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EverQuest patch switches up hot zones, nerfs some Ancient Heroes rewards
EverQuest has just been updated, and it's time to say goodbye to the ironically freezing set of hot zones that have provided icy experience bonuses for the past few months. This isn't a bad thing, as the new list of hot zones includes a number of popular areas for people to do their leveling in -- the full list can be found after the break, along with the rest of the patch notes. One of the hot zones, Howling Stones (also known as Charasis) has been altered to be more inviting for potential visitors:Apparently while performing some end-of-the-summer cleaning, the doors within Howling Stones were left unlocked. It may be some time before a maintenance crew can be sent there again to lock the doors up tight. Use this knowledge as you will. In addition, the spells protecting the entrance to Howling Stones have weakened, and adventurers of lesser skill and strength may find its halls now accessible.The other big change with this patch involves some tweaking of the Ancient Heroes missions from the previous update. The rewards from these missions have been the subject of much controversy ever since their introduction, and this patch has made many of them worthless (though they can still be refunded by handing them to the quest-giver). Having said that, some of the group-level rewards were actually improved. Hit the jump to see the patch notes in their entirety.
Features announced for EQII's Game Update 52
EverQuest II's Game Update 52: Monument and Might is almost ready to roll out on the Test server, and the official community site has put up a preview of some of the highlights of the patch. There seems to be a focus on the Rise of Kunark areas for this update. Here's what the preview tells us is coming: The player-written books we had a look at last month A new zone called the Emperor's Athenaeum in Charasis A group instance called Kurn's Tower: Breaching the Void A x2 raid zone also based on Kurn's Tower Research Assistants that can upgrade spells and combat arts Over 80 new quests in the overland zones of RoK We spotted a post from Kiara on the forums saying that these things are planned to be on Test next week if possible, so it won't be long until we know a lot more.
The Massively EQ2: Rise of Kunark beta tour
The continent of Kunark holds special memories for long-time EverQuest players. It was the focus of the first expansion of the original game, The Ruins of Kunark, and it opened up the world of Norrath in many new ways. It introduced the first level cap increase, the first zones dedicated to raid content and the best class weapons in the game through epic quests, some of which took over nine months to fully discover.EverQuest II is looking to recapture that magic with their fourth major expansion, The Rise of Kunark. And from the tour of the new expansions lands I had last week, I would say they've done a damn fine job.You've probably already heard about the level cap increase from 70 to 80, the new playable Sarnak race with a new starting city, the new Rhino mount and the return of Epic Weapons. But there may be a few things you haven't yet learned. Things revealed to me when Community Manager Grimwell led me into the jungles of continent both familiar and strange.
