All hail the Overlord – the Freeport City Festival returns to the Commonlands from November 1-7! Spend City Tokens on local specialties, generic festival goods, appearance clothing, or food & drink. Make sure all your characters have finished the Freeport Postage Collection, speak to Kella Swampfoot to assist with festival quests, and achieve 119 seconds or less in the local Aether Race to earn the Portal Jumper title.

Be sure to check in with the merchants to see if there’s any new items this month!

WHEN: 12:01am PT on November 1st – 11:59pm PT on November 7th
WHERE: Commonlands, near The Crossroads, /loc -563, -49, -427
QUESTS: Special Delivery, Special Order Crafting, Special Order Gathering
ACHIEVEMENTS: Delivery Ahoy, Harvesting Hoopla, Kella Caffeinated, Requisition Acclamation
MERCHANT ITEMS: EQ2 Traders | EQ2 Furniture

A recent beta forum discussion revealed that crafting and adventure writ status will not contribute to progress starting at guild level 101. EQ2 Senior Designer Gninja explained the reasoning behind the change:

Repeatable quests such as writs do not add to guild exp once you hit guild level 101. We are adding a lot more ways to get status from normal gameplay though. It was just way too easy to sit and do writs over and over to level the guild making having a leveled up guild a little less meaningful.

He came back to clarify the position a bit better:

The plan is to make status gains come from a lot of different places. Having lots of things you can do is a good thing. Having one thing you can do over and over without any sort of limiting factor is different. These things are still being adjusted so hang in there.

Commentary

From Cyliena:

I’m sure Feldon will have choicer words about all of this, but as a member of an extremely small guild, this change will make guild leveling quite difficult. Whatever method is provided will end up being grinded out, so I’m unsure how this change will make leveling a guild more “meaningful”. -Cy

From Feldon:

The EQ2 team has twice tried to stomp out old “grindy” ways of playing EQ2 and encourage playing of newer content:

• Removing Plat from older zones like Protectors Realm
• Removing adventure XP from out leveled dungeons

The first was successful. The second was strongly derided and silently reverted this summer. I wonder which route this “new improved” guild leveling avenue will take.

Announced yesterday on the EQ2 Forums:

As part of Fall Frenzy leading into our next expansion, we have something special planned for players every week as we lead into our launch.

Starting NOW and going until noon pacific on Friday, November 6, 2015 we’ll have double Ferrins activated in-game. This means double DOUBLE Ferrins for All-Access members!

Don’t miss your chance to stock up on Far Seas Ferrin this week!

As we head into the next expansion, we’ll have special promotions for players each week. Learn more about Fall Frenzy here!

Players who help test out the upcoming Terrors of Thalumbra expansion on the Beta server can earn several rewards including (for adventurers) a new mount! The rewards are one per account, but additional rewards can be earned by running another character through the content.

NOTE: Thanks to ArtifactX for providing screenshots of the in-game rewards.

All ToT Quest Lines	All ToT Heroic Dungeons	All ToT Tradeskill Quests

All Daybreak sites and games will be under a 2+ hour maintenance window on Thursday, October 29, 2015. Login servers and account management may be unavailable during the maintenance.

Updated Info

As of 4:45pm ET:

This morning’s maintenance is now complete. You should be able to access account management & creation.

— Daybreak Games (@DaybreakGames) October 29, 2015

Please read our FAQ below for answers to the most common questions you might have once the new combined Halls of Fate server is online (scheduled for 7:00am PDT). This new server combines all the characters and guilds from Guk, Unrest, and Everfrost. The EQ2 dev team have been logged into the new Halls of Fate server, monitoring the situation, and answering questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Help I’ve lost my hotbars!
A: Type /load_uisettings and choose your character from your previous server.

Q: My EQ2 Launchpad still shows characters from Guk, Unrest, or Everfrost. How do I fix this?
A: You will need to go to Character Select screen and then close EQ2 for your Launchpad to be updated. Alternately you can delete your logincache-en directory from your EQ2 folder.

Q: Why doesn’t Call to Guild Hall work?
A: Before anyone can Call to Guild Hall, at least one member of the guild will have to visit the Guild Hall Attuner item in their guild hall to trigger an update to everyone’s Call to Guild Hall ability. It may necessary for every person to travel to the guild hall first and re-attune your CtGH.

