EverQuest II is currently running a promotion through October 15th, where players who log in to the game can get a free Level 85 heroic character of their choice, complete with 250 AA, gear, potions, etc. It’s a pretty sweet deal and I think it’s a bold step by Sony Online to bring more players back to the game at a level where they can all play together. But this promotion really has no great effect on me.
I’m not a regular EQ2 player, so I am probably not at all the target customer for this promo. My highest character ever was in the early 40’s. Every time I return to EQ2, I end up rerolling and playing fresh, because I can never remember what my abilities do, or what I was currently working on. I have certainly never flown around the world before, I’ve never raided. I think the most AA I’ve ever had was like 25 points. So to me, getting this freebie level 85 Necromancer feels cheap somehow. I am not going to log in and continue playing this character that I have no connection to, no history with. I don’t know anything about the higher level zones. I don’t like the fact that I skipped content. And frankly, I don’t have any friends who play this game so it’s not like this promo gives me the chance to finally play with high level friends.
Don’t get me wrong, I think this promotion has been great for bringing back people to check out the game again. There are over 6 Great Divide zones live right now, which is the zone that you spawn in after you first make your heroic character. I’m sure that for players who were already high level, who quit some time ago, that this would be an amazing opportunity to have another high level character. But I can’t imagine people who haven’t played all the game’s leveling content wanting to have an instant-85. That kind of takes the fun out of leveling up in an MMO, right?
Although, EQ2 does have the mentoring system which means that my new heroic character can level down to experience old content. But I’d rather just make a new character……when I have time someday. Right now I’m spread thin between FFXIV, WoW, and Hearthstone. I don’t have the time to try EQ2 again. However, this is a very generous offer from SOE, so I wanted to make sure I logged in and claimed my heroic character. 🙂
CuppyVille 
The big positive is that EQ2 has a really good scaling system, and I find it extremely fun to grab my mercenary and then go do content mentored down that I would have needed a group to do. Sure the gear wont be of much use but the zones are extremely fun to run around in and explore. Additionally… doing mentored content is a really good way to collect those last few AA levels.