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Sorry if this is long winded. It's not a one word answer, and I am writing this to help myself figure it out as well.
I have played both games. WoW in Open Beta and Stress Test, and am currently playing EQ2. I have been battling with this issue back and forth in my head since I started playing EQ2. I only want to pay for 1 subscription, but am having a tough time deciding. I think it will really be a matter of how YOU want to play.
Honestly, both games are a lot of fun. Note that I have only played EQ2 up to level 15 and WoW up to about 18, but have used multiple characters in both and have spent at least 40 hours in both games.
EQ2 is more challenging... easier to die, slower to level, and it's harder to find stuff you're looking for. In WoW there is a very linear quest progression that moves you from one zone to the next, in EQ2, once you get off the island and get Citizenship you can go anywhere and noone really tells you where to go aside from quests.
In EQ2, The quests are all over the map. It is a lot easier to find stuff than in EQ1... but not as easy as WoW, mainly because the WoW quests tell you where to go to find things you're looking for, and the EQ2 ones usually just list the zone to find them in. The quests are not nearly as black and white in EQ2 as in WoW. This, IMO, makes completing them feel more rewarding. I doubt that anyone in all of EQ2 has done exactly the same combination of quests that I have. Thus, I am willing to bet that nobody looks like me, or has the same gear.
Also, the EQ2 quests can be given not only by NPCs, but by items that you find, or items you get in treasure chests from killing creatures. This can turn your daily "grind" hunt into a brand new adventure when you find a note that tells you to go to X and do Y.
Leveling is slower in EQ2, but I have gotten at least 1 new spell/skill every time I level, and sometimes at half levels. WoW offers new spells every 2 or 4 levels.
EQ2 is much more group-based. Basically once you hit level 10 you need to start grouping. XP is much easier to earn in a group, and most of the mobs are grouped. I went up to 18 in WoW w/o grouping once.
The other big difference is that EQ2 has Heroic Opportunities. They are very cool. Hard to describe, but they are basically like combo moves.
Both class systems are actually pretty similar. The subclass system in EQ2 is a difference, but it's really not that different, esp. once you hit 20. Basically, you don't get the cool spells for your class until you get up to level 20. Both games offer very similar races and classes.
WoW has PvP. That, IMO, is a plus for WoW. I have not tried it out, but being on a PvE server I won't have to until I'm ready. It's something to look forward to.
Another plus for WoW is that there are more Avians planning to play it. I have not been able to play with Avians very much in EQ2 b/c my good friends are on a different server and it's really the only way I ever get to talk to them (we all live in diff. states).
Right now I'd rather be playing EQ2. I'm not going to get WoW until XMas, and then I'll try it out again. I had a lot of fun when I played it, but I just view EQ2 as a more powerful game with a lot more potential at this point. Maybe once I play it a few more weeks I'll want to go back to WoW... who knows.
I truly wish these games had come out like 6 months apart, b/c I want to be playing both of them. I am sure I will go back to WoW at some point... I'd be perfectly content playing either game, but right now my mind is in Norrath.
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TheMole
Section 5
Section 5
Section 5
Now Playing: WoW
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It's called a joke. Irony. Sarcasm. Humor. Any of the above.
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