The US Servers will come down on April 24, 2012, at 7:00 am Pacific for a hotfix. The expected downtime is one hour. Patch notes are available below.

Here's our handy Time Zone Conversion Tool to help you plan!  

All U.S. servers will come down at 7am PDT on Thursday, April 19, 2012. Estimated downtime is one hour. The full patch notes are available after the jump.

No official downtime announcement has gone up but the patch notes for Wednesday, April 18 are available.

GENERAL

• Fall of Estarim items are now on display at the LoN Museum.

ABILITIES / ALTERNATE ADVANCEMENT
Updated the login message for alternate advancement point conversion to only show if you actually gained points and how many points you have gained.

If you have maximum alternate advancement points and you are not max level, you will automatically be set to 0% alternate advancement conversion rate the first time you gain experience.

NOTE: If you set your alternate advancement conversion slider back up after that first time it will stay and not be reset automatically again.

Swashbuckler

• Fixed a bug which prevented Bladespinner from resetting Lucky Gambit.

DUNGEON FINDER

• Dungeons should now show up as options for 91+ players.

QUESTS
Withered Lands

• Removed references to grelga's spade in both the base and repeatable versions of her quests.
• Removed references to a wellspring cub on Drelvin's leash.

 Source: EQII Forums

All U.S. servers will come down at 7am PDT on Tuesday, April 17, 2012 for the Game Update 63 patch. EU servers will have their downtime at 5am London Time on Wednesday, April 18, 2012. Estimated downtime for both regions is five hours. 

During the downtime you are welcome to join us in the #EQ2 channel of ZAM's IRC chat. Feldon of EQ2Wire also has set up a ZAM IRC java applet that you can use.

Patch notes are now available on our Game Update 63 wiki page. Links to all content we covered is also available on that page. Be sure to check out our previews as well!

• GU63 Preview: Withered Lands
• Preview: Game Update 63

Game Update 63 is on the horizon, opening up two more adventuring levels (for those with 280+ AAs), two additional crafting levels, new apprentices and mercenaries and, most importantly, new content in the form of an overlands zone and dungeon. The dragon ruler of Skyshrine, Yelinak, united Freeport and Qeynos into a wary alliance named the New Combine Empire, and instructed them on how to break through the storm barrier and reach the Withered Lands.

Upon reaching the Withered Lands, adventurers are greeted by the New Combine Empire, which is having some growing pains as well as trouble progressing through the corrupted forest on its way to Skyshrine. Several times throughout the zone these soldiers call upon players for assistance with new obstacles in the foreign environment.

The Withered Lands were once known as the Wakening Lands; during this time long ago, the Plane of Growth touched this region. Creatures known as the Protectors of Growth were dedicated to preserving the area and would defend it to the death. The corruption of the forest has taken a toll on the Protectors of Growth and their numbers have dwindled. They now welcome help from outsiders within the few sanctuaries that remain.

The Deepwater Circle is present all over the Withered Lands, seeking help with their research. Many of its members are intrigued by the new environment and how the corruption has affected the once lush forests. Other researchers are dedicated to trying to help the various natives of the region with the problems plaguing them.

A final stop before the dragon city of Skyshrine is the Village of Alivan, a dracurion outpost. The denizens here have their own troubles with the legion of the Awakened assaulting them and contact with Skyshrine cut off. Assist the dracurions to pave the way for the New Combine Empire to help the dragon city in its battle against the Awakened.

Game Update 63 is slated to launch on Tuesday, April 17. Check out our Withered Lands Zone Guide and Quest Series Guide!

Later this week, EverQuest II (EQII) players will finally be able to open the second book in the Destiny of Velious expansion, with the release of Game Update 63: Skyshrine. With over a hundred new quests, a level cap raised to 92 and new dungeon and raid content, the update also promises a substantial slice of story for players to feast on.

There’s been a steady build up to Skyshrine, it being the first major release of new content since Sony’s flagship MMO switched to a Free-to-Play model in December 2011. Since then, the development team has been hard at work developing new areas and bringing the continuing Ages End Prophecy saga to life. 

Although much of the Game Update has been available on the Test Server since mid-March, there’s no better way to experience a world than with the people who helped create it. Fortunately, I was invited on a tour of the Withered Lands and Skyshrine with the expert guides of EQII producer Holly Longdale and game designer Carlos Mora at the helm. As well as showing some of the incredible locations, they also shared some of the lore behind the game update.

Missed Skyshrine: Part One? Watch it here!
Watch Skyshrine: Part Two on YouTube!

On Thursday, April 12, 2012 SOE will be broadcasting the Skyshrine: Part Two webcast live on Twitch TV. Join host Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson (Director of Development) as he chats with Holly "Windstalker" Longdale (Producer), and Akil "Lyndro" Hooper (Lead Designer) about the level increase, the prestige system, tradeskills, and more.

Join SOE on Thursday, April 12, 2012, at 4:00 p.m. PDT, as they live stream this webcast on Twitch TV! The webcast is expected to last about 20 minutes.

Due to an error on the original EverQuest2.com article announcing this year's Bristlebane Day celebration, the event has been extended. Enjoy some extra time with any quests or collections you didn't have time to squeeze in and don't forget to check the Bristlebane Day merchants for all of your housing needs! The event will shut off at 11:59pm PDT on Wednesday, April 11, 2012.

All U.S. servers will come down at 7am PDT on Tuesday, April 10, 2012. Estimated downtime is one hour. EU servers will have their downtime at 5am London Time on Wednesday, April 11, 2012. Estimated downtime is two hours. Here is the patch note:

GENERAL

• Fixed a crash bug with loading layouts in player made dungeons.

Source: EQII Forums

UPDATE: Double XP turned on early and is confirmed to be already active on the U.S. servers! This bonus applies to Alternate Advancement, Adventure and Tradeskill experience.

You can also enjoy double Station Cash over the weekend and Surprise Beast'r Baskets on the Marketplace, which contain a dragon house pet, a spring cloak and a bunny hat!

EverQuest II players will enjoy a Double Experience promotion over the weekend!  According to everquest2.com the bonus experience will turn on at 12:01pm PDT (noon!) on Friday, April 6, and run until 11:59pm PDT on Sunday, April 8.