Feldon
Some breaking news for you! As we’ve reported, in Game Update 53, almost all LEGENDARY and FABLED instance dungeon/raid loot except patterns will be picking up the new LORE-EQUIP flag which, along with the HEIRLOOM and ATTUNEABLE flags will allow instance Fabled and Legendary loot items to be looted and transferred to alt characters on the same account. timetravelling clarifies: -We do not currently have plans to change the looting options (by adding an Alt Need option between Need and Greed). However, it is something to monitor and we’ll keep an eye on it. -This change is intended to...
Grouping
Shards of Destiny (Gu53) appeared on Test just moments before midnight last night. This update is expected to go live in late September (the initial date was September 22nd, but this was an internal target). Here are the Test Update Notes: Test Update August / 27 / 2009 FEATURED Achievements The new achievement system gives players a fun new way to track their accomplishments! Most achievements will award players with achievement points that can be used to compare their progress against other players. Some harder to complete achievements will offer non-stat item rewards. The basic categories are General, Quest,...
Alan “Brenlo” has chimed in on the EQ2 Forums with the news that GU53 will be appearing on Test servers tomorrow. He’s also spilled the beans on Hot Zones and what this means for you. Tomorrow morning, Shards of Destiny is going to the Test server! Woo Hoo! We hope you are as excited as we are to see the new content and try it out for yourselves. I encourage you, if you have time in your busy schedules, to jump onto Test and try the new content out. We would love to hear your feedback and the more...
And care of EQ2Players, we’ve got our first screenshot on the Self-Mentoring NPC we’ll be seeing in Game Update 53 (Shards of Destiny). It looks like there will be a small gold (5g for any level) and status cost for using the NPC. Check out Kiara’s entertaining parable about this new feature of Gu53 at EQ2Players.
Greetings Norrathians! There will be a bonus applied to AA experience this weekend, starting at 1:00 p.m. PDT on Friday, August 21st and ending at 10:00 a.m. PDT on Monday, August 24th. Happy and safe adventuring! ~from EQ2Players~
Even though we do not have a specific release date for Gu53 (Shards of Destiny), “late September” has been posited as a timeframe we should be watching for. As we approach the duly appointed time, more information is coming out about what we can expect in this update. Unless you follow the EQ2 Dev Tracker, you’ve probably missed some salient details. … Skill Up Catch Up Not every EQ2 player has access to a Guild Hall, specifically the Training Dummy amenity. This is relevant because at the great speed most folks now level up into their 50’s or 60’s,...
Ratwarlock has chimed in with an article covering the appeal and drawbacks of both Instance and Contested Dungeons. It’s worth a read over at his site RatWarlock.Wordpress.com. Sentinel’s Fate (The 6th EQ2 Expansion expected in February 2010) will ship with one large progressive contested dungeon (reportedly twice the size of Sanctum of Scaleborn, with a progression of shareable quests available as you traverse the depths). Our Stand EQ2Wire believes that both types of dungeon have their place. Folks have gotten a bit burned out on having to “stick to the script” each time they group up in the ~20...
As announced at EQ2Players… EQII’s next Game Update #53, Shards of Destiny, is slated to go live in late September. We will be bringing some exciting new content to the world of Norrath with Shards of Destiny. Erollisi Marr’s influence is felt once more in Norrath. Our players will be able to explore the Shard of Love and learn more of the popular goddess’ story. The Shard of Love is a single group zone. There will also be a new x4 dungeon to test your skills. Miragul’s Planar Shard will continue the story of the powerful mage. There are...
Before I start the notes, July 14th marks the availability of the Automated Character Transfer Service. For $25, you can transfer your character from one server to another. Check out the “Station Marketplace” within EQ2. I don’t have a current link for you as far as this announcement, but I can confirm that the items appeared on the Station Marketplace for me this morning. July 14th Update Notes GENERAL The Firiona Vie statue distributed to Fan Faire attendees is no longer a LORE item. EMPEROR’S ATHENAEUM 4 Warriors are no longer control immune. Enchanters, show us what you got!...
Fan Faire 2009 presented a lot of ideas and plans for the future. A scant few were nailed down to a specific time frame. We know that we are getting the Shard of Love and Miragul’s Shard in Gu53, as well as the amazing Shaders 3.0 graphics tweaks. However the rest of Gu53 and any part of Gu54 remain a mystery. You’ll be happy to know that the AA XP Slider is slated to be contained in Gu53! Obviously there is still some time between now and September, so this may change, but this is certainly good news that...
July 7, 2009 Hotfix Update Notes EMPEROR’S ATHENAEUM 4 Warriors in Emperor’s Athenaeum should reset less frequently. 4 Warriors have fewer buffs—especially defensive ones. FENS OF NATHSAR Kaluhm the Northern Lord now drops his treasure correctly. Pulnil the Haggler is less confused about the quests he can offer and advance for those that have completed the quest “Everyone Loves a Snitch”. GUILD HALLS Players at trustee or higher access can change the appearance of mailboxes placed within their guild hall. ITEMS Focus: Lich III on necromancer item sets will now function properly. Focus: Bane of Warding V should now...
Thanks to Coniaric for these snapshots of the Shard of Love from Fan Faire. This zone will be going into Gu53.
I’ve edited the “EQ2 Fan Faire Rollup” post so many times, trying to get it factually accurate and inclusive, I’m surprised I haven’t worn a spot on the hard drive. We’ve had the facts and figures. Let’s play the game! Soloing to 80? I’ve always considered soloing to 80 a recipe for disaster as you will be at a huge disadvantage. Playing the game solo to 80 ill prepares most classes for grouping. You don’t know how to play your class in a group. You don’t know how other classes complement your class. Soloing to 80 can be bad...
I present the EverQuest II Expansion & Game Update News from Fan Faire in a rollup post. This is partly based on the Fan Faire 2009 Consolidated News by Kalyyn. I started with Kalyyn’s great writeup and have built upon it, adding dozens of new details and minor corrections based on everything I observed at the 2009 Fan Faire EQ2 event in Las Vegas. I’ve archived the individual news posts I submitted over the weekend. If you still want to read them, they’re [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] And now, without further ado,...
GENERAL The Order of Rime illusion no longer has a minimum level for use. Fang the direbear has received some additional defensive bonuses. The Eggstractor should now only work on its intended target (which is, of course, eggs). There is a new EQ2VoiceService.exe from Vivox that should resolve some crash issues that players were experiencing. ACHIEVEMENTS Coercer Coercive Healing will once again apply properly to reactive heals. KURN’S TOWER A cinematic event when slaying Ione (with a quest requirement) has been turned on. Fear Kraytoc’s wrath! MUNZOK’S MATERIAL BASTION The void sapper adds associated with Ozyk in Munzok’s Material...
EMPEROR’S ATHENAEUM The final bosses no longer ambush players. Players should get experience from each location discovery within the zone, instead of just the first. Drago’s Boar’s Eruption does less damage. Added a clue to help decipher the floor-set vault lock. Master of the Embalmers summons adds much less frequently. The Curator teleports less frequently. KURN’S TOWER Ilenee’s Betrayal and Despair no longer heal after they teleport and no longer can teleport to the same room. VOICE CHAT EQ2VoiceService.exe should now run on Windows 2000. Players should no longer show as talking intermittently when their push-to-talk key is not...
GENERAL Players experiencing problems customizing Wood Elf males should no longer have any issues. Persistent instances should no longer boot players out when they were not committed to the previous instance. EMPEROR’S ATHENAEUM The final bosses should no longer despawn if players died next to their spawn locations.
