On Wednesday, April 2nd, 2014 at 2:00 PM PDT, EQ2’s new community manager Margaret “Luperza” Krohn (aka PurrfectStorm), hosted the first EverQuest II Insider livecast on Twitch. This 1 hour broadcast included EQ brand manager Adam Key, Holly “Windstalker” Longdale, Akil “Lyndro” Hooper, Chris Garlick, Gary Daugherty, and Nathan “Kaitheel” McCall.

Alas, a recording of the livecast was not preserved either by SOE or Twitch (due to a settings glitch), so this episode joins Doctor Who and other vital shows as missing presumed wiped.

That said, a few resourceful players who watched the Livecast were good enough to take notes and so we can paraphrase them below:

• Holly and Akil talked about current topics including Bristlebane Day, as well as previewing some Player Studio items that will be coming soon, including a very nice looking yacht or fishing boat with oars and other gear. Luperza mentioned that Player Studio topics will be covered in their own livesteam.
• We got to hear the ‘April Fool’s intro music’ (archived for posterity on Zam) and the new meatbeast vid was also shown (if you haven’t seen it then look here).
• Holly talked a little about All-Access (subscription, Krono, or Prepaid cards)
  • All Access players will get access to new zones / heritage quests 1-2 weeks earlier than other players.
  • Those with new All Access account will have double xp weekends.
  • More All-Access exclusive items on the loyalty merchants.
• The schedule for updates will be more public so that we can see how Smokejumper’s weekly/monthly update idea is working.
• EverQuest II Roadmap/Blueprint — Upcoming plans for EQ2 with feedback from players.
• Contested HighKeep Previewed
  • new skeleton models like crawling, one legged and some even use their head as weapon [IMG]
  • quests: drop quests, quests from items, daily missions for etyma (2 mission givers: 1 at entrance, 2nd at the entrance to picklaw part)
  • plunderable loot which you can place in your house
  • some items might be marked with our name (there is special achievement for marking all of them: Vandal title)
  • achievement for killing all nameds in the zone
  • hidden rare trophies in the trash – if you gather all you get Body Snatcher (?) title
  • new armor appearances
• New High Keep Guild Hall
• Player Studio will open up (later this year) to submissions from Germany, UK, France for players with an SOE Station account.
• Developer picks for Housing Leaderboards — returning soon.
• New Raid zone (ToV Wing 3) — Next Month
• 10 More AA points (requires level 95)– next week.

Thanks to Sambril, Kinya of Babagra Polish EQ2 fansite, and Errrorr for their note-taking!

From the EQ2 Forums:

From the EQ2 Forums:

All EverQuest 2 Servers will come down on March 20th, 2014 at 7:00 AM PDT for an update. The expected downtime is approximately two hours.

WEEKLY FEATURE
Two new Heritage Quests are now available for players to pursue:

• Speak to Loremaster Dorondal in icy Thurgadin. He has many treasures to offer, and among the most valuable lies Zlandicar’s Heart. If you can find what he’s looking for, the Heart will be yours!

• High among the cliffs of Steamfont, a gnome sits, wondering at his fate. Unable to descend the sheer rock wall, he puts pen to paper to ensure his story is told before the elements – or worse – take him from this world. To follow in his footsteps is to put oneself in grave danger, but the pull of the Hero Bracers cannot be denied!

Note: Portions of these quests will require the Tears of Veeshan expansion to complete.

Editor’s Note: These quests can be completed through grouping, although raiding may provide a chance at a better version of the reward.

Dave “SmokeJumper” Georgeson, along with the producers for EverQuest, EverQuest II, and EverQuest Next/EverQuest Next Landmark have all given updates on what’s coming this March and a peek into April.

At the 1:35 mark, Holly “Windstalker” Longdale, Senior Producer for EQ2 gives a quick recap on the new content cycle, what we’ve seen, and what’s to come. A bullet point summary after the jump…

From the EQ2 Forums:

All EverQuest 2 Servers will come down on March 11th, 2014 at 7:00 AM Pacific Time for an update. The expected downtime is approximately two hour.

