I thought I would take a moment to post an image of each of my toons in EQ.  I play on the Cazic-Thule server on Friday and Saturday nights.  If your on that server, look me up.  Always looking for new friends to group with.

Qindaar and Derevaun are ready for the Festivities.  We are diving in tonight to start.

We will join Vmalice and crew to start our journey to collect all the goodies the festival has to offer.  Screen shots to follow latter.

Vamlice, Qindaar and clan battling in Gnome mountain

Qindaar and his Buddy Vmalice continue to battle in Gnome mountain, collecting gear for out alts, even though they cannot use them yet.  The previous week we ventured back into Burning Lands Stratos to see if we can make some progress there, but it appears the combination of characters we usually battle with are not sufficient or the wrong compilation of toons we need.

We will continue to try and gain access at least before the new expansion comes out.

September 10, 2019
_____________________

*** Items ***

– Removed the stacking on 5 Dose Potion of the Bone Field and 10 Dose Potion of the Bone Field items. Changed Toy Eye Ball to one charge.
– Fixed a typo in the lore of Overgrowth Shears.
– Restored mana preservation to The Burning Lands evolving shoulders that include classes with mana.
– Consolidated the various mount blessings. In nearly all cases, the new buff is equal to or an improvement over the previous buff, with the exception of Mount Blessing Izah which has had its AC value reduced to be in line with the other mount blessings.

*** Quests And Events ***

– Guntrik’s quests – Sven and Philicia Drinn are no longer merchants and can be killed.
– Strange Magic – Pets and mercenaries will no longer flee right after the first golem is defeated.
– Destroy Marnek’s Wand – If a character who has handed in the wand loses their Suncrest Isle instance, the fisherman will offer a new instance.

*** Spells ***

– Buffs that absorb hits (up to a maximum damage value) will no longer fully negate resistible spells. These buffs will continue to properly block the intended amount of damage from spell and melee attacks.
– Corrected an issue that allowed certain types of pets (Cleric hammers, Wizard swords, Magician runes, etc) to be hit by detrimental spells. They are now immune to all spells as intended.
– Bard – Added a target limit of 5 to the Denon’s Desperate Dirge line of AE damage songs.
– Cleric – Sacred Word and Stun Command now have their target limit explicitly defined on the spell.
– Druid – The Heliacal Flare and Lunar Chill lines of targeted AE spells now have their target limit explicitly defined on the spell.
– Magician – Fixed an error that caused pets that used Fire Elemental Bolt I-VII to deal less damage when focused. Increased the power all ranks of Fire Elemental Bolt VI and VII.
– Magician – Corrected an error that made fire pets on Progression servers deal more damage than expected in Kunark, Velious, and Luclin eras.
– Wizard – Thunderbolt now has its target limit explicitly defined on the spell.

