All Servers: 7-9:00am PDT | 10:00am-Noon EDT | 15-17:00 BST | 16-18:00 CET

From the EQ2 Forums:

POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION
Arcanna’se Spire: Order and Chaos [Raid]

• Shanaira the Prestigious should now give slightly more time to react to the combo elements of her encounter.

Vaedenmoor: Heart of Nightmares [Raid]

• Terris-Thule will no longer stoneskin while rampaging.
• Corrected an issue that would cause the Gatekeepers to think pets were not allowed to damage them if their owner challenged them.
• Terris-Thule no longer casts the “Daydreamer” spell.
• The spells “Touched by Nightmares” and “Touched by Torment” now persist through death.
• The adds in the Saryrn encounter should now despawn if Saryrn leaves the encounter or is slain.
• Some health adjustments to Saryrn and Terris-Thule.
• The buff spells that are assigned to groups should now put “Outsider’s Recognition” on the group the boss has targeted instead of a random group.

If you took advantage of last year’s too-good-to-pass-up $72 for 1 year of All Access subscription, be aware that these will be renewing soon at the full price of $119.88. It is not expected that the $50 off deal will be offered for 2017. To manage your All Access subscription, visit the Daybreak Games website page for All Access Membership Info.

Tip of the hat to Uxtalzon.

From Kaitheel‘s twitter:

Like clockwork, Tinkerfest has returned! There's new stuff to do and to obtain. Now thru 8/2. #EQ2 https://t.co/fWwGeKMRr1 pic.twitter.com/1MbIsAVoOq

— Nathan McCall (@kaitheel) July 20, 2017

and from EverQuest2.com:

Like clockwork, Tinkerfest has returned!

Take up your favorite wrench and celebrate all things gnomish, be they metal, combustive, mathematical, experimental, or a combination thereof! Adventures, rewards, buyables and crafted items await you, both new and familiar. You won’t want to miss all of the fun at Gnomeland Security, your headquarters for all things Tinkerfest, in Steamfont Mountains.

This year’s event runs through Tuesday, August 8, 2017 at 11:59PM PDT.

Until we get a new Community Manager for EQ2, it looks like Caith is posting the downtime notices:

All EverQuest II Servers will be brought offline on Thursday, July 18th, 2017 at 7:00 AM PT (14:00 UTC) for an update. Estimated downtime is less than 2 hours.

From the EQ2 Forums:

SUMMER ETHEREALS

• Increased the maximum Ethereal reward chances from 3 to 4.
• Added a forced description to the Ethereal cloak merchant lists to correct an issue where it did not always display the purchase requirements on the upgraded cloaks.
• Two new [Heroic] daily missions that each reward a Sathirian Ethereal crate are now available from Okzil <Daily Mission> in Obulus Frontier within Crusaders’ Cave at 526.8, 252.5, 1295.1.
• Both missions can be completed each day, but only one can be active at a time.
• Both missions can only be updated and completed within a Kunark Ascending dungeon labeled [Heroic].
• Neither mission will be granted if you already received 4 Sathirian Ethereal reward crates for the day. Because of this restriction, neither mission can be shared.

This year’s Summer Ethereal event had a twist — only by completing Expert Zones could the Ethereal Tokens be acquired. After much forum outrage, it seems good has prevailed. From Discord chat:

Now if we can just get a patch for the matchmaker in Dungeon Finder!

EverQuest II’s in-game mail has been put to good use by the company to alert players to significant in-game revamps, refund Items and Tokens, announce the return of Seasonal Events, conduct In-Game Polls and Surveys, Gauge player interest in Crafting, Heroic, and Raid content, and so forth. Now however, it seems that the in-game mail service is being put to a new and somewhat questionable use.

All Servers: 7-9:00am PDT | 10:00am-Noon EDT | 15-17:00 BST | 16-18:00 CET

From the EQ2 Forums:

POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION
General

• Fracture, the Inheritance Merchant has returned to Freeport and Qeynos.

Vaedenmoor: Heart of Nightmares [Raid]

• Terris-Thule’s “Drain Life” ability should no longer hit the entire raid. It should work the same way as it does in Vaedenmoor: Realm of Despair[Raid].
• The allowable deaths in the Summoned Foes encounter has been increased.
• The platforms in the Summoned Foes encounter no longer randomize colors beyond the first time.

From EverQuest2.com:

It’s summertime, which means warmer temperatures, picnics, and of course – Ethereals in EverQuest 2 have begun!

