March 2011

Into Baraguj Szuul’s Tummy #EQ

stargrace March 13, 2011 No Comments

Just to start off with a reader comment I wanted to answer this one, “Pretty sure you can’t lose a level any more. I think that was changed several years ago.” – trust me, losing levels from dying in EQ is VERY much still in game, hehe. As I level now I want to make sure I have at least a 10% buffer before logging out so that I don’t revert back to my previous level, and having failed to do so I’ve lost levels 85-86 a few times now. Thankfully mercenaries can also rez you for 96% so it’s not too easy to re-ding as I call it, but the mechanic is still there in game. What was changed a few years ago was corpse runs, you no longer spawn naked without your items and inventory.

I know it’s hard to tell by the screen shot above, but that is inside of a creatures tummy. It was gross and disgusting, but Ninga wanted to finish his key to Saryrn’s chambers – and so we had to do an event in Plane of Torment. Baraguj Szuul swallows you and you have to fight an army of little critters in each level of his digestive track. Mean while there are flailing limbs and disgusting half swallowed skeletons scattered around the soft pink flesh that you’re standing on. I’ve killed Saryrn a few times, one of my favorite fights actually but getting into her tower without a key was always difficult, typically without access we would have to attack a mob through a doorway that would summon us inside. It seems this method doesn’t work (or at least we couldn’t get it to) lately, so a key was needed.

I also managed to level my tailoring (on the necromancer) to a skill of 295 – and was pretty disappointed to see that the station market has a considerable impact on crafters in EverQuest. See, there is a potion that is $10 and lasts for 2 hours and if you fail a combine after using this potion it will guarantee (100% chance)  that you salvage your items upon failure. The aa skill doesn’t guarantee a 100% salvage rate, and the major problem I have with this is that House of Thule did not raise the cap on crafting skills – they still stop at 300. However. The House of Thule crafted items have a trivial rate of 400-500+ easily. Your best bet when making combines that you’ve farmed forever for is to save them up, spend $10 on the 100% salvage potion, and then keep preforming the combine over and over again until you succeed since you’ll have “nothing” to lose except the $10 you spent, of course. If you’re willing to spend the cash you won’t fail combines, and you’ll be able to make much more profit off of your crafted goods.

My necromancer is most of the way through 86, and I’m doing a LOT more damage then I was before. I gained a few very large dots this level, and I also finally have more then 200 aa which is really nothing these days. I picked up a few utility type things like cloak of shadows (instant clicky) and an alternate method to FD (to free up a spell slot) and have been working on my critical affliction. I also picked up death bloom for those LOM (low on mana) moments, and for the first time in a long time I’m feeling as though I’m actually partaking in the groups I’m in instead of just mooching experience. It’s been a lot of fun, and I’m excited to see what happens next.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself! I’ll see you in Norrath.

EverQuest 12th Anniversary Events #EQ

stargrace March 12, 2011 No Comments

• Monday March 14 to Wednesday March 16 we will be activating Double Experience as well. Now you have twice as much Double Experience time to plan, so spend it wisely! (this does NOT include the two progression servers)
• Tuesday March 16, 2011 and lasting until Saturday March 26,  we’ll celebrate our 12th Anniversary in game! Not only will we have everything from our previous anniversary celebrations (including quests, fabled spawns, and raids) but this year brings all new challenges to the lands of Norrath!
• March 25, 2011 to March 27, we’ll also offer Double Experience throughout Norrath
• Wednesday March 16,  at 4 p.m. Pacific we’ll host a talk with John Smedley on the EverQuest franchise and its prestigious position in the history of MMOs as well as a plethora of other topics.
• Thursday March 17,  at 4 p.m. Pacific join members of the EverQuest team for a talk about EQ from its beginnings up until now.
• March 14 to March 16 and March 25 to March 27, you’ll be seeing a lot more rare mobs too! During the periods of Double Experience, we’ll be increasing the spawn rate of rare mobs as well.
• March 16 and lasting until March 27, we’ll have a deal every day on the Marketplace.

In Other Norraths

• Grand events are afoot in EverQuest II starting later this month, where mysterious apparitions have been sighted! Portals through time have been appearing around Norrath, linking this age to an age before the Shattering. Journey through these portals to find the ancient heroes and villains of an age gone by. Reminisce about them. Then kill them and loot them for the really cool items they possess. There may be a connection between them; perhaps you should investigate them all…
• EverQuest Online Adventures and EverQuest Mac have their own special events planned, and will be celebrating the Anniversary as well. On March 17th, Naylie will be in game on the Al`Kabor server to honor EverQuest’s 12th anniversary. Join her in the Plane of Knowledge to celebrate. She may be talked into going to the Arena and calling forth some monsters to fight! In EQOA, Naylie and Zatozia will be hosting a Community Meet and Greet on the Castle Lightwolf server on March 18th. Zatozia has heard rumors that the Sandswiss family of dragons may be making a return for the occasion to attempt to take another bite at adventurers.

If more events get added to this list or you find one that I’ve forgotten to add let me know and I’ll include it! Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.

Morell’s Castle, Sanctum Somnium (and Ding 86) #EQ

stargrace March 12, 2011 No Comments

Ah, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as having to deal with your old school camps and players. Yesterday was one such day. Sanctum Somnium is “the” zone to hang out in when you’re level 90 and properly geared, and it showed. Although there were raids passing through we saw anywhere from 22-78 people within the zone and frequent calls for “cc” (Camp Check) with cries of outrage if trains wiped through. The zone is popular for a number of reasons, number one it drops the lucrid pieces needed for T4 armor combines (the best you can get without raiding) aside from some very awesome level 90 required gear. Pieces often rot if you get there at the right time and hang out at the right camp. I picked up a few tasks (that I haven’t turned in yet) and simply had a blast doing the experience grind that I remember from days gone by.

In order to get to SS first you have to walk through Morell’s Castle – Zam says this about the zone:

“This is Morell Thule’s home. On the outside it appears to be a normal structure. Inside, it reflects the nature of its master. The inner sections of Morell’s castle are malleable and shift to suit the beings who live there.

The Lord of Dreams’ castle exerts its influence on the surrounding areas. Adventurers will see evidence of this as they explore, seeing displaced interiors in places they wouldn’t usually appear… “

This zone is (like all of the HoT zones) simply amazing. There are so many details everywhere, and everything is so well designed I could just sit in a single room for hours absorbing all of the sights.

One of the most interesting tasks of the night was called Morell’s Challenge. You have entered Morell’s Challenge, a deadly but possibly profitable race through the castle. Follow the green beacons to stay on track, but beware that some areas do not have green beacons and you will need to find your way through those locations on your own. Just make sure not to let the purple cloud of ultimate darkness catch up to you!

NOTE: The death touch “mob” and teleporters in this task can only be seen if you have NPC spell particle effects turned on. These are in the Options-Display menu and must be turned on before you zone in.

This zone is exactly how it sounds. It’s a crazy race against a random clock (or in this case, a random cloud of purple smoke) where you try to accomplish the goals and not die. First you’re sent running through a crazy maze of coin chests and leprechauns (invis works best here) then you have to pull four named and make sure not to enter any rooms with purple mist in them as it will kill you instantly. The zone slowly fills up as well, so if you die the best thing to do is just to start over. After you’ve defeated the named you’re off to find five beacons – and that’s it. That’s the end of the challenge.

It SOUNDS easier then it is though. Such is the case with random death-touching mobs and clouds of purple smoke!

There were also a bunch more announcements made yesterday about the anniversary events and I’ll be posting a quick run down in the next post. I’m really hoping to hit levle 90 within the next two weeks, with the two experience bonus days upcoming. We’ll just have to see how it goes. Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Ding 85 – Can’t catch me I’m the Gingerbread Man! #EQ

stargrace March 11, 2011 2 Comments

It may not be the Underfoot expansion any more, but I have finally hit level 85 in EverQuest on my necromancer. What does this mean? Well, it means that I’m truly working towards the House of Thule content in honest – and having a blast doing it. Last night I did a neat Library task that was a lot of fun, and then afterward we worked towards getting our Journeyman 5 ranked mercenaries. I need to do a few more unlocks in order to finish mine off, but I’ve got the hardest portions completed.

I haven’t purchased my level 85 spells yet, and I’m 0% into the level simply because I gained it too late to really adventure any more (which means I’ll probably die and lose the level, as is typically my luck) but I AM very happy to have reached it none the less. 85 means a new pet, it means House of Thule aa finally start opening up to me, as well as 85-90 gear which I plan on upgrading fairly soon. Excited? Yes, yes I am.  What I’m even MORE excited about though is this announcement regarding the 12th anniversary of EQ:

Almost 12 years ago the first truly 3d massively multiplayer online role playing game was awaiting its release to the public. To celebrate this momentous occasion, we here in EverQuest are celebrating and we want you to join us!

In Game Events – 12 Days of excitement throughout Norrath!

The stern glare of the ancient Efreeti, while not an uncommon sight in the temple, still carried enough weight to strike unbridled fear into the Koada`Dal’s heart. The young elf looked up toward Tazgar, trembling as he nodded, “I understand. I shall ensure their safe delivery with my life.”

This moment haunted the young seeker, consuming his every waking thought. He looked around the novel scenery of Sunrise Hills. It was a far cry from the Temple he had grown so accustomed to. Adventurers would come and go, passing him by without saying a word. If only a friendly adventurer could offer the seeker some assistance…

Starting on Tuesday March 16, 2011 and lasting until Saturday March 26, 2011 we’ll celebrate our 12th Anniversary in game! Not only will we have everything from our previous anniversary celebrations (including quests, fabled spawns, and raids) but this year brings all new challenges to the lands of Norrath! It gets even better, since from March 25, 2011 to March 27, 2011 we’ll also offer Double Experience throughout Norrath* rounding out a full 12 days of celebration! We know you are excited about all these events. How will you spend EverQuest’s 12th Anniversary?

*Double Experience will not be available on the Time Locked Progression Servers Fippy Darkpaw and Vulak’Aerr

Livecasts, Livecasts, Livecasts!

With all our excitement here, we wanted to share some of it directly with you! So on Wednesday March 16, 2011 at 4 p.m. Pacific we’ll host a talk with John Smedley on the EverQuest franchise and its prestigious position in the history of MMOs as well as a plethora of other topics. You won’t want to miss this one; you never know what you might hear!

That’s not all though, on Thursday March 17, 2011 at 4 p.m. Pacific join members of the EverQuest team for a talk about EQ from its beginnings up until now. Hear about their personal journeys with EverQuest and some of their expectations for the future. This one will be truly fascinating and have some great anecdotes from the history of EQ!

Anniversary Deal Bonanza

It wouldn’t be a celebration without some discounts in the EverQuest Marketplace and boy do we have some deals for you! Keep a close eye on the EQPlayers website so you’ll be amongst the first to find out which of your favorite items will be on sale!

In Other Norraths

Grand events are afoot in EverQuest II starting later this month, where mysterious apparitions have been sighted! Portals through time have been appearing around Norrath, linking this age to an age before the Shattering. Journey through these portals to find the ancient heroes and villains of an age gone by. Reminisce about them. Then kill them and loot them for the really cool items they possess. There may be a connection between them; perhaps you should investigate them all…

EverQuest Online Adventures and EverQuest Mac have their own special events planned, and will be celebrating the Anniversary as well. On March 17th, Naylie will be in game on the Al`Kabor server to honor EverQuest’s 12th anniversary. Join her in the Plane of Knowledge to celebrate. She may be talked into going to the Arena and calling forth some monsters to fight! In EQOA, Naylie and Zatozia will be hosting a Community Meet and Greet on the Castle Lightwolf server on March 18th. Zatozia has heard rumors that the Sandswiss family of dragons may be making a return for the occasion to attempt to take another bite at adventurers.

So happy 12th EverQuest Anniversary, see you all at our Livecasts and in Norrath!

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Al’Kabor’s Nightmare and An Offering To Thule #EQ

stargrace March 10, 2011 No Comments

It was time to continue on with our progression, the 8 hour down time cut it a little short but we were ready to jump right back into it once everyone was online (and once Ninga had power again). We had left off with Al’Kabor’s nightmare, which is one of my favorite zones. See, in his dream Kelethin and Felwithe are in ruins. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as seeing all of those tree houses laying all over the ground in little bits and pieces. Of course his dream can’t be that good because in the end you defeat him – but it was still really fun.

After came our hardest challenge which is in Fear Itself, and it’s called An Offering To Thule. The zone was REALLY hard to pull, you had to fight 6 mobs at once for 142 mobs, and out of those 6 one would really hurt (and at my level, they all really hurt). What’s worse is that entire hordes of mobs would all come at once, since the encounters were so close together. The basics of the task (and our final task to unlock access to Tier 4) included:

• Kill 24 amygdalans – Fear Itself
• Kill 12 boogeymen – Fear Itself
• Kill 18 fetid fiends – Fear Itself
• Kill 12 frightflingers – Fear Itself
• Kill 12 glarelords – Fear Itself
• Kill 12 gorgons – Fear Itself
• Kill 12 phantasms – Fear Itself
• Kill 12 phoboplasm – Fear Itself
• Kill 12 samhains – Fear Itself
• Kill 12 scarelings – Fear Itself
• Kill Dread – Fear Itself
• Kill Fright – Fear Itself
• Kill Terror – Fear Itself
• ? – Fear Itself
• ? – Fear Itself
• ? – Fear Itself
• Claim your rewards – Fear Itself

Thankfully the ‘hard’ mob out of every encounter can be rooted / mez’d etc so with our handy monk pullers we would always set one away from us and take down the other five. The problem was that our mercenary (tank) would charge off after the rooted mob – they really need an AI that allows you to tell the mercenary NOT to hit the rooted mobs. The zone took us over 3 hours to do when all was said and done. In the end you defeat Cazic-Thule – as well as Dread, Terror, and Fear once you’ve finished clearing the entire zone. It brought back memories of me using my rogue to SoS and do corpse runs.

By the time we were done I was simply exhausted. I haven’t been getting nearly enough sleep due to real life (boo) so I crashed at about 10pm, 60% into level 84. I’m eager to reach 85 if for no other fact then I will finally be on the last 5 level grind – and I also get a new rogue pet (woohoo). I’ve also decided that I’d like my necromancer to finally also be my tradeskiller. I’ve worked long and hard on the enchanter and her crafting, but I really prefer my main to “do it all”. It will be a long process, but I’m really looking forward to it.

Happy gaming no matter where you find yourself! I’ll see you in Norrath.