Feldon
UPDATE #2: EQ2Wire is now back in business! We have corrected a couple of issues on EQ2U and have now started posting to EQ2Wire again. Hope you all had a good July 4th if you’re in the US, otherwise I hope folks are having a good summer. UPDATE: Commenting was broken by the server upgrade, and is taking longer than anticipated. I hope to be back 100% on July 5th. We are continuing to work on getting EQ2Wire and EQ2U fully updated and operational after a short-notice Server Upgrade. There has been a lot of news in EQ2 in...
EQ2
Game Update 64 “Qeynos Rises” has arrived on Test and Test Copy and the Notes for this update have been posted on the EQ2 forums. GU64 is expected to hang around on Test for about a month before going to the Live servers. Among a number of other changes, GU64 sees Qeynos rebuilt as two zones. North and South Qeynos become the Capital District, Elddar Grove and Qeynos Harbor become the Provinces. Changes to Battlegrounds, PvP, and Fighters are all headlines, with the curious change that Plane of War has been opened to all.
From the EQ2 Forums: POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION Halas and Darklight Wood Newbie experiences in New Halas and Neriak have been updated to make them more rewarding and fun. Neriak’s Darklight Wood got a much-needed art overhaul which adds to the ambience of eeeeevil. New and better armor sets are available to level 20 and we will be recommending players opt for New Halas or Neriak upon entering the game their first time.
Xelgad (by way of Ashlanne) has posted some additional information about the upcoming Fighter changes that come with Game Update 64. But first, Piestro has some comments about rushing to judgment: Obviously this is a change that we knew people would be passionate about. Of course until people see the actual changes any evaluation of their impact is premature. The best way to move forward is to write down your concerns, and then formulate a test plan based on those concerns. That will give you the best possible start to actually testing the changes, and seeing what their actual...
From the EQ2 Forums: Hey all, Xelgad here! I wanted to explain some of the improvements to our Character Development window that you will be seeing on Test Server soon. The biggest change is that class foci from armor will instead be granted through the Character Development window. Carried over from tier to tier for years, these foci have become part of the standard class more than a reward for acquiring high end gear. You can choose one bonus every nine levels, starting at level nine. (Do you really want this? Of course you do!)
On June 21, 2012, Dave “Smokejumper” Georgeson (Executive Director of Development) discussed the upcoming Game Update 64, specifically PvP, Battlegrounds, and Fighter changes with Akil “Lyndro” Hooper (Lead Designer), Mike “Xelgad” Ganz (Associate Game Designer), and Brian “Omougi” Ferguson (Associate Game Designer). Game Update 64 will be hitting the Test and Test Copy servers next Tuesday. NOTE: Make sure you’ve got your volume turned down as the video opens with a loud throat clearing.
In addition to the Qeynos Revamp and some tweaks to the Fighter archetype, Game Update 64 will bring significant long-awaited changes to PvP and Battlegrounds. From the EQ2 Forums: With GU64 we are working hard to improve our PVP experience. Our goal is to make our PVP more accessible, more rewarding, and ultimately more fun!
From the EQ2 Forums: GENERAL The in-game browser files have been updated. If you experience any problems with the in-game browser, help UI, or customer service petition functions please post your details here: http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=519345
Holly “Windstalker” Longdale has broken her forum silence with a flurry of posts today. Chief among them were a couple of comments on the level 91-92 XP grind, specifically a thread where players expressed their frustration at Withered Lands quests giving less XP than simply grinding in level 80-90 dungeons. From the EQ2 Forums: To respond to the [original poster] specifically, we want the current content to be meaningful and rewarding, including quests. We will have a solution for our expansion which of course means that we acknowledge there is an issue we need to resolve.
