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LoN promotion weekend brings next pair of new cards
The weekend is coming up, and we have another Legends of Norrath promotion to look forward to. For those that are unfamiliar with this regular event, it spells out an increased drop-rate for packs of LoN cards in EverQuest and EverQuest II, and there's usually a few brand new cards up for grabs.Not breaking tradition, two new cards are debuting for the weekend. These are the Thulian Dreadknight, and the Wood Elf Shaman. To take part in the weekend, simply kill mobs in EQ and EQII between 2PM PST today, Friday, and 6PM PST on Sunday the 2nd of March, and you'll have the enhanced card drop-rate and a chance at one of the two new cards.
One Shots: Sunset in the Commonlands
Here's a game we don't see very often, which is rather surprising as I think it's really a lovely-looking game. This One Shots comes to us courtesy of Istar, who plays a Fury on the Blackburrow server in EverQuest II. As he says, he was running through the Commonlands, enjoying a sunset and decided to share with us. It certainly is very pretty!Do you have a place that makes you stop to enjoy the scenery while passing by? Perhaps you just like the architecture that the game designers dreamed up? Whatever your reason, we'd love to see your screenshots! Just mail them to us at oneshots@massively.com. Your image could be the next one up!%Gallery-9798%
EQII developer chat coming this Thursday
The next EverQuest II developer chat has been scheduled for Thursday, 28th of February at 4:30PM PST, and will give players a chance to have their questions answered by members of the Developer and Community teams that work with EQII. The session is being hosted by Allakhazam in their IRC channel, and details on joining the channel can be found here. There are two ways of getting your questions answered by the EQII team. The first is to join the IRC channel at the specified time and have your questions ready to ask personally. The other way is to send a private message to an EQII Allakhazam Administrator (as per this thread), and they will be able to bring the questions to the chat. We'll report back when the chat is over with any juicy details that the team feel like feeding us.
SOE developer spotlight: Bill Yeatts
SOE wants you to "Get to know a developer", and have sat Art Director and Character Lead for EverQuest II Bill Yeatts -- a.k.a. Bruinen the Insane -- in the interview chair and grilled him for the fans. We learn that his role in the art team is mostly managing and keeping the wheels greased these days, but he still gets to flex his own artistic muscle occasionally. A typical day for Yeatts could include working with his team on any of the steps involved in bringing a new asset to EQII, from concept art, to 3D models, animation, and then the final technical steps in translating the asset to the game.He may break a few hearts along the way with this question and answer: People have a misconception that when you become a video game designer or artist you play games all day. Is that ever true? No, this is software development. The product we develop just happens to be a game.However, he brings his own thoughts on the evolution of graphics technology detracting designers from remembering what makes a game fun at its core, and even has some tips for those looking to start out as an artist for a game company. Follow the link below to read everything that Yeatts has to say.
Preview EQII's Game Update 43
It hasn't been long since the momentous Game Update 42 hit EverQuest II, but the update train has kept on chuggin', and we've now got a preview of what's coming in Game Update 43. Of course, it's nowhere near the magnitude of GU42, but was anyone expecting that after the amount of content that has just been added mere weeks ago? The update is centered around looting, with changes to group loot options and looting "shiny" collectables from the ground. A much missed "Need Before Greed" group loot distribution method is being added, which many players will be familiar with from other games. A "Round Robin" will also be introduced, which distributes loot to group members automatically and in sequence . The other change makes it so that you have the option of leaving a shiny on the ground once you've harvested it and seen what it is. This is to help prevent looting the same worthless shiny over and over amd cluttering up your inventory. Alternatively, you'll be able to shove that worthless shiny on to your group, with the option to include these in group looting.
