EverQuest: Year One
- November 24, 2000 14:47 PM PST
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It's been a year since online gaming received a huge shot in the arm in the form of EverQuest, and over that time there have been a lot of changes. The release of EverQuest: Ruins of Kunark has focused new attention onto the world of Norrath, so here's a rundown of some changes made since the opening day.
It's been a year since online gaming received a huge shot in the arm in the form of EverQuest, and over that time there have been a lot of changes. The release of EverQuest: Ruins of Kunark has focused new attention onto the world of Norrath, so here's a rundown of some changes made since the opening day.
Forever Quest
When EverQuest released, its developers promised a vigilant staff and all sorts of upgrades, bug fixes, and new items and weapons. Ruins of Kunark is an extra, paid expansion, but even before the release of Kunark Verant had made hundreds of changes, tweaks and additions.
Since the release of EverQuest, there have been many changes meant to balance the classes. One of the largest class enhancements was made to the warrior class some months ago, when facts seemed to show that the warrior was greatly underpowered when compared to other characters. Along with improvements have come "nerfs," or negative balances i.e. the reduction of the damage output for high level necromancer skeletal pets. The vocal EQ community is typically much louder in criticizing nerfs than in praising improvements, but it's all done in interest of balancing the classes, and not, as some will say, as a vendetta toward certain groups of players.
In the Zone
Verant has also added new zones, absolutely free of charge. The biggest additions were probably the Altered Planes of Fear and Hate, and recently the Plane of Air. These high-level playgrounds come with the disclaimer that players might never recover their corpses after a death in these zones. With Kunark in the mix now, gamers can expect even more high-level zones for their godlike characters to roam through. If you compare the newer cities such as Paineel (the evil mirror of Erudin) or Cabilis (home of the Iksar lizardmen) to the original release cities, you'll see just how far the designers at Verant have come over the year.
The Player's the Thing
EQ players are a diverse lot, ranging from frenzied level-obsessed powergamers to self-professed roleplayers, and not everyone always gets along. More often than not, though, the EverQuest community is very helpful to newbies and veterans alike when it comes to figuring out quests and finding items. On the other hand, EverQuest's customer support could use a bit of an overhaul, with power-tripping GMs and frustrating "no comment" responses to questions. Verant's addition of Gordon Wrinn (or Abashi to EQ folks) has really helped on the Public Relations end of EverQuest, as he works hard to debunk false internet rumors and perform damage control for the rabid and vocal EQ fans on the 'net.
Still the Best
After a year of release, EverQuest is still going strong, with 31 servers, each holding around 1500-2000 players at peak times. As long as Verant continues to support its baby with updates, improvements, and new challenges, PC gamers all over the world will continue to lose sleep and tie up their modem lines in the interest of saving the blighted world of Norrath.
