Dethdlr
I’ve got big hopes for EQ2 itemization and what we’ll see in the “Everquest II: Itemization Evolves” panel at SOE Live this year. For me, there are several things that go into itemization. It’s more extensive than just the items themselves. Here are a few notes on itemization that I hope will be included in that evolution: Go back to the days when gear was less cookie cutter. The days when you looked at more than just the Stamina stat to see if you were already wearing better. Bring back heroic zone progression meaning make the top level heroic...
Month: July 2013
Feldon
From Massively: Sony Online Entertainment‘s SOE Live event is promising to be bigger than ever this year, as the company is reporting that advance passes are sold out and that walk-up tickets are expected to do the same, and quickly. SOE Live 2013, which takes place August 1st through 4th at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, is surrounded by hype thanks largely to the long-awaited debut of EverQuest Next. SOE will also host five tournaments, a silent auction, a pool party, and talent and costume contests. We have two Massively staffers on deck in Vegas: MJ...
The Public Beta for the overhauled Dragon’s Armory has now begun! The new site has numerous improvements and features, from better font choices, the ability to link directly to a Character, and more importantly, a completely overhauled Upgrades page which lets you shop for item and adornment upgrades in a visual, meaningful way which always keeps you informed on how your stats will increase or decrease based on different item choices. Check out the Dragon’s Armory Beta! Dedith will also be presenting a talk at SOE Live 2013 from 2-3:00pm PDT alongside me (I’ll be talking about EQ2U). We’ll...
SOE Live is once again upon us, ready to douse us in news about a number of SOE games including EverQuest Next, and refusing to be overshadowed, EverQuest II! The EQ2 team have been working their butts off on new content, itemization improvements (more choice, less cookie cutter!!), and more which has yet to be revealed. But while we wait for that news to break, (or if you need a podcast for your flight to Vegas), you ought to check out the latest EQ2Talk #67 episode which has been posted to EQ2Talk.com. If you didn’t listen to Episode #66,...
EQ2Wire will be (where else?) in Las Vegas this weekend for our sixth SOE Live covering EverQuest II, as well as the upcoming EverQuest Next on our sister site EQNWire.com. I’ll also be presenting a panel about our EQ2 armory site EQ2U as well as plans for the future. You can read the official SOE Live 2013 Schedule here (hopefully with no more changes!), but here’s the list of panels I will be attending, with notations of which panels I will be Liveblogging and which I will be recording in 720p HD video. All times are Pacific Daylight Time!...
Character Advancement Templates, as introduced in Tuesday’s Game Update 67, put a lot of powerful functionality into the hands of players, but at a cost. The overall user interface has led to a lot of confusion in the way that it was implemented. But perhaps most importantly, the ability to spend points as they are earned was lost. The system encourages plotting out your entire AA spec, while discouraging making small changes. That said, the new functionality is quite amazing. We have gained the ability to have up to 3 Alternate Advancement trees which we can swap between anywhere,...
Even as the EQ2 team puts the finishing touches on their presentations for the upcoming 10th expansion of EverQuest II, some are working late, continuing to chip away at the frustrating lag which is affecting certain raid zones such as Dreadcutter and Harrow’s End. From Kander on the EQ2 Forums: We’ve been looking at Freeport. We are making some config changes on the current raid zones to see if we can fix the issue. This does not require a patch. Keep us posted how the rest of the evening goes please.
From EverQuest2.com: This summer, SOE ran the first SOE Player Studio item creation contest called Dawn of the Dark Elf. All items had to be dark elf themed and for EverQuest or EverQuest II. Players had one month to prepare and submit their entries. There were no limits on the number of entries, and all regular Player Studio rules and guidelines were followed. We received 34 entries in 5 categories from 17 different artists, but there could be only one winner: Neko Zero, who created this Organ of Enchanting Darkness for EverQuest II! As described by Neko Zero, “this...
