On the EQ2 Forums by Kander:

Changes to Zaalax, Xaalax, Saalax and Yaalax:

* They no longer mitigate significant amounts of elemental damage.
* The strength of the knockback on Zaalax’s Crushalanche spell has been reduced.
* Call of the Underfoot curse now lasts longer before going off
* Players now have more time to move away from Zaalax’s fissures before being hit by a seismic shock
* The splits off Zaalax now have lower maximum health.

Incidentally, the X,Y, Z encounter does indeed have loot.

and…

We are hoping for tomorrow with these changes. Watch for the patch in the morning.

Gloves are probably on the special chest you hate…

Our article on how XP Bonuses are calculated and stacked has stirred up a hornet’s next on both sides of the table. So I’m going to link to EQ2 ZAM’s own writeup which includes more developer quotes (including excellent comments from Rich Waters, EQ2 Lead Designer) to try to sort out the mess.

Experience Bonus Changes and XP Bug Explained @ EQ2 ZAM

Short Version

If you absolutely must have the reader’s digest edition, most XP will be restored to how it was before Game Update 57. That means increases to bonuses for Vitality, Mentoring, Bonus XP weekends, and Potions. They are doing whatever is necessary to keep the current XP rate — except Recruit-a-Friend. EQ2 Team consider it a ‘known issue’ that AA earn rate is slow and understand why people were using RAF to gain XP.

On the EQ2 Forums by Amnerys:

They should only be in game for the winners right now. I hope we can take care of that for you tomorrow.

I believe the paintings should be available to everyone at the next City Festival, which will be in Neriak starting on the 1st of September.

We do love the work you all submitted though and can’t wait for you to see it in game! So exciting!!

UPDATE: This article has been superceded by an article at EQ2 ZAM which explains the bug. In short, with the exception of Recruit-a-Friend, current XP earning rates are being restored to the same levels as before Game Update 57.

Players have been noticing a substantial reduction in XP since Game Update 57 went live.

Rich Waters, Lead Designer of EQ2, has stepped up and posted a report:

We’re checking into this now – if players are getting less experience than they were before the update, it is a bug and we’ll get it fixed promptly.

There are not different experience formulas for EQII live and EQII Extended.  Both games have the same leveling rate, and barring any bugs, it should be exactly what it was before today’s game update.

When we finish investigating, we’ll post more information.

Rothgar followed up with these notes:

I just wanted to also chime in to say that a change was made to fix an exploit situation in the XP gain when certain bonuses were stacked and this may be at the root of the problem.  Our intent was definitely not to modify the leveling curve that you experience in a normal situation.

Since the intended change did affect the stacking of bonuses such as the xp potions you bought from the marketplace, we decided to increase that percentage to make up for the difference in the change.

We are continuing to look for the source of the problem and will post more asap.

More information as we have it.

EQ2Wire is currently trying to get to the bottom of a rumor regarding possible changes to Adventure (Combat), Alternate Advancement (AA), and Tradeskill XP.

In the mean time, we’ve got some hard facts. An unexpected feature of today’s Game Update 57 seems to be the doubling of all Combat, AA, and Tradeskill potions. 27.5% potions became 55% potions. 55% potions became 110% potions.

Left: the 55% XP potions “Draft of the Wise” and “Draft of the Skilled” provided as veteran rewards for every year of subscription.

Right: the 1000SC ($10) 110% “Flask of Advancement III” which boosts XP for all three XP types.

We do not know what, if any, other changes this may signify, but we will keep you informed.

Due to a code bug which allowed the EQ2X Marketplace to appear on international servers, all international servers are now down for a patch. From Amnerys:

All international servers were just taken offline (earlier than planned) due to today’s patch. It was unplanned but necessary, and we apologize for the inconvenience.

We are hoping to have all international servers back online by 1PM PDT (9PM GMT). Please watch this thread for updates.

EQ2Players is now reporting that all U.S. servers (EQ2 and EQ2X) are up and running with Game Update 57. Europe-based servers will be updated later today on their usual schedule.

EQ2X Marketplace Momentarily Appears on Runnyeye/Splitpaw?

Speaking of Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY), the EQ2X Marketplace (with mastercrafted and powerful items available for purchase) briefly appeared on European servers Runnyeye and Splitpaw before they were brought back down. We’ll update you as we hear more.

Update from SmokeJumper

There was a code bug with the international servers. They are coming down now so we can correct.

Free-to-play items will not be present when they come back up.

You might have heard that EQ2’s User Interface is getting some spit and polish. With today’s Game Update 57, the default User Interface (UI) for EQ2 is getting some subtle and some not so subtle tweaks.

Major additions include the introduction of an “EQ2 Dock” to replace the existing EQ2 “start” button and XP bars. Also, the Character, Inventory, and Options have been merged into a single Character superwindow accessible by pressing “C” (Crouch has moved to “Z”). Bags have been streamlined, the Welcome window has received a facelift, the Map window now shows some key update locations (not to replace EQ2Maps), and

Many players do use some or all of the default UI, so there has been concern that the default UI has shifted from a predominant blue hue to a red one. You’ll be happy to know that the default UI includes a Blue graphics set which can be activated in-game by typing /loadui.

