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It's a busy (bonus xp) weekend in EverQuest II
It's a great weekend in Norrath, specifically in the post-cataclysm world of EverQuest 2! For adventurers looking for something to do this weekend, bonus xp will be your reward. Combat and Tradeskill xp are boosted all weekend, through to midnight on Sunday the 3rd. Get hacking!While you're doing that, you might find that you get more Legends of Norrath card packs than you're used to. That's because (as we noted earlier this week) it's a promo weekend in-game for the TCG title. As with previous promo weekends, this one comes with some exclusive card drops. Always fun.If that's still not enough for you, or you don't have access to your gaming machine this weekend, why not pop over to the forums to weigh in on guild housing? Community Rep Gnobrin is picking the playerbase's brain about one of EQ2's standout features, specifically asking: What else do you want? Sounds like they want to punch it up a tick, and they could use your help to do it.Ahhh ... a fine weekend to be a Norrathian.
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.
Behind the Curtain: Something Unexpected
More often than not, we tend to get stuck in a rut in our gaming careers. I've been quite guilty of it in the past – all of my characters in World of Warcraft have levelled their way up solo. I've decided to take steps to rectify this, by rolling up a new character, a Warrior this time, and I plan on making a concerted effort to get her into as many instances as I can. Even if it means jumping into the PUG from Hell, I'm going to force myself to step out of the rut I've gotten into in my games. My big lottery win hasn't came round yet, so I'm not yet able to play WoW all day long in my boxer shorts. Since I have to work for a living, my time online is pretty restricted, so I like to know that I'm spending it wisely, which means that I tend to end up falling into the same routine – maybe a couple of daily quests, a quick check of the Auction House, maybe clear the odd solo quest out of my log. It doesn't sound very exciting, and sometimes it occurs to me that it isn't.
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.
Where do you want SOE Fan Faire to be?
Craig "Grimwell" Dalrymple passed along word that the voting has begun to determine where this year's Sony Online Entertainment Fan Faire event will be held. The Station.com forums are hosting the poll and discussion, which offers four options: June 19 - 22 : Orlando : $149 per night June 26 - 29 : San Diego : $125 per night September 4 - 7 : Las Vegas : $115 per night June 26 - 29 : Orlando : $149 per night The annual Fan Faire is an SOE-sponsored event that allows players to meet with each other face-to-face. It also allows for the developers, producers, and community managers to reach out to the playerbase, putting a voice and personality to the differently colored names on the forums. The company offers MMO-themed events and different panels, to allow the customers to more fully explore their favorite games. You can see details of previous Faires at the official event site, including highlights of last year's Las Vegas show.As you might expect from the price options, Vegas is currently winning this particular horse race. Just from my perspective, I really hope they don't end up choosing early September: Fall is already an awfully busy time for game conferences. San Diego is warm, and Orlando offers the opportunity for Disney-related hilarity! So, your choice is clear: not Vegas.
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.
Developer spotlight falls on Brandan McDonald at EQ2Players
EQ2Players has continued their developer spotlight series, this time interviewing Brandan McDonald. McDonald works on modeling the environments and buildings in EverQuest II, and you can see examples of his work in zones like the Fens of Nathsar, Greater and Lesser Faydarks, and the Emerald Halls.The interview sees McDonald answer questions about how he joined the EQII team, what he is currently working on at SOE, what he does outside of work, and he even tells the story behind his cushy executive chair. On the important "pirates or ninjas?" query, he sides with the scurvy sea-dogs, but that's not surprising considering this week's launch of SOE MMO Pirates of the Burning Sea. Check out the full interview at EQ2Players.
Behind the Curtain: What's in a name?
