From Windstalker’s twitter:

Starting now, TLE players in #EQ2 are getting a 35% discount on in-game store items until noon Oct. 1! (Decorators asked….)

— Holly Longdale (@TheWindstalker) September 21, 2015

From the EQ2 Forums:

Time-Locked Expansion server players rejoice, because you’ll get 35% Off items in the Marketplace until noon PDT* on Thursday, October 1, 2015!

What items will you pick up from the Marketplace during this period of huge savings on Stormhold and Deathtoll?

EverQuest II’s twelfth expansion, coming in mid-November, will include the Altar of Malice expansion and Rum Cellar campaign. If you have recently resumed playing and can’t wait until then to play all this level 95-100 content, then now’s your chance to grab them at a 50% discount.

But perhaps the biggest audience for today’s 50% discount will be those players who missed out on the Striped Savage Pterodon mount, Elite Battle-Mystic Mercenary, 3 Gems of Armor Advancement, Prehistoric House Pet, and Mage Tower teleporter item for your house. If so, then the next two weeks are your last chance to get these items. This is the first time that the Altar of Malice Collector’s Edition has been discounted. Here’s the original announcement about what came with this release.

and here’s today’s announcement from the EQ2 Forums:

Legends of Norrath hasn’t had a development team at SOE/DGC for a couple of years now, and the LoN forums were blown away by RadarX earlier this year without explanation, however the game continues to have diehard fans (including EQ2Talk’s Dellmon). This weekend, a Marketplace sale is being held for Legends of Norrrath booster packs and bundles as well as XP and Vitality potions for EQ2.

One problem: Legends of Norrath players are running into an issue where they are blocked from redeeming more than a few Legends of Norrath card packs after having purchased them.

UPDATE: Windstalker is now personally looking into this issue of being blocked from redeeming packs:

It looks like our fraud detection software got a little overloaded with LoN redemption over the weekend and some folks may have been unfairly flagged as fraudulent claimers. Our CS Team is aware of the issue and will work on it asap.

From Daybreak Games Content & Social Media Manager Dexella on the EQ2 Forums:

Hail Norrathians!

The heat of summer is slowly beginning to dissipate. Before we know it, the rustle of leaves and the chill of Nights of the Dead will fill the air, and soon after, the jingle of Santa Glug’s sleigh will be heard…

But summer has not left us yet! And to savor the last bits of August, there is a SALE this weekend in the Marketplace.

From 12:00PM (Noon) Pacific on Friday, August 28, 2015 through 12:00PM (Noon) Pacific on Monday, August 31, 2015 the following will be available at deep discounts:

• Legends of Norrath booster packs
• Legends of Norrath booster bundles
• XP Potions (including Vitality Potions on Stormhold & Deathtoll!)

EQ2 player Blade Parker reported the issue with being unable to redeem packs:

“You have been blocked from redeeming loot. Please contact support if you have any questions.”

I am receiving this error when trying to redeem my LoN loot. Is there any chance I can have my ticket addressed and be unblocked before the sale is over? I don’t really want to buy anymore if I’m not allowed to claim the loot. Thanks.

Alas Customer Service ticket response times are in the 5-7 days range, and all most of Daybreak Games’ Community team are currently in Seattle at PAX Prime, so there’s zero  little chance this will be resolved before the sale ends.

The Disney Norrath Vault is open and some 36 mounts which were previously only available from Legends of Norrath and other rare means are now available in the EQ2 Marketplace (most are also available on the Time-Locked Expansion servers) for just two weeks or until September 8th.

From the EQ2 Forums:

New Marketplace mounts are now available on all servers (INCLUDING the Time-Locked Expansion servers) for a limited time.

Look for these under the “Limited-Time Mounts” tab in the Marketplace. These can be purchased for 2499 Daybreak cash. Don’t hesitate, because all of these mounts will be retired to the Norrathian vault at noon PDT on Tuesday, September 8, 2015!

Which of these mounts are you most excited for?

Disappointed by a single screenshot? So were we, so we took screenshots of all of them….