Sony Online Entertainment is looking for interns
If you live and breathe gaming and are looking for some experience in the games industry, then you'll probably want to note that Sony Online Entertainment is currently looking to fill a number of intern positions. SOE is responsible for a whole swag of MMOs, including EverQuest, EverQuest II, Pirates of the Burning Sea, and Star Wars Galaxies, and some experience with them would likely be a valuable asset for further work in the industry, if not with SOE themselves.They say that an internship with them would stretch 9 weeks, is a part time and paid position, and each intern will have a mentor to help them develop during the program. Taking a look at the drop-down menu on the SOE Career Opportunities page shows that quite a range of internships are available, from working with the community, to programming and developing, to art and even QA. Pretty much all of SOE's internships are based in San Diego, but it looks like there may be a couple for Seattle and Denver as well.
LoN tournament this weekend grants Antonia Bayle card
There are countless citizens of Norrath out there who would love to pick up the fair ruler of Qeynos, Antonia Bayle. Well, now you can! Err, pick up her card, that is. This weekend marks the next Legends of Norrath tournament, and all entrants will receive an "Antonia Bayle, Ruler of Qeynos" card. As well as this, they will have the choice of two loot cards, the "Nimbus of the Lover" for EverQuest and "Poisoned Fists" for EverQuest II.Entry to the tournament costs 10 event passes as per usual, and is limited to U.S. residents. The minimum prize consists of the above cards, and 3 booster packs (with the top tier of players taking home increasingly more of these). The starting time is 7:00AM PST on Saturday February 16th, and the tournament will wrap up at 9:00PM PST on Monday the 18th. Check past the break for full tournament details.
Crafter epic cloaks obtained, screenshotted and guides written
So how long has GU42 been out? Not even three days yet? Bravo EverQuest II crafters, bravo. Over at EQ2 Traders Corner, we get to see shots of some newly obtained crafter epic cloaks, and partial guides on how exactly you can get your hands on them. A note from Niami Denmother at EQ2TC before you get started (to scare off all the posers): 100 gathering will be required -20K (that is negative 20K) or better faction with Bathezid's Watch will be required T5 rares, and several imbue materials from T7 and T8 will be required Cooperation with crafters of other professions will be required. Unless they have 9 separate accounts, one for each of their level 80 crafters, even the most independent and antisocial crafter will need to work with other crafters and the commission system in order to receive the rewards. Even though some people have been able to churn these babies out in a matter of days, there's still a lot of work involved. For some extra incentive, however, it's not just the cloaks that you'll receive. You also get a prefix title, one of each tier 8 rare resource, a mastery certificate to place in your home, and without a doubt the best reward, a super nice piece of jewelery: the Earring of the Solstice. The earring is actually better than the cloak (each cloak has the same effect, +800 vs heat and an increased success chance of 1.4%) and should be considered the main reward -- but the cloaks are pimping too. You can see a gallery of all the cloaks EQ2TC has so far here.
New EQII video shows off epic weapons close up
A new video at EQ2Players gives us a little taste of what's to come now that GU42 is out, and 24 epic weapons (one for each class) are available in EverQuest II. In the minute-and-a-half clip we are introduced to a few of these weapons in the flesh, find out their names, and get to bask in their shiny effects and see the moving parts.The first close-up is of the Templar epic weapon, called " The Impact of the Sacrosanct". This one looks like a gyrating mallet, with a twirly yellow effect surrounding each end. Next in the video is the Warlock epic, "Death's Grip", which is a short blade that has a glowing and moving disc built into its middle. This is followed by the "Sedition", the Shadowknight's new toy, and it is predictably a big badass sword that gives off a strong red glow. Finally we're treated to the Inquisitor epic, "Penitent's Absolution", which we featured before Game Update 42 was out in the epic weapon concept art gallery., but seeing it moving is on a whole other level.The hunt is on for these, as well as the other 20 epic weapons for all the other classes, and it surely won't be too long until we bring you stories and pictures of them in the wild.
February loot cards added for Legends of Norrath
EQ2Players has announced a February Loot Re-Roll for Legends of Norrath. Two shiny new loot cards will be available from now in Forsworn boosters packs -- and not only that, every Forsworn pack that has already been opened also has the chance of scoring you one, so check to see if you've been retroactively lucky. The loot card for EverQuest this time around is called Visage of the Bixie Drone, and it would seem fairly obvious what you might receive for cashing this one in. However, more intriguing is the EverQuest II loot card, a Thermal Lunchbox. A container of some sort? Possibly linked to the Provisioning craft? Do you turn into a walking lunchbox? The little box icon included on the card indicates that it would be storage, but only time will tell what other surprises it holds.
