SmokeJumper dropped this hint in response to the question…

*whistles innocently*

Check back Monday’ish.

EQ2 Lead Designer Rich Waters is seeking player feedback on why players stick with Exile despite the huge disadvantages. He posed the question:

Exiles were definitely a side-effect of the betrayal quest, and not an intentional feature. Some support was given to them in the past, but I wouldn’t plan on anything new.

Other than a wider deity choice, what motivates players to stay as exiles on the PVE servers?

There have been reports from several players that trying out EQ2X has wiped out all their entitlements on EQ2 Live with their Station Access account.  I have two Station Access accounts myself and have tried EQ2X on both of them.  One is fine, the other no longer has access to anything but the base game.  Zoltaroth wrote on the EQ2Live Forums:

We are looking into what is going on.  I am going to be in touch with the people who PMed me via PMs.

Until the account gets fixed, it’s as if you bought the base game at launch and never bought anything after that.  You can’t even get into the TSO zones because it doesn’t think you bought that expansion.

Hopefully this will be fixed soon.  Until then, if you have a Station Access account and want to try out EQ2X, be aware that you’re rolling the dice.  Everything may be fine but there is a chance that your live account will be locked out of everything once you’re done on the EQ2X server.

continue reading Live: EQ2 Extended (F2P) Panel…

Juan (olihin) pvp eq2 dev

No doubt the best part of Fan Faire is talking to the developers. So far I’ve gotten to ask Rothgar both serious and geeky questions about the new UI, server upgrades, guild halls, and of course free-to-play.

I’ve made no secret of my concerns about the logistics of free to play seemingly cutting off the flow of new players to the live subscription side of EQ2.

continue reading Talking Shop with EQ2 Devs…

It’s dark!

E3 took place this year from June 15-17.  SmokeJumper was interviewed and said that the current subscription model would not change.  When asked after the announcement of EQ2 Extended about that interview, he had this to say:

Yes, at that time, we were discussing the concept. No, we were not ready to commit to it, nor did we have any details of what we might be doing.

On July 27th, EQ2 Extended was announced.  I counted up how many work days passed between the interview and the announcment.  Guess how many work days went by?

continue reading Dethdlr’s Dungeon: Unfortunate Coincidence with F2P Timing…

From EQ2Players:

Direct 2 Drive is offering a special deal on an EQII pack that will help new and returning players get into the game quickly.

For a limited time, pick up EverQuest II Sentinel’s Fate, along with three Flask of Adventuring bonus potions, the Vestiges of Glory Armor Pack, and a 30-day subscription for new accounts, all for just $14.95.

This offer expires July 26th, so don’t let it pass you (and your friends) by! Also available for purchase in Pounds (UK) and Euros (EU).

UPDATE: We heard about layoffs today, but linked to (and quoted) the 2009 article. Here is the correct link and quote:

From IndustryGamers.com:

The developer behind DC Universe Online and The Agency, Sony Online Entertainment, has laid off 35 employees, or just over 4% of its full-time workforce, in an effort to “better align the company’s resources…as well as improve operational efficiency,” says SOE’s Scott Gulbransen, senior director of global PR & corporate communications.

The official statement: “In a move to better align the company’s resources against areas of growth that meet consumer demand in today’s online market as well as improve operational efficiency, Sony Online Entertainment has eliminated just over 4% of its full-time workforce, equaling 35 people. The changes will better position SOE to deliver against its emphasis on developing games for a wider, more diverse audience and remaining a worldwide leader in online gaming.”

These layoffs are almost exactly one year after the company announced layoffs of 41 employees on July 17, 2009.

From the EQ2 Forums:

Greetings Norrathians!

We have been made aware of a potential threat to your account security, and ask you to read this, pass it on, link it and let others know.

There is a serious phishing scam being perpetrated right now. You may receive an email telling you that your password has been changed or asking you to log into the linked site for some reason.

Please double check the URL of the site that you are being asked to access. The legitimate SOE site will have this URL: http://auth.station.sony.com. Please do not enter your information on any other site, as it is not secure.

If you feel that your account may have been compromised, please contact CS immediately.

Contact CS:

1. Live Chat - http://www.station.com/kb (Chat Support tab). If you cannot find the answer through the knowledge base, click on the “Chat Support” tab to chat live with a Support Representative. Chat Support is open Monday to Friday, from 10:00am – 7:00pm PST.

2. Email Support – http://www.station.com/kb (Email Support tab).  If you cannot find the answer through the knowledge base, click on the “Email Support” tab to email a Support Representative.