During these events, when you complete a mission in Kunark Ascending expert zones you’ll receive Sathirian Ethereal coins.  Each character can earn up to 3 of these coins per day (6 if you are a Member!) which may be exchanged for rewards with Lakathen, the Traveler in the Obulus Frontier.

In rare circumstances receive an Expert’s Ethereal Cloak or a choice between a class specific ethereal focus or universal ethereal rune.

Over the course of these events, there will be several periods where you will have the opportunity to earn even more Ethereal coins!

All Servers: 7-9:00am PDT | 10:00am-Noon EDT | 15-17:00 BST | 16-18:00 CET

From the EQ2 Forums:

PUBLIC QUESTS

• It should be much harder for mercenaries to hold aggro against The Omen Feeder.

PROVING GROUNDS

• The reward for completing a checkpoint in a heroic proving ground has been increased from 1 to 2 Marks of Glory.
• The reward for completing a the final checkpoint in a heroic proving ground has been increased from 5 to 10 Marks of Glory.

From the EverQuest II Twitter:

The first wave of Summer Ethereals begin next week July 11th! Lakathen, the Traveler has amazing rewards for those up to the challenge! pic.twitter.com/XSB1VdC8ke

— EverQuest II (@everquestii) July 7, 2017

From the EQ2 Forums:

The Thurgadin server will be restarted at 4:00 UTC with an approximate one hour downtime. There are no notes associated with this maintenance.

I believe that the best games, whether in the real or digital worlds, on any platform, should have clear and concise rules which are obvious or well-documented for the player. For years, Dellmon (host of the now-quiet but formerly popular EQ2Talk podcast which frequently interviewed members of the EQ2 team) and I have railed against a severe lack of documentation in EverQuest II. Our requests for improvements have spanned how game mechanics work in unexpected ways, to trying to clear up vague item tooltips and spell descriptions, and many other suggestions that would improve the Quality of Life for players. Our input has completely fallen upon deaf ears.

From effects/procs on items that do 1,000 times more damage than the description says, to the way Reforging, Infusing, and Experimentation are indistinguishable from each other when reading item examine windows, and many other examples, it has become tediously difficult to figure out what the hell is actually going on in with your character in Norrath. Despite the availability of 3rd party tools like DarqUI, ProfitUI, Dragon’s Armory, and our own EQ2U, trying to keep even one character fully informed and properly geared for the latest content has become a joyless tedious second career.

All Servers: 7-9:00am PDT | 10:00am-Noon EDT | 15-17:00 BST | 16-18:00 CET

From the EQ2 Forums:

GENERAL

• Added a confirmation to removing a chat tab. This can be disabled at Options > User Interface > Chat Window > Confirm Remove Tab.

POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION
Chamber of Rejuvenation [Raid]

• Summoned Detonators no longer gain immunity from mez and stun once they have been mezzed or stunned.
• Corrected an issue which sometimes caused Trakanon to not use his Bursting Spores ability.
• Drag type abilities will no longer work on Trakanon.

From the EQ2 Forum Header:

Status: 6/27/2017 13:48 PDT – EQ2 is coming down at 2 pm pacific for an emergency hotfix. Estimated downtime is 1 hour.

All servers are coming down for a brief maintenance to address an outstanding issue. Downtime is anticipated to be less than 90 minutes.

— EverQuest II (@everquestii) June 27, 2017

Time Zone Conversions

• PDT: 2:00pm-3:00pm
• EDT: 5:00pm-6:00pm
• BST: 22:00-23:00
• CEDT: 23:00-24:00

From EQ2 Twitter:

The Fallen Gate server launch at Noon PT has been delayed for a bit. We'll update you as we have more information!

— EverQuest II (@everquestii) June 27, 2017

From EverQuest2.com:

Need a swift kick to get motivated for leveling?  For the next 14 days, any player who reaches level 10 on the Fallen Gate server will earn the Pedipowered Posterior Punter mount, which can be claimed on any server! Don’t wait too long to get this mount, as this offer ends Tuesday, July 11 at 11:59PM PDT.

This Leaper mount will let you get the jump on traveling and moving quickly around the map.

If you want even more upgrades, any player hitting level 30 (no time limit on this one!) will receive Mirgaul’s Familiar Tonic which will enhance any single familiar!

Want to learn more about Fallen Gate?

