Joystiq

EverQuest 2 going free-to-play (again)

Griffin McElroy — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:00:00 EST

No, you and you internet browser haven't slipped backwards through time -- though EverQuest 2 already went free-to-play last year (with the somewhat confusing, browser-based EverQuest 2: Extended), the game is going really free-to-play starting December 6. A post on the game's official site clears things up: The offerings of Extended will be folded into the rest of the title, and membership will be broken down into three tiers: Free, Silver and Gold.

Free members get a handful of races, classes, character slots and other utilities, while Silver members ($5.00 or 500 Station Points per month) get ... well, a handful more. These two tiers also have the option to purchase some items (like races and classes) piecemeal. Gold members ($14.99/mo.) get unrestricted access to everything. Check out this handy rubric if you're still confused by all these precious, precious metals.

EverQuest 2 going free-to-play (again) originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'EverQuest 2 Extended' bringing free-to-play to EQ2

JC Fletcher — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:50:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

SOE has announced a free-to-play version of EverQuest 2, called EverQuest 2 Extended. Yes, a free-to-play version. Rather than switching its business model as some MMOs have, SOE is actually going to operate Extended in parallel with the existing, subscription-based version of EverQuest 2.

Extended uses a smaller web-based application instead of EQ2's full download, and offers both free and optional paid membership content, as well as the option to purchase equipment. It includes access to all the game zones available in the "real" game, including those added in expansions up to "Shadow Odyssey". In other words, everything but the stuff added in "Sentinel's Fate." Find all the confusing details about the membership options after the break, or check the FAQ.

EverQuest 2 Extended is expected to launch in beta form "on or around August 17, 2010." Along with it, UI improvements will be released for the current version of EQ2.

Continue reading 'EverQuest 2 Extended' bringing free-to-play to EQ2

'EverQuest 2 Extended' bringing free-to-play to EQ2 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony Online Entertainment selling Everquest 2 mounts for $25

Griffin McElroy — Sat, 22 May 2010 03:30:00 EST

Sony Online Entertainment, in an attempt to capitalize on the madness that stirs men's souls to purchase in-game items with real-life money, recently added three colorful Everquest 2 mounts to the Station Marketplace. For $25, you can purchase one of two versions of the mount: a Fierce Prowler, which improves its rider's combat abilities, or an Arcane Prowler, which boosts spellcasting abilities. You can check out a video of the mounts over on Shacknews.

SOE representatives claim the mounts were added to the storefront due to "player demand," which, if true, means the world has gone entirely bananacakes crazytown. We're going to go buy an economy-sized pallet of water bottles, board up our doors and windows, and go hide in our mattress fort.

Sony Online Entertainment selling Everquest 2 mounts for $25 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 22 May 2010 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Everquest, Free Realms players raise $25,000 for Haiti

Richard Mitchell — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:30:00 EST

Sony Online Entertainment has announced that it has donated $25,000 in aid to the victim's of the tragic Haiti earthquake. The money was raised with the help of Everquest, Everquest II and Free Realms players via the purchase of special in-game items. For every item purchased -- each item was priced at $5 -- Sony Online Entertainment donated $10 to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development fund. The sum, raised in only three days, should aid in sending much needed supplies, relief workers, and financial support. A commendable effort, to be sure.

Joystiq readers can find ways to help Haiti by following this link. Also remember that all DLC proceeds for Behemoth games go to the Red Cross this weekend.

Everquest, Free Realms players raise $25,000 for Haiti originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SOE announces EverQuest: Underfoot and Everquest II: Sentinel's Fate expansions

David Hinkle — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:30:00 EST

Our sister site BigDownload has the scoop on a pair of new expansions for SOE's popular Everquest franchise that were announced at this week's Fan Faire in Las Vegas. First up is the 16th commercial expansion for 1999's Everquest, Everquest: Underfoot. Due for release this November, the expansion brings with it a new underground zone to explore, with new creatures to battle, and even less reason to leave your house.

Probably more relevant is Everquest II: Sentinel's Fate, the sixth commercial expansion for Everquest II. Due for release in February 2010, Sentinel's Fate will raise the level cap to 90, allowing you to spend ten more levels beefing up that Summoner of yours.

SOE announces EverQuest: Underfoot and Everquest II: Sentinel's Fate expansions originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SOE promotion nets $20k Child's Play contribution

David Hinkle — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 02:00:00 EST

SOE recently ran a really swell promotion in its Everquest and Everquest II games. For every player that purchased a specific Child's Play virtual item on the Marketplace using the title's currency, Station Cash, SOE would make a $10 donation to Child's Play. Despite an aching (real-world) economy, players managed to do some serious spending, driving SOE's total contribution to Child's Play to $20,000. To put that in perspective, $20,000 is the equivalent of just over 1,333 months of basic Everquest II access for a single subscriber.

SOE promotion nets $20k Child's Play contribution originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steam gets mo' MMOs from Sony Online Entertainment

Ludwig Kietzmann — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:17:00 EST

Filed under: PC, Online, MMO

Though we've always had to fight an urge to call them MOMs (massively online multiplayer-ers), MMOs have become an internet-bound force to be reckoned with. It's no surprise, then, that Valve's Steam service serendipitously bumped into Sony Online's mob of mmohs at a recent meeting of internet-bound forces to be reckoned with. They hit it off, one thing led to another and now it's all over the blogosphere.

