarissa]

i raid for the children. think of the god damn children people

[Thuggo]

I raid because it's fun to challenge the most powerful content in a game. It's also for the comraderie of the people in Hoss. Also to mock rangers in a public forum.

So Jalynfane... I play Shadowbane only to find that you never log on. Now you want me to buy SWG... do you work in marketing for electronic's boutique or something?

[Vinilaa]

Originally posted by Thuggo
I raid because it's fun to challenge the most powerful content in a game. It's also for the comraderie of the people in Hoss. Also to mock rangers in a public forum.


Same. ;)

Of course I'm retired nowadays. :p

[Twong]

I liked killing the unthinkable with one group (or less)

Hunting Ntov with one group was fun (keep in mind pre- SoL equipt)

Killing woushi (with 100000000 spawned giants :DD) but the facker poofed on us and some ass petitioned us...

Killing big stuff was always fun, but killing big stuff with 3-6 people when it took some 2-3 groups was more enjoyable imo.

:D

hi old school peeps

;)

[Vinilaa]

<3 Twong

[Kattoo Tacit]

I raid because I am addicted. When they close down the servers I am filing a law suit for lost wages, and property rights to all the ideas I put in /feedback. After that I am going to jump back on the tort reform band wagon.

[Aalenu]

it feels to me as listening to a symphany


Vidmer is right about the symphany

Which is true, except it's symphony...

Aal

[Tilea]

Originally posted by numenorean
I heard Tilea say the other day on druzzilro.com that the loot just isn't such a big deal anymore since she's seen some of the best loot in the game come and go throughout the days.... so loot can't really be that big of a deal anymore can it?

Well when it comes to loot, you need to understand that my opinion is in the vast minority within my guild :) Rhedd's almost right when he said I've asked for 1 loot item since joining Hoss almost 2 years ago. In actuality it's not just 1, but two! Heh. The only loot I've ever cared to ask for was a good bow and elemetal arms, for the improved damage. Then there was the time long ago that Andaas and Sirensa made me take a Tolan's longsword... so mean.

Anyways... yeah I don't play for loot. Most of my stuff is very old and in most cases, is inferior to stuff our guests typically join us with. Being a Ranger I have the convenience of being perfectly effective with just 3 items. :)

I play the game, mostly, as stress relief. I have a lot going on in life, mainly with school, and EQ is a great way to forget about that stuff when I need to most. Within EQ, I play for the challenge. I'm a competitive person by nature and it reflects within the game. I like being part of the best - I like to push to the limits and see and do stuff that a lot of the EQ population never will. Hence, the waking of the Sleeper is my most fond EQ moment. My interest in EQ is at it's highest when new content is available, and at it's lowest when it's not, and the guild goes into farm mode.

Also, repeatedly luring some wimpy monsters to their death (aka exping), doesn't interest me. It bores me actually, I only do it when necessary. I enjoy being part of a large, concerted effort to make something truely nasty, truely dead.

And hi Rhedd!!!!! :)

[Andaas]

Originally posted by Tilea
Hence, the waking of the Sleeper is my most fond EQ moment.

And yet I still remember having to force Tilea to loot the ST key piece as well - she didn't want it, Sirensa and I made her loot that one too, heh.

[Vinen]

Originally posted by Andaas
And yet I still remember having to force Tilea to loot the ST key piece as well - she didn't want it, Sirensa and I made her loot that one too, heh.
RFLMAO.

[Rhedd]

Waking the sleeper was bar far my fondest encounter in EQ, Aow being a distant second..


Waking the sleeper was just to cool =o

[Tilea]

Originally posted by Andaas
And yet I still remember having to force Tilea to loot the ST key piece as well - she didn't want it, Sirensa and I made her loot that one too, heh.

Haha yeah!! Well I had kept saying I prefered other people getting the keys until we were ready to start gunning for Ventani.

I do remember that though, it was from a Lady What'shername the Keeper. Sirensa was SO mad, hehe. Fun memory :)

[Vinen]

My confusion is considering you said you like to raid. Avoiding a ST key seems liek you would be avoiding the one thing you like. Raiding.

[Tilea]

At the time, we weren't planning yet to take out the 4th warder. There were a lot of members who wanted to get themselves primal weapons, so I prefered they get the keys instead of me, whether I'd miss ST raids or not.

[Dharrk]

We killed Lendianara and then zoned out, leaving Tilea the only one in the zone, and said it would rot if she didn't loot it. :D

[Jalynfane]

Foiled again! Actually we all decided that SB was far to laggy and suck to play anymore. So we moved to SWG.

[Zerixia]

For me, Raiding brings a sense of accomplishment, Seeing things I'd never seen, Bettering myself at each turn is my reason for raiding, not to mention there is just so many damn cool zones that you get to see that few venture into :)

[Coneba]

i raid to pinch rixis butt. :D

[Zerixia]

:eek: :rolleyes:

[Andriana Duskrose]

Why Raid? Because it kills bugs dead.

[Eliyahu]

I remember that LTK raid also. Tilea was in my group and she kept saying "I dont want it but they are making me. I should just zone". I was laughing because guildchat was spammed with LOOT IT TILEA. Took quite a while for her to actually loot it too.

I think right after LTK we zoned out and died to Sont 2x before killing him. I was feared half the time because I was 57 lol.

Fun times though. <3 all you guys from back in the day. All grown up /sniffle.

Eliyahu/Wutno
65th Archon/65th Deceiver
Leader of Forge of Ro (www.forgeofro.com)

[Tilea]

It's too bad Siren doesn't read our boards anymore. It'd be interesting to see what she thinks of that old memory now, hehehe.