EverQuest 2 Game Update Blog

We are pleased to announce our next Game Update titled “Darkness Dawns” coming on July 30! For our 67th game update we have great stuff in store for you!

We are really excited about a new story quest line that will pick up from our last game update in April (GU66: Scars of the Awakened). We can tell you that there is an EPIC event brewing in Cobalt Scar that could turn the world on its head and YOU are the catalyst. SPOILER: At the end of GU66, players uncovered an artifact of power — a Tear of Veeshan — that will lead into the story quest line in Darkness Dawns. The events you will experience are jaw-dropping and the team has been pouring its energy and passion into making this very special — from art to dialogue. You, our hero, will be central to the story that will change the world!

Here are some of the features we have lined up for Darkness Dawns!

1. Fabled dungeons: We’ve taken some dungeon favorites from the very first EQII expansion “Desert of Flames” and created additional versions of them with current high-level content and loot. You can experience Clefts of Rujark, The Djinn Masters Prism, Scornfeather’s Roost, and Pedestal of Sky at a high level range!

2. Character Advancement Templates (CATs): With the vast amount of points to spend on Adventure and Tradeskill Alternate Advancement and Prestige Abilities, it can be very tedious to spend all your points and decide the best way to specialize your character. We have a great new feature to solve all that!

With Character Advancement Templates players can select fully completed character builds that will spend advancement and ability points as they are earned with a scrollbar that shows how all past and future points are allocated. Each character will have access to pre-built templates from us that can be exchanged and rebuilt at will with no need to pay any re-specialization fees. The player can also save three custom templates on our servers to be used anytime, anywhere the player logs in. Not only that, players can save unlimited builds locally to upload and share. Changing templates requires a cast time and for the player to be out of combat.

The data format (xml) of the templates will be made available soon for fansites and players who may want to start tinkering with CATs in advance. (Meow.)

3. Three New Contested Avatar Raids: Pit yourself against three new contested avatars in the overlands – Prexus, Solusek Ro, and Drinal!

4. Arena of the Gods: The Arena of the Gods is a raid instance that allows 24 players to challenge any of the 9 avatars that are in game (includes the new contested avatars released in this GU). Once you kill an avatar and are rewarded, you can continue to practice the encounters as much as you want (there is a 3-day lockout timer for rewards).

The loot from the arena avatars is not as powerful as loot found on contested avatars, but worth getting. The arena avatars are the identical avatar fights from the overland zones so you can train your raid force for the real deal!

5. Tradeskill & PvP: We’ve got new high-end tradeskill apprentice goodies and new PvP rewards too.

I’m so proud of this team! They give their all to bring you new content at this unprecedented pace of updates. We are working on a few things for SOE Live too and will have some cool expansion and feature announcements and previews. We’re putting some final touches on the heroic Dreadcutter tournament zone right now too that will be a lot of fun with a prize pool of $10,500! Join us for SOE Live: www.soe.com/soelive.

And finally, on June 21, we’ll be starting our Summer Gold Rush promotion. Until Sept. 21, existing and new Gold members will get access to a 4-hour daily spell (in your spell books or in an available hotbar slot) that gives you +15% Coin Loot, +10% Experience, and +5% Mount Speed while it’s active!

We will be talking a lot more about Darkness Dawns and SOE Live over the coming weeks, so stay tuned for more details.
See you in game!
Holly Longdale aka Windstalker
Sr. Producer, EQII

Get ready as the in-game worlds come out of the screen through Live Quests and Live Events at SOE Live!

Whether you’re hero or villain, good or evil, TR, VS, or NC, you will need to complete tasks by using game knowledge, crafting skills, combat training, and good sense of humor! These real-life quests, missions, and adventures give attendees the chance to step into their in-game avatars’ place in a totally unique way!

This year, we’ll be offering Live Quests and Events for Vanguard: Saga of Heroes®, EverQuest®,DC Universe™ Online, EverQuest® II, and PlanetSide®2.

Friday, August 2nd

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes – Employing Diplomacy in Old Targonor
High Inquisitor Athis of the Sages Arcane needs help to investigate the current activity amongst the undead in Old Targonor. Form teams up to 4 people and use a little bit of “Diplomacy” to complete a series of tasks.

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
EverQuest – Planes of Parody
In a world where the most sought-after treasures take hours, days, or even weeks to obtain… someone has found the Easy Button! Join the EverQuest Live Quest to relive your Norrathian past, with new and fun ways to quickly earn some of the most iconic loot in game. Up to 10 people can join a team.

