[Jerhico]

Lately I've been getting a sinking feeling about EQ2.

I've played since beta and have been pretty much on the same character since release. I've had a few alts, but they are still on Isle of Refuge.

Granted, the bulk of my MMORPG experience is in EQ1, with dabblings in SWG and Asheron's Call 2, but something has been tugging at the edge of my mind almost from day one.

From beta, I knew EQ2 would have a hard time capturing the hardcore gamer. There just wasn't enough raid-level content or reward for those who wanted to push through to that level of the game. This didn't concern me, particularly at first, since I had no intention of doing the "uber" thing again.

Nonetheless, I watched with mingled fascination and amusement as a some hardcore folks rolled up characters anyway and then rushed to level 50.

Most of them are gone now.

But then I noticed a more alarming trend: Many of the more casual players reached level 50 in the past month or two and they also have stopped logging in. In my guild (which is hardly uber) only one of our level 50's even logs in anymore.

Guilds rarely seem to grow much in EQ2 because nearly everybody is in one, and as a guild recruiter I can say that it is exceptionally difficult to find unattached, nice, or even just talented players. It's not that there's any shortage of new folks, but rather with very little to lust after at the end-game, not many people "guild shop" and are often content to stay in a stagnant or "comfortable" guild rather than expand their horizons.

The EQ2 community has failed to come together in a meaningful way. With EQ1, there was Allakhazam, EQAtlas, and a number of authoritative class sites, such as Steel Warrior, Monkly-Business, and Graffe's. I realize there is gamepressure.com and ogaming, but...They are shadows of their predecessors.

If this is any indicator, there just aren't a lot of people who are passionate about their characters. Most sites can go without any meaningful posts for days at a time. There is no sense of class community...At least with brawlers.

Other signs that worry me are that so many of the good UI modders at eq2interface.com have quit or given up. I can understand that when the UI changes in a big way every two weeks that it might get frustrating, but I have never gotten the sense that this is why they are leaving. They mostly don't give reasons, and just say they're done.

In my opinion, the game has gotten much better in the months since release. My wife and I are level 40 and exploring the Bloodlines Chronicles which we found to be a lot of fun. We did the precursor quests for the Splitpaw Saga last night, which while incomplete was also intriguing and entertaining...A glimpse of what future updates to the game will bring.

Nonetheless, the lack of community cohesiveness and the failure of the game to inspire and retain good and intelligent people is causing me increasing despair.

What has gone wrong? I realize that other games matured slowly over time as did their communities, but I feel something unraveling here. Does anyone else see it?