How much attention do you pay to the names behind the MMOs we're playing just now? Do you dig up as much information as you can on the developers, producer and designers involved in up and coming games? Do you even pay any attention at all?I'll be honest – I picked up Star Wars Galaxies based on the licence alone. While I've been a gamer since my Uncle gave me a ZX Spectrum as a child, I didn't know anything about the people behind Galaxies. I had heard about Everquest of course – I wasn't stupid after all – but Galaxies was my first MMO, and I was a noob in every sense of the word. I didn't know anything about the designers, the developers, and I didn't even think to check up on them.I was a little more aware when I came round to World of Warcraft. I was, and still am, a big Diablo 2, fan, so I knew who Blizzard were. I hadn't picked up Warcraft 3 when it came out, due to the PC I had t the time not being to run it, but I knew that it'd been a huge commercial and critical success for Blizzard, so I knew that it was a safe bet. Plus, it was taking the world by storm already, so it was a bit of a no-brainer. Maybe I'm just older and wiser now, or maybe the information is just easier to get a hold of, but I pay more attention to the people actually making the game that I'm interested in – I thought this week, we could have a look at some of the names you should be aware of.
The Daily Grind: Should crafting be risky?
In certain MMOs like EverQuest II, you can whiff profession combines -- which is to say you can fail to craft an object if your skill isn't high enough. We've even heard tales of people bombing them so badly at the highest levels that they wind up nearly killing you on top of destroying pricey materials. In other games like World of Warcraft, your tradeskill combines are guaranteed to work every time. There's also no mechanic in "specialization" that opens up the ability to make slightly better gear than a non-specialized person -- in WoW, you either are able to do that tradeskill, or you aren't. Some of the hardcore crafters out there enjoy the element of risk for the trade-off of being able to make slightly better items if you've practiced that trade a lot. Others like the knowledge that you're guaranteed to make at least as good an item as everyone else with your expensive materials. This morning we'd like to ask you where you stand? Do you think that crafting should have an element of risk, wherein you can lose materials but may wind up with slightly better items on a particularly good combine? Or do you prefer the model that WoW uses, that guarantees that you'll wind up with an item, exactly the same as everyone else's item, without the fear of losing materials or taking damage?
Latest patch update notes released for EQ2 Test server
The latest patch notes for EverQuest II's Test server are here, and the full list is available after the jump, but we'll do a little break-down of some of the bigger and more general changes on this side of the fence. It looks like the Avatars of the Gods have bolstered their ranks with a few late-to-the-party ringers, The Tribunal, Karana, and Bertoxxolous. Tradeskillers will now also be able to provide players with mannequins that can display armor and weapons in their home.While we're on the tradeskill front, the crafting-inclined will be pleased to hear that there is a new quest available for level 30 or higher tradeskillers that have already completed the first quest, Journeyman Service. As well as this, tradeskill societies are offering a new recipe book to those that they regard warmly, and rare pelts that are looted from chests will now stack with those that are harvested -- but existing pelts probably won't have this property, so use up your old ones first. The patch also seems to have given pets a boot up the backside, as they will now have an easier time keeping up with their owners when traveling. Finally, a connection stats window has been added to the user interface, and can tell you your ping, bytes per second, frames per second and packet loss. The toggle for this window is mapped to F11 by default.Along with all of this, there are some spell, zone and quest, and item changes that are fairly specific, and they can be found after the break with the entire patch notes, and keep in mind that this applies to the Test server only for now.
"Double Threat" LoN tournament this weekend promises in-game loot card
EQ2Players has details on an upcoming tournament that will take place this weekend for Legends of Norrath. Entrants will not only receive a promotional card of the infamous Mayong Mistmoore, but will also get to choose between two loot cards. The EverQuest card gives a Bridle of the Viridian Cragslither, and the EverQuest II reward is a Cloak of Di'Zok.The tournament kicks off at 7AM PST on January 19th, and will end at 9PM PST on January 20th. There will be an entry fee of 10 Event Passes and on top of the special rewards, each player will receive a minimum of 3 booster packs, depending on how high they place. Unfortunately, it seems that the tournament is only open to U.S. residents.