The EQ2 team are slowly unlocking various creature comforts on the Time-Locked Expansion servers, including a few fluff Marketplace items, while Veteran Rewards and XP/Vitality potions currently remain off-limits. Some of these items were the subject of an in-game poll.

One of the items that got the thumbs up from players were Personal Harvest Depots/Stashes for player housing (Guild Halls remain unavailable, possibly forever). Players were disappointed at the status cost and the very limited number of slots (30) stored by the 1,000 DBC ($10) item. Fortunately, we can expect an improvement to these items.

From Caith on the EQ2 Forums:

We’ll be upping the numbers on the harvest depots in the next hotfix, at the same time as removing the errant status and rent increase on them.

There will also be new depots with the current capacity made available, appropriately priced.

Downtime Notice

US EverQuest II Live Servers will be brought offline on Tuesday, June 23, 2015 at 7:00AM PDT* for an update. Estimated downtime is approximately two hours.

EU EverQuest II Live Servers will be brought offline on Tuesday, June 23, 2015 at 7:00AM PDT* for an update. (Approx. 3:00PM London Time on June 23, 2015). Estimated downtime is two hours.

Echoes of Faydwer Fabled (Level 100)

That was fast! After a week on the Beta and Test servers, the Echoes of Faydwer Fabled solo and group dungeons plus a raid zone are patching live tomorrow, providing new content for level 100 players. These new zones also drop this summer’s Ethereal weapons which are on a 30-day rotation as previously mentioned.

Un-Deleting Characters and Items

For the first 15 years of its history, SOE has been known for its exemplary customer service which included the extraordinary safety net of recovering deleted and transmuted items as well as deleted characters (sometimes due to hacked accounts). In the aftermath of recent changes within the company in its transition to Daybreak Games, we’ve seen petition times jump to 3-6 days, and cutbacks on what support events are covered, particularly on deleted characters. It’s our understanding that restoring a hacked account can take several hours of painstaking reconstruction and digging through log files.

With tomorrow’s update, players who mistakenly Delete an Item or Character will now be able to restore them for Daybreak Cash. Player opinion has been rancorous and divided on this issue. On one side, players are castigated for their carelessness with the delete button or use of weak passwords, while others are quick to remind us EverQuest II is not a free game and most pay a monthly subscription, plus Campaigns and/or Expansions and surely there is enough room under that umbrella for this safety net.

From the EQ2 Forums:

Pirates are SO in right now! Here’s the Rum Cellar-themed items that have sailed into the harbor with the recent update.

The atmosphere of the Rum Runners Cove Prestige House is perfect location for a relaxing topical getaway or a rowdy hangout for your favorite privateers.

Last summer, EQ2 player Errrorr created a thread championing a new type of player mount — ducks. For forty-three pages, hilarity ensued. However the thread was put to bed by lead animator Tom “ttobey” Tobey in January of this year when it became clear from higher ups that we’d likely never get such a mount. Theories were bandied about that sales of the bunny mounts had not been sufficient to justify their development effort. It may have been felt that these more frivolous and genre-bending mounts just didn’t resonate with players. Personally I stick with flying appearance mounts so I don’t lose the stats of my primary flying mount. Equipping a bunny mount would cost me significant benefits for my character. Further analysis of the timing of events would suggest another possible reason why duck mounts were initially shot down. But either way, fast forward three months and duck mounts are now a reality!

NOTE: Yellow duck mounts will ONLY be available for two weeks (until May 19th, 2015).

From the EQ2 Forums:

What’s quackin’, Norrathians?

It’s been a long time coming, but the moment many of you have been waiting for has FINALLY hatched… duck mounts are now available in the Marketplace!

Today, Daybreak Games unveiled the new redesign of their website, DaybreakGames.com.  Along with the new site design, they also revealed their new logo and the new name for Station Cash: Daybreak Cash.  We are unsure of how long it will be before this gets changed in-game.  Here’s a screenshot of one of the five screens that cycle through on the new homepage.

Update: As part of the celebration for the launch of the new website and logo, EQ2 players can take advantage of the following:

EverQuest II
All Access members are in for a boost this week with Double XP! That includes Double AA, Adventure, and Tradeskill XP for All Access members only, from 12PM PDT April 27th until 12PM PDT May 4th.

