I was able to login yesterday but today I keep receiving this message and it isn't during the daily patch time. Is the patch and server time off? Error 1017:Cannot login to the EverQuest sever. Your client likely needs updating. When you click OK the client will close and LaunchPad will start.
They have an issue with their CDN provider that is impacting all games and currently EQ is only seeing the issue on beta and test as those have both been patched since the error started. They have said they are waiting on a fix from the CDN provider and there is no ETA yet for that fix.
If you are having patching issues, some people have said turning on a VPN before patching has worked. It changes your geographic location to access a different node to spur the patcher on. (You can disable the VPN after the patch). There are a few reputable free VPNs. There is one based out of Switzerland that also runs an encrypted email service. The name starts with P. This company is open source but I can't speak definitively to their privacy and security. Dreamweaver, please remove my post if it is not appropriate (forum or company rules).