A video preview hosted by Emily “Domino” Taylor of the new “Storm Tower” Prestige Home was posted last week, and now this home is available for purchase for 1350SC.

The preview:

The announcement from EverQuest2.com:

For those looking to create something evil and forboding, the new Storm Tower Isle Prestige Home has plenty of space for sinister decorating. Dark and stormy, the island comes complete with crashing waves, gloomy clouds, and a watchtower based on the Tower of Bone in Darklight Woods.

From TSR-JoshuaM on the EQ2 Forums:

We’ve reduced the amount of time needed in order to purchase a Character Transfer token to 7 days of active, recurring, Gold Membership time. This should alleviate a great deal of the gating issues preventing many of you from purchasing this token.

Station Cash purchases of Non-recurring Gold Membership does not make you eligible for Character Transfer services. This service is only extended to active, recurring, Gold Membership holders or Station Access subscribers.

In the event of an account to account transfer, a process which must be done manually, both accounts must be fully verified to start the process. This may be an issue for free-to-play accounts as you may not be able to meet the verification requirements and this cannot be excepted under any circumstance.

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If the options of a Flying Gryphon, Hovering Disc, Cloud, and Pegasus weren’t enough, if flying as a Freeblood Cloud of Bats or Fae or Arasai weren’t enough, the time may have finally come for your flight option.

From EverQuest2.com:

It’s a bird, it’s a plane..No! It’s your EverQuest II character! Introducing the ground-breaking Flight Wings to EverQuest II. Now you can fly through the air with the attached Pegasus Feather Flight Wings or the Nightmare Flight Wings. Fly through Norrath in style, group with your friends and intimidate all challengers as you swoop into action from above.

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First I’d like to wish a Happy New Year to all of you. No doubt many took advantage of the Double XP weekend and squeezed in the last bit of Frostfell magic.

In the coming weeks, we should be hearing more from EQ2 developers and their work on the upcoming Game Update 63 coming in February. This update is expected to include new Destiny of Velious content, including dungeons, raids, and more.

Here are some issues we’re tracking this week, some of which got a nod from a developer or community:

• Character Lighting
• EQ2Players
• Invisible Mercenary Healers
• Timorous Deep (Kunark) client crashes
• Tradeskill Apprentice Recipes for Provisioners
• Characters Stuck in Frostfell
• Character Transfer Server Tokens
• What House Items do you want?

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News will be a bit light over the next few days, so we wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  Whether you’re spending time with friends, family, or your in-game family, we hope you have a good holiday.

EQ2Wire has a huge year planned, including tackling the Dungeon Maker, delving further into Beastlords and Mercenaries, covering the new Velious content in February and May 2012, building a new site on the Data Feeds, and more.

Remember Double StationCash is still running through tomorrow and Double XP is December 30th to January 2nd. Frostfell runs through January 3rd.

Cartoon courtesy Bill Watterson

If you’ve been wondering just what percentage of StationCash is spent in EQ2 (and FreeRealms) on Mounts, vs. Appearance Armor, vs. other consumables, SOE has released a rare infographic laying out some of these details. We first picked up this story from Massively.

Also on Massively this week, Karen Bryan looks ahead to “phase two” of EQ2. Now that the Age of Discovery crunch time has passed, we are cautiously hopeful that the team can step back for a moment and take a look at the bigger issues in the game which are really holding it back. Basic mechanics like Pathing, Line of Sight, Stats Imbalances, Itemization, etc. have to be right before you can build on that foundation.

Here’s that infographic:

The following graphic appears on the EverQuest II launcher:

It looks like SOE is going to double the value of any Station Cash card redeemed between December 24 and December 27, 2011. These are only SOE Pre-Paid Game Cards available in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

Time Zone Conversions

• PST: December 24 @ 12:01AM ~ December 27 11:59PM
• EST: December 24 @ 3:01AM ~ December 28 2:59AM
• GMT: December 24 @ 8:01 ~ December 28 7:59
• CET: December 24 @ 9:01 ~ December 28 8:59

From EverQuest2.com:

Here is another opportunity to get a great deal on Station Cash!

Tomorrow will be the 8th day of SOE’s 12 Days of Holidays celebration! We’re happy to be able to give you double when you buy Station Cash anytime on December 20, 2011. Just buy Station Cash in-game, via your Station Account or redeem an SOE Pre-Paid Game Card and you’ll get Double Station Cash!

But hurry, this offer is only valid 12/20/11, from 12:01 AM PST to 11:59 PM PST!

Plus, don’t forget to login to participating games throughout the SOE 12 Days of Holidays to see what the daily special offer or activity is!

*Station Cash offer valid on 12/20/11, from 12:01 AM PST to 11:59 PM PST; excludes mobile/SMS purchases.

From RadarX on the EverQuest2 Facebook page:

To our valued Steam customers: We sincerely apologize that Station Cash purchased via Steam during our Triple Station Cash promotion today was not properly credited. We are working with Steam and want to ensure those affected that we will automatically credit the additional Station Cash earned during today’s promotion. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Customer Service via http://www.soe.com/en/support/. Thank you again for your patience and understanding. [RadarX]

From EverQuest2.com:

This offer is only valid on December 17, 2011!

Celebrate the holidays with Triple Station Cash for one day only! Buy Station Cash in-game, via your Station Account or redeem an SOE Pre-Paid Game Card and you’ll get Triple Station Cash!
But hurry, this offer ends December 17, 2011 at 11.59 pm PST!

Plus, don’t forget to login to participating games throughout the SOE 12 Days of Holidays to see what the daily special offer, sale or activity is!

*Station Cash offer valid on 12/17/11, from 12:01 AM PST to 11:59 PM PST; excludes mobile/SMS purchases.

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From Domino on the EQ2 Forums:

For twelve days of Frostfell, we’re picking one top selling item per day and putting it on sale at a huge discount for that one day only.  The items will change over around 10-11am (pacific time) each morning from now until the 24th of December.  Be sure to check in each day to see what’s on sale.

And on the first day of Frostfell… pick up the beautiful original Pegasus mount for only 600SC!

Check out the “sale” tab in the marketplace to find it; only till tomorrow morning, so don’t miss it!  Watch this forum or log in each day to see the new sale items.

Traditionally, when an item has been placed in a Guild Hall, that item has been considered as “donated” by the person placing it. As there is no cash value to items acquired in-game, donation seems an appropriate paradigm.

However with the introduction of furniture and other placeable items to the StationCash Marketplace, you are entering the realm of items with cash value. The ability to place items purchased with StationCash in Guild Halls has been inconsistent at best, mostly because of the Customer Service implications of thousands of players asking for their StationCash money back (or items) if they are booted from a guild they just finished placing $30, $40, or more dollars worth of items into.

This issue has been endlessly discussed on the EQ2 forums, with players arguing both sides, either that all items placed in a Guild Hall should be considered forfeit, or that Marketplace items are special because of the inherent cash value, and some even advocating that ALL items placed in a Guild Hall should be re-claimable by the placer.

Personally, I am in the camp that when you start factoring real money into the game, then you have to be very careful about transfer of ownership, and I’m not sure that placing an item in a Guild Hall should automatically be considered transfer of ownership. This isn’t chump change either. Some of the furniture sets in the Marketplace costs in excess of $30.

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As a matter of course, we have left the marketing of StationCash Marketplace items to the forums, EverQuest2.com, and the Welcome window when logging into EQ2. However this week’s haul includes a set of in-game paintings, something players have been requesting for quite some time.

We got a giggle out of the title of this painting ‘Seeking the Burned Woods’. If you don’t know the backstory on that, read the story. Maybe the next bunch of paintings will include Fansy the Bard.

These 5 paintings are $2.50 each (.83 cents each if you got triple SC).