Update 2: Daybreak President John Smedley and Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing Laura Naviaux gave an interview to GamesIndustry.biz about the transition as well.

We tried to get this posted sooner, but Roshen posted this news last night on the EQ2 Forums:

On April 1st, Berry-Fed Bovochs return to the Marketplace for 2250SC. That’s not all! There’s also a version of this mount with wings…

Winged Berry-Fed Bovoch Matriarch will be available for 2950SC!

Don’t hesitate once these become available in the Marketplace! These are only available for a limited time, and both of these mounts will only be in the Marketplace until 11:59PM Pacific on Monday, April 6, 2015.

Also Roshen dropped a reminder about Duck Mounts which we’ll see in April as well…

From  the EQ2 Forums:

Beginning at 10:00AM PDT* on Friday, March 27th, if you redeem a $20 Station Cash Game Card, you will receive 500 Bonus Station Cash.

All $20 Station Cash cards feature artwork from Landmark:

These Landmark game cards are available in select locations of the following U.S. retail stores: GameStop, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and Toys R Us.

But hurry! The 500 Bonus SC is only available if you redeem the $20 Station Cash Game Cards between 10:00AM PDT on Friday, March 27th, and 11:59PM PDT on Sunday, March 29th.

*PDT is Pacific Daylight Time; U.S. West Coast. Convert to your local time zone here.

Please note: Bonus Station Cash will ONLY be awarded on the redemption of a $20 Landmark card. Other Station Cash cards are not eligible for this promotion.

UPDATE: We’ve received notification from a few players in-game that this issue has been resolved.

From the EQ2 Forums:

Are you still chasing a few Legends of Norrath loot cards that have evaded your grasp? Or are you missing cards to fill out your collection? Whatever your reasons, you’re in luck! Starting today and running until 11:59PM PST on Monday, February 9, 2015, take UP TO 66% OFF most Legends of Norrath items in the Marketplace!

There are lots of in-game rewards available from Legends of Norrath Booster packs. Appearance items, potions, houses, and furniture are just some of the awesome things you can receive from opening up a card pack! For example, check out the loot card rewards from Drakkinshard here.

To buy these items and more using your Station Cash, just click the SC button in game, or type /marketplace in your chat window.

Which set(s) will YOU pick up some boosters from this weekend?

If you’re at all into cosplay, or just a fan of the Aerakyn race, you’ll want to check out this video of @Strawburry17 slipping into the role of an Aerakyn. It’s a bit of a marketing piece, and we’re not quite sure why she titled the video “Dragon Elf”, but hey, how often do we get to see the EQ2 team on video?

Watch as @Strawburry17 brings the Aerakyn to life in this amazing cosplay video!

— EverQuest II (@everquestii) January 27, 2015

When you’ve got one Animator and one Character Artist for a game the size of EverQuest II, development time is ever-precious. Most of Tom and Chris’ efforts go towards the annual Expansion, plus the creation of a few StationCash mounts per year. It’s just the nature of the beast that their time for fun projects is limited. It doesn’t help that not everyone was a fan of the less serious, frivolous, or “silly” mounts which push the limits of a medieval setting.

But the party might be over. After 43 pages of hilarity from Errrorr‘s “The Official Duck Mount Request thread“, the topic was abruptly closed this morning. The writing was on the wall as early as last Thursday as Tom Tobey tweeted the sad news:

Sorry everyone, We tried. It won’t be duck season.

— Tom Tobey (@giganticrobot) January 23, 2015

From Holly “Windstalker” Longdale on the EQ2 Forums:

Hidey-Ho Norrathians!

We’re excited to announce that we will soon be updating our Heroic Characters to start at level 90! We feel this change will help players keep up with our growth in free content and with the pace of the game due to our new level increase included in the Altar of Malice expansion. The price for the upgraded characters remains at 3500SC per Heroic Character, but we’ve made some improvements!

What’s the difference?

Purchased Level 90 Heroic Characters will come with Level 90 (Adventure only), 320AAs, a full set of gear, food/drink, ammo, potions (as appropriate) and a mount with stats! New Heroic Characters will also start in Eidolon Jungle with content in our Chains of Eternity expansion.