*** AA ***

– All – Refunded Identify as this ability is redundant now that item descriptions are displayed when inspecting items at level 50+.
– All – Fixed a typo in the description of Veteran’s Enhancement that errantly stated the ability increased your worn mana regeneration cap rather than your worn health regeneration cap.
– Multiple – Renamed the non-pet class ability ‘Pet Discipline’ to ‘Companion’s Discipline’ to be in line with the naming used for pet classes.
– Bard – Refunded all ranks of Steady Hands and increased the base pick lock skill cap for bards for levels 80+ by 40 points. The skill bonus was reduced from 60 points to correct a few level span where bards had a higher skill cap than rogues. The skill cap increase is being granted at level 80 rather than level 70 due to the ability initially releasing with Secrets of Faydwer.
– Bard – Capped the maximum number of opponents that can be hit by Vainglorious Shout to 6 and increased the endurance cost for all ranks of this ability by 50%.
– Bard – Granted the ability to use Double Riposte as Bards were the only class with the skill that did not have access to this ability.
– Bard – Refunded all ranks of Tune of Pursuance and increased the base tracking skill cap for Bards for levels 65 and 96-100+.
– Berserker – Refunded all ranks of Student of War and increased the base frenzy skill cap for Berserkers for levels 101+.
– Berserker – Refunded all ranks of Weapon Proficiency and increased the base weapon skill caps for Berserkers for levels 85-105+.
– Berserker – Renamed Cry of Battle to Mass Group Buff.
– Cleric – Removed the undead-only restriction from Repel the Wicked.
– Cleric – Fixed a typo in the description for all ranks of Channeling the Divine that stated the ability granted a 50% twincast chance rather than a 100% chance.
– Cleric – Shield of Reverence has been changed to a passive ability.
– Druid – Refunded all ranks of Advanced Tracking and increased the base tracking skill cap for Druids for levels 65+.
– Enchanter – Renamed the enchant metal abilities to include the quantity as a suffix rather than prefix. Ex: ‘Mass Enchant Feymetal’ is now titled ‘Enchant Feymetal (x10)’. Refunded ‘Enchant Palladium (x3)’ and ‘Enchant Palladium (x20)’ as they were inconsistent with the rest of the abilities.
– Magician – Call Hither has been renamed Summoner’s Step and is now a teleport-forward ability similar to Netherstep or Whisperwind. Reduced the level and expansion required to obtain ranks 4 and 5 of this ability.
– Magician – Updated Turn Summoned to deal direct damage rather than damage over time and updated Infusion of Elemental Light to always deal instant critical damage that will no longer block other instances of Infusion of Elemental Light from landing.
– Magician – Updated the buff icon for Thaumaturge’s Focus.
– Monk – Consolidated Hastened Crane Stance and Focus: Crane Stance into a single line, Improved Crane Stance, and added an additional rank that was intended to go live with The Burning Lands.
– Necromancer – Call to Corpse has been renamed Summon Corpse. This ability now has 9 ranks and will cast the highest rank of your equivalent level summon corpse spell with a 10 second reuse time.
– Necromancer – Refunded Self Sacrifice as its initial purpose of dealing damage to the caster in order to benefit from other abilities is no longer required.
– Necromancer – Summon Remains now consumes 4 Tiny Jade Inlaid Coffins when cast.
– Paladin – Hand of Tunare no longer triggers Tunare’s Fatigue after fading but will now instead increase the mana cost of twincast healing spells by 100%.
– Paladin – Moved Holy Warhorse from the Class tab to the Special tab in the AA window.
– Paladin – Shield of Brilliance has been changed to a passive ability.
– Paladin – Refunded all ranks of Glorious Reflection as this ability provided no benefit given the existence of Healing Adept.
– Paladin – Consolidated Restoration of Life to be rank 2 of Gift of Resurrection. Rank 2+ will now restore 96% experience. Reduced the hastening offered by rank 5 by 1 second and increased the mana cost of ranks 2+ by 100 points.
– Ranger – Refunded all ranks of Tracking Mastery and increased the base tracking skill cap for Rangers for levels 66-70+.
– Rogue – Refunded all ranks of Weapon Proficiency and increased the base weapon skill caps for Rogues for levels 96 and 101-105+.
– Rogue – Fixed an error with ranks 5 and 6 of ‘Focus: Hack’ that prevented the ability from focusing the combat ability ‘Slice’.
– Shadowknight – Moved Unholy Warhorse from the Class tab to the Special tab in the AA window.
– Shadowknight – Summon Remains now consumes 4 Tiny Jade Inlaid Coffins when cast.
– Shaman – Improved Pure Spirit has been changed from a passive focus ability to an activated ability that casts the best rank of Pure Spirit that you have scribed.
– Shaman – Turgur’s Virulent Swarm will no longer land on PCs (including yourself).
– Shaman – Feral Bite, the damage triggered by Rabid Bear, has had its damage over time component consolidated into its direct damage component.
– Wizard – Ward of Destruction now summons a stationary aura rather than a ward. As an aura, Ward of Destruction will no longer be susceptible to damage and any opponents hit by Silent Fire will now credit the wizard as the attacker. Changed all ranks of Silent Fire from a 12 second damage over time spell to a direct damage spell that will not break root.
– Wizard – Updated Arcane Fusion to always deal critical damage and fixed an issue that allowed the ability to trigger on beneficial spells.
– Wizard – Corrected an issue that prevented Mirror Mirror from functioning as expected.
– Wizard – Refunded Translocational Anchor and updated all ranks of Cryomancy to include gate suppression as part of Cryomantic Stasis.

*** NPCs ***

– Moved a spiderling in the Broodlands that was spawning inside of a tree.
– In Stoneroot Falls, a witheran named Slubber with unique items now has a chance to spawn.
– In the Ruins of Illsalin, Overseer Xygern now drops unique items instead of the same items that Battlemage Ristyr drops.

*** Progression Servers ***

– Access to Gnome Memorial Mountain now requires that The Burning Lands is unlocked on your server.
– Corrected an error that made fire pets on Progression servers deal more damage than expected in Kunark, Velious, and Luclin eras.

*** Miscellaneous ***

– The /safelock command now requires typing the full command in order to function to prevent accidental locking of the game. This should help in real life when kerrans are frisking your keyboard and manage to lock the game with a secret safelock password.
– You can no longer block, parry, dodge, or riposte an attack that would have missed.
– Made multiple adjustments to Tribute and Guild Tribute:
– – Merged the various “II” lines into their parent line as additional ranks. This results in ranks above 10 for some tribute lines.
– – Reduced the cost of ranks 5 to 13 of the tribute lines: Power of Will, Visions of Suffering, Twinge of Pain, Expeditious Aid, Persistent Boon, Power of Sight, Power of Recovery, Power of Conservation, Power of Alacrity, Visions of Command, Commanding Presence, and Power of Suffering.
– – Increased the effectiveness of rank 12 of Bulwark of Honor, Strength of Body, Strength of Mind, and Strength of Will.
– – Increased the effectiveness of rank 13 of Arm of Power, Body of Divinity, Symphony of the Rabbit, Juggler’s Grace, Sage’s Requital, Sage’s Comprehension, and Countenance of Ardor.
– – Reduced the cost of ranks 6 to 13 of the guild tribute lines: Aura of Preservation, Power of Will, Visions of Suffering, Twinge of Pain, Expeditious Aid, Persistent Boon, Power of Sight, Power of Recovery, Power of Conservation, Power of Alacrity, Visions of Command, Commanding Presence, and Power of Suffering.
– – Guild Tribute: Added String Resonance to rank 8 of Symphony of Replenishment.
– Removed the Hero’s Forge – Tinker’s Clockwork and Hero’s Forge – Memorial Clockwork achievements. The items are not currently available.
– Housing Explorer (Achievement) – Visiting Evantil’s Abode, Hermit’s Hideaway, and Bixie Hive houses are now optional for completing this achievement.
– Guild Locals Explorer (Achievement) – Visiting Grand, Modest, and Palatial Guild Halls are now optional for completing this achievement.

*** UI ***

– Made improvements to taunt messages:
– – Taunt messages are sent to all players in the area, and include the name of the NPC being taunted.
– – Added a new chat filter for taunt messages.
– – Failing to capture your target’s attention is more clearly indicated as a partial success.
– – Added a message when a player obtains aggro using an aggro lock ability (Ex: Undivided Attention).
– – Taunt spells are no longer blocked by spells locking an NPC’s aggro.
– – Sends a single message to players in the area when someone uses an area effect taunt (Ex: Area Taunt).
– NPC tells are now formatted as ‘Soandso told you’ while player tells (including cross server tells) appear as ‘Soandso tells you.’
– Removed an extra space from raid chat messages.
– Changed the format of tells from tell windows when writing to the log. They now use the same format as regular tells.

*** Previously Updated ***

– Shield of Spines reports the correct amount of healing on the item description.
– Staff of the Serpent (Enchanter epic 1.0) – The spectral librarian in Kaesora can again be charmed.
– Veeshan’s Peak access – The NPCs that drop medallion pieces can no longer be charmed.

– The EverQuest Team

*** Items ***

– To alleviate confusion with the ‘Purified Nest Water’, we updated the item not needed for progression to have the name ‘Potable Nest Water’.
– Added equipment slots to Stone Eye of the Guardian from Stillmoon Temple.
– Added drakkin to many classic game items.
– Added vah shir to Hynid-Hide Bag and Tarnished Halberd.
– Fixed lore errors in The Burning Lands subsumptions and transmogrificants.
– Fixed some item spell descriptions that reported zero effect.
– Fixed the lore text for Inventor’s Handbook.

