EverQuest II
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EverQuest II (commonly abbreviated as EQ2), the sequel to EverQuest, is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) and shipped on November 8, 2004. It features graphics and gameplay vastly updated from its predecessor as well as NPCs that use audio for speech.
Gameplay
While the gameplay continues to focus greatly on killing creatures for experience points and loot, there have been several significant changes from the original EverQuest. One of the greatest efforts has gone into developing trade skills into a much more complex and viable character archetype.Many gameplay choices were made in order to stop old, sometimes undesirable, tactics that emerged in EQ. The most bold addition is the concept of "locked encounters". When a player (or group) attacked a creature, the encounter became locked to that player. To stop kill stealing and powerleveling, other players could not assist in the encounter unless the player who locked it used a special "/yell" command for help, after which the encounter rewarded neither loot nor experience. The encounter locking feature became an optional toggle during Live Update 13 which coincided with the expansion. Players can now choose whether to risk giving up their claim to an encounter in exchange for outside help that might allow them to survive.
To stop kiting, players in combat lose all their movement speed enhancements except the special "sprint" ability, which costs a considerable amount of power to use, although some classes have speed debuffs that slow the enemy, thus making kiting a viable option. Likewise, many players have discovered another method of pseudo-kiting by running backwards and firing a missile weapon at the enemy. The enemy lands fewer attacks, but can take significant damage depending on the type of ammunition or missile weapon used, and the skill level of the user. Some have argued that this is not kiting at all, while others have referred to it as "pseudo-kiting".
Everquest II, like the original EQ, has guilds. Each guild exists only on its own server. Like players, guilds can gain experience and levels, partially from encounters and player experience, but primarily from guild-oriented quests and tasks called "writs". Higher guild levels open up special rewards unavailable to non-guilded characters, and cause certain other rewards to cost less. These rewards include housing options, mounts, house items, apparel, and special titles.
Like the original EQ, EverQuest II focuses on PvE (player versus environment) encounters. No player versus player combat was included at release; however Live Update 13 introduced closed arenas for consensual PvP and dueling. In February 2006, with the release of , new servers were introduced with a player versus player ruleset.
Setting
EverQuest II is set in Norrath like the original, but 500 years later in the "Age of Destiny". The game world has been drastically affected by several cataclysms since the original EQ. The planes have closed, the gods have gone, and the moon Luclin has been pulverized (and partially rained onto the face of Norrath). Remnants of the familiar vistas from EQ's Norrath can be found in the "Shattered Lands".
Players arrive on one of two tutorial areas and then move to either of the towns, Qeynos (the good town, and if one notices closely, Qeynos is Sony-EQ spelled backwards) or Freeport (the evil town). All the other towns in the world were destroyed or rendered inaccessible in the cataclysms. Qeynos and Freeport are much larger than they were in the original EQ and they play an important role in the player's experience regardless of what level they are. The playable races each have their own special section of the cities. Players from one city are not welcome in the other city unless they choose to betray their city via an arduous quest.
The game world is as varied as the original, featuring wide geographical and ecological variety. In EQ2, players can ride trained griffons on predetermined routes over the Shattered Lands, or acquire a horse or flying carpet so that they can travel more swiftly throughout much of the game world. When the gods left the world, the druid rings and wizard spires ceased functioning and thus there are no teleportation spells (with the exception of the ability to return to one's hometown). However, "Mariner's Bells" are scattered across the land allowing instant transportation across various areas of the world.
EverQuest II also includes instanced zones—copies of some zones are spawned in order to better handle player crowding. Instanced zones were introduced to EverQuest in the 2003 expansion Lost Dungeons of Norrath.
Races and classes
All of the familiar races from EQ are playable except the cat-like Vah Shir (their home, Luclin, was destroyed), but SOE added the Kerra as a replacement. The new race is the Ratonga, a rat-like people of mysterious origin. The Froglok race was originally locked until a special server-wide quest was completed to make them playable. Some races are restricted to either Qeynos or Freeport, based on their alignment, but can be betrayed to the opposing city.
- Barbarian
- Dark Elf (Freeport only)
- Dwarf (Qeynos only)
- Erudite
- Froglok (Qeynos only)
- Gnome
- Half Elf
- Halfling (Qeynos only)
- High Elf (Qeynos only)
- Human
- Iskar (Freeport only)
- Kerra
- Ogre (Freeport only)
- Ratonga (Freeport only)
- Troll (Freeport only)
- Wood Elf (Qeynos only)
- Fae (Available with Echoes of Faydwer)
| Fighter | Warrior | Berserker |
| Guardian | ||
| Crusader | Paladin | |
| ShadowKnight | ||
| Brawler | Monk | |
| Bruiser | ||
| Scout | Bard | Troubador |
| Dirge | ||
| Predator | Ranger | |
| Assasin | ||
| Rogue | Swashbuckler | |
| Brigand | ||
| Priest | Druid | Fury |
| Warden | ||
| Cleric | Templar | |
| Inquisitor | ||
| Shaman | Mystic | |
| Defiler | ||
| Mage | Sorceror | Wizard |
| Warlock | ||
| Summoner | Conjurer | |
| Necromancer | ||
| Enchanter | Illusionist | |
| Coercer |
A character can also undertake a tradeskill profession, completely separate from his/her adventuring profession. The tradeskill professions branch at levels 10 and 20, just as adventuring classes used to.
