We are very pleased to share the news that SOE Pre-Paid Game Cards are now available for purchase at retailers in Europe!

Help us celebrate the launch of SOE Pre-Paid Game Cards in Europe! Redeem SOE Pre-Paid Game Cards anytime between October 7th, 2011 and October 10th, 2011 to get Double SC.

Redeem between 12:01 am CET Oct. 7, 2011 and 11:59 pm CET Oct. 10, 2011; offer valid only through redemption of SOE Pre-Paid PC Game Cards purchased from participating retailers in Europe. Visit www.soe.com/gamecards/retailers for European retailers and game card information.

According to SOE’s Game Card Availability website, the cards are available in Europe at participating GameStop, WHSmith, GameStation, and GAME stores. As both GameStop and GAME are present in Denmark, I’ll check them out to see if I can find the cards.

From EverQuest2.com:

Brell Serilis is in search of more treasure to expand his vault!

He has selected some treasures from the EverQuest II Marketplace to add to the hoard of valuables locked in his vault deep underground.

Get select items now before Brell locks them away on October 2, 2011. Items placed in the Vault of Serilis won’t be available for purchase until at least sometime next year.

Visit the Marketplace and select Vault of Serilis to get these items now!

The list of items being mothballed put aside until 2012 can be read at EverQuest2.com or in-game in the Vault of Serilis.

UPDATE: EQ2 ZAM has a complete list of the items which are being removed from the Marketplace.

From an e-mail I just received:

Back to School Bonanza
Double StationCash
and Double XP!!
September 2-5, 2011

Purchase StationCash in-game, via your Station Account, or redeem an SOE Pre-Paid Game Card at http://www.soe.com/gamecards/ (between 12:01am PDT Sept 2, 2011 and 11:59pm PDT September 5, 2011) to get Double StationCash. EverQuest II players also get Double XP during this weekend.

Purchases made via SMS are excluded from the promotion.

The first Flying Squirrel mount, first premiered at Fan Faire, has been introduced to EverQuest II. It’s been added to the StationCash Marketplace for 1950SC ($19.50 or $6.50 if you stocked up during a triple SC weekend). Despite the name, the Flying Squirrel is a glider and thus available at level 60. We presume that there will be other color choices in the future, perhaps a darker brown, red, or even silver.

According to Tom “ttobey” Tobey, this mount was modeled by Steve Merghart and animated by Chris Myers.

After the jump, a bit less fanciful screenshot of the Brown Tree Glider mount.

From EverQuest2.com:

With the new Legends of Norrath set, Priestess of the Anarachs, scheduled for release Tuesday, August 23, 2011, we knew folks were going to be awfully curious about its contents. In his Producer’s Letter last week, Mark Tuttle previewed the Drachnid Bloodknight and Prestidigitation cards from the upcoming set, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Not only do we have two more of the cards to show off, but we also have a preview of the in-game EverQuest and EverQuest II loot available with this set!

SmokeJumper mentioned changes to the Veteran Rewards system at Fan Faire and touched on them further today on the EQ2 Forums:

I can’t get you a solid ETA yet, but yes, we’ll have a revamp coming. The design is outlined and we’re committed to the concept.

Basically, we’ll make a system by which you get a token or credit (or something) every day that you play (for subscribers, including Gold & Plat) and other metrics (for Silver & Bronze folks). Then we’ll create a category of things which are “veteran rewards” that all have costs associated with them. You can buy any of them after you accumulate enough credit.

There’s lots of fun stuff we can do with a system like this. That’s just the basics. It’s something we’ve needed to do for a while now and we’ll get to it as soon as we can after the big November release.

Naladini made a suggestion about spending StationCash on EQ2X:

Spend XX in SC, and it counts as an active month towards the point system.

SmokeJumper‘s response, along with mention of rewards for Testing content:

This is probable. We’ll probably also develop an incentive program for players that help us test features before release on Test-Copy. That would all tie into the same rewards system.

