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EverQuest 2: Rise of Kunark - mega information link overload

Matt Warner
Updated ·7 min read


Over this past weekend the EverQuest 2: Rise of Kunark NDA was taken out back and shot to death with erasers, mere days before the expansion launches tomorrow. Unfortunately, I only had access for a little over a week (QQ) and haven't had much time to play. This means any in-depth coverage coming from my brain is nil until I patch my sheepish brain later with more played time, but I do have some first thoughts. My first thought: I really should have played more. My second thought: I feel like I owe our readers a bit more than that, so, I ventured out and tracked down information dumps, thoughts, opinions, and screenshots from various sources who really delved in the RoK beta. The consolidated roundup is after the jump. In no particular order and without further ado:

[Last Updated 11/12/07 10:30PM PST]



[Blogs]
West Karana: EQ2 - Kunark: A Brief First Look
This post is a must read for any former EverQuest player, it hits close to home for those that hunted in Karnor's Castle, and the lasting comments will burrow into your brain and drudge up some memories. I know, I attributed to my fair share! Be sure to check out the rest of Tipa's blog for more EverQuest 2: Rise of Kunark beta experiences and information, like the Lol'vargs. Classic.

Scott Hartsman - Off the Record: All the EQ2 that's fit to print
EverQuest 2's Senior Producer goes on the record on his own personal blog. This is a good thing that more developers should start doing. Hartsman even starts waxing patch notes towards the end and cutting himself off. What interested me the most were the tribulations RoK development endured, everything from dead servers to natural blazing infernos -- game development can be a dangerous business. Scott also points out a fellow co-worker cried in this video -- linking that should score me some SOE points. Maybe next time SOE throws another EQ2 beta test I'll get a beta invite sooner, maybe I won't get an invite at all, or worse, I'll receive a beta invite on the last day of the beta.

Ogrebear's Thoughts: Kunzar Jungle and The Fens of Nathsar
Ogrebear takes us for a ride on the wild side showcasing two massive high-level areas. For anyone who played EverQuest that experienced Kunark, some familiar jaunts and foes make a return possibly causing the all-to-familiar nostalgia bug to tug at the heart strings, it certainly did mine and left it on the floor. The two posts are fairly image-heavy and not just a block of words, also be sure to check out the rest of Ogrebear's blog for more tasty RoK impressions.

MmoQuests: Rise of Kunark NDA is Finally Lifted - First Impressions
Kunark is huge, and there's a Rhino mount -- I want one but I'm poor. The word is a rhino mount comes at a steep price-tag. I liked killing the ones in Over There back in the day. Stargrace also shares their opinion on the beta and the community. The real gem is this post on Rise of Kunark's crafting.

Madness & Games: EQ2 Deserves a Second Look
Brandon Reinhart shares his thoughtful insight on why EQ2 deserves another chance. Ironically, there's not a lot of information about Rise of Kunark, but its so good that I had to link it. This post is like a cherry on top of that most scrumptious sundae you've ever devoured. Reinhart's post goes into explicit details, including pictures of various in-game systems, on how EQ2 has evolved into a masterpiece. For the non-EQ2 players or those who haven't played for a year or so, you will learn a thing or two about EQ2 that you never had a clue about and why they might change your overall opinion about the game. I highly recommend this post. It is important to note that Brandon Reinhart is a MMOG developer for Spacetime Studios, and is a former SOE employee.

The Server is Down: Kunark Rises Tomorrow
Kevin spreads out his anticipation for RoK, discusses EQ2's graphics, and makes a good point on how EQ2's graphics are still holding up after three years whereas prior MMOGs graphics were outdated in that same development period.

Brasse: Take a Walk on the Wild Side as EverQuest II evolves again
OMG! Brasse the dwarf, the dwarf what -- I don't know, she's freakin' hilarious! You can't miss Brasse's extravaganza as she gets her RoK on, I'm all about reusing the bad puns. She even provides comic bubbles on her screenshots. That alone makes her preview one of the best out there. Not to mention it's actually chalk-full of information packaged into a ball-o'-fun. This post is definitely worth a gander.

[The Big 'Uns]
Warcry:
Rise of Kunark Dev Diary by Emily "Domino" Taylor (Game Designer, EQ2 Tradeskills):
Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V.

Everything there is to know about the process that goes into implementing, development, designing tradeskills in Rise of Kunark. It doesn't get any better than this.

TenTonHammer:
RadarX's Rantings: Rise of Kunark: An Expansive Expansion
TenTonHammer's RadarX got to go on a little Kunarkian tour and provides us with his insight from his quick journey through. One particular observation he brought up that I'm curious to find out about is how the heck will players travel around in such a massive expansion without being bored to tears considering he didn't see any flight paths during the tour. The developers said they are keeping something under-wraps.

Not funny.... ever: Tomorrow, Tomorrow, we love ya - Tomorrow...
Need a laugh, how about two or three more? Check out TenTonHammer's Coyote Sharptongue's expressing his glee for the first real EverQuest 2 expansion. No real RoK info present here, but I felt it was enough to warrant a link and besides, how can you not love the rhino picture at the end.

EQ2 Traders:
RoK Press Tour: RoK Press Tour, DenMother Style! (part 1) - (part 2)
Niami Denmother is very popular person and long-time player who ran one of the most popular tradeskill site during EverQuest's heyday. It's great to see that she is still around an very dedicated to EverQuest and is still busy with those tradeskills! *click, click, click*

EQ2 Interface:
Rise of Kunark Interface Changes: UI Notes
If you are into window dressing and frames EQ2 Interface notes all the down and dirty details on what changes to expect. They also have a video available for download from the beta. (right click - save as)

Allakhazam:
RoK Press Tour: What Happens When You Give a Dark Elf Power?
Kiara shares their thoughts on the expansion. If you don't want to be spoiled you have been warned. There's a lot of good stuff on what areas you can expect to see in this preview -- more pictures as well. It's also worth mentioning that Allakhazam has their RoK-wiki setup and already flowing with a metric-ton of meaningful information.

[General Hubbub Forums]
This is where the rabble dabble goes down and many trolls remain exiled. Enter and flee at your own risk.

[Podcasts]
The Official SOE Podcast #25: Hank the Hamster, EQ and EQII Producers!
The show runs 90 minutes in length and covers a wide array of topics. You can check out cast notes and pictures at the above link.

[Screenshots]
Random RoK beta screenshots: Cyanbane posted a slew of high-quality screen caps from the RoK beta over on the EQ2-Daily forums.

[Massively]
Self promotion never fails! We have been hard at work reporting EverQuest 2 news and keeping up with all the MMOG mayhem over the past week. You must check out our own RoK press tour which is available for viewing. Dan O'Halloran has done an exquisite job with this feature, and it goes to show you how passionate he is about the game.

Please, be sure to keep checking back throughout the month for more in-depth reviews and several guides from some of our own writers. If you would like to see anything added to this post, leave a comment, and I will scrutinize it to see if it passes the filters. (Keep in mind, before making a suggestion it has to be somehow meaningful or funny.) Thanks, and I hope you all enjoy Rise of Kunark, the latest and biggest EverQuest 2 expansion!