Where EverQuest goes, EverQuest II must surely follow. We got a Producer’ Letter announcing the next EverQuest expansion two weeks back, now we get one announcing the next EverQuest II expansion, the Reign of Shadows.
The 17th expansion for EverQuest II is going to take players to the dark side of Luclin, carrying on from last year’s Blood of Luclin expansion.
The lead in reads:
Emperor Ssraeshza and his unyielding throngs of insidious zealots and enslaved minions have laid claim to the ancient citadel of Vex Thal. The march of the nefarious snake-like shissar must end there, deep within the heart of the dark side of Luclin.
Face terrible challenges and forge great alliances in regions unseen by Norrathian eyes in centuries: Echo Caverns, Shadeweaver’s Thicket, Grimling Forest, Shar Vhal, and Vex Thal. Heroes will be made in the shadows!
The features list includes:
- Play as a Vah Shir! THAT’S RIGHT OUR FIRST NEW PLAYER RACE IN 5 YEARS!
- 20 Reign of Shadows Prestige Advancement Points and 10 new Reign of Shadows Prestige Abilities.
- Maximum Guild Level increased to 350 with an all new content-driven guild leveling mechanism.
- Discover new Adventure, Tradeskill, and Signature quests as you investigate what secrets lay concealed in the endless gloom.
- Master all new Solo, Heroic, Challenge Heroic, and Raid content in the perpetual shade of Luclin’s dark side!
The new race is a big deal, as it brings the Vah Shir, the EverQuest feline race from Luclin, to the game. The rest sounds a bit like the usual “new zones, new quests, new raids, new collections” sort of stuff that make up the bulk of any expansion.
However, they do mention an attempt to revamp the whole Alternate Advancement system.
Launching with Reign of Shadows, archetype and class Alternate Advancement abilities are getting a full revamp so that every point has an impact on how your character plays. These changes should not affect Kaladim in a significant way and we do not plan on having them affect future TLEs either. To see these changes before the launch of the expansion, please login to beta when it opens and check them out.
Alternate Advancement, which was an early way to channel experience into something besides levels with new expansions, have grown unwieldy over the years. I think AAs came in with Kingdom of Sky and the company has piled more into them with every update since. We shall see if they can come up with a better system.
In anticipation of the new expansion a “Gear up, Level up” event will kick off this Thursday, October 29th, to get people ready for the new content, while pre-orders and beta for Reign of Shadows are planned for November 10th.
Addendum: