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E3 '07: EverQuest II: Rise of Kunark Impressions

By Brad Shoemaker, GameSpotPosted Jul 12, 2007 9:42 pm PT

Sony Online hasn't forgotten about EverQuest II--this upcoming expansion pack will add a load of new content to the game.

Dedicated EverQuest II players will get a raft of new content this November, when the next expansion pack for the game, Rise of Kunark, will ship to retail and also become available for download. From the looks of things, the pack will add a ton of new content in all the places you'd expect in a massively multiplayer expansion. One of the biggest additions will be a new playable race, a species of dragon-men called the Sarnak. To accompany the Sarnak's entrance into Norrath, of course, will be a new start zone, an island chain called Timorous Deep. Of course, this zone will also contain the Sarnak's new capital city.

Click to enlarge.

The bulk of the new content in Rise of Kunark, though, will be geared toward the current hardcore, high-level players. All level caps--that is, for characters, guilds, and trade skills--will go up to 80, and new "achievement outfits" will be included that will allow you to re-spec your character to improve your trade skills more efficiently. You'll find 24 new epic weapon quests, each in two parts. The first stage will be a group quest, and will yield a pretty darn nice weapon. But if you want to power your new epic up to its fullest extent, you'll have to trudge through the second phase of the weapon quest, which will be raid-based. Finally, no MMO expansion is complete without a new mount, and you'll find one--the Kunarkian rhinoceros--here.

In addition to Timorous Deep, SOE will add four new overland zones to the game that start around level 65. These will purportedly be really massive zones, though--an SOE rep said that each will actually be composed internally of three smaller zones that are thematically and geographically distinctive. So you'll get to experience some graphical variety without actually having to zone into a new area.

This year, SOE will change its development cycle on expansions for both EverQuest and its sequel, dropping back to one release annually from two. Players were having a hard time plowing through all the new content the developers were cranking out, and the developers were likely staying up late into the night to produce that content, so this arrangement will probably be more agreeable to everyone. SOE will also offer a rather nice package for newcomers to the series--you'll be able to buy Rise of Kunark at retail for around $40 and receive the base EQII and all previous expansions in the box as well. Tentatively, the same deal is set for the downloadable version, though we've heard conflicting reports stating that only Rise will be available in the online package. We'll attempt to clarify that last point as soon as possible.

16 Comments

  • endofwourld

    Posted Nov 14, 2007 6:33 pm PT

    Hey.. if your a Troll Shaman are you still able to summon minion's.. i havent played everquest 2... i stoped at everquest online adventures frontiers. got to level 54 then stoped,, thinkin about eq2 but yea can som1 anwer me plz...

  • Kael1982

    Posted Aug 11, 2007 6:13 am PT

    Hmm, Sarnaks look more or less like the original ones...although the beaks arn't as elongated. Art previews certainly have them golem thingies...wonder if Chardok and the revival of old school boss raid mobs would still be around.

  • Raven

    Posted Aug 4, 2007 7:48 am PT

    I played EQII when it first came out and I played for about 2-3 months. I had to leave because the game was not as good as it was portrayed to be. After 6-7 months I came back and was happy to find out that a lot of the gameplay mechanics were actually changed and fixed. In regards to Ash's post below, depending on what time and what server you are on depends on what zones are deserted. Therefore you really can't take anything to heart if the server you are on has a low population or the fact that you may get on at 6:00 in the morning when nobody is on or at 11:00 at night on a weekday. And in regards to King_Wii's remark about no new gameplay mechanics and just new zones and new races. One question is all i have to that, if you go out a buy an RPG game that you love and you play it non-stop until you beat it would you not buy the expansion pack if it did not have new gameplay mechanics? You see this in RPG's like Diablo II or Titan Quest, they do not change the gameplay mechanics but simply give you new areas to explore, new weapons, new races and even new bosses to kill.

  • Ashkanhoss29

    Posted Jul 14, 2007 10:28 pm PT

    last time I played, there wasnt anyone round...at all...the whole area was deserted. I guess everyone playing this are in high lvl areas.

  • msudude211

    Posted Jul 14, 2007 8:06 am PT

    Yet another MMORPG. Tisk, tisk, tisk.

  • magicmo

    Posted Jul 14, 2007 7:36 am PT

    I can't ever play online MMORPG's and pay for them. Too many things in the real world call for my attention.

  • icytower Site moderator

    Posted Jul 14, 2007 7:30 am PT

    Everquest is another game that I just don't play.

  • Juthan

    Posted Jul 13, 2007 2:59 pm PT

    There are people who still play Halo? WOW!

  • xcryonicx

    Posted Jul 13, 2007 2:47 pm PT

    "there is people that still play this game wow"

    Surely you just saw the word Everquest and assumed it was the original back from 1999. No, this is EQ2, which launched month before WoW and still has quite a healthy community. This content does look cool indeed.

  • Pete5506

    Posted Jul 13, 2007 10:16 am PT

    there is people that still play this game wow

  • DouglasBuffone

    Posted Jul 13, 2007 10:07 am PT

    wow, I really didnt' expect any other content for everquest

  • skemaal

    Posted Jul 13, 2007 4:20 am PT

    I came back to EQ2 a little over 3 weeks ago and I'm amazed how this game turned around for the best. It's the MMO that, currently, have the most fun with. Looking forward to this expansion and try out a Sarnak.

  • Cerberussian

    Posted Jul 13, 2007 3:54 am PT

    Yey, more content!

  • King_Wii

    Posted Jul 13, 2007 1:01 am PT

    I'm iffy on this one, I'm getting sick of the "same old thing" you know when MMOs punch out cookie cutter content thats always the same... I see this as one of those "more zones, raids and races" but no new gameplay mechanics, no new major additions to the game. Oh well I may try it out.

  • jakeboudville

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 11:55 pm PT

    Never tried everquest but the content sure looks tempting

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 10:11 pm PT

    I didn't think that more content would ever come for Everquest II. Looks like the content will be worth it.

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