If (like me) you haven’t received your Bonus Mystery StationCash code for today, it’s time to contact Customer Service.

UPDATE: Early reports indicate that Sony Online’s e-mails sent out today are being throttled by intermediary ISPs. Players who submitted tickets earlier have subsequently received their e-mail notifications. This may be a matter of being patient.

@Cyliena @Brasse I heard the emails are done. Several reasons multiples may not reach you (ISP spam blocks, etc.). Contact CS if an error.

— Holly Longdale (@WindstalkerEQ2) December 19, 2014

Remember how SOE really really really wanted us to opt-in to promotional SOE-wide mailings? The Kerran is now out of the bag as to why…

It looks like today Friday December 19th, Saturday December 20th, and Sunday December 21st, players who opted into these e-mails (which come from info@e-sonyonline.com) will receive a random code each day which unlocks 25%, 50%, Double, or even Triple SC on their account until 11:59pm that night. And we thought there’d never be another Triple SC again!

May the RNG be forever in your favor, and hopefully the Triple SC codes aren’t as rare as [eq2u]Advanced Adornments Volume 11[/eq2u]! Here’s the e-mail a player received:

Link to Official E-mail Promotion: Station Cash Mystery Bonus FAQ

Rather than putting specific items on sale, it looks like SOE is just doing an across-the-board increase in the discount that All Access members get when shopping the Marketplace items this coming Monday, December 1st. From the SOE forums:

On Monday, December 1st, All Access members will be able to spend their stash of Station Cash on special savings in their favorite SOE game titles*! Log in to your favorite participating game and find the 10% membership discount increased to 25%! Not an All Access member yet? Sign up today and take advantage of these offers.

Happy Holidays from the gaming elves at Sony Online Entertainment!

*Cyber Monday deals and All Access member benefits apply only to SOE titles currently included in All Access. Promotion does not include Landmark or Dragon’s Prophet.

A few players have reported on the forums and in-game that the StationCash they are buying within the EverQuest II client doesn’t seem to be doubled. We have not yet received any confirmation on this, and when asked, the folks who reported an issue double-checked and found that they did in fact get their purchased StationCash for half-price. The confusion may be that the in-game prices are already adjusted for the sale.

If you want to avoid confusion, there are several other ways to buy StationCash, including heading directly to SOE.com, logging in, and funding your SC wallet there. Of course the best deal is still  the 1500+500SC cards at Walmart. Even though they are no longer labeled with the bonus 500SC, they still grant 2000SC, which is doubling today to 4000SC. I just redeemed three cards and once I got past some login issues and errors, all successfully went through.

If someone does have an issue with their purchased StationCash not being doubled, SOE keeps detailed records of all transactions. Open a non-hostile petition at http://help.soe.com/ (I’d choose Game: EQ2, then Account/Billing, then go BACK to that menu and choose “Invalid Game Card“) and then wait patiently for your ticket to be answered as support hours are reduced this weekend to allow Customer Service staff to spend time with their families.

From EverQuest2.com:

Sony Online Entertainment is kicking off the holiday shopping season with two fantastic promos: Double Station Cash on Black Friday and In-Game Marketplace Deals on Cyber Monday!

This Friday, November 28th, when you buy Station Cash on the web, in-game, or with an SOE Game Card, the amount of Station Cash you get will be doubled! Double Station Cash will only awarded between 12:00am PT (U.S.) to 11:59:59pm PT, so don’t miss out!

Check back this weekend to see what special deals we’re offering All Access members for Cyber Monday.

Happy Holidays from the gaming elves at Sony Online Entertainment!

*Cyber Monday deals and All Access member benefits apply only to SOE titles currently included in All Access. Promotion does not include Landmark, Dragon’s Prophet, or DC Universe Online (PSN Version).

The Aerakyn race will become available for purchase sometime tomorrow and through internal testing, the EQ2 team have discovered an issue affecting hair color and the “hidden personal torch” feature. While this issue might not bother most players, if you’re going to drop $20 or $42 on a race, you might be a little miffed if your character customizations don’t turn out quite as expected.