3. Phone Support – Available Monday through Friday from 10:00am – 7:00pm PST, except holidays, at 1-858-537-0898.  If you have forgotten your password required to use our email or chat support, and cannot complete the “Forgotten your password” form, please feel free to contact us via our phone support, and we will assist you from there.

Even though Amnerys (it’s pronounced “am-NAIR-iss”) has technically been EQ2 Community Manager for a few weeks now, she has posted an introduction on EQ2Players.

You can read this intro at EQ2Players. She also references her original posting to the Station Blog when she was brought on as a Community Relations Rep.

Have you registered for Fan Faire yet?  It’s less than a month away and registration closes in two weeks. That means it’s time for Calthine’s annual Fan Faire Tips! If you are planning to attend Fan Faire, I recommend reading her survival guide. Between tracking down guildies, meeting new friends, and trying to catch all the panels and events that affect your game(s) of choice, the Fan Faire weekend becomes a blur. It’s helpful to be prepared.

If you are wondering why there has been a whirlwind of changes and announcements about what new players experience from levels 1-20, it probably has a lot to do with the fact that Dave “SmokeJumper” Georgeson, EQ2’s Senior Producer, has been spending a lot of time creating new characters in each of the starting cities to find the rough spots and smooth them out.

continue reading SmokeJumper on Streamlining the New Player Experience…

Over on the official EQ2 Forums, Kiara writes:

Greetings all!

I wanted to let you know that we’ll be making some changes to the forums this week.

We will be removing the server forums and replacing them with the following:

• Guide Events
• Player Events
• Guild Recruitment
• Roleplaying
• Live Gamer

We will be leaving the server forums up for a little while to move some of the stickied threads that folks want to keep into the new forums.

The new forums will appear tomorrow.  If you see a thread in your server forum that you think really needs to be in one of the new forums, please report it and we’ll review it and see if it needs to be transfered or if it would just be better to start a new one.

We’ve got reports that the following EQ2 servers are presently down:

• Befallen
• Crushbone
• Innovation
• Mistmoore
• Oasis
• Permafrost
• Runnyeye

EQ2Players Network Status Page

The topic of PvP <-> PvE Character Transfers came up on Monday from a WoW player who has recently rejoined EQ2. The topic received an interesting response from EQ2 Senior Producer “SmokeJumper“:

We’re currently investigating a lot of issues to make things friendlier for you folks. This is a decent idea, but to be honest, I’d have to ask about the technical and game balance issues involved. However, I will do so. I’m curious also.

(by the way…”WoW does it” is not a valid reason for me. We aren’t WoW and don’t intend to be. But good ideas are good ideas. No need to shore them up with “WoW does it”.

Commentary

It is a perennial topic. Will EQ2 ever allow character transfers between PvP and PvE servers?

Player response has ranged amongst:

• “Where can I sign up?”
• “It will kill the game”
• “It will empty the PvP servers”
• “PvE characters who have never had to defend themselves against other players shouldn’t now be able to stroll onto a PvP server”
• “There are unique PvP items which shouldn’t be allowed on PvE servers”
• “There are unique PvE items which shouldn’t be allowed on PvP servers”

At one time, we were told flat out that the database wouldn’t support such transfers. But with the introduction of Battlegrounds, with players from PvP and PvE worls mixing it up together with a smattering of PvP and PvE equipment, it seems now the reasons not to allow such transfers are about game balance rather than technical in nature.

Tranfers Already Happening?

When Battlegrounds first came out, a variety of exploits were discovered. Most of them centered around platinum duplication and duplicating items via transmuting. But apparently some players have been able to transfer between PvP and PvE servers by visiting Battlegrounds and claiming a Character Transfer token.

We (as well as the developers) have been unable to confirm actual transfers, so at this point it remains an unsubstantiated rumor.

It seems likely that players who have successfully transferred are laying low to avoid their characters being rolled back or suspended.

The Icy Keep: Retribution x4 raid zone is still on Test and Gninja would appreciate any and all feedback on this zone. You can also contact him by PM on the EQ2 Forums and possibly arrange raids that he can monitor and get direct feedback on.

For those of you that have been most of the way thorugh Icy Keep: Retribution, How do you feel the difficulty of the encounters go? Do they fit with the order of the encounters are some fights much harder than they are currently placed in the zone or does it feel about right? Keep in mind the difficulty shouldnt jump as drastically as the TSO raids did but it should get slightly harder the further in the zone you get.

Also I am looking for feedback on the Ice Maiden D’Ina encounter if anyone has fought her. Is she too easy? Too hard? Too annoying? Anything will help.

You can read all the feedback and Gninja’s responses regarding Icy Keep: Retribution in this thread.