From August 12-18th, SOE is offering a modest 30% off all StationCash purchased in-game or at SOE.com. Note this DOES NOT APPLY to retail-purchased StationCash refill cards, SMS purchases, or 30 day game cards.

Between Friday, August 12 and Thursday, August 18, 2011, get a 30% discount* on purchases of Station Cash! Plus, check participating games for Marketplace item specials throughout the week. Check back later in the week for more details on game-specific items!

Please note that the 30% discount* is on purchases of Station Cash and does not impact the redemption of SC cards.

* Offer not applicable to payments made by SMS or with pre-paid game cards, or on purchases of SOE Game Cards.

If you have been hoping for an empty lot to build a house from the ground up, that moment has finally arrived, with the Tenebrous Tangle Island Refuge! She’s not much of a looker unadorned, but with a soft item limit of 800, and a hard limit of 1,100 items with both expanders, it will be interesting to see what players come up with. Although there’s been nothing official, we suspect that the Felwithe Mansion will land in the next week or two.

From EverQuest2.com:

Ready to move on up? The Tenebrous Island Refuge lets you live on your own private island in the skies. A tiny island hovers above and provides a beautiful little waterfall into your own private pond. The grounds are lush and ready for you to build on! It’s rent-free, but remember that adventurers may only own one Tenebrous Island Refuge per character. Pick up your Deed of Ownership today for 1350 SC on the Marketplace.

The new gryphon mount demoed at Fan Faire during the Art & Animation panel drew a lot of Oohs and Aahs from the crowd. It might be called an Incandescent Swiftwing (will we need to replace it with a Fluorescent model soon? 😉 ) but I’ll always think of this stunning mount as a Phoenix Gryphon. From EverQuest2.com:

Take to the skies and light up the night! Only an 85th and higher adventurer or tradeskiller is able to command this fiery gryphon, said to have been created by the experiments of Velketor himself. This mount is Lore, No-Trade and increases your ground speed by 75% and your air speed by 150%. Riders will also enjoy an increase of 5 to their Focus, Disruption, Ministration, Subjugation, Ordination, Slashing, Piercing, Crushing, Aggression and Ranged. 1950,- SC

From the EQ2 Forums:

Gifting has now been reenabled, with a 2 gifts per 24 hours limit.

StationCash gifting had previously been disabled due to a resurgence in plat farming and a concern that money laundering might be taking place.

(left is just the Kilt, right is the entire outfit)

If you followed our live blog of the EQ2 Art & Animation panel from Fan Faire 2011, you know that Kilts is something the team has been working on and off for the last 18 months. It’s been a long road to get them done! So it is not a surprise that, at least the first kilts will be on the StationCash Marketplace.

The first Kilt choice is the Clan Icereaver set and costs 950SC ($9.50 or $3.17 if you still have Triple SC leftover). When you buy it, you get a crate with a whole outfit, although some players will likely choose to just use the kilt and matching cap and further customize with other items.

EverQuest2.com Announcement (once the site is back up)

So which character are you going to put your Kilt on?

Flying Squirrels (Glider), Fire Gryphons, and… is that Zarrakon?

Tom Tobey (and Chris Meyers) are always working on new and more complex mounts. The Flying Squirrel glider was particularly impressive due to how the character is mounted to it, yet the range of motion the squirrel can do. It crawls on all fours, leaps, glides, and all 26 races stick to it like glue. 🙂

UPDATE: Tom corrected us about Chris Meyers animating the Flying Squirrel glider.

The Fire Gryphon was no less impressive, with wisps of flames trailing behind it as the entire mount is engulfed in flames. It’s both a particle system and animated textures.

We also saw the infamous Ratonga riding a T-Rex mount, and finally, a mount which may or may not be headed for the game, a mount that looks to my eyes like Zarrakon, a boss of The Shadow Odyssey.

Starting the EverQuest II: Art and Animation panel.

Dave Georgeson and David Brown are wearing KILTS!!!

Update: This is a video of EverQuest II Panel #2 “Art and Animation” added on July 16, 2011.

