From the EQ2 Forums:
Flowers are blooming and love is in the air once again. Erollisi Day might have originated with the Sentries of Erollisi, faithful devotees to The Goddess of Love, but it’s blossomed into a holiday that’s celebrated by Norrathians across the lands! Whether you are a hopeless romantic or a love cynic, this holiday has events you’re sure to enjoy. Take a look at all of the exciting events taking place this Erollisi Day!
My first in-game experience with an EQ2 Guide took place early in my playing career in Kelethin. A particularly threadbare patron was in need of crafted clothes, so I (and more than a few others players) sprang into action and crafted an appropriate garment. In return, I was given a robe with a unique pumpkin orange and black appearance which was only available through the quest. I wore it for quite a while, not as a fashion statement, but because I thought player-run events like this were cool and memorable. Remember too that this was back when there weren’t nearly the wide selection of armor appearances there are today.
Fast forward and while Guide quests are often known for “milk and cookies”, there are other rewards and more elaborate quests out there. The most elaborate being the recently added Nebulous Newsies quest which awards some 5 million status and a unique 66 slot bag! When a Guide signs in to offer this quest (in Cardin Ward of Obol Plains), it is almost as talked about in public chat channels as Public Quests were in the day! So how do you know when a Guide quest will be happening next? Well there isn’t an official calendar (I’ve asked!) but there are Guide update threads for each EQ2 server where members of the Guide program announce their upcoming engagements.
Looks like we won’t be going to Las Vegas this summer, or if we do, it won’t be to cover EverQuest II. From Linda “Brasse” Carlson on Twitter:
SOE Live will take a hiatus as we focus on our exciting transition and the future of Daybreak Game Company.
— Brasse (@Brasse) February 2, 2015
and from Facebook:
For those asking about SOE Live: we are taking a hiatus from our annual Live event to shift our focus to our exciting transition and the future of Daybreak Game Company.
and the SOE Live forums which are now locked.
SOE’s on-again-off-again with it’s international community seems to be on the skids again, at least as far as for EverQuest II customers. After 2012’s disastrous forced migration of its French, German, and other European customers to ProSiebenSat.1/Alaplaya, it was an open question how many players would come back.
After two years of drama, SOE relented and brought its remaining European customers back into the fold. SOE resurrected EQ2 support forums in French, German, and Spanish and hired staff to maintain them. However it seems the damage had been done and the daily traffic was insufficient to continue translating notes and monitoring the forums in four languages. Late Wednesday night, it was announced on the French, German, and Spanish forums that they were being shut down just 48 hours later (today).
I would have missed this news entirely had a player not brought it to my attention that the forums were being shuttered. So I leaped into action and spent all day today harvesting this forum data and adding it into our growing EQ2Wire Forum Archives. I finished just in time as moments later, the international forums were hidden from direct access, the first step in their eventual permanent removal.
Are you missing some of EverQuest II’s history and lore?
EQ2Wire has salvaged over 211,000 discussions with over 2.3 million posts in English, French, German, Spanish, and Japanese, including the Chains of Eternity and Altar of Malice betas. Why? Because we try harder!
If you’re at all into cosplay, or just a fan of the Aerakyn race, you’ll want to check out this video of @Strawburry17 slipping into the role of an Aerakyn. It’s a bit of a marketing piece, and we’re not quite sure why she titled the video “Dragon Elf”, but hey, how often do we get to see the EQ2 team on video?
Watch as @Strawburry17 brings the Aerakyn to life in this amazing cosplay video!
— EverQuest II (@everquestii) January 27, 2015
When you’ve got one Animator and one Character Artist for a game the size of EverQuest II, development time is ever-precious. Most of Tom and Chris’ efforts go towards the annual Expansion, plus the creation of a few StationCash mounts per year. It’s just the nature of the beast that their time for fun projects is limited. It doesn’t help that not everyone was a fan of the less serious, frivolous, or “silly” mounts which push the limits of a medieval setting.
