Posted above is the 2nd EQ2 developer chat regarding DoV which is due to release February 22nd (pushed back from February 8th). There is still an NDA in effect for the expansion, but I wanted to talk a bit about what we know so far. We learned from the first dev chat that there will be an in-game calender added. I am incredibly excited about this as it’s a feature that I’ve /feedbacked numerous times while playing. From what we’ve been told it will be able to track things like the Moonlight grotto events, and you’ll be able to add guild events to it. You can liken it to the WoW calendar that they’ve had in game for quite some time. What surprises me is that it wasn’t added when the EQ2 guild window underwent a revamp. In specific the guild window allows you to track “DKP” and assign numeric values to each member in the roster. It’s not very fleshed out and I don’t know if any guilds actually USE this feature aside from goofing around but it’s there none the less. I think adding a calendar at that time would have made sense, but it’s better late than never.
Flying mounts – I’m actually not excited about these, for a few reasons. Number one I’ve spent a lot of time collecting ‘ground’ mounts, and once flying is introduced it’s going to make those worthless (I could be wrong here, this is just me stating an opinion). I’ve also considered a lot of the EQ2 zones as being ‘flat’ with very little that I would ever need to fly over in order to get around. I realize that Velious zones will be tailored to suit this new form of transportation but I just don’t see it as a big deal.
Public quests really interest me and I’m curious about how well they’ll scale up and down as well as the basic mechanics. There are many spells I have as a healer that I can’t use outside of a group, so I wonder how the game will accommodate that. I also wonder how participation will be rated, and if they’ll even be popular in a game like this. We’ll just have to see!
Are you excited about DoV? What part are you most excited about?
For me personally, at the moment – it’s crafting. I’m looking forward to a new epic quest chain, new recipes, and owning multiple homes. As for the rest, well. We’ll just have to see when the expansion releases.
Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!
What pkdude99 said! Mrs Bhagpuss and I are leaving DoV for later in the year, when the Rift newshiny wears off.
I was very, very disappointed with the news that flying mounts are going to be available only by completing the Velious storyline (unless you’re a vampire). Not because I fear that will be difficult – they even confirm it will be soloable – but because I really can’t see what the point of revamping ALL outdoor zones to allow flying is if you only allow level 86+ characters (and vampires) to have flying mounts.
They might as well have restricted flying to Velious zones only and saved themselves a ton of Dev time. With luck, though, by the time we get round to buying DoV this will have changed and you’ll get a flying mount in the tutorial!
Our guild uses the “DKP” feature in the guild roster. If a guildie lets loose accidentally with an especially juicy mistell, they get a point added to their name. :)
I was excited about it, but Rift headstart is 2 days after, and Rift’s been “doing it” for me in the past couple of betas, so I’m far more excited for Rift than I am for DoV right now.
That said, I have pre-ordered the expansion and will be checking it out on my 90’s once it’s released. . . for the 1st 2 days, at least ;-)