From the SOE Forums: Changes are coming to PVP and fighters class for EverQuest II. Host Dave “Smokejumper” Georgeson (Executive Director of Development) is going to discuss the upcoming changes with Akil “Lyndro” Hooper (Lead Designer), Mike “Xelgad” Ganz (Associate Game Designer), and Brian “Zuglash” Ferguson (Associate Game Designer). They have lots of details to share about PVP, fighters and more. EverQuest II fans do not want to miss this webcast. Join us on Thursday, June 21, 2012, at 4:00 p.m. US Pacific Time* on Twitch TV! The webcast is expected to last about 20 minutes. For PVP fans and fighters...
Although MMO players who desire voice chat have always had the option of third party voice chat services such as TeamSpeak and Ventrilo, their offerings have always stood behind daunting licensing terms and high monthly fees. In mid-2008, SOE sought to give players an in-house option: free in-game voice chat provided by Vivox. The Vivox service has had its ups and downs, but we can only assume that it is widely used. Sometimes, a certain amount of fiddling with firewall or sound card settings has been required, or a cycle of leaving and re-joining channels to force a connection,...
File this under better late than never, but Game Update 64 will be rolling out much-needed changes to the Itemization of Drunder raid zones. New items are being added throughout the Drunder raid timeline which will more closely resemble what players have come to expect in Skyshrine zones. In addition, some of the items that people still desire out of Drunder, specifically the insanely rare Mythical weapons will become more common. From Kander on the EQ2 Forums: Sullon’s Spire [Challenge], Tallon’s Stronghold [Challenge] and Vallon’s Tower [Challenge] Raids will have new itemization with GU 64. Item scope will be...
Dungeon Maker “Play as a Character” has arrived on Test for the second time, but with a totally new Level Agnostic mechanic that turns the concept of Mentoring on its ear, by interactively adjusting the damage and heals of grouped characters in real time. The claim is, that a level 30 and level 92 will be able to group together, heal, buff, and do DPS effectively. And careful reading of the June Update indicates that Battlegrounds will soon inherit the same Level Agnostic mechanic, so proper testing of this functionality on Test is a good idea. From Maevianiu on...
From Holly “Windstalker” Longdale on the EQ2 Forums: Another month has zipped by already! We wanted to wait until after E3 to share a few more details about what we’re up to and what’s coming up this month. By now you may have heard about the SOE corporate initiative called SOEmote(tm) that will launch in EQII later this month. SOEmote uses a webcam and microphone to project your facial expressions, including talking and voice, onto your character in real time! It’s used in groups and also allows you to broadcast to your guild, almost like a webcast. We’re all...
In today’s update for June 13, 2012, EQ2 finally ditches its ancient Mozilla web browser in favor of the Awesomium browser, powered by Webkit (Safari/Chrome). EVE Online recently adopted this browser. This should resolve numerous problems with viewing complex websites in the in-game browser. Armor distribution in Skyshrine zones have been rebalanced to match group/raid distribution. Some Skyshrine group mobs will start dropping Primal Velium Shards, while Skyshrine raid encounters will hand out Pure Primal Velium Shards. And finally, today marks the introduction of Quest Target Icons. If you enable this setting, you will be able to see an...
We didn’t get a Game Update this week, partly due to E3, but we can now look ahead to Test to what’s coming next week. Highlights from the Test Update Notes on the EQ2 Forums: POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION Withered Lands Named within Withered Lands should all respawn correctly now. Challenge Mode Raid NPC?s (x4 epic) Challenge mode raid NPC’s have had their max health reduced.
While they aren’t glamorous, Content and Itemization are the meat and potatoes of the modern MMO. The thankless job of adding and maintaining these core items may not elicit splashy E3 announcements or garner press attention, but neglect them for a moment, and players will arrive at your gates brandishing pitchforks. Players have been unable to ignore the skewed armor distribution of Skyshrine. In particular, the new solo, group, and raid zones all seem to heavily slant towards priests and fighters. Normally we would be able to confirm this data using Zam’s drop information statistics which they periodically receive...