Time Zone Conversions

• PDT: March 11 @ 7:00am ~ 9:00am
• EDT: March 11 @ 10:00am ~ Noon
• GMT: March 11 @ 14:00 ~ 16:00
• CET: March 11 @ 15:00 ~ 17:00
• AEST: March 12 @ 12:01am ~ 2:00am

From the EQ2 Forums:

WEEKLY FEATURE

• Weapon Damage Bonus and Spell Weapon Damage Bonus are now displayed under the Autoattack category in the character sheet window.
• Max Health % is now displayed in the tooltip for Health in the character window.
• Physical Damage Reduction % is now displayed in the tooltip for Mitigation in the character window.
• The Etyma Merchant Delvakin in Falinpol has several new consumables that may be purchased to assist you on your adventures.
• Those that have completed the quest ‘Putting the Rage in Ragefire’ may now purchase upgrades to some crafted consumables from Delvakin in Falinpol area of Vesspyr Isle.

From the EQ2 Forums:

All EverQuest 2 Servers will come down on March 4th, 2014 at 7:00 AM Pacific Time for an update. The expected downtime is approximately two hour.

Time Zone Conversions

• PST: March 4 @ 7:00am ~ 9:00am
• EST: March 4 @ 9:00am ~ 11:00am
• GMT: March 4 @ 15:00 ~ 17:00
• CET: March 4 @ 16:00 ~ 18:00
• AEST: March 5 @ 12:01am ~ 2:00am

Here are the update notes:

From Holly “Windstalker” Longdale‘s twitter:

In homage to EQ and its 15th anniversary, 2 Heritage quests launch later this month for the Hero Bracer & Zlandicar’s Heart! #eq2 #eq

— Holly Longdale (@WindstalkerEQ2) March 3, 2014

Also, it looks like further down the road, another heritage quest will be coming — Rainmare. A preliminary version of the quest (called “Past is Prologue”) slipped out to the Test and Live servers before it was ready and players didn’t take long in finding it. Kaitheel posted that the quest is still in development and will appear later on.

Oh hey, there was an update today. A big one for PvPers. Got some personal stuff going on but will be back to 100% soon enough.

From the EQ2 Forums:

From the EQ2 Forums:

WEEKLY FEATURE
Loyalty Merchant

• Noble Tark Validus has a new item to assist gold members who wish to change their city alignment or betray their adventure profession.
• Noble Toowik Mclure has new adventuring equipment available for sale.

POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION
The Fabled Halls of Fate

• Knockbacks should occur much less frequently.

Temple of Veeshan: Guardian’s Ediface [Raid]

• Corrected a bug in the Pyrelord and Controller fight in which the same target was selected every time for the red and blue ground AEs. Targets are now selected randomly, as intended.

TRADESKILLS

• All Player crafted Round Shields should once again be scout usable and grant agility.

ITEMS

• Uplifting Procs no longer clear off the entire raid when a user dies or removes the item.

PVP

• Legacy PvP adornments can now be used in PvP combat again.

From the EQ2 Forums:

GENERAL
New Achievements available for dedicated collection hunters!
Health Percentage will now show with the Detailed (Arrows) version of the target window if you have the option turned on.
Players’ preferred auto attack mode will now be restored after their possession of a target has concluded.

From the EQ2 Forums:

GENERAL

• The Target Window now has an optional Health Percentage numerical display that can be toggled in Options > User Interface > Name and Chat Bubble > Show Health Percentage of Target.
• The bonuses granted to Spell Doublecast and Flurry chance obtained by exceeding the Ability Casting Speed and Attack Speed caps will now be displayed in the tooltips for the relevant stats in the character sheet window.
• Added option User Interface > Game Features > Default Double Click to Examine Effects to allow you to bring up the examine window of effects by double clicking on their icon.

POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION

Ancestral Champions

• Zordakalicus Ragefire – Adds have had hit points lowered. Bolt of Storms now does substantially more damage.

From Dave “SmokeJumper” Georgeson on the EQ2 Forums:

Hail, Fellow Norrathians!

We’d like to talk to you about how we’re delivering new adventures and new features into your worlds in both EQ and EQII.

We’ve listened to you on the forums, across social media, and face-to-face at our many events. There have been some common topics that come up about the things you like and don’t like with what we’ve been doing, and we’re using that information to customize our new direction.