Game Update 42 not out today
A lot of EverQuest II players had believed that the enormous Game Update 42 was scheduled to be released today, February 5th -- but then no one could really trace back to why they had this date in mind. This thread managed to dig up that the origin was most likely from a French community staff member that had said GU42 was planned for January 29th at first, but was to be pushed back to February 5th.The long and short of it is, no, it will not be released today. Community Relations Representative Aaron "Gnobrin" Bisnett locked the above thread, and started a new one in the Community News section of the forums, stating that prior specific dates given for GU42's release were incorrect and that "this update is planned to be released soon, but not today". Later in the thread, Craig "Grimwell" Dalrymple confirmed that a French Rep had done the damage, and the offending post has been removed to prevent confusion (answering the question of why no one could find it before). Gnobrin has promised to update the Community News thread with a real date when he can get his hands on it.
Get your epic weapon concept art wallpapers here!
Excitement is reaching epic proportions (sorry) for EverQuest II's next patch, Game Update 42, which will bring epic weapon quests for each class. SOE's EQ2Players site is now offering a batch of wallpapers that feature concept art for the not-quite-here-yet weapons, and also the tradeskill cloak teaser that we've seen previously at EQ2 Traders Corner.In total, there are 12 epic weapon wallpapers available, and a quick refresher on the number of classes in EQII shows that there must plenty more weapons we haven't seen yet. You could argue that class archetypes might be sharing weapons, but we've already seen that the Monk and Bruiser each have their own shiny new toys to look forward to. Something to note is that bringing up some (not all) of the wallpapers gives you a weapon name included in the file name. The one featured on this post is called Penitent's Absolution, fairly holy sounding, and you can go through the rest of them to find out more names and have a guess at classes.
New fan resource center for EQII is live
SOE's Station.com website has launched a new Fan Resource Center for EverQuest II. So exactly what kind of resources will a fan find there? A visit to the site shows that a glut of screenshots, videos, game art, wallpapers, and even Myspace themes are available for perusing and using. There is a section that provides links to the EQ2Players Character/Guild/Item searches, some other useful websites, and a featured website with a short description of a current article.Also on offer from the main page is an EQII personality test, which aims to discern which character class fits you the best. I turned out to be a Wizard, which is actually a class I will rarely get into in an MMO, but the questions were a bit of fun anyway. Try it out for yourself when you check out all the fancy media up for grabs.
Romantic crafting gifts to charm on Erollisi Day
Aren't crafters doing well in GU42? To celebrate Erollisi Day (Erollisi is the goddess of love) in EverQuest II, there will be a slew of crafted gifts available for the citizens of Norrath to woo the ones they fancy. As with the special Frostfell crafted items, these will be also be available for purchasing ready-made, but where's the fun in that? A recipe book can be purchased that contains 14 recipes for all crafters, and 2 recipes for tinkers. Players will need to collect hard candy and love notes from mobs as the primary component in crafting the gifts, but these can also be handed in for certain items from the recipe vendors, so you'll need to choose how they are used. These items will only drop during the Erollisi holiday, so you'll need to stack up during this period if you plan on cranking out the love-goodies any time in the future. Check out EQ2 Traders Corner for the full gallery of gifts, and expect the Erollisi festivities to commence with the release of Game Update 42, some time in early February.
