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The Massively giveaway week extravaganza rolls on! Today it's all about our friends over at Sony Online Entertainment. That's right, today is a giveaway day entirely devoted to SOE games and the gamers that love them. We'll kick things off with the brand-new expansion for the game that started it all: EverQuest. The Seeds of Destruction expansion only launched just a precious few weeks ago, but the addition of NPC allies to the game has come with enormous positive feedback from the community. New dungeons, more levels, and even more content for players to explore makes this easily the best-recieved new EQ pack since the days of The Serpent's Spine. We have ten of these fantastic expansions to hand out, and they each go for about $40, making total retail value of this giveaway about $400.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling us what your favorite EverQuest zone is! Remember, the new expansions come with all the old ones packaged in. Even if you haven't played in a while you'll be getting the whole experience with this new content. To get it you'll need to comment before 7:00 AM EST Friday, November 7th. You can only enter once per person, and after the contest closes we'll ship out these fantastic prizes to 10 randomly-selected winners. Give us at least a week to ship out this massive pile of swag, though. To win you must be age 18 or up and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec). For full eligibility details, we suggest you read our official rules. Good luck!

We were there for the announcement of the expansion, with our fantastic chat with the developers. We had the chance to walk through the all-new content with you, and we've waited while the lore has trickled out over the last few months. Now today's the day! EverQuest: Seeds of Destruction launches to eager fans. Check out this wrapup of our coverage below, and read on below the cut for the full patch notes for today's most excellent expansion. Good luck in Norrath!

	Massively explores EQ's upcoming expansion, Seeds of Destruction Though we've interviewed the design team, read the lore as well as watched an introductory video, we were given our own tour of the expansion by Lead Designer Ryan Barker. You can join us in the tour either by clicking on the first picture below or heading after the jump to watch the 2 minute video of expansion highlights we recorded.
	Exploring Seeds of Destruction with the EverQuest design team Join us now for another chat, this time with the heads of the EverQuest development team. EQ's Senior Producer Clint Worley and Lead Designer Ryan Barker chatted extensively with us about the new content.
	Unfolding the lore of EverQuest's Seeds of Destruction The official EverQuest players site has begun a new series of articles exploring the lore of the game's upcoming expansion. Seeds of Destruction will feature a big leap forward in Norrath's storyline, catapulting players into the far-flung future of the world. This first piece frames the setting for that future, a bleak ruin inhabited only by a crazy god and a tree.
	EverQuest: Seeds of Destruction teaser trailer released In conjunction with the deluge of EverQuest II news we've given you from Fan Faire today, there was also the announcement of an expansion to the original EverQuest as well. EverQuest: Seeds of Destruction features twenty new zones, a new Mercenaries system, a level cap raised to 85 and much more.

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	Well met, fellow Norrathian! Make sure to check out all of our coverage of the next EverQuest II expansion, The Shadow Odyssey as well as Seeds of Destruction, the next expansion to EverQuest!

Massively's first birthday is only a couple of weeks a way! We've been having fun looking back at our first year of coverage -- first with our ten most important interviews, then our most helpful guides, and most recently our top 5 weirdest news stories. This week we've compiled six of our hands-on previews of games that are yet to be released.

Jump into the gallery to see what's on the genre's horizon with new expansions, Sci-Fi, super heroes, and more. No matter what your interests, we've got you covered!

SOE has announced that starting October 7th, which would be today, EverQuest players who locate the herald of Druzzil Ro in the Plane of Knowledge will be transported to a time rift leading them to the new zones from the upcoming expansion, Seeds of Destruction. They've also released the patch notes for the update, in case you want to get right into the nitty gritty details.

The two weeks early look include the zones The Void, Oceangreen and the Temple of Bertoxxulous. There will be quest lines and group encounters to keep everyone busy as they traverse the new content. Overall this looks like a very cool way to showcase upcoming new content to the people who matter the most: current subscribers. If someone wasn't sure about picking up the new expansion or not, this early look will definitely allow them to make an informed desicion.

On October 21, SOE's EverQuest will release its 15th expansion, the Seeds of Destruction. Along with with a level cap raise from 80 to 85 and twenty new zones, EQ will also introduce a new Mercenary system to the game. Long considered a grouping dependent game, players have often struggled to find a group at odd hours or on low-population servers. SOE's solution is the new ability for players to hire NPC tanks and healers. These fill-ins will do the job adequately until the group slot can be filled with another player.

What of those 20 new zones? Some are re-imagined classic zones and some are entirely new. And they all are tied together with the new storyline. The agents of Discord have tampered with Norrath's timeline to engineer the destruction of the planet. Players must travel back in time to make sure history goes as planned, even if it means letting good people die and treacherous creatures prevail.

Though we've interviewed the design team, read the lore as well as watched an introductory video, we were given our own tour of the expansion by Lead Designer Ryan Barker. You can join us in the tour either by clicking on the first picture below or heading after the jump to watch the 2 minute video of expansion highlights we recorded.

The official EverQuest players site has begun a new series of articles exploring the lore of the game's upcoming expansion. Seeds of Destruction will feature a big leap forward in Norrath's storyline, catapulting players into the far-flung future of the world. This first piece frames the setting for that future, a bleak ruin inhabited only by a crazy god and a tree.

This information was first unveiled to players in our exclusive interview with the EQ team's senior producer and lead designer. We'll keep track of the game's new approach to lore as the expansion's launch date draws nearer.

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	Well met, fellow Norrathian! Make sure to check out all of our coverage of the next EverQuest II expansion, The Shadow Odyssey as well as Seeds of Destruction, the next expansion to EverQuest!

It's expansion season in MMO-land. World of Warcraft will of course see the Wrath of the Lich King, which will add the continent of Northrend, a prestige class, and numerous enhancements. The Lord of the Rings Online will open up the Mines of Moria -- a massive dungeon environment for levels 50 and up. There will also be two new classes, and yes, numerous other enhancements.