But the party might be over. After 43 pages of hilarity from Errrorr‘s “The Official Duck Mount Request thread“, the topic was abruptly closed this morning. The writing was on the wall as early as last Thursday as Tom Tobey tweeted the sad news:
Sorry everyone, We tried. It won’t be duck season.
— Tom Tobey (@giganticrobot) January 23, 2015
Currently on Test is the popular Erollisi Day event, as well as an upgrade for the popular Level Agnostic Dungeons.
First up, Erollisi Day returns with new 3 quests, a new recipe book, new items, and rewards. We understand that EQ2 ZAM and EQ2Traders are already working on updating their event guides.
Further Reading: Testing Feedback about Erollisi Day 2015
As for Level Agnostic Dungeons, which have quickly become an enjoyable and rewarding way to gain levels between 20 and 89 in between solo questing sessions, we’ll see a number of fixes to particularly tricky zones and unbalanced situations, and an overall upgrade that opens up the feature to level 94. This leaves Skyshrine for level 95 grinding, Brokenskull Bay for level 96-100 grinding, or for those with the gear, High Keep Contested.
Further Reading: Testing Level Agnostic Dungeon Changes
If you need a laugh, then I encourage you to read the particularly hilarious Test Update Notes: Friday, January 23, 2015.
Yes, we’re pretty late on this news — sorry!
From Holly “Windstalker” Longdale on the EQ2 Forums:
Hidey-Ho Norrathians!
We’re excited to announce that we will soon be updating our Heroic Characters to start at level 90! We feel this change will help players keep up with our growth in free content and with the pace of the game due to our new level increase included in the Altar of Malice expansion. The price for the upgraded characters remains at 3500SC per Heroic Character, but we’ve made some improvements!
What’s the difference?
Purchased Level 90 Heroic Characters will come with Level 90 (Adventure only), 320AAs, a full set of gear, food/drink, ammo, potions (as appropriate) and a mount with stats! New Heroic Characters will also start in Eidolon Jungle with content in our Chains of Eternity expansion.
While Legends of Norrath may not be receiving much developer attention these days, it still has a playerbase, with people logging in to open loot cards for in-game items in their native games (EQ and EQ2), and people running the in-game scenarios for rewards or just the enjoyment of it.
Over the past few days, players have been experiencing “synchronization” issues with their cards disappearing from their inventory. Some quotes:
When I check my collection tab it shows that I have 0 cards. I tried to validate game files, open and close the LoN window, delete and reinstall.. It’s still showing that I don’t have anything.
When I click on my profile information, it show’s a history of all the previous packs that I opened. What’s going on? =[
From EverQuest2.com:
Are you still working on leveling an army of characters to 100? Want to see that XP bar move a little quicker? Well, we’ve got some great news! We’re starting the New Year off right with a BIG bonus experience weekend!
What’s better than a 100% (double) bonus XP weekend? That’s right, a 150% bonusXP weekend! Beginning Friday, Jan 9 at 12:00(noon) PST until Sunday, Jan. 11 at 11:59pm PST, All Access Members will receive 150% bonus Adventure and Tradeskill experience!
What characters will you level this weekend? We’d love to see some images from your adventures around Norrath, so please share them with us on our forums, or on ourFacebook or Twitter pages!
Do you want to take advantage of this big bonus XP weekend? Become a Member now!
Here’s the teaser we got from Holly “Windstalker” Longdale‘s twitter:
150% Bonus XP weekend (Adv/TS exp) for members starting this Friday noon to Sunday night! Wewt! #EQ2
If (like me) you haven’t received your Bonus Mystery StationCash code for today, it’s time to contact Customer Service.
UPDATE: Early reports indicate that Sony Online’s e-mails sent out today are being throttled by intermediary ISPs. Players who submitted tickets earlier have subsequently received their e-mail notifications. This may be a matter of being patient.
@Cyliena @Brasse I heard the emails are done. Several reasons multiples may not reach you (ISP spam blocks, etc.). Contact CS if an error.