Players are currently experiencing issues getting through the login server across all Daybreak games. On Twitter, Daybreak has stated that they are currently looking into the problem.

The team is continuing to investigate login errors. Thank you for the reports and your continued patience while we work to resolve it.

— Daybreak Games (@DaybreakGames) October 29, 2015

We are investigating the reported login issues across games and forums. Thanks for your patience.

— Daybreak Games (@DaybreakGames) October 28, 2015

The beta copy backlog has been processed and requested copies are now available on the Beta server.

All the current /beta copies are completed for Terrors of Thalumbra beta. If you have not been copied than you should re /beta again.

— Kyle Vallée (@EQII_Kander) October 28, 2015

From the EQ2 Forums:

There will be periods of time that UChat and Marketplace services will be unavailable on all servers starting Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at 7AM PDT* and ending Thursday, October 29, 2015 at 7AM PDT.*

We’ll be performing maintenance on UChat and Marketplace services during period of time that the server consolidation happen for Guk, Unrest, and Everfrost servers merging into Halls of Fate (get more info on this server merge here).

Note: These services will not be down for the entire 24 hour period. There will be periods of time while these services are interrupted or unavailable during this maintenance.

Thank you for your patience and your support!

Last week we wrote about how Terrors of Thalumbra Beta Copies have been running extremely slowly (well over 24 hours). Some players noted that beta copies taken from inside instances such as Houses and Guild Halls were failing and that players should copy from a public zone such as Antonica.

Now EQ2 developer Jamiss has posted an update explaining some of the issues:

The beta copy process has changed a little bit for this expansion due to some underlying technology changes. Unfortunately, this has caused the process to be a bit slower than in the past.

It was, however, up to date with everything that it had found as of about 4AM this morning, and has begun working through the log again. If you /beta’d anytime before 4AM this morning, please try to /beta again and the copier will get you soon. Sorry for any frustration this may be causing you.

As a quick sidenote: This should not overwrite any previously copied characters. Any characters copied again will have Xs appended to their name.

Months ago when the upcoming Server Consolidation was announced, we were given extensive documentation about how Guild Names would be preserved for the most active guilds. Then it was announced that a more traditional Server Merge process would be used instead. Now we’ve seen the result of this choice as countless active, large guilds from Butcherblock, Oasis, and Crushbone have forsaken their names for abandoned guilds inactive for up to half a decade. Players who have petitioned this issue have been informed that Customer Support cannot address this issue and instead players must raise the issue on the EQ2 Forums.

Everything else regarding the Server Merge has been visibly successful and we don’t want to forget that, but the guild name issue is quite distressing to players who are part of an active guild. Hopefully an amicable resolution can be found.

From the EQ2 Forums:

The server consolidation for the Guk, Unrest, and Everfrost servers merging into Halls of Fate will start at Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at 7AM PDT* and this downtime will take 24 hours. These servers are scheduled to be unavailable until Thursday, October 29, 2015 at 7AM PDT.*

A couple of important notes for players:

• Players should pick up soulbound items BEFORE the merge. This will prevent losing ownership of placed items due to renaming.
• When the consolidation is complete on Thursday, players should delete their “logincache-us” or else LaunchPad character logins will fail.

Note that the Terrors of Thalumbra beta server will also be available to players during this downtime. To learn more about theTerrors of Thalumbra beta, see the link here.

We appreciate all of our players’ patience and support during server consolidations. If you haven’t been keeping up on server merges, you can find out more in our most recent FAQ here.

A couple important questions from players:

• What the hell is “Soulbound” is this World of Warcraft?
• 36 hours is insufficient notice to collect hundreds of NO TRADE items placed in other people’s houses and guild halls.

