Syp from Bio Break has challenged us bloggers to name 5 things that are better in Everquest II than they are in WoW. I say….only 5? There are TONS of things better. Here we go.
Player Housing:
This is easy, because WoW plain doesn’t have it. And it’s GOOD in EQ2. It’s a very big part of the game, is robust, so customizable, and a lot of fun.
Roleplaying Features
EQ2 has many features in the game that make roleplaying easier. The biggest thing for me, is the ability to have appearance items that don’t affect my stats. This means that I’m free to look however I want while I’m out adventuring, exploring, or wandering town. EQ2 has so many costumes and accessories that help roleplaying. They also recently introduced player-made books that players can write out lore stories about the game. The lore in EQ2 is expansive as well.
Dungeon Scaling
A feature that WoW doesn’t have is dungeon scaling. All of Splitpaw and the Fallen Dynasty adventure packs have dungeons that scale with players as they level up. This means that regardless what level you are, the content is still doable and rewarding. Buying an EQ2 adventure pack is money well spent.
Community
Hands down, the EQ2 community is leaps and bounds better than WoW. The players are more mature, more helpful, more friendly, and easier to meet and group with. The EQ2 official forums are not a complete cesspit like the WoW official boards, and players are insightful, thoughtful, and passionate about their favorite game in a productive way. The EQ2 community is golden.
Mentoring System
One of the greatest features in EQ2 is the ability for higher level players to mentor down to lower players. This enables you to group with your friends, regardless of their level gap. Accessibility is key, and allowing players to group with who they want is great. Recently, EQ2 offered the ability for you to mentor yourself down without needing to mentor a friend, effectively changing your level and allowing you to do quests and dungeons as whatever level you want to be. Once again, making the most of content is EQ2’s strengths.
Guild System
The majority of games right now with great guild systems (WAR, LotRO come to mind) have taken features straight from Everquest 2. The game offers a whole leveling system just for guilds, unlockable rewards, guild housing and perks, and all sorts of additional features for players who actively participate in guilds. This was all revolutionary in MMO gameplay, and fits in great in such a community-oriented game such as Everquest 2.
Dungeon Crawling
Sure, WoW has a lot of dungeons. But EQ2 definitely does dungeons right. Not everything is an instance, there are times when you can do good old-fashioned dungeon crawls and run into other groups. Dungeons are laid out with such careful consideration to adventuring with a group. In EQ2, you don’t run the same dungeon over and over for badges or achievements. A dungeon is something that you look forward to, keeps you on your toes, and is a true adventure.
Shinies:
For the explorer in you, there are random collectible items strewn out all over the world in EQ2. Clicking them allows you to add the item to a collection, which when completed can be turned in for experience. They really are a lot of fun.
Character customization:
Compared to WoW, EQ2 has a lot more character customization. Whether standard graphics or SOGA models are your fancy – there are tons of hairstyles and facial structures to choose from.
Any Race, Any Class:
This one is debatable, because some people don’t like it. But you can pick a race and be any class…which means you’re not forced to pick an ugly race (Cough: Tauren) just because you want to play a particular class. This is great for roleplayers as well. 
So there you have it, I could continue but it’s Thanksgiving and pie is calling. EQ2 has a TON of great features that are done better than WoW. The game is really really good.
