I love seeing posts like this by the devs...always cool to get some details on the inner workings of the game. I do wonder sometimes why the LDON system was never used again for anything after that expansion though.
It was, Sheaffer. Hugely. Pervasively, even. Not identically, but the essence, the real "LDoN system(s)" were instancing and alt currency and missions with goals. LDoN is what EQ's about now
How about: A completely new expansion as big and as interesting as Kunark? Or add new zones to all the existing continents, not dream sequences, time travel, or alternate realities...
Aye, everyone wanted the kill missions. Only because it was the only one that people could always finish on time. Well most of the time. I don't think the repetitive argument works with EQ. That is like complaining that a fish swims.
Having played WoW, and quit because its community sucks, I know what I'd like: * A real, working Z axis * Spells that scale as you level, not having to repurchase them every 5 levels * Resting XP Those would be nice. As for a new expansion, I say finish what you started with RoF and completely revise all of Velious as a level 100 continent, with the 3 factions, quests, etc. A level 100 ring war would be pure win.
Rain of Fear was the end of a 3 expansion long story arc. Having said that, I have no problem with a couple tiers being rehashed zones from old content. My glasses are as rosy-tinted as they can get when I say that, but I really enjoyed tier 1 of Rain of Fear because it was a nice revisiting of part of Velious.
I'm warming up to the conjecture of setting and story of the next expac. TBS is one of my personal favorite expacs. I think Katta is one of the most impressive achievements to date for EQ Devs. Such a massive zone that's hugely populated and from day one of launch and I cannot recall there being lag. I kind of dug at the time it actually taking time to travel around. The zone is still one of the most grand looking to date. If the new version of the zone isn't in the air bubble I'm looking forward to the story around that. I also have fond memories of getting Donas Dagmire's Skeletal Hand. I miss quest quest arcs like that. Group progression was quite an achievement at the time. Chelsith and Zhisza really tested you and separated the well played characters from the regular Joes.
I don't see us getting back to the old stories of TBS. There is a long way still to go to get rid of the underware dragon in Ethernere. I really don't see her story being over with the introduction of 1 more zone. Sadly I think this story is here to stay for another expansion. I hope I'm wrong, I am not enjoying this cross over to eq2.
The one nice zone from a story telling view in Cotf was Neriak, the rivalry between queen and king was funny (hey you gotta pour poison into the king's bath...). The negative highlight was the WK missions and raids. Oh and these darn bixies, coming out of nowhere and nobody would believe for a second these bees can be respectable L100 mobs. It can only get better, in every aspect of the game. That's our advantage, after Cotf you are ready for anything...! P.S. when looking back, TBS was pretty awesome. I can only dream about an atmo like that in Eq these days, enough of the wasteland, evil dreams, zombie and Alaran i am ready to go back to the beach.
nice getting a peak at the workings of EQ. I will say though that I was surprised by the pics a dev posted that showed the pathing geometry, I can't seem to find the topic thread though
Rain of Fear's story isn't quite done yet though. Still have to rebirth CT later on. Not to mention the still unused portal.
If enough people don't like it they will. Just look how they simply dropped the Wayfarer's Brotherhood. All that has to be done in the last zone is fix it so that the problems don't continue to pour out into the rest of Norrath. My understanding of what I've read of the end of RoF was that CT's power builds up into the one NPC that channeled him in the event and when it reaches a peak he reforms until his power is dissipated again; ie CT is up until someone kills him then he has to gather his powers to respawn again.
From what I understand about CoTF lore so far... Dragon somehow cross into our universe, warn us about baddies incomming. we gather various artifact around the place to help her return to her universe ( along with the baddies?). Selo's drum, Bayle Claymore, That scroll from Neriak and something else from the new zone... of course, those artifacts make people go crazy. Now, why do we see cliknar invading bixie? no idea... why are we stopping bixie from warring against cliknars? no idea... bixie 2? no idea what's happening there. in Karana, I assume we defend the dragon so she can return to her universe and bring the baddies with them... however, why she didn't stop the cultist from going crazy in the first place, we don't know.
Yinla, Argin-Hiz wraps up all of the lore regarding Lady Lendiniara and this expansion. I don't find the ending satisfactory, but that's my personal opinion. Essentially, we've already gathered two of the four relics (Selo's Drum, Qeynos Claymore). We had Lanys steal the Scroll of G'Han from us in Neriak 2. We need both that scroll and the fourth object, a 'staff that connects the living and the dead' from what Zebuxoruk tells us. To gather the staff, we must have the scroll. In comes Argin-Hiz, where we go to capture the Flame of Ro, the fourth artifact. I'm hoping the dialogue explains why exactly we needed the scroll of G'Han to recover it, and exactly how we can still recover it without it, given that Lanys stole it. She may appear and 'help,' but that just isn't satisfactory to me. We never actually recover the third artifact, which was supposedly required to attain the fourth. Suffice it to say we get the Flame of Ro, and then also meet up with Lanys in the Void to perform the ritual to send Lendiniara home. Also, what does the 'Flame of Ro,' from a giant fire city, have to do with communing with the living and the dead? I digress. At this point, we fight off Ethernere to allow the portal to be closed, with crazy Zebuxoruk and backstabbing Lanys along the way. My main issue here is we have some unresolved issues that look like they were put into the game 'in case.' In terms of Bixie, we know that Pelzia's final general, Erlika Zzatris, is still continuing Vaxa's orders posthumously. After defeating all her constructs in Bixie 2, she escapes back to the lab to create 'stronger' ones. We obviously need to deal with her or the Bixie invasion will continue into CR. This is glossed over. Also, we know that Commander Galenth was after stopping the cultists and wanting to kill Lendiniara, but he wasn't the full leader of the WK mission. The story tells us that was General Brutus Tacitum. I fully expected the final show-down to include him, as we're going to look quite like ritualists when we begin a ritual to send the dragon back. In any case, the expansion is over with the return of Lady Lendiniara and the successful completion of closing the rifts via ritual in The Void.
Being a fan of the show Supernatural, I'd like to see an expansion where the "good" gods try to take over. Bad for the evil races and classes, sure, but soon the good guys discover that angels are real jerks and "paradise" ain't all it's cracked up to be.
New Info! There is still no NDA attached with this beta round for Argin-Hiz. So, let's kick this back on-track since I'm not violating any restrictions here and discuss more info on the new expansion! We know that Lady Lendiniara gets sent home in the final encounter of Call of the Forsaken, so that gets wrapped up. We're heading back to The Buried Sea in SKU 22 (Expansion 21: Codename: A Streetcar Named Mayong.) Here is what I can gather from the new collection data available. Katta gets destroyed by cataclysmic weather and Lanys makes another big appearance. Also, Dinosaur Island. Yep, you read that right. Here we go: Master Scavenger: T1 Meta: 4 zones T2 Meta: 4 zones T1 Zones: T2 Meta: So, we see two tiers, with eight zones. Katta gets wiped out by some horrific weather event - residents, Shissar, and all. Tempest Temple arises, with the Kedge taking to an extreme worship of Karana (related to the cataclysmic weather?) Meanwhile, Lanys and her followers are searching under the sea now for Firiona and the Thuliasaur, where we have the Thaell Ew trying to subjugate dinosaurs, but losing. Essentially, Dinosaur Island.
The end of CoTF wraps up pretty nicely and sets up the next expansion when you do the final group mission in ethernere phase 3. I don't want to spoil it though since it isn't out yet
