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Lets go back about ten years or so to the original EverQuest. Now it isn't my intention to pick on any one game, I just happen to be more familiar with it than Ultima Online or Meridian 59. For the sake of immersion let me assume the role of a 1999 copy of EverQuest that you happen to be playing on your gaming machine back in the last year of the last century.

You just died in EverQuest. How dare you die! Since you had the nerve to be defeated in combat, you'll now be required to run from your binding point -- which could potentially be very far away -- to your dead body, which contains all of your equipment and bags that just happen to hold all of your inventory. If you fail to do this, then you lose all of these items. Oh but you've already lost some experience and possibly de-leveled if you happened to have recently leveled up.

Hey! Why are you logging out? So what if you think you'd rather play Half-Life right now, this is the game you're paying for monthly. Don't you think you'd better get the most out of it? Hah! See? I knew you were only bluffing. All right, now get to running, noob.

Laugh while you can, Luclin. In five hundred years, you and your whole frickin' moon get blowed up. All the Akhevans who worship you, all those bubble-headed Centi alien creatures, all those weird red-skinned cavemen, those mana-sucking mind worms, it all goes kablooey. But you know all about that, don't you? Because when that world-enveloping storm, the Maiden's Scar, swept through this old Akhevan city of Ka Vethan, and left behind the Akheva Ruins we know today, and all your four-armed, sexless minions ran off in terror to Vex Thal, you just stopped caring. Let it all blow up, you screamed in your dark joy. Let them all die.

The Akheva Ruins, that old stronghold of the Akheva made of crystallized shadow, a once-living shrine to their mistress and creator, the Dark Maiden Luclin, is in shambles. Though seen today mainly as the level 50 to 55 hot zone, it's still a place of dark mystery and lore, explored in EQPlayer's latest entry in its "Into the Depths" series exploring the lore behind EverQuest zones. One thing they don't mention? How great Centi Toes taste in stew!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and in Runes of Magic (AKA Radiant Arcana), Runewaker Entertainment has taken all they loved about Ultima Online and World of Warcraft, combined that with elements from EverQuest, EverQuest II and Final Fantasy XI Online to make a free-to-play MMORPG combining all the elements of both Western and Eastern games. It's like a highly-concentrated booster shot of high fantasy goodness -- and it's free!

Runes of Magic will include a dual class system, where you will choose a primary and a secondary class, armor dying, player housing, crafting, an auction house, unique mounts, a fully customizable user interface and either click-to-move or WASD controls.

The starter zone of Taborea has a deep and rich lore, a colony struggling to stave off the darkness, with your help. You'll need a PDF reader to read that, but we have some of the highlights in our gallery. Can a free-to-play homage to some of the Western world's greatest MMOs succeed on in North America? Distributor Frogster is looking for a US publisher to take that chance.

The game play video from the Chinese open beta (you can find that after the break) shows clearly the developers at Runewaker loved World of Warcraft perhaps more than is really healthy. Still, a free-to-play WoW clone may be exactly what players want, and Runes of Magic may just be different enough to make it interesting.

On this 232nd day marking Independence in the United States, we wanted to feature some of the patriotic videos created in MMOs. They range from quick videos showing off fireworks in platforms such as Second Life, Everquest, and World of Warcraft, to artistic videos set to Bruce Springsteen, all the way to silly safety tips from the Red vs. Blue boys. As you're planning your real life festivities this year, considering taking some time to pop into your favorite game to get in on some of the action. Happy 4th of July!

If you have machinima or movie suggestions from any MMO, please send them to machinima AT massively DOT com, along with any information you might have about them.

Check out more videos after the jump!

EverQuest players love the Legends of Norrath: Oathbreaker cards that change the look of their weapons into weird and unique styles -- like the ornament at the right that takes any one-handed slashing weapon, and turns it into the fiery blade carried by creatures in Riftseeker's Sanctum. But the players have not loved so much the fact that the ornament takes up a valuable augmentation slot, which often means the weapon must be drastically reduced in power, just to look cool.