From Everquest2.com:

Trick-or-Treat! Double Your Treats on 10/29/11!

What better way to fill your Halloween goody bag than with DOUBLE STATION CASH®! Get Double Station Cash on Saturday October 29, 2011 starting at 12:01 AM PDT when you redeem any SOE Pre-Paid Game Card or buy Station Cash*.

Plus, we have more tricks and treats in participating games throughout the SOE Trick-or-Treat Event! For more details visit www.soe.com/trickortreat.

*Offer runs October 29, 2011, 12:01 AM PDT through 11:59 PM PDT; excludes purchase by mobile/SMS.

Participating games include: EverQuest® EverQuest® II,;EverQuest® II Extended, DC Universe™ Online, Free Realms®, Star Wars®: Clone Wars Adventures™, PoxNora® and Magic : The Gathering – Tactics™

We are very pleased to share the news that SOE Pre-Paid Game Cards are now available for purchase at retailers in Europe!

Help us celebrate the launch of SOE Pre-Paid Game Cards in Europe! Redeem SOE Pre-Paid Game Cards anytime between October 7th, 2011 and October 10th, 2011 to get Double SC.

Redeem between 12:01 am CET Oct. 7, 2011 and 11:59 pm CET Oct. 10, 2011; offer valid only through redemption of SOE Pre-Paid PC Game Cards purchased from participating retailers in Europe. Visit www.soe.com/gamecards/retailers for European retailers and game card information.

According to SOE’s Game Card Availability website, the cards are available in Europe at participating GameStop, WHSmith, GameStation, and GAME stores. As both GameStop and GAME are present in Denmark, I’ll check them out to see if I can find the cards.

From EverQuest2.com:

Brell Serilis is in search of more treasure to expand his vault!

He has selected some treasures from the EverQuest II Marketplace to add to the hoard of valuables locked in his vault deep underground.

Get select items now before Brell locks them away on October 2, 2011. Items placed in the Vault of Serilis won’t be available for purchase until at least sometime next year.

Visit the Marketplace and select Vault of Serilis to get these items now!

The list of items being mothballed put aside until 2012 can be read at EverQuest2.com or in-game in the Vault of Serilis.

UPDATE: EQ2 ZAM has a complete list of the items which are being removed from the Marketplace.

From an e-mail I just received:

Back to School Bonanza
Double StationCash
and Double XP!!
September 2-5, 2011

Purchase StationCash in-game, via your Station Account, or redeem an SOE Pre-Paid Game Card at http://www.soe.com/gamecards/ (between 12:01am PDT Sept 2, 2011 and 11:59pm PDT September 5, 2011) to get Double StationCash. EverQuest II players also get Double XP during this weekend.

Purchases made via SMS are excluded from the promotion.

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The first Flying Squirrel mount, first premiered at Fan Faire, has been introduced to EverQuest II. It’s been added to the StationCash Marketplace for 1950SC ($19.50 or $6.50 if you stocked up during a triple SC weekend). Despite the name, the Flying Squirrel is a glider and thus available at level 60. We presume that there will be other color choices in the future, perhaps a darker brown, red, or even silver.

According to Tom “ttobey” Tobey, this mount was modeled by Steve Merghart and animated by Chris Myers.

After the jump, a bit less fanciful screenshot of the Brown Tree Glider mount.

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From EverQuest2.com:

With the new Legends of Norrath set, Priestess of the Anarachs, scheduled for release Tuesday, August 23, 2011, we knew folks were going to be awfully curious about its contents. In his Producer’s Letter last week, Mark Tuttle previewed the Drachnid Bloodknight and Prestidigitation cards from the upcoming set, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Not only do we have two more of the cards to show off, but we also have a preview of the in-game EverQuest and EverQuest II loot available with this set!

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SmokeJumper mentioned changes to the Veteran Rewards system at Fan Faire and touched on them further today on the EQ2 Forums:

I can’t get you a solid ETA yet, but yes, we’ll have a revamp coming. The design is outlined and we’re committed to the concept.

