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The Tattered Notebook: Will Age of Discovery be the last EQII expansion?
It's amazing how much can change in just over a year. At the end of last summer, we were wrapping up Fan Faire and looking forward to Destiny of Velious, the upcoming expansion and the first of what was supposed to be a two-part expansion. This past weekend, just over a year later, I was headed to #OccupyNorrath to check out the planned protest, part of which was aimed at the cost of the new expansion, Age of Discovery. While the protest was light, to put it mildly, there has been quite a bit of rumbling on the forums about this upcoming expansion and the fact that while it might be heavy on features, it's pretty light on new content. Now, when I question whether Age of Discovery will be the last EverQuest II expansion, I'm certainly not predicting that all production will cease and desist in the game afterwards. But I think it's worth asking whether we're seeing a shift away from the traditional expansion model. Let's take a look back the past year and a half because I think it offers hints that might help explain the bigger picture for the game.
The Daily Grind: How are those expansions going?
So you've had a couple of weeks to run around in EverQuest II's The Shadow Odyssey, Lord of the Rings Online's Mines of Moria, and World of Warcraft's expansion Wrath of the Lich King. This morning we thought we'd check back in with you and see how those expansions were going for you? Are they all that you hoped for any more? Anything that isn't quite as good as you'd perhaps hoped it would be? In the case of the WoW and LotRO expansions, have you hit the new level cap already?
What you need to know about The Shadow Odyssey
The Shadow Odyssey, EverQuest II's fifth expansion, is not just the usual bump to the level cap, a couple of new raids, and a reset for all the armor you already got. It's none of those things. What SOE has done with this expansion is go through the level 50 to level 80 portion of the game and say, let's make an expansion that has something for pretty much everyone. Let's make an expansion where even if no upgrades drop, you can be working toward some awesome stuff just by playing.The original EverQuest started out as a supremely casual and social game. It was the players that pushed SOE to make the game more raid focused, but sometime after the heavily raid-oriented Planes of Power expansion, the casual players asked when they'd get an expansion for them. SOE came out with the Lost Dungeons of Norrath, which offered three or four variants at each of six dungeons, meant for single groups of averagely-equipped players. The difficulty and mission type could be selected, and every time you completed a mission, you got points with which you could buy hard-to-find spells, armor of near raid quality, adornments which would push that armor into the quality of raid gear, and some cool stuff only available through the LDoN merchants.The Shadow Odyssey is EverQuest II's Lost Dungeons of Norrath -- and more. Click on through to see why TSO might be the best EQ2 expansion yet. Well met, fellow Norrathian! Make sure to check out all of our coverage of the next EverQuest II expansion, The Shadow Odyssey as well as Seeds of Destruction, the next expansion to EverQuest!
The Daily Grind: EverQuest expanding
Yesterday evening at Fan Faire, SOE announced expansions for EverQuest and EverQuest 2: Seeds of Destruction and The Shadow Odyssey, respectively. This will be EQ's 15th expansion and EQ2's 4th, with SoD promising 20 new zones and a new level cap of 85; and SO promising new zones, new dungeons, new quests, and additional achievement points. But what we're wondering is: how long can a game last? (15 expansions at least, apparently!) How long can expansion packs up the excitement factor? Tell us, will these new expansions keep you playing? Will they bring you back into the game? And if so, what has you excited about the latest additions to SOE's online world? %Gallery-29748%%Gallery-29751%
EQII: The Shadow Odyssey teaser trailer released
As we reported earlier from our ongoing coverage of SOE's Fan Faire in Las Vegas, a new expansion has been announced for EverQuest II entitled The Shadow Odyssey. The details of this expansion can be found in the original announcement post, as well as an extensive interview with EQII's Senior Producer, Bruce Ferguson.In addition to this, we have some fantastic new video footage to present as well. This footage shows some exciting new content such as a few new goal-based dungeons, as well as some old favorites like Ruins of Guk and Befallen, plus new creatures and much more. Check out the complete video after the cut and let us know what you think! Well met, fellow Norrathian! Make sure to check out all of our coverage of the next EverQuest II expansion, The Shadow Odyssey as well as Seeds of Destruction, the next expansion to EverQuest!
Exploring The Shadow Odyssey with EQII Senior Producer Bruce Ferguson
SOE just announced the newest expansion to their EverQuest II title, and we've got plenty of answers for your burning questions. We had the chance to sit down with the game's Senior Producer, Bruce Ferguson, to talk about what makes this such an important product for Sony Online. Join us as we talk through some of the fantastic new content coming to the game. Some of it is "old content", revamped and updated areas from the original vision of Norrath the company created back in 1999. Befallen and Guk are fan favorites, and are making a comeback with a vengeance. Some of it is distinctly new, like the shard system that will allow players to customize their loot for the first time ever. And some of it is a mix of both! Read on for full details on this interesting new product. Well met, fellow Norrathian! Make sure to check out all of our coverage of the next EverQuest II expansion, The Shadow Odyssey as well as Seeds of Destruction, the next expansion to EverQuest!
SOE announces the next EverQuest II expansion: The Shadow Odyssey
Just moments ago in Las Vegas, Nevada SOE CEO John Smedley took the stage to announce the next expansion for the company's flagship product, EverQuest II. The fourth expansion to reach the game will be entitled The Shadow Odyssey, and is slated for release to players on November 18th of this year. The expansion will seek to expand on themes begun with the best-selling Rise of Kunark expansion, returning a number of nostalgic elements to the shattered world of Norrath. Players familiar with the Lost Dungeons of Norrath expansion to the original EverQuest may find several similarities in this newest content release, which is slated to include a number of instanced dungeons.Other feature highlights include: Brand new zones with some old favorite names. Innothule Swamp? Wall-to-wall dungeon crawling, revisiting some of the highlight real best of the original EverQuest. Guk, Mistmoore, and Befallen are all ripe for the picking. No new level increase, but a big bump in the number of Achievement points you can get - up to 200. Additionally, the expansion will feature brand new class-specific AA lines! Tons more, including new deities, new Heritage quests, and a new 'Shard' system that will let you pick your loot rewards instead of hoping for drops! Read on below the cut for the full press release, and be sure to explore our exclusive interview with EverQuest II Senior Producer for Bruce Ferguson all about the upcoming expansion.%Gallery-29748%
SOE announces EverQuest: Seeds of Destruction and EQII: The Shadow Odyssey
At its annual Fan Faire, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) has revealed new expansions for EverQuest and EverQuest II. For EQ players, The Seeds of Destruction expansion offers a new level cap (85), 20 new zones, a new mercenary system, and all fourteen previous expansions in one box. EQII: The Shadow Odyssey will feature brand new zones, some revisits to the original EQ dungeons, a bump in the number of achievements you can get (up to 200), new deities, new quests and a new loot system that lets you pick your loot rewards. Our MMO-obsessed colleagues at Massively have interviews with the EverQuest design team and EQII Senior Producer Bruce Ferguson about the expansions. All Fan Faire attendees will receive both games for free and will be able to participate in the SoD and TSO betas when they begin on August 19 and September 2, respectively. Seeds of Destruction will come out October 21, while The Shadow Odyssey is scheduled for November 18. Stay tuned to Massively all week for more Fan Faire coverage. Gallery: EverQuest: Seeds of Destruction Announcement Gallery: EverQuest 2: The Shadow Odyssey Announcement
