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Halas Reborn launch day roundup
Fans of Norrath rejoice, as launch day for Everquest II's epic Halas Reborn patch is upon us. Despite the recent brouhaha regarding pricey virtual items, Sony Online Entertainment's fantasy standard-bearer is soldiering on (and dropping a ton of new content on its player base in the process). Check out all the links below to catch up with Massively's Halas-related coverage, and be sure to review the patch notes over at the official website. EQ2's newest raid zone Icy Keep: Retribution is a mammoth four-group raid instance with several new challenges, including a deadly game of chess. Players will be helping the Frostfoot clan to gain entry to the keep, but that may be the beginning of the true danger -- Vrewwx, an ice dragon, has hatched and is waiting Halas update brings storyteller system The system adds a tab to the quest journal user interface that consolidates the story of each major quest. Additionally, the Storylines tab will chronicle your position in EverQuest II's lengthy quest chains, provide clues to completion, and add a bit of narrative flavor to the long-running fantasy MMORPG Click past the cut for more coverage.
A look at EverQuest II's new Halas housing
EverQuest II is one of the few MMORPGs to offer robust player housing options, so imagine our collective excitement when a short Q&A session with housing designer Andres Rodriguez popped up on the official site. Rodriguez, responsible for designing the new houses for the forthcoming city of New Halas, talks about his visual influences as well as a few of the features players can expect to see when their dwellings become available in the city. "We were trying to give the housing in New Halas a very warm and inviting feel to contrast with the cold climate of the region. To do this, we decided to use a lot of wood and barbarian elements in the design of the houses. So the houses have a slight cabin feel to it with subtle barbarian elements and trims in it, to let the players use this space in any way they want. I'm always excited to see what players create within their homes," Rodriguez enthused. The houses will be offered with two, four, and six room floor plans, and all will feature views of the nearby sea. The sizes compare with those found in EQII's other cities, but the New Halas locales have been designed from the ground up to be very different stylistically. Check out the interview as well as our previous New Halas coverage. Finally, hit the jump for a gallery of the new interiors.
EverQuest II gives a sneak peek at New Halas
EverQuest II fans everywhere are glad to see the return of the fallen city Halas, lost during the Age of War thanks to the Rallosian horde. Now we're getting a sneak peek at New Halas, thanks to Game Designer Nathan McCall and Zone Artist Stacey Norman. McCall provides an interesting look at the lore behind Halas, the Age of War and the Age of Cataclysms. What's changed since then, where has Halas been, and what is behind its return? The short answer to these questions is that Mithaniel Marr, The God of Valor chose to return the city, establishing it on an icy land mass in the Frostfang Sea. The long answer is a great story full of familiar names for all of you lore fans. The frosty location of New Halas provided some interesting challenges for Stacey Norman - a city on an iceberg provides limited resources for landscaping. The stories behind both the design and the lore are well worth reading, so check them out!