Saturday, August 3rd

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
DC Universe Online – Vegas Legends
The DCUO Live Quest: Vegas Legends is a single-elimination live version of a PvP tournament in DCUO in which teams will use their knowledge of DCUO and the greater DC Universe to level and gear characters, then compete with Rock-Paper-Scissors style combat using action figures from the DC Universe. Up to 2 people can join a team.[

9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
EverQuest II - Tinkering Around in Kelethin
In early August, the Far Seas Trading Company arrives once again in Kelethin for the City Festival. What sort of fun and frivolity will be in the lush Greater Faydark this year? The traders have brought interesting tasks, challenges, and games for you to complete this year, and a few gnomes have tagged along with their newest Tinkerfest gadgets and gizmos. Up to 10 people can join a team.

3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
PlanetSide 2 - Battle of the Lasers
Prove you have more than just virtual domination by taking over objectives in an epic on-site laser tag battle. Up to 3 people can join an outfit.

Five Tips for having fun and surviving the Live Quests and Live Events:

BE PREPARED: Live Quests and Live Events may challenge your trivia knowledge, spark your creativity, and may even test your physical stamina! Know your strengths and what you can bring to your group. Feel free to bring your costumes and roleplaying skills if you’re up for adding an extra layer on to the gaming experience.

BE RESPECTFUL: Be respectful of the NPC actors as well as your fellow adventurers/legends/recruits. Don’t engage in arguments and give the actors plenty of space to breathe!

BE SAFE: Use caution when performing tasks. Don’t dismantle or destroy property that does not belong to you. What belongs in Vegas needs to stay intact in Vegas!

BE INFORMED: Pay attention to the instructions and read all written rules carefully. Make sure you are completing the tasks correctly and within the allotted time.

BE FUN: Don’t forget to have fun and be creative when completing the tasks. Whether the tasks require you to craft an object, perform a song, engage in combat, or use your brain power, remember to have fun!

See you in Vegas!

Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) and ProSiebenSat.1 Games Group will be furthering their partnership with the launch of EverQuest® II on or around June 20, 2013. As we approach the transition, we want to clarify some final points. We have put together an updated FAQ that further addresses some of the most common concerns and questions from our online player community.

Importantly, we want to address up front the most common concern that players have had, which is server accessibility. SOE and ProSiebenSat.1 Games have determined that it is in the best interest of the players and the community to allow players to continue to play on any server regardless of where they live. That means that European players will be able to play on U.S. servers and vice versa.

Again, we appreciate you sharing your thoughts and opinions with us. Your feedback is valuable to us in the ongoing effort to make your experience with SOE and PSG more enjoyable. We love our European players and look forward to our community of gamers growing through this partnership!

Thank you!

When will EQII be transferring its EU services to ProSiebenSat.1 Games Group?
On or around June 20, 2013.*

I am a European player with an existing SOE account. How will this shift impact my account?
It won’t. You will continue to play with your existing SOE account.

Under the partnership with ProSiebenSat.1 Games, what will happen if I elect to create a new account with PSG? Any current SOE player in the EU may create, if they wish, a new account with ProSiebenSat.1 Games. However, existing characters, game progress, and Station Cash cannot be transferred from SOE, so this would be a brand new account.

Will new EU accounts be given the option to sign up with either SOE or ProSiebenSat.1 Games?
New European players will need a PSG account to play EverQuest II, DC Universe Online, and/or PlanetSide 2. European players can access other SOE games through an SOE account.

Will I notice any difference in my gameplay?No. Gameplay will not be affected by the partnership. In addition, European players will still be able to access Legends of Norrath from within EverQuest II, which is also included in the PSG partnership. LoN rewards for EverQuest II are available for PSG players.

What servers will be available to me as an SOE player? As a PSG player?All US servers, along with the French, German, UK, and Japanese servers, are available to customers of both SOE and ProSiebenSat.1 Games.

With this partnership in effect, will there be a European Customer Service team?
Yes, ProSiebenSat.1 Games will have a dedicated Customer Service and Community team for their partnered SOE games.

Will account information be shared with ProSiebenSat.1 Games?
No personal information will be shared.

Can EU players continue to use Station Cash?
European players playing through a SOE account will continue to use Station Cash. European players playing through a ProSieben account will be able to use a new virtual currency similar to Station Cash called “Seven Cash.”

Will we have to use a new launcher?
Yes, European players using a PSG account will receive a new launcher similar to the one in use by SOE to provide a secure and reliable login process. Using the European launcher will be mandatory for PSG customers since the launcher will also be used to deliver game patches and news updates.

Will European players still have access to the SOE forums in order to interact with the Developers? If not, how will Players be able to communicate with and provide feedback to SOE?
European players will have their own localized forums and service. Anyone can create an account to access the current SOE forums.

Which European territories will be included under this new partnership between SOE and ProSiebenSat.1 Games?
SOE has secured a multi-year partnership with ProSiebenSat.1 Games Group to distribute online U.S.-based games in more than 40 European territories, including Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Other countries may be added later.

*date is subject to change