The following PR hit our desks just a short while ago:

LEGACY OF EVERQUEST® FRANCHISE CONTINUES WITH ANNOUNCEMENT OF EverQuest® AND EverQuest® II EXPANSIONS AT FAN FAIRE

All attendees to Receive Both Expansions for Free as Part of Living Legacy Program!

LAS VEGAS, NEV. – Aug. 15, 2008 – Thousands of video game enthusiasts are in Las Vegas for the annual Sony Online Entertainment Fan Faire where the upcoming expansions for the online role-playing games EverQuest® (EQ) and EverQuest® II (EQII) were just announced. EverQuest® Seeds of Destruction™ is scheduled to be available on Oct.21, and

EverQuest® II The Shadow Odyssey™ is scheduled to be available on Nov.18. As part of SOE’s extensive Living Legacy program designed to entice new and past EQ and EQII players into the games and reward the existing loyal playerbase, all Fan Faire attendees will receive the software for both expansions for free, an unprecedented offering.

“It is such a privilege to announce the upcoming expansions for two of our most popular games, EverQuest and EverQuest II, in a venue like Fan Faire where we are joined by thousands of our loyal fans, and it seems more than appropriate to give those fans access to both of the expansions for free,” said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. “Both of these expansions are rich in content and adventure, and will provide our players with hours of excitement as they explore the online world of Norrath.”

EverQuest II The Shadow Odyssey is the fifth expansion for the critically acclaimed EQII franchise and follows the award-winning and best-selling Rise of KunarkTM expansion. New players and veterans alike will journey through a substantial amount of exquisite content with more than 20 new zones, including the Moors of Ykesha, a massive outdoor zone once known as Innothule Swamp, and the legendary dungeon Guk. Throughout the summer months, players were treated to prelude events, such as the Void Storms, that gave them a glimpse into the expansion lore and content from The Shadow Odyssey, building the anticipation leading up to the launch.

EverQuest  is rapidly approaching its 10th anniversary, and Seeds of Destruction is the 15th expansion for the genre-defining online game. For the first time ever, players will have the ability to hire non-player characters (NPCs) to aid them in their heroic endeavors in Seeds of Destruction. These mercenaries will be valuable player assets as they thwart the efforts of Discord’s Dark God. This expansion also includes a level cap increase to 85, new dynamic high-level raid content, new spells and new alternate advancement abilities.

EverQuest II The Shadow Odyssey Feature Set:

·         New Zones: Journey through more than 20 new zones, including the new overland zone, Innothule Swamp.

·         Dungeon Adventures: Experience nostalgic EverQuest dungeon themes, such as Najena, Mistmoore and The Sebilisian Empire, and adventure through more than 18 goal-based dungeons, such as Ruins of Guk and Befallen.

·         Achievement Point: An achievement level cap increase to 200 that offers new achievements for class-specific lines.

·         Dungeon Delving: A new mission system for players to replay content with new and different experiences.

·         Heritage Quests: Five new quests with unique rewards being added.

·         Shard Reward System: A new, mysterious group of erudites with powerful new armor and equipment will barter for void shards earned during players’ encounters

·         Epic Tales: Stories told through battles with dozens of new creatures and hundreds of new quests.

·         New Deities: Rodcet Nife and Anashti Sul are introduced into Norrath.

·         Access to All Previous Content: Includes all previous expansion packs and adventure packs.

·         Legends of Norrath: Includes strategic online trading card game, digital starter deck and booster pack.

EverQuest Seeds of Destruction Feature Set:

* Mercenaries: Player-controlled NPCs are now available and will not only scale to the appropriate level, but also think and act for themselves with limited player guidance. Designed for extra support or extra muscle in PvE encounters, mercenary archetypes include a variety of classes from all playable races.
* Level Cap Increase: Players can now achieve level 85 with new high-level item sets, new alternate advancement ability lines and new spells.
* 20 New Zones: Features re-imagined classic content and brand-new realms for adventurers to explore, including the eerie wasteland of the Void, the Battle of Rathe on the Plane of Earth and the ultimate Heart of Darkness in the Plane of Discord.
* Access to All Previous Content - Includes all features and content from the 14 previous expansion packs.
* Legends of Norrath: Includes strategic online trading card game, digital starter deck, booster pack and loot item.