Any software update is going to bring bugs. Laryngitis I just wish SoE hadn’t tried to completely revamp the voice system on the same day as all this new content was added. Last night we spent most of time just fiddling around with voice, trying to get it clear and stable. Mostly it was choppy, stuttery, laggy, and folks had a tough time joining channels. We also had to inform a few folks running Windows Firewall that they would need to allow Eq2VoiceService.exe. This service was spun off from the EQ2 client to allow voice chat outside the game...
Here are the notes for GU52 which has now appeared on Test. It is unknown exactly when these changes will go live. FEATURED Charasis: Emperor’s Athenaeum The Order of Rime has managed to re-open this ancient vault of Venril Sathir’s. What secrets lie within? What terrible guardians? Venture in with a single group of adventurers to find out what awaits! Kunark Overland Quests A mysterious army has appeared upon the shores of Kunark and begun pillaging the land and slaughtering those that oppose them. Citizens of Dreg’s Landing in Kylong Plains, Riliss in Fens of Nathsar, the City of...
Check out this preview at EQ2Players which includes additional photos and gives more info on the difficulty of Kurn’s Tower: Breaching the Void (the group zone).
ITEMS Death Chimes will now work correctly. Ill Will now properly applies the heal to the owner of the item. PALACE OF THE ANCIENT ONE Pets should now be able to attack the Void Annihilator. QUESTS Boss mobs should now drop multiple keys for early progression in Veksar: The Invasion. Innate spells used by much of the population in Veksar: The Invasion can no longer be used towards other creatures within the zone. YKESHA’S INNER STRONGHOLD The Archmagus now banishes players less frequently than before. Field General Uktap’s Sappers now take longer to set explosive charges, and do not...
On May 14th, there was an EQ2 Dev Chat hosted by Zam. Bruce (Froech) – Producer Jennifer (Kirstie) – Mechanics Supervisor Ryan Favale (ImagoQuem) – Graphics Roger (patherpanchali) – Raid content Nick (GlipSOE) – Associate Producer Brett (timetravelling) – Associate Game Designer Greg (Rothgar) – Sr. Programmer Emily (Domino) – Tradeskills Chris (Aeralik) – Class Balance/Combat Jason (Fyreflyte) – Itemisation Nathan (Kaitheel) – Events and Quests Complete chat logs of that event can be found at EQ2.Zam.com, however some people might like to get the highlights that I think my readers might be most interested in… My question about...
Ok, actually it’s Game Update 52: Monument and Might. GAME FEATURES Player-written books Research Assistants Spell Naming Conventions — As spells upgrade through tiers rather than entirely new names, each subsequent spell will have a roman numeral increment afterwards. For instance Ice Comet and Ice Comet II. Rather than Apprentice I, II, IV, Adept I, Adept III, and Master I, Master II, spells will progress such as Apprentice, Journeyman, Adept, Master, Grandmaster, etc. The end result of this will be spell names such as Ice Comet II (Adept). Level 80 characters currently have their Combat XP converted into Achievement...
ITEMS The Bane Warding line can no longer be stacked by wearing three pieces of two different sets. All Bane Warding spells now deal less damage and cannot trigger more than once per second in PvP combat. The Combat Art damage displayed on the Assassin’s Thirst abilities now matches the bonuses they give. MUNZOK’S MATERIAL BASTION Yzlak Encounter – The clone adds of player priests now have reduced health. Yzlak Encounter – The clones themselves will remain longer before becoming a Yzlak Presence. Yzlak Encounter – Yzlak Presence adds can now be affected by all classes, not just the...
On May 6th, we were all reassured that the “AA problem” is a figment of our imaginations: In EQII, we allow you to gain achievement experience at a fast rate by questing, discovering new locations, killing named creatures and even by getting certain items without this impacting your adventure leveling. We feel that this ends up being a good overall compromise so players level up in both systems together pretty quickly. So you can imagine my surprise when Aeralik popped into one of dozens of threads discussing the AA Grind with this less than clear comment: Or maybe someone...