With the release of Shadow of the Eldest Tree, the latest discussion about difficulty in video games has begun. But as much as I look forward to traversing the Land of Shadows, I have instead spent the past few weeks exploring the history of another difficult game, EverQuest.

Last week, developer Daybreak Games sent me out to San Diego to attend Fippy Fest, celebrating the 25th anniversary of EverQuest and the 20th anniversary of its sequel, EverQuest 2. That both games are still going strong is a testament to the continued legacy of genre-defining games and the tenacity of their players and developers. Design manager Adam Bell believes that one of the main reasons "EverQuest" has stuck with players is because the game is tough as hell.

"When you're trying to bring in new players, it's less about quality of life changes and more about making the game a little easier without removing the fact that at its core, EverQuest 1 is a hard game. Players want a harder game, a Dark Souls-like experience. If they want an easier experience, they will go elsewhere."

When I first played EQ in 1999, everything was difficult. The world was vast, even the basic monsters were deadly, you lost XP when you died, maybe even your own, and after 25 years and 30 (yes, 30) expansions, the rough edges had been chipped away, but the game still had some teeth left in it.

"You have to plan to kill even basic NPCs." If you don't check your surroundings or plan to kite them instead of tanking them if necessary, you're in trouble."

Solo play is a big challenge for some classes. So most of the time spent in Norrath, you want to find a companion. Mercenaries are powerful NPC lackeys who can help, especially at lower levels, but they cannot replace other players. In fact, when asked in a fireside chat about the possibility of making mercenaries stronger, Bell replied: "Mercenaries should not be as good as players. Players are better than mercenaries. Mercenaries are a substitute when you can't find players. Considering that mercenaries are locked out of most raid content, they should still be friendly.

Raids are massive, with up to 54 players, not the open-world 300-player chaos of a century ago, but they still require a lot of coordination. While expansions come out every year, progression still takes time. Top guilds complete raids within a few days of release, but a large portion of the EQ playing population will be playing raids for months afterwards.

Game difficulty is a tricky subject, especially for MMOs. EverQuest is not a fast-paced game, nor does it require huge APMs, nor does it push the cutting edge of disastrous 500+ pull mythic raids. But it is a deeply challenging game that requires communication and cooperation at all basic levels of gameplay, from level 1 to level 125.

As Bell puts it, "Challenge leads to a sense of accomplishment and then to a desire to do it again." This feeling is much the same as what Hidetaka Miyazaki, game director of The Elden Rings, said about lowering the difficulty: "The sense of accomplishment that comes from overcoming hurdles is fundamental to the game experience. To lower the difficulty level would take that joy away from the game and, in my eyes, would destroy the game itself."

I think this is the crux of the issue. Difficulty in video games is not an end in itself, but a tool for developers to give more meaning to the actions taken by the player. With the satisfaction of a hard-won accomplishment, players will be banging their heads against FromSoftware's game and dutifully working their way through EverQuest's levels.

Speaking with Bell at Fippy Fest, I was reminded of the weight of EverQuest's history. Most of the answers I heard from him and other developers about content and priorities were that they want to continue to honor that history and honor what brought players to the game in the first place.

For me, and I think for many of the players who have wandered this huge world, the difficulties have given special meaning to the time spent in Norrath. I'll never forget sitting at my desk with a printed copy of the Shadow Knight's Epic Quest from Arakhazam, rereading it, and dreaming that one day I would have that amazing weapon. That didn't come true until almost 20 years later, but still, boy was it sweet.