EverQuest
Encyclopedia
EverQuest, often shortened to EQ, is a 3D fantasy
-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game
(MMORPG
) that was released on the 16th of March, 1999. The original design is credited to Brad McQuaid
, Steve Clover, and Bill Trost. It was developed
by Sony's 989 Studios
and its early-1999 spin-off Verant Interactive, and published
by Sony Online Entertainment
(SOE).
Since its acquisition of Verant in late 1999, SOE develops, runs, and distributes EverQuest. EverQuest's development is ongoing, and the 18th expansion, Veil of Alaris
, was released on November 15, 2011.
EverQuest has earned numerous awards, including 1999 GameSpot
Game of the Year and a 2008 Technology & Engineering Emmy Award
.
(multi-user dungeon) games, particularly DikuMUD
s, which in turn were inspired by traditional role-playing game
s such as Dungeons & Dragons
.
In EverQuest, players create a character (also known as an avatar, or colloquially as char or toon) by selecting one of 16 "races" in the game, which range from humans (basic human, Erudite, and barbarian), elves (high elves, wood elves, and dark elves), half-elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, trolls, and ogres of fantasy, to cat-people (Vah Shir), lizard-people (Iksar), frog-people (Froglok), and two varieties of dragon-people (the human-like Drakkin and the reptilian Sarnak). At creation, players select each character's adventuring occupation (such as a wizard, ranger, or cleric - called a class--see below for particulars), a patron deity, and starting city. Customization to the character facial appearance is available at creation (hair, hair color, face style, facial hair, facial hair color, eye color, etc.)
Players use their character to explore the fantasy world of Norrath, fight monsters and enemies for treasure and experience point
s, and master trade skills. As they progress, players advance in level, gaining power, prestige, spells, and abilities through actions such as defeating capable opponents, looting
the remains of defeated enemies and completing quests (tasks and adventures given by non-player character
s (NPCs).
EverQuest allows players to interact with other people through role-play
, joining player guilds
, and dueling other players (in restricted situations--EQ only allows Player versus Player
(PVP) combat on the PvP-specific server, specified "arena" zones and through agreed upon dueling).
The geography of the game universe consists of nearly four hundred zones.
Multiple instances of the world exist on various servers. In the past, game server populations were visible during log-in, and showed peaks of more than 3000 players per server.
The design of EverQuest, like other Massively Multiplayer Online Games, makes it very group-centric, with each player having a specific role or function within the group.
(2004) expansions, respectively.
The classes can be grouped into those that share similar characteristics that allow them to play certain types of roles within the game when grouped with others. One way of grouping classes is described below.
The melee damage dealers have a medium number of hit points per level, but cannot wear the heaviest armors and are less likely than a "tank" class to be able to survive direct attacks for a sustained period of time.
All caster classes have the ability to 'Research', an activity where all players can make spells for use by other players. These are made using assortments of different pieces of quest material found in the game.
Generally speaking, gameplay in EverQuest may be divided into adventuring – questing or gaining experience and loot, trading with other players, social interaction with other players, and tradeskilling – crafting game items using trade skills. On certain servers however there are special dynamics that exist. There are two main types of servers, those known as "red" servers where PVP (player versus player) can exist in one of two ways and non-pvp servers otherwise known as "blue" servers. The two forms of red servers are PVP free for all and PVP race wars, also named Team PVP. Free for all servers allow all classes and races to attack at will any other player (the specific rules of play depend on the server that the players exist upon). The team PVP/race war servers are split into teams. These teams allow players to attack one another that are on opposing teams and protect those players that are on their team unless the player agrees to a "duel". A duel is an agreement which is entered into by the submission by both players acting as a contract and breaking the inert server rules thus allowing the two players to fight until death.
Adventuring can be done alone (soloing); by forming or joining a group (grouping) with one to five other characters; or by forming or joining a raid (raiding) with as many characters as a zone can support.
At low levels, all classes have the ability to solo. At higher levels only certain classes are widely popular for gaining experience by soloing. While some parts of EverQuest can be experienced without the help of other players, much of EQ has been designed to strongly encourage or require grouping. In these cases, a single character within the "design intent" level range for the encounter must often be twink
ed with equipment or have spell enhancements (buffs) to succeed easily, if at all.
A group (or "party") may form to adventure, trade, or simply socialize. While any combination of classes can form a group, an adventuring group will often consist of a "tank", a "healer", one or more "damage dealers", someone to do "crowd control" and someone to bring the mobs
to the group. The last role is called "pulling", and is a tactic used quite often when it is more effective to place the bulk of the group in a "safe", or at least "controlled", location. While a character of any class may "pull", this role is frequently held by a Monk, Shadow Knight or Paladin. A Ranger or Druid using the tracking ability is sometimes especially effective, particularly outdoors. Other groupings can also be effective. Especially popular is Duoing with healer/tank (or at least healer/melee) tandems.
Most parts of the game can be completed with a single group, but some of the most challenging and rewarding encounters (especially in terms of loot) require players to raid. Any number of characters may take part in a raid. EQ's "Raid Window" will only allow 72 participants to directly share in raid experience and automatic raid loot rules. The upper limit for a given raid may be imposed by: the maximum number allowed in the "Raid Window", the maximum number of characters allowed in certain instanced zones
, the maximum number the raid leaders can manage, or the maximum number that can be present without causing the zone or the players' computers to crash. The design of encounters in expansions have changed resulting in raid tactics that have become more and more involved.
While "groups" and "raids" are temporary gatherings of players, "guilds
" are associations that last beyond a single play session. Guilds are initially formed via an application process to SOE. Guilds may have widely varying goals. Each guild member can communicate with all (and only) other members at once using the GUILD chat channel. A character's guild affiliation appears with the character name when viewed in game. In some instances they are little more than a loose configuration of players who wish to be able to communicate easily. At the other end of the spectrum are guilds that concentrate on tackling challenging raid dungeons and boss monsters. Such "raid guilds" may require members to commit up to eight hours per day to the game, up to seven days a week. Players may be rewarded in these guilds with dragon kill points
, an unofficial system of points awarded to players by guild leaders meant to make loot distribution less random. Dragon kill points (or DKP for short) were first created by a raiding guild in Everquest and named for Lady Vox and Lord Nagafen, two boss dragons.
Abbreviations and acronyms also may aid, or at least shorten, communication among players. Examples include SoW ("Spirit of Wolf" - a popular spell which accelerates run or walk speed), KEI (an acronym for "Koadic's Endless Intellect" - another popular spell which accelerates mana regeneration), PoK (Plane of Knowledge - a major "crossroads" zone for travelers), and "rez" (Resurrect - any of several spells or abilities cast on a corpse to summon the player to it, often restoring lost experience points). "Crack" or "mind candy" refers to mana regeneration spells such as Clarity or KEI. Additionally, a "mezz" (noun or verb, short for "mesmerize") refers to an ability that several classes and mobs have: the ability to render a target momentarily unable to act in any way, until the mezz wears off or the target sustains damage, which will instantly break the mezz.
Nerf
refers to game balance changes when they reduce the impact of a particular power.
DKP (Dragon kill points
), a raid loot distribution method, originated in Everquest, and is now used within the game World of Warcraft
. Proc (short for "Programmed Random OCcurence" by which an item's effect is generated) and Farm are credited as coming to WoW from EQ. Some terms have made their way into EQ from other games, such as the term Zerging from the computer game StarCraft
--used when a raid's main strategy is to overwhelm an enemy by sheer force of numbers. Monsters are sometimes called mobs
, a shorthand term for "mobile object", meaning a computer-controlled character in the game world; this is a practice that started in MUD
s.
Additionally, an example of this jargon can be seen in the word "Con." Con is an abbreviated version of the word `consider,' but it represents more than just the word, it represents an in-game system for measuring a monster's strength, adapted from similar systems in text MUDs
. What a monster "Cons" is an indicator of that monster's level of difficulty relative to the player. For example, if a player targets a monster and presses the `c' key, a textual message appeared on the screen informing the player of the monster's strength. Upon "Conning" a monster which was too difficult for the player, red text stated, "What would you like your tombstone to say?" This message allows the player to make an informed decision on whether or not he wishes to fight that monster. Frequently while playing Everquest, a player might be asked the `Con' of a monster by another player, and usually the response would be classified as one of seven colors: Grey, green, light blue, dark blue, white, yellow, and red. The answers are typified in this way because the five classifications of relative strength are represented by one of these colors. So if a player answered that a monster Cons green, that monster was relatively safe to engage, whereas a red monster would be a dangerous encounter. 'Conning' also lets the player know if the target is friendly, neutral, or hostile.
While mostly consistent throughout the entire EQ community, there are also some differences in jargon among servers, and among Asian, European and American gaming communities. For example, KEI is also known as C3 (it is the third version of Clarity). In-game chat may prove quite impenetrable to anyone who has not played EQ extensively.
