After returning from a convention like SOE Live, I imagine that it is customary to talk about your personal highlight of the show – I can only imagine due to it being my first, I’m so naïve.
There are a lot of things that stand out; interviewing John Smedley, Matt Higby, Tramell Ray Isaac and others. Chatting with Margaret Krohn – yes, she’s just as ridiculously nice in person -- and finally getting to meet a bunch of folks who I only previously knew through email. Add to all that, making new friends, having a good time at the Pool Party and so on.
Yet for me, the memory that raises the hair on my neck began at the costume judging contest. I stood behind the judges, taking pictures on my dying iPhone – I was plagued by tech issues all week – when a noble lady dressed as a caster was brought near the judging circle in a wheelchair. With the help of a friend, in obvious pain but showing supreme determination, she stood up and walked forward to be seen by the judges.
There was something different about the keynote address at SOE Live this year. It wasn’t Linda’s resplendent beard or the sense of anticipation in the audience; it was the sense that a new direction was being undertaken.
Of course there was information on the new expansions for both EverQuests, the new DLC 6 with Player Lairs for DCUO -- an interview with Jens Andersen and Larry Liberty coming this week -- the release date for PlanetSide 2 and the explanation of what has happened to EverQuest Next. There was plenty to digest, but it was the air of determination to make the year ahead for SOE something to make the industry take note that stood out that night.
As John Smedley put it, EverQuest had changed the industry 13 years ago and SOE wanted to do it again.
It was with the keynote fresh in my mind that I sat down with SOE’s president and asked him about the plan for the future.
SOE Live was this past weekend and a lot of great information was given out during the convention. The event team recorded several keynotes and panels, so catch up on what you missed by watching them on TwitchTV!
- Welcome Reception
- Player Studio Panel
- DCUO and the EverQuest Franchise Keynote (EQ2 is third in the lineup)
- Chains of Eternity Panel
- Closing Ceremony
Also be sure to check out Niami Denmother's crafting writeup on EQ2Traders and Feldon's SOE Live blogs on EQ2Wire! There are some pictures of the event available from Cyliena on Flickr, Greg "Rothgar" Spence on SmugMug, and SOE on Facebook (album one, album two and green screen pictures). Keep up on all of ZAM's SOE Live articles for additional information!
As announced at SOE Live, Open Beta for EverQuest II's ninth expansion, Chains of Eternity, has just begun! According to Holly "Windstalker" Longdale on Twitter, "Open Beta is now...uh...OPEN! A post is coming soon on how to access new zones from Feerrott! For those on Beta, please use /bug, /feedback! "
If you're ready to go, you can patch the beta server by using your normal EQII launchpad. Click the "Version:" in the upper left corner, then in the "Select Game Version" drop box choose "Beta" and click the Apply button. To copy an existing character to Beta, log into live and either use the new "Beta Copy" button in the Character Select screen or type /beta add in the character's chat window.
Character copies are now nearly instantaneous, but you will leave behind your guild, homes, and anything in your shared bank. For more information about the Beta server, see our EQII Beta Server page.
Once you've reworked all your reset AA, the incredible guild Heroes of Test tells us to head to the Spires in the Feerrot!
See you in Chains of Eternity!
Chains of Eternity's biggest highlight, in my opinion, is not Firiona Vie's lifeless body -- though a few folks cheered at the confirmation of the adventurer's passing --but instead, the wealth of crafting changes being done for the upcoming expansion. The positive response from attendees at SOE Live was not surprising, given how much EQII players have thirsted for them.
Tradeskill Alternate Advancements (AAs) have been removed from the Adventuring AA trees, which means crafting experience goes into Crafting AAs, as it should. Furthermore, prestige lines for crafting are being added; with options of Salvaging/Refining, Mass Production, and Experimentation. Salvaging allows disassembling for materials and a boost to harvesting skills. Refiners will convert rare to pure elements, which boosts the stats of the items made. Mass Production adds volume in favor of power, allowing less consumption of resources while making items. Experimentation involves a improving an item by changing stats or adding procs; each follow-up experiment gets riskier, increasing the chance of the item exploding.
