Filed under: EverQuest II

Only two days left for SOE's ConnectDING event!

by Seraphina Brennan Feb 8th 2010 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Culture, Events, in-game, News items, Free-to-play, Free Realms

Two words for you: cushy pillows. Yes, that's right, you heard me.

There are two days left for the Sony Online Entertainment ConnectDING event -- a marketing event designed to get you and your friends looking at the Facebook fan pages and Twitter accounts of EverQuest, EverQuest II, and Free Realms. Each one of the games has its own special reward once it hits so many fans, so why turn down free rewards for doing nothing more than clicking a button?

And that, my friends, is where we get to cushy pillows. EverQuest II is close to their goal -- only 2,000 fans shy! However, the event ends on February 10th! Oh teh noes, right? If EQII can get 2,000 more fans, everyone in the game will get 500 station cash for the in-game marketplace and awesome "Community Pillows" to add to their homes. The pillows not only look stylish and reduce the rent status of your property, but they also let avatars have pillow fights when activated!

So please, reach out and become a fan of EverQuest II today. Follow them on Facebook, on Twitter, or on both! Give these poor, orphaned pillows a home. (Plus the cash isn't too bad either.)

Massively's developer tour of Sentinel's Fate

by Seraphina Brennan Feb 5th 2010 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, EverQuest II, Expansions, Opinion, Massively Hands-on

With the EverQuest II team hard at work on their newest expansion, Sentinel's Fate, we were invited by community manager Kiara to drop by the Shattered Lands and take a closer look at the new zones in the expansion. While we were expecting to see some nice content, it's amazing to see just how beautiful these zones are when you walk through them in person.

I'm not one to open an article with such a bold statement, but the zones we got to tour in Sentinel's Fate were impressive. Hopefully today we can impart some of the beauty of these zones to you as we talk about three major areas in the new expansion: The Hole & The Seal of the Underfoot, the Erudin Library, and the Vasty Deep Conservatory.

Gallery: EverQuest II: Sentinel's Fate

EverQuest II to host live tour of Sentinel's Fate

by Rubi Bayer Feb 3rd 2010 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, EverQuest II, Expansions

Sentinel's Fate is the upcoming expansion to Sony Online Entertainment's EverQuest II, and fans are looking forward to exploring Odus, checking out all the new dungeons, and learning more about the Erudites and their fate.

Sony Online Entertainment has been giving us peeks into Sentinel's Fate for quite a while now. We've seen the screenshots, read up on the lore, and heard behind the scenes tales from the creators, and now it's time for a guided tour!

The end of this week will bring Sony Online Entertainment's first Ustream Beta Tour. Senior Producer Alan "Brenlo" Crosby will be the host, taking players through the world of Sentinel's Fate and giving them a producer's-eye view of the expansion.

The tour will begin this Friday, February 5th, at 4:00 PM PST on the SOE Ustream channel. There's no need to register or log in, just visit the site Friday and enjoy the tour!

The Tattered Notebook: Tips for a WoW player in EQII

by Seraphina Brennan Feb 2nd 2010 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Tips and tricks, The Tattered Notebook

Greetings and fair travels to you, adventurers. Once again it is I, Seccia Ravenloft, here to present this week's look into the world of Norrath.

Now, from what these humans on this spiderweb site tell me, some of you are more familiar with other worlds than you are with Norrath. Blasphemy, I say! This week, I wish to mend that little problem of yours by teaching you how to adapt quickly to our world, lest you coddle yourself with the pillow armor other worlds offer you.

Luckily there are many similarities between our world and that Azeroth thing. So come, read along, follow my instructions, and soon you'll look like a hardened Norrathian adventurer in no time flat.

Reminder: The EverQuest II city festival is now in Gorowyn!

by Seraphina Brennan Feb 1st 2010 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Events, in-game, News items

Ah, the city festival, how we love your postage collections and new mailboxes when you come to a new city in Norrath. While the event isn't listed on the main page yet, the city festival is in progress and it has moved to the city of Gorowyn in the Timorous Deep. Sure, the city may be aligned with evil (allegedly) but those who bow to the false queen are welcome in its depths as well. In the words of Agent J: "Don't start nothing, won't be nothing."

You can find the festival at the lowest level of the city's core, out by the docks and near the city's main entrance to the main level. If you're looking for all of the rewards you can procure for the festival, than look no further than this wonderfully exhaustive list. Remember, some rewards are unique to Gorowyn! If you don't get them this time, you'll have to wait for the city festival to swing back 'round again!

The Vigilant dungeons previewed on EverQuest 2 players

by Seraphina Brennan Jan 31st 2010 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, EverQuest II, Expansions, Previews

Ok, so, disclaimer: It's not actually a dungeon in the common definition of the term. The Vigilant is a massive airship used by the Paineel Erudites, abandoned by the Odus Erudites when the void leaked into Odus. The Vigilant sits silently above Paineel and watches the city like a hawk to protect it.

