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The Tattered Notebook: Solving the mystery of Kael Drakkel
In last week's Tattered Notebook, I mentioned a mysterious quest given to me by a server Guide named Kaaell. It involved locating several spots in Kael Drakkel, which would be no easy task given the difficulty of the zone. As Kaaell himself put it, this was a challenge for only the bravest players of the highest adventure level. Kael Drakkel is the newest contested dungeon from Destiny of Velious, and it's the most difficult group content available. Fortunately for the guild, we happened to catch him offering the quest again, and we all set off together to explore the zone and figure out what the quest would award us. Did we solve the quest and discover the reward? Read on to find out!
The Tattered Notebook: Week one in Velious
It's been a very busy week since EverQuest II's Destiny of Velious launched! Despite a few server issues, the launch seemed to go smoothly, and there were plenty of players running around in otter illusion form by the end of the first day. I happily welcomed the return of the Kael Giants, the Coldain Dwarves, and even the Tizmak! After battling the void for so long, I found them to be a refreshing change. In this first week, I set out to raise and train my flying griffon mount and began to tackle the new content. Read on for highlights of my past week, including public quests, my stubborn baby griffon, and a mysterious guide quest involving Kael Drakkel.
MV Guide: February 28th - March 7th
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively's Livestream channel. Every week the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of games to take a look at. During Livestream events, you can participate in the live chat to learn about the game, ask questions, and spend some time with Massively staff and readers. This week's edition of MV Guide is a little on the light side thanks to GDC, but what it lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality! Beau and Karen are checking out the brand-new expansions in their games of choice, Larry's taking on Aphrodite in DCUO, and Karen will be making an encore Livestream performance to show off the game on everyone's mind this week: RIFT. Follow along after the jump for this week's MV Guide!
Exclusive launch trailer for EverQuest II: Destiny of Velious expansion
Heroes of Norrath, heed the call of Al'Kabor. An ancient enemy once again threatens the world as we know it. The powers of fear were stolen, and only the twin Swords of Destiny can bring victory. But there is hope! A creature has appeared on the shores of Norrath to transport heroes to the continent of Velious, where the evil rests. If the enemy is defeated there, you can save the people of Norrath. Your destiny and the destiny of all are tied to the Destiny of Velious. Tomorrow, Sony Online Entertainment will unleash its seventh expansion for the company's premier title, EverQuest II: Destiny of Velious. In celebration, SOE has released a brand-new video calling all EQII players to arms. It features narration from the Erudite Al'Kabor and boasts footage shot entirely in-game. We want to be the first to show you, the Massively reader, this exclusive trailer! Follow after the break to get a glimpse of the Destiny of Velious expansion, then ride your flying mount over to the official website to find out how you can take part in saving the world.
The Tattered Notebook: What will Velious bring?
It's been a long wait, but tomorrow, EverQuest II players will finally get to explore the frozen continent of Velious. Longtime players, including me, worried that the expansion would not pay tribute to the features that made the original Scars of Velious so popular. The official site isn't very reassuring, either, as it's dominated by announcements of appearance gear and marketing promotions. Veteran players are left feeling like the Wendy's lady, pointedly asking, "Where's the beef?" With the arrival of launch day, what will the Destiny of Velious expansion bring to players? Is there more to this expansion than flying mounts and cute othmir illusions? Read on to see what players might expect to see.
EQII's Destiny of Velious expansion reviewed, sort of
Hey guess what? The EverQuest II Destiny of Velious expansion NDA is down! Not! That's basically how it went for EQII fansites recently as SOE pulled a fast one in regard to allowing info on the highly anticipated expansion into the wild. We were quite interested in a preliminary Velious review, and Feldon from EQ2Wire was all set to oblige us when... well, let's just say his hands were tied. "Really, when the 'NDA lifts,' all this means is you are allowed to talk about what you experienced in beta. The gag order is lifted. You get your voice back. But anything else is still off limits," he writes. Feldon goes on to say that EQ2Wire will still be publishing a couple of articles on the expansion, but nowhere near as many as had been planned. So how's the new Norrathian content itself? Pretty good, it seems. "The group and raid zones are some of the most impressive, well-built, engaging, interesting content designed yet for EQII," Feldon tells readers. He goes on to praise flying mounts and new art assets while saving a few unkind words for public quests, solo quests, and itemization. It's quite a lengthy write-up despite the lingering restrictions, so head over to EQ2Wire and check it out for yourself.
The Tattered Notebook: Velious itemization and flying Gnomes
With the launch of Destiny of Velious rapidly approaching, EverQuest II fans are starting to hear a lot more about what this expansion will bring. This past week was filled with new lore, new screenshots, and another live Webcast with Senior Producer Dave Georgeson, Lead Designer Rich Waters, and Itemization Developer Salim Grant. As in previous webcasts, the hosts talked about flying mounts, launch day events, and othmir, but the main topic they discussed was itemization and gear progression. There is no level cap increase with Destiny of Velious, and because of that, many players wondered what items would look like, especially since a lot of Sentinel's Fate gear was already loaded with procs, wards, and effects. In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll look at how the developers tackled this difficult area and what changes players should expect to see with the arrival of Destiny of Velious.
