SOE releases EQII Age of Discovery expansion, Freeport revamp, F2P model

There are big days, and there are big days, and today is definitely the latter when it comes to EverQuest II. First of all, as producer Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson says in his newly minted producer's letter, "today we stop requiring any sort of payment."

Yes, free-to-play is here (again, and across the board this time). That's just the tip of the iceberg, though. Today also marks the introduction of the much-ballyhooed Freeport revamp along with the rest of Game Update 62, and oh yeah, did we forget to mention the Age of Discovery expansion?

If so, the short version of AoD includes the dungeon-maker tool, mercenaries, the Beastlord class, and a ton of customization and collectible updates sure to make your stay in Norrath even more enjoyable. We could tell you about 20 additional alternate advancement points, a new launchpad and website, new social networking integration, and more, but then you'd have no reason to check out the official forums for yourself. Check out the official AoD trailer after the break.