As always, players have the choice of installing other UIs. Which is why Rothgar, Lead Programmer on EQ2, notified the EQ2 interface community just over one month ago. The UI Revamp does not add popular Click-to-Cure, Autoattack Status, or the Advanced Broker available either separately or in packages from UI developers. You’ll want to visit EQ2Interface.com to see what’s going on with your favorite modifications.

>> ProfitUI Fix for Game Update 57 <<

Note: There seems to be an obscure bug with the Blue EQ2 theme. Guild level is being reported significantly lower than it should be in some situations.

Although Niami has advised that she is still working on adding more information to her Game Update 57 article, if you are up early and want to keep up on everything EQ2 Tradeskills, by all means check out her Game Update 57 Tradeskill Preview @ EQ2Traders!

Today marks the introduction of Game Update 57 to the live servers. Key features of this update include:

• The EQ2 User Interface has received a facelift, with a new toolbar, a refresh of various windows, and a merged Character/Inventory/Profile window. The default theme is red, but easily switchable to blue by typing /loadui and choosing the Blue graphic set.
• More character classes are now neutral and may start in either good or evil cities.
• Spell animations and effects have been revamped.
• Intrazone travel now supports path linking. Travel within Kingdom of Sky has been improved.
• Erudin group instances (level 86-90) are now easier to reach.
• New tradeskill quests have been added in the level 10, 20, and 30 tiers. These quests reward a mount as well as access to what have previously been overpriced Advanced recipe books.
• Starting areas in Greater Faydark and Darklight Wood have received substantial revamps. Gorowyn has received further architectural rebuilding to improve navigation.
• All classes have had some group-specific spells postponed until later levels to reduce the number of spells new players get in the first 20 levels.
• Fighter heals will no longer critically heal.
• The “Notable Norrathian” contest winning paintings are now available within Norrath but only during the monthly City Festivals (next is Sept 1-7). They are guild hall placeable.
• Lucan D’Lere has returned to Freeport.

• Today’s update contains no new dungeons or raid zones.

EQ2X

Also going live today is the public beta for EverQuest II Extended, the Free-to-Play alternative to a monthly EQ2 subscription. Game Update 57 will arrive simultaneously on both servers. EQ2X, as it’s being abbreviated, may be discussed on the separate EQ2X Forums.

Sometimes people don’t believe it, but I know for a fact that developers at Fan Faire really do listen, or at the very least take extensive notes which they reflect upon when getting home.

Some changes are relatively easy and make a lot of sense when the context is explained interactively in a conversation with the developer. Of course big sweeping changes are unlikely while the developers are already in full press mode working on the next expansion, but it’s great when open discussion at Fan Faire can trigger a small but significant improvement. So enough of that…

Olihin (PvP and Battlegrounds dev) has posted a writeup of all the changes he is currently considering or outright planning for the future. He has already indicated that the earliest we might see some of these changes is Game Update 58, but there are no promises. Further, Olihin is requesting feedback on these changes. They are far from going live, so now is your chance for constructive conversation.

The team over at EQ2 ZAM have buckled down and delivered complete documentation to the new Tradeskill quests being added in Game Update 57. These quests now fill out the entire level 10-90 range in EQ2 with at least a few Tradeskill quests on each tier so you have some options other than discovery XP from new combines and grinding Rush Order writs.

Of course these quests provide new rewards, including a 25% runspeed mount which, for some players who have low level adventurers but high level tradeskillers, will be quite useful.

These new level 10-30 tradeskill quests will also help players who think paying over 1 plat for a level 10-30 Advanced crafting recipe book is a bit over-the-top. At the conclusion of these quests, players will be able to buy Advanced recipe books from a vendor.

To get a grapple on the details of these quests and their rewards, check out the EQ2 ZAM guide.

From Amnerys:

All U.S. EQII servers are scheduled to come down on Wednesday, August 18 at 5:00 AM PDT for Game Update 57. Servers are expected to be offline for around 4 hours, coming back online around 9:00 AM. The UK servers will be updated according to the usual schedule.

Notable Norrathians Paintings

What about those Notable Norrathians paintings? Kaisha has dropped some hints regarding how the 10 winning paintings will become available. If our interpretation is correct, it looks like they may be available from the City Festivals for 10 city tokens each.

Tribute to the Huntress and Druid Reconstruction Live Events

The Tribute to the Huntress quest has been confirmed to end with the launch of GU57, but the Druid Ring Reconstruction event has been extended to last until GU58. (from EQ2 ZAM)

Whence Update Notes?

We’ll post the Game Update notes when they become available (assuming we’re awake!).

Gary Daughtry, graphic artist/animator on the EQ2 Team, set about to revamp the spell animations, specifically the particle effects, for Game Update 57, currently expected to go live tomorrow. The intention has been to reduce the number of “pyrotechnic”, “over-the-top” effects and create something more gradual, with larger effects based on the tier and level of the spell.

