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A player has come up with a great idea to design your own adventures in Norrath on this thread from EQPlayers.
Titled "Create Your Own LDoN," poster Ssliasil_Tunare has come up with some fun ideas for creating Lost Dungeon of Norrath type adventures in other EQ zones. Other players have chimed in with their ideas, too.
Players can zone in to a chosen zone and try a rescue, assasination, slaughter, or just try to survive in a certain amount of time, Ssliasil suggests.
No, there won't be points for gear if you win, but since most people have moved beyond LDoN gear anyway, it's a great way to have some fun with friends or even a pickup group.
Legends of Norrath Tournament Testing Continues!- 10/11/07
Join us this Saturday and Sunday (October 13th � 14th) for the fourth weekend of major Legends of Norrath tournaments! We will be loading up the tournament queues again this weekend and would appreciate your help. We'll be giving out rewards to those that place well and some even for just participating. Please join us at the two following times this weekend!*
Saturday, October 13th
Legends of Norrath Constructed Stress Test Tournament
11:00 AM Pacific Time (server time)
Entry Fee: No Entry Fee
Create your best deck using the cards in your collection and bring it to the tournament.
1st place wins a loot card of their choice!
2nd � 4th place will each receive 3 booster packs
5th � 16th place will each receive 1 booster pack
One random participant out of every ten participants who complete the tournament will also receive a Legends of Norrath booster pack.
Sunday, October 14th
Legends of Norrath Constructed Stress Test Tournament
11:00 AM Pacific Time (server time)
Entry Fee: No Entry Fee
Create your best deck using the cards in your collection and bring it to the tournament.
1st place wins a loot card of their choice!
2nd � 4th place will each receive 3 booster packs
5th � 16th place will each receive 1 booster pack
One random participant out of every ten participants who complete the tournament will also receive a Legends of Norrath booster pack.
*You must be registered to play in tournaments. To do this you must purchase at least one booster pack or starter deck in the Legends of Norrath Store.
Sony Online Entertainment recently presented their new titles and expansions, including Secrets of Faydwer, to the media. RPG Vault covers them all in their report on the event.
Here is what the article reported on Secrets of Faydwer:
"EverQuest: Secrets of Faydwer brings a new threat to the respected persistent state world. Commanded by a nefarious gnomish necromancer, Meldrath the Malignant, armies of clockwork creations stand ready to attack the kingdom of Ak'Anon. He has launched a huge air fortress called Mechanotus, an action that has torn up the land, exposing routes into previously unknown regions of Faydwer.
Secrets of Faydwer is also expected to enter service in November. When it does so, it will be expansion number 14, which is quite an achievement in its own right. What most distinguishes EverQuest now is its sheer amount of content, the result of all these add-ons. And there's no sign of the team sitting on its laurels. Players will get 15 new zones to explore; among these, a couple that may be especially interesting are the aforementioned mechanical citadel of Mechanotus, a dragon lair called Crystallos, and Bloodmoon, an area inhabited by wereorcs. As a rather fun aside, I was told you get to Mechanotus, which is airborne, by being catapulted up to it.
Since many players have one or more characters at the current level 75 maximum, it's being boosted to 80. This may seem like a rather small jump, but it will be possible to raise attribute scores above the cap by acquiring special heroic items. As above, the add-on emphasizes the elder game, with over two dozen new raids, some of which are set up for groups of 12.
EverQuest is obviously a very mature online world. It's not for everyone, but it continues to have an undeniable appeal for its specific community. It seems pretty safe to describe Secrets of Faydwer as extending the successful recipe while adding enough to make a tasty difference."
Ring of Valor from the Bristlebane server recently updated their guild listing:
Ring of Valor "We are a Solteris level guild and are currently farming TSS as we progress into TBS. We use a loyalty based DKP system that rewards careful spending and high playtime.
We raid 6 days a week from 4 to 10pm PST, and require applicants to have 500AA's or more."
Here's what they were up to last week:
"Thursday 04 October 2007 by Arwyn:
So after a decent Beltron run, we had quite a bit of time to kill, and too many lockout timers! Where else did RoV decide to go but our next raiding destination...Solteris! After clearing island one, we moved up to the dial. It was just supposed to be a "lets see how these mobs do, what they are like, etc", so we tasted blood, and we liked it! Our dps was a little slow to actually win the event our first try, but we were at 8 out of 9 nameds dead! Not bad for our first run and our first time ever in Solteris mind you, next time it is ours!!"
Interesting in joining them? Their class requirements are listed here.
Need a new look? Want to wear something scary for Halloween? The players have come up with a great list of ideas for costumes that already exist in game using clicky items and certain armor pieces.
Here are some suggestions from Kacman:
Amulet of Necropotence (skeleton)
Bone Mask of Horror (Frost Bone)
Guise of Horror (Scarecrow)
Lute of the Howler (Werewolf)
Efreeti Death Visage (Spectre)
So far, there has been no official word on whether there will be Halloween events or not this year. The player base remains hopeful!
If the events are basically the same as in previous years, there is no reason to have a large patch. The events usually begin shortly before or on the holiday, and last for a week or so afterwards.