• Fallen Gate FAQ
• Fallen Gate Announcement

I didn’t want to put a 4MB GIF file on the front page, so click More to see the “mount”…

All Servers: 7-9:00am PDT | 10:00am-Noon EDT | 15-17:00 BST | 16-18:00 CET

From the EQ2 Forums:

POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION
Vaedenmoor: Heart of Nightmares [Raid]

• Territus should no longer cause the spell “Mark of Nobility” to damage ally pets.
• Baliath should now take longer to start regenerating after he leaves the playable area and returns.
• Corrected an issue where if you had the Golden Recognition spell on, you could not execute that part of the script the spell implies.

Chamber of Rejuvenation [Raid]

• Trakanon no longer forces a tank swap. Swapping tanks is now fully up to the fighters engaged in the encounter.
• Detonators should now auto-engage the raid instead of waiting till they are damaged.

 

Arcanna’se Spire: Order and Chaos [Raid]

• Added messaging to Shanaira the Prestigious’ spell combo phase for feedback purposes. Correctly countering her powerful magic should now point out which spells were used as well as who completed the combo.

ABILITIES

• Completed the first pass on an overall damage output adjustment for all classes. These changes have a separate modifier on live, time-locked, and Proving Grounds servers, so that they can be separately adjusted.

Fallen Gate

• Channeler heals heal for a percentage of the targets max health on the Fallen Gate server. Percentage heals are increased by the spells level and tier, but do not benefit from caster stats.

QUESTS

• The Shining Metallic Robe should now be correctly referred to as “Shining” in all instances.
• Will of the Stormhammers – Brelaine will now break the dwemer for those who may have died or lost connection between approaching the Stone of Kaladim and watching her work her magic.
• A Mind of My Own – Yapsnarl kobolds are drawn to the bowl of Terratrodder chuck much sooner now.
• Secrets of Runnyeye – Players that do not yet know Goblish are now able to spawn and fight the Book of Baylzuthak.
• Secrets of Runnyeye – Players that do not yet know Goblish are not able to read the Book of Baylzuthak, but are given direction to learn the language.
• A Clockwork Snoop – Gnome Observatrons are removed from the player’s inventory when the quest is deleted.
• A Water Tight Case – The underwater chest now provides text when players have “A Water Tight Case” but not “A Crusade to Faydwer.”
• A Stealthy Guarding – Quest now updates consistently for the group when the mob of Blackscale terror attackers are defeated.
• Return of the Light – The Lucanic Knight Initiate can no longer be damaged until a certain event transpires.
• Kaesora: Xalgozian Stronghold [Heroic and Solo]: Spirit Shepherd – The lost spirits will more reliably follow you.
• Claiming the Goblish Tongue – Goblins in Runnyeye: The Gathering, Nu’roga, and Twark now have a chance to drop a Goblin Territory Marker.

Time-Locked Servers

• Lian Augren’s mail entitled “A Gathering Obsession” will now only be sent once the Isle of Mara is available.

ITEMS

• Heritage items have been rebalanced across the board. In addition to new stats, several heritage quests that offered rewards only to specific classes now offer a selection of rewards.
• Damaged items in an equipment set will now have the damaged back-glow appearance instead of the equipment set back-glow.
• Two-handed weapons should now have double the stat bonuses of one handed weapons of the same level and quality.
• Velious: Several collection rewards have been updated so that their stats are in line with progression.
• Velious: Several collection rewards have been updated so that their stats are in line with progression.
• Corrected an issue with Sarya Val’Sara that prevented her from selling the Drake of the Grove and Burnie.
• Corrected an issue with Celestial Gate that could prevent it from activating after dying until the caster zones or un-equipped and re-equipped the rune.

From the EQ2 Forums:

What is a Time Locked Expansion server?
A TLE server has a special ruleset which restricts content and allows players to revisit exciting adventures from previous eras of EverQuest II.  Every 12 weeks, content from the next expansion will unlock allowing progression through much of the original game content over time.

Who can play on a TLE server?
All Access Membership is required to create characters and play on the Fallen Gate server.

How will content unlocking work?
Every approximately 12 weeks, a new expansion and it associated content will unlock on the server.  Adventure packs such as the Fallen Dynasty will release 6 weeks into the applicable expansion.

All Servers: 7-9:00am PDT | 10:00am-Noon EDT | 15-17:00 BST | 16-18:00 CET

From the EQ2 Forums:

GENERAL

• Platinum amounts over 1 million should be displayed better.