Even though the Vigilant is flying, adventurers will find a way to board it in EverQuest 2: Sentinel's Fate to brave the challenges within. The ship is broken down into three distinct dungeons -- Vigilant: Incursion, Vigilant: Infiltration, and Vigilant: Rescue.

But watch your step when you're in the Vigilant! The zone designer, Kyle "Kander" Vallee decided to insert a few areas where adventurers will be able to fall out of the ship to their deaths. So be careful up there, walk safely!

We have, as usual, a few screenshots of the Vigilant to show off to those interested. Check out the gallery of shots from the ship below and be sure to visit EQ2Players.com for Kander's commentary on the zone!

Gallery: EverQuest II: Sentinel's Fate

EverQuest II rolls out the battlegrounds

by Seraphina Brennan Jan 27th 2010 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Game mechanics, PvP, News items

Starting February 16th, get ready to PvP across servers. EverQuest II is catching up with the mainstream MMO trends by adding battlegrounds to the mix, giving EQII PvP players the instanced scenarios that they've been looking forward to for a while.

The three scenarios include the Battlefield of Ganak, a 6 vs. 6 game of capture the flag in Iksar territory, Smuggler's Den, a 24 vs. 24 game of hold the point conducted on small islands, and the Gears of Klak'anon, a 6 vs. 6 game of hold the relic that saps your heath but makes you do crazy damage. Playing these scenarios does not go unrewarded, of course, as winners can look forward to claiming the very sexy new chaos armor set -- an armor set of dirty, twisted, spiked platemail that looks good on any battleground champion.

And, if you were wondering what yesterday's puzzle post was all about, wonder no more! We had pieces of of the battleground maps of Klak'anon and Smuggler's Den. But, not to worry, we've included the full maps and screenshots in the gallery below for your viewing pleasure. Happy battling!

Gallery: EverQuest II: Battlegrounds

Massively proclaims victory and rage over all citizens of Norrath!

by Seraphina Brennan Jan 26th 2010 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Contests, Forums

See, this is what happens when we let Seccia write titles for us. Ughs... sorry about that readers. We don't proclaim any victory, nor do we have any rage towards the citizens of Norrath or EverQuest II. We are, as always, unbiased in our viewpoints... unlike some new Dark Elven interns.

However, Seccia has noted that we've received a package today from a member of her elven bretheren, a certain community management elf by the name of Kiara. Enclosed were two pieces of a shattered tablet, one named "Victory" while the other was entitled "Rage." We're not sure what this whole thing will form once it's put together, but we do know that other fansites have more pieces of the tablet. (Oh, Dark Elves and their puzzles.)

We've put the pictures of victory and rage after the break, so good luck with assembling the tablet and we can't wait to see what it reveals!

The Tattered Notebook: Community guide to EverQuest II

by Seraphina Brennan Jan 26th 2010 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Guides, Tips and tricks, The Tattered Notebook

Brave adventurers from across Norrath, I bid you welcome to my humble pages of scripture. It is no secret that Norrath is a dangerous place. From the shining towers of Qeynos to the dark alleys of Freeport, plots of intrigue are woven every day. These plots, these many threads of darkness and deceit, are the reason I have created this notebook. By writing down my many experiences and the things I learn, I hope that I can guide you from afar, even after I pass on and leave this book behind.

Each week, I will be adding a new journal entry to these pages -- delving into the depths of the physical land as well as the culture of Norrath. For this first week, however, I want to first document the many other sources of knowledge in the world. You, the reader, should have access to these sources, for you never know when they will come in handy.

One Shots: Dodgemaul

by Krystalle Voecks Jan 24th 2010 at 2:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, EverQuest II, One Shots

If there's one thing we love, it's a great sale. The huge MMO sale on Steam over the holidays has netted us a handful of screens from people who picked up new MMOs and are showing off their adventures. Take, for example, this hot EverQuest II screen, sent in to us by Joshua P. He writes in of his early experience:

I decided to take advantage of that holiday sale on Steam a while back and nabbed EverQuest II with all the expansions for $5.00. I'm loving the game so far and finally settled down on Crushbone with my wizard Mirarii. This is a shot I took while exploring Lavastorm which has become one of my favorite zones. It was a rough journey though, had to swim through a stream of lava, then stealth through a bunch of drakes that were ready to tear me apart.

While you're out having fun this weekend, why not grab a screen from your favorite MMO for us. We'd certainly appreciate it! Just email it to oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. Yours could be the next One Shots we feature!

Gallery: One Shots

EverQuest II continues Sentinel's Fate previews

by Rubi Bayer Jan 19th 2010 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, EverQuest II, Expansions

The latest preview of EverQuest II: Sentinel's Fate takes us farther into the Vasty Deep, an area Sony Online Entertainment began exploring a little over a week ago.