EverQuest II
was released in late 2004
. Set in an alternate universe similar to that of the original EverQuest, this sequel
takes place 500 years after the awakening of The Sleeper. The game has also inspired a number of other spinoff
s.
The third iteration in the series, with the working title EverQuest Next
, is currently in the early stages of development as first reported in the 2009 10th Anniversary EverQuest Book. At the SOE Fan Faire in August 2010, in-game screenshots, concept art and more information was revealed.
, and as such EverQuest is considered a 3D evolution of the text MUD genre like some of the MMOs that preceded it such as Meridian 59
and The Realm Online
. John Smedley
, Brad McQuaid
, Steve Clover and Bill Trost who jointly are credited with creating the world of EverQuest have repeatedly pointed to their shared experiences playing MUDs such as Sojourn
and TorilMUD
as the inspiration for the game. Keith Parkinson
created the box covers for earlier installments of EverQuest.
Development of EverQuest began in 1996 when Sony Interactive Studios America (SISA) executive John Smedley secured funding for a 3D game much like text-based MUDs following the successful launch of Meridian 59 the previous year. To implement the design Smedley hired programmers Brad McQuaid and Steve Clover who had come to Smedley's attention through their work on the single player RPG Warwizard. McQuaid soon rose through the ranks to become Executive Producer for the EverQuest franchise and emerged during development of EverQuest as a popular figure among the fan community through his in-game avatar, Aradune. Other key members of the development team included Bill Trost, who created the history, lore and major characters of Norrath (including Everquest protagonist Firiona Vie), Geoffrey "GZ" Zatkin who implemented the spell system, and artist Milo D. Cooper, who did the original character modeling in the game.
EverQuest launched with modest expectations from Sony on 16 March 1999 under its Verant Interactive brand and quickly became successful. By the end of the year, it had surpassed competitor Ultima Online in number of subscriptions. Numbers continued rising rapidly until mid-2001 when growth slowed. Sony
's last reported subscription numbers were given as "more than 430,000 players" on 14 January 2004. SOE released a Mac OS X
version of EverQuest in 2003, incorporating all expansions through Planes of Power. Development of the OS X version has languished since then, but the server remains up and running.
In anticipation of PlayStation
's launch Sony Interactive Studios America had made the decision to focus primarily on console titles under the banner 989 Studios
while spinning off its sole computer title, EverQuest, which was ready to launch, to a new computer game division named Redeye (renamed Verant Interactive). Executives initially had very low expectations for EverQuest but in 2000, following the surprising continued success and unparalleled profits of EverQuest, Sony reorganized Verant Interactive into Sony Online Entertainment
(SOE) with Smedley retaining control of the company.
Many of the original EverQuest team, including Brad McQuaid, Steve Clover and Geoffrey Zatkin had left SOE by 2002.
Accepting both Sony's press releases and the internet archives available today as accurate, these records show a rapid rise in subscriptions to "...more than 225,000..." on 1 November 1999. Sony announced the achievement of 300,000 subscriptions on 30 October 2000. By 2 October 2001, Sony stated that there were "...over 410,000...". On 29 July 2002, Sony announced that there were "...over 430,000..." and that for the 1st time 100,000 had played simultaneously. In preparation for the Fan Faire of 2003, Sony announced on 25 September 2003, that there were "... more than 450,000..." subscriptions.
With that single exception, from 13 March 2003 until the final reference on 14 January 2004, Sony releases that contained numbers referred only to more than 430,000 subscriptions, and/or more than 118,000 simultaneous logins. This leaves the peak and current number of subscriptions for EQ to secondary sources.
Once a character is created, it can only be played on that server unless the character is transferred to a new server by the customer service staff, generally for a fee.
Each server often has a unique community and people often include the server name when identifying their character outside of the game.
With the advent of the New Dawn promotion, three additional servers were set up and maintained by Ubisoft: Venril Sathir (British), Sebilis (French) and Kael Drakkal (German). The downside of the servers was that while it was possible to transfer to them, it was impossible to transfer off.
Later on the servers were acquired by SOE and all three were merged, as Kayne Bayle had already been, into Antonius Bayle server.
). The developers of EQ have always forbidden the practice and in January 2001 asked eBay to stop listing such auctions. For a time, such auctions were immediately removed, which changed market conditions and allowed a number of specialized auction sites to utilize this new virtual economy.
Because items can be traded within the game and also because of illegal online trading on websites, virtual currency to real currency exchange rate
s have been calculated. The BBC
reported that in 2002 work done by Edward Castronova
showed that Everquest was the 77th richest country in the world, sandwiched between Russia
and Bulgaria
and its GDP
per capita was higher than that of the People's Republic of China
and India
. In 2004, a follow-up analysis of the entire online gaming industry indicated that the combined GDP of the online "worlds" populated by the two million players was approximately the same as that of Namibia
.
Companies created characters, leveled them to make them powerful, and then resold the characters or specialized in exchanging money between games. A player could exchange a house in The Sims Online
for EverQuest platinum pieces, depending solely on market laws of supply and demand
.
Sony officially discourages the payment of real-world money for online goods, except on certain "Station Exchange" servers in EQ2, launched in July 2005. The program facilitates buying in-game items for real money from fellow players for a nominal fee. At this point this system only applies to select EverQuest II
servers; none of the pre-Station Exchange EverQuest II or EverQuest servers are affected.
", involved Verant banning a player for creating controversial fan fiction
, causing outrage among Everquest players and sparking a major industry-wide debate about players' rights and the line between roleplaying and intellectual property infringement. The case was used by several academics in discussing such rights in the digital age.
Fans have created the open source
server emulator
EQEmu
, allowing users to run their own servers with custom rules. Running such an emulator is a violation of EQs end user license agreement and could result in a player being banned from Sony's EverQuest servers if caught doing so. It has not gained the same popularity as server emulators for Ultima Online
.
s specializing in computer addiction
) for its addictive qualities. Many players refer to it half-jokingly as "NeverRest" and "EverCrack" (a disparaging comparison to crack cocaine
). There has been one well-publicized suicide of an EverQuest user named Shawn Woolley that resulted in his mother, Liz, founding Online Gamers Anonymous
. EQ is very time-consuming for many people, with relationships broken because of obsessive playing resulting in the creation of an online support group called EverQuest Widows and sites like GamerWidow.com.
s are described by some players as "chat rooms with a graphical interface". The sociological aspects of EverQuest (and other MMORPG
s) are explored in a series of online studies on a site known as "the HUB". The studies make use of data gathered from player surveys and discuss topics like virtual relationships, player personalities, gender issues, and more.
called for all EverQuest gamers to boycott the Omens of War expansion in an effort to force SOE to address existing issues with the game rather than release another "quick-fire" expansion. The call to boycott was rescinded after SOE held a summit to address player concerns, improve (internal and external) communication, and correct specific issues within the game.
Kerafyrm, "The Sleeper", is a dragon boss
in the original The Sleeper's Tomb zone.
While sleeping, Kerafyrm is guarded by four ancient dragons (warders) in "The Sleeper's Tomb". When all four dragons are defeated by players and are dead at the same time, The Sleeper awakes, triggering a rampage of death. Kerafyrm travels through and into multiple zones from The Sleeper's Tomb to Skyshrine, killing every player and NPC in his path. This event is unique in EverQuest, as it only occurs once on each game server
. Once The Sleeper awakes, neither he nor the original guardians will ever appear again on that server, unless the event is reset.
As of 12 July 2008, Kerafyrm remains asleep on both the Al'Kabor (Macintosh) server and the official Test Server.
Originally intended to be unkillable, SOE
prevented a raid of several guilds on Rallos Zek server from potentially killing him, claiming the existence of a bug. SOE later apologized for interfering, reset, and allowed the players to retry the encounter. Two days later, the same three guilds made a second attempt and after almost 4 hours, successfully killed the sleeper.
"Kerafyrm The Awakened" appears in the expansion Secrets of Faydwer as part of a raid event "Crystallos, Lair of the Awakened" in the instanced zone of "Crystallos".
A line of novels have been published in the world of Everquest, including:
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
(MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
) that was released on the 16th of March, 1999. The original design is credited to Brad McQuaid
Brad McQuaid
Brad McQuaid is an American computer game designer who was the key designer of EverQuest, a highly successful massively multiplayer online role-playing game released in 1999...
, Steve Clover, and Bill Trost. It was developed
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
by Sony's 989 Studios
989 Studios
989 Studios was a division of Sony Computer Entertainment America that developed games for the PlayStation consoles and Windows personal computers. Their titles include Twisted Metal III and 4, Syphon Filter and 2, Jet Moto 3, Bust a Groove, EverQuest and others...
and its early-1999 spin-off Verant Interactive, and published
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by Sony Online Entertainment
Sony Online Entertainment
Sony Online Entertainment is a game development and game publishing division of Sony that is best known for creating massively multiplayer online games, including EverQuest, EverQuest II, The Matrix Online, PlanetSide, Star Wars Galaxies, Free Realms, and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, DC Universe...
(SOE).