From Afista on the EQ2 Forums:

Greetings Everyone,

We want to identify a problem that some players might encounter when customizing your new Aerakyns. The Aerakyn have a VERY broad color palette for hair shaders, which makes for some unique combinations. We use the exact same shader system we use for SOGA model hair with the Aerakyn but with more contrasting options.

The issue is this: If your character uses a torch in game, the hair base/highlight options you use at character select – where there is no torch – will create vastly different looking hair in game if your character IS using the torch options in game.

Yesterday, two Press sites posted their articles about the upcoming Aerakyn race. At 8:00pm, the official news dropped on the EQ2 Forums:

Are you ready to start an adventure with a unique new player race? Get ready, because Aerakyns will soon be available for you to customize and start your journeys! Players will be able to purchase the new Aerakyn race from the EverQuest II Marketplace beginning November 11, 2014. Want to learn more about the Aerakyns? Well, we’ve got the information ready for you!

The Aerakyns were once the unwilling soldiers of the great Prismatic Dragon, Kerafyrm. Now free from his thrall, but unable to return to their homelands, they seek to re-establish their culture in Norrath. Since the Aerakyns were used as shock troops by Kerafyrm throughout Age’s End, they are looked upon suspiciously by most Norrathians. Despite the general prejudice against them, the Aerakyns are a neutral race of seasoned warriors who are determined to prove their worth. Let’s take a look at some of the characteristics that really make the Aerakyns stand out from other Norrathian races!

ZAM Managing Editor Cyliena recently interviewed EQ/EQ2 Creative Director Akil “Lyndro” Hooper and Holly “Windstalker” Longdale about the new Aerakyn race which will be available for purchase on November 11, 2014. She got the inside scoop and plenty of details about the new race and the different pricing tiers which will be available.

As previously announced, the Aerakyn race will not be included in either the Standard or Collector’s Editions of the Altar of Malice expansions, but is instead being sold as a a standalone item. From the EQ2 ZAM article:

Aerakyn will be available on the Marketplace [on November 11, 2014] through several purchasing options. They are:

• 2000SC – Aerakyn: The Aerakyn have vestigial wings, but are of a lower caste and can’t use their wings for travel. Includes 4 appearance wing types that unlock upon reaching Adventure or Tradeskill level milestones. The Aerakyn will use wing attacks when unarmed.
• 4200SC – Noble Aerakyn: The Noble Aerakyn is set apart. With its wings offering benefits as you achieve them by reaching Adventure and Tradeskill level milestones. Includes 4 wing mounts unlocked at level milestones and include run speed, leaping, gliding, and flying. They also have an appearance weapon that allows them to use their wing attacks while wielding weapons.
• 2200SC – Upgrade to Noble Aerakyn. This upgrade adds the ability to earn the 4 mounts on leveling and includes the appearance weapon.
• 4800SC: Discounted Noble Aerakyn Bundle with Character Slot
• 7700SC: Discounted Noble Bundle that includes a Heroic Character Bauble AND character slot

Continue reading “The Aerakyn Are Coming” at EQ2 ZAM
to read the interview with Akil and Holly.

Massively also covered this news in their report here: EverQuest II’s Aerakyn race is spreading its wings November 11th

Tomorrow, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of EverQuest II, the 11-year Veteran Reward will become available to all EQ2 players who have been around since day one. Why 11 years? The first four expansions (Desert of Flames, Kingdom of Sky, Echoes of Faydwer, and Rise of Kunark) each granted 90 days of bonus time, so add it up, and you get 11-year Veteran Rewards for a 10 year old game!

From Afista on the EQ2 Forums:

It’s been ten years since some adventurers first came ashore on the Isle of Refuge. For some, there’s nothing more memorable than the first time they set foot on the pristine beach while seeking refuge from the turbulent seas. The island was a place of new beginnings, where allegiances formed and adventurers learned skills that would help them survive in these new lands. Well, now it’s time for adventurers to return home where their journeys all began. On Tuesday, November 4, 2014, the Isle of Refuge Prestige Home will be available and adventurers will be able to have their very own private piece of history!