Then there's EverQuest II's The Shadow Odyssey, EverQuest's Seeds of Destruction, and Asheron's Call's just-released 100th update. If you've got long-inactive accounts with any of these games, the devs are trying to win you back! If you're still there, they're trying to keep you from leaving for Warhammer Online or from freeing yourself from the genre completely.

Are any of these expansions going to do the job for you? And if so, which ones?

Yesterday evening at Fan Faire, SOE announced expansions for EverQuest and EverQuest 2: Seeds of Destruction and The Shadow Odyssey, respectively. This will be EQ's 15th expansion and EQ2's 4th, with SoD promising 20 new zones and a new level cap of 85; and SO promising new zones, new dungeons, new quests, and additional achievement points. But what we're wondering is: how long can a game last? (15 expansions at least, apparently!) How long can expansion packs up the excitement factor? Tell us, will these new expansions keep you playing? Will they bring you back into the game? And if so, what has you excited about the latest additions to SOE's online world?

In conjunction with the deluge of EverQuest II news we've given you from Fan Faire today, there was also the announcement of an expansion to the original EverQuest as well. EverQuest: Seeds of Destruction features twenty new zones, a new Mercenaries system, a level cap raised to 85 and much more.

To help highlight this new contest, we present a brand new teaser trailer for Seeds of Destruction shown right after the cut which showcases new zones, new rewards and the new Mercenaries in action. Don't forget to check out the exclusive interview with the Seeds of Destruction design team, and let us know what you think of this new content.

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	Well met, fellow Norrathian! Make sure to check out all of our coverage of the next EverQuest II expansion, The Shadow Odyssey as well as Seeds of Destruction, the next expansion to EverQuest!

Sony Online Entertainment's Fan Faire event is in full swing, and John Smedley's community address this evening has been the epicenter of news for SOE MMO players. New expansions for EverQuest and EverQuest II are freshly announced, and we've already talked out the EQ2 expansion with its senior producer. Join us now for another chat, this time with the heads of the EverQuest development team. EQ's Senior Producer Clint Worley and Lead Designer Ryan Barker chatted extensively with us about the new content.

Talk of a level increase, all-new zones, old zones revamped, and tons more awaits you below the cut. Click on through!

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	Well met, fellow Norrathian! Make sure to check out all of our coverage of the next EverQuest II expansion, The Shadow Odyssey as well as Seeds of Destruction, the next expansion to EverQuest!

Alongside the announcement of the next EverQuest II expansion, The Shadow Odyssey, Sony Online Entertainment CEO John Smedley has just announced the next expansion for the venerable EverQuest Live. To be named Seeds of Destruction, it's a lore-rich extension of the game's past into a whole new realm. Turning inward to address much of the compelling story the game already possesses, Seeds of Destruction will allow players to reach a brand new level cap of 85!

Other expansion features include:

• Twenty new zones to explore, with many re-imaginings of old and familiar fan favorites! New zones bring to life lore elements never before seen by players, like the battle at the Field of Bones or Rallos Zek's invasion of the plane of Earth!
• A new Mercenaries system that will allow PCs to hire AI-driven NPCs to aid them in battle. Never play solo again!
• Lots more, including new tie-ins to Legends of Norrath and all fourteen of the previous game expansions in one box.

For full details on this compelling new content, be sure to check out our in-depth interview with the EverQuest design team.

Players of the venerable EverQuest take note: SOE has put up a new expansion beta sign-up page. Feel free to sign up to test the Seeds of Destruction expansion right now! The sign-up process works a little differently now than it did before. You won't have to camp out looking for a very narrow window of opportunity during which to sign up. Now the beta application will always be online.

Last month, Senior Producer Clint Worley promised that the beta would start in August. It looks like everything is still on track. Seeds of Destruction will be EverQuest's fifteenth expansion. The word is it'll be more of the same -- lots and lots of faction grinding! Whatever floats your boat, man.

A half dozen EverQuest developers sat down with their faithful players and discussed the details of the new expansion, Seeds of Destruction, which old zones were next to be hit with the revamp stick, and what other changes were on the horizon for SOE's most venerable, but still popular, game.

The next expansion will continue to require faction grinding to progress, similar to that in Secrets of Faydwer, though some changes will be made to address player complaints. Still, World of Warcraft-like faction grinding seems to be a big hit with EQ devs since its introduction in the Dragons of Norrath expansion, and we wll likely see it continue in the foreseeable future.

The moon was so clear. It was alive with energy flowing through every part of it. Then it was as if something in the center broke loose and leaped outward, like a bird of prey hatching from an egg. I couldn't turn away. It was so beautiful. -- excerpt from The Shattering.

Cyanbane posted a cryptic note on EQ2-Daily.com this morning. "EverQuest 2 - The Shadow of Odyssey? Those f'ing Everlings..." He'd done it. His USPTO-fu was strong. SOE had trademarked the names of their next expansions for their EverQuest franchise. EverQuest: Seeds of Destruction for the older game now entering its tenth year; and EverQuest II: The Shadow of Odyssey for its sequel.

So what is the Shadow of Odyssey? There are so many unexplored plot threads in the Norrath of EQ2, and the title is so vague, that it could be almost anything. Still, we have a few good ideas. If we had to put money on it, we'd bet that the shadow in question has something to do with the Void, and the mysterious Shadowmen. Or, Odyssey could refer to the long-lost homeland of the Erudites, the magic-weaving spellsmiths of yore. And then there's the possibility everyone's been mulling ... the one obvious if you look into Norrath's night sky. What if that shadow is the one cast by the shattered moon? What if Shadow of Odyssey will send us back to Luclin?