Feldon There has been precious little information posted about the upcoming EverQuest II: Destiny of Velious expansion. Most of the facts and figures we have about it date back to Fan Faire of August 2010. In spite of some major leaks by SOE, we are going to stay on this side of the NDA and stick to answering what we can based on facts in evidence and a little bit of deductive reasoning.
Please note this article has been written without conference or verification by SOE and may contain errors.
After the jump, our preliminary Frequently Asked Questions about Destiny of Velious…
Q: Will the level cap be raised to 100? Are we getting any more AAs?
A: The level cap for Destiny of Velious will remain 90. We seem to be on an every-other-year level cap raise cycle. However, we will be able to earn more AAs and spend them in a new tree/page. Speculation is that the new AA cap will be 300.
Q: Will there be any content, quests, etc. for level 1-85 characters?
A: At this time, we believe Destiny of Velious to be a level 86-90 expansion. Of course this may change, but this is what we have so far.
Q: How many dungeons, raid zones, etc. are there?
A: There are 2 overland zones, 10 dungeons, and 4 raid zones, including a x2 raid. This does not include any raid zones which may be added in future Game Updates. There is a large contested heroic zone as well.
Q: How do we get the Flying Mount in Destiny of Velious? is it a real Flying Mount? Can it be used in old zones? What about the Collector’s Edition appearance mount?
A: The flying mount will be obtained from quest in the Destiny of Velious. As Velious is a level 86-90 expansion, it’s a safe assumption that this quest is only available to higher levels. You will not need to spend StationCash to acquire it.
It was stated at Fan Faire that the Flying Mount will be usable in all overland zones, including older zones. You really can soar up in the air especially in zones that were built for it, but in older zones, you will be able to fly at a certain height (ceiling), and then as you approach the edge of the zone, you will fly lower and still need to use existing gates/doors to travel between zones. The appearance griffon mount in the Collector’s Edition will allow you to change the appearance of your quested Flying Mount.
Q: What are my choices for buying Destiny of Velious? Is there a ‘head start’ like last year? Is there a retail collector’s edition? Is there a pre-order?
A: SOE have wisely (in our opinion) eschewed the idea of a ‘head start’ or retail collector’s edition in favor of a Digital Collector’s Edition. We prefer this idea because European customers or other players who do not have access to a reliable retail outlet can still buy the expansion without paying overnight shipping or scrambling for other extreme measures.
Destiny of Velious is available in 3 forms:
- Destiny of Velious Retail Edition $39.99
- Destiny of Velious Digital Download $39.99
- Destiny of Velious Digital Collector’s Edition $59.99
You must Pre-order the Digital editions to get the Loyal Snow Hound pet. You must Pre-order the Digital Collector’s Edition to get the $59,99 price, as it goes up to $89.99 after February 21st.
Q: What special items do I get in the Retail Edition ($39.99)?
A: Rewards include:
- Standard of the Dain – Animated glowing hammer cloak (RETAIL EXCLUSIVE)
- Four Different Velious Portal Paintings
Q: What special items do I get in the Digital Download Edition ($39.99)?
A: Rewards include:
- Loyal Snow Hound – Siberian Husky Puppy (DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE)
- Four Different Velious Portal Paintings
NOTE: You must pre-order the Digital Download to receive the Loyal Snow Hound.
Q: What special items do I get in the Digital Collector’s Edition ($59.99)?
A: Rewards include:
- Loyal Snow Hound – Siberian Husky Puppy
- Four Different Velious Portal Paintings
- Tserrina’s Wedding Present – Tower of Frozen Shadow house item with special ability
- Cryomantic Armor Crate – Magical ice appearance armor
- Everfrost Summer Home – Menagerie Prestige Home
- Stormfeather Brood Guardian – Alternate griffon mount appearance
NOTE: You must pre-order the Digital Collector’s Edition to receive the Loyal Snow Hound. After February 21, the price will increase to $89.99.
Q: Do I have to Pre-Order to play on launch day? Do I have to Pre-Order or spring for the Collector’s Edition to get the Flying Mount?
A: No and No. Any purchase of Destiny of Velious up to and including launch day entitles you to play on February 22nd. The Flying Mount is an in-game quest and is not reliant on purchasing a specific version of the expansion.
Q: Wait, what is this Everfrost Summer Home? Can we now have 2 houses? Will this be just a copy of the Halas housing?
A: UPDATE: We have now seen a screen shot of this new prestige housing option. It seems to be based on the Miragul’s Managerie dungeon in Everfrost. Players may choose to build their house in this new housing or any of the existing options available to them, but the limitation of one-house-per-character is not changing any time soon, as eloquently explained by Amnerys. Such a change would require a 6 month rewrite of the housing code (some of the earliest code written for EQ2 back in 2001(?)) to accommodate multiple houses per character.
UPDATE: Players will be able to own more than one house on a single character in a future update (EQ2 Forums announcement).
Q: And what’s the Stormfeather Brood Griffon?
A: UPDATE: This appears to be an appearance mount, which is to say, after you have completed the Flying Mount quest, you can equip this and change the appearance of your Flying Mount.
Q: What about this hint we heard that there was a really cool new feature coming to housing?
A: UPDATE: This was announced on the EQ2 Forums on Wednesday, January 26th.
Q: Are these special items one-per-character or one-per-account?
A: The original e-mail announcement and EverQuest2.com posting indicated that rewards would be one-per-account, but this was revised to indicate that you can claim these items on each character on your account.
Q: I attended Fan Faire and purchased a Platinum pass which includes the Digital Download of Destiny of Velious. Can I pay the $20 difference and get the Digital Collector’s Edition?
A: We are attempting to get an answer on this issue. Currently, players that attended Fan Faire who visit the EverQuest2.com website and attempt to purchase Velious are reaching a curious “Select Add-ons” page. Typically, Fan Faire attendees have not seen expansions appear as an entitlement on our accounts until approximately 24 hours before the launch.
At this point, we are suggesting that Fan Faire attendees wait and see if a discount becomes available before paying full price for the Collector’s Edition.
Q: I live in Europe and because of the artificially high exchange rate set by SOE, I am being asked to pay $70, $75, or even $80 for the Digital Collector’s Edition. What’s going on?
A: Exchange rates have been a long-standing issue with SOE. Normally, people from outside the US have been able to circumvent this issue on expansions by utilizing third party digital purchase sites like Direct2Drive and Steam. However the Digital Collector’s Edition is exclusive to the SOE Station Store. We are attempting to get an answer on this issue for Destiny of Velious. SOE is one of the few MMO companies that do not allow payment in a foreign or local currency using a credit card.
Q: How do I qualify for the Velious Winter Rewards for February, specifically the Ice Wolf Mount and Freeblood Vampire Race?
A: If you have an active subscription on December 14, January 17, and February 22, and buy the Destiny of Velious expansion SOMETIME THIS YEAR (before December 31, 2011), you will get the rewards. You do not need to Pre-Order.
This is a reward for carrying an active sub in these content-light months of December, January, and February. If you have carried an active sub with a credit card or use 30-day game cards, you qualify. Using a 3-day Passport does not qualify. Neither does renewing and cancelling your credit card every month. We’re not sure why people do this, but it does not count as an ‘account in good standing’.
NOTICE: This Frequently Asked Questions was not written with any input or assistance from Sony Online Entertainment and may contain factual errors. SOE not responsible for the content of this article.
When we have more information we can share, you’ll be the first to know. Ok, the second. Well, very close to the top of the list, we promise. 😉
Just wish there was a Destiny of Velious RETAIL Collector’s Edition for sale!
Destiny of Velious Digital Collector’s Edition $59.99 ($89.99 after Feb 22)
price jump after feb 22 for digital. wtf.
The seriously need to release pics of the “Everfrost Summer Home”
I’m guessing there will be a bunch after the NDA is lifted, but still would be nice to help decide if I wanted Collector’s Edition.
BTW, calling it “collector’s edition” is kind of dumb for an all-digital release. “Collector’s” traditionally like to have something physical to collect. Should just be Premium Edition or something.
Indeed, it is pretty funny to call something a collector’s edition when there’s nothing to collect. But hey, SOE convinced people to pay the same price for digital cards that Magic the Gathering used to sell you physical cards for. And now we’ve come full circle, with a Magic the Gathering online game from SOE.
I’d rather them just set up an SOE online store and sell maps, pewter figurines, T-shirts, etc. Just do it in a 2 week blowout so they don’t have to set up a permanent operation.
The working theory is that the Everfrost Summer House will be based off the Miragul’s Managerie zone. But it seems an odd choice for a house imo.
We know more about the pre order than we do about what we’re pre ordering. LOL
“Neither does renewing and cancelling your credit card every month. We’re not sure why people do this, but it does not count as an ‘account in good standing’.”
Mainly because some people prefer being in control of wether or not to re-sub when the time comes. If one plays more than one mmo with a subscription it can be a pain to remember which ones to sub or un-sub from each month.
What you are Collecting with the CE is the “exclusive in-game items”.
For those of us with accounts in good standing, and who naively paid US$20 to unlock Freeblood, can you find out whether we can get $20 off Velious?
Come on Grugg, do you even really need to ask that?
one question.
-Destiny of Velious Digital Collector’s Edition $59.99
Is this can do digital download?
As it’s digital, I hope it’s a digital download. 😉
worth noting
this expansion will not be the complete EQ2 velious — its part 1 of 2
part 2 of velious will be later as either a game update or expansion