*** Tradeskills ***

– Fixed many inconsistencies found with the spelling of recipes and items associated with those recipes.
– Aneuk NPC that can drop Aneuk Eye now drop it much more frequently.

*** Quests And Events ***

– Savage Lord’s Totem (Beastlord Epic 1.5) – Moved the rares in Siren’s Grotto that shared an encounter with the Ailing Walrus to a different encounter table and different spawn points. This should prevent rare spawn bonuses from preventing the Ailing Walrus from spawning.
– Origins of the Curse – It’s no longer necessary to have a single character loot four Fragments of Zebeker’s Bone Chips. They can be handed to Zebeker one at a time by anyone in the task.
– A Goblin’s Escort – Made the following changes:
– – After a 13 year hiatus, Higglin Diggerchop has returned to the highest level version of this mission.
– – The escort NPCs are now PC friendly.
– – The escort NPCs now stop at their destination to prevent soft locking the task if they walked away before you interacted with the next escort NPC.
– – Increased the movement speed and health of the escort NPCs.
– – The task now updates when you confirm with an escort NPC that you are ready for them to move, and not on their hail.
– End the Return – Made the following adjustments to the steps that involve using the Glob of Oil or Burning Ember:
– – Increased the range at which these items will work on a nearby target by about 50%.
– – The check for closest valid target will now skip any targets which have already been affected.
– – The Z axis is no longer taken into account when determining nearest target.
– – Widened the valid area in Tomoko’s room where the objects can be used so that it no longer says you’re not in a valid area when up against the south wall.
– – It’s now necessary to oil all the tools before any of them can be burned.
– – Burned tools now disappear.
– – Fixed the bug where you could burn multiple tools with one use of the ember but only get credit for 1.
– Restored the darkwater piranha spawn in Nektulos Forest so that Roary Fishpouncer’s Kerran Fishing Spear quest can again be completed.
– Night at the Museum – Added a speculative fix to prevent the situation where multiple waves spawn simultaneously.
– Breakdown in Communication – It is now possible to complete the quest to receive another Stone of Entry from Councilman Sislono Nislan if you have deleted your Stone of Entry, but don’t have credit for completing the Qinimi execution event.
– Rogue Epic 1.0 – Made some changes to Renux Herkanor’s dialogues so that they can all be reached and some of the more obscure ones can be found more easily.
– Pyrique Redwing – It’s no longer possible to identify the real from the fake Pyrique’s Shadow by considering them.
– Keeper’s Imbalance Achievement – Fixed the description for this achievement to match the actual requirement. You only have to push the keepers out of balance by 20 percent.

*** Spells ***

– Fixed a bug that was preventing some NPCs from summoning their custom pets.
– Magician – Call of the Hero (including AA versions) can now only be cast on other players.

*** NPCs ***

– Bathouse Manager Hakvar is now Bathhouse Manager Hakvar, because he manages a house with baths and not a house for bats.
– Restored three missing rare spawns from the Broodlands.
– Removed the dragorn box and dragorn chest that would sometimes spawn upon killing an NPC in The Bloodfields.
– Made 1,052 NPCs immune to charm. These are rare NPCs and those with very long respawn times.
– The Bloodmoon Orcs that harry Gnome Memorial Mountain will now give positive faction hits with the Gnomelikes when the orcs are in their were-form.
– Bloodmoon Night-Orcs faction standing can now be viewed in the faction window in the Secrets of Faydwer Category.

*** Collections ***

– Removed an unreachable collection location in the Empires of Kunark version of Droga.
– Corrected an error that was preventing half of the collectibles in Skyfire (Ring of Scale) from spawning.

