Varsoon TLE Server FAQ

Many questions and answers hopefully covering everything about which you were curious.

Varsoon will be going live on May 24, 2022 and, as promised, here are all the details you've been craving to know more about and an FAQ.

What's Happening on Varsoon?

Varsoon is a Time-Locked Expansion (TLE) server where expansions unlock automatically. This server will be very similar to the Kaladim TLE except that Varsoon will also be a Free-Trade server. Which means items that are normally heirloom, will be able to be traded with other players.

Content Unlocks Every 16 Weeks

Expansions will unlock approximately every 16 weeks, except for Desert of Flames, which will be 12 weeks. That means you'll experience 16 weeks of classic EverQuest II, 12 weeks of Desert of Flames, 16 weeks of Kingdom of Sky, and so on. Any content that was released in between expansions, including GU and Adventure Pack content, will be released 8 weeks after its corresponding expansion has been released. For example, 8 weeks after Kingdom of Sky is released, you’ll have access to Fallen Dynasty. Desert of Flames will receive Hunter’s Quests and items approximately 6 weeks after release.

Itemization

Items have been adjusted down to better fit the server's progression. Reuse and Casting Speed are being reduced on items through the progression. Ability Mod has been increased in many places.

Return of the Hoods

The hoods and villages will be open for Varsoon, like Big Bend, Longshadow Alley, the Baubleshire and Nettleville. Quest content in these villages will remain changed, but the hoods themselves will be there to access and reminisce.

Familiars

Familiars have also been deemed "out of progression," and will not drop on Varsoon. They will not be available for purchase on the server.

All Access Membership Required

Like other progression and special ruleset servers, you’ll need an All Access Membership to access Varsoon. All Access also includes other great benefits, like 10% off most Marketplace purchases, and a claimable 500 DBC grant each month! You can learn more about membership here.

F.A.Q.
Q: What is a Time Locked Expansion server?
A: A TLE server has a special ruleset that allows players to revisit exciting adventures from previous eras of EverQuest II, starting with original launch content. Every 12 to 16 weeks, content from the next expansion will unlock allowing progression through much of the original game content over time.

Q: Who can play on a TLE server?
A: All Access Membership is required to create characters and play on the Varsoon server.

Q: When will new content be unlocked on the server?
A: Every approximately 16 weeks, a new expansion and its associated content will unlock on the server. Adventure packs such as the Fallen Dynasty will be released 8 weeks into the applicable expansion. Hunter’s Coins and items will be included for all content packs and will also be mid-progression content. Desert of Flames will be 12 weeks and 6 weeks for similar unlocks.

Q: What Races and Classes will be available at launch?
A: All races will be available on Varsoon at launch!
The Channeler and Beastlord classes will not be available for play on Varsoon. These classes have been deemed "Out of Progression" for the beginning of the server and will be made available at their original expansion releases. Recipe scrolls, spell drops for these classes have not been removed due to them being contained in "global" systems.

Q: Can I transfer my character to Varsoon?
A: No transfers will be available to or from Varsoon.

Q: What Starting Areas will be available?
A: The starting areas will be Outpost of the Overlord and Queen’s Colony on the original Isle of Refuge. Darklight Wood and Frostfang Sea are available via the travel bells but not as places where you can start a new character. Timorous Deep and Greater Faydark will not be available until those expansions are released.

Q: Will experience values be tuned for Varsoon?
A: Adventure experience rates and tradeskill experience rates on Varsoon will match the current Kaladim experience rates. [Added on May 10, 2022]

Q: Will Spell Research be available on Varsoon?
A: With the launch of Varsoon, spell research will be made available. However, spell research will be capped at Master.

Q: What will be available for purchase in the Marketplace?
A: The majority of the Marketplace will be available at launch, except for a few items that will be locked behind future expansions.

Q: Will Guildhalls be available?
A: Guildhalls will not be made available at launch but will be made available with Rise of Kunark.

