Feldon
Most of today’s updates seem to apply to the Time Locked Expansion servers. I’ll ask about the update notes clarifying which updates apply to TLE vs Standard servers. From the EQ2 Forums: POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION General Lava will once again…huuuuuuurt. Evils may now return to Antonica from Frostfang Sea via the bell. Queen’s Colony Direspike is no longer able to be charmed. Players can now switch to a groupmate’s instance by right-clicking their name in the group window. ITEMS The Finsher IV should now provide the correct amount of potency. Characters with exploited copies of Far Journey Backpack...
Cyliena
News broke tonight that John Smedley has stepped down from leading Daybreak. This action follows the recent DDoS attacks, as well as his social media outlash and subsequent deletion of accounts. Taking over the helm for Smedley is COO Russell Shanks, who has been with Daybreak since it was 989 Studios. A Daybreak spokesperson stated that “John Smedley will be taking some time off from the company for the near-term and transitioning to a different role to be determined. Upon finalization of his plans, further communication will be provided.” Further from MassivelyOP: Smedley oversaw the company’s transition from Sony-owned Sony Online...
Bumping this up so people see it… From the EQ2 Forums: We’ll be streaming from the new Time-Locked expansion server Stormhold on Wednesday, July 22, 2015 starting at 2PM Pacific* on the EverQuest 2 Twitch channel. Join Holly “Windstalker” Longdale, Kyle “Kander” Vallée, Carlos “Gninja” Mora, and Ry “Roshen” Schueller for this stream as we share some behind-the-scenes information on how the Time-Locked Expansion servers came together, and hang out on the Stormhold server. Join us for this stream, and log into Twitch to chat with us and other players. We look forward to talking with YOU during this stream! Time Zone Conversions PDT:...
EQ2 Lead Designer Kyle “Kander” Vallee took a few moments away from watching players gallivant around the resurrected Queen’s Colony and Outpost of the Overlord newbie zones to grant us an interview about today’s exciting launch of two new Time-Locked Expansion servers Stormhold (PvE) and Deathtoll (PvP)! EQ2Wire: How long have you been working on the Time-Locked Expansion servers? Kander: Since early June. Q: What role did the success of EverQuest’s own TLE servers have in opening the door for these servers in EQ2? K: We realized a lot of players are looking for a familiar experience and enjoy the excitement of a new...
Actually a little bit ahead of schedule, the EverQuest II Time-Locked Expansion Servers are now live! At the Character Selection/Creation screen of the US English client (if you are an EU player you’ll have to switch to US in the Launchpad) , you now have the option of creating a Time-Locked character as shown here: Here’s the official announcement from the EQ2 Forums: Are you ready to go back to the beginning? To get a fresh start on the shores of Norrath? Today is the day! The NEW Time-Locked Expansion servers are now available! Found the communities of Stormhold...
After this morning’s patch of the live servers at 7:00am PDT, EverQuest II players are noticing a curious selection at the Character Select screen. TLE servers aren’t scheduled to launch til Noon, but players can step through the process of creating a TLE character and see which choices are available, including a few surprising ones. It’s conceivable that this is a bug or glitch. This topic is blowing up on the forums in a half dozen threads including this one.
Keep in mind that server/content launches are always tricky and there are any number of things that can delay them from CDN propagation issues to the Login servers misbehaving to Build issues, there are a lot of moving parts. DO NOT take this time as set in stone, but… it looks like the EQ2 team are hoping to launch the new TLE servers tomorrow at Noon Pacific. From the @everquestii twitter stream: @vitosauras We’re aiming to have Stormhold and Deathtoll servers up by noon PDT https://t.co/51ggemkHwz — EverQuest II (@everquestii) July 20, 2015
Here are tomorrow’s Update Notes for the non-TLE EQ2 Live Servers. From the EQ2 Forums: POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION General The mercenary den is once again available in Qeynos and Freeport. ABILITIES / ALTERNATE ADVANCEMENT Fixed a bug that was causing many spells to spam time-locked server restrictions. ITEMS The Finisher IV has had its passive bonus increased. LIVE EVENTS “Great Balls of Fire” – Mad Mattie should offer this quest for everyone until 50 completions. BATTLEGROUNDS Pumice Stone is now available from the expendables merchant.
