From EverQuest2.com:

Greetings citizens of Norrath!

Fall is on the doorstep! What does that mean? Expansion news, of course!

We have some epic adventures in store this year as we delve into undiscovered areas of a familiar continent in our thirteenth expansion, EverQuest II: Kunark Ascending! Quite a bit of time has passed since we have explored Kunark’s secrets and there are some great stories to be told and adventures to be had. Danger awaits you in the Crypt of Dalnir, Kaesora, Warslik’s Wood and more!

Just a note that EQ2U Players has been updated with Collections from Game Update 101, as well as Recipes from Game Updates 100 and 101.

Don’t forget to check out our EQ2U Race to Trakanon Leaderboards to see the progress on this special server!

US Servers: 7:00a.m.-ish
EU Servers: 9:00p.m.-ish

From the EQ2 Forums:

POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION
General

• Corrected an issue with global NPC hit points that gave level 80 NPCs lower hit points then level 79 NPCs. This change smooths out the progress slightly lowering the HP on many encounters below level 80, and increasing the hit points on encounters between level 80 and 94.

The Fabled Nizara, City of the Nayad [Heroic]

• Vzee’rist the Overseer and Mistress Zhvari, Nizari’zhi will now switch targets less often.

ITEMS

• Block chance on Gnasher Toothed Torque has been corrected
• Weapons that had the default 3 second delay have been adjusted to 4 seconds or 6 seconds.
• Many versions of Aspect of the Dragon can no longer harm allies.
• Added the pet health share buffs to the Servant of Vazaelle and Elemental Manifestation.
• Added the Heirloom tags to some raid armor pieces that were missing them.

Cecilia D’Anastasio of Kotaku has unearthed the legend of how guilds of classic EverQuest on the Rallos Zek server almost killed an “unkillable” mob — the Sleeper — Kerafyrm. My partner was present at this battle and fought right up until the moment SOE panicked and despawned Kerafyrm. It was a big deal and caused much consternation. Now the story can be told…

From Kotaku:

Rare today are opportunities for gamers to step outside the prescribed outlines of a developer’s intended gaming experience, especially in MMORPGs. Back in the early 2000s, anarchic players eagerly hunted down the virtual unknown, where possibility and impossibility were deadlocked within some specter of the original game.

The other day, I heard a piece of virtual worlds lore that brought me back to those times: On EverQuest, in November of 2003, nearly 200 players came together to defeat the apparently invincible dragon Kerafyrm, known as “the Sleeper,” against Sony Online Entertainment’s designs. The story has everything: warring factions, a tomb, an invulnerable dragon, surprising partnerships and a panicked multinational corporation

…

In EverQuest lore, he explained, the crystal dragon Kerafyrm was imprisoned in “The Sleeper’s Tomb,” an icy cave, because he was the child of two dragons from warring families. As the developers’ script went, when players entered the Sleeper’s Tomb and killed the dragon’s four warders, Kerafyrm would awaken. Then, he would kill everyone in sight before rampaging across the world.

…

After three hours, Kerafyrm’s health was depleted to about 26%. He was going to die. And, when did, he wouldn’t go on his rampage, as he had on every other server, and trigger the rest of the storyline. It was completely off-script. What would happen to EverQuest’s precious story?

Read the entire story by clicking below:

Kotaku: The Surprising And Allegedly Impossible Death Of EverQuest’s ‘Unkillable’ Dragon

Along with Blizzard, and Playstation Network, Daybreak Games seems to be experiencing a DDoS attack. From Twitter:

We are currently investigating a network issue which may impact players ability to login. We appreciate your patience!

— EverQuest II (@everquestii) August 26, 2016

US Servers: 7:00~9:00am PDT | 10:00am~Noon EDT | 15:00~17:00 BST | 16:00~18:00 CET
EU Servers: 7:00~9:00am PDT | 10:00am~Noon EDT | 15:00~17:00 BST | 16:00~18:00 CET

From the EQ2 Forums:

GENERAL

• All characters who were upgraded to [level 95] Heroic and did not receive Opegaz, Horde Bane have had it granted.

POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION
The Fabled Nizara, City of the Nayad [Advanced Solo]

• K’huthas should no longer be stuck in combat if damaged too quickly.