Since its acquisition of Verant in late 1999, SOE develops, runs, and distributes EverQuest. EverQuest's development is ongoing, and the 18th expansion, Veil of Alaris
EverQuest: Veil of Alaris
EverQuest: Veil of Alaris is the 18th expansion pack for the EverQuest role-playing game. The plot involves the demise of the Thule family.- Features :* Maximum level increased to 95.* New alternate advancements...
, was released on November 15, 2011.
EverQuest has earned numerous awards, including 1999 GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
Game of the Year and a 2008 Technology & Engineering Emmy Award
Technology & Engineering Emmy Award
A Technology and Engineering Emmy Award is given by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for outstanding achievement in technical or engineering development...
.
Gameplay
Many of the elements in EverQuest have been drawn from text-based MUDMUD
A MUD , pronounced , is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat...
(multi-user dungeon) games, particularly DikuMUD
DikuMUD
DikuMUD is a multiplayer text-based role-playing game, which is a type of MUD. It was written in 1990 and 1991 by Sebastian Hammer, Tom Madsen, Katja Nyboe, Michael Seifert, and Hans Henrik Staerfeldt at DIKU —the department of computer science at the University of Copenhagen in Copenhagen,...
s, which in turn were inspired by traditional role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
s such as Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
.
In EverQuest, players create a character (also known as an avatar, or colloquially as char or toon) by selecting one of 16 "races" in the game, which range from humans (basic human, Erudite, and barbarian), elves (high elves, wood elves, and dark elves), half-elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, trolls, and ogres of fantasy, to cat-people (Vah Shir), lizard-people (Iksar), frog-people (Froglok), and two varieties of dragon-people (the human-like Drakkin and the reptilian Sarnak). At creation, players select each character's adventuring occupation (such as a wizard, ranger, or cleric - called a class--see below for particulars), a patron deity, and starting city. Customization to the character facial appearance is available at creation (hair, hair color, face style, facial hair, facial hair color, eye color, etc.)
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
s, and master trade skills. As they progress, players advance in level, gaining power, prestige, spells, and abilities through actions such as defeating capable opponents, looting
Looting (gaming)
Looting in a gaming context, specifically in massively multiplayer online games and MUDs, is the process by which a player character obtains items such as in-game currency, spells, equipment, or weapons, often from the corpse of a creature or possibly the corpse of another player in a PVP situation...
the remains of defeated enemies and completing quests (tasks and adventures given by non-player character
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s (NPCs).
EverQuest allows players to interact with other people through role-play
Role-playing
Role-playing refers to the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role...
, joining player guilds
Clan (computer gaming)
In computer and video gaming, a clan or guild is an organised group of players that regularly play together in a particular multiplayer games. These games range from groups of a few friends to 1000-person organizations, with a broad range of structures, goals and members. The lifespan of a clan...
, and dueling other players (in restricted situations--EQ only allows Player versus Player
Player versus player
Player versus player, or PvP, is a type of multiplayer interactive conflict within a game between two or more live participants. This is in contrast to games where players compete against computer controlled opponents, which is correspondingly referred to as player versus environment...
(PVP) combat on the PvP-specific server, specified "arena" zones and through agreed upon dueling).
The geography of the game universe consists of nearly four hundred zones.
Multiple instances of the world exist on various servers. In the past, game server populations were visible during log-in, and showed peaks of more than 3000 players per server.
The design of EverQuest, like other Massively Multiplayer Online Games, makes it very group-centric, with each player having a specific role or function within the group.
Classes
The fourteen classes of the original 1999 version of EverQuest were later expanded to include the Beastlord and Berserker classes with the Shadows of Luclin (2001) and Gates of DiscordGates of Discord
EverQuest: Gates of Discord is the seventh expansion released for EverQuest, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game...
(2004) expansions, respectively.
The classes can be grouped into those that share similar characteristics that allow them to play certain types of roles within the game when grouped with others. One way of grouping classes is described below.
Tank classes
Members of this group are those that have a high number of 'health points' for their level, and who may wear heavy armor. They have the ability to taunt enemies into focusing on them, rather than other party members who may be more susceptible to damage and death.- Warrior: the prototypical "tankTank (computer gaming)A tank is a style of character in gaming, often associated with a character class. A common convention in real-time strategy games, role-playing games, MMORPGs and MUDs, tanks redirect enemy attacks and/or attention toward themselves in order to protect other characters or units...
" class, able to avoid and mitigate more damage than any other class. In a way, this is offset by their inability to cast spells. Warriors were often designated as main "tank" due to a discipline they receive called Defensive Stance which mitigated a percent of incoming physical damage for a set period of time. Due to their stalwart defensive prowess, the Warrior often has a crucial role as 'main tank' of a group or raid party, absorbing or mitigating the worst of a particularly-strong enemy's brutal attacks. Their high hit points also allow them to take more punishment than most other classes, before dying, which gives healers a greater chance to keep them, and thus the party, alive and well. In their role as tank or proverbial 'damage sponge', the Warrior uses their Taunt skill to keep powerful enemies trained on them, rather than chasing down overly-aggressive Wizards or Thieves (as an example), who often draw fire for their high damage output. All these qualities may help engender a sense of trust in a well-known and well-armored warrior, who can usually go toe-to-toe with a catastrophically-damaging monster for longer than any other class without being healed.
- Shadow Knight: a durable tank class; this Warrior/Necromancer hybrid has vampiric and damage-over-time spells. Shadow Knights have the unique ability to Harm Touch (do direct damage) every 72 minutes, the power of which increases in absolute terms but decreases relative to enemies' hit points as a player levels upExperience pointAn experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
. Since this class is a hybrid, they must wait longer than the Necromancer to begin receiving spells, and longer yet for the more potent incantations such as Summon Corpse and Feign Death. In most cases the level difference in spell acquirement is +25-30 levels. For example a Necromancer might learn a certain spell at level 4 that a Shadow Knight is unable to learn until level 34. Eventually, Shadow Knights are able to summon a weak skeleton pet, summon players' corpses who are in the same zone as them, and cast the spell Feign Death, similar to but slightly less reliable than the monk's feign death skill. The feign death spell allows the Shadow Knight to function as a "puller" for a group when successfully casting the spell allowing them to clear their aggro list by pretending they are dead. Their necromantic abilities give them great power over the undead, allowing them able to do more damage to those opponents.
- PaladinPaladin (character class)The Paladin is a character class in Dungeons & Dragons and many later computer and pen and paper role-playing games - many of which were influenced by D&D...
: the 'virtuous' counterpart to the Shadow Knight, a Paladin is a hybrid Warrior/Cleric. They were originally able to Lay on HandsLaying on of handsThe laying on of hands is a religious ritual that accompanies certain religious practices, which are found throughout the world in varying forms....
(heal themselves or another player) once every 72 minutes (real-time); Lay on Hands is now available as an innate magic through the AA window; it maxes at rank 9 and can then be further enhanced through progressing it as an AA. At mid-levels, paladins can purchase some resurrection spells. Paladins are tough in melee with some healing, protective, and stun spells. At mid-range levels, they can purchase a "pacify" line of spells that allows them to function as a "puller" for a group. Like Shadow Knights, Paladins have powers which enable them to do comparatively greater damage to undead opponents.
Damage dealers
The following classes are able to deal high corporeal damage to opponents. Within the game, these classes are often referred to as 'DPS', which stands for Damage Per Second. There is not a single overall "best dps" class, as depending on many factors which vary from one encounter to another (such as the enemy's armor, its positioning, and its magic resistance), one among Berserkers, Rogues, or Wizards may be the better dealer than the other two in a specific instance.The melee damage dealers have a medium number of hit points per level, but cannot wear the heaviest armors and are less likely than a "tank" class to be able to survive direct attacks for a sustained period of time.
- Beastlord: A unique class which combines some powers from the Monk and Shaman classes along with a powerful pet. Beastlords can imbue their pets with powers and combat enemies with hand-to-hand skills or with weapons. They can "de-buff" enemies with spells, and possess modest healing abilities. This diverse array of skills allows Beastlords to be effective solo adventurers at many levels as well as being handy in a group.
- Berserker: A specialist form of the melee type, the Berserker is primarily a medium-armored, high-damage dealer that uses two-handed weapons and who can hurl axes and other thrown objects in the form of spell-like abilities, namely stunning and snaring their opponents.
- Monk: As masters of martial arts, Monks are the hand-to-hand fighting experts who can learn to use one handed and two handed blunt weapons and are a powerful melee damage-dealer. Monks get many, if not all, combat skills (dual wield, double attack, triple attack, etc.) before any other class. Monks have the ability to feign death with a high degree of reliability and other skills that enable them to be a strong "pulling" class. They have the ability to heal themselves, with a moderate cooldown, with the ability Mend.
- RangerRanger (character class)A Ranger is a type of warrior appearing in fantasy fiction and role-playing games....