Legends of Norrath Tournament Testing Resumes! � 10/05/07
Join us this Saturday and Sunday (October 6th � 7th) for the third weekend of major Legends of Norrath tournaments! We will be loading up the tournament queues this weekend and would appreciate your help. We'll be giving out rewards to those that place well and some even for just participating. Please join us at the two following times this weekend!*
Saturday, October 6th
- Legends of Norrath Constructed Stress Test Tournament
- 11:00 AM Pacific Time (server time)
- Entry Fee: No Entry Fee
- Create your best deck using the cards in your collection and bring it to the tournament.
- 1st place wins a loot card of their choice!
- 2nd � 4th place will each receive 3 booster packs
- 5th � 16th place will each receive 1 booster pack
- One random participant out of every ten participants who complete the tournament will also receive a Legends of Norrath booster pack.
Sunday, October 7th
- Legends of Norrath Constructed Stress Test Tournament
- 11:00 AM Pacific Time (server time)
- Entry Fee: No Entry Fee
- Create your best deck using the cards in your collection and bring it to the tournament.
- 1st place wins a loot card of their choice!
- 2nd � 4th place will each receive 3 booster packs
- 5th � 16th place will each receive 1 booster pack
- One random participant out of every ten participants who complete the tournament will also receive a Legends of Norrath booster pack.
*You must be registered to play in tournaments. To do this you must purchase at least one booster pack or starter deck in the Legends of Norrath Store.
- New Cultural Tradeskill Recipes: The long awaited cultural update has been implemented. You will find the new books you need on "historians" that you can find in some of the more popular shopping zones. You will actually learn the new recipes directly by scribing these books. With this change the old recipes have been disabled.
- Copy Layout Window: Typing either /copylayout or pressing the Copy Layout button within the General tab of the Options window will bring up a list of all your UI_name_server.ini files with each layout stored in them (along with the ones stored in defaults.ini). Selecting one will copy the layout you selected over the current layout, including any custom skin, viewport and alpha/color/fade settings that might be in use. This can also be done directly (for those with a custom UI that does not contain the new window) by typing "/copylayout resolution INI_filename" where resolution is in the form "1280x1024" or "Windowed" for the windowed layout. INI_filename is optional, and defaults to the currently logged in character�s UI INI file.
- Fabled Adventurer Drinks: Criers around the world are carrying news of a new pair of drinks honoring the fabled adventurers.
Will there be a pre-order reward for SoF? Rashere says "yes" in the EQPlayers forums:
"There will be. If it hasn't been announced yet, it will be soon. All I'll say for now is that I saw the near-final art for the item yesterday and its one of the coolest devices I've seen in EQ."
Woot!
And it's not the warg mount, according to Rashere: "The worg mount is the in-box (and equivalent for digital versions) reward, not the pre-order item."
"The Elddar elves fled Tunaria, the land now known as Antonica, to escape the destruction that Solusek Ro wrought upon their land. They found their way east, to Faydwer. Over time on the new continent, the Elddar branched off into two distinct tribes: the Koada'dal and the Fier'dal. A fraction of the Fier'dal population settled in the Hills of Shade, creating a small village they named Kirathas. The elves of Kirathas cherished nature, and resided in simple wooden huts not unlike the structures of Kelethin.
Much later, an enterprising group of humans led by their captain Han Jensen, "discovered" Faydwer while searching for profitable fishing routes. They erected a crude port on the northern coast, opposite from Kirathas in the southwest, and named it Blackwater. Under Jensen's orders, they made a point of keeping Blackwater's location a closely guarded secret. This protected the sanctity of their bountiful fishing port, but it also eliminated any possibility of a rescue should disaster strike.
It was only a matter of time before the elves and the humans met. The first introduction was between a young fisherman, Fendel, and the daughter of Kirathas' leader, an elven girl named Amber. They stumbled upon one another at an elder oak tree. Their initial fear of each other melted away, replaced by curiosity. Curiosity turned to friendship, and friendship blossomed into love. This was a union that was blessed by the goddess of love, Erollisi Marr."
Get an early start on downloading the Secrets of Faydwer expansion files to avoid long update times on launch day! Starting the morning of October 5, 2007 we will be placing the expansion files on LaunchPad for pre-downloading to your EverQuest directory for the live game.
In order to pre-download the files you will need to �Enable Background Downloading�. To check your status, open the LaunchPad, log in, and click on Preferences.
From WarCry, an exclusive interview with John Smedley, President and CEO of Sony Online Entertainment:
"As the President and CEO of Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), John Smedley oversees the largest portfolio of AAA MMOs on the planet. With fans as passionate as they are about their games, it's no surprise that he has evolved from a simple game programmer to easily the most polarizing personality in the video game development industry. Today, SOE is a company in transition as Smedley works to bring MMOs into the mainstream. He spoke to us about his company and each of the titles in their library in a wide-ranging interview."
The Vault Network is once again very excited to announce the launching of our latest site, Tabula Rasa Vault. Please take a moment and drop by to see what is going on with this highly anticipated game crafted by MMO legend Richard Garriott.
SOE Breaks Out of the Box Unveiling A New Art Direction For Franchise Titles EverQuest� And EverQuest� II!
SOE's new box art for the upcoming expansions signals a new marketing direction for flagship MMO titles, emphasizing that both upcoming expansions will ship with all the previous content to date, and moving away from a literal interpretation of the lore elements in both games as cover art.
Previously, the cover art for boxed sets included a picture of a major character, such as Firiona Vie or Antonia Bayle. The new artwork is more generic and "captures the mystery and adventure of game play, without the strict literal interpretation of the in-game characters and art," according to SOE. The new box art is less stylized and has a more modern feel, while still conveying the feeling of a fantasy-based game.
Currently in development, the EQ expansion, Secrets of Faydwer�, and EQII expansion, Rise of Kunark�, are scheduled to be available at participating retail stores and via digital download on November 13th.
Combined, EQ and EQII have sold more than 4.5 Million copies in the eight year history of the franchise. Traditionally, the graphics of both games have been highly stylized and the key art box fronts have reflected the look and feel of a fantasy novel, complete with characters and action.
EQ veterans may recall that there has been an ongoing concern about marketing efforts for the two titles, and this move seems to be a nod to gaining a larger audience, both by releasing a box for retail distribution, and adding a fresh feel with the artwork. The ability to own the entire game in one box is also new, and may relieve the bottleneck of finding the original game in a boxed set and then purchasing sets of all the expansions.
Letting go of the Firiona Vie icon as the key artwork theme for the boxed set of Secrets of Faydwer is an interesting move, breaking EQ out of the "dungeons and dragons" mode, at least for browsers at retail outlets. The new more generic art on the box cover allows the game buyer to form their own impressions of the game, rather than depicting EverQuest as a specific type of adventuring game play.
By choosing a generic fantasy theme, rather than the now almost decade-old art style of previous box sets, it seems that the inclusive Secrets of Faydwer boxed set is being positioned to attract new players in the increasingly competitive marketplace for MMOs.
Check out the screenshots of Bloodmoon Keep, the werewolf infested, cursed castle:
"Bloodmoon Keep was once the elven holy site known as Faygannen, Temple of the Vines. Decades ago the vampire prince Mayong Mistmoore grew worried at the proximity of the holy site to Castle Mistmoore. He sent his forces to destroy the temple and cover it in a dark curse, trapping the spirits of the slain elves in the halls of the castle. For many years the elven ghosts suffered in silence, unable to pass into the Realm of Growth and the presence of Tunare. Now, with the arrival of Ralkor Bloodmoon, the desolate spirits of Faygannen find themselves twice cursed.
Once the Prophet of Clan Crushbone, Ralkor Bloodmoon failed in a foolish coup to overthrow Emperor Crush. Bloodmoon barely escaped with his life and a small band of loyal orcs into the wilds of the Faydark. Somewhere between the Crushbone court and Faygannen, the Bloodmoon tribe was overtaken by a dark curse and infused with terrible, feral might. The Fangbreakers, a society of werewolf hunters, has begun to investigate the source of their new vigor, but have so far had little success.
Travelers say that a new race of lycanthropes stirs within Bloodmoon Keep. Ralkor may be a beast by nature, but his cunning cannot be denied and his ambition knows no limits. Given time the shadow of the Bloodmoon could overtake all of Faydwer."
Did you ever do anything really unique in EQ? Now there's a place for all that stuff to be recorded and remembered for all time, the EverQuest Hall of Fame:
"The Hall of Fame features EverQuest adventurers who earned titles, artifacts, items named after their characters from the Legends server, won contests and forum challenges, and more.
Over the years, many events, contests, challenges and other activities that gave adventurers a chance to make their mark in the world have taken place. There has never been a place to truly highlight these unique achievements until now."
Curious about Legends of Norrath? This weekend will have extra card drops in EQ and EQ2, so now is a great time to explore what LoN is all about.
Find out more about the game in EQVault's exclusive interview with Paul Dennen, Senior Game Designer for Legends of Norrath. I learned what's coming for the future of LoN, what makes a great trading card game, and what makes LoN unique!
Calling all EverQuest� and EverQuest� II players! What's more fun than defeating opponents in your game and picking up Legends of Norrath booster packs, starter decks, and combo packs? Well, how about the opportunity to get even more of them?
Introducing the Legends of Norrath Promotion Weekend beginning at 2PM (PDT) Friday, September 28th and concluding at 11:59PM (PDT) on Sunday, September 30th. During this special weekend, EQ and EQII players will not only enjoy a significantly increased rate of card pack drops, but will have the opportunity to obtain two brand new cards, Hatred (1P1) and Switch (1P2).
For now, these two new cards will only be available during this three-day promotional weekend, so don't miss out on the chance to get them!
It's not only a great time for current Legends of Norrath players to score big, but the perfect opportunity for EQ and EQII players to come see what all the buzz is about with this great new addition to the universe of Norrath. It will be a blast � especially with such an increased opportunity to win cards!
So combat those EQ and EQII enemies this weekend and loot, loot, loot! Then use your card bounty to continue on your way to becoming the ultimate Legends of Norrath player!
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