Time Zone Conversions

• PDT: Wed Oct 28 @ 7:00am — Thu Oct 29 @ 7:00am
• EDT: Wed Oct 28 @10:00am — Thu Oct 29 @ 10:00am
• BST: Wed Oct 28 @ 15:00 — Thu Oct 29 @ 15:00
• CEST: Wed Oct 28 @ 16:00 — Thu Oct 29 @ 16:00

From the EQ2 Forums:

The EQ2 team will be hanging out in Thalumbra during an expansion beta livestream starting at 2PM PDT* on Monday, October 26, 2015 on twitch.tv/everquest2

During this stream, the EQ2 team will share highlights from the Terrors of Thalumbra beta, chatting about the beta reward, and showing off some things you haven’t seen yet!

Want to check out the Terrors of Thalumbra beta NOW? Pre-ordering gives you immediate access to the beta servers and Altar of the Ancients, a special housing item that grants daily XP gain. If you haven’t already pre-ordered Terrors of Thalumbra, you can do so here.

We look forward to hanging out with you on Monday, October 26!

NOTE: I am out of town this week and will not be able to provide a transcript of this panel.

From Emily “Domino” Taylor on the EQ2 Forums:

The border between the plane of Underfoot and the mortal realm is often hard to define. Deep within the wilds of Thalumbra, the Stygian Threshold is one of those rare locations where a gate to the Underfoot exists permanently. Such close proximity to Brell’s realm has had strange effects on the adjacent region.

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 only about a hundred copies so far. With the current number of requests its looking like it could take up to 24 hours. The DB has been getting hammered lately so everything is slowing down. We are looking at ways of speeding it up but as of right now its looking like there isn’t much we can do with it other than just wait.

Last year’s beta copy tool took just a few seconds, but that was before this spring’s Database changes. Hopefully the skinny pedal on the right can be located and the current beta copy script can be kicked into high gear. For now, you’ll have to rely upon creating Level 1 characters and then buffing them to your preferred Adventure and Tradeskill class at 100. Remember, you can lookup your character on EQ2U and download your AA/Prestige spec as an .aa file and then load this into EQ2! Also, don’t forget the in-game /load_uisettings command to load your hotbars and UI settings from your live characters.

US Servers: 7:00~9:00am PDT | 10:00am~Noon EDT | 15:00~17:00 BST | 16:00~18:00 CET
EU Servers: 9:00~10:00pm PDT | 12:00~1:00am EDT | 05:00~06:00 BST | 06:00~07:00 CET

From the EQ2 Forums:

GENERAL

• Maj’Dul: The “/guild rename NewGuildName” command will be available after the update to guilds that were renamed during the merge.

ITEMS

• [eq2u]Dark Fury Sword of Anuk[/eq2u] is now required level 57 to use.
• The [eq2u]Deific Underfoot Jewel[/eq2u] now correctly counts toward the Testament of the Titan item set.

QUESTS

• An Eye for Power – Frosthorn minotaurs have returned to the Jagged Plains in Everfrost, despite the Sundered Ground nearby.
• Setri Lur’eth now offers “A Dream, By Any Other Name” even if you completed it last year.

Servers are back up! Maj'Dulers will now get their origin server titles and guild renaming *should* ™ work. #EQ2

— Holly Longdale (@TheWindstalker) October 22, 2015

Uhm, so the Maj'Dul Butcherblock title is misspelled as "Bucherblock." It will be fixed in the next hotfix on Tuesday. #wespellzgewd #EQ2

— Holly Longdale (@TheWindstalker) October 22, 2015

Update as of 3:45pm PDT:

After 33 hours, and despite a false start mid-morning, the new Maj’Dul server is now up and running! Please read our FAQ below for answers to the most common questions you might have. This new server combines all the characters and guilds from Butcherblock, Crushbone, and Oasis. The EQ2 dev team have been logged into the new Maj’Dul server, monitoring the situation, and answering questions.

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

No update notes yet, but…

US EverQuest II Live Servers will be brought offline on Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 7:00AM PDT* for an update. Estimated downtime is approximately one hour.

Special Note: Crushbone, Butcherblock, and Oasis servers will need additional donwtime as they merge into Maj’Dul. You can get more info on this here.

EU EverQuest II Live Servers will be brought offline on Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 7:00AM PDT* for an update. (Approx. 3:00PM London Time on October 20, 2015). Estimated downtime is one hour.

Update from Roshen:

This is running a bit long today, and we anticipate this downtime will take an additional 30 minutes.

We appreciate everyone’s patience, and their support.

