Feldon
The good news: Battlegrounds are now enabled on Test and Test Copy. The bad news: Test is closed until Battlegrounds have passed their sanity checks and considered “ready to go live”. This may be Wednesday or Thursday. OUCH It doesn’t make a lick of sense to me. Folks on Test are used to things being broken, unstable, etc. They can always just NOT go to Battlegrounds if they are buggy. Posted on EQ2 Forums
battlegrounds
Battlegrounds have slipped again to February 25th. From the EQ2 Forums. Since we’ve stated in this thread that the Battlegrounds feature is launching on the 23rd with the digital launch, I’m updating here to say that we’re actually going to be pushing it back a few days to put a few extra anti-cheating measures in place. The plan is for Thursday the 25th If there are any other updates, we’ll let you know!
The EQ2 Developers are looking for players to help load test the Battlegrounds over on Test Copy before putting them on live servers on the 23rd. Join developers in playtesting Battlegrounds at 2pm PST today, Friday Feb 19th.
We have received word that Battlegrounds have been delayed until February 23rd.
Alan “Brenlo” Crosby, Senior Producer of EverQuest II has posted this Producer’s Letter: Happy Valentine’s Day All! Here we are, perched on the precipice of another big launch for our beloved game, EQII. Next week is a big week for us and for you, the players of this grand game. You will finally be able to log into the new areas of Odus and explore, level and play in the new area that the team has spent nearly a year putting together. Characters can now advance to level 90 as adventurers and tradeskillers. More items, more spells, more AA’s...
Didn’t I promise the Battlegrounds news would slow down? Oh well… In response to concerns that 6 vs. 6 is too few players to set up an adequate defense in the Battlefield of Ganak: Capture the Flag Battlegrounds scenario, the number of players is being changed to 12 vs. 12. This should also hopefully address the issues of spawn camping (AoE root/nuke players as soon as they revive). as a defense perimeter can be setup to protect your allies.
Download the EQ2 Battlegrounds Promo Video Download Battlegrounds Video Justin did a fantastic job on this Battlegrounds video and it’s one of the better EQ2 promos I’ve seen. You may remember he also did the stunning GU54: Will of a Tyrant video (Download in HD) which got a lot of positive comments on different forums. It’s nice to see promotional materials that do a great job selling the game. Hopefully we’ll see more like this! EQ2BattlegroundsWire? Ok I promise we are not renaming this site to EQ2BattlegroundsWire. 
We’ve had a lot of news about them lately, but we...
We’ve had a lot of news about them lately, but we...
There has been some talk on the EQ2 Forums both in PvP circles and elsewhere, in the Beta forums, not to mention EQ2 Flames, with a lot of concerns about how fairness is going to play out in the Battlegrounds. There have been suggestions that people will exploit and game the system as a stepping stone to progress further in raiding. I am not taking sides in this, but so far I am reasonably happy that these issues are being watched like a hawk. Parts 1 and 2 of what should probably be a 2 part post.
There has certainly been a lot of gnashing of teeth on EQ2Flames and the EQ2 Forums that Battlegrounds, Battlegrounds Armor, and the PvP ruleset is going to “ruin” raiding in EQ2. And there have been plenty of naysayers saying PvP wasn’t strong enough to sustain multiple PvP servers, or that Arenas never really caught on, as proof that there is no need for Battlegrounds. As for me, the prospect of being robbed on the way to the bank, or being unable to turn in a quest due to roaming murder squads, just isn’t why I play this game. I...
What are Battlegrounds? Battlegrounds is a new feature launched on February 25, 2010. Battlegrounds are a Player vs. Player (PvP) environment which take place on a completely separate server from the regular PvE and PvP servers. It roughly coincided with the release of Sentinel’s Fate (Feb 16) and Game Update 55. Tokens Each of the 3 Battlegrounds have their own unique Token. These tokens can be spent at the Battlegrounds Merchant in Qeynos Harbor or North Freeport. Multiple tokens from different zones are required to buy items. Just by participating in a Battleground, you will earn at least 1...
We’ve seen some screen shots on the web of the Battlegrounds armor, but it’s been pretty low quality images. We took some images with the maximum graphic settings. This is the most detailed armor EQ2 has seen yet! One surprising aspect of the Battlegrounds is that each of the 3 Battlegrounds zones give different tokens. The Battlegrounds merchants (now parked in Qeynos Harbor and North Freeport) require 30-40 tokens from at least TWO different zones to buy each item. More after the jump…
As of 3:15pm PST (6:15pm EST), the Test Copy server is being rebooted for testing Battlegrounds. From the EQ2 Forums: Battlegrounds are up on Test and Test-Copy!! Teams who win their matches between 5 and 8pm PST every day that the BG’s are up for testing will get an awesome battlegrounds cloak for their characters! As a special Battlegrounds event, several members of the SOE staff will be available for match-ups on Thursday, February 11th from 4 until 6pm PST. Our SOE teams will play anyone who wants to challenge us and (if you beat us!) the winners will...
So far, we’ve spotted a dozen individuals who seem particularly interested in player’s triumphs and exploits in the Battlegrounds. The Tinmizer’s Tinkerers want you to straighten things out in the Gears of Klak’anon The Pirates of Gunthak want to hear of your conquests in Smuggler’s Den The Iksar want to know when you will next face the challenges of the Battlefield of Ganak Each camp offers 2 different quests for their Battlegrounds zone — defeat other players, or complete the scenario. Qeynos Harbor seems to be the quest hub for good characters wishing to participate in Battlegrounds. Those of...
Calthine of EQ2 ZAM is reporting that Battlegrounds are now on the Test Copy server. Here’s the Battlegrounds window: (flip through images) Note: There is currently an issue preventing people from being pulled into the Battlegrounds interface when clicking the “Queue” button. Devs are on the case.
As we now know, EQ2 will be getting Battlegrounds in Game Update 55 in February to coincide with the release of the Sentinel’s Fate expansion. If you are wanting a closer look at the Maps of the 3 Battlegrounds zones, look no further than this EQ2Players writeup. Battlegrounds are NOT intended as “end-game” or high-level only content. Although at launch they will be limited to level 80-90, there will be continuing effort to make Battlegrounds available to lower levels, complete with unique armor awards for these level ranges. Kiara posted about it here.
If you have not yet had a chance to work out the puzzle we posted an hour ago (with corresponding pieces being posted on EQ2 Zam, EQ2 Traders, etc.), then don’t click this link:
Another puzzle for astute EQ2Wire readers… It involves mortal peril of a different sort…
While there is still a lot we don’t know about the PvP Battlegrounds feature first mentioned in October and slated for inclusion in the Sentinel’s Fate expansion in February, we have sussed out a few details. Battlegrounds will be cross-server. Specifically a shared instance or instances accessible by players from different servers where you can meet in battle. Battlegrounds will be available on both PvE and PvP servers. It is currently unknown if these Battlegrounds will be the full PvP Ruleset (which is quite different than dueling on PvE) or a hybrid. PvP gear is quite powerful compared to...