Customer Reviews

EverQuest: The Ruins of Kunark (Prima's Official Strategy Guide)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

Perhaps Prima couldn't find a writer who actually played the game.

Perhaps Verant Interactive gave them a load of bad information.

Perhaps they based it off the old strategy guide.

Whatever the reason, this strategy guide continues the legacy of the original "Official Strategy Guide" (of which the game makers now claim they accept no responsibility for the content) in containing almost 80% actual true things.

Good luck figuring out the other 20%. Veteran EverQuest players have spotted page after page of information in this manual that is not in tune with the reality of the game. Most of that isn't even a case of it being outdated, it has never been correct, even with the game being out over one year.

Expect a full disclosure from Verant soon where they also disavow any information in this book from being correct. It makes the "official" title, officially, a joke.

Oh, if you actually ARE an EverQuest veteran, adjust my rating on this work to 4 stars as you will find it a hillarious comedy of errors.

I have read all of the other reviews of this book, but it seems to me most of the feedback has been from people who already were experienced in the game. How else could they point out how inaccurate it is? I believe I bring a different perspective to the guide, because I bought it only a few days after buying the game, and it has helped tremendously in a few areas, such as choosing a character, values of weapons and armour, what effects a spell has, etc.... Having a book in hand that you can refer to at a glance is much more helpful than having to search the web for clues as to what to do in the game. In fact, the guide includes a section specifically pointing out good websites to visit for more information, which helped me determine the race and charactor I wanted to select.

Admittedly, I was hoping for more meat in the book, like walkthroughs for the first couple of levels for each type of character, including strategies for early success, but all in all, the book can be a benefit a new player, if nothing else than as a reference guide. Don't be put off by people telling you that everything is wrong. If you are like me, and like to have more information readily available than the pathetic manual that comes with the game, then this may be for you.

This book has some handy information, esp. the listed stats of the monsters you might encounter. However, like the 1st Official book, it is full of errors and information that just isn't true.

This guide is best for a new player as long as they keep in mind that they should be wary of all the stuff written in it. Use it to get started, then check the web for the best info on EverQuest.

I'm giving this book 1 stars instead of 2 for the reason that as an official book, it should have be done right completely no exceptions.

You know it's a bad sign when the game publisher releases a statement denying any responsibility for the accuracy of the "official" strategy guide before the book publisher even has the guide on store shelves as was the case this time.

While there are some useful tidbits in this guide, they're buried under a mountain of bad information. I don't know where the author(s) got their information but it's obvious that they don't play EverQuest and I have a hard time believing that the folks at Verant Interactive, the software company that publishes and runs EverQuest, gave them so much inaccurate data. I can only assume that they decided to fill in the blanks with whatever sprang to mind rather than going to the trouble of getting accurate information.

If you're a veteran player it might be worth thumbing through the book for a few laughs but if you're a novice and you follow the advice in this guide, you *will* make some serious mistakes. In neither case can I recommend buying this book. I give it 1 star only because I can't give it less. In fact, this is one of those rare cases in which I'd like to give a book negative stars.

Okay, those people who have given this book a poor rating are a bit harsh on this tome. It's intended for people just starting out, and it states this in the book's introduction, and anyone looking for high level spells or other such info should absolutely head off to the websites. If you ARE new, and you would rather spend time playing EQ as opposed to researching it on the web, then this is a good introduction with great synopsis' of races, classes, cities, zones, mobs, etc. If you want to read up on EQ while on the bus, train, between classes, on the john...whatever, and don't have a printer, then this is also a good collection of general info pertaining to the game. I would like to point out that the fiction sections of this book seem to be a waste of space, as they add little information about the game, other than attempting to create the atmosphere of the game world. I felt it was well worth the money I spent on it, and I have not regretted purchasing it. Sure, I can supplement the information contained within the book by going to Everlore.com, EQVault.com, EQmaps.com, and EQ.Stratics.com, but to have an introductory level guide with maps and stats all in one book is mighty convenient to me.