: A versatile hybrid class combining some of a Warrior's ability with a Druid's spells, Rangers are able to deal large amounts of damage both from a ranged distance and in melee. Their most unusual ability is to trackTracking (hunting)Tracking in hunting and ecology is the science and art of observing animal tracks and other signs, with the goal of gaining understanding of the landscape and the animal being tracked...
unseen NPCs, for which they can be used as "pullers" in outdoor zones. Rangers also have the ability to "taunt" and a "harmony" line of spells (like "pacify", but only works outdoors) which allow them to play the role of "tank" to a limited degree. They can make use of archery better than any other class. Their line of snare spells (which slows enemies' run speed) is very useful in XP groups to stop enemies from running away when seriously injured, and kiting. - RogueThief (character class)The Thief or Rogue is a character class in many role-playing games, including Dungeons & Dragons, Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft and many MMORPGs. Thieves are usually stealthy and dextrous characters able to disarm traps, pick locks, and perform backstabs from hiding...
: With their backstab ability, which multiplies damage done to an unguarded enemy's back, Rogues are able to inflict massive amounts of damage, provided that they are in a group that can keep the opponent facing away from the Rogue. Later in life, with the help of alternate advancement abilities, rogues are able to backstab opponents even when facing them. Rogues have the ability to make poisons, pick pockets, and pick locks. Their abilities early on to sneak and hide allow them to walk past both living and undeadUndeadUndead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
mobsMob (computer gaming)A mob, mobile or monster is a computer-controlled non-player character in a computer game such as an MMORPG or MUD. Depending on context, all such characters in a game may be considered "mobs", or usage may be limited to hostile NPCs and/or NPCs vulnerable to attack.-Purpose of mobs:Defeating...
without being seen.
Casters
Caster classes have the lowest hit points per level and can only wear the lightest of armors. Casters draw their power from an internal pool of mana, which takes some time to regenerate and thus demands judicious and efficient use of spells.- Wizard: The primary nukingNuke (gaming)In many online video games , the term nuke can describe a spell or skill that is capable of dealing a large amount of damage to its target, which is frequently a unit. Also in the context of video games, “nuking” may also describe the act of using a nuclear weapon in the game...
class; these casters are able to deal catastrophic damage to enemies over a very short time from a distance, particularly with their Manaburn skill, although the length of encounters often makes manaburn inefficient to use. Wizards are considered the masters of teleportation and have commensurate spells to facilitate group travel to specific locations, including designated "safe spots" when things turn sour for the whole group. A Wizard's direct damage spells are generally from the fire, frost, and magic schools. - Magician: Usually referred to as Mages, Magicians are similar to the Wizard class but with noticeably less direct-damage spell power. They are able to summon strong elemental pets, viz. Earth, Water, Air, and Fire, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. They have the capability to conjure pet armor and weapons, food, drink, and mod rods, which allow players to convert their health into manaManaMana is an indigenous Pacific islander concept of an impersonal force or quality that resides in people, animals, and inanimate objects. The word is a cognate in many Oceanic languages, including Melanesian, Polynesian, and Micronesian....
. Magicians can summon party members to different parts of a zone with the Call of the Hero spell, which can be helpful in raid zones. Magicians' direct damage spells are generally from the fire school of magic. - Necromancer: These "masters of death" are able to summon, buff, and heal powerful undead pets and use poison, magic, fire, and disease damage-over-time spells. Necromancers are able to feign death, snare enemies, and summon players' corpses in-zone. They have a combination of skills and abilities, most notably the ability to snare (make a target run/walk slowly), fear (make the target run directly away from the caster) and lifetap (heal the caster and damage the target) that allows them to function as an effective solo class.
All caster classes have the ability to 'Research', an activity where all players can make spells for use by other players. These are made using assortments of different pieces of quest material found in the game.
Crowd control / utility
These classes share the ability to keep multiple enemies from attacking the party and have the ability to increase party members' ability to regenerate mana.- Enchanter: A caster class that has few hit points per level and can wear only the lightest forms of armor, Enchanters are crowd control experts and are the most proficient class at Charming, Stunning, and Mesmerizing enemies. They have the ability to Memory Blur an opponent (causing them to forget they were being attacked) or Pacify an opponent (making them oblivious to antagonists in the area, but which has a small chance of backfiring), both of which may be extremely useful in avoiding unwanted skirmishes. Enchanters have a wide range of utility spells, including the Clarity (AKA "crack") line of spells, which when cast on a player allows them to regenerate mana at an improved rate. In addition to being able to both increase players' rate of attack (with the Haste line of spells), and Slowing that of enemies, Enchanters may also cast Illusions on themselves and others, which may have no real benefit (other than conferring a new look) or may grant tangible benefits such as underwater breathing, flight, or a vampiric touch. Lastly, Enchanters possess the unique Rune line of spells, which creates a magical protective buffer against all forms of damage until it has been worn down. This class is also uniquely suited for the jewelcraft trade, because it is the only class able to enchant metals. It is also one of the four classes able to make spells using the spell research trade skill.
- For at least the first four years of EverQuest, an Enchanter was a highly sought-after component to any efficient experience-grinding group, along with the Cleric. This is because of their vast contributions to group efficiency on virtually every front. Casters will regenerate mana at a much higher rate, melee classes will deal much more damage, and even more importantly, any collection of mobs can be neatly dealt with so that only one is being engaged at a time, while the rest stand motionless under the effects of Mesmerize, Color Stun (a short term area-of-effect spell), or even Charm, which turns a dangerous enemy into an ally, with varying degrees of reliability. The lone enemy who is actively attacking may be Slowed in the neighborhood of 70% at higher levels, and any creature resistant or immune to mesmerization may also be dealt with similarly, although some are immune even to Slow. At higher levels an Enchanter may purchase Dire Charm with alternative advancement points. This will provide an unbreakable charm on enemies level 44 and below, with a few exceptional creatures being given an 'uncharmable' flag. With a creature completely in lockstep with the Enchanter's whims, it may be safely buffed with not only the Enchanter's own spells, but also a Cleric's (and those of any other caster classes in the group) and thus transformed into a very formidable opponent. It may even be given a pair of cheap single-handed weapons to dual wield in order to further increase its damage output. All of these measures will help to ensure that group will reap more experience with less down-time, with players thereby avoiding boredom, staying on their toes, and thus enjoying their time in-game.
- Enchanters do possess some rudimentary direct-damage and damage-over-time offensive spells, all in the Magic school of casting, although using mana in this way is not always efficient or effective.
- Bard: a jack-of-all-tradesJack of all trades, master of none"Jack of all trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a person that is competent with many skills but is not necessarily outstanding in any particular one....
class with fair melee ability, good armor, and the ability to play songs that benefit all nearby comrades, such as "crowd control" effects as well as mana and health regeneration. Bards possess the unique ability to 'fade' from their enemies memories. This makes the bard an excellent pulling class. Bards possess lesser versions of many of the special abilities of other classes. They are known for their ability early on to increase the movement speed of their party faster than any mount or movement buff. Bards can weave the effects of up to four songs at once to confer the greatest advantage to their group. Bards themselves often do not receive the full benefit of their songs, but they can still be an effective solo class at many levels, especially with their strong "kiting" proficiency. "Kiting" is a form of attack based on drawing an enemy within the caster's spell range and casting to deal damage but continually running ahead of the enemy in order to remain outside the attack range of the NPC (or PC for that matter) allowing the aggressor to deal damage without taking any damage themselves. This method, which got its name because the player drags an enemy behind them like a person flying a kite, is used by many classes but happens to be especially effective with the Bard's class. For a very long time the Bard was generally considered the most overpowered class in the game, able to originally "stack" multiple versions of "buffs" and benefit from all of them while other classes could not. The Bard is also the only class able to cast spells from items while running at the same time.
Healers
Priest classes have medium level of hit points per level and have access to healing and "buff" spells.- ClericCleric (character class)The Cleric, Priest, or Bishop is a character class in Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy role-playing games. The cleric is a healer, usually a priest and a holy warrior, originally modeled on or inspired by the Military Orders...
: The most powerful healer in the game, and for the first few years of EverQuest the only class capable of resurrection with experience regained, and the only class with the spell Complete Heal. As the game has changed, Complete Heal has become less effective compared to the cleric's many different lines of more powerful and quicker (albeit more mana-intensive) heals. Primarily healers, the cleric also have some "death save" spells, as "Divine Intervention" and can increase spell casting haste with "Blessing of Loyalty". Clerics can wear the heaviest plate-mail type armors. Clerics are great solo classes due to the introduction of the "Vow of Valor" line of spells, which provides the cleric with increased melee damage and a high rate of self regeneration, at the cost of halving their direct heals' power. - DruidDruid (character class)In role-playing games, a druid is a character class that is generally portrayed as using nature-based magical abilities and striving to protect nature from civilized intrusion...