This newest preview takes us into the Vestigial Cella, the third and most difficult of the dungeons in the Vasty Deep -- it's designed for players level 90+. Back in the Conservatory, players will have encountered the Onaya, and the Cella will introduce them to the Ca'Na, the mortal enemies of the Onaya. In addition, players may have been able to guess at the fate of the Erudites during their quests in the Abandoned Labs, but a trip through the Vestigal Cella will confirm the fate of those Erudites who served there.

More information on the new area can be found on the official site, and as always, Sony Online Entertainment provided plenty of screenshots of this new area, so take a look at the gallery!

Gallery: Vasty Deep: Vestigial Cella

Buy special Station items and SOE will donate to Haitian relief

by Krystalle Voecks Jan 17th 2010 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, EverQuest II, News items, Free Realms

If you've been considering donating to Haitian relief efforts and happen to play EverQuest, EverQuest II, or Free Realms, then we've got some news that you'll undoubtedly want to take a look at.

Between now and midnight PST on January 18th, for every purchase of either a Zando T-Rex pet in Free Realms, a Protectors of the Faydark armor crate in EverQuest II, or a Plush Bear item in EverQuest, SOE will donate $10 to the relief efforts up to a maximum of $25,000. Considering each of the items only costs 500 Station Cash to purchase, that equates to players donating $5, then SOE matching the donation with $5 of their own and then sending it along. That's pretty cool in our book.

So if you want to help a great cause and land a little something fun for your EQ, EQII, or Free Realms character, then these items are something you'll want to pick up before the midnight on the 18th. Also, a big thumbs up to SOE for offering items to raise money for Haiti.

[Update: SOE has raised $25,000 for this relief effort in just three days!]

Exclusive: International community members will get the Sentinel's Fate headstart after all

by Seraphina Brennan Jan 15th 2010 at 2:30PM

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Business models, Expansions, MMO industry, News items

With only a month to go before the release of the newest EverQuest II expansion, Sentinel's Fate, many members of the international community were up in arms in the forums over the expansion's pre-order bonuses. Why? Because only the boxed editions of Sentinel's Fate were eligible for the exclusive one week headstart to the expansion.

In order to give retail distributors incentive to carry the boxed version of the game, Sony Online Entertainment made the decision to only provide the head-start access to those who picked up the physical box from retail distributors, while the digital download version of the game would not offer the seven day access and would be available for purchase only when the expansion was officially "live" on February 23rd. Problems began to arise when international community members noticed that they could either not import the game from the US, or importing would take too much time and cost them almost double of what the expansion was worth.

After contacting SOE for a statement on this situation after the many tips we've received from the EQII community, the company has revealed to us that there is now a plan in place for international community members to participate in the retail headstart via a digital download system. Follow after the break to view SOE's plan to get Sentinel's Fate into the hands of their international members.

EverQuest II goes down The Hole

by Seraphina Brennan Jan 11th 2010 at 4:00PM

Filed under: At a glance, Fantasy, EverQuest II, Game mechanics, Interviews, Lore, PvE

Ahhh, The Hole. Fond memories of losing our corpses in this zone, there are. Well, the infamous dungeon with the name of an adult movie is back and better than ever in EverQuest II, as the former city of Paineel will be re-introduced in the new Sentinel's Fate expansion pack.

The ancient city of Paineel is coming with a brand new swath of content, featuring over 30 bosses and 80 quests in the contested open world version of the city, as well as 3 new instanced areas for groups level 85+ to conquer.

The EverQuest II main site has just posted their interviews with Timetraveller and Gninja, two of the developers who worked hard on putting together the contested and instanced versions of The Hole. The interview covers their perspectives and thoughts in breathing new life into this old EverQuest area, and how the new fallen city will lure in the many adventurers of EverQuest II.

One Shots: Enchanted dryad grotto

by Krystalle Voecks Jan 10th 2010 at 2:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, EverQuest II, One Shots

The weekends are excellent times for roaming around new areas that haven't been seen and taking on new challenges. Sometimes you can find yourself in beautiful areas such as the one from today's EverQuest II screenshot. This image, sent in to us by Imtithal from the Nagafen server, is of an area that only shows up once a month. Imtithal writes in: This is a screenshot of Enchanted Dryad Grotto in EverQuest II. The grotto comes from a two-day monthly event called Moonlight Enchantments where small solo instances are opened around the game's world. They have quick quests which enable you to get tokens to buy fluff items like furniture.

Have you found an uncommon sight in your favorite MMO? We'd love to see it! All you have to do to share it is to email a screenshot of it to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. We'll post it out here for everyone to enjoy and give you the credit for sending it in.

Gallery: One Shots