This week, after seeing an alarming uptick in the amount of StationCash being sold in-game in exchange for Plat from shady inviduals, the Gifting of StationCash was disabled. SmokeJumper:

Stopping the use of Gifting for piracy purposes was one of the reasons we shut it off. Piracy = bad. People using our game to launder stolen money = worse. So it’s shut down until we can fix it. We’ll get it back online soon.

A few players have found the 130% runspeed of all mounts even the 1 silver 75 copper horse to be excessive and some players have even reported dizziness or increased falls in difficult-to-navigate areas. Even I have found the Glider mount (the Komodo) to be exceptionally difficult to control due to the high speed turning.

We haven’t done one of these articles in a while and with the lull before the storm, we thought we’d post about some new items. More and more, it is possible to create a house entirely from a blank slate. The choice of floor tiles, wall materials, items to make stairs, platforms, etc. it’s no wonder that more players are asking for empty lots.

Next month’s Tinkerfest will add yet more deck plating options and ceiling fans. The upcoming Dragon Ring and Spires Rebuilding events will bring back the much-desired Housing Teleportation Pads as well as many familiar and new items. Every month more items are added to the Moonlight Enchantments events, as we saw with last month’s rolling fog and other wall and floor tiles. As we reported last month, the Root Beer crafting quest became infinitely repeatable, so instead of shuffling all your alts around to different zones, you could grind tokens all in one place. Finally, the City Festivals continue to pick up new items as players noticed when all the City Festivals were operating simultaneously after the downtime.

Today I logged in to see that just in time for Fan Faire, a full lineup of Casino-themed items are now available on the Marketplace.  There are two sets of Gaming Tables and accessories for 450SC each ($1.50 if you got triple SC), and a set of pool balls for 50SC (16 cents). If you drop the whole 1000 SC ($3.33 if you got triple SC), you get two full sets of gaming tables and accessories, a slot machine, and a pool table including rack, cues, two sets of 9 striped and solid billiard balls.

While EverQuest Live enjoys a Double XP weekend, the details for this weekend’s EverQuest 2 event have now been announced at EverQuest2.com:

Celebrate the upcoming long weekend of July 1st to 4th with a massive Marketplace sale and in-game fireworks festival!

From July 1st through July 4th, visit the Marketplace in EQII and collect your FREE festive sparkler!  Then make your way to North Qeynos, West Freeport, Neriak, Kelethin, Gorowyn, or New Halas and talk to the festival fireworks coordinator to offer your assistance setting off the festive fireworks all over the city.  Earn a different fireworks launcher in each city, which you can use to decorate your home or guildhall!

While celebrating the festival, take advantage of the massive Marketplace sale (this weekend only) and pick up some fancy festival gear!  All cloaks will be on sale for up to 25% off the normal price, as well as some backpacks and a selection of ground mounts. Dress up in style and come join the celebration!

NOTE: When they say Massive Marketplace Sale, they mean the Number of items being discounted is massive. No one item is more than 25% off.

I always intended to post an article about Fortune League. Yes, it’s only tangentially connected to EverQuest II. Yes it’s a Facebook game, a service I don’t use  (I already tried its forebearer AOL in the 90’s). Yes it’s a StationCash money sink. But I also know quite a few people who really liked the idea of a Fantasy Football type game with some of the concepts of EQ2 as a background.

Sure most people played Fortune League for the Alternate Advancement (AA) instant XP potions. But I thought it was popular enough to sustain. Apparently not.

Aliscious of EQ2Talk brings us the obituary:

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT

As of Monday, July 11th this Facebook game will no longer be operational. In the meantime, you may continue to play and redeem prizes until the conclusion of this final season. However, the ability to add Station Cash funds to your wallet will be disabled on Friday, June 24th. Any existing funds in your wallet can still be used until the game is turned off.

Beginning on Monday, July 11th, you may request a refund of the non-promotional Station Cash in your wallet if you play Fortune League and do not also currently play any other SOE game (EverQuest II, Free Realms, etc.) where you can still continue to use the Station Cash in your wallet after this Facebook game has been turned off. If you are eligible for a refund, please contact a Customer Service.

