Feldon
Dungeon Maker “Play as a Character” has arrived on Test for the second time, but with a totally new Level Agnostic mechanic that turns the concept of Mentoring on its ear, by interactively adjusting the damage and heals of grouped characters in real time. The claim is, that a level 30 and level 92 will be able to group together, heal, buff, and do DPS effectively. And careful reading of the June Update indicates that Battlegrounds will soon inherit the same Level Agnostic mechanic, so proper testing of this functionality on Test is a good idea. From Maevianiu on...
From Holly “Windstalker” Longdale on the EQ2 Forums: Another month has zipped by already! We wanted to wait until after E3 to share a few more details about what we’re up to and what’s coming up this month. By now you may have heard about the SOE corporate initiative called SOEmote(tm) that will launch in EQII later this month. SOEmote uses a webcam and microphone to project your facial expressions, including talking and voice, onto your character in real time! It’s used in groups and also allows you to broadcast to your guild, almost like a webcast. We’re all...
In today’s update for June 13, 2012, EQ2 finally ditches its ancient Mozilla web browser in favor of the Awesomium browser, powered by Webkit (Safari/Chrome). EVE Online recently adopted this browser. This should resolve numerous problems with viewing complex websites in the in-game browser. Armor distribution in Skyshrine zones have been rebalanced to match group/raid distribution. Some Skyshrine group mobs will start dropping Primal Velium Shards, while Skyshrine raid encounters will hand out Pure Primal Velium Shards. And finally, today marks the introduction of Quest Target Icons. If you enable this setting, you will be able to see an...
SOE President John Smedley has personally addressed the removal of EQ2 Subscriptions from the StationCash Marketplace: Quick note – I’m sorry we didn’t do a good job of messaging this. It was handled while we were at E3 and that was bad. Very simply put we pulled the non-recurring subscriptions because we want a closer look at the numbers and how our overall pricing of subscriptions is impacted by it. I don’t want anyone thinking they were pulled because of double DC promotions or anything like that. We know what we’re getting into when we run those promotions. We’ve...
UPDATE According to SOE President John Smedley, EQ2 Subscriptions will reappear on the Marketplace for 1 week to allow players to buy their subscriptions. EverQuest 2 subscriptions unceremoniously disappeared from the StationCash marketplace yesterday, and players have had plenty to say on the subject. The removal was not unanticipated, but doing so without advanced warning, an announcement, or even an acknowledgment, is yet another betrayal of player’s trust in SOE.
We didn’t get a Game Update this week, partly due to E3, but we can now look ahead to Test to what’s coming next week. Highlights from the Test Update Notes on the EQ2 Forums: POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION Withered Lands Named within Withered Lands should all respawn correctly now. Challenge Mode Raid NPC?s (x4 epic) Challenge mode raid NPC’s have had their max health reduced.
While they aren’t glamorous, Content and Itemization are the meat and potatoes of the modern MMO. The thankless job of adding and maintaining these core items may not elicit splashy E3 announcements or garner press attention, but neglect them for a moment, and players will arrive at your gates brandishing pitchforks. Players have been unable to ignore the skewed armor distribution of Skyshrine. In particular, the new solo, group, and raid zones all seem to heavily slant towards priests and fighters. Normally we would be able to confirm this data using Zam’s drop information statistics which they periodically receive...
This weekend, if you redeem $15 StationCash cards, you will be credited with 1,500SC plus 500SC bonus, for a total of 2,000SC. This works out to a 33% bonus — or if you prefer, a 25% discount. After Double and Triple StationCash weekends, 50% off sales, and Rebates, it will be interesting to see how much pent up demand is satisfied with the relatively meager discount this go-around.
From Massively: Roleplaying is the red-headed stepchild of MMO design considerations these days, but at least one studio hasn’t forgotten immersion enthusiasts. Sony Online Entertainment has announced a new EverQuest II feature called SOEmote which converts your webcam input into avatar facial expressions. The suite also gives users the option to modulate their voice to something appropriate for their character. “Any game that calls itself a roleplaying game absolutely needs this feature. For other games, it’s just a really good idea that your players will want. Pick a character. Pick a class. And then be that character instead of...