In addition to attending exclusive panels this weekend at Fan Faire, eligible players with active accounts will receive early access to beta for one or both games, depending on their preference. EQ’s public beta is anticipated to begin on Aug. 19, and EQII’s public beta is anticipated to begin on Sept. 2.

For more expansion information from EverQuest Seeds of Destruction and a free trial of EverQuest, visit www.everquest.com.

For expansion information from on EverQuest II The Shadow Odyssey and a free trial of EverQuest II, visit www.everquest2.com.

EQ2Players has released a preview video for GU #47.

Click here to view the video.

EQ2Players has released a preview of the upcoming Game Update #47, entitled Storm Break.

Storm Break (GU #47), is looming on the horizon! The EQII Development team has been working the server hamsters within an inch of their little furry lives to bring us a nice beefy update. 

Click here to view the full preview.

We will be bringing our forums down Friday, July 11th 2008 to import restored user data initially lost in May. The following was posted in our Forum Announcements:

"On Friday, July 11th our message forums will be taken offline for approximately 48 hours while we restore the data we were able to pull from the old database and merge it with the existing data. The restoration will begin at about noon EST on Friday.

Users whose accounts were recovered from the old database will have those accounts merged with the current existing account, if the username and the email address match. For those of you who created alternate usernames we will be able to merge your restored account with your new account after the restoration has been completed.

If you have any questions or need any assistance with your account please email forumhelp@stratics.com or use the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the forums."

Stratics IRC - 

Please feel  free to join us on Stratics IRC during the downtime! You can connect to one of our Stratics IRC servers using your favorite IRC client. A list of popular IRC clients is available on our downloads page, and for those who wish to chat via their browser you can connect via our java IRC client. (Java required - download here)
Connect to irc.stratics.com (port 6668) or choose a server close to you from following list:
     stratics.frws.com USA - Colorado (ports 6667 6668 7000)
     irc.glowfish.de EU - Germany (ports 6667 6668)
     stratics.afraidyet.net USA - Texas (ports 6667 6668)
     irc.gamers-irc.org USA - Colorado (ports 6667 6668 7000)
 

While we apologize for the inconvenience, we are at the same time very happy this scheduled downtime is occurring as it means we are returning to normality!

As part of Sony's push to increase the active player base, you can earn up to 20 months of free game play. When one of your invitees converts to a paid subscription, you will receive 1 free month added to the end of your current subscription.

Read the full details here.

As part of the Everquest II Fight with Legends campaign, mentoring bonus is set to increase in early July.

Read the details of this change and the mentoring program by clicking here.

From EQ2Players:

This week is another Bonus XP Weekend! From approximately 6/28/08 until 6/29/08, you'll find a bonus to Adventure as well as tradeskill experience!

From EQ2Players:

 

You've heard the buzz, and now you can check it out for yourself! SOE has partnered with Vivox, the integrated voice chat system, to bring a whole new dimension to EverQuest II and the rest of the SOE family of games.

Right on the heels of last week's game update, this great new in-game feature is now running live on the EQII Test server, and the team is anxiously awaiting your feedback. EQII Technical Director, Joshua "Autenil" Kriegshauser, has posted two related forum threads, one for discussion and Q&A, and one for feedback only.

If you'd like to try it out, log on to the Test server, click on the tutorial trigger that appears on your screen, and follow the simple instructions. All you need is a microphone to chat, and those without mics can still listen in.

 

So you think you're an EQII Legend? Maybe so... but you'll have to prove it! Dress your character in his or her finest armor, equip the most epic weapon, search for an iconic location, strike a pose and then…BAM! Screen capture. These summer events are all about players living the legacy and we want to help you show off. This is your chance to let others outside of the game see what you have achieved. Each week we will be posting images leading up until the announcement of the winners. Get in-game and show us your stuff!

Read more...