PROVING GROUNDS

• Fixed an issue with proving grounds where loyalty points could be reset.

The Underdepths [Proving Ground]

• Corrected an issue with damage variance on several Skyshrine Guardian and Skyshrine Infiltrator abilities that allowed them to hit for higher then intended amounts.

From an announcement entitled “Double Loot Week!” on the EQ2 Forums:

If you haven’t doubled on your Ascension scrolls and experience, today is your final opportunity!

More importantly however, tomorrow the bonuses continue with double loot in all Kunark Ascending dungeon and raid instances!

Starting at 12 AM PT (07:00 UTC) June 16th, until June 23rd at 12 AM (7:00 UTC) players will receive double loot from the following:

• Kunark Ascending Solo Instance Bosses (final encounter)
• Kunark Ascending Heroic Instance Bosses (final encounter)
• All Raid bosses

Time to get your crew together and run some dungeons!

Players asked in the popular Discord chat for clarification of whether this was truly double loot or an increased chance of double loot and whether it was going to work the same as it did last year or if there had been some changes. Apparently that was a mistake…

Daybreak has scheduled a company-wide maintenance which will impact primetime gameplay in most of the US and Europe. From the EQ2 Forums:

Daybreak Games will perform a general maintenance across all games Thursday, June 15th, beginning at 1 PM PDT (20:00 UTC) which will impact logins, account management, and purchasing. This maintenance is anticipated to last approximately 5 hours.

Time Zone Conversions

• PDT: June 15 @ 1:00-6:00pm
• EDT: June 15 @ 4:00-9:00pm
• BST: June 15 @ 9:00pm – June 16 @ 2:00am
• CEDT: June 15 @ 22:00 – June 16 @ 3:00

From EverQuest2.com:

Are you ready to relive your epic journey in EverQuest II? Heed the call of adventure and return to the Isle of Refuge once again on the new Time-Locked Expansion Server! The Fallen Gate server is scheduled to launch on Tuesday, June 27, 2017.

What’s New About Fallen Gate?

This will be a time-locked expansion server where expansions unlock automatically. In addition, Fallen Gate will have a new twist on Heritage Quests. Completing a Heritage Quest on this server will not only provide the quest reward – but an additional reward on EVERY server you play on.

All Races. All Classes.

Ever wanted to play a Beastlord or Channeler in classic EverQuest II? You can on Fallen Gate! All classes and races will be available when it launches!

Special Note: Players will still need the class/race features to play premium race and classes. Channeler and Beastlord Epics and certain class specific quests will only be available when the corresponding expansion content has unlocked on Fallen Gate.

All Servers: 7-9:00am PDT | 10:00am-Noon EDT | 15-17:00 BST | 16-18:00 CET

From the EQ2 Forums:

PUBLIC QUESTS

• Item rewards from Shade of the First Brood, Battlement Bound, Ill Omen, and Long Live the Emperor are now only acquired by looting a chest that spawns near the public quest.
• You will have 5 minutes to loot your rewards from these chests after the public quest ends.

From the EQ2 Forums:

The Fallen Gate Time Locked Expansion Beta server is now available for testing!  The sevrer will only be available until next week so hop in and help us Test out experience, balance, and other functionality you’ll be using on Fallen Gate when it launches.

As a thank you for your testing, you’ll receive a Fallen Gate Beta Box if you reach level 30 or complete 150 quests.

Instructions on how to patch Beta quickly can be found here. Scroll down to “Get to EverQuest II Beta in 15-30 Minutes“.

Other Important Information:

• We’ll be testing a queue system for EverQuest 2 during this time. Don’t be alarmed if you have a short wait when logging into these beta servers.
• Beta installs into a subfolder that takes about the same space as your live game version.
• Remember to set the ‘Version’ back to your regular setting to access your normal server.
• The Beta server may not be accessible at all times, as patching and beta server maintenance will occur whenever it’s necessary.
• The Beta server is wiped periodically, meaning Beta characters may be deleted with or without notice.

From the EQ2 Forums:

Ascend to new levels with Double Ascension Scrolls and Ascension Experience! During this event, you’ll receive twice as many scrolls from the Ascension masters and receive twice as much Ascension experience.

This weekend will be the perfect time to work on that alt or catch up with your friends! Double Ascension Week begins Friday, June 9th at 12 AM PT (07:00 UTC) and end Thursday, June 15th, at 11:59 PM (06:59 UTC).