Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[The Tattered Notebook: If we all look cool, how do we know who's really cool?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/11/the-tattered-notebook-if-we-all-look-cool-how-do-we-know-whos/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/11/the-tattered-notebook-if-we-all-look-cool-how-do-we-know-whos/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/11/the-tattered-notebook-if-we-all-look-cool-how-do-we-know-whos/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Last week, we looked at the amazing job that EverQuest II does with providing ways to make your character look unique. EQII is one of the best when it comes to making your character look special, cool, and fitting of who you are. But there's another side of this coin, and as one forum poster has rightfully pointed out, the best-looking items aren't always the best items in the game. As Rayven2 noted recently on the official forums:
A good example is the Elemental War Sword. Sure it drops from an easy-mode mob, but it's a 4x raid and takes time and effort to beat (at least the first time you do it). The sword should look somewhat cool, but the graphic is just the same reused sword graphic painted gold. The chillborne sword is the one that has the particle effects for 200SC. So you bust your hump beating a mob that took 24 people to take down only to get a reward that looks worse than an appearance weapon anyone can acquire for little or no effort. None of the scout weapons look anywhere as cool as the SC daggers out there.
Senior Producer Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson replied, saying, "It's a fair point, although if we're not paying attention to that now, it's by oversight, not by intent. Everyone wants something cool looking (not just cool stats) when they overcome big challenges. That's natural."

In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll take a closer look at "looking cool" and how the rise of cash shops has changed the way we view each other.

Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: If we all look cool, how do we know who's really cool?

MassivelyThe Tattered Notebook: If we all look cool, how do we know who's really cool? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>appearance-itemsappearance-tabcash-shopclass-gearclass-hatcosmeticsDave-georgesoneq2EQIIEverQuest-2everquest-iif2pfeaturedfree-to-playfreemiumgearkingdom-of-skymarketplaceprismaticsraidingraiding-gearrayven2sentinels-fatesmokejumperMon, 11 Apr 2011 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Tattered Notebook: What will Velious bring?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/21/the-tattered-notebook-what-will-velious-bring/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/21/the-tattered-notebook-what-will-velious-bring/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/21/the-tattered-notebook-what-will-velious-bring/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

It's been a long wait, but tomorrow, EverQuest II players will finally get to explore the frozen continent of Velious. Longtime players, including me, worried that the expansion would not pay tribute to the features that made the original Scars of Velious so popular. The official site isn't very reassuring, either, as it's dominated by announcements of appearance gear and marketing promotions. Veteran players are left feeling like the Wendy's lady, pointedly asking, "Where's the beef?"

With the arrival of launch day, what will the Destiny of Velious expansion bring to players? Is there more to this expansion than flying mounts and cute othmir illusions? Read on to see what players might expect to see.

Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: What will Velious bring?

MassivelyThe Tattered Notebook: What will Velious bring? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>destiny-of-veliousdoveqEQ2eq2xEQIIeverquestEverQuest-2everquest-2-extendedeverquest-iifeaturedkael-drakkelkingdom-of-skykunarklodizalothmirpublic-questssentinels-fatethe-shadow-odysseytower-of-frozen-shadowveliousvelketorMon, 21 Feb 2011 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Tattered Notebook: Six years of EverQuest II]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/08/the-tattered-notebook-six-years-of-everquest-ii/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/08/the-tattered-notebook-six-years-of-everquest-ii/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/08/the-tattered-notebook-six-years-of-everquest-ii/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

I looked down at the dog-eared journal and shivered. As excited as I was to finally be in possession of The Tattered Notebook, I recalled the fates of its previous owners. First, seemingly out of madness, Seccia made a sudden and unexpected career change to blog about kittens. Now, Scarve, a Ratonga, has disappeared in the night, leaving behind only a wedge of cheese, this tattered notebook, and a tiny stuffed Kerran doll. Rumors spread of his appearance among a shadowy cult of Gnomish tinkerers, but it's unclear whether he's with them by choice or by force.

Regardless, I took a deep breath and opened the cover. What a perfect time to begin adding my entries to the journal, right at the celebration of EverQuest II's six-year anniversary! To celebrate, the game is holding its second annual Festival of Heroes, from November 19-30. In honor of this milestone, my first entry into The Tattered Notebook is a retrospective of those past six years, with an eye towards the future.

Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Six years of EverQuest II

MassivelyThe Tattered Notebook: Six years of EverQuest II originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adventure-packanniversaryappearance-slotbillybirthdaybloodline-chroniclesdesert-of-flamesechoes-of-faydwereqEQ2EQIIeverquesteverquest-2everquest-iiexchangeexchange-serversf2pfallen-dynastyfan-fairefan-faire-2010featuredfestival-of-heroesfree-to-playfreemiumhousingkingdom-of-skymarketplaceNorrathplayer-housingRetrospectiverise-of-kunarksentinels-fateSOEsoe-eq-2SONYSony-Online-Entertainmentsplitpaw-sagathe-shadow-odysseythe-tattered-notebookMon, 08 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Persistent zones appear on EQII's test server]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/11/persistent-zones-appear-on-eqiis-test-server/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/11/persistent-zones-appear-on-eqiis-test-server/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/11/persistent-zones-appear-on-eqiis-test-server/#commentsFiled under: , ,

EQ2Wire draws some interesting conclusions from last week's Test Update Notes on Sony Online Entertainment's EverQuest II. The long-running fantasy MMORPG appears to be waffling on whether or not players should level rapidly. Last weekend marked a double XP smorgasbord, but now comes word of new persistent zones on the game's test servers.

These zones include many instances in the Desert of Flames and Kingdom of Sky sections of the world of Norrath, and making them persistent will prevent players from zoning in and out for a fresh set of mobs.

"This is the type of change that makes players the most negative about a game, these "yank the rug out from under you" changes which only serve to make players feel that their time is being intentionally wasted to maintain an artificial leveling pace. It only emphasizes the treadmill characteristic that all MMOs have, but usually try to conceal," writes EQ2Wire's Feldon.

Check out the original article for more commentary, as well as the full patch notes.

MassivelyPersistent zones appear on EQII's test server originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>desert-of-flamesEQ2eq2wireEQIIEverQuest-2everquest-iikingdom-of-skylevelingmobspersistent-zonesoeSony-Online-EntertainmentSun, 11 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The next EQ2 expansion is ... Odus]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/25/the-next-eq2-expansion-is-odus/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/25/the-next-eq2-expansion-is-odus/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/25/the-next-eq2-expansion-is-odus/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


Those who trusted to the Word arrived none too soon, for our ship had barely docked at their primitive outpost when the earth beneath us trembled and rolled. For many long years the earth shook violently, finally tearing Tunaria (that which the humans call Antonica) apart. -- The History of the Erudites

If "The Shadow of Odyssey" doesn't deal with an invasion from the Void (the Shadowmen's home plane), what else can we guess from the name? The title is fairly ambivalent. Is there something called Odyssey that casts a Shadow? Is there a Shadow from a place called Odyssey? Is it metaphorical -- could the appearance of Odyssey bring a darkness to the world?

Previous EQ2 expansions have always talked of places -- the Desert of Flames; the Kingdom of Sky; the Echoes of Faydwer; the Rise of Kunark. If they follow this same trend, then, Odyssey is a place. It is unlikely that it is a Shadowman place. It could be; we just don't know yet. Adventuring in the Void would be a truly unique experience.

There's no reason to go to another plane of existence for Odyssey... not when we have the whole continent of Odus still unfound. Odyssey, Odus... could the similarity of the names be just a coincidence? Five hundred years in EQ2's past, Erudites were fairly normal looking people. In EQ2's present, Erudites have evolved into something quite different indeed. Gray, almost metallic looking skin; colored tattoos on their bodies that seem to pulse with an arcane illumination. It is difficult to believe that a race so attuned to the threads of magic that connect together the universe would have been unaware of what was happening to Luclin, a moon surrounded by and infused with magic. They would have protected their home somehow.

Perhaps they gathered together their most powerful wizards and, using the power that had once torn from the ground an entire Kerran village and the land for kilometers below it and transported it to Luclin, pulled the continent from the land and took it to safety when the moon began to split and their cousins who had followed Quellious' call to travel to Qeynos had gone.

Freed from Norrath, Odus would become Odyssey; and in its journeys, would cast a very large shadow indeed. Now that the Age of Shattering is long over and the world of Norrath is at relative peace, they have returned. The Erudites we see around are exiles, waiting for the day when Quellious calls them home again.

Could The Shadow of Odyssey have anything to do with the Plane of Shadow? >>>>>

MassivelyThe next EQ2 expansion is ... Odus originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-shatteringdesert-of-flamesechoes-of-faydwereq2eqiieruditeseverquest-2everquest-iikerrankingdom-of-skyluclinodusquelliousrise-of-kunarkshadow-of-odysseyFri, 25 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EverQuest II celebrates its third birthday]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/11/everquest-ii-celebrates-its-third-birthday/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/11/everquest-ii-celebrates-its-third-birthday/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/11/everquest-ii-celebrates-its-third-birthday/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Thursday was the third anniversary of the launch of Sony Online Entertainment's EverQuest II. In celebration of another year of service, the team put together a retrospective video, interviewing the team about their time working on the game. They talk about the process of making the three currently-released expansions for the game, and give a few tantalizing glimpses of the Rise of Kunark, which is slated for release next week.

They also had cake, as shown in a series of pictures posted to the official EverQuest II website. Happy Birthday EQ2. Nice MMOGing.

MassivelyEverQuest II celebrates its third birthday originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Nov 2007 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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