Q: Will we be able to leap or fly on Varsoon?
A: Leaping and flying will be restricted to their content expansions. Leaping will appear during Rise of Kunark, and flying will appear during Destiny of Velious.

Q: Can I use my /claim items?
A: Claim items will be restricted based on expansion, and, in some cases, may never be made available to preserve the progression of the server.

Q: What will be available for Tradeskills?
A: Crafted gear has had its progression re-balanced in past and will remain in its current progression.

Q: Can I use a Mercenary?
A: The Mercenary feature will not be available.

Q: Will Familiars be available on Varsoon?
A: Familiars have been deemed "Out of Progression" for Varsoon and will not be available.

Q: Will we be able to /house to travel on Varsoon?
A: Using /house has been restricted to be within the accessor for housing and will no longer be available from anywhere.

Q: Will there only be ground mounts and will they have reduced ground speed?
A: The highest mount speed on these servers is set at 29% at server launch and increases with each expansion.

Q: Will veteran rewards be available on Varsoon?
A: Veteran Rewards, Veteran experience bonuses, and the Recruit-a-Friend program will not be available on Varsoon.

Q: Will the Loyalty System be available on Varsoon?
A: Loyalty System and daily quests will not be available on Varsoon.

Q: Will Legendary, Fabled and Mythical crits be available on Varsoon?
A: Legendary, Fabled and Mythical crits will not be available on Varsoon.

Q: Will dungeon finder be available on Varsoon?
A: No dungeon finder will be available on Varsoon.

Q: Will Level Agnostic Dungeons be available on Varsoon?
A: Level Agnostic Dungeons will not be available on Varsoon.

Q: Will Reforging and tradeskill apprentices be available on Varsoon?
A: Reforging and tradeskill apprentices will not be available on Varsoon.

Q: Will dropped coin be restricted on Varsoon?
A: Dropped coin has been returned to launch levels of coin gain.

Q: Will there be a queuing system at the launch of Varsoon?
A: An existing queue system for logging in will be in place on May 24th.

Q: Will the heritage merchant and items be available on Varsoon?
A: The Heritage Merchant and its items will not be available on Varsoon.

Q: Can I purchase both crates, the Destiny of Velious Crate and the Undying Crate and claim them on the Varsoon TLE server? [Added on May 19, 2022]
A: Yes, both the Destiny of Velious Crate and the Undying Crate will be available for purchase and claim on the Varsoon TLE server.

Q: Will the Overseer System be available on Varsoon TLE server? [Added on May 19, 2022]
A: Yes! The Overseer System will be available on the Varsoon TLE server.


We're very excited to set off on this new journey with you on May 24! If you can't wait to get in on the adventure, you can chat with other players on our TLE forums here. If you have more questions, you're welcome to post them there too.

I don't hate any of this.

Looking forward to starting over for a bit

Disappointed with

1. Experience rate being so fast - based on this information it will be even faster than Kaladim which the community already agrees was too fast.
2. Same release schedule as Kaladim which felt slow as molasses. DoF being shorter is good, but 12 weeks should be the norm for all the expansions in my opinion, at least until EoF+ This will feel even worse with free trade because everyone can easily get anything they need off the broker. So, everyone's going to be fully geared in 2 months and have nothing to do for the latter 2 months except farm plat or play another game.
3. No mention of a hunter's quest revamp which is desperately needed. No one likes how it's currently implemented - it's not fun and it's lazy/buggy game design.
4. No mention of any class balance/revamp. So the 5-6 useless classes on Kaladim will remain so.

1. Please reconsider exp rates, if we're doing live exp rates it will be way too fast, Kaladim was on the edge of being too fast to begin with. Especially with a 16 week release schedule.
2. Please reconsider guild halls in RoK, they killed the city activity.
3. I think there would be value in a schedule that is 16 weeks Shattered Lands (enough time for everyone to level up, enjoy content, make alts, etc), 8 weeks DoF, then 12 weeks until RoK+.

Will the server cap at a specific expansion? Or is it going to be the same failed tle server that has been repeated over and over?

Agree with slowing the xp rates. WAY too fast for 16 weeks of vanilla

Well, I can see the good and bad for sure.

For the good, thanks for the FAQ. And thanks for the no familiars, mercs, BLs and Channelers.

I'm okay with the xp rate. And here is why, the game is a marathon, not a sprint. If you're worried about leveling too fast, take your time, enjoy the scenery, turn off your xp, have fun. Don't be one of the over caffeinated crowd that races to max level and then complains about a lack of things to do. And it doesn't completely hose people who either don't start right away or don't have a ton of play time.

Now, the bad. Guild halls are bad. Great for decorators, bad for everything else. Not that I like the idea of the portal bots, but at least with those you could bump into folks and chat or at least see other people.

Mounts. You mention speed, but no mention of if it is restricted to ground, leapers, gliders, fliers.

Hunters. I get the intention of getting people to log in every day, but the hunters quests are less quest and more hamster wheel. Any chance of any sort of revamp or at least making it a less zombie creating boring time suck?


And I'm curious to find out what these 5-6 useless classes are that Revvix mentioned.

They did:

Q: Will we be able to leap or fly on Varsoon?
A: Leaping and flying will be restricted to their content expansions. Leaping will appear during Rise of Kunark, and flying will appear during Destiny of Velious.

Bruiser - No reason to have one in raid
Paladin - No reason to have one in raid
Assassin - No reason to have one in raid
Ranger - No reason to have one in raid
Berserker - No reason to have one in raid
Conjuror - Actually good, but still no reason to play one over a necro which does more damage and has higher utility. (speaking as a Conj main on Kaladim who eventually switched to Necro around RoK out of frustration)

Not all of these are "useless" in the general sense, but they are not optimal for raiding setups. No reason to give raid slots to these classes when there are better options available that do similar jobs and give more utility. TSO and beyond some of these classes get more utility with AA lines but until then, they are kinda stinky on TLEs.

Can we have fast travel from the start? It is just a pain and doesn't do anything as you can get to the TS docks without any trouble even at level 1.

Mainly just bad FAQ

Bad points
1 - Exp to fast
2 - Lack of content
3 - No mention of revamping dungeon or raids
4 - Raids was a roll over
5 - 4 Months unlock timers
6 - Only thing worth doing was Icy Dig and prismatic weaps
People either forgot or just blocked out how bad classic was. Raids dropped worse gear then dungeons and there was only 1 max level dungeon worth doing because the rest was not itemize correctly and dropped gear = to level 20.
7 - Untouch tradeskills that means mastercrafted etc will be pointless again.
8 - Lots more but they just the basic ones.

+ Points you
1 - You get to play EQ2 again in 12 months time.
2 Isn't anymore.

Is this really correct, live levels of exp gain?

Thanks...missed that one.

If so, it's going to be a long 15 weeks at max level.

Ouch, live exp sounds really bad. Doesn't live do the spoon fed baby AA gain too? Like you hit level X and get +20 AA for no reason at all? I really hope that is not the case. People like progression and old school was grindy, right?

THIS

As others pointed out the XP rate is way too high for 16 weeks. Only difference between the TLE and live will be having no familairs from level 1 and seeing other players in the zones while being gated for 16 weeks with nothing to do

Also, will transfers be closed for ever or will we be allowed to transfer off once a new batch of TLE servers open?

Those who want to take their time and level slower, feel free to use the in-game option of disabling combat XP.

You would have to if you dont want to be level 50 in 2 hours.

I can see multiple guilds having prismatic weapons on launch day.

Problem for some of these classes is inherent class design. For example, a Bruiser will just never have anything to compete with Tsunami and raid-wide cast speed.