Legends of Norrath promotion this weekend brings increased drop rates and two unique cards
Players of EverQuest and EverQuest II will be treated to a Legends of Norrath promotion this weekend that promises an increased chance to find packs of cards on defeated enemies, and amongst these you may find one of two brand new cards, one of which is the tasty little fellow you see pictured here.The weekend officially commences at 2pm PST on Friday, and you can enjoy the enhanced drop rates and hunt for the unique cards up until 11:59 PST on Sunday the 6th. Even if you're not into LoN, the dropped card packs also sell pretty well from what I have seen, so it's a win-win for players of EQ/EQII and Legends of Norrath. Now go get that delicious chocolate gobbo.
Tradeskill developer for EQII Emily "Domino" Taylor chats about her role
Tradeskill developer for EverQuest II Emily Taylor (better known to the community as "Domino") was recently interviewed by The Tairise Tribune. Anyone who has ever read the official EQII tradeskill forums will more than likely have seen a post by Domino, or a reply to a player's question, or a hint about upcoming content and changes -- in truth, her level of interaction with the community is amazing, and it's nice to see people's feedback and suggestions being acknowledged by the person who calls the shots.in the interview, Domino discusses her role with SOE and EQII, working with her team on deadlines (such as the huge amount of new content required for Rise of Kunark) and how working with gaming industry "celebrities" has been far more rewarding for her than meeting the Hollywood celebrities that she did in her former job. It also appears that she isn't above a little real-life tradeskilling too, as she mentions that she has recently been constructing Weighted Companion Cubes inspired by Valve's hit game Portal. Check out the full interview for more from Domino.[Via EQ2Players]
Be a voyeur and check out the Frostfell decorations in houses around Norrath
You won't need your binoculars to spy on the neighbours this time around, as citizens of Norrath have opened their doors to the public to let everyone take a gander at Frostfell's unique decorations being put to use. Even before the holiday furniture and decorations had been made live on regular EverQuest II servers, we were able to see what it all looked like courtesy of EQ2 Traders on Test, but this collection of shots at EQ2 Players shows off the different ways in which people have arranged and designed their festive displays in their own in-game housing.Each stunning setup is accompanied by the responsible player's name and server, and there are 28 shots available for browsing. If checking out these screenshots leaves you wanting to pimp out your own crib, it's worth nothing that EQ2 Traders have updated their list of Frostfell furniture to help you decide what belongs in your own holiday-themed exhibit.
CBS8 features EQ2 and Frostfell
CBS8 News in San Diego recently took a visit to Sony Online Entertainment's offices, where a reporter was taken through EverQuest II character creation and visited the Frostfell Wonderland Village. It's a fairly lighthearted report, and we're told inaccurately that the game is "played by millions worldwide", but it's nice to see games in the media occasionally without the attached list of associated behavioral problems, or a death tally.The story is taken from a hugely mainstream perspective, with no real details about the game being given at all, but you do catch glimpses of the Frostfell holiday event. The report was done to present EQ2 as a holiday gift idea, so I suppose it's wrong to expect a meaty and thorough piece -- as one of SOE's representatives tells the reporter in the video, "Jeff, you're a newb. You're a newbie."[Via Cuppytalk]
Behind the Curtain: Learn 2 Play
I should probably start this week's column by apologizing for missing last week. I won't, but I probably should. I'm sure your world kept turning despite a lack of my wittering on for 500-odd words, so let's crack on, shall we?Assuming some of you managed to stay safe from the murderous robotic Santa this year, you may well have received gifts of new MMO games, and are sitting at home (unlike me) with your feet safely ensconced in new slippers, wracked with indecision over what new vista of unexplored gaming potential you should be delving into. Fortunately, my friends and family understand that my tastes in gaming are (relatively) more esoteric than theirs, meaning that they usually plump for the always welcome gifts of booze or vouchers. What this means is that I will finally be able to pick up Bioshock and the Orange Box – seriously, if I have to dodge one more spoiler for Bioshock or Portal, I may have to stab someone in the mouth. But that's beside the point; let us get back on topic. With most of the big MMOs having been around for a good while now, the sheer amount of content available across these games is a daunting prospect – where do you start, how do you decide? Do you jump straight in and hope that you'll make it?