If you’re wanting to hear it from the horse’s (or battlecat’s) mouth, look no further than artist Covic’s EQ2 Forums post who designed the Prowler mounts now available for 2500SC.

continue reading Designer Speaks Up about Prowler SC Mount…

From EQ2Players:

Introducing the Etheral, Sinister, and Ulteran Prowlers!

Each mount comes in your choice of one of the following versions: Fierce and Arcane. The Fierce version increases Slashing, Aggression, Ranged, Piercing and Crushing of caster by 5, while the Arcane version increases Focus, Ordination, Disruption, Subjugation and Ministration of caster by 5. Both versions of the mount reduce the maximum falling speed of your character and have a 65% run speed.

The Prowlers are guaranteed to be available for at least one month and adventurers can now purchase these new mounts for 2500SC from the Marketplace. These are the first Station Cash items of their kind and are immediately available in-game, upon purchase.

UPDATED Commentary

Close inspection of these three mounts indicates they are NOT a reskin of an existing mount (such as the Highland Stalker in the SF retail box) but something unique.

For 2500 you are getting a single heirloom* 65% runspeed mount with either +5 to all mage skills or +5 to all melee skills. 2500 is $25 ($12.50 if you took advantage of a Double StationCash weekend).

It’s interesting to compare this to the Highland Stalker mount in the Sentinel’s Fate: Collector’s Edition which for $30 gives you a 65% runspeed mount for up to 12 characters on your account.

And I’m sure some of you noticed the “available for at least one month“. So after that what? They go back into the Disney vault for 20 years?

*NOTE: These Prowlers were intended to be flagged HEIRLOOM and will be after next Tuesday’s update.

Game Update 56 will be imbuing flying carpets, floating discs, and cloud mounts with the power to float. If you are thinking to yourself “Wait, didn’t they already do that?” read on…

Carpets, Clouds, and Discs have allowed players to peacefully float throughout Norrath, but only over flat, even, dry surfaces. As soon as the operator of these wondrous mounts attempted to traverse a vertical distance greater than 3 feet, they were suddenly rendered about as effective as concrete shoes. In short, carpets, clouds, and disc mounts have been a virtual death trap over mountainous terrain. I guess they just don’t make flying carpets the way they used to!

But wait… Kander has some news:

Carpets, Clouds and Discs having fay fall or glide should be in with 56.

It has been brought to our attention that the EQ2 Passport program contains verbiage which could be construed as condoning the exploit of Battlegrounds:

Penny Pinching Multiboxers

Running several subscriptions might be a bit expensive these days, but not with this program! Fire up your alt accounts for a weekend raid or even a Battlegrounds match all by yourself!

I’ve just received an unexpected e-mail from the EverQuest II team regarding a new program for players on the fence, considering returning to EQ2, wanting to participate in seasonal and special events, or wanting to spin up an inactive account to do some Multiboxing.

If you’ve let your any of your EQ2 account expire, and don’t want to commit for the whole $15 to restore access, you can now play for up to 3 days access for $5 through the new EQ2 Passport program.

Commentary

While it might seem a nice gesture to offer players who are short on cash the opportunity to login infrequently at a discounted rate, the seams begin to unravel when we consider the terms and key publicity points of this program.

The SOE Marketing Team, who have a penchant for operating as if the players do not exist, seem to have been pressed into service to create another whiz-bang program to increase revenues. However the devil is in the details.

It seems unlikely that players will bite at $5 for a 3 day subscription, when $15 buys 30 days. The math simply doesn’t add up.

It stands to reason that if the SOE Marketing Team sidesteps the players, surely they must give little weight to concerns expressed by developers and designers as well, regardless of their understanding of the players. If asked, any EQ2 dev would have told Marketing straightaway that 3 days was just not a large enough carrot.

Another startling angle to the EQ2 Passport announcement is the front-and-center publicity given to Multiboxing. While we have reported both sides of this topic, ending in a sort of “don’t ask, don’t tell” standoff, it seems surprising that Multiboxing, which some players have genuine ethical concerns about, would have earned such a prominent space in this announcement.

One wonders what performance indicators will be used to determine the success or failure of this program, if any. With the shaky Sentinel’s Fate launch, the Marketing team showed a staggering fearlessness about their job security.

Luminata contacted me, hoping I would draw some attention to EQ2Players and the fact it has not been updated since the launch of Sentinel’s Fate. There was plenty of activity and postings on the EQ2Players Discussion area from the SOE Platform team around the time of the site revamp, but this renewed communication has again faded since the expansion launched.

No characters, guilds, rankings, or any other statistical data has been updated since February 16th. The EQ2Players site now seems to be at a standstill.

EQ2 Forum Discussions:

How long before SF updates start to appear on EQ2Players ?

Not Updating

Written by Feldon