EQ2 GU42 crafting preview from the Test server
The recent patch notes from EverQuest II's Test server mentioned some notable crafter additions, and now EQ2 Traders Corner has gone to Test in usual fashion and handily documented everything they found. We get to see some new carpenter items, the mannequins that will help display armor and weapons in your home, and there's even a write-up of the new tradeskill quest.The recipe for the new mannequins can be obtained from your society merchant, as long as your faction is 30k or better. It can be scribed at 55 but has a difficulty of 75, so you can give it a go if you're a bit lower, but expect an uphill battle. Oh, and any tradeskill class can make them. The two versions of the recipe are for a male and female mannequin, and dressing them is achieved by dragging any clothing, armor or weapon on to the mannequin placed in your room. Also included in the crafting preview is a look at the new Provisioner Mastery Volume 2 book, and some of the fun expendable items that can be produced from it.
EQ2 GU42 to include epic cloaks for tradeskillers
Crafting fans rejoice, for it's not just the combat classes that will be getting epic rewards when EverQuest II receives its next major patch, Game Update 42. EQ2 Traders Corner has the scoop on some crafter-specific cloaks that will also be introduced with the update, and we're treated to an interesting picture of bits and pieces of each of them.As noted at EQ2TC, you can be fairly confident that top-and-center will be for Provisioners, but the rest of them would be open for interpretation at this point. Also up in the air is how exactly these will be obtained. One can only imagine some incredible crafting tasks will be required in order to obtain one of these beauties.
Pictures of Monk and Bruiser epics emerge
Over at Ogrebear's Thoughts, we have the first look at some of the new epic weapons to be released in EverQuest II's Game Update 42. The picture apparently comes from Beckett Massive Online Gamer, and Ogrebear credits a player named Wyntre from the game's forums for the scan.The weapon with the blue background has been confirmed as the Monk epic. On the left is how it looks normally, and on the right (when it opens up) is when the player enters combat. Fancy. The red background weapon is for Bruisers, but there is supposedly a scorpion tail that attaches to it that is not pictured here. Queue up all your Wolverine jokes now people, GU42 isn't that far off.
Next Legends of Norrath promo weekend to begin February 1st
The next Legends of Norrath promo weekend will take place on February the 1st, beginning at 2pm PST. As with the previous weekend, this doesn't affect LoN in-game, but rather, players of EverQuest and EverQuest II will find that packs of cards will drop from mobs at an increased rate. Also like last promotion weekend, there will be two new cards on offer, the Fetid Goo and Runnyeye Cook. The Fetid Goo looks like a bit of a mixed bag if you read its effect: "When this unit is destroyed, destroy another friendly unit at the same quest". It's a good card for its power cost, but obviously situational. The Runnyeye Cook however looks to be a solid low-power-cost choice with quite a handy effect.
EQ2 Game Update 42 to include epic quests
We have already had a preview of what is in store for EverQuest II's Game Update 42 with the recent patch notes for the Test server -- some new deities, house mannequins to display weapons and armor, a connection stats window etc. However, it appears that the Live server version of this update will implement, at long last, the epic weapon quests. The epic quests had originally been slated to release with the Rise of Kunark expansion, but due to the San Diego fires, development was pushed back. To make the original release after their setbacks would have meant a compromise to the quality of the quests or to the quality of the expansion, depending on how they channeled their resources, and neither of these options were preferable for the development team.EQII producer Bruce Ferguson has talked in the past about the epic quests, and in the above producer's letter, he mentions how careful the team is being with information relating to their completion. This is of course the reason that the quests were not released on Test along with the other GU42 features, as there would likely be a detailed walkthrough somewhere on the web before they even went live. Ferguson says that the team is on schedule and they hope to release GU42 in early February.
January LoN championship qualifier to take place this weekend
Last month the first qualifying round for the Legends of Norrath championships took place, and we're now staring down the barrel of round two. Beginning at 10AM PST on January 26th, the January LoN Championship Qualifier will commence. As with last round, there's about USD$5000 in prizes up for grabs, with the overall winner getting cash, a trip to Gen Con Indy, entry into the LoN championship and their likeness on a new card.There is no entry fee to get involved, but only US citizens may participate. Aside from the main prize, players up to 16th place will be rewarded in cash. The first day will be a series of heats, and the top 16 from day one will advance to day two where final placing will be determined with more battles. Get the full details of the qualifier after the break.
