Everquest Online Adventures

[rusty_shackleford]

EQOA was the MMO released for the PS2, the servers shut down in 2012 and there is now a working private server(Sandstorm) plus another that is in development(EQOA Emu, I don't know how it differs). I never played it.
EverQuest Online Adventures in 2025 - PS2 1st time Gameplay

D Elf Cleric Questing

Sandstorm: https://eqoa.live/
EQOA Emu: https://eqoaemu.com/

I suspect the main difference is EQOA Emu is much more authentic(?)

[Oyster Sauce]

It was its own thing? I played it for a bit. Someone cast invisibility on me and I followed a group around the desert like a spy. Someone insulted Canada so I spent like 20 minutes typing a response with the controller.

[rusty_shackleford]

It was its own thing?

Yes, bit of an odd duck.

[SpellSword]

I remember seeing those on the store shelf. The F·r·o·n·t·i·e·r·s expansion's box art was a bit more cartoony than the first release.

► Box Art

EverQuest Online Adventures.webp

I'm not sure if these numbers are accurate, but apparently it sold decently well:

EverQuest Online Adventures for PlayStation 2 sold approximately 430 000 copies in total.

Here are the sales figures by region:

• North America. About 210 000 copies.
• Europe. About 160 000 copies.
• Rest of the world. About 50 000 copies.

[Xenich]

I never played it, though I knew some who did. Apparently it was EQ, but its ruleset differed in various ways, I am assuming due to target audience and limitations of consoles at the time.

Quick AI response on the differences (not sure how accurate these are):

EverQuest Online Adventures (EQOA) was a distinct MMORPG for the PlayStation 2, not a port of the PC version, set in the same world of Norrath but 500 years prior to the original game's timeline.

Key Differences:

Timeline and Setting: EQOA takes place in the "Age of Adventure" on the continent of Tunaria (later known as Antonica), featuring races and locations that existed before the splits and discoveries seen in the PC game.

Gameplay Mechanics: The console version streamlined the PC experience by removing complex crafting tradeskills, replacing the multi-tiered currency system with a single currency called Tunar, and simplifying the ability system by merging skills and spells into a unified "power" resource.

Player Interaction: EQOA was initially designed as non-PvP, focusing entirely on cooperative group play, though a simple 1v1 dueling system was later added; it also lacked the deep social structures and player-versus-player servers found in the PC version.

Technical and Content Scope: The game featured a seamless world without loading screens between areas, was smaller in total landmass than the PC game plus its expansions, and required a USB keyboard for effective communication. It also included unique elements like the Alchemist class and Ogre race via the Frontiers expansion, which were not available in the original PC release.

Penalties: Death penalties were significantly reduced, with players losing no experience levels and only incurring a minor "experience debt" and losing some Tunar, rather than the harsher penalties of the PC original.

Death penalty seems rather weak, no corpse runs, and all of the "merging" of systems greatly simplifying play. Basically EQ "mainstream" version of its time.