There’s some downtime today in preparation for the TLE servers. We don’t expect update notes. From the EQ2 Forums: US EverQuest II Live Servers will be brought offline on Monday, July 20, 2015 at 7:00AM PDT* for maintenance, in preparation for our Time-Locked expansion server launch. Estimated downtime is approximately one hour. EU EverQuest II Live Servers will be brought offline on Monday, July 20, 2015 at 7:00AM PDT* for an update. (Approx. 3:00PM London Time on July 20, 2015). Estimated downtime is one hour. Alle deutschsprachigen Server werden um 16:00 CET am 20.07.2015 zwecks einer Serveraktualisierung heruntergefahren. Die vorgesehene...
The monthly Moonlight Enchantments event begins tonight! The grottos open up on the 20th at 12:01am PT and close on the 21st at 11:59pm PT. The time applies directly with no conversion for all servers. Grotto Zone & Location Collection Quest(s) Brownie Darklight Wood /loc 14, -32, -238 Tree Bark Festive Flowers Strong Brew Root Beer Zygomyd Nektulos Forest /loc -363, 0.42, -682 Mushroom Spores Earthly Tasks Comforting Confections Naiad Enchanted Lands /loc -278, 5, 18 Naiad Scales Naiad Aid Dryad Antonica /loc -696, -4, 621 Dryad Leaves Pollution Problem Fay Greater Faydark /loc -132, -44, -771 Flower Petals...
From the EQ2 Forums: It’s the Gnomeiest time of the year in Norrath (and, yes, Gnomeiest is totally a word) – Tinkerfest has returned once again! Grab your gadgets, wind up your wrenches, and get ready for an EXPLOSIVE good time this summer! Our good friends at Gnomeland Security are ready with new and returning favorite features. Make sure you try this year’s new quest, We Can Rebuild. Look for Tinker Thermald in the Steamfront Mountains to get started. While you’re questing, returning quests will have new rewards this year, and new items are also available to purchase from Myron, the Tinkerfest Merchant....
From the EQ2 Forums: Are YOU ready for the new Time-Locked Expansion servers? Stormhold (PvE) and Deathtoll (PvP) Servers open on Tuesday, July 21, 2015! Play on NEW Time-Locked Expansion servers and get a fresh start in EverQuest II. Be part of a vibrant community from the start and have your voice be heard as you decide each server’s destiny. These are special servers that are only available to All Access members. If you aren’t already an All Access member, sign upand begin your adventures in Norrath… again! Want to get a sneak peek of these servers? Our Time-Locked Expansion...
From the EQ2 Forums: POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION Kelethin Philosopher Yubee in Kelethin will now give the same advice pertaining to Erollisi Marr, as Philosopher Rhimes. ITEMS Boots from fabled EoF dungeons have had their weapon damage bonus and spell weapon damage bonus corrected. The Wild Divine will proc when Healing Arrow or Healing Barrage are cast. Crafted and Merchant versions of the altar to Erollisi Marr are now available. Hand of Thule’s Avatar now grants stamina, instead of ridiculous amounts of strength. QUESTS Power to the Tower – The damaged core should only be resetting when it is...
Update as of 9:45am PDT: Game and Account logins and Forum access have continued to be sporadically available. Census appears to be down, disabling EQ2U and Dragon’s Armory. More as we have it… Update from Smedley as 5:40pm PDT last night, 29 hours into DDOS: And sorry to say more DDOS. I apologize for the issues we are having. I have to own pissing them off and I'm sorry. — John Smedley (@j_smedley) July 11, 2015 Just sorry they are taking it out on you, our players. — John Smedley (@j_smedley) July 11, 2015 Update: DDoS has once again...
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...
From the EQ2 Forums: Want to get a preview of the new Time-Locked Expansion (TLE) servers, and give us your feedback? If so, you’re in luck because the TLE beta servers are now LIVE! Note: An All Access membership is required to access these beta servers. Progress made on the beta servers won’t carry over when these servers go live. When Stormhold (PvE) and Deathtoll (PvP) open to players, these will be fresh servers and all players will have the opportunity to start here together! Your beta feedback is important to us, and it helps us make our game better!...
