I got my first epic in Everquest. Rather, Project 1999, so it still had it’s shares of challenges. In fact I am guessing with Mercs and the new level limit you can probably solo the crap out of the entire process.
Not on my EQ.
It actually really felt like an accomplishment. There were many parts that were impossible to solo and required groups. There were so many new experiences – some I hope never to have again (ever do a CR in Kedge Keep?) but still happy to have experienced them. It was the culmination of months of effort collecting the bits and pieces, getting small help where needed, getting big help when needed – it is not possible to do without a dedicated group of friends, and/or guild.
And it was on the character I didn’t expect, my Druid, who is now level 55 and wielding the picture above. It’s a beautiful graphic, a good stat stick and a great spell effect, which combines a long DOT with a long Snare.
My Druid and Enchanter are both level 55, and while the ENC is coveted more for small group end game dynamics the Druid is by far the most convenient class in the game. Tracking and Porting alone make the lives of everyone so much better. I can also pull off some off heals and other important things in groups and I haven’t had an issue.
Now, for the next journey, is to get my first character to 60. Bear Pits here I come!
I’m pretty sure you could solo Epic 1.0 on most classes a decade ago. The only epic I ever got was the Beastlord one and I soloed that. Might have had a small group right at the end.
I was playing when Epics were first added and I was 100% against them. I thought they were divisive and elitist then and I remain suspicious of them now. I also detest long, multi-stage quests – at least I detested them in EQ when it had no in-game quest tracking. Not so bad in modern games. The best thing about epics, of course, is that if you just ignore them and keep playing, eventually they become useless and you can forget they ever existed. Unless you play in P99!
Ironically, given I was so dead set against them, I spent a huge amount of time doing the fights to help other pople get theirs. I still have screenshots of us killing Feydedar somewhere and I tanked the epic quest version of Trakanon for someone once, which was scary. Also, yes I have done CR in Kedge, after a full guild raid wiped. That was a fun Sunday afternoon.
Oh, that kind of quest is what separates a boring old, planned obsolescence quest with something meaningful and with teeth. I LOVED doing it, and am now doing it on my enchanter as well. It is great to have goals! Especially if they take time, challenge and cooperation to complete!