— Holly Longdale (@WindstalkerEQ2) December 19, 2014
If you are a fan of watching videos/livecasts, or are a fan of or designer for Player Studio, then you won’t want to miss this week’s Inside the Player’s Studio as Rick “Storn” Reynolds interviews EQ2 Associate Art Director Dave “Covic” Brown about the Players Studio program.
Rick and Dave go over recent submissions for EQ2 and critique and provide feedback on how to make the best possible items so that they are accepted! The big news this week is that the new Player Studio Viewer app which helps designers see how their items will look in the EQ2 engine.
Watch live video from Sony Online Entertainment on Twitch
P.S. I did set this video to “auto_play=false” and it still starts in some browsers. I’ve tweeted something to the Twitch people about it. UPDATE I’ve removed the embed since it autoplays.
Remember how SOE really really really wanted us to opt-in to promotional SOE-wide mailings? The Kerran is now out of the bag as to why…
It looks like today Friday December 19th, Saturday December 20th, and Sunday December 21st, players who opted into these e-mails (which come from info@e-sonyonline.com) will receive a random code each day which unlocks 25%, 50%, Double, or even Triple SC on their account until 11:59pm that night. And we thought there’d never be another Triple SC again!
May the RNG be forever in your favor, and hopefully the Triple SC codes aren’t as rare as [eq2u]Advanced Adornments Volume 11[/eq2u]! Here’s the e-mail a player received:
Link to Official E-mail Promotion: Station Cash Mystery Bonus FAQ
From the EQ2 Forums:
Salutations Everyone!
Are there some status items you’d love to purchase this season, but your personal status points are running a little low? Would you love to make a charitable donation to your guild hall escrow account this holiday? There’s a lot to celebrate this Frostfell, and we’re happy to announce the chance to earn some extra status this season!Beginning today, December 17th, at 12:00pm (Noon) PST until Sunday, December 28 at 11:59pm PST, All Access Members will earn double personal status. This holiday is too special to celebrate for just one day, so we’re celebrating the season for 12 Days!
From the EQ2 Forums:
The Player Studio program gives players a chance to create, submit, and sell items in the Marketplace. EverQuest 2 has some amazing player artists who have been taking requests and working hard to make these items available in game. Many items are submitted, but only the most outstanding ones make it into Norrath! Last month, these were the most popular EQ2 Player Studio items:
1. Freeblood’s Tomb by NS6
This tomb has been making an appearance in eerie lands across Norrath. What lies inside? Well, that’s up to you!
Each year, Frostfell gets even bigger with more quests, more collections, and more recipes with more items you can make for your home. It’s hard not to miss something without a writeup or two and fortunately EQ2 ZAM and EQ2Traders continue to deliver. Meanwhile Lera has fully updated EQ2Furniture to include multiple screenshots of every single house item available in EQ2, including all the new goodies for Frostfell! As of Noon pacific, Frostfell is open for business, and the remaining few EQ2 fan sites are all over this much-anticipated event.
UPDATE: Frostfell went live at 12:00 noon Pacific Standard time.
Original article after the jump…
So SOE really really really really really wants all of us to be on their e-mail distribution list. From the EQ2 Forums:
There’s a lot of excitement happening here at SOE. In addition to news and updates about our games, we want to make sure you have the chance to participate in some of the great promotions we have to offer!
This holiday season, one promotion is available through e-mails only. If you want to have the chance to participate, you need to make sure you’re “opted-in” (signed up to receive e-mails from Sony Online Entertainment)! In order to receive our holiday promotion e-mails, you must have this box checked on your account e-mail preferences by Wednesday, December 17, 2014.
From the EQ2 Forums:
The weather outside might be frightful, but the Norrathian streets are decorated and the citizens are so delightful! The Gigglegibber goblins and Frostfell elves are spreading cheer throughout Norrath this season and encouraging players to visit the Frostfell Wonderland Village. You can access the Wonderland through the Magic Closets in Qeynos Province District, Freeport, Haven, Kelethin, Neriak, Gorowyn and New Halas. In addition to the return of your favorite Frostell festivities, you can also look forward to plenty of exciting new content this season!
