The Shadows of Luclin
Encyclopedia
EverQuest: The Shadows of Luclin (also called SoL, or Luclin) is the third expansion
released for EverQuest
, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game
(MMORPG). The expansion focuses on high-level content, providing a number of zones meant to be used by large groups of players and many extremely powerful monsters to fight.
of Norrath called Luclin and introduced the Vah Shir, a catlike playable race, and the Beastlord character class
. Notable NPC
races that were added to the EverQuest universe are the Shissar, a snake-like race, and the Akhevans. The Shadows of Luclin also incorporates a new game engine
, new character models, and gave players the ability to design graphical user interface
s. The player characters' appearance was completely redesigned giving them more layers and rounder shapes. Mounts were also introduced with this expansion, they allowed players to regenerate their Health and Mana as if they were sitting without generating as much aggro (hatred from monsters). Alternate Advancement started with the Luclin expansion, allowing players to further grow and customize their classes.
It includes many zones in which players of all levels can experience, several raid encounters such as the Lord Inquisitor Seru and a high-end raiding zone, Vex Thal. SoL also introduced some new events that made encounters more challenging than before, especially in the Ssraeshza Temple zone.
The Shissars, serpent like creatures, were extremely powerful beings and once roamed on the continent of Kunark where they had enslaved the Iksars. Rile, an Iksar hero, brought a revolution and called upon a mystical force referred to as the Greenmist, which killed the Shissars. Fleeing Norrath because the atmosphere became toxic, the surviving Shissars were helped by the Combine Empire and were sent to Luclin and the underwater sanctuary introduced years later with "The Buried Sea".
On Luclin, the Shissars built the temple of Ssraeshza home of the powerful Emperor Ssraeshza (powerful enough to slay gods according to the lore). To protect themselves from the Greenmist, they magically sealed the Grey, a place where no atmosphere exists, and built their temple. Ssraeshza Temple (also known as Ssra) is part of the access to the high end zone of Vex Thal. Defeating the Emperor was necessary and required equipping every player with a key done within the temple and gearing melee characters with special weapons, since the Emperor is immune to regular weapons. Such weapons were introduced with SoL and a referred to as Bane Weapons. Later on, a Shadow Knight only quested weapon was introduced in Cabilis and called the Greenmist (Sacred Khukri of Rile), the most powerful Shissar-bane weapon.
Under the seas they built Zhisza a new sanctuary.
to access the zone was a time sink (requiring weeks), and that the zone was designed with encounters requiring long periods of playing (more than 6 hours, for example).
The Shadows of Luclin also had problems on release that prevented many players from experiencing the new content immediately, due to the changing graphical engine. Additionally, the Bazaar, a zone that was listed in the expansion's features, was not ready on the expansion's release date and was made available a few months later.
In the end, the expansion was described by some as an unfinished product: time sinks, unfinished and broken content, unfinished and broken software, and very little in the way of role playing and folklore
.
The new skins given to player characters were evenly rejected and accepted by the player community. Today, a large portion of players still use the old (original) character skins.
In addition, Shadows of Luclin began the trend of instant teleportation in Everquest with the addition of the Nexus, which allowed people to transport from various spires in the original Norrath up to Luclin. This trend was later expanded on with the Planes of Power expansion, which added the Plane of Knowledge and "PoK books" that allowed teleportation to nearly every newbie zone in Norrath, "boat gnomes"--teleporters that replaced the original boats, and the Magi that allowed transport between Wayfarer's camps in the Lost Dungeons of Norrath expansion. Such changes are widely believed to have trivialized travel in the once enormous world of Norrath, which in effect made the world seem significantly smaller.
The Bazaar
, a trading zone which in essence allowed player characters to act as NPC merchants, is also credited with causing massive "mudflation
" and damage to both the in-game economy and to the social networking and role-playing that often occurred in player-run bazaar areas such as the North Freeport Bank or the East Commonlands tunnel, where characters had previously congregated to buy and sell goods with all the efficiency of a third-world city market.
Many players credit this expansion with being the beginning of the end for EQ and the overall turning point in the quality of the expansion sets. No post-Luclin set has ever had the popularity and approval of Ruins of Kunark and Scars of Velious.
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
released for EverQuest
EverQuest
EverQuest, often shortened to EQ, is a 3D fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game that was released on the 16th of March, 1999. The original design is credited to Brad McQuaid, Steve Clover, and Bill Trost...
, a 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). The expansion focuses on high-level content, providing a number of zones meant to be used by large groups of players and many extremely powerful monsters to fight.
General information
The expansion takes place on a moonNatural satellite
A natural satellite or moon is a celestial body that orbits a planet or smaller body, which is called its primary. The two terms are used synonymously for non-artificial satellites of planets, of dwarf planets, and of minor planets....
of Norrath called Luclin and introduced the Vah Shir, a catlike playable race, and the Beastlord character class
Character class
In role-playing games, a common method of arbitrating the capabilities of different game characters is to assign each one to a character class. A character class aggregates several abilities and aptitudes, and may also sometimes detail aspects of background and social standing or impose behaviour...
