Feldon
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...
DGC Wants Feedback
A large portion of Game Update 103: The Managerie is now available for Testing on the Test server. Please note that it is not possible to COPY characters to the Test server. This will present an obvious roadblock to most for testing level 100 content unless you happen to have one of the 189 level 100 characters which has been active on Test in the last four months. Here are some highlights from the Test Update Notes for May 2, 2017 from the EQ2 Forums: NEW KUNARK ASCENDING HERITAGE QUEST Interested adventurers should search within Obulus Frontier for clues on how...
The EQ2 developers will be staging Dev Chats in-game in the Public chat channel on each EQ2 server over the next three days. There have been predictions of chaos and troublemakers interrupting the chat, so this could be very interesting or it could go smoothly and lead to enlightenment. Here’s the schedule from the EQ2 Forums: If you missed last week’s letter from the team, we’ll be hosting Developer chats on all servers and answering your questions! Below is a schedule for each server: April 26th – Thurgadin – 10:30AM–11:30AM PDT (17:30 UTC – 18:30 UTC) April 26th –...
This survey seems to be going out to certain EQ2 players and apparently it will be sent out on a semi-periodic basis, perhaps quarterly. I received a copy on each of the e-mail addresses associated with my accounts: 1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the EverQuest II development team is developing the game? Approve Disapprove No Opinion 2. How would you rate your enjoyment playing the latest expansion, Kunark Ascending? Highly Enjoyable Enjoyable Neither Enjoyable Nor Unenjoyable Unenjoyable Highly Unenjoyable I have not played this expansion
Players are always looking at methods to keep in communication with developers. Of late, the forums have been less than successful at serving that mission. Community has tried different things, including engaging us on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, however these social media platforms haven’t been adopted as much as they have in other games. Connecting the player community to the developers is something I am hugely in favor of and some methods have been more successful than others. I thought the old EQ2 ZAM Question & Answer sessions did rather well. Yesterday, a new EverQuest II chat server was launched on Discord, which...
From Kaitheel on the EQ2 Forums: Nights of the Dead has been activated on Test server! Nights of the Dead brings goblins and ghoulies out from the shadows. Those inclined to celebrate the holiday through crafting will find a new book of recipes full of new house items being sold by official event merchants. And those feeling more adventurous can hunt ghosts in Antonica, and the Commonlands, or investigate the multiple haunted locations! Setri Lur’eth returns, and may or may not have another task for those willing (or not so willing) to help. Be sure to keep your eyes...
On April 28th, EverQuest II launched its level 100 content release “The Siege of Zek“. The update takes us back to Zek, the Orcish Wastes and a lot has changed in 12 years. While the original level 35-appropriate zone can still be accessed, players may now choose to travel to the new level 100 Scourge Wastes. The update contains updated versions of classic Zek zones in Advanced Solo, Heroic, Event Heroic, and Heroic Contested versions as well as a Raid zone. Rather than a simple up-tiering of existing zones, the Designers and Art Team have put a lot into...
Game Update 100 “The Scourged Wastes” has been under invite-only beta for the last three weeks and tonight it will hit the Test server to allow for a bit of public testing prior to its April 28th launch. Bugs should be reported on the EverQuest II Bug Tracker. The full Test Update Notes can be read here, but we’re going to cherry pick a few interesting points… This update is heading to test later tonight, ETA ~10pm PST. GENERAL GU 100 is now available on Test server. Level 100 players should expect to receive an in game mail directing...
We have received reports that Daybreak Customer Service is in the process of migrating from SOE’s rickety ticket system to a modern off-the-shelf solution called Zendesk. On the surface this appears to be good news, however there have been some growing pains in the process. Players have reported being unable to check the status of their own tickets, instead receiving a “Ooops, that page does not seem to exist” error. Others have been locked out of the site with automatic IP bans due to some kind of false positive. Also we’ve received reports that customer tickets have been automatically closed...