*** UI ***

– When inspecting a spell on an item, it will now correctly display the spell at the correct level.
– Corrected an issue where augmentation procs would not display the correct damage when viewed inside another item.
– Fixed the issue that broke the ability to invite someone to your DZ or task by clicking on their name in chat.
– Corrected an issue where leaving an item on a corpse would display an unformatted NPC name.
– Made the following changes to the Spell Display Window:
– – Added directional AE degrees, reflectability, and focused spell duration.
– – Added text samples of what is seen when the spell lands on you or others.
– – Increased precision of focused cast time.
– – Fixed a bug where Gift of Mana caused focused mana cost to display incorrectly.
– Cleaned up the tribute related windows. The current tier of a tribute will now be highlighted to clearly indicate which one is available. Each tier will also display information more clearly, much like the item display window.
– Adjusted the default location of the Mercenary Management window and the Tutorial Help window to not overlap with the Task Overlay window.

– The EverQuest Team

Hail Norrath! My friends!

We’ve had a thrilling first-half of the year thanks to you! After the 20th Anniversary game shenanigans and the thrill of the Comic-Con Museum exhibit in San Diego, we got right back into working on the next expansion coming this December!

Speaking of which, here’s a sneak preview of one of the as-yet-to-be-named-and-announced locations in a very icy place that may feel vaguely familiar.

One big difference? After 20 years EverQuest finally has an ice shader! It might seem silly, but those kinds of changes to a decades-old code base are significant and I’m so proud of the team! We hope our fans enjoy the chill!

And here are some frosty giants!

Speaking of expansions, when we release in December, we will be going up to level 115! With that in mind, last year’s expansion, The Burning Lands, is 50% off starting August 21. Go to everquest.com/expansions and prepare for level 115!

Earlier this year, I mentioned putting together a fan event which we are exploring for next year. We have a survey here we’d love you to respond to here: LINK. We want to get an idea of how many players are interested and a couple of other questions. Please participate if you are interested in hanging with your EQ friends and family!

Also on tap this year is EverQuest II’s 15th anniversary on Nov. 9 which we will support in EverQuest with a new take on a progression server. Players will start as Level 85 Heroic Characters with experience gain at the same rate as live servers. Content up to the House of Thule expansion will be available at launch with expansions unlocking every 2 – 3 months. We’ll release more details as we get closer to that date!

For all those folks on the Mangler progression server, get prepared for the Scars of Velious expansion to unlock on August 28!

Also, the mystery Troll Heritage Crate is now available in the marketplace with armor sets, mount and more. I’d advise plugging your nose, eyes, and ears before opening one….

And finally, Labor Day is coming at the end of the month so look for an in-game bonus that weekend, ahem. Double down!

Until next time, Norrath, which won’t be long, I promise you!

Sincerely, as ever,

Holly “Windstalker” Longdale

Qindaar and Derevaun in Shard’s Landing

Vmalice was unable to play this past weekend so I decided to two box with Qindaar my Wizard and Derevaun my Cleric.  Been working away to get Derevaun leveled to be able to play in our weekend group.  Also trying to become accustomed to playing two toons at the same time.  Macro’s and timing are your friends when doing this.

Shard’s landing is a good place for the Cleric at level 98, with most things conning dark blue and white.  He can easily solo with just his merc warrior if needed.  Qindaar is there for backup in case of trouble, like a double pull or a train, so he can evac everyone to safety.

Hopeful Vmalice will be back on this weekend so we can continue in Gnome Mountain.  Trying to get the deflecting shield-Gear from one of the Boss’s.

Anyone out there that subscribes have any experience with IS Boxer, let me know in the comment section below.  It looks like a great tool for multiple toons, but also looks extremely difficult to set up.

Thanks!

July 17, 2019
_____________________

*** Items ***

– Fixed a bug that prevented the zonewide rare drops in Harbingers’ Spire and The Bloodfields from dropping from non-rare NPCs in those zones.
– Wooden Wand of Whispers is now usable by healers and casters.
– Updated the spell description for Erollisi’s Boundless Heart Hare, Erollisi’s Trueheart Hare, and Erollisi’s Proudheart Hare.
– Changed the way procs on items work to reduce the number of spells used.
– Look to the Marketplace this month for the Trollish Heritage Crate. Each crate contains a random item. Trade these Trollish Heritage items to your friends or collect them all yourself!