. Notable NPC
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...
races that were added to the EverQuest universe are the Shissar, a snake-like race, and the Akhevans. The Shadows of Luclin also incorporates a new game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
, new character models, and gave players the ability to design graphical user interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
s. The player characters' appearance was completely redesigned giving them more layers and rounder shapes. Mounts were also introduced with this expansion, they allowed players to regenerate their Health and Mana as if they were sitting without generating as much aggro (hatred from monsters). Alternate Advancement started with the Luclin expansion, allowing players to further grow and customize their classes.
It includes many zones in which players of all levels can experience, several raid encounters such as the Lord Inquisitor Seru and a high-end raiding zone, Vex Thal. SoL also introduced some new events that made encounters more challenging than before, especially in the Ssraeshza Temple zone.
The Shissars, serpent like creatures, were extremely powerful beings and once roamed on the continent of Kunark where they had enslaved the Iksars. Rile, an Iksar hero, brought a revolution and called upon a mystical force referred to as the Greenmist, which killed the Shissars. Fleeing Norrath because the atmosphere became toxic, the surviving Shissars were helped by the Combine Empire and were sent to Luclin and the underwater sanctuary introduced years later with "The Buried Sea".
On Luclin, the Shissars built the temple of Ssraeshza home of the powerful Emperor Ssraeshza (powerful enough to slay gods according to the lore). To protect themselves from the Greenmist, they magically sealed the Grey, a place where no atmosphere exists, and built their temple. Ssraeshza Temple (also known as Ssra) is part of the access to the high end zone of Vex Thal. Defeating the Emperor was necessary and required equipping every player with a key done within the temple and gearing melee characters with special weapons, since the Emperor is immune to regular weapons. Such weapons were introduced with SoL and a referred to as Bane Weapons. Later on, a Shadow Knight only quested weapon was introduced in Cabilis and called the Greenmist (Sacred Khukri of Rile), the most powerful Shissar-bane weapon.
Under the seas they built Zhisza a new sanctuary.
Controversy
The Vex Thal zone led to a great deal of controversy due to complaints that the zone did not work properly at release, that its design created too many conflicts between players (due to racing for content), that the questQuest
In mythology and literature, a quest, a journey towards a goal, serves as a plot device and as a symbol. Quests appear in the folklore of every nation and also figure prominently in non-national cultures. In literature, the objects of quests require great exertion on the part of the hero, and...
to access the zone was a time sink (requiring weeks), and that the zone was designed with encounters requiring long periods of playing (more than 6 hours, for example).
The Shadows of Luclin also had problems on release that prevented many players from experiencing the new content immediately, due to the changing graphical engine. Additionally, the Bazaar, a zone that was listed in the expansion's features, was not ready on the expansion's release date and was made available a few months later.
In the end, the expansion was described by some as an unfinished product: time sinks, unfinished and broken content, unfinished and broken software, and very little in the way of role playing and folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
.
The new skins given to player characters were evenly rejected and accepted by the player community. Today, a large portion of players still use the old (original) character skins.
In addition, Shadows of Luclin began the trend of instant teleportation in Everquest with the addition of the Nexus, which allowed people to transport from various spires in the original Norrath up to Luclin. This trend was later expanded on with the Planes of Power expansion, which added the Plane of Knowledge and "PoK books" that allowed teleportation to nearly every newbie zone in Norrath, "boat gnomes"--teleporters that replaced the original boats, and the Magi that allowed transport between Wayfarer's camps in the Lost Dungeons of Norrath expansion. Such changes are widely believed to have trivialized travel in the once enormous world of Norrath, which in effect made the world seem significantly smaller.
The Bazaar
The Bazaar
"The Bazaar" is a song by Canadian rock band The Tea Party. It was released as a promotional single in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and the USA. The music video was shot in Istanbul, and its Grand Bazaar...
, a trading zone which in essence allowed player characters to act as NPC merchants, is also credited with causing massive "mudflation
Mudflation
Mudflation, from MUD and inflation, is an economic issue that exists only in massively multiplayer online games. Mudflation occurs when future additions to a game causes previously acquired resources to decline in value...
" and damage to both the in-game economy and to the social networking and role-playing that often occurred in player-run bazaar areas such as the North Freeport Bank or the East Commonlands tunnel, where characters had previously congregated to buy and sell goods with all the efficiency of a third-world city market.
Many players credit this expansion with being the beginning of the end for EQ and the overall turning point in the quality of the expansion sets. No post-Luclin set has ever had the popularity and approval of Ruins of Kunark and Scars of Velious.
Zones
- Acrylia Caverns
- Akheva Ruins
- Dawnshroud Peaks
- Echo Caverns
- Fungus Grove
- Grieg's End
- Grimling Forest
- Hollowshade Moor
- Katta Castellum
- Marus Seru
- Mons Letalis
- Netherbian Lair
- Paludal Caverns
- Sanctus Seru
- Shadeweaver's Thicket
- Shadow Haven
- Shar Vahl
- Ssraeshza Temple
- The Bazaar
- The Deep
- The Grey
- The Maiden's Eye
- The Nexus
- The Scarlet Desert
- The Tenebrous Mountains
- The Twilight Sea
- The Umbral Plains
- Vex Thal