: A priest class that can cast healing spells, teleport, snare (to slow down enemies movement rate), and moderately-powerful nuking and damage-over-time spells, as well as charming animals to use them as pets. The range of abilities allows druids to play multiple roles in a group or to solo effectively. Their heals are lesser than clerics and better than shamans, but they share some of the healing/cures spells with the shamans. The Druid hitpoint (HP) spells, the "skin" line, also includes a mana regen component, and they can cast "Flight of the Eagle", the fastest group run speed spell in the game. Druids may only wear "leather class" armors. Druids also have a number of transportation spells that allow speedy movement throughout much of the gaming world, just as wizards, but the two classes have different zones or places in the zones that they are able to teleport to. Their combined tracking and foraging skills make them excellent trade-skillers, in terms of finding various components necessary for baking, tailoring, brewing and the like. Druids can, just like shamans, resurrect (rez) other players after a fight, but with the same experienced regained as a paladin, or a lower level cleric, can rez all the time. During the fight, the shaman and druid will instead use the AA "Call of the Wild) which calls the other player back to their corpse, without any experience regained, but the corpse can be resurrected later. - ShamanShaman (character class)In role-playing games, a Shaman is a character class that is generally portrayed as using spirit-based magical abilities that involve healing and enhancing the combat abilities of fellow players, and damaging and diminishing the combat abilities of enemies...
: Shamans can take many roles, and are often considered as a "utility" class. They are excellent in soloing, group and raid situations. With smaller heals than the other two classes, a shaman often has to use several skills at the same time where a cleric could simply heal right through: keeping a heal-over-time (HoT) spell at the tank, slow the enemy's rate of attack, as well as using their ordinary heals. Their buffs are both long duration buffs, which increases hitpoints (HP), agility and mitigation, and short durations buffs, which need to be recast often. The short buffs can be divided into two areas, where the first one is enhancing their group members dps, damage per second, with spells as "Champion" and the "Talisman of the Lynx" and with their epic. This works especially well on melee groups. The other short buff area is mainly directed towards tanks, "Listlessness" is cast on tanks, and when the tank gets hit, there is a chance that the monster will receive a small pre-slow, and the tank will receive a HoT on them. "Wild Growth" is a spell shamans share with the druids, and is a large HP increase during a short time. While a raiding shaman will primarily heal and increase other classes dps, a soloing shaman or a shaman in a group will use their strong damage-over-time (DoT) spells, primarily based on poison, curse and disease. Shamans, or "Shammies" may cannibalize their health to restore mana which means that they are able to keep casting their spells for much longer times than clerics or druids. They wear "chain mail" levels of armor, and can summon a pet. Because of the range of Shaman's spells, they are sometimes considered a "utility" class. Shamans are the only class able to make potions with the Alchemy skill.
Deities
There are several deities in EverQuest who each have a certain area of responsibility and play a role in the "backstory" of the game setting. A wide array of armor and weapons are also deity-tied, making it possible for only those who worship that deity to wear/equip them. Additionally, deities determine, to some extent, where characters may and may not go without being killed on sight.Zones
The EverQuest universe is divided into "more than 375" zones. These zones represent a wide variety of geographical features, including plains, oceans, cities, deserts, and other planes of existence. One of the most popular zones in the game is the Plane of Knowledge, one of the few zones in which all races and classes can coexist harmoniously without interference. The Plane of Knowledge is also home to portals to many other zones, including portals to other planes and to the outskirts of nearly every starting city.Social dynamics
Adventuring can be done alone (soloing); by forming or joining a group (grouping) with one to five other characters; or by forming or joining a raid (raiding) with as many characters as a zone can support.
At low levels, all classes have the ability to solo. At higher levels only certain classes are widely popular for gaining experience by soloing. While some parts of EverQuest can be experienced without the help of other players, much of EQ has been designed to strongly encourage or require grouping. In these cases, a single character within the "design intent" level range for the encounter must often be twink
Twinking
Twinking is a type of behavior in role-playing games. A player who engages in such behavior is known as a twink. The precise definition of twinking varies depending on the variety of role-playing game. In "pen and paper" role-playing games, a twink is often synonymous with a munchkin. In MUDs, a...
ed with equipment or have spell enhancements (buffs) to succeed easily, if at all.
A group (or "party") may form to adventure, trade, or simply socialize. While any combination of classes can form a group, an adventuring group will often consist of a "tank", a "healer", one or more "damage dealers", someone to do "crowd control" and someone to bring the mobs
Mob (computer gaming)
A mob, mobile or monster is a computer-controlled non-player character in a computer game such as an MMORPG or MUD. Depending on context, all such characters in a game may be considered "mobs", or usage may be limited to hostile NPCs and/or NPCs vulnerable to attack.-Purpose of mobs:Defeating...
to the group. The last role is called "pulling", and is a tactic used quite often when it is more effective to place the bulk of the group in a "safe", or at least "controlled", location. While a character of any class may "pull", this role is frequently held by a Monk, Shadow Knight or Paladin. A Ranger or Druid using the tracking ability is sometimes especially effective, particularly outdoors. Other groupings can also be effective. Especially popular is Duoing with healer/tank (or at least healer/melee) tandems.
Most parts of the game can be completed with a single group, but some of the most challenging and rewarding encounters (especially in terms of loot) require players to raid. Any number of characters may take part in a raid. EQ's "Raid Window" will only allow 72 participants to directly share in raid experience and automatic raid loot rules. The upper limit for a given raid may be imposed by: the maximum number allowed in the "Raid Window", the maximum number of characters allowed in certain instanced zones
Instance dungeon
In massively multiplayer online games, an instance is a special area, typically a dungeon, that generates a new copy of the location for each group, or for certain number of players, that enters the area. Instancing, the general term for the use of this technique, addresses several problems...
, the maximum number the raid leaders can manage, or the maximum number that can be present without causing the zone or the players' computers to crash. The design of encounters in expansions have changed resulting in raid tactics that have become more and more involved.
While "groups" and "raids" are temporary gatherings of players, "guilds
Clan (computer gaming)
In computer and video gaming, a clan or guild is an organised group of players that regularly play together in a particular multiplayer games. These games range from groups of a few friends to 1000-person organizations, with a broad range of structures, goals and members. The lifespan of a clan...
" are associations that last beyond a single play session. Guilds are initially formed via an application process to SOE. Guilds may have widely varying goals. Each guild member can communicate with all (and only) other members at once using the GUILD chat channel. A character's guild affiliation appears with the character name when viewed in game. In some instances they are little more than a loose configuration of players who wish to be able to communicate easily. At the other end of the spectrum are guilds that concentrate on tackling challenging raid dungeons and boss monsters. Such "raid guilds" may require members to commit up to eight hours per day to the game, up to seven days a week. Players may be rewarded in these guilds with dragon kill points
Dragon kill points
Dragon kill points or DKP are a semi-formal score-keeping system used by guilds in massively multiplayer online games. Players in these games are faced with large scale challenges, or raids, which may only be surmounted through the concerted effort of dozens of players at a time...
, an unofficial system of points awarded to players by guild leaders meant to make loot distribution less random. Dragon kill points (or DKP for short) were first created by a raiding guild in Everquest and named for Lady Vox and Lord Nagafen, two boss dragons.
Gameplay jargon
Jargon develops around the need for shortened representations of in-game phenomena. Without the formation of this jargon, communicating various events inside the game world becomes tedious and even impossible in some scenarios. As shown above (grouping, soloing, raiding, pulling, etc.), EverQuest has its own jargon.Abbreviations and acronyms also may aid, or at least shorten, communication among players. Examples include SoW ("Spirit of Wolf" - a popular spell which accelerates run or walk speed), KEI (an acronym for "Koadic's Endless Intellect" - another popular spell which accelerates mana regeneration), PoK (Plane of Knowledge - a major "crossroads" zone for travelers), and "rez" (Resurrect - any of several spells or abilities cast on a corpse to summon the player to it, often restoring lost experience points). "Crack" or "mind candy" refers to mana regeneration spells such as Clarity or KEI. Additionally, a "mezz" (noun or verb, short for "mesmerize") refers to an ability that several classes and mobs have: the ability to render a target momentarily unable to act in any way, until the mezz wears off or the target sustains damage, which will instantly break the mezz.
Nerf
Nerf (computer gaming)
In video gaming a nerf is a change to a game that reduces the desirability or effectiveness of a particular game element. The term is also used as a verb for the act of making such a change...
refers to game balance changes when they reduce the impact of a particular power.
DKP (Dragon kill points
Dragon kill points
Dragon kill points or DKP are a semi-formal score-keeping system used by guilds in massively multiplayer online games. Players in these games are faced with large scale challenges, or raids, which may only be surmounted through the concerted effort of dozens of players at a time...
), a raid loot distribution method, originated in Everquest, and is now used within the game World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
. Proc (short for "Programmed Random OCcurence" by which an item's effect is generated) and Farm are credited as coming to WoW from EQ. Some terms have made their way into EQ from other games, such as the term Zerging from the computer game StarCraft
StarCraft
StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraft series was released for Microsoft Windows on 31 March 1998. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide as of February 2009, it is one of the best-selling...