Exclusive screenshots of EverQuest II: Destiny of Velious revealed
If you mention the word Velious to most fans of the original EverQuest, you'll instantly see their eyes light up. The original Velious expansion was a revolution for EverQuest back in 2000, so it's no surprise that EverQuest II fans are getting excited about the upcoming Destiny of Velious expansion. Sony Online Entertainment has big shoes to fill with this update, which is due to launch later this month on February 22nd. Information on the Velious content has been sparse recently, with only a few lore reveals and a trailer released in the past few months. Today, SOE has released several screenshots of new zones in the expansion, exclusive to Massively. To put the new EQ2 screenshots into their proper contexts, SOE has provided the following lore: "This glacial tundra bears the scars of centuries of conflict and strife. Here, adventurers can find the haunted remnants of the series of battles known as the Ring War, which was fought between the dwarven race known as the Coldain, and their ancient enemy, the Kromrif. On the southern tip lies the remains of a crumbling fortress, now occupied by the savage snow orcs known as the Ry'Gorr. To the west lies the Storm Gorge, a massive valley carved from the land during the continent-cracking event known as the Upheaval. There, the noble coldain stand against the might of the fearsome and militaristic legion known as the Order of Rime, and fight to protect their beloved city of Thurgadin." %Gallery-116188%
The Tattered Notebook: More on flying mounts, public quests, and prestige homes
SOE has been slowly getting new information out about Destiny of Velious. As part of an ongoing promotion to showcase the upcoming expansion, Senior Producer Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson and Greg "Rothgar" Spence took part in the second installment of the Destiny of Velious webcast. They took the opportunity to elaborate on topics from the first show and also revealed some exciting new features. In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll look at the highlights of last Friday's webcast. Read on to hear more about flying mounts, prestige housing, and public quests.
The Tattered Notebook: Highlights from the Destiny of Velious webcast
With Destiny of Velious just around the corner, the team at SOE has announced a webcast schedule to provide details about the upcoming expansion and answer player questions. The first one was this past Friday and was attended by Senior Producer Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson and Siliam "Silius" Grant, whom Vanguard fans might recognize. While the show was brief, the duo did touch on many different areas -- from itemization to raids and even to the addition of new public quests. Read on for highlights from the first Velious question-and-answer session.
EverQuest II Destiny of Velious webcast schedule released
The EverQuest II development team is gearing up for the long-awaited Destiny of Velious expansion, and part of said gearing up involves disseminating information to the masses. Starting today at 4:00 p.m. PST, SOE will be hosting a series of live webcasts designed to spread the word about Velious as well as give anxious players a chance to have their questions heard. The webcasts will be taking place every Friday for the next month, with various guests and topics scheduled for each. Tonight's segment features Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson and Salim "Silius" Grant, and the duo is scheduled to talk a bit about new Velious zones, raids, and more. Player-submitted questions are also on the docket, so visit the official EQII forums to submit yours. If you're looking for a bit of a preview, head to EQ2Wire, where Feldon shares his experiences with past SOE webcasts as well as the full schedule.
The Tattered Notebook: Why Velious is so important
This week's Tattered Notebook is a follow-up to last week's column, How not to Sell an Expansion. I rarely write negative pieces, and I'm certainly a fan of SOE and EverQuest II. The main reason I wrote my column is the content in the expansion. If it was titled "Destiny of the Purple Pickled Dragon," I don't think I'd mind the lack of information about the game. But this is Velious, the sacred cow, the golden goose, the holy grail, the... well, you get the picture. Maybe I'm being overly nerdy, but Velious is where I had many MMO memories and lots of muscle atrophy. Now, I know there are several of you who didn't experience the original Velious and are thinking, "Man, she's being a huge nerd, what's the big deal?" So for this week's Tattered Notebook, I'm going to take us back to the year 2000 for a look at why this expansion was so special.
EverQuest II's Destiny of Velious offers a trio of pre-orders
Which way would you like your EverQuest II: Destiny of Velious expansion pack? Sunny-side up? With fries? Medium-rare? If you like options, then SOE's assortment of pre-orders will have you pouring over the menu quite carefully. Destiny of Velious became available for pre-orders yesterday, and EverQuest II's website lists three versions of the game available for purchase. The standard digital version is $39.99 and offers a loyal snow hound pet and four in-game paintings for your house as special rewards. If you want to kick it up a notch and shell out for the digital collector's edition, you'll get the snow hound, paintings, Tserrina's Wedding Present housing item, cosmetic ice armor, a prestige house and the ability to transform your griffon into a Stormfeather Brood Guardian. The collector's edition is temporarily priced at $59.99 for the next few weeks, and will go up to $89.99 on February 22nd. There's also a retail version through Amazon and GameStop for those who prefer a physical copy of the game. The retail version contains the four paintings and an animated cloak as fun rewards. All versions of Destiny of Velious come with the core game and all of the expansions to date, and will include a full month of free gametime for new accounts. You can read all of the nitty-gritty details over at EverQuest II. Update: Fixed the date of the CE price increase.
