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SOE readying EverQuest II double XP weekend
Pick out your favorite grind spots, adventurers (and tradeskillers too, for that matter), as Sony Online Entertainment is trotting out an EverQuest II double experience weekend starting on Friday, September 2nd. The XP smorgasbord will end on Monday, September 5th, so if you've got no plans for the Labor Day weekend as of yet, why not spend a portion of it in Norrath? It's as good a time as any to check out the new itemization revamp that debuted with the recent GU 61 patch, and don't forget that the bonus applies to alternate advancement experience as well. More details are available via EQ2Wire and the official EQII website.
SOE releases new War of Zek trailer for EverQuest II
When poet and philosopher George Santayana wrote that only the dead have seen the end of war, it's doubtful he had Rallos Zek in mind. Sony Online Entertainment, on the other hand, has made quite a good living off of the fictional warlord god, and EverQuest II's latest game update bears both his name and the famous quote as its tag line. The War of Zek debuted on the live servers yesterday, and despite some equipment and AA bugginess, managed to bring a bunch of interesting tweaks to EQII. Today SOE has released a teaser trailer to hype the newly updated game, and it's heavy on high-end content including Zek himself, as well as a cadre of raid-geared players hellbent on bringing him down. Check it out after the cut, and don't forget that EQII has also reinstated its 14-day free trial.
EverQuest II's GU61 going live today
Those of you trying to log into EverQuest II this morning may have been greeted by a crashing launchpad or some variation on the standard "service offline" message. Fear not, as it's patch day, and the servers will be back sooner rather than later (we hope). Game Update 61 is in the offing, and EQ2Wire has an extensive breakdown of the patch notes for what is one of the more significant non-expansion updates in the history of the game. Aside from the alternate advancement tweaks, the most significant change is a complete loot and itemization revamp. This means that there's no reason to restrict yourself to the "Golden Path" when it comes to leveling your characters. Norrath is one of the largest and most diverse game worlds in existence, and you should now see level-appropriate loot no matter where in the world you adventure. Also of note are new dungeons that scale between levels 60 and 90 as well as the house rating system, a native video-capture and YouTube publishing feature, and the ability for your Fae and Arasai characters to fly at level 85 and up. Finally, the official EQII site has a lengthy new lore passage related to the update, and you can bone up on what's happening with the War of Zek while you're waiting for the servers to restart.
EverQuest II's GU61 pushed back to Thursday
EverQuest II fans, get ready. Thursday marks the official launch of Game Update 61 (yes, Sony Online Entertainment has delayed it by a couple of days). The patch brings a whole slew of changes to Norrath and your characters, and EQ2Wire has the details. Whether we're talking about the massive alternate advancement reset, the faction grind relief, or a laundry list of bugs that hopefully don't make it past the sentinels on the test server, it's clear that Norrath will look quite different later this week. The AA changes are, of course, the biggest tweak, and EQ2Wire notes that the old "spider-web" method has gone the way of the dinosaur. In its place is a more consistent ability unlock system as well as new subclass trees for each of EQII's 24 classes. As we told you earlier, the Shadows tree is now reserved for players at level 50 and above, so plan accordingly if you're fond of specialized crafting characters or other departures from conventional class wisdom.
Players bracing for EverQuest II's GU61 AA changes
Big changes are afoot in the world of Norrath, or at least the version of it on display in EverQuest II. Game Update 61 is just around the corner, and ZAM has a brief rundown on the major alternate advancement and tradeskill changes coming when the patch goes live. While many players are cautiously optimistic, some are concerned over the fact that such sweeping changes will affect their playstyles. How sweeping, exactly? Well, every character is getting a free AA respec, so there's your first clue. Also of note are the new class, subclass, and tradeskill trees available at level 10. Of particular concern to some is the fact that the Shadows AA tree will now be off limits to characters under level 50, depriving them of some very useful health, power, and run-speed AAs and making life that much harder for dedicated crafting characters. In other EQII news, EQ2Wire offers a brief look at the veteran reward changes hinted at during last month's Fan Faire. While no release date is forthcoming, producer Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson says that "the design is outlined and we're committed to the concept."
EverQuest II Freeport and Beyond panel video released
Earlier this week our own Karen Bryan brought you the details on all the EverQuest II happenings from last week's Fan Faire 2011. Today, EQ2Wire has added some lengthy video coverage to the mix in the form of an hour-long recording of the initial EQII dev panel entitled Freeport and Beyond. The proceedings are captained by producer Dave Georgeson, and the panel features more info than one news post can adequately cover. The highlights include Game Update 61 (to be launched in late August), the new dungeon creator functionality, itemization and AA revamps, the addition of AA functionality to the crafting game, the Age of Discovery expansion, and of course, the Freeport revamp. That's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, so grab your favorite beverage and click past the cut to view the hour-long video.
E3 2011: EverQuest II's Dave Georgeson in 3-D
If you're going to fly, why not fly with a little style -- and in 3-D? At E3, we were able to grab some facetime with Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson, EverQuest II's executive producer, as he showed us the next dimension of MMO gameplay while we checked out some of the new aerial races in the game. "We wanted to do a little more with the flying creatures than to go from Point A to Point B," Georgeson said, referencing EQII's aerial races. "So we put in these flying race courses, which is a good test ground for showing off 3-D." It's one of those things that has to be seen to be believed. The 3-D effect while flying is, in a word, awesome. The user interface is up close, your character is somewhere in the middle, and the environment is in the background. The effect is very noticeable when you turn, which happens a lot while flying. Hit the jump to hear more of Georgeson's thoughts on 3-D in EverQuest II as well as a get tantalizing sneak peek at the game's future!
