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Norrathian Notebook: First impressions of EQII's Altar of Malice
Although Altar of Malice has been available to All Access subscribers for two weeks, EverQuest II's 11th expansion just opened up to everyone on Tuesday. That makes this a great time to share my initial impressions of the new lands and new content. Mind you, these are literally only first impressions: I am not one to blow through the content at a break-neck speed just so I can consume it all in as little time as possible. That's relegated to pecan pie. MMOs aren't a race to me. I prefer to gradually savor the content, stretching it out so the experience lasts. I've actually also been holding myself back from doing too much so I can run through things with those who can finally join me now that the expansion is fully released. I will continue to poke though it at my pace while I continue my other endeavors (do you realize just how long it takes to decorate a house?!). As such, a full review of everything will have to come at a later date. So what my thoughts as I amble amble my way through the land of the lost... er, jurassic park... I mean, Altar of Malice? EQII's dino-riffic expansion definitely has its highlights, like offering a heaping helping of nostalgia, but it has its disappointments as well. Here's my take.
EverQuest II: Altar of Malice goes live
Everyone must be drawn to the magical allure of "11/11" as a release date, for here's another one for you: EverQuest II's expansion, Altar of Malice, is now available to play. Altar of Malice adds the new playable Aerakyn race as well as bumps the level cap for adventurers, tradeskillers, and guilds up to 100. There's a gob of more stuff in this expansion, including an additional 29 zones of various types, an increase of prestige abilities to level 100, gem sets for armor, over a hundred new quests, and spiffy PvP gear. And since Altar of Malice is the new expansion on the block, free players can now access Chains of Eternity without paying. To help you jump into the expansion, we have not only the patch notes but also a preview and an interview about Altar of Malice's controversies for you to read while you update!
Norrathian Notebook: Talking EverQuest II's 10th anniversary with Holly Longdale
The big 1-0. EverQuest II has just joined the ranks of games in their double digits; today marks the 10th anniversary for the fantasy game. And while that's a pretty impressive feat in itself, just growing older isn't all that has happened to EQII in the past year. There have been plenty of content updates (and a change in how those update occur), holiday celebrations, and major news happenings during the course of the past 12 months. However, instead of just highlighting the major events and changes of the year in a standard retrospective piece, I'm going to do something a little different this year. On top of wandering down memory lane, I've pulled in Senior Producer Holly Longdale to answer a few questions and address some current concerns on the minds of players. Longdale talks about the high price of both the Altar of Malice Collector's Edition and the new Aerakyn race as well as shares some fun facts about who's been working on the game since the beginning.
EQII's Altar of Malice pricing, bonuses announced
During my recent dev tour of EverQuest II's upcoming Altar of Malice expansion, Senior Producer Holly Longdale revealed the new part Shaman/part Warrior elite merc that comes with the purchase of the collectors edition and said "We're really excited about what we're offering there -- some really special stuff this year." And now we've got all those details! The standard edition will cost $39.99 and comes with a special housing item. This large painting depicts an AoM scene of an angry Lanys T'Vyl and plenty of skulls. The collectors addition for $89.99 adds the elite battle-mystic mercenary Kluuron V'Lon as well a Striped Savage Pterodon flying mount, a tyrannodon house pet, two 40-day spell research potions, three Gems of Armor Advancement, and a multi-appearance mage tower housing item to teleport to the new content. Check out what each bonus looks like in the gallery below. Altar of Malice is available to November 11th for All Access members (who also get 10% off the purchase prices) and on November 28th for everyone else.
Sneaking a peek at EQII's Altar of Malice with SOE
When EverQuest II's next expansion, Altar of Malice, was announced at SOE Live in August, we heard about upcoming features, perused concept drawings, and even saw some screenshots. As exciting as all that can be, nothing compares to actually getting in the game and seeing the living breathing world of Norrath. And that's exactly what I got to do last week on a tour with Senior Producer Holly Longdale and Creative Director Akil Hooper. While we have to wait a bit longer to hear more about the Aerakyn (the new winged dragonkind race) and what special goodies will be included in the collector's edition, the tour of the zones allowed me to bask in the beauty of the artwork while weaving through dinosaurs, pygmies, and my favorite-yet-long-lost starting zone. And it definitely made me even more excited for the upcoming release of Altar of Malice!
EverQuest II begins a month of bonuses to prep players for level 100
Are you ready for EverQuest II's level bump to 100 when the 11th expansion, Altar of Malice, launches next month? If not, then you've got a month of bonuses ahead to help you prepare. Starting today at 3:00 p.m. EDT and lasting until Tuesday, November 11th at 2:59 a.m. EDT, All-Access members will receive a 25% bonus to experience. This includes adventuring, tradeskilling, and Alternate Advancement points. Additionally, all players will receive double Etyma, the coin used to purchase gear and items from the Tears of Veeshan merchants. (And yes, this double offer stacks, so paid members will actually be receiving four times the Etyma!) Want more? The 2014 Summer Ethereals and Artifacts are also making a comeback for this limited time. Check out these flaming weapon drops in the clips below.
EQII producer's letter talks Altar of Malice date, features
SOE's Holly "Windstalker" Longdale has penned a new EverQuest II producer's letter and published it on the game's forums. It contains a general update schedule from now through the end of November as well as an overview of the content in the Altar of Malice expansion. Said expansion launches on November 25, with an open beta on October 14 and an All Access member beta on October 7.
SOE Live 2014: More tidbits about EQII's Altar of Malice expansion
One of the great things about SOE Live is that not only do you get announcements like the EverQuest II expansion but there are also many panels to delve even deeper into the upcoming content. On top of that, you have Q&A sessions where dedicated players draw out more useful information! Here are a few more tidbits that came from the rest of the con.
SOE Live 2014: EverQuest II's Altar of Malice expansion and a new playable race
On the 11th day of the 11th month, EverQuest II will get its 11th expansion, Altar of Malice. With only the title and launch date announced during SOE Live's welcome keynote address on Thursday, fans are understandably eager for more juicy details. We talked with Senior Producer Holly Longdale and Creative Director Akil Hooper to glean some valuable intel before EQII's official keynote later this afternoon. They even shared some future plans and revealed the 10-year veteran reward. As a special treat, Longdale shared a very serious video on how the vaunted leaper bunny mounts came into being (which we've included here for you). As is pretty standard for expansions, Altar of Malice will include new zones (two regular overland and one specialized PvP deathmatch), new dungeons, new quests, a level cap increase, and some revamped systems. And if that wasn't enough, there are also dinosaurs. In addition to the expansion, sometime this fall players will have the opportunity to purchase access to a new playable race!
SOE trademarks The Darkened Sea and Altar of Malice
Two names sit on an onyx altar. You tip-toe up to them and gaze upon their majesty. There is no explanation, no revelation, just words sitting in a void. This is both tantalizing in the possibilities and maddening in the silence, causing you to clutch your fists and whisper, "What do they mean?" These words are "The Darkened Sea" and "Altar of Malice," and they are names trademarked by SOE this past week. Past the titles themselves and a description as "downloadable RPGs," we know nothing else, although they sound very much like expansion names for MMOs in SOE's library. The names were trademarked on July 2nd in California.