I, for one, completely disagree with "TymbraMoonwhisperfrom Kelethin", who is obviously benefiting personallyfrom the sale of this 'Official' guide. This is not a strategy guide... it is an attempt by Prima to reach into your wallet and remove [the amount of money] for nothing more than a pretty colored cover with the name EverQuest®, and Kunark.

Anyone considering this publication seriously, should turn off the computer, step back, take a deep breath, walk outside and just toss [the same amount of money] into the air. Heaven knows they will know more about EQ than the poor soul who actually bought the book and thought that it would contain, to quote "Tymbra Moonwhisper from Kelethin" again: --- "Wonderful guide for the realm of Norrath. Easy to follow charts and graphs that list all items within zones, all npcs within zones, armor information, weapon information, all spells for all classes upto level 60, maps, and much, much more."

Please, for the sake of your sanity, run FAR away from this book. Save your money, buy 2 more months of EQ instead. Surf and search the web, you will find more and better (and MORE ACCURATE) information.

But, then again, this is only my opinion..

Take or leave it.

The book consists of character building strategy, basic (and I do mean basic) game playing strategy, item charts, maps, and a spell listing as well as newbie tips.

As a new player the newbie tips were absolutely invaluable, the strategies were too basic but they were descriptive enough for me to create my own style, the item charts mention 'value' not base purchase cost and sale cost nor does it mention what charisma the prices are drawn from--in other words you will never see that exact price or cost. The maps nearly get me killed every time I try to use them and the spell lists are great up to the point where they stop giving spell descriptions--I literally don't know what some of my high level spells do.

The capper for me was the fact that some sections of the book use 'she' as the pronoun of choice: "A player should realize that she isn't alone in the game...". To me this just underscores the lack of professionalism shown by the authors and editors throughout the book.

This book is absolutely invaluable for the character up to about level 15 after that you can photocopy the spell lists and put it in storage. After level 29 you can toss the whole thing.

At first I thought this book was awesome... until I realized how many mistakes (in spelling, missing sections, inaccurate information, incomplete information, etc.) there were.

The spell list was incomplete: not all spells are listed; for most spells above lvl 25-30 (out of 60), they give very basic information, like the spell name, what it displays when you cast it, and what classes can have it at what level, and they omit the rest of the information, like range, effect, casting time, etc.

The maps were awfully inaccurate: I could have taken out a street map of New York - it would almost have been more accurate! (And they say on the back of the book "New, improved city maps!"...)

In the top right corner of each page, the current section is written. In the section where they give a general synopsis of the EQ world, it is written "Words to the Wise: Odus, Planes, Kunark". That is the only reference in the book to the Planes... because they don't talk about them on that page. And then, in the Kunark synopsis, they only say something close to "Well, it hasn't been explored yet so we can't tell you anything about it."

In conclusion, I've been extremely disappointed in that book. I can only see it as an attempt by the authors/publisher to make a buck or two when Everquest: Ruins of Kunark came out. I can only be sorry I spent that 20$, and tell everyone - even beginners! - to stay away from that book. Just surf the web - there are plenty of EQ resources out there, for free!

Went to the book store and looked this book over... wasn't sure whether I wanted to laugh or cry. If you have a choice and just purchased EQ, just go get the original (also horribly inaccurate) book and stick to the mainlands and get used to the game by playing up to 20th level or so, then try going over to Kunark (the expansion that the made the book for, but barely any info in book for it). You'll have better luck, or just go online and print out maps and get better info there...

Man, this book stunk.

I picked up this book when I bought EQ, and found that I rarely needed it. There are so many excellent EQ web sites with <i>up to date</i> information, that the book is not needed. You obviously have access to the web sites if you can play the game. Here's a few to try: http://everquest.allakhazam.com , http://eqvault.ign.com , http://www.maximumeq.com . There are tons more. For example http://www.eqmaps.com and http://www.eqatlas.com have up to date maps of most if not all areas of the game. Also, since the idea of a game like EQ is to play in a community environment, the web sites add to your enjoyment and feeling of "shared experience". Have fun!