--used when a raid's main strategy is to overwhelm an enemy by sheer force of numbers. Monsters are sometimes called mobs
Mob (computer gaming)
A mob, mobile or monster is a computer-controlled non-player character in a computer game such as an MMORPG or MUD. Depending on context, all such characters in a game may be considered "mobs", or usage may be limited to hostile NPCs and/or NPCs vulnerable to attack.-Purpose of mobs:Defeating...
, a shorthand term for "mobile object", meaning a computer-controlled character in the game world; this is a practice that started in MUD
MUD
A MUD , pronounced , is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat...
s.
Additionally, an example of this jargon can be seen in the word "Con." Con is an abbreviated version of the word `consider,' but it represents more than just the word, it represents an in-game system for measuring a monster's strength, adapted from similar systems in text MUDs
Consider (MUD)
Consider is, in MUDs , a player character capability, usually implemented as a command, for evaluating the likely outcome of engaging in combat with a potential enemy...
. What a monster "Cons" is an indicator of that monster's level of difficulty relative to the player. For example, if a player targets a monster and presses the `c' key, a textual message appeared on the screen informing the player of the monster's strength. Upon "Conning" a monster which was too difficult for the player, red text stated, "What would you like your tombstone to say?" This message allows the player to make an informed decision on whether or not he wishes to fight that monster. Frequently while playing Everquest, a player might be asked the `Con' of a monster by another player, and usually the response would be classified as one of seven colors: Grey, green, light blue, dark blue, white, yellow, and red. The answers are typified in this way because the five classifications of relative strength are represented by one of these colors. So if a player answered that a monster Cons green, that monster was relatively safe to engage, whereas a red monster would be a dangerous encounter. 'Conning' also lets the player know if the target is friendly, neutral, or hostile.
While mostly consistent throughout the entire EQ community, there are also some differences in jargon among servers, and among Asian, European and American gaming communities. For example, KEI is also known as C3 (it is the third version of Clarity). In-game chat may prove quite impenetrable to anyone who has not played EQ extensively.
Development
From John Smedley's initial concept in 1996, throughout various corporate restructurings, Sony has directly or indirectly been responsible for, and John Smedley has guided, the development of EverQuest.EverQuest II
EverQuest II
EverQuest II is a 3D fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Sony Online Entertainment , based on EverQuest, and shipped on 8 November 2004...
was released in late 2004
2004 in video gaming
-Events:*January 20 — Wireds Vaporware Awards gives its first "Lifetime Achievement Award" to recurring winner Duke Nukem Forever.*March 4 — Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Peter Molyneux into the AIAS Hall of Fame*March 22-26 — Game...
. Set in an alternate universe similar to that of the original EverQuest, this sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
takes place 500 years after the awakening of The Sleeper. The game has also inspired a number of other spinoff
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
s.
The third iteration in the series, with the working title EverQuest Next
EverQuest Next
EverQuest Next is the planned next game in the EverQuest franchise of massively multiplayer online role-playing games, a successor to EverQuest and EverQuest II. The first indication that a new game was in development appeared in a chapter written by EQ creative director Rich Waters in the...
, is currently in the early stages of development as first reported in the 2009 10th Anniversary EverQuest Book. At the SOE Fan Faire in August 2010, in-game screenshots, concept art and more information was revealed.
History
The design and concept of EverQuest is heavily indebted to text-based MUDs, in particular DikuMUDDikuMUD
DikuMUD is a multiplayer text-based role-playing game, which is a type of MUD. It was written in 1990 and 1991 by Sebastian Hammer, Tom Madsen, Katja Nyboe, Michael Seifert, and Hans Henrik Staerfeldt at DIKU —the department of computer science at the University of Copenhagen in Copenhagen,...
, and as such EverQuest is considered a 3D evolution of the text MUD genre like some of the MMOs that preceded it such as Meridian 59
Meridian 59
Meridian 59, abbreviated M59, is an online computer role-playing game first published by the now defunct 3DO Company. First launched online in an early form on December 15, 1995 and released commercially on September 27, 1996 with a flat-rate monthly subscription, Meridian 59 is often credited as...
and The Realm Online
The Realm Online
The Realm Online, originally known simply as The Realm, is a second generation MORPG . The Realm Online is still being played by a small number of players, and is known as one of the few MMORPGs that is still dial-up friendly and easy to play.The Realm was launched in March 1995 for Windows...
. John Smedley
John Smedley (developer)
John Smedley was a computer game programmer, Product Development Director and is now President of Sony Online Entertainment since 2002.Smedley was involved with the creation and development of the original EverQuest and was co-founder of Verant Interactive, Inc., which became Sony Online...
, Brad McQuaid
Brad McQuaid
Brad McQuaid is an American computer game designer who was the key designer of EverQuest, a highly successful massively multiplayer online role-playing game released in 1999...
, Steve Clover and Bill Trost who jointly are credited with creating the world of EverQuest have repeatedly pointed to their shared experiences playing MUDs such as Sojourn
Sojourn (online game)
Sojourn was a MUD founded in 1993. During its lifespan, it was regarded as a leading source of innovation and content creation. At its height, it was extremely popular and content-rich...
and TorilMUD
TorilMUD
TorilMUD is a MUD, a text-based online role-playing game, and is one of the oldest and largest of its kind.-Game characteristics:TorilMUD is set in the Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting...
as the inspiration for the game. Keith Parkinson
Keith Parkinson
Keith Parkinson was an American fantasy artist and illustrator known for book cover and game artwork for games such as EverQuest, Guardians, Magic: The Gathering and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.-Early life:...
created the box covers for earlier installments of EverQuest.
Development of EverQuest began in 1996 when Sony Interactive Studios America (SISA) executive John Smedley secured funding for a 3D game much like text-based MUDs following the successful launch of Meridian 59 the previous year. To implement the design Smedley hired programmers Brad McQuaid and Steve Clover who had come to Smedley's attention through their work on the single player RPG Warwizard. McQuaid soon rose through the ranks to become Executive Producer for the EverQuest franchise and emerged during development of EverQuest as a popular figure among the fan community through his in-game avatar, Aradune. Other key members of the development team included Bill Trost, who created the history, lore and major characters of Norrath (including Everquest protagonist Firiona Vie), Geoffrey "GZ" Zatkin who implemented the spell system, and artist Milo D. Cooper, who did the original character modeling in the game.
EverQuest launched with modest expectations from Sony on 16 March 1999 under its Verant Interactive brand and quickly became successful. By the end of the year, it had surpassed competitor Ultima Online in number of subscriptions. Numbers continued rising rapidly until mid-2001 when growth slowed. Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
's last reported subscription numbers were given as "more than 430,000 players" on 14 January 2004. SOE released a Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
version of EverQuest in 2003, incorporating all expansions through Planes of Power. Development of the OS X version has languished since then, but the server remains up and running.
In anticipation of PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
's launch Sony Interactive Studios America had made the decision to focus primarily on console titles under the banner 989 Studios
989 Studios
989 Studios was a division of Sony Computer Entertainment America that developed games for the PlayStation consoles and Windows personal computers. Their titles include Twisted Metal III and 4, Syphon Filter and 2, Jet Moto 3, Bust a Groove, EverQuest and others...
while spinning off its sole computer title, EverQuest, which was ready to launch, to a new computer game division named Redeye (renamed Verant Interactive). Executives initially had very low expectations for EverQuest but in 2000, following the surprising continued success and unparalleled profits of EverQuest, Sony reorganized Verant Interactive into Sony Online Entertainment
Sony Online Entertainment
Sony Online Entertainment is a game development and game publishing division of Sony that is best known for creating massively multiplayer online games, including EverQuest, EverQuest II, The Matrix Online, PlanetSide, Star Wars Galaxies, Free Realms, and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, DC Universe...
(SOE) with Smedley retaining control of the company.
Many of the original EverQuest team, including Brad McQuaid, Steve Clover and Geoffrey Zatkin had left SOE by 2002.
Subscription history
Verant from 1999 to 2001 and SOE from 2001 to 14 January 2004 issued formal statements giving some indications of the number of EQ subscriptions and peak numbers of players online at any given moment. However, most of these announcements have been archived and are available only by seeking historical copies through online "internet archives" or other sources.Accepting both Sony's press releases and the internet archives available today as accurate, these records show a rapid rise in subscriptions to "...more than 225,000..." on 1 November 1999. Sony announced the achievement of 300,000 subscriptions on 30 October 2000. By 2 October 2001, Sony stated that there were "...over 410,000...". On 29 July 2002, Sony announced that there were "...over 430,000..." and that for the 1st time 100,000 had played simultaneously. In preparation for the Fan Faire of 2003, Sony announced on 25 September 2003, that there were "... more than 450,000..." subscriptions.
With that single exception, from 13 March 2003 until the final reference on 14 January 2004, Sony releases that contained numbers referred only to more than 430,000 subscriptions, and/or more than 118,000 simultaneous logins. This leaves the peak and current number of subscriptions for EQ to secondary sources.