*** Quests And Events ***

– Return artifacts to the Wraithguard quests – The skeletal spirits that can spawn upon the deaths of zombies in Frostcrypt are now unique and will despawn after 30 minutes.
– Mechamatic Whirlrender (Raid and Group) – Made the following changes:
– – Removed the tether from the boss to prevent situations where the boss could regenerate to full health when switching phases.
– – Added a message when an NPC tethers.
– Unfettered Emerald Excellence – Made the following changes:
– – Fixed the bug that caused raid achievements to always be rewarded.
– – Doubled the time in-between the zonewide auras’ pulses and doubled the impact of their effects.
– – Waves of mephits will no longer spawn at the same moment that it’s necessary to flee to the correctly colored wing to avoid being struck by Elemental Incompatibility.
– – Added a chat message when a wave of mephits spawns.

*** Spells ***

– Fixed the bug that would result in a caster’s spells not being focused after taking a resurrection.
– Accepting a resurrection will now break charm.
– Call of the Hero will now break charm.
– Beneficial spells with a dispel component cast by players will no longer land on pets or mercenaries unless the target belongs to you or a member of your group.
– Berserker – Corrected an issue that prevented Temple Chop Rk. III from being cast in combat as intended.

*** NPCs ***

– Restored some missing rare spawns in The Bloodfields.
– Fang, a rare in Dranik’s Scar, will now drop loot.

*** Collections ***

– Made the following changes to ground spawn collectibles in Trials of Smoke, Stratos, Aalishai, Empyr, Esianti, and Mearatas:
– – Reduced the respawn rate.
– – Increased the number of spawns that can be up simultaneously.

*** Progression Servers ***

– Gorenaire and Severilous will no longer depop themselves in the instances provided by the Agent of Change.
– Either Essence of Concealment or Philter of Concealment can be used to craft Nexona’s Poison Vial.

*** Miscellaneous ***

– Corrected an issue where some NPCs spawned via item turn in were not loot locked as expected.
– Fixed an issue where a loot locked NPC would not make its items available to the group or raid of the player credited with spawning that NPC.
– Guild tags in chat will now properly write to your client’s log file.
– Faction messages in chat will now be properly cleaned when writing to your client’s log file.
– Fixed a bug that could cause your helmet to display incorrectly after removing an illusion.
– Turned the sky on for Everfrost, Eastern Wastes, Cobalt Scar, and Great Divide.
– Players should no longer be able to attack mercenaries of other players who are hovering.

*** UI ***

– When linking a list of items from the loot window into chat, messages that do not fit on a single line will now be output to the channel specified by the pending message.
– – Ex: If your default chat channel is ‘say’ and you have queued up the text ‘/ooc The following items have dropped: …’, the item links will be output to the out of character channel rather than the say channel if they do not all fit in one line.
– Corrected an issue where not having a hitpoints, mana, or endurance gauge in the Player Window caused a crash.
– Fixed an issue causing mana percentage for pure melee classes in custom UIs to show incorrectly.
– Mana in the player window will now display the correct percentage.
– Added a Loot Messages chat filter.
– Damage and healing will now properly report to the caster even if they are out of range.
– Added a message if you try to invite someone to a task or dynamic zone, but you aren’t a member of one, or you aren’t the leader.
– When creating a new chat tab or window, the font size of the currently selected tab/window will apply to the new one.
– When ‘Use Tell Windows’ is enabled, receiving a tell that creates a new chat tab will no longer interrupt your response when typing a reply in that tell window.
– Disabled the UI option to toggle Hardware Vertex Shaders / Software Vertex Shaders.
– – This will still be supported through the eqclient INI, with the VertexShaders option under the ‘Defaults’ section.
– Added coin split messaging to the Loot Messages filter.
– – Split messages for receiving 0 copper will no longer be displayed.

– Changed –
EQUI_AdvancedDisplayOptionsWnd.xml

*** Previously Updated ***

– Fixed a bug that would result in a caster’s spells not being focused after taking a resurrection in the same zone.

– The EverQuest Team

Vmalice was back online with his group and Qindaar joined up for another round of fights in Gnome Mountain.  This new spots gives us an opportunity to get up to three Bosses to spawn.  Last night we took on the Master Mechanic.  Took us three rounds to get him down and Qindaar acquired a new power supply.

Not a bad couple of hours spent and now to gear up for the weekend with the additional 76% XP and Rares.