EverQuest II Producer's Letter April 2022

Alpha, beta, beta . . . launch?

Can you believe the year's going by so quickly? I was thinking about an old Clockwork mount I owned that got stuck in reverse. That really took me back. But seriously, it's been a wild ride and I'd like to thank you for all of your time and dedication to making EverQuest II so much more than just a game. Without all of you and the love that you bring to our community we wouldn't be where we are today.

Earlier this year, we experimentally released the 2022 roadmap. Thank you for your warm reception to the idea and for your interesting banter. If you missed that, the original article is at EQII Roadmap 2022. Since then, we've delivered on it plus a plethora of smaller fixes and improvements. You can read more about each one in the links below.
2022 Roadmap Update:

• Completed:
  • January:
    • Kaladim Unlocking Age of Discovery
    • Improvements to the Test Server
  • February:
    • Erollisi Day
    • Server Merge - Rivervale into Antonia Bayle
    • Lore and Legend Server
  • March:
    • Chronoportal Phenomenon Updates
    • Brewday Festival
    • Bristlebane Day

• Coming up soon (details below):

• • April:
    • Game Update 119 - Coffers and Coffins!
    • Stat/Number Wrappers - In game combat numbers (damage and heals) are visually abbreviated and optionally commas (or periods depending on your locale) are added into damage logs.
  • May:
    • New Time Locked Expansion Server - Varsoon
  • June:
    • Tinkerfest Updates
    • Scorched Sky Celebration Updates
    • New Patches of Pride Items - New LGBTQIA+ pride familiars arrive!

We are coming upon our first game update for 2022, GU 119, which we're proud to announce its name: "Coffers and Coffins". EverQuest® II Coffers and Coffins™ will be available on live servers April 12, 2022. This update will feature content for all play styles, including season 4 of Overseer and some much requested changes to the Overseer mini-game. You can expect to see new heroic dungeons, new collections, raids and tradeskill content in the Coffers and Coffins game update. The open beta starts today!

Speaking of betas, the 64-bit Servers and Client conversion is currently on the beta server and will be available through the open beta for Coffers and Coffins! Please feel free to log on and pound on things and see if anything shakes loose! The 64-bit conversion is still tentatively scheduled for July this summer, but it will be available on the beta server until then. You can read more about the 64-bit upgrade here.

This leads to summer fun! We'll be putting a new spin on live events that we hope you'll enjoy. We are happy to announce that Tinkerfest, Scorched Sky Celebration, and Oceansfull Festival will be receiving some new updates, including some heroic dungeon content for each event, as well as new and exciting rewards that can be earned along the way. Keep your eyes peeled for more information as we push to bring new live event content for everyone this summer!



Even more exciting, on May 24, 2022, we will be releasing our newest Time-Locked Expansion server: Varsoon. This will be a very similar experience to our previous TLE, Kaladim, except it will have the Free Trade ruleset. You can expect to see more information soon, including a FAQ. In the meantime, if you want to try out something different, we currently have the new Lore & Legend server, Kael Drakkel, that is a completionist's dream for quests, tradeskills, decorating, and of course story content.

Our pack of cuddly LGBTQIA+ patchwork critters is growing! Whether you are celebrating yourself, your friends, family, or guildmates, we've got three new pride familiars that you'll be able to add to your collections and parade along with you through Norrath. You'll be able to start adding them to your family June 3, 2022. These claimable familiars will have stats equivalent to the common familiar stats from the upcoming familiar season 9 that is coming later this year!

That's not all, we've already begun work on EverQuest II's 19th expansion! The story outline has been made, environments have started their core layouts, and characters are starting to take shape. Where will our adventures take us, you ask? What foes will we face? What wishes will be fulfilled? What mysteries will be unburied from the sands of time? We can't wait to have more to show, to tell, and for you to experience!


Eye'll be seeing you,

Jenn Chan
Head of Studio

Really excited for the new TLE

Will we be getting any new information regarding the TLE server prior to the launch?

Much requested changes to the overseer minigame? You obviously haven't been keeping track of the recently requested changes.
Put the stuff back the way it was please and stop giving me a bunch of no trade garbage.

Your new lore and legend server was pretty much dead on arrival, I do hope this is not a sign of what you consider to be satisfactory game changes or what height you have set the bar for the future.

Thank you for your update

I'm curious to see what changes the OverSeer system will have. I agree currently you get way too many potions and harvest materials. I also read somewhere that the Agents have gear now? Hmm. Not sure how that will be. Will it just turn into another thing to collect and power up with real money or time. Guess we will see what they do with the new season.

The release said content for all play styles. Does that mean we will be getting a Solo version of the new content like in past GU updates. After doing the expac sig lines there isn't much for players who don't raid or do Heroic to do. It would be nice if at least once in awhile you added GU content for solo players.

Not everyone wants to do or has time to gear up for Heroics or Raids.

I guess If I learned to read more, it would answer my own questions lol

Thanks Jenn!

Great update! I'm excited for all of it, but especially the GU this month. Rock On.
Silk

This is amazing, Everquest is the only MMO I ever get truly excited about. It was my very first one and still is deep in my heart and is my home world. I love Norrath, because is truly has heart, and acceptance.. When I realized on Erollisi Day I could bring together gay couples on that one quest, I was VERY happy, felt included.. and the pride familiars, so cute. EQ truly knows what heart is and the community is awesome. Never stop running this world. ♥ I cant wait for the next expansion and all the content, the world is so big, I still havent explored everywhere yet. lol (Is it cause I have too many characters? probably) XD

Could this be to a reference to a new Sinking Sands zone?

Thanks for the update, Jenn. I'm also confused about the lack of solo content in the GU - are solo players limited to the 3 or 4 new event-only solo instances this year, then? I hope not, because that would be disappointing. Last year's GU included a solo Vex Thal instance along with the heroics.

It's always funny though, seeing the occasional complaint about *checks notes* a few free familiars available in the marketplace for a week or so, for the fourth year in a row, and entirely optional.

There is a solo zone in the GU.

Good to know! Thank you for confirming.

So far, I've been very pleased with the way EQ2 is going. I really enjoy the VoV expac and am very impressed with the graphics. I also am very pleased with the last several recipe releases, holidays and expac and look forward to those coming in the future.

Looking forward to seeing anticipated improvement with the transition to 64-bit.

Keep it up!

Totally agree!!

What about the planned class changes in this GU as Kander stated back in February (beside the bi-weekly adjustments)? are they included, pushed back or forgotten?

I am honestly thinking about coming back for the new time locked server, when I played last it was all about the end game and levelling was too fast.

it would be cool to meet some players group together, find a good guild play the game when I first played it.

I'm really looking forward to the new TLE server. Thank you for letting us know far enough ahead to take a few days off from work for the server opening.

Agreed. The "much requested changes to the overseer minigame" had better be the one where they revert all our mission-dropped agents to heirloom, like they were before; otherwise it's not going to be worth a pinch of ****

I understand necessity of 3 new LGBTQIA+ pride familiars! But: Any news about Tatrinax PvP server and RoK expansion?!

That was a whole lot of nothing new.