Expansions
There have been eighteen expansions to the original game since release. Expansions are purchased separately and provide additional content to the game (for example: raising the maximum character level; adding new races, classes, zones, continents, quests, equipment, game features). Additionally, the game is updated through downloaded patches. The EQ expansions:- The Ruins of Kunark (April 2000)
- The Scars of Velious (December 2000)
- The Shadows of Luclin (December 2001)
- The Planes of Power (October 2002)
- The Legacy of Ykesha (February 2003)
- Lost Dungeons of Norrath (September 2003)
- Gates of Discord (February 2004)
- Omens of War (September 2004)
- Dragons of Norrath (February 2005)
- Depths of Darkhollow (September 2005)
- Prophecy of Ro (February 2006)
- The Serpent's Spine (September 2006)
- The Buried SeaEverQuest: The Buried SeaEverQuest: The Buried Sea is the 13th expansion pack released for EverQuest, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game .-General information:...
(February 2007) - Secrets of FaydwerEverQuest: Secrets of FaydwerEverQuest: Secrets of Faydwer is the 14th expansion to the MMORPG EverQuest.In a letter by the current EverQuest producer, Clint Worley, it was announced that the production cycle of the game was going to be altered to allow for one expansion release every year...
(November 2007) - Seeds of DestructionEverQuest: Seeds of DestructionEverQuest: Seeds of Destruction is the 15th expansion to the MMORPG EverQuest.-General Information:Within the fictional storyline of the game, Zebuxoruk, an insane fallen god, is the only person who can aid players in preventing the destruction of Norrath by stopping the evil forces of Discord and...
(October 2008) - UnderfootEverQuest: Underfoot-General Information:Within the fictional storyline of the game, the afterlife world of Brell's Rest, where worthy worshipers of the god Brell go after leaving Norrath, erupts with conflict between the gnolls and the kobolds.Features:*Underfoot itself...
(December 2009) - House of ThuleEverQuest: House of ThuleEverQuest: House of Thule is the 17th expansion pack for the EverQuest role-playing game.- New Features :* Maximum level increased to 90.* Over 800 AA's.* "Treasured items" player housing addition.* New purchasable housing items....
(October 2010) - Veil of AlarisEverQuest: Veil of AlarisEverQuest: Veil of Alaris is the 18th expansion pack for the EverQuest role-playing game. The plot involves the demise of the Thule family.- Features :* Maximum level increased to 95.* New alternate advancements...
(November 2011)
Servers
The game runs on multiple "game servers", each with a unique name for identification. These names were originally the deities of the world of Norrath. In technical terms, each "game server" is actually a cluster of server machines.Once a character is created, it can only be played on that server unless the character is transferred to a new server by the customer service staff, generally for a fee.
Each server often has a unique community and people often include the server name when identifying their character outside of the game.
Special rules servers
Some EverQuest special servers have or had different rule sets than the "standard" EQ servers:- Al'Kabor - The EQMac Server. The EQMac server is so different from standard EQPC servers that it counts as a special rules server. Generally speaking: EQMac is EQ as it was in October 2002 and as close to EQ 'classic' as exists on an official SOE server. Differences include:
- Original zones: Freeport, Plane of Mischief, Plane of Hate, EC, Oasis.
- Original spells: generally EQMac spells have longer cast/recast/fizzle times and lower damage.
- Original mob graphics.
- The Sleeper still sleeps.
- No mini-map. Old Bazaar.
- Additionally EQMac's version of the Planes of Power uses the old non-nerfed 1.0 version of the major PoP mobs and requires that every member of the raid be 'flagged' to move on to the next plane (EQPC currently requires only 85% 'flagging'. Making planar progression significantly harder than the current version of EQ PoP.
- Zek - The PvP server. Players can attack each other with fewer restrictions than there are on the standard servers. All PvP servers were merged to populate Zek in 2005, which follows the PvP ruleset of the original PvP server.
- Firiona Vie (FV) - The "Roleplaying Preferred" server. FV has a set of rules more friendly to role-playing. Some rules make it attractive to non-role-players, such as the absence of the "No Drop" tag from the vast majority of items. Some Players argue this defeats the purpose of having a "Roleplaying Preferred" server.
- Stormhammer - The Legends server. For a higher fee this server provided a greater level of in-game customer service. Many players saw this as a way to charge players more money for a level of service which should have existed without the fee. In December 2005 Sony announced it was closing the Legends server.
- The Sleeper and The Combine - The Progression Servers - Launched June 2006. Initially these only offered access to the original continents of Odus, Antonica, and Faydwer. The continents were (and are) different than the original, however. Odus includes the Warrens and Antonica includes Jaggedpine Forest, though these zones were added long after the start of the game. The expansion content available is determined by the progress of the players on those servers. The completion of designated tasks triggers the addition of later expansions. These tasks may include defeating specific characters, completing particular quests, or crafting of certain items. The Sleeper was eventually merged into The Combine, which is "opened up" through the Secrets of FaydwerEverQuest: Secrets of FaydwerEverQuest: Secrets of Faydwer is the 14th expansion to the MMORPG EverQuest.In a letter by the current EverQuest producer, Clint Worley, it was announced that the production cycle of the game was going to be altered to allow for one expansion release every year...
expansion as of 26 August 2008 With the release of Seeds of Destruction on 21 October 2008, The Combine server became a standard rules server. Soon after, Sony announced that The Combine would be merged into the Druzzil Ro server on 21 January 2009. - Discord - Created in December 2003 as a temporary promotion for the Gates of Discord expansion set, this server featured permanent deathPermanent deathIn role-playing video games , permanent death is a situation in which player characters die permanently and are removed from the game...
. - Mayong 51/50 - Created June 30, 2009. Characters created on this server start at level 51 and are given 50 AA points to spend as they wish. Mayong was merged with Tunare-Seventh on September 18, 2010.
- Fippy Darkpaw and Vulak'Aer (Time Locked Progression & Voting) - Launched on February 15, 2011. Originally only one server (Fippy Darkpaw) was planned to be launched but due to demand the second server was brought online the same day with an identical ruleset. These server uses similar rules to The Combine and The Sleeper. However, much greater effort has been spent by the development team to make them a bit more 'Classic' at launch than the previous attempts were. The Warrens and Jaggedpine Forest were not available at launch. Also, many items were removed from these servers that drop or are quested in Original EQ zones, to make the servers as practically 'Classic' as possible at this point in time. Rather than certain tasks unlocking the next expansion, after those tasks are completed there will be a 'lockout timer'. Once the timer has expired, the server will be prompted to vote as to whether or not they are ready for the next expansion. Only characters of a certain level will be able to vote and a majority vote will be required to unlock the next expansion. Provided the vote does not pass, it will be placed up for voting again the following week.
European servers
Two SOE servers were set up to better support players in (or simply closer to) Europe: Antonius Bayle and Kane Bayle. Kane Bayle was merged into Antonius Bayle.With the advent of the New Dawn promotion, three additional servers were set up and maintained by Ubisoft: Venril Sathir (British), Sebilis (French) and Kael Drakkal (German). The downside of the servers was that while it was possible to transfer to them, it was impossible to transfer off.
Later on the servers were acquired by SOE and all three were merged, as Kayne Bayle had already been, into Antonius Bayle server.
Sale of in-game objects/real world economics
EverQuest has been the subject of various criticisms. One example involves the sale of in-game objects for real currency (often through eBayEBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
). The developers of EQ have always forbidden the practice and in January 2001 asked eBay to stop listing such auctions. For a time, such auctions were immediately removed, which changed market conditions and allowed a number of specialized auction sites to utilize this new virtual economy.
Because items can be traded within the game and also because of illegal online trading on websites, virtual currency to real currency exchange rate
Exchange rate
In finance, an exchange rate between two currencies is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another. It is also regarded as the value of one country’s currency in terms of another currency...
s have been calculated. The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reported that in 2002 work done by Edward Castronova
Edward Castronova
Edward "Ted" Castronova is a Professor of Telecommunications at Indiana University Bloomington. He is known in particular for his work on the economies of synthetic worlds.- Biography :...
showed that Everquest was the 77th richest country in the world, sandwiched between Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and its GDP
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
per capita was higher than that of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. In 2004, a follow-up analysis of the entire online gaming industry indicated that the combined GDP of the online "worlds" populated by the two million players was approximately the same as that of Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
.
Companies created characters, leveled them to make them powerful, and then resold the characters or specialized in exchanging money between games. A player could exchange a house in The Sims Online
The Sims Online
The Sims Online was a massively multiplayer online variation on Maxis's highly popular computer game The Sims. It was published by Electronic Arts and released on December 17, 2002 for Microsoft Windows. In March 2007, EA announced that the product would be re-branded as EA-Land and major...
for EverQuest platinum pieces, depending solely on market laws of supply and demand
Supply and demand
Supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a market. It concludes that in a competitive market, the unit price for a particular good will vary until it settles at a point where the quantity demanded by consumers will equal the quantity supplied by producers , resulting in an...