ABILITIES

• Fixed an issue with Devastation of War.

ITEMS

• Fixed the appearance of Nizari’oshu and Nizari Vindicae’s Pauldrons.
• Undying Destroyer’s Spiritstone will now fit in white adornment slots.
• Race to Trakanon claimable reward packs for Time-Locked servers now have distinct names from their live server counterparts.
• Kunark collection rewards have been updated to be in line with current progression.
• Ethereal Leach will now scale damage correctly against Public Quest encounters.

The day has arrived and the online trading card game Legends of Norrath is no more. I suppose this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who played or is familiar with the game. LoN had long since reached the tipping point where, even in lights-out, no-development, break-fix-only support was costing more than the game was bringing in.

There was no fanfare. No sendoff. No final bonanza giveaway week or God-mode gameplay. No last hurrah. Not even a reminder post on the forums. Legends of Norrath went out not with a bang but with a whimper. Honestly between you and me – I don’t think there is anyone left at Daybreak who knows enough about supporting LoN to even attempt anything beyond hitting the power switch.

Within the Daybreak family, LoN seemed to be that uncle that, while still part of the family, no one ever talked about. He was always just hanging around creepily, standing in the corner sipping on a bottle of who-knows-what out of a brown paper bag. LoN was the only Daybreak title that customers could still spend green dollars on, yet did not have its own Twitter handle, Facebook page, or even its own support forums (which were summarily deleted despite receiving sporadic use). The Community and Marketing teams ranked LoN discussions up there with EQ and EQ2 General Gameplay in its twilight days — superfluous.

So why write a commentary about a sunset game that is gone and has taken up residence in the Parthenon of Former SOE Titles alongside Star Wars Galaxies and Free Realms (both of which also had incorporated card games too), EQ Worlds, or the absolutely amazing Fortune League? Well, some time ago I boldly said that I enjoyed LoN and that I was having fun playing it and Feldon aghast and in a bit of a shock asked why and dared me to write an article about this revelation and confession. Honestly I don’t think he believed I’d really do it. But here we are…

An archive of wallpapers from the Legends of Norrath website. 2016/08/24

EverQuest II players with an All Access subscription can claim 500DBC every month as a reward for subscribing. To further sweeten this deal (and drive sales rather than stockpiling), a new “Offer Claim” window has been added with limited-time offers. Here’s an example — presumably the offers will change and may even be randomized:

Hat tip to stickmack for reporting this to us.

From EverQuest2.com:

Beginning their journey in the Tranquil Sea, new Heroic Characters will venture into the battles of Norrath starting as Level 95 Adventurers!

Want to experience these new Heroic Characters for yourself? Log in to EverQuest II by 12:00PM (Noon) PT on Tuesday, September 6, 2016, and you will get your first Level 95 Heroic Character FOR FREE!

The free Heroic upgrade icon on the Character Select screen. If the graphic is not there, just click in the empty space to the right of your character name.

A few things to note:

• If you have previously purchased a Heroic Character, it will not automatically become Level 95. Only new Heroic Characters begin at this level.
• You must have had an EQ2 account in good standing on/prior to 12:00PM PT on Tuesday, August 23, 2016 in order to get the free Heroic Character. If you create a brand new account, it will not be eligible for the promotion, unless the account has membership.

From EverQuest2.com:

As August winds to a close, we have doubled up on bonuses for ALL players!

From 12:00PM (Noon) PT on Tuesday, August 23, 2016 through 12:00PM (Noon) PT on Monday, August 29, 2016, everyone in Norrath will receive:

• Double Personal Status
• Double Guild Status
• Double Alternative Currency

All Access Members – This special promotional bonus stacks with your regular member bonus!

From EverQuest2.com:

Hail, Norrathian!

Are you seeking an adventure? One that both feels somewhat familiar, but also offers exciting challenges? Then today is your day! With today’s update, the following have been added to EQII:

Fabled Fallen Dynasty
A portal awaits you in The Village of Shin that will take you to new fabled versions of dungeons from The Fallen Dynasty. You must be Level 100 and have a membership to access these zones.

Public Quests
New, limited-time Public Quests are available throughout Norrath. Check your map to find these battle regions!

