Meet EQL Creator Legend Hammackj!
Get to know Hammackj, the man, the myth, the epic beard! He has been with EverQuest Legends since the early days of Beta, and shows no signs of letting up any time soon. His daily videos on YouTube are always entertaining and insightful… let’s learn more about Hammackj in his own words!
How did you get started in content creation?
I started content creation in EverQuest shortly after I started playing it again, and all of the information I could find was outdated or wrong. It was a very frustrating process. How do I do this? How do I do that? So I started turning all of my questions into videos and playthroughs of the game. Which led me into learning more and more about each class and mechanic of the game so I could help others.
What drove you to create content for EverQuest Legends?
I like EverQuest Legends because of the solo-first style. It lets me play on my own time and my own rules. I don't need to depend on anyone else to get my agenda done. This works a lot better for making videos and just enjoying the game. I can log in for 20 minutes and actually accomplish something.
What is the most surprising thing you learned about EverQuest Legends?
The most surprising thing I've learned about EverQuest Legends is that quality of life improvements are so important to this style of game, and to MMOs in general. From the UI changes to the options, all the little things Game Jawn has added to the game make it a remarkably great product. Take this simple change on the Advanced Loot Window, Auto Sell/Store. On face value it doesn't feel like that big a deal, but go back and play EverQuest and you cannot live without it. The amount of items I don't have to sort into the tradeskill depot or sell is crazy. I spent most of my time sorting bags and this removed that.
Tell us about your favorite zone in EverQuest Legends!
My favorite zone is Guk. Lower Guk specifically, but to me they're one large zone. The environmental storytelling throughout just makes it something special. The winding tunnels and mazes. The bestiary, live and undead frogs. There's so much more I want to know about the zone and the culture of these frogs. I've always wished it would go deeper with another expansion tied to the Frogloks of Guk, one that opens up more of Guk and the surrounding swamp areas of Southern Antonica.
What is your favorite loadout and why?
It's hard to say my favorite loadout. Right now I'm enjoying Shadow Knight / Shaman / Monk and I've been absolutely blown away by how fun it is. It effortlessly takes all difficulties of the game, with the highest DPS I've been able to hit so far. For me, I like having Feign Death, so I try to take a loadout that has it. If I need to walk away for a minute, I can. Luckily my favorite class gets it on a ring from Plane of Sky, so my loadout options are pretty varied. With that said, my next loadout to try is Warrior / Shaman / Necromancer. My viewers have told me to try this.
What is one piece of advice for a new EverQuest Legends player?
Play the class you want to play. Don't go looking for the absolute perfect combo, it doesn't exist. What's strong today might not be strong tomorrow. Treat your character as one character with 16 classes and 560 combos you can be any other day. Be flexible and adapt to changes. I haven't found a combo that can't complete all the content in the game. Just have fun.
Anything else you wish to add?
Thanks to everyone who watches and sends me questions. Half my video ideas come from the comments.
You can keep up with Hammackj’s daily YouTube videos at 10am CT!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/hammackj
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/hammackj
Website: https://www.hammackj.com/