.
Sony officially discourages the payment of real-world money for online goods, except on certain "Station Exchange" servers in EQ2, launched in July 2005. The program facilitates buying in-game items for real money from fellow players for a nominal fee. At this point this system only applies to select EverQuest II
EverQuest II
EverQuest II is a 3D fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Sony Online Entertainment , based on EverQuest, and shipped on 8 November 2004...
servers; none of the pre-Station Exchange EverQuest II or EverQuest servers are affected.
Intellectual property and role-playing
Another well-publicized incident from October 2000, usually referred to as the "Mystere incidentMystere incident
The Mystere incident was an EverQuest controversy revolving around a virtual player named "Mystere", banned from the game by Verant, over a controversial role-playing story...
", involved Verant banning a player for creating controversial fan fiction
Fan fiction
Fan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator...
, causing outrage among Everquest players and sparking a major industry-wide debate about players' rights and the line between roleplaying and intellectual property infringement. The case was used by several academics in discussing such rights in the digital age.
Fans have created the open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
server emulator
Server emulator
Server emulator, a term that is widely used to describe reimplementation of MMORPG game servers, typically clones proprietary commercial software by a third party. The term "private server" is also used while it may not be accurate as often the legitimate server is also privately owned...
EQEmu
EQEmu
EQEmulator is a GNU GPL open source server emulator for the MMORPG EverQuest. Normally, the game is a service that players pay for so they can connect to Sony Online Entertainment's exclusive servers. EQEmulator is not associated with Sony or SOE, however, EQEmu players must still purchase a ...
, allowing users to run their own servers with custom rules. Running such an emulator is a violation of EQs end user license agreement and could result in a player being banned from Sony's EverQuest servers if caught doing so. It has not gained the same popularity as server emulators for Ultima Online
Ultima Online
Ultima Online is a graphical massively multiplayer online role-playing game , released on September 24, 1997, by Origin Systems. It was instrumental to the development of the genre, and is still running today...
.
Addiction
The game is renowned and berated (by some psychologistPsychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
s specializing in computer addiction
Computer addiction
Computer addiction is a loosely used term for the excessive use of computers to the extent that it interferes with daily life. Excessive use may explain problems in social interaction, mood, personality, work ethic, relationships, thought processes, or sleep deprivation.The Diagnostic and...
) for its addictive qualities. Many players refer to it half-jokingly as "NeverRest" and "EverCrack" (a disparaging comparison to crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
). There has been one well-publicized suicide of an EverQuest user named Shawn Woolley that resulted in his mother, Liz, founding Online Gamers Anonymous
Online Gamers Anonymous
On-Line Gamers Anonymous is a twelve-step program for recovery from video game addiction established as a non-profit organization in the United States. OLGA was founded by Elizabeth Woolley in 2002 after her son, Shawn Woolley, committed suicide while logged in to EverQuest...
. EQ is very time-consuming for many people, with relationships broken because of obsessive playing resulting in the creation of an online support group called EverQuest Widows and sites like GamerWidow.com.
"EverQuest for Macintosh" Forum Issues
For several years, a "Everquest for Macintosh" subscription did not allow the subscriber to create posts on the official Sony "EverQuest for Macintosh" forums. Out-of-game discussions thus took root at another location that became an on-line source of information for technical issues as well as for the various gameplay and sociological aspects that are unique to "EverQuest for Macintosh".Sociological aspects of MMORPGs
MMORPGMMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
s are described by some players as "chat rooms with a graphical interface". The sociological aspects of EverQuest (and other MMORPG
MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
s) are explored in a series of online studies on a site known as "the HUB". The studies make use of data gathered from player surveys and discuss topics like virtual relationships, player personalities, gender issues, and more.
Organized protests
In May 2004, Woody Hearn of GU ComicsGU Comics
GU Comics is a single panel webcomic written, drawn, and colored by William "Woody" Hearn. Established July 10, 2000 and launched August 15, 2000, GU is published, free, five times a week on its own web site...
called for all EverQuest gamers to boycott the Omens of War expansion in an effort to force SOE to address existing issues with the game rather than release another "quick-fire" expansion. The call to boycott was rescinded after SOE held a summit to address player concerns, improve (internal and external) communication, and correct specific issues within the game.
Prohibition in Brazil
On 17 January 2008, the Judge of the 17th Vara Federal da Seção Judiciária do Estado de Minas Gerais forbade the sales of the game in the whole Brazilian territory. The reason was that the game leads the players to a loss of moral virtue and takes them into "heavy" psychological conflicts because of the game quests.Kerafyrm - The Sleeper
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
in the original The Sleeper's Tomb zone.
While sleeping, Kerafyrm is guarded by four ancient dragons (warders) in "The Sleeper's Tomb". When all four dragons are defeated by players and are dead at the same time, The Sleeper awakes, triggering a rampage of death. Kerafyrm travels through and into multiple zones from The Sleeper's Tomb to Skyshrine, killing every player and NPC in his path. This event is unique in EverQuest, as it only occurs once on each game server
Game server
A game server is a remotely or locally run server used by game clients to play multiplayer video games. Most video games played over the Internet operate via a connection to a game server...
. Once The Sleeper awakes, neither he nor the original guardians will ever appear again on that server, unless the event is reset.
As of 12 July 2008, Kerafyrm remains asleep on both the Al'Kabor (Macintosh) server and the official Test Server.
Originally intended to be unkillable, SOE
Sony Online Entertainment
Sony Online Entertainment is a game development and game publishing division of Sony that is best known for creating massively multiplayer online games, including EverQuest, EverQuest II, The Matrix Online, PlanetSide, Star Wars Galaxies, Free Realms, and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, DC Universe...
prevented a raid of several guilds on Rallos Zek server from potentially killing him, claiming the existence of a bug. SOE later apologized for interfering, reset, and allowed the players to retry the encounter. Two days later, the same three guilds made a second attempt and after almost 4 hours, successfully killed the sleeper.
"Kerafyrm The Awakened" appears in the expansion Secrets of Faydwer as part of a raid event "Crystallos, Lair of the Awakened" in the instanced zone of "Crystallos".
EverQuest universe
Since Everquest's release, Sony Online Entertainment has added several EverQuest-related games. These include:- Champions of NorrathChampions of NorrathChampions of Norrath: Realms of EverQuest is an online-capable action role-playing game for the PlayStation 2, set in the EverQuest universe. It is playable with one single player or cooperative for up to four players. However, with a Network Adapter, players can take the game online with others...
(PS2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
--February 2004) - its sequel Champions: Return to ArmsChampions: Return to ArmsChampions: Return to Arms is an Action RPG set in the EverQuest universe. It is the sequel to Champions of Norrath and is developed by Snowblind Studios.-Gameplay:...
(PS2, February 2005) - EverQuest IIEverQuest IIEverQuest II is a 3D fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Sony Online Entertainment , based on EverQuest, and shipped on 8 November 2004...
(PC, MMORPGMMORPGMassively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
sequel to EverQuest--November 2004) - EverQuest Online AdventuresEverQuest Online AdventuresEverQuest Online Adventures is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game for the PlayStation 2. EQOA is one of the few MMORPGs released on a video game console...
(PS2, MMORPGMMORPGMassively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
prequel to EverQuest--February 2003) - EverQuest Hero's Call (Pocket PCPocket PCA Pocket PC is also known by Microsoft as a 'Windows Mobile Classic device'. It is a hardware specification for a handheld-sized computer, personal digital assistant , that runs the Microsoft 'Windows Mobile Classic' operating system...
, January 2003) - EverQuest Hero's Call 2 (Pocket PC, April 2004)
- Lords of EverQuestLords of EverQuestLords of EverQuest is a 3D fantasy Real-Time Strategy game released in December 2003. It was developed by the short-lived startup company Rapid Eye Entertainment and published by Sony Online Entertainment...
(PC real-time strategyReal-time strategyReal-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
, December 2003) - EverQuest Role-Playing GameEverQuest Role-Playing GameThe EverQuest Role-Playing Game is a role-playing game based on the EverQuest fantasy MMORPG. The game line is published by White Wolf under its Sword & Sorcery imprint...
(a role-playing gameRole-playing gameA role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
produced in collaboration with White WolfWhite Wolf, Inc.White Wolf Publishing is an American gaming and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant and White Wolf Magazine, and was initially led by Mark Rein·Hagen of the former and Steve and Stewart Wieck of the latter. Since White Wolf Publishing, Inc. merged with...
which uses the d20 systemD20 SystemThe d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...
).
A line of novels have been published in the world of Everquest, including:
- Rogue's Hour, by Scott Ciencin (October 2004)
- Ocean of Tears, by Stewart Wieck (October 2005)
- Truth and Steel, by Thomas M. Reid (September 2006)
- The Blood Red Harp, by Elaine Cunningham (October 2006)
External links
-
- EverQuest Players (previously EQ Live): official EverQuest News