US Servers: 7:00am-1:00pm PDT | 10:00am-4:00pm EDT | 15:00-21:00 BST | 16:00-22:00 CET
EU Server: 7:00am-1:00pm PDT | 10:00am-4:00pm EDT | 15:00-21:00 BST | 16:00-22:00 CET

From the EQ2 Forums:

As of midnight, it appears that Wave Three of Summer Ethereals have begun. As we wrote about earlier this year, rather than weapons, the new Ethereals are Jewelry and Charms, and in this case, a Cloak ( Bonecaster’s Mantle ).

A player brought the rollover to our attention. While the new cloak offers a 15% damage reduction from elemental, arcane, and noxious damage, as well as +10.5 Fervor, it oddly includes a Daze effect. Disabling autoattack for an entire minute of combat seems like a non starter.

From the EQ2 Forums:

Status: 8/16/2016 11:40 PDT – The game is currently down for scheduled [sic.] patching.

US Servers: 7:00~8:00am PDT | 10:00am~11:00am EDT | 15:00~16:00 BST | 16:00~17:00 CET

EU Server: 9:00~10:00pm PDT | 12:00~1:00am EDT | 05:00~06:00 BST | 06:00~07:00 CET

 Stormhold: 7:00am ~ Noon PDT | 10:00am ~ 3:00pm EDT | 15:00 ~ 20:00 BST | 16:00 ~ 21:00 CET

From the EQ2 Forums:

ZONES / POPULATION
Lyceum

• Vilucidae the Priest of Thule is once again Lord over the Lyceum.

Scourge Keep [Heroic and Advanced Solo]

• The Glutton should no longer fail to spawn.

ITEMS

• The ability modifier for Galiaia the Just, Deraklas the Destroyer, Diathena the Reconciler and Uranon the Avenging will now correctly apply.
• Undying Invoker’s Wand now has the correct number of blue stats.

ABILITIES

• Corrected an issue that prevented potency, crit bonus and fervor buff reduction from applying to many swarm pets.

STORMHOLD (Time-Locked Expansion)

• Rise of Kunark expansion content is now available!

 5:00~8:00am PDT | 8:00am~11:00am EDT | 14:00~17:00 BST | 10:00~13:00 CEDT

From the EQ2 Forums:

There will be a general maintenance tomorrow (Tuesday, August 16) beginning at 5:00AM Pacific Time. Commerce and Account Management may be unavailable for 2 – 3 hours. We will update you after 8:00AM PT if any extensions of this maintenance are necessary. Thanks for your patience!

US Servers: 7:00~9:00am PDT | 10:00am~Noon EDT | 15:00~17:00 BST | 16:00~18:00 CET
EU Servers: 9:00~11:00pm PDT | Midnight~2:00am EDT | 05:00~07:00 BST | 06:00~08:00 CET

From the EQ2 Forums:

GENERAL

• Fixed an issue where a character’s backpack appearance would reset after zoning in certain situations.

ITEMS

• Equipment drops from Karnor’s Castle have been brought back down into progression.

The @EverQuestII twitter account posted this news last night:

The final set of summer Ethereals is now available so earn them while you can!

However we’ve now confirmed that we’re still in the midst of Wave 2 of Ethereals and that Wave 3 won’t start until later this month. From Caith on the EQ2 Forums:

The second wave still has a few weeks in it, wave 2 ends and wave 3 begins later this month.

False alarm folks! Wave 2 started on July 15th and I believe each wave is supposed to last at least a month.

It looks like the Rise of Kunark expansion, which was up for its third unlock vote on the Stormhold server, has squeaked by with the exact percentage needed to unlock. If the vote had gone the other way, it would be a full three months before the next one. From the EQ2 Forums:

The results are in! The community has voted and it looks like everyone is ready to assail Chardok and conquer Karnor’s Castle! The Rise of Kunark expansion will launch at noon PT on August 16th.

The final results for those of you interested were 66% of participants voted to unlock the next expansion.

From EverQuest2.com:

New adventures await you, Norrathains! GU101 is scheduled to release on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, and there’s something in this update for players of all levels.

New Fabled Content to Explore From The Fallen Dynasty!

These new Fabled dungeons can be accessed through a portal just off the docks in The Village of Shin. This content is intended for level 100 characters, and a membership is required to enter these zones.