I have just finished updating our EQ2Wire SOE Live Schedule webapp based on the massive changes to the SOE Live schedule made last Friday, as well as the additional changes made today to Considering the depth of the changes to the official SOE Live Schedule. Grab the EQ2Wire SOE Live Schedule webapp for your iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, Palm, etc. Remember, this app lets you pick your panels and add them to the “My Schedule” feature. NOTE: This webapp uses a Manifest file to cache the schedule even for a device in airplane mode. If you’re testing this on a...
Looks like I wasn’t the only one experiencing a bit of trepidation about 6 hours without a bathroom break. The SOE Live 2013 Schedule has undergone some pretty major changes, not only in times, but in which rooms are being used. The Friday panels have shifted, and all the panels set for Melrose have moved to the Sunset or other rooms. More importantly, the EverQuest and EverQuest II keynote information has moved from 11-Noon on Friday to Thursday night as part of the Welcome Reception. EQNext now gets its own dedicated 90 minute reveal starting at Noon on Friday....
From the SOE Live website: SOE Live 2013 is coming up on us fast, and we want to get you revved up for the cool info, prizes, and fun you’ll see on stage at Planet Hollywood or (if your spending priorities include eating and paying rent) online via our livestream! Here’s a quick rundown of the SOE celebs that’ll bring you all the action! Mark Tuttle – Host Executive Producer, Strategy Games Mark spent 17 years doing morning radio programs (proving again that ANYONE can get into the gaming industry). Mark will bring a quirky, fun air to the Reception and...
From Kaitheel’s twitter: Fans of all things gnomish, and ‘splodey rejoice! #Tinkerfest is now live! New quests, rewards, buyables, and craftables! #EQ2 — Nathan McCall (@kaitheel) July 26, 2013 View the Detailed Writeup and Guide @ EQ2 Traders View EQ2 Zam’s updated Tinkerfest Guide Sigrdrifa is also feverishly updating EQ2 Wikia’s Tinkerfest guide for 2013.
From the EQ2 Forums: CHARACTER ACHIEVEMENT TEMPLATES Gold Rush should reapply correctly after committing an AA profile. DAILY OBJECTIVE SYSTEM The Bag of Platinum has been added back to the merchant. MERCENARIES During a readycheck, if a player is not ready their mercenary will not be included in the not ready list of a ready check. TRADESKILLS Corrected an issue that would occasionally prevent a contested avatar from dropping a tradeskill component. ITEMS Abyssal and Planar Cognizance temporary adornments now grant potency instead of crit bonus. Yellow adornments from Clefts of Rujark can now be traded. As with all...
Greg’s SOE Live Schedule for iPhone/iPad Greg “Rothgar” Spence, now Lead Programmer for EverQuest Next, has updated his popular SOE Live Schedule app for SOE Live 2013! Greg developed this iOS app three years ago and, in his extremely limited spare time, has maintained it every year for SOE Live, adding Retina and iPhone 5 support over time. This app has a “My Schedule” feature which lets you choose which panels should appear on your schedule, as well as providing Dining and Transportation information. From the Apple Store’s product page: SOELive is your official guide to Sony Online Entertainment’s SOE Live convention. Access the...
From the EQ2 Forums: GENERAL If the quest helper is toggled off, completing your Daily Objectives will no longer toggle it back on. POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION Fabled Clefts of Rujark Corrected an issue that prevented the base population in The Fabled Clefts of Rujark from dropping loot. ITEMS The Fabled Battleborn Bracers can no longer be equipped by scouts. Armbands of the Northlands once again go in the appearance shoulder slot and provide an alternative appearance to the Shoulderpads of the North. The Battle Bred Meatbeast can now be converted back into a mount from its plushie form.
For the last 15 minutes or so, there seems to be an issue affecting station.soe.com and other SOE services and websites. More as we have it… UPDATE: This issue was affecting Station/SOE websites and has since been resolved.
