Been playing for two years and ...

[Marcus]

100% recommend.
Have had so many good times in this game.
Paid for itself 1000x over.

Currently ftp until Steam is up and running, go judge for yourself right now.

[KapyongFY]

Totally Marcus :)
Here are some features I like :

Huge open zones to wander / explore / hunt / quest - I got lost in HH for nearly 25 minutes after I took a 'short cut' to avoid spiders. I love wandering the fields collecting flowers and shrooms - really ...

Dangerous dungeons with powerful / rare loot, (but no TP home in panic). There are also smaller solo 'dungeons' and solo loops available. One particular dungeon is especially good I reckon - the famous wolf/spider cave - partly outdoors too.

Group fun is well designed - holy trinity with each having 3 options = 9 classes which fit together well. When each member knows their role the fun moves along nicely - but things can go very wrong otherwise.

No hand-holding - you have to use your own eyes & brain to figure things out. No quest markers, no glowing lines to guide you to target, no compass, no map mark to show position.

=Satisfaction I still remember getting my Crusader Zoglic regen breastplate in old EQ 20 years ago - 'cause it was so damned HARD to get ! But when I finally did - By Karana it felt good ! Embers is like that - satisfying rewards. (Got my Xanton's blade, very useful.)

Echoes of old EQ should be mentioned - some say it feels a little like old EQ in some ways : not flashy, slow pace, hard questing, no hand-holding, just 8 skills on spell bar, no TP home button to escape a dangerous dungeon, and -

Corpse runs ! - yup, but only your loot bag is lost (not weapons and armour and gathering). Arranging a corpse run with guild mates & friends can be a fun group experience actually.

Smart design ideas - it's obvious the experienced devs have their heart in this game, and there are many smart new ideas like : separate defence / attack targets, NO stack limits ! yep, I've seen a stack of over 10,000 (not sure we'll ever see if 100,000 works.)

Nice surprises as you go - "ooh, didn't even know the game HAD that !" instead of seeing how the whole game will progress from the start, or worse - "that's stupid".

No cash shop, no P2W, no PvP hallelujah !

Crafting (and trading) works usefully - the opposite of Pax Dei :)

GM events - they run special events managed directly by a dev - such as a Road of Death event as we fought forward / back along the road against GM arranged enemies. Felt so much like a table-top D&D fight. Yuge fun ! Magically suitable for all levels.

EA is not EA ! It's not incomplete buggy pre-alpha crap like 95% of Steam.

Friendly community - it's small yet, but the most helpful and friendly community I've played in. Remarkable. Many oldies and EQ vets. Community manager Elloa has been a great influence there - helpful and friendly.

[Kittah has Claws]

Its kinda fun, but mostly boring and slow

[GladioSanctus]

I kinda like pvp though... the thing about these games is that it caters too much to the old boomers, and not nearly enough on this newer generation who are in the majority im pretty sure ...for better or worse. I'm too jaded to have any hopes for this new mmo.

[GladioSanctus]

More than happy to support the game though, I just read through their website and found out about digital rivers pulling some ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ on them, and I was surprised at the honesty and transparency of the devs. So I'll grab the game for free (if its still available) and hope to christ it works out for them when they come out on steam. I'm willing to cancel my lotro sub, and switch to this game...because it seems interesting and I want to help devs like this thrive.

[Genrah]

Originally posted by Kittah has Claws:

Its kinda fun, but mostly boring and slow

The game starts out slow like most classic MMO's, but as you gain levels, new skills, and more haste stats, the combat becomes quite quick. That really gives you a sense of progression as you feel your character become stronger.

[Recks]

there is pvp but is restricted to the Proving Grounds (WoW like outdoor FFA arena)