Following up on one of the most successful MMORPGs of all time, Sony released EverQuest 2 back in 2004, and the MMO maintains a dedicated community that recently lashed out at an attempt to add a controversial feature. Despite being nearly 20 years old and no longer under the Sony umbrella, EverQuest 2 is regularly updated with bug fixes and content patches, but this addition that was nearly launched appealed to extremely few players.
Even when it was released in 2004, EverQuest 2 was a polarizing concept because much of the original game's community preferred regular content drops to a full-on sequel. Given that EverQuest 2 is such an old MMO compared to Final Fantasy 14 or New World, it's missing many of the features and tools that have modernized the massively multiplayer experience and thus, it may feel occasionally clunky. Looking to upgrade EverQuest 2 a bit, Daybreak Games intended to add a loot box system to the MMO, but the community was heard when it reacted negatively to the idea illustrated in a developer update.
EverQuest 2 developers suggested earlier this month that the team would be introducing unique loot boxes called Libant Evernight Heritage Crates to the MMO that allows more players to unlock raid gear through the in-game shop. With the Libant Evernight Heritage Crate having never been introduced to EverQuest 2 after the announcement, the team behind the MMORPG has observed the feedback and decided not to proceed with the controversial loot box system. According to an EverQuest 2 developer known as Kander, none of the loot boxes will be added to the MMO, and most of the items that were going to be associated with them are no longer planned for the game either.
The EverQuest 2 forum post from Kander acknowledged that the Libant Evernight Heritage Crates didn't offer the "shared values" that the MMOs community and developers hold. Moving beyond the controversy, Kander also confirmed that new EverQuest 2 class balance forums will be introduced to allow players to have more of a role in shaping the future of their favorite characters. Though the raid gear in the Libant Evernight Heritage Crates may have helped some players reach the end-game classic EverQuest content much quicker, the class forums may assist developers in making the journey to the level cap a little simpler.
For a while, loot boxes were in several titles, with some of the most successful including FIFA, Overwatch, and some Call of Duty games, but the law is ending this trend in some countries. Although many of the aforementioned titles have ditched loot boxes or adjusted them to be less predatory, some games still have a variation of the concept like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Hot Wheels Unleashed, and Apex Legends.
EverQuest 2 is available now for PC.
Source: MMO Bomb