From Massively: Roleplaying is the red-headed stepchild of MMO design considerations these days, but at least one studio hasn’t forgotten immersion enthusiasts. Sony Online Entertainment has announced a new EverQuest II feature called SOEmote which converts your webcam input into avatar facial expressions. The suite also gives users the option to modulate their voice to something appropriate for their character. “Any game that calls itself a roleplaying game absolutely needs this feature. For other games, it’s just a really good idea that your players will want. Pick a character. Pick a class. And then be that character instead of...
It seems that the laundry list of bugs which arrived with the untested Poet’s Palace Dungeon Maker layout has gotten some attention. Brasse made this post on the EQ2 Forums: First off, thank you for all the detailed /bug reports, and Cyliena’s excellent summary. These have been invaluable for our Dev Team, and the epitome of constructive feedback. Simply telling us we suck, on the other hand, is not particularly helpful. =P Sorry for not posting earlier, but the EQII Devs have been actively looking into these issues since Piestro and I got into office this morning, diligently examining...
Here are your update notes for today, Wednesday May 30, 2012: POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION Skyshrine All Solo instances in Skyshrine are now a 90 minute lock out, same as heroic instances. ACHIEVEMENTS The achievements “Rallos’ Chosen” and “Vindicator Soren’s Demise” should now update for all members of the raid force that kills him regardless of range. This change should also be retroactive if you have ever defeated him and were not awarded the achievement. ITEMS Dozekar’s Head is no longer lore.
Coinciding with the launch of Game Update 63 was the introduction of the Poet’s Palace ‘Dungeon Maker’ layout. Much to the consternation of testers, this layout went straight to the live servers without any player testing. The end result, is over a dozen moderate-to-severe bugs which make using this dungeon layout challenging for designers and hazardous to adventurers. As this dungeon layout is the key to a contest to drum up interest in the lacklustre Dungeon Maker feature, it’s hard not to see this as another stumble towards player-made content. Cyliena has posted a detailed thread discussing these issues...
From the EQ2 Forums: Dungeoneers pick up your tools and get ready to rumble! Dungeons made by EverQuest II players have impressed, inspired and amazed us. We can hardly wait to see what you will do with the recently released Poet’s Palace Dungeon layout. To offer everyone a chance to show off their dungeon decorating skills, we?re pleased to announce the Poet’s Palace Dungeon Maker Forum Challenge! We have had a lot of fun with Dungeon Maker and hope that you are enjoying it as well! Our team is committed to developing it further over time, with initiatives such...
The ‘Future of EverQuest II’ webcast has concluded, and we have been left with more questions than answers. The webcast at a glance: the Qeynos Revamp a hint of the Sleeper’s Tomb (GU65) and Kerafyrm (2013) the next Expansion (December?) — more levels, more Prestige Points, includes a totally new area of Norrath rather than revisiting a part of the original EverQuest Play-as-your-Character in Dungeon Maker (using a feature called Level Agnostic Dungeons) On-the-Fly Beta Testing using Quest Items from your Quest Journal instead of fishing around in your inventory the Scope of the Marketplace (even the EQ2 team...
As we first posted here, at long last, an Autoattack setting is being added to EQ2. This will benefit some Mages (Enchanters in particular) and virtually all Priests (Druids, Clerics, and Shamans) whose Alternate Advancement lines heavily favor Melee autoattacks. With this change, players will now be able to equip either Symbols or the newish Focus Ranged “Wand” items and still prefer Melee combat and its inherent benefits. Oh, and Rangers will now be able to set Ranged attacks at all times without the use of kludgy macros. Yay! Autoattack Setting available in the Character/Persona window under Options. Here...
In the waning days of May, while we anxiously await the delivery of those May Update Plans, there’s word of an upcoming Webcast tomorrow afternoon/evening with the lofty title “the Future of EverQuest II“. I think we can expect some hints of the upcoming Qeynos Revamp in August, with maybe a screenshot or two, followed by some hints of the November (or December) expansion and/or Game Update. The EQ2 team have played their cards awfully close to the chest since Dave “SmokeJumper” Georgeson‘s installation as EQ2 Senior Producer and subsequent elevation to EverQuest Franchise Executive Producer, and more recently...