Since that's a trade-off few people really want to make, they've added ornamentations into the game. Ornamentations are single-use containers that take the weapon and permanently change the look of the weapon, but do not grant the weapon any of the stats or procs of the ornament. However, all the augmentation slots remain usable. Magus Alaria in the Guild Lobby will, starting Wednesday, July 9th, sell players a mutation device, for a small fee, that will turn an ornament into an ornamentation. We have a feeling she is going to be pretty busy that week.

We've been keeping track as the EverQuest Players site wanders through the history of Norrath's most famous locations. From the depths of deep dungeons to the highest tips of fantastically tall trees, we're right there. Today we're walking the arid dunes of the Desert of Ro, a fantastically large area of Norrath situated near the Commonlands and Freeport in the North and Innothule Swamp in the South. Split by the Oasis of Marr, you and a group could adventure in those areas from the very earliest levels to level 30 or so.

The writeup details the history of the region, which at one point was a huge and verdant forest. Now a baking wasteland, wits and a strong swordarm are needed to survive here. Surprisingly, the writeup doesn't detail one of the most legendary of Ro denizens, the famous Fansy the Bard. Sand Giants in the Southern desert still tell tales about this mythical figure, though those tales are most likely NSFW. You've been warned.

EverQuest and EverQuest II are getting the lion's share of the attention in SOE's Living Legacy promotion. But they are reserving something special for their massively collectible card game, Legends of Norrath. Win the Living Legacy Photo Contest, and not only will you get your picture painted, in character by artist Kieran Yanner for use on a Legends of Norrath card, but you'll be flown to the SOE Fan Faire this August. If you're an EverQuest player, your image will be made into a statue and placed into the guild halls of every guild in Norrath. If you are an EverQuest II player, your card will be made into a painting that can be hung in a place of honor in your apartment. All you need to do is to send them a picture that shows your passion for EverQuest. Find the complete rules on the Legends of Norrath web site. And good luck!

The EverQuest franchise is approaching its 10th anniversary, and to help mark the occasion, a special collector's book is going to be produced. However, it's still up in the air as to who will create the original artwork for the book, and SOE is hoping the fans will make this call for them. It's unlikely that this blogger will be winning any votes with submissions like what you see here, but thankfully, it's already been narrowed down to two talented individuals: Donato Giancola and Boris Vallejo.

Visit each of their sites to get a feel for their style, and then hop along to the EQ forums to cast your vote. At the time of writing, it's a fairly close race. Which of the two do you think should be called upon to help with the collector's book?

Ryan Barker is the newly-dubbed lead designer for SOE's venerable EverQuest, and recently sat down with the folks at Curse to talk the state of the game - and even a bit about the game's future. Barker again confirms the team's pleasure at having more times to work on expansion packs, a subject covered well in our discussion with previous EQ lead designer Travis McGeathy. They also note their heavy enthusiasm at seeing players return for the Living Legacy event, something we've also discussed on the site.

Without a doubt the most interesting segment is the design team's reflection on their favorite encounter in the game's history. Barker and several members of the design group point out their favorite moments from the nine years worth of content the game has on offer. Says Barker, "For me it was definitely Lord Nagafen back in original release. I was part of the first raid that killed him on Rallos Zek. It was such a rush going back through the fire giant castle and seeing that dragon for the first time. I think I seriously jumped out of my chair the first time he stuck his head through the door and bit me."

Your turn, then: What's your favorite encounter/quest/monster from EverQuest?

Remember when Kerafym the Sleeper went on a rampage slaying every mortal after the Warders were defeated? Think further back to your first excursion into the Plane of Fear and Plane of Hate, when tragedy struck and what followed was the tireless effort to recover one's corpse or the ultimate raucous victory that immediately followed a guild's first God kill. Good times and bad, it was special. Many years have passed, bringing many unknown expansions since your last foray into Norrath, but that shouldn't stop you from visiting now with the Living Legacy promotion providing all inactive EverQuest and EverQuest II veterans with ample opportunity and incentives to return at no cost until the end of July and relive the adventures.