The Time-Locked Expansion Beta will be opening up soon is now open for ALL ACCESS members. Here are instructions on how to go ahead and be patched and ready to Beta test on the TLE (PvP) and TLE (PvE) Beta servers today. How Do I Get to Beta [TLDR] ? There is no Non-Disclosure Agreement to accept this year, and no separate Beta launcher to run. To access the Time-Locked Expansion Server beta, simply close and reopen your EverQuest II Launcher, click on the Version link in the top left corner (US English for US players), switch the region to “Beta“, click...
After repeatedly being told that a Progression server was unlikely for EverQuest II, today marks the opening of Beta testing for not one but two EQ2 Time-Locked Expansion (TLE) servers. Although a complete rollback to how EQ2 was at launch is not possible — nor desirable for most — these servers will provide a healthy dose of nostalgia for those players who have wished for more challenge and less of those world-shrinking conveniences such as guild halls, flying mounts, expedient travel, etc. Of particular interest to PvP players, the Deathtoll server will have a new ruleset that slams the...
EU servers are now 3 hours late patching and Holly has an update that it will be another 2 hours before EU servers are back up. That’s 2pm PDT, 5pm EDT, 22:00 GMT, 23:00 CET. The #EQ2 Beta servers are up after the EU patch which is delayed by internet funk. We're hoping for about 2pm if all goes well. — Holly Longdale (@TheWindstalker) July 7, 2015 Original article follows…
From Holly “Windstalker” Longdale on the EQ2 Forums: For PvE, Stormhold won! For PvP, the winner is Deathtoll! Thanks for all the votes and feedback. More to come
From EQ2 Forums: Enjoying the summer is more fun when you have friends (or at least a crafty merc!) by your side. From Thursday, July 2 through Monday, July 6, there’s a Marketplace sale to help with just that. Both Merc Crates and Group XP Potions will be on sale for 40% off!All Access Members will get their additional 10% off the sale price. And as an added perk for All Access Members, it’s a Bonus XP Weekend! AAs, Tradeskill, and Adventure XP will all be doubled.
ZAM’s outgoing Managing Editor Cyliena checked in with Holly “Windstalker” Longdale at E3 with questions about Progression servers in EverQuest and EverQuest II. From EQ2 ZAM: E3 doesn’t stop when its doors are closed for the day. We snagged Executive Producer Holly Longdale at this year’s Daybreak after-party (and again this week in a follow-up), chatting about some recent changes that hit EverQuest‘s progression servers as well as the upcoming progression servers and merges for EverQuest II. With EverQuest II, the upcoming progression servers will be a first for the game. In-game voting for time-locked and marketplace options has already come and gone, and for a short...
From the EQ2 Forums: Attention players: we will perform a general maintenance beginning at 7:00AM PDT* on Wednesday, July 1. The current estimated downtime for this maintenance is two to four hours, depending on the service. This maintenance may impact the following Daybreak services across all games: Game logins for all Daybreak games Forum & Web logins for all Daybreak games PLEASE NOTE: This is not a game-specific maintenance. There will be no update or patch notes. Thank you for your patience as we complete this maintenance. ~The Team at Daybreak Time Zone Conversions (assuming 4 hours) Wed July 1 @ 7:00am ~ 11:00am PDT Wed July 1 @...
From the EQ2 Forums: POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION Fabled Echoes of Faydwer Collectibles in the Fabled Echoes of Faydwer dungeons will now lock you to the instance when looted. The Fabled Crypt of Valdoon [Advanced Solo and Heroic] You can now click Valdoon while he’s giving his speech to initiate combat sooner. Fabled Freethinker’s Hideout [Challenge Raid] The werewolf guards at the entrance should now have the intended amount of health. ITEMS Corrected the spell description for the solo and raid versions of All for One, they now correctly say 48 to 148 potency for the solo version, and...
Despite going end-of-life on April 8, 2014 and no longer receiving crucial security updates, Windows XP continues to serve the computers of a surprising number of EverQuest II players a decade after its introduction. The reasons for running such an old operating system seem to center on inertia (the horror of locating and reinstalling all of one’s software) and budget. Windows 7 is not exactly a free upgrade, and Microsoft has never offered a direct XP -> 7 upgrade path. Also, Windows Driver Model, introduced with Vista and carried forth in 7, 8, and 10, has left behind a mountain...