I’d like to take a moment and express my sincere gratitude to Ferrek who took my We Need Screenshots call to arms as a personal challenge and set out to document every Insect and Arachnid that could be found in Norrath! Every screenshot and note on the Insects tab (as well as numerous contributions elsewhere in the Warder guide) was submitted by Ferrek.

I’m happy to announce that our Beastlord Warder Guide now sports 39 Insect appearances.

Note: 6 of the appearances are “bone spiders” and right now, charming any of them results in a grey beetle, but hopefully this will get fixed soon. Also, perhaps I was a bit overenthusiastic, but I’ve added a black scorpion style for which we have yet to locate a tameable example.

We promise we’re not late on posting this! The video appeared on Youtube on December 6th but it was not promoted on EQ2’s Facebook page until last night…

Note: Contrary to the video’s implication, you cannot tame elephants.

Jump to EQ2Wire’s Beastlord Warders Guide >>

This Guide is would not be possible without Whilhelmina‘s fantastic Beastlord FAQ she wrote during Beta.

Introducing Beastlords

Beastlords really are a very different class, which means we get a whole new set of UI elements. This includes a Beastlord Bar, a Savagery Bar, a new tab in the Character window for keeping track of all your Warders (pets), and a large blue Weakness paw icon which comes up whenever your Warder pet is ready for you to fire off an coordinated attack.

If all of this were available at level 1, you’d be overwhelmed, so these features are unlocked as you level up. There’s also an in-game tutorial specifically for Beastlords.

At level 1, you get your first warder (based on your race). At this point, it really just acts as a basic pet and you can’t do any special abilities with it.

A few (22) hours behind schedule, EverQuest II has launched their Age of Discovery expansion, which includes the Beastlord class, Item Reforging, Tradeskill Apprentices, Mercenaries, and the Dungeon Maker. Today also marks the introduction of a revamped Freeport, with new questlines starting at level 20 and every 10-20 levels until level 80. Also, EverQuest II has now gone entirely free-to-play. The Freeport server joins the other EQ2 servers as a regular server, and players can start on any server they like, either at the Free, Silver, or Gold levels. Heck even Frostfell goes live today.

If you are an EQ2 subscriber, then NOTHING changes for you.

LAUNCHERS: If you are using any of the older launchers such as the original EQ2.exe launcher in the Retail box, the blue-grey Station Launcher, or Launchpad 3 (either regular or streaming), you must upgrade to either the regular or streaming version of Launchpad 4 before you can patch in and play EverQuest II. If you point the installation at your current EQ2 directory, you will only need to download approximately 2.4GB of data. See our Launchpad 4 Patcher article for more info.

VETERAN REWARDS: If you are not able to see Veteran Rewards in your Claim windows, this will be fixed in tomorrow’s hotfix!

GUIDES:

• If you are looking for guides to the new features in Age of Discovery, or where to find all the new quests in Freeport, check out Cyliena‘s helpful guides at EQ2 ZAM.
• Niami Denmother has posted her Age of Discovery Preview as well as her Frostfell 2011 Guide.
• If you have reached level 10 on your new Beastlord and are looking for a new pet, look no further than EQ2Wire’s Beastlord Warder Guide.
  

See you in the game!

Beastlords may be the most complex, configurable, dynamic class in EQ2 for the foreseeable future. To try to explain this class without using screenshots is damn near impossible. And due to the surviving conditions of the NDA, we are forbidden to use any of our screenshots. So we are going to wait another day so we can start putting out complete articles that fully explain the Beastlord class, Reforging, Mercenaries, etc. with pictures.

In the mean time, we leave you with these artistic impressions of the Beastlord interface…

A late night tweet from Domino indicates that the last batch of players who signed up for the Age of Discovery beta and signed the NDA are now welcome to try out the beta. There was a glitch with some of the invite emails but if you fit the above, download the Beta patcher anyway and give it a try!

Everyone who registered can get into beta but some emails were delayed 🙁 The last should be catching up now. Patcher: ow.ly/7NH4i

EQ2 Beta Launcher
EQ2 Beta Streaming Launcher

Note: Once the patcher starts, you should copy the paks and music folders from your live installation of EQ2 to your EQ2 Beta folder. The patch should take about 30-45 minutes if you do this.

From the EQ2 Forums:

EverQuest II Behind the Scenes Videos: Beast Lord Warders & Mercenaries

We’ve got a special treat for you! Check out our two new EverQuest II behind-the-scenes videos, covering two of the awesome features coming with the new expansion: Age of Discovery! That’s right – we’re be taking an inside look at beast lords and mercenaries!

Beastlord Warders by Akil “Lyndro” Hooper

Mercenaries by Carlos “Gninja” Mora

Direct Links: http://youtu.be/AOhi4_g82oM & http://youtu.be/vCt4sI-Hcps

We are happy to present our EQ2Wire Exclusive: Beastlord Warders Guide. Check it out!

As of 6:20pm PST last night (3:20am my time), an announcement (also here) indicating that the Age of Discovery NDA has lifted.

As we found out last year, this doesn’t actually mean the whole NDA has been lifted. Due to a Survivorship clause, in fact just two passages of the two page document have been rescinded. We are allowed to talk about what we experienced in Beta. The gag order is lifted. We get our voice back. But anything else such as quotes from the Beta forums, screenshots, videos, etc. are still verboten.

Now there’s a noble goal behind this and that’s to prevent really ugly screenshots which don’t represent the final product getting plastered all over the Internet. The information, screenshots, and videos people are posting should reflect how the Age of Discovery expansion will look when it’s released, not how it looked a month ago. Developers also need to be able to have free and unfettered communication with players. If they knew that their every off-hand comment on the Beta forums might get broadcast to the world, they might be more cautious about posting.

We will have some articles today, although the restriction on screenshots and videos naturally hampers what we can do.

From EverQuest2.com:

We are extremely pleased to bring you the new Dungeon Maker feature set. For the first time, you and your fellow players can create new content for the game, play through a constantly changing list of player-created dungeons, and get rewards whether you are a dungeon builder, adventurer, or both!

We recently ran groups of press folks through a “tour” of the Freeport revamp and the AoD feature set. We ended each tour with a demo of Dungeon Maker and what it could do, and we were met with a lot of excitement about the potential once players get their hands on this stuff.

There’s a lot to be excited about, and if you aren’t currently involved in the beta testing (at present about 4000 of you *are* involved), then you haven’t seen much about Dungeon Maker yet. So here’s a preview so you know why this feature will be fun, as either a builder or an adventurer.

Continue reading at EverQuest2.com…

From SmokeJumper on the EQ2 Forums:

I’ve said this before, but it gets lost on these boards, so I’ll throw it out there one more time. Warning: This isn’t short.

The second half of Velious was designed to be a separate expansion pack. We fully intended *and started* to create “Velious Part II” so we could launch it next year.

But we decided it would be a lot cooler, and honestly, a lot better business, to release new content constantly throughout the year, so that you always have something new to look forward to and to play, rather than race through one set of content once annually and then sit around waiting for the rest of the year.

But content takes time to create. LOTS of time. (We have many parallel developments going constantly here, with staggered release schedules.) The art team has been banging on Withered Lands, Skyshrine, Cobalt Scar, Siren’s Grotto, and a lot more, some of it for over six months now. That art starts wrapping up soon so it can move over to design and they can start making it breathe…and there’s still more to do (like remaking Qeynos) before the art team starts making other content beyond that.

From the Society for the Preservation of Superlatives EverQuest2.com:

Let’s journey down the path to the Age of Discovery!  Join Dave “SmokeJumper” Georgeson (Executive Producer), Greg “Rothgar” Spence (Lead Programmer), Akil “Lyndro” Hooper (Lead Designer), and Emily “Domino” Taylor (Associate Producer), along with your host Linda “Brasse” Carlson (Director, Global Community Relations), to learn all about the thrilling features due in EverQuest II’s next expansion, Age of Discovery. We’ll also share a little insight into the Beta process, how the team has been using your feedback, and what changes are being made!

Join us on Tuesday, November 29, 2011, at 4:00 p.m. US Pacific Time*, on Twitch TV! The webcast is expected to last about 20 minutes.

Be there for a very special announcement!

Time Zone Conversions:

• PST: November 29th @ 4:00pm
• EST: November 29th @ 7:00pm
• GMT: November 30th @ 0:00
• CET: November 30th @ 1:00

So I wanted an EverQuest II: Age of Discovery wallpaper for my desktop. I change wallpapers often, and thought hey, I’d like to get in the mood. Usually by this point, we’ve received some promotional material for the upcoming expansion, namely high resolution wallpapers, screenshots, etc.

Since I haven’t seen hide nor hair of anything like that, I put together my own 16:9 widescreen EverQuest II: Age of Discovery wallpaper using key art provided to Zam. This is an unofficial wallpaper, but if you’d like to adorn your desktop, feel free to download!

Download Age of Discovery Wallpaper
(1476 x 830 in 16:9 format)

Last night, Linda “Brasse” Carlson (Director, Global Community Relations), Greg “Rothgar” Spence (EQ2 Lead Programmer) and Akil “Lyndro” Hooper (EQ2 Lead Designer) hosted a Webcast about the upcoming Dungeon Maker feature (previously known as Design Your Own Dungeon) in the upcoming EverQuest II: Age of Discovery expansion.

Note: Dave “SmokeJumper” Georgeson was not able to make the webcast.

Note 2: For the first ~5 minutes of the webcast, Rothgar’s mic was not working at all. At this point, he and Brasse started sharing a microphone.

Note 3: Throughout the webcast, Rothgar refers to the Avatars you use to play through Dungeon Maker-designed dungeons as “adventurers”. For clarity, I have changed all these references to Avatars.

After the jump, EQ2Wire provides an exclusive transcript of this SOE Webcast…

To date, we still don’t have an exact launch date for EverQuest II: Age of Discovery.

Well, we have a date — November 30, 2011 — but then we’ve seen two other more general time windows of “early December” and “Winter” which might well invalidate it.

If Age of Discovery really hits on November 30th, then this would mean there are 11 days to go til the expansion launches and 2 of those days have become national holidays in the USA — Thanksgiving (a harvest festival) and Black Friday (a capitalism festival).

If the Age of Discovery beta is terminated 1 week before expansion launch as it so disruptively was for Destiny of Velious, then the Age of Discovery Beta could come to an end an alarming 4 days from now. With Dungeon Maker just hitting Beta last night this doesn’t seem plausible.

In other news, some Twitter updates yesterday from EQ2’s Associate Producer Domino which may be of interest:

Currently watching a progress bar increment … as 400 of the earlier registrants for #EQ2 beta get sent their invites! Exciting! =)

Typed up and printed my “to do by expansion launch” list today. Single spaced, it was 2 pages long. >_<

Your Thoughts

Do you think the expansion will be delayed?

From an e-mail I just received!

NOTE: For most players, you do not need to do anything, as this entitlement will automatically be added to your account, but check your SOE.com account over the next week or so to make sure this is added.

One tantalising bit of information from tonight’s AoD/F2P Webcast was that the Age of Discovery Beta may start allowing Fan Faire attendees in tonight. It’s unknown how quickly others will be brought into the beta.

Also, we were told that while Beastlords, the Freeport Revamp (a GU62 feature), Mercenaries, Tradeskill Apprentices, and Reforging would be in the Beta now (or soon), Design Your Own Dungeon won’t hit Beta until next week, to focus testing attention on the previously mentioned features.

UPDATE: We have it on good authority that Fan Faire attendees are now receiving invites to the Age of Discovery Beta. Hey! No peeking at my Inbox!

The “Very Exciting News” Webcast (which with today’s revelation of EverQuest II going fully Free-to-Play was naturally on that subject) finished a little while ago on Twitch.tv. The new webcasting service produced a MUCH more reliable video picture and better sound quality as well. The webcast included Dave “SmokeJumper” Georgeson, Emily “Domino” Taylor, and Linda “Brasse” Carlson. Lots of questions were asked from SOE’s Facebook page, including a question I submitted  and heck I even won some StationCash for submitting a question.

In case you’re wondering, my question was: When is the new EQ2Players site being launched? and the answer was very much a “We’re REALLY close, but we don’t have a date yet”.

So here are some screenshots of items included in the Age of Discovery: Collector’s Edition, namely the exclusive flying mount, Lavastorm Prestige House, exclusive cloak, armor set, and last but not least the exclusive Beastlord Warder/pet.

UPDATE: We’ve replaced our screenshots with the High Definition images from the EverQuest2 Facebook Wall.

If you’ve been waiting to buy EverQuest II: Age of Discovery and were expecting to get Destiny of Velious included, get ready for a surprise!

Here’s the original announcement about the Age of Discovery Pre-Order:

Digital Collector’s Edition

The Digitial Collector’s Edition is a Station Exclusive and is specially priced at $59.99 for pre-order only. This version includes the base game, all seven expansions, a Cloak of the Truespirit, Dungeon Maker Unique Monster Spawner #1, Dungeon Maker Unique Monster Spawner #2, Armored Flying Pegasus Mount, Unique Beastlord Warder Pet, Lavastorm Prestige Home, Custom Dungeon Maker Map Layout, and a Robe of the True Spirit. New accounts will also receive a free 30-day subscription.

Please note that after the pre-order period ends, the price of the Digital Collector’s Edition will increase to $89.99.

and here’s what it was revised to say:

Digital Collector’s Edition

The Digitial Collector’s Edition is a Station Exclusive and is specially priced at $59.99 for pre-order only. This version includes the base game, a Cloak of the Truespirit, Dungeon Maker Unique Monster Spawner #1, Dungeon Maker Unique Monster Spawner #2, Armored Flying Pegasus Mount, Unique Beastlord Warder Pet, Lavastorm Prestige Home, Custom Dungeon Maker Map Layout, and a Robe of the True Spirit.

Please note that after the pre-order period ends, the price of the Digital Collector’s Edition will increase to $89.99.

And this info from the Pre-Order page which was not operational when today’s news first broke:

EverQuest II will transition to a “Free to Play” model concurrently with the launch of the Age of Discovery expansion pack. This means that all players will have access to EverQuest II through free and optional paid membership levels. All membership levels will provide players with access to game world content through the EverQuest II Sentinel’s Fate expansion. Platinum-level subscribers will also have access to the EverQuest II Destiny of Velious expansion. For all other players, the EverQuest II Destiny of Velious and EverQuest II Age of Discovery expansions may be purchased separately.

From EverQuest2.com:

Pre-Order EverQuest II – Age of Discovery Today!EverQuest II – Age of Discovery is now available for pre-order! This exciting new expansion to the world of Norrath will be released on November 30, 2011.

Digital Collector’s Edition $59.99

The Digitial Collector’s Edition is a Station Exclusive and is specially priced at $59.99 for pre-order only. This version includes the base game, all seven expansions, a Cloak of the Truespirit, Dungeon Maker Unique Monster Spawner #1, Dungeon Maker Unique Monster Spawner #2, Armored Flying Pegasus Mount, Unique Beastlord Warder Pet, Lavastorm Prestige Home, Custom Dungeon Maker Map Layout, and a Robe of the True Spirit. New accounts will also receive a free 30-day subscription.

Please note that after the pre-order period ends, the price of the Digital Collector’s Edition will increase to $89.99.

Standard Digital Edition $39.99

The Standard Digitial Edition includes the base game, all seven expansions, a Cloak of the Truespirit, and a Dungeon Maker Unique Monster Spawner #1. New accounts will also receive a free 30-day subscription. The cost for the Standard Digital Edition is $39.99.

Are you ready for some concrete info about Beastlords?

The decision to bring Beastlords to EverQuest II was made less than a month before Fan Faire according to an SOE source, and a lot of things were said at Fan Faire, including what type of armor and weapons they’d use, what class they’d be, and how Warders would work. Now that the team has been working on them for four months, there have, not surprisingly, been a few changes.

Here is EQ2’s Lead Designer Akil “Lyndro” Hooper talking about Beastlords on EverQuest2.com:

Q. What is a beastlord? What makes it different from the existing classes?

A. “Beastlords are a new class for EverQuest II, based on beastlords from the original EverQuest. In EverQuest they were loosely based on a combination of shaman and monk. In EQ II we’ve tried to keep them based loosely around a combination of these two classes. One of our goals for beastlords is to experiment with some new play styles. Beastlords have warders that they can tame, who work in combination with the beastlord to create a new style of combat tactics. Beastlords have fewer buttons to press, and a more active and reactive playstyle than our other classes as they react and interact with their warder.”

So we’ve just posted our transcript of last night’s Freeport Revamp webcast. If you don’t want to read the whole thing and just want the top five items you should know, here you go:

and a sneak about Beastlords:

Brian “Omougi” Ferguson has spilled the beans on Tradeskill Apprentices at EverQuest2.com:

What exactly IS a tradeskill apprentice?

A tradeskill apprentice is an NPC that you can hire to work for you in your house. You will need to be tradeskill level 10 or higher before you can work with a tradeskill apprentice.

Who are these tradeskill apprentices anyway?

The first tradeskill apprentices available for hire will be Coldain dwarves. Now that Velious has been reconnected to the rest of Norrath, the Coldain are eager to learn the advances in tradeskills that have taken place during their years of isolation. They’re offering their considerable skills at research in exchange for the guidance and mentoring of crafters from the mainland of Norrath while they learn.

If you’ve been following the somewhat unfortunate adventures of the Gnoob the Gnome character, you’ll recall he had a big part to play in the introduction of Mercenaries to the original EverQuest when it was faced with its own problem of no new blood to help new or returning players leveling up alts.

There have been over a dozen Gnoob videos in the past but this one touches on the upcoming Age of Discovery and its Mercenaries feature. It’s worth a watch and comes with a laugh.

From EverQuest2.com:

The upcoming Age of Discovery expansion will include the Mercenaries feature. These player-controlled (or perhaps just guided, depending) NPCs will help players in groups or raids, for a small fee. You can read a lore-based/mock interview with one of these upcoming mercenaries at EverQuest2.com:

Recently, we have caught word that mercenaries will start to offer their services in Norrath come the end of the year. We were lucky enough to grab an interview with one of these soon to be job-seeking mercenaries! Her name Vittia Direshadow and she is a Teir’dal Shadowknight. She’s quite scary-looking but assures me she will not try to kill me.

Q. What made you want to become a mercenary?

A. My extensive study with the Dread Guard was extremely worthwhile but not inexpensive, and tithes to Innoruuk are not cheap either, so when I finished my training I found myself with debt still to repay. You don’t want to get on the wrong side of a loan broker in Neriak, I can assure you. So, I started work as a mercenary to pay my debts, and have come to find it a valuable source of income as well as an excellent way to see the world and learn new things.

Continue Reading the story at EverQuest2.com…