EQ2 - Expansion 4: Rise of Kunark : EverQuest 2 General Discussions

Rise of Kunark:

Here are some of the high points about the new expansion we can expect to see...

Expect same type things as Echoes of Faydwer with common themes from EverQuest I.

Epic Weapons: Every class will have unique quests with group and raid content. Some of the similarities with old world epics are desirability and level of challenge but there will be some differences... the beginning epics will begin as Legendary and move progressively toward more fabled content so not so seasoned adventurers will feel rewarded.As their character progresses so does the quest and the challenge. EverQuest II Epics will not be only for Raiders. The final version of these epics will be obtained NOT through long time sinks of camping long spawns... but rather will be based on toughness of encounters rather then just being lucky in the right place when something happens to spawn. Progressing your quest will be based on your own strategy and experiences.

Last 500 years: Much like the rest of Norrath the shattering/rending left much devastation, Kunark did not escape it. Venril Sathir wasn't happy with where he was and after the Gods abandoned Norrath he left his castle and took over Cabillis... he then reached toward the east toward Sebillis... which has become Venril's source of power. Cabillis becoming massive has become partially underground containing some of the remnants of old Sebillis. Trakanon has NOT been forgotten... and he has his very own unique place/story in Kunark. Giants, Sarnaks, and Frogloks all are almost being overrun by the influx of Sathir's horde of Iksars. but it is the Sarnaks that are the wild card here in this war against the Sathir army.

Yes the Sarnaks will be a PLAYABLE race! Sarnaks will have very specific racial abilities which will set them apart from all the other races much like the Fae did in Echoes of Faydwer. Obviously they will not fly... We will have to wait and see what new abilities these Sarnaks have evolved and used against their foes.

Sarnak's starting area will be in Timorous Deep... Chardok has been changed and become a defensive stronghold not safe for a starting low level sarnak. The Sarnak have set up in Timorous deep for the younger sarnaks to train up in relative safety. The Iksar society believes the sarnaks to be almost extinct and now you can prove otherwise... Wage your very own war against the Iksars. As it is now the Sarnak will be a Neutral race and the starting areas in timorous deep will also play home to some of the other neutral races.

Some of the additions given to EverQuest II over the last few expansions will be expanded on and further tweaked to give even more playability and customization such as the some tweaking of the AA trees currently in existence. A new AA tree will not be added for the Rise of Kunark however some Trees will be given some love where needed.

There will be a guild level increase to match the tradeskill and adventuring levels. the new cap for Adventure/Tradeskill/Guild will all be Level 80!

Zones will be very large much like Echoes of Faydwer. There will be some familiarity of the lands from original EverQuest. Very large areas and zones contained within that you will not have to zone between. Almost seamless zoning. There will be zoning between the large regions but less then in the past.

Expect to see NEW dungeons unearthed by the shattering never before seen but possibly heard of in original EverQuest as well as some old favorites you might remember from EverQuest 1 retouched and remastered to awe inspiring detail made famous by EverQuest II.

In terms of size it is around the same size or bigger then EverQuest 1's Kunark. The team is focusing on Quality so that everything released will be as polished as possible and if they happen to miss something it can be added through content additions much like Estate of Unrest etc. In fact in terms of quality some of the original artists that spent their time doing the art for EverQuest 1's Kunark release are back with the EverQuest II team and are redesigning those same areas to further add the sense of familiarity that the old Kunark had. the artists and designers have been hard at work to make some the biggest interiors seen to date in EverQuest II.

Some of the zones you can expect to see that survived if even partially can include Timorous Deep as a level 1 through 20 starting city/area with vast oceans, Sebillis, Chardok, Cabillis, Field of Bone, The Overthere, Skyfire Mountains, Emerald Jungle, and City of Mist.

There will be 3 new gods returning back to Norrath with the ability to worship. This will further allow people to customize their characters with special abilities and items through worship of the Gods of old.

Other additions include that of a new style mount: The Kunarkian Rhino made famous in EverQuest 1 in the Overthere. You can also occasionally see an old concept art in one of the splash screens in the current game.

Rise of Kunark will be released as a standard version as well as a limited print collectors edition which will includes lots of little goodies for the true EverQuest Kunark Fan.

Keep an eye out for more news coming soon about the new expansion and what you can expect to see!

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