From the EQ2 Forums:

POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION
Temple of Veeshan: Guardian’s Edifice

• Corrected an issue that would occasionally prevent Tavekalem’s buff, Relentless, from decrementing to zero and wearing off.
• Added messaging explaining the bloodlust ability for Harin, Merig, and Gerid.
• Harin, Merig, and Gerid should give slightly longer time to react to their bloodlust ability.
• In the Harin, Merig, and Gerid encounter “Bloodlust” has been made more damaging.
• In the Harin, Merig, and Gerid encounter “Advanced Tactics” should no longer be quite as damaging.
• Orbs of Lethality in the Harin, Merig, and Gerid encounter should no longer require as much critical chance to get normal hit rates.
• Add corpses in the Harin, Merig, and Gerid encounter should disappear after they have been killed.
• Members of the Commanders Ring Event encounter should no longer lose their encounter targeting rings.
• Kigara and Kelana should no longer keep trying to apply their damage shield once one of the dragons has been slain.
• Kigara and Kelana adds should continue to summon the correct adds once one of the dragons have been slain.

Fabled Laboratory of Lord Vyemm

• The “Spiny Protection” buff from the Corsolander should now correctly apply ae auto-attack avoidance.
• The Corsolander should no longer attempt to engage already defeated players.
• Lord Vyemm and Alzid Prime are now part of the same encounter instead of two separate encounters.
• An achievement and guild achievement are now available for defeating Lord Vyemm and Alzid Prime.

From the EQ2 Forums:

NEW FABLED ZONES
Contested

• The Fabled Sanctum of the Scaleborn

Group

• The Fabled Den of the Devourer
• The Fabled Halls of Fate
• The Fabled Vaults of El’Arad

Raid

• The Fabled Laboratory of Lord Vyemm
• The Fabled Mutagenic Outcast
• The Fabled Three Princes

GENERAL

• Updated sorting order of the Guild Event Filters in the guild window.
• A “Reset All” button has been added to the Persistent Instances tab of the Zones window.

Looks like today’s press embargo dropped around 1:30pm EST as ZAM, Massively, MMORPG, and a number of other sites dropped their articles about what we can expect from EverQuest and EverQuest II in the first 3 months of 2014, as well as a pointlessly brief tease of EQNext Landmark.

Despite being just NINE days from SOE President John Smedley’s self-imposed “end of January” deadline for EQNL Alpha to begin, the team remains coy about what the actual day will be. We’re banking on January 31st, which is also the day when hundreds of players will fly in from around the world just to play a 15 minute demo. Now that’s dedication!

• ZAM: SOE Talks about the Year of EverQuest

Some quotes from the ZAM article after the jump…

Holly “Windstalker” Longdale recorded (along with the Producers for EverQuest and EverQuest Next Landmark) a video talking about upcoming features this year. After the jump, our bullet-point list of what Holly talked about.

SOE writer Erin Oakley talks about the fabled version of the Den of the Devourer, which will offer level 95 rewards relevant to players in Tears of Veeshan content. The Kingdom of Sky fabled zones all go live tomorrow, January 23rd.

From the EQ2 Forums:

You may remember the shadowy floating isles of the Bonemire and the ancient halls of the Den of the Devourer which teem with Ravasects. These giant insects made their home in the Overrealm after the barrier between Norrath and the Plane of Air weakened.

The Ravasect are intelligent, but their primary objectives are to feed and to reproduce. Anything that stands in their way will be destroyed. Seeking a place to store their eggs, the Ravasect tunneled deep into the ground. But their digging uncovered an ancient secret: vats of wurndrom, the mysterious substance used by the dragons to create the Droag.

On January 23rd, the Den of the Devourer will become a Fabled Dungeon, challenging the highest level heroes with tougher fights and updated rewards. If you’re up to the task, be one of the first to visit (or revisit) the Den of the Devourer for your chance at awesome new loot!

Continue reading on the EQ2 Forums…

From the EQ2 Forums:

MERCENARIES

• In response to player feedback, we have revised the Mercenary user interface in the Character panel to add summon/suspend functionality and clarify the features overall.
• As a reminder, mercenaries (normal and rare) may be resummoned after 60 seconds from when they were last suspended.

POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION
Vesspyr Isles

• Fixed an issue that was preventing Draazak from being spawned when the correct items were turned in.
• The red shinies on Aeterna Gardens have been moved a bit further away from Wuoshi.

Underfoot Depths

• Regulus and Regulas should no longer reset a few seconds after they are triggered.

From the EQ2 Forums:

Starting Thursday, January 23, 2014 EverQuest II players can experience the Kingdom of Sky zone, Sanctum of the Scaleborn, as a Fabled dungeon. This means that this contested dungeon will return as a place where the highest level players can explore and defeat the challenges for level appropriate loot. Are you prepared to do battle with the fanatical Awakened (again)?