It seems that the laundry list of bugs which arrived with the untested Poet’s Palace Dungeon Maker layout has gotten some attention. Brasse made this post on the EQ2 Forums: First off, thank you for all the detailed /bug reports, and Cyliena’s excellent summary. These have been invaluable for our Dev Team, and the epitome of constructive feedback. Simply telling us we suck, on the other hand, is not particularly helpful. =P Sorry for not posting earlier, but the EQII Devs have been actively looking into these issues since Piestro and I got into office this morning, diligently examining...
From the EQ2 Forums: DUNGEON MAKER When respawning, a player should now be put at the designated entrance set by the dungeon creator. Various issues with the Poet’s Palace Dungeon Maker Map have been fixed. MARKETPLACE Armor Crates and several other appearance items have been changed from NO TRADE to HEIRLOOM.
From Brasse on the EQ2 Forums: Reporting in here to say that Cyliena is right, we have the PR managing the elite infoz. =) I did look into it for you though. PR says that due to unforseen circumstances, the infoz in question will be delayed by a day or two. You guys are also correct that it involves our presence at E3. Can’t sneak anything past you! Unfortunately, I cannot offer any further information, other than I think that you may enjoy what’s coming. I can positively, absolutely rule out any major announcements about EQ Next. That game...
Here are your update notes for today, Wednesday May 30, 2012: POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION Skyshrine All Solo instances in Skyshrine are now a 90 minute lock out, same as heroic instances. ACHIEVEMENTS The achievements “Rallos’ Chosen” and “Vindicator Soren’s Demise” should now update for all members of the raid force that kills him regardless of range. This change should also be retroactive if you have ever defeated him and were not awarded the achievement. ITEMS Dozekar’s Head is no longer lore.
Coinciding with the launch of Game Update 63 was the introduction of the Poet’s Palace ‘Dungeon Maker’ layout. Much to the consternation of testers, this layout went straight to the live servers without any player testing. The end result, is over a dozen moderate-to-severe bugs which make using this dungeon layout challenging for designers and hazardous to adventurers. As this dungeon layout is the key to a contest to drum up interest in the lacklustre Dungeon Maker feature, it’s hard not to see this as another stumble towards player-made content. Cyliena has posted a detailed thread discussing these issues...
From the EQ2 Forums: Dungeoneers pick up your tools and get ready to rumble! Dungeons made by EverQuest II players have impressed, inspired and amazed us. We can hardly wait to see what you will do with the recently released Poet’s Palace Dungeon layout. To offer everyone a chance to show off their dungeon decorating skills, we?re pleased to announce the Poet’s Palace Dungeon Maker Forum Challenge! We have had a lot of fun with Dungeon Maker and hope that you are enjoying it as well! Our team is committed to developing it further over time, with initiatives such...
From the EQ2 Forums: From Friday, May 25, 2012 at 12:01 pm (noon) Pacific through Monday, May 28, 2012 at 11:59 pm Pacific you’ll get an instant rebate for half your Station Cash back when you purchase almost anything** in the EverQuest II Marketplace! Everyone likes having more to spend, and now’s the time to grab that item you’ve had your eye on. As soon as you do, you’ll find 50% of the cost of the item (clearly displayed to you in game) immediately refunded to you… maybe you should look at another item on your wish list! Jump...
The ‘Future of EverQuest II’ webcast has concluded, and we have been left with more questions than answers. The webcast at a glance: the Qeynos Revamp a hint of the Sleeper’s Tomb (GU65) and Kerafyrm (2013) the next Expansion (December?) — more levels, more Prestige Points, includes a totally new area of Norrath rather than revisiting a part of the original EverQuest Play-as-your-Character in Dungeon Maker (using a feature called Level Agnostic Dungeons) On-the-Fly Beta Testing using Quest Items from your Quest Journal instead of fishing around in your inventory the Scope of the Marketplace (even the EQ2 team...