If you have a powerful need for bigger EQ2 bags, there are now three ways to get them, two if you didn’t attend SOE Live this year.
Rather than putting specific items on sale, it looks like SOE is just doing an across-the-board increase in the discount that All Access members get when shopping the Marketplace items this coming Monday, December 1st. From the SOE forums:
On Monday, December 1st, All Access members will be able to spend their stash of Station Cash on special savings in their favorite SOE game titles*! Log in to your favorite participating game and find the 10% membership discount increased to 25%! Not an All Access member yet? Sign up today and take advantage of these offers.
Happy Holidays from the gaming elves at Sony Online Entertainment!
*Cyber Monday deals and All Access member benefits apply only to SOE titles currently included in All Access. Promotion does not include Landmark or Dragon’s Prophet.
A few players have reported on the forums and in-game that the StationCash they are buying within the EverQuest II client doesn’t seem to be doubled. We have not yet received any confirmation on this, and when asked, the folks who reported an issue double-checked and found that they did in fact get their purchased StationCash for half-price. The confusion may be that the in-game prices are already adjusted for the sale.
If you want to avoid confusion, there are several other ways to buy StationCash, including heading directly to SOE.com, logging in, and funding your SC wallet there. Of course the best deal is still the 1500+500SC cards at Walmart. Even though they are no longer labeled with the bonus 500SC, they still grant 2000SC, which is doubling today to 4000SC. I just redeemed three cards and once I got past some login issues and errors, all successfully went through.
If someone does have an issue with their purchased StationCash not being doubled, SOE keeps detailed records of all transactions. Open a non-hostile petition at http://help.soe.com/ (I’d choose Game: EQ2, then Account/Billing, then go BACK to that menu and choose “Invalid Game Card“) and then wait patiently for your ticket to be answered as support hours are reduced this weekend to allow Customer Service staff to spend time with their families.
From EverQuest2.com:
Sony Online Entertainment is kicking off the holiday shopping season with two fantastic promos: Double Station Cash on Black Friday and In-Game Marketplace Deals on Cyber Monday!
This Friday, November 28th, when you buy Station Cash on the web, in-game, or with an SOE Game Card, the amount of Station Cash you get will be doubled! Double Station Cash will only awarded between 12:00am PT (U.S.) to 11:59:59pm PT, so don’t miss out!
Check back this weekend to see what special deals we’re offering All Access members for Cyber Monday.
Happy Holidays from the gaming elves at Sony Online Entertainment!
*Cyber Monday deals and All Access member benefits apply only to SOE titles currently included in All Access. Promotion does not include Landmark, Dragon’s Prophet, or DC Universe Online (PSN Version).
Last year, Frostfell only received a short window of testing, so we’re happy to report that this highly-anticipated annual event has appeared early on the Test servers. Live Event maestro and Senior Designer Nathan “Kaitheel“ has this report:
Frostfell is now 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 Closets in Qeynos Province District, Freeport, Haven, Kelethin, Neriak, Gorowyn and New Halas. There you can assist Frestishan, Candice Cheriweth, Gardy Ex-Giftgiver, Mr. McScroogle, Queen Bunny, and Snarf Frostfoot with some holiday tasks, but only after you release them from their deep freeze! For those that have a talent for crafting, you can help Sogs Frostfoot, or gather presents to craft wondrous new Frostfell goodies for yourself. Don’t forget to log in each day and claim your extra-special Frostfell present from everyone’s favorite Frostfell Gigglegibber, Santa Glug!
Looks like SOE is expanding its Player Direct program which seeks to highlight player-made content such as fansites, Youtube videos, Twitch streams, and more on official SOE communication channels. From Colette “Dexella“ on the EQ2 Forums:
Every player has a unique experience, story, and point of view, especially when it comes to games. The types of players who create streams, videos, articles, memes, and more share a deeper, richer story with their communities. That is the heart of our newly expanded Player Direct program.
![[IMG]](https://assets-cdn.soe.com/uploads/dcsclient/000/000/076/721.jpg?v=0.0)