From Robert “Caith” Fouts on the EQ2 Forums:

We’re getting closer to Terrors of Thalumbra. So far, we’ve shared two zone previews (Thalumbra and City of Maldura), and we’ve talked about what’s in store for Tradeskillers. Now, here’s an introduction to two new systems that will be introduced with the expansion:

Deity Abilities
Delving into the depths of Norrath has awoken a deeper connection between the gods and the physical realm, allowing them to channel power more directly through their chosen instruments in the form of powerful new miracles. As you gain adventuring experience you will also gain tithe experience, and tithe points. Tithe points can be spent in one of two ways, the first is to purchase charges of these new miracles. You can only have a certain amount of tithe points banked or spent on miracles at any particular time. While you can purchase any abilities that match your city alignment as well as neutral abilities, the ability from your chosen deity from completing the existing deity quest lines grant will be at a discount.

For example, if your deity is Tunare you would be able to purchase the Lifeshield ability at a discount. This will allow you to use the ability more often as well as to hold more miracles as it reduces the amount of tithe points spent on that ability. You do not have to have completed any deity quests to make use of deity abilities.

From the EQ2 Forums:

How about some weekday DOUBLE EXPERIENCE for our All-Access members?

The double experience bonus for Adventure, Tradeskill and AA XP is active NOW and run until noon PDT on Friday, October 23, 2015!

The Double XP bonuses will be available for All Access members on all traditional servers. While the bonus will not be available on Stormhold and Deathtoll, there are still exciting adventures awaiting All Access members on those special servers. Remember, you must be a member to access Time-Locked Expansion servers.

Not currently an All-Access member? Now’s the time to sign up!

UPDATE: This issue has now been resolved as per Windstalker:

We asked Unrest, Crushbone and Permafrost to behave and are watching them. #eq2

— Holly Longdale (@TheWindstalker) October 18, 2015

Original article after the jump…

MJ Guthrie over at Massively Overpowered turned in a great article last Thursday with a wide-angle perspective on everything leading up to EverQuest II’s twelfth expansion Terrors of Thalumbra, the prelude quests, and what people can expect.

From MassivelyOP:

Time’s a-wasting! With just a month left to get ready for those terrors that await down in the subterranean world of Thalumbra, EverQuest II fans are running out of time to prepare themselves for this upcoming 12th expansion. If you find yourself in that predicament, never fear — that’s why EverQuesting is here! I know what it is like to just be moseying along, distracted by the plethora of activities in EQII, and then suddenly realize that you are not at all ready forTerrors of Thalumbra.

Maybe you haven’t yet taken part in the prelude event. Maybe you aren’t quite of a level to enjoy the new content that will be coming. Or maybe you forgot to ask for the day off from work. I was just in that boat myself! The good news is that there is still time. I don’t want you to miss out on any of the hooplah, so I’ve assembled a list of to-dos to get you on the path to prepared.

Although the content in ToT is geared toward the level 100 adventurer or crafter, any level can participate in the activities leading up to the launch.

Continue reading MassivelyOP: EverQuesting — Preparing for EQII’s Terrors of Thalumbra Expansion

From the EQ2 Forums:

The server consolidation for the Crushbone, Butcherblock, and Oasis servers merging into Maj’Dul will start at Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 7AM PDT* and this downtime will take 24 hours. These servers will be unavailable until Wednesday, October 21, 2015 at 7AM PDT.*

Note that the Terrors of Thalumbra beta server will also be available to players starting on Tuesday. To learn more about the Terrors of Thalumbra beta, see the link here.

We appreciate all of our players’ patience and support during server consolidations. If you haven’t been keeping up on server merges, you can find out more in our most recent FAQ here.

From the EQ2 Forums:

That time is almost here! The beta test for Terrors of Thalumbra starts on Tuesday, October 20, 2015. This will be ready for players on Tuesday in the early afternoon.

Everyone that pre-orders Terrors of Thalumbra gets immediate access to the beta server once it goes live. Playing Terrors of Thalumbra on the Beta server also has perks for your live server accounts! There is more information coming soon about the rewards players will be able to earn by testing expansion content on beta.

Here is some information to help you get started in Beta: