EverQuest II

Check out our impressions from the Beta build of SOE's upcoming mega MMORPG.

After seeing EverQuest II in action at the recent Sony Online Entertainment press demo, one thing is clear--the designers behind EverQuest II take the EverQuest name seriously. Very seriously.

The storyline picks up 500 years after the events depicted in the first EverQuest. As the characters in that game grew more powerful and their abilities more divine, the gods of Norrath felt increasingly threatened. Thus, they plotted a cataclysmic event that would halt the ascension of man--in this case, an earthquake. Upon starting a new game, players awaken on a tropical island--a sort of way station for refugees.

Sadly, you can't port over old characters from the first EverQuest, but you'll be able to take advantage of family heritage to continue your original character's blood line. Though you must create your characters from scratch, the character creation suite in the beta already looked amazing. Besides the new playable race (the dexterous rodent Rotangas), EverQuest II is shaping up to include far more character-building tools than ever before. Players can now bestow tremendous detail upon their avatars, including wrinkles and other subtle facial details.

As for the different character classes, there are five main character archetypes in EverQuest II: mage, priest, fighter, scout and artisan (which includes many of the non-fighting classes so popular from the first game). Later in the game, as characters gain experience and learn new skills, they'll come across branching paths that allow for extra skill specialization. Ultimately, this breaks down to 24 "action" classes and nine different vocations.

Sometimes, it's the little things that count. The designers aren't just blindly adding to the cherished EverQuest II mythos. Many additions and changes are specifically designed to address particular gripes with the first--and still extremely popular--EverQuest. One major change is the fact that you'll never lose a character level upon dying. Instead, you'll assume an experience point debt, which will lift almost entirely if you can retrieve the Spirit Shard left at the site of your death. Fear not--even if you can't reach your Spirit Shard, you'll automatically re-absorb that missing experience after three days (even if you're offline).

Other, smaller penalties that come with dying include a small hit to your stats (like health), plus some extra item wear-and-tear. Another huge improvement comes with the tweaked healing and rest system. No longer will players be forced to wait ten, twenty, or even thirty minutes simply to recover hit points. Now, healing takes place on a percentage-based basis--the longest you'll ever have to wait to recover your health is one mere minute. Hallelujah!

As for graphics, the beta version of EverQuest II shined with vibrant textures and shockingly detailed character models. It was even possible to make out fine facial details like lines and wrinkles. The expansive environments have also seen a tremendous upgrade--you can see enemies when they're yards in front of you, unlike the last EverQuest. There were also some amazing spell effects on display, such as the Thorn Shield spell, which made 3D volumetric spikes sprout from the player's skin in real-time. Visually, the most impressive aspect is that the game's graphics were only set to roughly 65% of the highest possible settings--it looked amazing as it was, but we can only imagine what the game looks like at its highest settings. Of course, you'd need some seriously powerful hardware.

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