It is once again time to review what has happened, what is happening now and what is coming along down the line. But, before I get to what will be coming along, let’s review all that has occurred already during this extremely momentous year...

PAX East ran from March 21 through 24, and as many of you know, we had a panel there as well as an after-hours meetup. It was wonderful seeing so many of you all at both the PAX panel and at Harpoon Brewery. I am so excited about Fippy Fest, which is fast approaching. However, in case you missed it, there is a post that gives more details about what you get with your in-person Fippy Fest ticket purchase. There is a plethora of real-life loot, as well as all the digital loot from the VIP digital pack. So much great stuff! If you don't want to miss any of the good times, please be advised that the tickets nearly are half gone. They will only be sold until 11:30 p.m. PDT on April 21, 2024, or until they are sold out (whichever comes first) so be sure to grab yours before they are all gone. Don't let these parties happen without you being in on all the fun! Don’t worry if you can't make it in-person though; there will be a livestream of the event that everyone can watch. Tons of fun will be had by all, both in-person and digitally. If you choose to make a digital pack purchase, you will also be able to post your questions in a special forum where it can then be read aloud on stream and answered by the game team.

"Let the blood run in rivers to those who wish to divide the gnolls of war!"

Darkpaw Rising, also known as Game Update 125, is currently on the Beta Server along with the Direct X 11 API Port. In Darkpaw Rising, you will enter an underground cavern full of gnolls and discover the Splitpaw and Sabertooth clans have united under the Darkpaw banner. You will not need to own the last expansion to play this Game Update! This game update has Tradeskill content, adventure, quests, collections for all characters of at least level 10. This is also the optimal time to make sure that Direct X works well on your PC. The Beta on Darkpaw Rising and Direct X 11 ends on April 9, when they will both go Live!

I’d also like to take this time to remind you all that the Bristlebane Day Event is still going on. Be sure to grab some past season mercenaries during the 20% discount on them and get into mischief with all the hijinks and silliness centered around this fun holiday! It will end on April 14 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.


Pieces of the bigger picture!

Now for a few things that have happened which were not on the roadmap. The Community Team is also running a Jigsaw Puzzle event across the social media channels. Each day, a piece is unveiled, and another task is posted. The person who wins the daily task not only gets to choose the next piece to be removed, but they get a point for the day. The three people with the most points per platform will win a nice pack of items, that’s nine total winners! This will continue until June 13th with the winners being revealed at Fippy Fest.  

The new EverQuest II forums are live! It took a while, but they are up and working well. As part of the new forums, we also launched the new class skill suggestion subforums. These already have a ton of posts in them from both players and developers about skill changes for all the classes. There is also a new voting system implemented for them, as well as the ability for developers to make polls when needed. If you haven’t logged into them yet, log in now and look around! 

Here’s a quick look back at the roadmap from January through March. 

January: 

February: 

March: 

The following is what is coming up between this month and June. 

April: 

  • The Year of Darkpaw
    • Monthly collections, giveaway, limited edition items
    • Masquerades of Divinity
    • Adding March giveaway item for purchase
    • Missions, achievements, and currency merchant updated
    • Ask Me Anything responses posted
  • Bristlebane Day event returns
  • Game Update 125 (Darkpaw Rising) launches
  • DirectX 11 API Port launches
  • Varsoon unlocks Sentinel's Fate
  • Zarrakon unlocks The Shadow Odyssey

May: 

  • The Year of Darkpaw
    • Monthly collections, giveaway, limited edition items
    • Masquerades of Divinity Altars
    • Adding April giveaway item for purchase
    • Missions, achievements, and currency merchant updated
  • DirectX 11 API Port launches Launching in April
  • New TLE Server Beta opens
    • This is not a TLE, like Varsoon, this will be a different experience. We will be announcing more details soon.
  • Patches of Pride event returns 

June: 

  • The Year of Darkpaw
    • Monthly collections, giveaway, limited edition items
    • Masquerades of Divinity
    • Adding May giveaway item for purchase
    • Missions, achievements, and currency merchant updated
  • Summer Jubilee's Tinkerfest event returns
  • Summer Jubilee's Scorched Sky event returns
  • Origins TLE Server launches
  • Varsoon unlocks Sentinel's Fate Mid-Content
    • The Icy Keep: Retribution, Underfoot Depths, Zraxth's Unseen Arcanum  

Now that that’s all out of the way, let’s get down to the nitty gritty of why you’re all here. It is time to talk about the new TLE server. When last I spoke of it, I explained it is not like any TLE’s before it, and now I will explain why. 

This new server will be called the Origins Server, and it will take you way back to old school EverQuest II from back in 2006! We'll start in The Shattered Lands era (no expansions unlocked), and you’ll get to experience the look and challenge of the classic world of Norrath. The seas have calmed enough for sea faring to resume, and you are plucked from the waters by none other than Captain Varlos. Soon you will find yourself on an island and then given passage to your racial neighborhoods in Qeynos or Freeport. Systems will seem less complex, stats and gameplay will be reflective of the 2006 era, and there will be more focus on grouping with that old school MMO feel! If you did not have the chance to play back then, or just want to revisit for nostalgia, then this server will be on your list to play. Beta will begin on May 2, 2024. 

Lastly, I want to thank you all for being with us during this record year and helping us celebrate a whopping twenty fun-filled years of this magnificent game. I am thankful that I am afforded the opportunity to see this game continue to grow year by year with such a loyal group of gamers.

There's no business like snow business,
Jenn Chan
Head of Studio

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