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The Tattered Notebook: GU57 reactions and a sad ratonga
Hoo boy. Well, GU57 is upon us, and if you haven't heard the cries of SOE devs as they're burned at the stake on the official forums, you're not paying attention. After a brief day's delay, the patch hit last Wednesday and proceeded to generate what passes for an uproar in the veteran EverQuest II community. What's the big deal? It looks to be a UI update, a few new quests, and the usual tweaks, fixes, and improvements, right? Well yes and no, depending on whom you talk to. Many people on the boards are convinced the sky is falling; most people in-game are convinced the former are taking things a little too seriously and everything is just hunky-dory; and a few (such as your humble author) think the reality is somewhere in the middle. Turn the page for more.
SOE updates EverQuest II's UI and kicks off the Extended beta
If we've learned anything in our long-term relationship with games, it's that no matter how much we love a title, sooner or later we're going to demand a bit of plastic surgery to bring back those youthful looks. Happily, EverQuest II's user interface got a much-needed facelift with today's GU57 patch. The update ushered in a new hotbar, merged windows, and a choice between a red and a blue theme. GU57 doesn't just stop at the UI, however. New tradeskill quests now available at levels 10, 20 and 30, granting both advance recipes and mounts upon completion. Lowbie players should enjoy the revamped Greater Faydark and Darklight Wood zones, and SOE has moved a number of group-oriented spells to higher levels so that greenhorn characters won't feel as overloaded as they take their first few steps into the game. Players should also find that EQII's spell effects have a bit more of a kick to them. In all of the hubbub of the new patch, it's important not to overlook EverQuest II's other big update: the kickoff of the public beta for EverQuest II Extended (EQ2X), the F2P version of the game. You can check out the full patch notes over at EQ2 Wire.