If I had to sum up what effect the StationCash Marketplace has on EQ2, it feeds impatience. Vitality can be restored without waiting, Evac and Tracking potions can be found rather than grouping with individuals who have those abilities. XP potions make those little XP bars cruise along at a faster rate. Armor appearances normally available only via raiding can be acquired by anyone.

Sure there are some truly unique items, like the Prestige Houses and Furniture which are some of the best in the game. But for the most part, SC is all about time = money.

SmokeJumper responded to a thread “Skip flight school, buy your pilot license…”

Here’s our take on the questable mounts vs the marketplace mounts:

Questable mounts are in the game so that players can earn them normally and acquire all the cool abilities of those mounts without having to purchase a marketplace mount. We provide a good variety of tints and appearances of these questable mounts so that we can grant them in different ways and let different niches of players get differing appearances.

Marketplace mounts add a further variety of appearance for those that find that it reasonable to pay for that entertainment value. They are, and always have been, not required.

Today marks the introduction of Pegasus as the first premium flying mount available for purchase for StationCash. A bit of  miscommunication led some to believe that purchasers of the mount would need to have completed the Gryphon Flying Mount 5-day quest in order to fly their Pegasus.

We look no further than the press notice released by Amnerys, and confirmed by sources, clearly indicating that purchasers of the Pegasus and Dark Pegasus flying mounts can IMMEDIATELY fly with them provided they are level 85+, and do not need to do the Flying Mount quest timeline.

Pegasus and Dark Pegasus mounts are now available on the Marketplace! These mounts are available to adventurers who are level 85 adventurer or crafter and higher. (Any shoppers who are below these levels will not find them available on the Marketplace, unless they uncheck the Hide Unusable filter. However, you can still use it in your appearance slot if you’re under level 85; you just can’t fly with it.) These steeds increase Ranged, Aggression, Crushing, Piercing, Slashing, Ordination, Focus, Disruption, Ministration, and Subjugation by 5.0. They also increase ground speed by 75% and air speed by 150%.

However, the Pegasus mount does not require the approval of the goahmari and can be used immediately by any adventurer level 85+ adventure or tradeskill level.

Players who wish to fly their Adventure, Tradeskill, and Collector’s Edition flying gryphons will still need to do the 5-day quest, as do Freebloods who wish to use the Cloud of Bats ability.

Note also that characters under 85 who bypass the “Show Usable Items” filter will see the mount and be able to buy it, but it will only be usable as a ground mount until the player reaches level 85.

Commentary

While I wish that my $14.99/month paid to SOE was all they needed to provide me with the full experience of EQ2, I think they would experience a major backlash if customers purchased an item for $19.50 that they essentially could not use for 5 days. If I dropped $19.50 (or $6.50 if I stockpiled StationCash at triple value), I’d expect to fly immediately.

Appearing today on the StationCash Marketplace, we now have our first Premium Flying Mount. It is a Pegasus with choice of light coloration with priest/mage stats, and dark coloration with fighter/scout stats. UPDATE: Both mounts have a +5 increase to skill stats used by priests, mages, fighters, and scouts. The price is 1950SC, which is $19.50 at normal SC rate or $6.50 if you got in on the recent Triple StationCash offer.

The mounts require level 85 either tradeskill or adventure, but do not hinge upon completion of the 5-day flying mount questline.

We expect more flying mounts in the future, although Dave “SmokeJumper” Georgeson has insisted that, at least for the time being, flying mounts will remain a high-level perk.

Takebacks?

Some players wonder if we will see a wave of post-sale changes to the Pegasus as we saw with the Velium-Saddled Warhog which via 2 updates lost both Featherfall and a unique trait popular with some players of NOT pitching forward and back to match the terrain which was added to all other mounts with Game Update 59/Destiny of Velious.

UPDATE: Some players have allegedly been able to receive refunds for the purchased Warhog mounts since they have undergone changes since they were purchased.