Last night, Daybreak Games sent out an e-mail to everyone who purchased the Terrors of Thalumbra expansion which includes a “Thank You” video and a Survey. Here’s the video: The Terrors of Thalumbra survey seems to have some really good questions which will hopefully elicit useful responses and measurements. Here’s the introduction: Thank you for your purchase of the EverQuest II: Terrors of Thalumbra Expansion. We’re grateful that you joined us for this expansion and would like to get your feedback so we can ensure the best experience for our players as we move forward. This short survey should take...
From the EQ2 Forums: The vote to unlock Kingdom of Sky content on BOTH Stormhold (PvE) and Deathtoll (PvP) has passed. This content is scheduled to unlock to players on Thursday, January 7, 2016. There are a lot of updates coming to Time-Locked Expansion servers after this content unlocks. To give you an idea of what’s coming: Adventure, Tradeskill and Guild Level will be raised to 70 Alternate Advancement Subclass Window will be unlocked with a 50 AA cap This launch will include a full balance pass for all TLE content level 30+, including existing encounters. Kingdom of Sky dropped or...
If you didn’t get your fill of testing during the Terrors of Thalumbra expansion beta, or you just can’t wait until Frostfell arrives on non-TLE servers, you’re in luck. Frostfell has now been activated on the Test server and you can check it out, report bugs, and provide feedback! From the EQ2 Forums: Now that Test has been updated… Frostfell is active on Test! There’s plenty of Frostfell cheer throughout Norrath this season! Gigglegibbers and Frostfell elves are busy celebrating the holiday within the player cities, and encouraging everyone to visit the Frostfell Wonderland Village, accessed through the Magic...
How many EQ2 players want to Beta Test the new Terrors of Thalumbra expansion using copies of their live characters via the in-game Beta copy toool? So many that the system is now backlogged by up to 24 hours! From the EQ2 Forums: The transfers are going through but its taking a few hours for some. Also sometimes you may need to reload your character list to get it to show up. Either create or delete a character or try logging in and back out to refresh it. Just got an update and it looks like we’ve gotten through...
The Beta test for EverQuest II’s twelfth expansion Terrors of Thalumbra is now OPEN! Click the following links to get what you need: Frequently Asked Questions about the Terrors of Thalumbra beta! Terrors of Thalumbra: Deity & Infusion Systems Terrors of Thalumbra Zone Preview: City of Maldura Terrors of Thalumbra Preview: Tradeskilling in Thalumbra Preview: Journey to Thalumbra
Since the launch of EverQuest II, players have been able to submit bug reports and feedback through the in-game /bug and /feedback commands. It’s nice and integrated, but they are essentially a black hole. Players have no idea when or if their issue has been tested, confirmed to be a bug, or a timeframe when it might be addressed. Players have speculated that /bug and /feedback might not even be read (they are!). Over the years, other methods of bringing bugs and feedback to the EQ2 team’s attention have arisen, each with strengths and weaknesses. Break On Through to the Other Side In 2004, EverQuest...
It’s been nearly a year since DDoS crew Lizard Squad flooded the servers of Sony Online Entertainment, Blizzard Entertainment, PlayStation Network, etc. to a degree that games such as EverQuest II, Planetside 2, League of Legends, and World of Warcraft became inaccessible for several hours. The lizards then doubled down on their felonious amusement by calling in a bomb threat on an American Airlines flight bearing SOE president John Smedley. The flight was diverted to a military Phoenix Sky Harbor airport where the plane was searched and passengers interrogated. Smedley was also doxxed, with personal details including banking information...
The requests for player feedback into the Time-Locked Expansion servers keep rolling. This time, we’ve been asked which encounters that have been changed over the years from Heroic or Epic mobs that should be changed back to something with more teeth! From Caith on the EQ2 Forums: What mobs would you like to see returned to heroic (or epic) status in the original game zones for the Time-Locked servers. Example Antonica – Scarecrows
Kander has started two threads on the EQ2 Forums asking players to suggest names for the new TLE servers: Name Your PvP Server Name Your PvE Server Here’s the announcement: What do you want your PvP/PvE TLE-Server to be named? Propose the names you’d like to see for the launch of the Time Locked Expansion Server for PvP/PvE. We will be keeping score and using the top names to poll for final names so post even if your’s is a duplicate. Names must be something within the lore of the EverQuest world. Preferably a notable NPC. Anything that is not...