- Artisan
- *Craftsman
- **Carpenter (furniture and strongboxes)
- **Provisioner (food and drink)
- **Woodworker (bows, arrows, throwing weapons, wooden shields, staves, totems, and musical instruments)
- *Outfitter
- **Weaponsmith (metal weapons)
- **Armorsmith (chainmail and platemail armor, metal shields)
- **Tailor (cloth and leather armor, backpacks, thrown-weapon bags)
- *Scholar
- **Alchemist (potions, poisons, and fighter skill upgrades)
- **Jeweler (jewelry and scout skill upgrades)
- **Sage (priest and mage spell upgrades)
Voices
One of the most interesting additions to the game is the use of actual voices for NPCs. The actors used for these parts included well-known Hollywood stars such as Heather Graham (as Queen Antonia Bayle) and Christopher Lee (Overlord Lucan D'Lere). Actor/gamer Wil Wheaton and Actor/mathematician Danica McKellar are also part of the cast. According to SOE in October 2004, EverQuest II featured 130 hours of spoken dialog recorded by 1,700 voice actors. More dialog has been added since release as part of regular game updates. Everquest 2 introduced Player Voice Emotes with the launch of in September 2005.
Business
SOE is marketing EverQuest II not as a direct sequel, but as a "parallel universe" to the original EverQuest. It is set in an alternate future of the original game's setting, having diverged at the conclusion of the Planes of Power expansion. This allows both development teams to pursue whatever direction they want to take without impacting the other, and allows players of the original EverQuest to continue receiving updates without forcing players down a specific path. In that sense, they are two completely separate games bound together by name only. Players of the old EQ will find many familiar places and characters, as well as "heritage items" that are similar in name and function to items known from EQ and can be gained via heritage quests.
Like the original and other commercial MMORPGs, EQ2 requires a monthly fee of US$ 14.99 to play the game. 30 days of free play are included with the purchase price of the game. Subscribers can opt to pay an additional monthly fee for extended services, such as an online item database or hosting of guild websites. Players can also download the free trial, Trial of the Isle, which allows players to experience the beginning steps of the game for free before dedicating themselves to a monthly subscription fee. [link]
In Europe it is published by Ubisoft at a monthly fee of EUR 13,49.
In February 2005, EverQuest II began allowing players to place an order for pizza delivery from within the game. [link] This promotion has since ended, but generated significant press for the game.
In June 2005, SOE introduced Station Exchange to EverQuest II. Station Exchange is an official auction system—only on designated servers—allowing real money to be transferred for in-game money, items or characters.
In March 2006, SOE announced that it is to end its Chinese/Korean operations for EverQuest II, which was being supported in the region by Gamania. The beta period for the game in China/Korea ended on March 29, and on March 30, all Chinese/Korean accounts will be moved to the US servers of the game.
Expansions and Adventure Packs
| Title | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Adventure Pack | March 21, 2005 | |
| Adventure Pack | June 28, 2005 | |
| Expansion | September 13, 2005 | |
| Expansion | February 21, 2006 | |
| Adventure Pack | June 14, 2006 | |
| Expansion | November 14, 2006 |
Alternate versions
- was created for the East Asian market (China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan) but it was terminated as a separate edition on 29 March 2006. EQE players were moved to standard servers. The special character models created for EQE had already been included in the standard edition as a client-side option since 2005.
External links
- [Official Everquest II website]
- [Station Exchange website]
- [Everquest II's Dynamic Player Community]
- [EQ2-Daily.com Everquest 2 Daily News Site]
- [EQ2I.com]- EverQuest 2 Wiki (high end players)
| | |
|---|---|
| Main: | EverQuest | EverQuest II | EverQuest Online Adventures |
| EverQuest expansions: | The Ruins of Kunark | The Scars of Velious | The Planes of Power | The Legacy of Ykesha | Lost Dungeons of Norrath | Gates of Discord | Omens of War | Dragons of Norrath | Depths of Darkhollow | Prophecy of Ro |
| EverQuest II expansions: | | | | | | |
| Miscellaneous: | | EverQuest Role-Playing Game | Champions of Norrath | |
| | |
| Locations: | Antonica | Faydwer | Kunark | Luclin | Norrath | Odus | Taelosia | Velious |
| Races: | EverQuest Deities | Beastlord | Iksar |
| Other: | Player guilds | Timeline | Trade skills | Koadic's Endless Intellect | Spirit of Wolf |
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