Events are planned all throughout the campaign and the current event running this weekend is: "Sacrifice at the Sand Keep." It is an endurance challenge that pits players against Eothar and his echelon of undead minions. The goal is to endure attacks as long as possible. Players can seek out Dougan Merule in the Southern Desert of Ro to initiate the expedition, but if you're a returning player you probably want to check out the Guild Halls first located in the Plane of Knowledge to find other fellow and more than helpful to answer any questions you have. So did you go back?

What's this gab we're hearing about Legends of Norrath, it isn't all about the loot cards? Heresy! We're still buying up those virtual packs in hopes to score a rare loot card. Nevertheless, over on IGN's EQ2 Vault we came across this interview with Chuck Kallenbach, Game Designer on Legends of Norrath. Much is discussed gameplay wise about the insight behind the new Monk class, one that doesn't use weapons. One other topic covered includes the conundrum on scaling the game's complexity with new gameplay mechanics with the importance to not veer away from the game's intuitiveness and accessibility.

The Oathbreaker set is the latest expansion introduced last week from Sony Online Entertainment. It brings 250 new cards, fresh gameplay mechanics, a new challenging raid scenario, and the following classes: Monk, Coercer, Templar and Beastlord. Many classes from EverQuest and EverQuest II are now represented in the game. If you are interested learning how to play Legends of Norrath but don't want to dump a bunch of cash you can download the client and play through the tutorials and it won't cost a you a dime.

Sony Online Entertainment reportedly bought a "three-page advertising spread" for EverQuest in this month's issue of PC Gamer magazine. The massive ad promotes the Living Legacy campaign -- an initiative that allows former EQ and EverQuest II subscribers to play for free until the end of July.

In two interviews, reps from SOE told us that the Living Legacy initiative is intended to show lapsed and potential EQ and EQ2 players that both games have evolved over the years, and that they deserve a fresh look. A print ad is a bold statement, although new marketing pushes for old games are not unprecedented. Near Death Studios bought ad space for Meridian 59 on the Vault Network when the game relaunched in 2001 after a two year absence. Electronic Arts plastered the web with Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn ads in the wake its 3D graphics engine upgrade.

But will it work? Should more old MMOs do it? Are advertizing blitzes and a couple of free months of play what MMOs of yore need, or does this industry move too fast for that to be sufficient? Commence pondering.

Were you a EverQuest or EverQuest II player who has returned because of this summer's Living Legacy promotion? You're not alone. From all we've heard, and all we've seen in game, people are coming back in droves. If you've come back, how are you liking it? The EverQuest II forums are full of stories of people who returned (and lots who are offering help as well). Having looked around EverQuest again, are you planning on staying for awhile?

It's a dark time in EverQuest. Meldrath, the evil gnome necromancer harrying Faydwer with the mecha-monstrosities, has seen the summer celebrations bring joy to the land, and he is not happy. To prevent Meldrath from breaking out of his mecha-castle and taking over all of Norrath with his numberless mechanical minions, the engineers of Ak'Anon have constructed the Infinitely Regenerative Automaton -- the I.R.A. -- to stop him in his tracks. This marvelous machine pops back to life and full health two minutes after he is defeated, and so can never be stopped for long.

To make sure that the I.R.A. can handle whatever is thrown at it, they need you -- and lots of your friends -- to test it. As part of the Living Legacy promotion, your skill as a raider will be tracked and rewarded. Every time a raid that you're in takes the I.R.A. to 5% health, he will deactivate and reset, and you will get a point (which you can track on the clockwork abacus you will receive). At the end of the promotion, every player that participated in the fight against the I.R.A. will receive an augmentation -- the Silver Threaded Worm Gear -- with power that scales to the number of times they raged against the machine.

Check out the teaser video after the break.

Have you returned to EverQuest as part of the Living Legacy promotion? Or are you a veteran player who is just looking for a new home? Perhaps you're just curious about the state-of-play in one of the MMO genre's oldest, yet still thriving, games? Maybe you're a guild leader looking for some new blood? If any of these is you, why not stop by the Norrathian Guild Recruitment Festival and have a look around, or sign your guild up so prospective new recruits can see what you're about?