As we first posted here, at long last, an Autoattack setting is being added to EQ2. This will benefit some Mages (Enchanters in particular) and virtually all Priests (Druids, Clerics, and Shamans) whose Alternate Advancement lines heavily favor Melee autoattacks. With this change, players will now be able to equip either Symbols or the newish Focus Ranged “Wand” items and still prefer Melee combat and its inherent benefits. Oh, and Rangers will now be able to set Ranged attacks at all times without the use of kludgy macros. Yay! Autoattack Setting available in the Character/Persona window under Options. Here...
From the EQ2 Forums: Starting at 12:01 pm Pacific (Noon) on Friday, May 25, 2012, and lasting until 11:59 pm Pacific on Monday, May 28, 2012, we’ll offer Double Experience in EverQuest II! Take advantage of these three days and watch those XP bars fill up! Time Zone Conversions PDT: Friday May 25 @ 12:01pm ~ Monday May 28 @ 11:59pm EDT: Friday May 25 @ 3:01pm ~ Tuesday May 29 @ 2:59am BST: Friday May 25 @ 20:01 ~ Tuesday May 29 @ 7:59 CET: Friday May 25 @ 21:01 ~ Tuesday May 29 @ 8:59 Comment: We’re...
In the waning days of May, while we anxiously await the delivery of those May Update Plans, there’s word of an upcoming Webcast tomorrow afternoon/evening with the lofty title “the Future of EverQuest II“. I think we can expect some hints of the upcoming Qeynos Revamp in August, with maybe a screenshot or two, followed by some hints of the November (or December) expansion and/or Game Update. The EQ2 team have played their cards awfully close to the chest since Dave “SmokeJumper” Georgeson‘s installation as EQ2 Senior Producer and subsequent elevation to EverQuest Franchise Executive Producer, and more recently...
In one of the most puzzling interviews we’ve seen on the EQ2 forums, EQ2 Community Manager Eric “Piestro” Cleaver interviewed tradeskill designer Brian “Omougi” Ferguson about the Tradeskill content in the recent Game Update 63. While it’s expected that a Community Manager interviewing a designer or developer will softball the questions, the lavish praise on this paucity of content has truly raised the hackles of the EQ2 player community. Reaction from the Tradeskill community to Game Update 63‘s blink-and-you-missed-it Tradeskill content has been universal and unequivocal disappointment. Specifically, the Withered Lands “tradeskill timeline” consists of just 6 quests. Meanwhile,...
From the EQ2 Forums: GENERAL Fixed a bug where some characters were unable to use free respecs on the prestige tree. DUNGEON MAKER Fixed a bug where some dungeons would be listed in the incorrect category. Dungeons that are already published should automatically get changed to the proper category without having to republish them. QUESTS The Fallen Swords: Endgame: Rewards have been upgraded. Withered Lands For the quest “A Helping Hand”, if the correct creatures are hunted / killed but the scouts do not help, you should now get a different message than if the scouts were to help...
From EverQuest2.com: In our last in-game poll, we asked players what they thought of us selling health, power, and self-rez potions for solo, group, and raid players. The results are in! Overall, for all items, there was an average of 65% support for the solo versions in all three categories (and, in fact, there was only a minor variance in the percentages for each item). Group and Raid items averaged at 55%. As we saw with the EQ2X (Freeport) server, where we sold similar items, these types of items help the solo player have fun while adventuring alone. We...
Dethdlr
Here are your update notes for Thursday, 17 May 2012: POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION Mount drops in the Underdepths and Betrayal in the Underdepths have been made less rare. Dracur Prime: Sevalak Awakened Sargon the Destructor text messages won’t go to the entire raid anymore, just the person about to be cast upon. The duration of the red text messages has been shortened. Dracur Prime: Vyskudra the Ancient The player who slays an energized storm elemental and those closest to the slayer will receive the Elemental Storm Energy Buff. The Elemental Stormstrike buff will no longer generate hate taunting...
Some exciting news for players who have been wanting a setting for Autoattack during combat in EQ2! On the Test server, a new option has been added to the Character/Persona/Inventory window under the Options panel: This option should allow Rangers to set “Forced Ranged” and never need to use kludgy macros to ensure they are always doing ranged autoattacks. A ranger never wants to be doing melee autoattacks and we have relied on macros with the command /auto 2 for years. Further, this will be a sigh of relief to Mages and Priests who will now be able to...