UPDATE I have removed the block of characters named “Malshandir” from EQ2U. I believe that a series of e-mails sent from a ISP address is insufficient to warrant blocking search results from a publicly accessible API. It also sets a dangerous precedent for other websites that merely index data from a third party source. This morning, I received an e-mail from one Thomas Freyer of Freyer Consulting in Frankfurt, Germany: From: Thomas Freyer Subject: Deleting of Profile URL: http://u.eq2wire.com/soe/character_detail/446677832604 We demand by law the deleting of this profile as the owner of the trademark “Malshandir” we gave you no permission...
From the EQ2 Forums: POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION Chelsith: The Ancient Vault [Group and Solo] Players with an existing lockout for these zones should be able to enter them again (this will reset the zone). CHARACTER ACHIEVEMENT TEMPLATES AA Templates: If you are not on your currently committed profile when you gain experience you will revert to that profile. This will cancel the build process if one is in progress. You can no longer commit an AA template while flying. QUESTS Darkness Ascending: Tear in the Drakelands – Exile faction characters will now receive a cloak reward upon completion...
From EverQuest2.com: Game Update 67, Darkness Dawns, is now live! The oracles still see chaos and uncertainty on the horizon even with victory for the New Combine army in Cobalt Scar. Join Field Marshal Vishra at Scarstone as he tirelessly guards the newly found Tear of Veeshan – an artifact that could turn the tides of war forever in this time of delicate peace. Is it the key to preventing the end of the world foretold in the Ages End prophecy? Those that have completed “Tear in the Grotto” are being summoned to find out! Darkness Dawns includes: Fabled...
Game Update 67: Darkness Dawns greatly improves the process by which characters can store, retrieve, and share their Alternate Advancement profiles. Store up to 3 AA Profiles First up, characters can now store up to 3 AA profiles on their character and access them from anywhere in Norrath, without calling to their house where the correct Mirror of Reflected Achievements is stored. Now, you can switch between up to 3 AA profiles for each of your characters. You can also name them appropriately. Load & Save your AA Profiles Even cooler, you can now Load and Save your AA setup...
From Roshen on the SOE Live Forums: It does NOT look like we’ll be able to add rooms to the SOE Live room block. If anything does free up to us before the event, it doesn’t look like it will be at the same prices listed in the SOE Live FAQ. It looks like some people have good suggestions for other nearby or cheap hotels in Vegas. Before walking the Las Vegas Strip, just be aware that a Vegas ‘block’ isn’t as short as you think it is. So if you waited til the last possible moment to book...
These were posted just a few minutes ago on the EQ2 Forums: DARKNESS DAWNS The oracles still see chaos and uncertainty on the horizon even with victory for the New Combine army in Cobalt Scar. Join Field Marshal Vishra at Scarstone as he tirelessly guards the newly found Tear of Veeshan – an artifact that could turn the tides of war forever in this time of delicate peace. Is it the key to preventing the end of the world foretold in the Ages End prophecy? Those that have completed “Tear in the Grotto” are being summoned to find out!...
Tomorrow morning, we’ll see Game Update 67: Darkness Dawns roll out to the EQ2 servers, and you’ll probably have a few questions about where to reach the new content. Well, Zammit! From Cyliena on the EQ2 Forums: Your dedicated ZAM staff brings you our coverage of GU67: Darkness Dawns to help guide you through the new content and features! Daily Objectives Personal Depots (crafted by Tinkerers) Darkness Ascending (signature series) Waters of Norrath (heritage quest) All ZAM Coverage
Surprisingly, it’s 1:46am EDT and Game Update 67’s Update Notes have yet to appear on the EQ2 Forums. Here’s the downtime announcement… All EQ2 Servers will come down on Tuesday, July 23, at 6:00 am Pacific Time* for Game Update 67, Darkness Dawns. The expected downtime is four hours. Time Zone Conversions PDT: July 23 @ 6:00am-10:00am EDT: July 23 @ 9:00am-1:00pm BST: July 23 @ 14:00-18:00 CET: July 23 @ 15:00-19:00 AEST: July 23 @ 11:00pm-July 24 @ 3:00am