Normally we don’t list complete Test / Beta Update Notes so as to avoid confusion with Live notes, but in this case, we’re going to make an exception as players have been clamoring for signs that development continues on EQ2 from bug fixes to performance tweaks to mechanics and class balance changes, and this update has all of that! From the EQ2 Forums: PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS Reduced frequency of UI updates being sent to clients from the server lowering server/client and bandwidth load, specifically during combat. Improved server memory use. Various client crash fixes. Several minor performance improvements on nearly...
From Roshen on the EQ2 Forums: We’re working hard on database changes for EQ2, and we need your help to make sure they’re awesome! To encourage people to help us, we’ve upgraded the stats on the Blessed Sokokar mount people get as a reward for helping us. This upgrade will go to anyone who has received a Bless Sokokar in the past, and anyone that helps us on the beta server. Starting today and running until Monday, March 16 at 11:59AM PDT, we could really use your help again on the beta server. You can use our Beta Copy feature...
Another week, and another live event is now on Test awaiting testing and feedback! Maybe we need to space these events out a little bit before we kill senior designer and event wrangler Nathan (Kaitheel), mmmkay? 😉 From the EQ2 Forums: Bristlebane day is active on Test! Jesters, thieves, bards and fans of mischief, alike, are encouraged to enjoy the Bristlebane Day festivities in your city or elsewhere! You never know what laughs and pranks await you during these holy days honoring Fizzlethorpe Bristlebane, The Grand Prankster. Princess Evelynn has a lofty challenge in Sinking Sands, while other celebrators,...
The EQ2 programmers have been hard at work transitioning the databases responsible for running EverQuest II to EnterpriseDB. This is a huge undertaking but with significant benefits for the game’s developers and EQ2 players alike. The main thing we’ll see added as a result is Cross-Server Dungeon Finder sometime this year. Hopefully we’ll also see performance improvements on large characters with a lot of housing and other data. But in the meantime, the EQ2 team need our help Beta testing the ordinary stuff like grouping, housing, dungeon lockouts, the broker, and guild functionality to make sure that everything is...
In August 2013, SOE made some drastic layoffs to try to manage costs. The game teams undoubtedly took a hit, but by far the deepest cuts were felt in the Customer Service and Quality Assurance divisions. As I walked past the empty desks when I visited SOE last summer, it confirmed that these teams were hard hit. Still, the quality of Customer Service from SOE has remained almost universally high over the last 18 months, with staff going above-and-beyond to restore hacked characters, update broken quests and content, restore items which have been accidentally lost or destroyed, as well as...
EQ2 Senior Designer Kaitheel has posted the news that the popular Brewday Festival is now on Test and the developers are seeking testing and feedback: Brewday Festival is now active on Test! Make this Brewday Festival a memorable one! Follow the shouts of rowdy patrons located near every player city to the festival’s official brew house, The Bar of Brell. Once inside, grab a stein and celebrate Brewday with the holiday themed rewards, crafts, and adventures, both new and familiar. But don’t let the celebration stop there, the ale keeps flowing throughout the bars and drinking holes of Norrath...
Have you taken the EverQuest II: Altar of Malice expansion survey? If not, head here: Personally as someone who has dedicated some time to writing good survey questions, this has to be one of the most generic surveys I’ve seen. On one hand, there is an entire page dedicated to the six raid zones in the expansion, yet the entirety of the tradeskill and heroic content are each distilled down to a single 1-10 rating question. What if you love the zones, animations, populations, humor, and the music, but you dislike difficulty, how would you rate that? It’s pretty...