From the EQ2 Forums:

Shining Red Gemstones, the gems required to upgrade the Tears of Veeshan tier 1 raid gear, are very hard to come by. However the EQ2 team have shied away from making them drop more frequently, likely due to their conversion to purple gemstones.

Today, a solution has been announced by Kyle “Kander”  Vallée on the EQ2 Forums:

Coming soon, we will be issuing Fractured Red Gemstones for raid gear that will be purchasable with Draconic Etyma and Craft-able for a lesser amount Draconic Etyma. These will be heirloom and they will NOT be usable to create Mystical Purple Gemstones. Mystical Purple Gemstones will only be attainable from the current dropped Shining Red Gemstones.

These new stones, Fractured Red Gemstones, will upgrade red armor slots the same as the Shining Red Gemstones and will also have a % chance to drop off of bosses in Accursed Sanctum only.

Coming soon.

From the EQ2 Forums:

Healov of Unrest (posting as Sylke on the forums) has just (less than 2 hours ago) discovered the Channeler Epic Weapon quest starter and shared the details on the EQ2 Forums. The Channeler Epic Weapon quest went live 5 days ago.

If you don’t want spoilers for where to find the Channeler quest, STOP READING!!

Ok last warning!

1. Go to Paineel (Sundered Frontier). In the same room as Sa’ib Waseem (Epic Repercussions NPC), go to loc 1986.34, -298.22, 3378.24. Click the 4th book from the right on the middle book case, 4 shelves up.

2. This will open a portal behind the pillar to the back-left.

3. Click the portal to enter Ryizz’Eianshieoll’s Sanctum

4. Inside, go the bookshelf at the back-right. There is a small book, click that to pick it up.

5. Read the book to start your quest!

Now, let’s get to work solving this thing!

Congrats to Healov on the Worldwide discovery of the quest starter!

From the EQ2 Forums:

QUESTS

• The Channeler Epic Quest is now available for all level 95 Channelers.

POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION
Vesspyr Isles

• Zaszae’s Armor Exchange in the Falinpol area of Vesspyr Isles will allow you to convert any Cryptic, Arcane, or Potent armor that has not been upgraded with a gemstone into a Token specific to that tier and slot. Seven of these tokens can then be used to purchase a piece of armor from Zaszae.
• Anex and Onerind Fe’Dhar in Vesspyr Isles no longer turn toward players hailing them.

Accursed Sanctum (Raid)

• The tomes unlocked around the zone should be available again after the player using the ability leaves the zone.
• The Legionnaires should more predictably cast their respective curses.
• The legionnaire curses now persist through death.

Temple of Veeshan: Guardian’s Edifice

• Kigara and Kelana should no longer summon players when they are able to chase them.
• Derig’s adds have had their health reduced but also must now be killed in a timely manner.
• Fireshots in the Grendish encounter have had their outgoing damage reduced and now hover closer to the ground.
• Winter Juggernauts in the Grendish encounter must now be killed in a timely manner.
• When Grendish is defeated the door to the second wing should be opened!

One of the most intriguing things about the recent Tears of Veeshan expansion is, there are at least seven different “Stat Packages” for quested and dropped gear. Not only are these items intended to have their stats fiddled with through Reforging, but most restrictions on equipping items have been dropped, save for the armor’s material (Cloth, Leather, Chain, Plate). This plethora of choice has been a blessing for most, but a curse for some with unlucky dice.

When an Advanced Solo or Heroic mission is completed, each player receives an Ornate Chest with an item having one of the following “stat packages”:

DPS with AoE Spec, DPS with MA Spec, DPS with Haste Spec, Main Tank Spec, Off Tank Spec, Potency/Reuse (Caster), Potency/Ability Mod/Health (Melee Caster)

Depending on your luck with the magical dice, some players are positively swimming in gear that does not fit their stat and growth needs, especially tank/mitigation items for Clerics and Druids, caster items for Scouts, and, melee battle priest type gear for healers who prefer to go the spell route.

This has been a frequent topic of discussion on the EQ2 Forums, with a chorus of players asking for a Heroic Equipment Exchange Merchant. Great idea, but putting in one-for-one exchange merchant would completely short circuit the progression of the expansion and let players run just 7 zones to get a full set of Arcane or Potent gear.