Remember those Temporary Flying Mounts available at all levels during the Destiny of Velious launch party? They’re back!! Although there’s been no announcement on the EQ2 forums, players noticed that these mounts are once again available from the Marketplace for 0 (zero) SC. Just type /marketplace , choose Mounts, then Premium, then Flying Mounts.

UPDATE: The free temporary flying mount appears to be part of this weekend’s Memorial Mania TRIPLE  StationCash event, as the EverQuest2.com Announcement has been updated with info on all the in-game items available in all SOE games.

If you are in the US and were planning to stock up on and redeem a bunch of StationCash cards this weekend, you might not be aware that the Wal-Mart exclusive StationCash cards, which reward not 1500SC but 2000SC for $15, have been confirmed to triple in value when redeemed during this weekend’s Triple StationCash event.

Between 12:01 AM PDT May 27, 2011 and 11:59 PM PDT May 30, 2011, redeem any SOE Pre-Paid Game Card and get TRIPLE Station Cash for a limited time only!

While any StationCash card can be redeemed for StationCash in EQ2, even cards branded for DCUO or FreeRealms, Krakus of Butcherblock has confirmed that the $15 Wal-Mart StationCash card will yield 6,000SC when redeemed this weekend.

Before it was so rudely interrupted by a few hackers you might have heard of, the  StationCash “May Madness” deal had been announced and was slated to run from May 2nd–5th. Prior to Friday’s announcement, players noticed that May Madness was indeed in effect and we now know it will run until May 25th.

Discounts cover a wide range of services including Character Slots, Guild Renames, Character Transfers, Character Name and Race Changes, as well as Vitality, Evac, and Tracking potions. Check out the EverQuest2.com article for the complete list of discounts.

And starting on May 27th, SOE will be having its first Triple StationCash event. This event will unfortunately be limited to StationCash cards only, making it mostly a North American event.

Between 12:01 AM PDT May 27, 2011 and 11:59 PM PDT May 30, 2011, redeem any SOE Pre-Paid Game Card and get TRIPLE Station Cash for a limited time only!

Visit your favorite Station Cash Card retailer to stock up on cards now and be ready to redeem when the event begins next weekend!

Clearly this is a measure to try to get enough sales volume on the cards to persuade retailers to continue to stock the cards (or restock in the case of retailers who have dropped SOE’s cards). Note that most StationCash cards are branded FreeRealms, with newer multi-game cards that double as StationCash or a monthly subscription to specific SOE games. ANY card you buy with “StationCash” and a value written on it can be used. StationCash cards can be redeemed at SOE.com.

A player brought an issue to our attention with inaccurate StationCash balance. We can confirm this as on the SOE website, we show the correct balance but in-game, it shows not even 0SC, but just a blank space where the value should be. As a result, I’m not able to buy anything. Even players without a corrupted SC value are reporting that buying items and adding funds with a credit card are not possible.

UPDATE: StationCash values were corrected about 1 hour after this was written.

As you are enjoying today’s Double XP and Double StationCash event, you may want to take note of deals coming up on May 2nd-5th that could reduce the cost of an Additional Character Slot to just $3.50, a Race Change to just $5, or a Character Copy or Guild Rename to $8.75. Other consumables including a Vitality potion will be just $3.50 if you buy your Double StationCash today.

From EverQuest2.com:

Sale! Sale! Sale!

Item Name	Regular Price	Sale Price
Additional Character Slot	1000	700
Porion of Disgenderment	750	500
Guild Rename Potion	2450	1750
Race Potion	1450	1000
Potion of Amnesia	950	700
Character Transfer Token	2450	1750
Character Copy Token	2450	1750
Norrathian Witness Protection Pack	1750	1000
Charm of Escape	50	25
Potion of Quickened	50	25
Summoning Charm	75	50
Scroll of Tracking	50	25
Portable Globe of Swift Travel	150	100
Potion of Vitality	950	700

Take advantage of this weekend’s Double Station Cash Saturday and stack up the savings! Visit the Station Cash page to learn how you can purchase SC online or from a retailer near you.

Once the sale begins, buy these items and more by clicking the SC button in game, or type /marketplace in your chat window.