New and Improved Hot Zone System

Could you use some extra XP, sweet new loot, and the opportunity to explore more of Norrath? Great news - Hot Zones are back and they’re better than ever!

These new Hot Zones are available on all regular servers starting today, April 20, 2016. Moving forward, new hot zones will rotate randomly every 3 months on the first of January, April, July, and October.

New Hot Zones will become available on progression servers later in the history for those special servers. Different level ranges of Hot Zones will unlock on progression servers depending on what expansion is unlocked:

• The Serpent’s Spine - Level 65 and lower level Hot Zones will unlock
• Secrets of Faydwer - Level 70 Hot Zones will unlock
• Seeds of Destruction - Level 75 Hot Zones will unlock
• House of Thule - Level 80 Hot Zones will unlock
• Veil of Alaris - Level 85 Hot Zones will unlock
• Shadow of Fear - Level 90 Hot Zones will unlock
• The Darkened Sea - Level 95 Hot Zones will unlock

Visit Franklin Teek in the Plane of Knowledge to see the current list of Hot Zones, grab a task, and get adventuring!

Every three months? Well that makes a change because the last new ones were on the 19th June 2013! Will there be a full list, or must we make do with the expansions set out above? I note that there are no zones mentioned for levels below 65; does that mean that there will not be any?

Would also love to see some level 100 ones as well.

It means that all of 65 and under hot zones will be from the TSS expansion - CR, BM, Mesa, Roost, etc.

Unlocked does not mean required. I believe as expansions are unlocked zones from those expansions will be added to the Hot List. So for the TSS expansion level 55 and under zones can come from TSS and all previous content. As there are no 56 to 65 level zones in previous content those levels will have to come from the most recent expansion TSS with the same occurring for each following expansion.

No, you are misinterpreting that. That's not what it means. It says for progression servers, the hot zones are not available at all until TSS is unlocked. It says nothing about where those hot zones will be from.

I agree that we could use at least one for 100 if not a set of 2 since the game is so top heavy. I understand there are "daily HAs" but a static zone would be good for that too especially since in theory the next expansion will raise the level to 110.

Now remember I don't have any inside info so I am just assuming that based on past recent history since every other expansion in the last several years has been one that raises the level.

@Dzarn, @Prathun and @Jchan thank you guys and the rest of the devs & coders for this system. I hope you can expand on it further when you are given time to do so and I would love to see you guys take a look at a few other things in the Quality Of Life thread and on the Issue Tracker.

Fellowships and shrouds in particular are two things I would love to see modernized/updated.

Here is the current set for now although they are tweaking it so this is subject to change in theory. Mostly I think they are tweaking the rewards part so that each zone gives you a choice like it did before. I think that may be more time consuming than it's worth since most people rush through the lower levels but that's just my opinion.

On Test the Hot Zones go from 20 - 95 and are: Paludal, Nedaria, Dalnir, Stone Hive, Emerald Jungle, Scarlet Desert, Sebilis, The Deep, Blackfeather Roost, Drunder Fortress of Zek, The Hive, Direwind, Fortress Mech, The Foundation, Arthicrex, Pillars of Alra

new hot zones will rotate randomly every 3 months on the first of January, April, July, and October.

Question on the random
say lvl 20 Paldual (now) will it be in July a Next lvl 20 hot zone 50% chance the other two zones in the list or a 33.33% chance from all 3 zones on the list for lvl 20 ? so it might be no change in July?

I am assuming the 50% Chance so they due change.

Amen! Would surely like level 100 hot zones!

Glad to see they moved sarinth to the darkend sea. Also loving the sweet new loot. lvl 80 shoulders that look just like the stuff prepatch . Not that I go to the hotzones but I know a bunch do. Wondering if this is botched?

Thanks for the changes to Hot Zones, no really. Thanks! When selecting the zones MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN SUPPORT MORE THAN TWO PLAYERS. Sarith? Really! One Necro killing the crabs, another player killing the rest. WOW great choice. You come up with a great idea than just kill it. Should have stayed with the zones you had on test. Sometimes I just scratch my head and wonder why you make the choices you do.

Well, lets see. Crabs and Kedges in Sarith? Anything in Fear Itself? The only conclusion I can draw from this is that you're trying to discourage players from doing the dailys.

I could have sworn that expansion was called Rain of Fear. You do mean the one with Shard's Landing in it, right?

Could just be my imagination but xp seemed nurfed across the board in these lower zones in mid 60's less than one percent about 0.5 in a xp bonus server fv, in a hotzone with a 10% potion is horrible (per kill). Bad for level range.

That said I'm glad the zones are on rotation but as a result leveling will be slowed down considerably.

Some people like to play the game starting with level one characters do the content and build the character themselves, its a valid playstyle. Not ever character needs to be a heroic.

Eq has a legacy of 17 years of content all of which the company should be proud of and the player should be damn grateful for. Nothing like this exists elsewhere. eq1 is a national treasure.

I think every player should try to see it all at least once, hotzones encourage new places but if the xp is now bad as a result of changing them this will discourage the player instead of spicing up gameplay.

Um, you broke it....In Atikil, hounds, none on track and no one else in zone at 5 am this morning, and in Fear itself, Boogymen, no updates when killed.....

.

level 85 : cant aggro mobs - level 90 : cant get credit for killing Boogeymen - level 95 broken too - WTG DBG

And that, lads, is why we call them "Daybroke."

I'm not sure they intended for the second set to be on Live and the first set to be on Test. That may be the problem but I imagine there are other issues as well as mentioned above.