The adornment called Spirit Stones (green slot) will be added, which grow and gain experience with the wearer. They unlock new abilities and can only be equipped in the ring and neck slots. At launch there will be dozens to choose from in a variety of methods, such both forged by Tinkering and dropped by rare monsters. Adornment removal will be available, utilizing removers created by Tinkerers, for a cost -- though they are destroyed thereafter.
Guild Halls are being tweaked, providing more ways to spruce up your guild hall and make them look prettier (known as amenities, but god that word is hard to spell). The number of unavailable ones will be reduced, and guilds will be able to add Chronomages and deity altars. One will even reduce the cost of guilds.
Lastly, the usual level cap increase, this time to 95, will be adorned with new content. Two new zones and nine new instances, including Temple of the Faceless, The Ancient Vault, additions to the current Sleeper's Tomb (that one perked my ears up), the Dreadcutter (a ship), and Harrow's End. New PVP and prestige abilities are being added. The ability to get into the new content requires level 92 and completion of Unexpected Consequences, so SOE has given out bonuses to all players who get the expansion - new baubles grant a player 280 AA points to their level 90 adventurer, which are limited to two per account. That's a good reason to pick it up in itself.
Julian "Mirai" Williams
SOE Live unveiled details of their newest expansion to the venerable EverQuest, Rain of Fear, which will be available November 28th.
Cazic-Thule, longstanding as the God of Fear, has been killed and dethroned, and his death has split his might into Fear Shards, which have been scattered all over the world. Worse yet, unify enough and he returns to life.
New features to the expansion include an aggro meter, which shows your aggro as a percentage, and the Autonomous Brokering, which allows items to be delivered to you instead of sought out when trading in the Bazaar. They have added more simple Slayer tasks, like killing ten barbarians, which expands into twenty, which expands into up to one thousand. Most tasks reward you with simply titles, but the more complex ones grant experience or rewards. Some even grant you bonuses to your abilities or spells against that monster type.
SOE has also said that it's very easy to get to level 100 through the quests themselves, and there is a relaxed focus on grinding, which is a welcome relief. And, most notably, to get a wizard portal from the world event, players will have to build it themselves. I am always excited for more player events, like Firefall.
Julian "Mirai" Williams
Here is all sorts of information about the Krono:
We are excited to announce a new in-game item coming to EverQuest, EverQuest II, and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes – KRONO! Here are some questions and answers to get you familiar with this new object.
Q. What are Krono?
A. Krono are in-game objects that can be redeemed for 30 days of membership time in the following SOE games: EverQuest, EverQuest II, and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. They are sold in the marketplace for real money only, or they may be purchased from other players via the broker or private trade for in-game currency. Players may not, however, sell Krono to each other for real world money.
Q. What can you do with them?
A. You can buy them from SOE using real money, buy them from other players using in-game currency, gift them, sell them to other players for in-game currency, trade them to other players for other in-game items, and consume them. If you consume a Krono, it is removed from your inventory and 30 days of game membership time is added to the account associated with the character that consumed it.
(More after the jump...)
EverQuest, Everquest II, EverQuest Next, and DC Universe Online ... we've got the scoop from last night's welcome reception!
While PlanetSide 2 stole the second half of the Welcome Reception keynote last night, the first half was dedicated to new games, new features, and new partnerships. We'll hit up the EverQuest titles and DCUO in another article: here's everything else!
Hot off the presses: PlanetSide 2 is officially launching on November 20th!
After teasing the crowd by saying that the game might not be ready for six months, if not six more YEARS, SOE announced the launch date next month. Players who purchase the game in advance through the Alpha Squad option will also be able to reserve their character names for launch.
The game will go live with three continents, including Amerish, which was shown during the keynote speech. Other features for launch will include more vehicles, Twitch integration for live streaming, and a new outfit revamp including items like decals and unique uniforms.
Future plans include player-owned bases that exist in the game world and can be attacked and destroyed by other players, and there are three additional continents planned for release post-launch.
Finally, the keynote address included a great new video inspired by old war audio effects called “This is War.” Check it out!