The Fabled Fallen Dynasty is made up of The Fabled Nizara, City of the Nayad which will have both Heroic and Advanced Solo versions! Also available will be The Fabled Cavern of the Crustaceans Raid for groups of 12 players and The Fabled Xux’laio’s Roost Raid and The Fabled Antechamber of Fate Raid for groups of 24 players.

The EverQuest II team are working full steam ahead on the thirteenth expansion due to hit this November, but in the meantime, they’re getting ready to drop a whopper of a Game Update which should keep us plenty busy this summer.

First up, the much beloved Public Quests first introduced in Destiny of Velious are making a return in current tier content. The EQ2 team have been given new tools to create PQs in weeks instead of months. In addition to faster development, the new tools promise to exhibit less server and client lag as the battles are underway. Game Update 101 will bring us more level 100 content in the form of Fabled Zones from the The Fallen Dynasty adventure pack. Nizara returns in Advanced Solo and Heroic versions, while x2 and x4 raids have both been added.

Five new Level Agnostic Dungeons have been added to Dungeon Finder and they can be played by characters from level 10-100 with content scaling appropriately. Finally some quality-of-life tweaks have been made, and healers who cast Wards will want to check out some changes to how these mechanics have changed.

The Stormhold Time-Locked Expansion server is back at the voting booth for its third ballot asking whether the Rise of Kunark expansion should be unlocked. The imminent launch of the Race to Trakanon server did little to encourage voter turnout as the last Stormhold vote failed with only 46% voting in favor of unlocking Kunark. Now, for the first time in the EQ2 TLE server’s history, it looks like this server may be stuck on its current expansion for three more months. To unlock an expansion, a supermajority (2/3rds) must vote YES.

From the Stormhold server launch announcement comes this curious clause:

Players will have the option to vote to unlock content on Stormhold (PvE) and Deathtoll (PvP) servers every 30-days. The voting period will last a week, and if the server votes not to unlock the next expansion, the vote will start again after 30-days.

If the server chooses not to unlock content three times in a row, the votes for the next expansion will change to 90-days in-between votes. This will reset back to 30-days in-between votes after an expansion is successfully unlocked on your server.

Players must be within 20 levels of current content cap to be eligible to vote.

Not surprisingly, the impending vote (which will conclude this Friday August 5th), has garnered loud responses from both sides of the aisle. The first thread on the topic “3rd RoK Vote – 3 more months of EoF if it fails” contains most of the discussion for-and-against. A second thread also gathered some comments on the subject. And finally, a third thread includes a YouTube video promoting the idea of unlocking. I suppose it’s fitting in an election year that campaign videos would be popping up!

US Servers: 7:00~9:00am PDT | 10:00am~Noon EDT | 15:00~17:00 BST | 16:00~18:00 CET
EU Servers: 9:00~11:00pm PDT | Midnight~2:00am EDT | 05:00~07:00 BST | 06:00~08:00 CET

From the EQ2 Forums:

Talk about being in the right place at the right time. After a single month on the app store of iOS and Android devices, Niantic‘s Pokemon GO (Pokemon being short for Pocket Monster) has obliterated even the loftiest expectations and entered the national consciousness. Some 80 million people have downloaded and played this new augmented reality game. Despite a few early hiccups, including a spying fear when the initial iOS release requested FULL access to your Google profile before a patch fixed it, the game has been a staggering success. The Pokemon GO juggernaut was strong enough to buoy Nintendo’s own stock from a low of 13,500¥ six weeks ago to a high of 31,770¥, a 135% leap, despite the fact that Nintendo actually has no role in and gains no financial benefit from its development. This realization has caused the stock to return to year-over-year averages.

So why do an article about a game I’ve never even played? Because I feel strongly about APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and public data.

The Pokemon GO app for iPhone and Android provides scant guidance to its players. At first, the app provided a Footsteps feature which provided an exact distance to the nearest monsters. However after one week, this feature was reduced to a misleading estimate that reports all “nearby” Pokemon as being the maximum distance away. With this change, players were obligated to walk (or drive) around aimlessly in search of Pokemon. Nature abhors a vacuum, and, so a cottage industry of third-party websites sprang up including Pokevision, Pokehound, and PokeNotify. These sites harvested game data to pinpoint Pokemon on a convenient Google Maps overlay.