The Tattered Notebook: How not to sell an expansion
One month. That's all that's left before EverQuest II's new expansion, Destiny of Velious, goes live. I've been looking forward to this expansion since 2009, when rumors first emerged that there was some work on Velious content quietly going on. It's my favorite content from EverQuest, and it really marked a Golden Age for those who look back fondly at the game. But with one month left, I'm left feeling frustrated and concerned. There's just too much silence about the expansion and too many questions left unanswered. Read on to see why the blank slate of Destiny of Velious is a troublesome sign for players.
EverQuest II reveals January's pre-order rewards for Destiny of Velious
Have you always considered yourself the leader of the pack? Do you have a wolfish grin? Does a full moon bring a howl of delight to your lips? Then you may be a little creepy to be around, but you should also enjoy the January rewards for being a loyal subscriber of EverQuest II as we count down to Destiny of Velious. As part of its three-month roll-out of special rewards for faithful fans, SOE revealed the two new rewards coming to players on January 18th. First up is a loyal wolf pup companion named Frost (because of the snowy theme, you see) who will follow you around all cute-like as you slaughter the denizens of the Great Wastes. Players will also get a precious Superior Potion of the Advanced, a one-use item that grants a two-hour buff to all types of experience. When quaffed, the potion grants double adventuring, tradeskill and alternative advancement XP. Any player who pre-orders Destiny of Velious -- which goes on sale January 18th as well -- is entitled to these rewards as well as the upcoming February rewards (including an ice wolf mount). You can read all the details over at EverQuest II.
Step right up, step right up and get your EverQuest II: Destiny of Velious pre-order!
Every EverQuest II players' eyes are firmly fixed on February 22nd and the launch of the newest expansion pack, Destiny of Velious. Beta testers have already been exploring the Great Wastes of Velious for long-forgotten treasure, but soon these lands will be open to one and all. SOE has announced that the pre-orders for Destiny of Velious are scheduled to go on sale on Tuesday, January 18th. Not only will you get the peace of mind knowing that your copy will be ready for you on launch day, but you'll be entitled to a number of sweet rewards that SOE is bestowing on the faithful. You can check out the pre-order details over at EverQuest II's site, and don't forget to read our interview with Senior Producer Dave Georgeson about this exciting expansion!
The Tattered Notebook: A look forward, with a look back
It's definitely feeling like the dog days of January in EverQuest II right now. Frostfell is almost over, Destiny of Velious beta is in high gear, and there are only a few weeks left before Sentinel's Fate becomes "last year's" expansion. While a visit to the Gigglegibber lotto has helped pass the time, I've been fighting a losing battle with pre-expansion doldrums. But then I got thinking about those first few days in Sentinel's Fate and our first foray into The Conservatory, and I began to get really excited about the Velious expansion that's right around the corner. Read on for my trip down memory lane and see why I'm eagerly anticipating the arrival of February.
EQII Destiny of Velious beta in full swing
News of SOE's EverQuest II has been fairly sparse as of late. Aside from the recent server merges and a somewhat controversial vampire race, it's been pretty quiet relative to the deluge of information that followed last summer's free-to-play conversion. Presumably, the SOE gnomes have been too busy bustling about with the creation of EQII's next expansion to provide any headline fodder, and exhibit A is the fact that the Destiny of Velious beta is rolling right along. EQ2Wire's Feldon mentions community reports of the ongoing beta (which is under a strict NDA at this point), and he also provides a helpful sign-up link (viewing it requires SOE account credentials), as well as a link to producer Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson's thoughts on the early closed beta process. "Depending on how many folks pile into the beta, and how many testers we need, we may authorize extra groups of people later this month. Stay tuned for more details," Georgeson writes.
The Tattered Notebook: Eleven ways to ring in 2011
The stockings might be stretched and frayed from being stuffed with presents, and the Frostfell tree might be shedding all over your Halasian home, but that doesn't mean the celebration is over! While the holidays are winding down, things are hopping in EverQuest II. If you're looking to dodge those post-holiday blues, look no further! I've composed a list of fun things to do in EQII during the month of January, and all are doable no matter what your level. Read below for a look at 11 for '11, and ring in the New Year in EverQuest II.
The Tattered Notebook: EverQuest II's year in review
EverQuest II may be the ripe old age of six, but it certainly isn't showing signs of slowing down. With 2010 coming to a close, it's time to look back on the past year, which was marked with several major changes to the game. Read on for The Tattered Notebook's year in review, and then share your memories of the past year in EverQuest II.