Basically, we’ll make a system by which you get a token or credit (or something) every day that you play (for subscribers, including Gold & Plat) and other metrics (for Silver & Bronze folks). Then we’ll create a category of things which are “veteran rewards” that all have costs associated with them. You can buy any of them after you accumulate enough credit.

There’s lots of fun stuff we can do with a system like this. That’s just the basics. It’s something we’ve needed to do for a while now and we’ll get to it as soon as we can after the big November release.

Naladini made a suggestion about spending StationCash on EQ2X:

Spend XX in SC, and it counts as an active month towards the point system.

SmokeJumper’s response, along with mention of rewards for Testing content:

This is probable. We’ll probably also develop an incentive program for players that help us test features before release on Test-Copy. That would all tie into the same rewards system.

From August 12-18th, SOE is offering a modest 30% off all StationCash purchased in-game or at SOE.com. Note this DOES NOT APPLY to retail-purchased StationCash refill cards, SMS purchases, or 30 day game cards.

Between Friday, August 12 and Thursday, August 18, 2011, get a 30% discount* on purchases of Station Cash! Plus, check participating games for Marketplace item specials throughout the week. Check back later in the week for more details on game-specific items!

Please note that the 30% discount* is on purchases of Station Cash and does not impact the redemption of SC cards.

* Offer not applicable to payments made by SMS or with pre-paid game cards, or on purchases of SOE Game Cards.

If you have been hoping for an empty lot to build a house from the ground up, that moment has finally arrived, with the Tenebrous Tangle Island Refuge! She’s not much of a looker unadorned, but with a soft item limit of 800, and a hard limit of 1,100 items with both expanders, it will be interesting to see what players come up with. Although there’s been nothing official, we suspect that the Felwithe Mansion will land in the next week or two.

From EverQuest2.com:

Ready to move on up? The Tenebrous Island Refuge lets you live on your own private island in the skies. A tiny island hovers above and provides a beautiful little waterfall into your own private pond. The grounds are lush and ready for you to build on! It’s rent-free, but remember that adventurers may only own one Tenebrous Island Refuge per character. Pick up your Deed of Ownership today for 1350 SC on the Marketplace.

The new gryphon mount demoed at Fan Faire during the Art & Animation panel drew a lot of Oohs and Aahs from the crowd. It might be called an Incandescent Swiftwing (will we need to replace it with a Fluorescent model soon? ) but I’ll always think of this stunning mount as a Phoenix Gryphon. From EverQuest2.com:

Take to the skies and light up the night! Only an 85th and higher adventurer or tradeskiller is able to command this fiery gryphon, said to have been created by the experiments of Velketor himself. This mount is Lore, No-Trade and increases your ground speed by 75% and your air speed by 150%. Riders will also enjoy an increase of 5 to their Focus, Disruption, Ministration, Subjugation, Ordination, Slashing, Piercing, Crushing, Aggression and Ranged. 1950,- SC

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From the EQ2 Forums:

Gifting has now been reenabled, with a 2 gifts per 24 hours limit.

StationCash gifting had previously been disabled due to a resurgence in plat farming and a concern that money laundering might be taking place.

(left is just the Kilt, right is the entire outfit)

If you followed our live blog of the EQ2 Art & Animation panel from Fan Faire 2011, you know that Kilts is something the team has been working on and off for the last 18 months. It’s been a long road to get them done! So it is not a surprise that, at least the first kilts will be on the StationCash Marketplace.

The first Kilt choice is the Clan Icereaver set and costs 950SC ($9.50 or $3.17 if you still have Triple SC leftover). When you buy it, you get a crate with a whole outfit, although some players will likely choose to just use the kilt and matching cap and further customize with other items.

EverQuest2.com Announcement (once the site is back up)

So which character are you going to put your Kilt on?