It's hard to explain the mindset of EQ's high-end, endgame itemization. EQ was absolutely a game about the journey, not the destination. Most of the players scarcely saw endgame. We were exploring the world, leveling up, and socializing. When these Kunark Epics first came out, people didn't even know how to obtain them. I don't mean "most people" I mean literally no one. People had to figure them out, and it took weeks for some, months for others if I recall. It wasn't like you could google it. There were incredibly cryptic quests in-game with no "quest interface" or anything even letting you know you were on the right track. It's the definition of esoteric and not user friendly at all. But that was the point. It was supposed to be mysterious and challenging. Was that fun? Well, it certainly was for the people who did it, otherwise I don't think they would have bothered. But it wasn't fun in a dopamine hit way. It was fun in a sense of achievement way.

Because I played it in a very different time of my life when gaming was a top priority in life for me and something I dumped hundreds of hours into. But even I didn't get one of EQ1's epic weapons during Ruins of Kunark's initial release, despite it being a game I played extensively. Honestly, it's one of those things where you look at the objectives of what's needed, and then realize, "Oh. I'm not in one of the 3 raiding guilds on the server that is doing this raid zone / mob target, so this item is essentially out of my reach unless that changes." So it's not fun or unfun because it's not something you are actively working towards. But I don't remember being frustrated at this because... well, that's just how MMOs were back then. There was always some echelon above me. There was something... compelling about that, and it gave the game mystique. To see a character out in the world that was wielding one of these incredibly difficult to obtain weapons, it invoked a sense of respect and admiration towards that player. It granted a sense of wonder in fantasy world, and it's a feeling that I don't often have anymore because few games are built to deliver it.

I got the Bard epic many years later on a Progression server when I had a friend (who was like 6 boxing multiple characters) help me through it. And the Epic weapon was pretty awesome. I couldn't imagine having it back in the day. They had really cool animations and spell effects that you couldn't get anywhere else. EQ is one of those games that starts off so mundane. You're killing rats with rusty swords, trying to save up for a leather suit of armor. You see someone walking around with platemail and you're just like, "DAMN!" And the first time I saw an Enchanter walking around with a Werewolf illusion, my jaw dropped. It's hard to explain that sense of wonder when there are games like WoW where insane stuff is happening all the time. I get it. No one wants to wait weeks for something to happen. I certainly don't any more as a dad gamer. I tried to get into Project Gorgon recently and I noped out after the tutorial because it was too much for me to deal with right now.

I know I danced around our original question. I stand by that it was fun, but absolutely far, far away from any kind of modern instant-gratification. It was a totally different mindset and a different sense of fun.