However players have been expressing their displeasure with the sometimes sweeping changes.

Although there has been no post to EQ2Players.com or the EQ2 Forums, it seems that all SOE login servers are down for up to 9 hours of maintenance, as well as several hours of downtime for the EQ2 game servers. Here is a post from the SWG Forums from their Community team:

On Monday August 9th, we will be conducting maintenance across several different systems. The work will affect customer login and authentication, and we will be bringing down the galaxies while work is ongoing. Once the intrusive part of the maintenance is complete, we will bring up the galaxies and make them available to players.

The maintenance window is scheduled from 12:30AM through 8:30AM PDT. If additional time is needed to complete the work, we’ll update this thread accordingly.

We appreciate your patience and understanding during this process, and apologize for the disruption.

and from the Vanguard forums:

We have some maintenance to do on the servers on Monday and this will unfortunately mean you won’t be able to get to the login servers during the hours of 12am to 7:30am Pacific time on Monday 9th August.

If you’re already inside the game during these times you will be fine to continue playing, but should you log out you won’t be able to get back in.

There’s a rampant discussion on the EQ2 Forums on this subject.

EQ2 Mechanics and Class Balance panel.

Rich Waters, Greg “Rothgar” Spence, Paul “Frizznik” Carrico, Mike “Xelgad” Ganz.

Update: As of 2:00AM CDT I have made some cleanup and additional information added to these notes based on memory. There are 3-4 missing questions which will get filled in after the video is reviewed.

Fan Faire Rumor: The end of all those eq2 dev chat questions about /sit and /laydown may finally be coming. 🙂

With the migration of Nagafen server last week and today’s moving day for Antonia Bayle complete, we should now see whether the new servers finally vanquish the lag monster.

Rothgar is seeking player feedback on the server upgrade and, if the move proves successful, we will hopefully see the migration of all servers to new hardware.

With this morning’s maintenance, Antonia Bayle received some new hardware which should greatly reduce, if not eliminate, the lag you’ve been experiencing. We will be monitoring the new hardware and phasing out the old hardware over time.

Please share your experiences with us.

Our own Druidess gives her perspective on the long-term effects of StationCash and what Free-to-Play means for the future of EverQuest II.

Since SoE decided not to sugar coat the news on F2P, I figured I’d return the favor and save the sugar for cookies I plan on baking later.

EQ2Wire has never had the privilege (and responsibility) of covering a game whose Senior Producer posts almost as frequently as a player. And yet that is where we find ourselves today. Traditionally, EQ2Wire has sought to highlight and quote every post by the current EQ2 Senior Producer. Posts were so rare from Brenlo and Bruce Ferguson that this made sense.

However it is impossible to get a clear picture of the storm facing SmokeJumper, the entire EQ2 team, and indeed Sony Online Entertainment, without reading each and every post by both SmokeJumper, and his lead man — Greg “Rothgar” Spence. The current volume of communication is like trying to drink out of a fire hose.

We are currently looking at solutions, but for the time being, I suggest following the EQ2 Dev Tracker on Twitter and/or the EQ2 Dev Tracker from EQ2Flames (by adding this link to your RSS reader, you will receive just the developer posts and not replies).

With Game Update 57, various in-game Merchants will start carrying StationCash items.

If you think this is worthy of further comment, well read on… If not, well, the word of the day is “slippery slope”.

Between the avalanche of news about Free-to-Play, the new UI, and Guardian tweaks (coming approximately one month after GU57), it’s been easy to overlook the new Spell Animations which went to Test along with GU57.

In short, all particle systems and related animations associated with casting spells and combat arts have been revamped. This means every animation such as roots or chains coming out of the ground, explosions, streaks of light, glowing colors, and pyrotechnics for all of the spells and combat arts of all 24 classes have changed.

Here are your update notes for Wednesday, 28 July 2010:

UNDERFOOT DEPTHS

• Energized Taehric Construct (challenge mode): The Construct will try and cast Crippling Judgment on his main target whenever possible, rather than a random fighter.  The construct will try and cast Curse of Befuddlement on priests in separate groups, whenever possible, avoiding casting it on two priests in the same group whenever possible.

ITEMS

• The Twisted Alloy Wristlet’s proc, Torturous Paths, has had its damage increased and its proc chance raised.
• Many mage items within Underfoot Depths have received pet effects.

TINKERFEST

• The Tinkerfest quest “Great Balls of Fire” cannot be completed more than 25 times.
• The Tinkerfest titles awarded by the repeatable Tinkerfest quests can now be purchased from the Tinkerfest merchant if you have earned them but did not receive them.

Dave “SmokeJumper” Georgeson has followed up today’s big news with a blog post over on the Station Blog on what we can expect at Fan Faire, the future of the EverQuest II Extended (F2P) server, and some hints about what’s coming in updates surrounding the Destiny of Velious expansion. You can read his post on the Station Blog here.