A "groundbreaking" library of SOE titles is now available on the digital download service, including the EverQuest and EverQuest II collections, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and Pirates of the Burning Sea. You'll also find the expansions EverQuest Seeds of Destruction and EverQuest II The Shadow Odyssey available for purchase.

As a special introductory offer, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, EverQuest Secrets of Faydwer and EverQuest II Rise of Kunark are being sold at "special" prices during the first ten days of availability. New game accounts for purchased MMOs will receive 30 days of gameplay, though the offer excludes existing game and Station Access accounts.

Well, enjoy the games! It was nice knowing you.

Steam gets mo' MMOs from Sony Online Entertainment originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SOE announces EverQuest: Seeds of Destruction and EQII: The Shadow Odyssey

Ross Miller — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: PC, Online, RPGs, MMO

At its annual Fan Faire, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) has revealed new expansions for EverQuest and EverQuest II. For EQ players, The Seeds of Destruction expansion offers a new level cap (85), 20 new zones, a new mercenary system, and all fourteen previous expansions in one box. EQII: The Shadow Odyssey will feature brand new zones, some revisits to the original EQ dungeons, a bump in the number of achievements you can get (up to 200), new deities, new quests and a new loot system that lets you pick your loot rewards.

Our MMO-obsessed colleagues at Massively have interviews with the EverQuest design team and EQII Senior Producer Bruce Ferguson about the expansions. All Fan Faire attendees will receive both games for free and will be able to participate in the SoD and TSO betas when they begin on August 19 and September 2, respectively.

Seeds of Destruction will come out October 21, while The Shadow Odyssey is scheduled for November 18. Stay tuned to Massively all week for more Fan Faire coverage.

Gallery: EverQuest: Seeds of Destruction Announcement

Gallery: EverQuest 2: The Shadow Odyssey Announcement

SOE announces EverQuest: Seeds of Destruction and EQII: The Shadow Odyssey originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SOE reactivates dead Everquest accounts with Living Legacy initiative

Scott Jon Siegel — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:25:00 EST

Filed under: PC, MMO

Have you played either Everquest or Everquest II any time in the last nine years? Even if you picked it up and put it down just as quickly, Sony Online Entertainment's giving your character a second lease on life, as it unveils the Living Legacy summer program. In an unprecedented move, SOE has reactivated every stagnant player account for two free months of access on both Everquest and its sequel. Yes, that's right. Every single account.

More than simply account resurrection, SOE is including EQ's expansions in these lapsed player accounts, as well as offering bonuses to help get older players up to speed. For more information on the ambitious campaign, check out Massively's interview with EQ senior producer Bruce Ferguson. So, who's headed to Norrath?

Source - SOE's Living Legacy campaign gives you 2 free months in EQ and EQ2 [Massively]

Source - Everquest II's senior producer on SOE's Living Legacy [Massively]

SOE reactivates dead Everquest accounts with Living Legacy initiative originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively celebrates St. Patrick's Day with MMOs

Ross Miller — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:15:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Nintendo Wii, Online, RPGs, MMO

Despite the inability to get actually drunk over virtual alcohol, there are MMOs celebrating St. Patrick's Day. If you're looking for the biggest virtual parties this side of Norrath (and on that other side, too), the MMO-obsessed over at Massively have you covered with a handy guide of events for the week.

Conspicuously absent from St. Patrick's Day celebrations is World of Warcraft, but if you happen to find some drunken dwarves in Azeroth (or other ad hoc festivities), be sure to snap a photo and send to WoW Insider.

Massively celebrates St. Patrick's Day with MMOs originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Everquest I and II adds card game Legends of Norrath

Justin McElroy — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:24:00 EST

Filed under: PC, MMO

How do you renew flagging interest in an MMORPG, especially when there's clearly another top dog? For MMORPG granddaddy Everquest, part of the solution (they hope) comes in the form of a new, digital collectable card game called Legends of Norrath: Oathbound. The first of what Sony says will be a series, Oathbound features 375 cards in 55-card starter decks for $9.99 and 15-card booster packs for $2.99.

The game is playable from EQ I or II, thought a stand-alone client is due for free on Sept. 12. You can test your skills (and decks) against others in the Tournament and Casual lobbies that have been set up or you can play against the AI. This isn't necessarily the sort of thing that would make us cheat on WoW, but if you're still a Norrath denizen, it sounds like this would certainly beat /gems.

Everquest I and II adds card game Legends of Norrath originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EverQuest II on the PS3, or a bad case of the mis-typings? [Update 1]

Nick Doerr — Tue, 29 May 2007 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Rumors

French website Play 3 Live has upped some scans of, supposedly, a PS3 port of the moderately popular MMORPG EverQuest II: Echoes of Faydwer. The pictures they threw up depiciting the apparent port are all of some pretty freaky-looking fairies with quality not much enhanced from the PC version of the game. This could be because of fears of lag issues for the PS3 version, or because it might end up being a fully downloadable title. The latter speculation is an extreme stretch, but who can be sure?

After scouring the SOE Press Center, we've located what possibly could be the root of this rumor. The listing on Sony Online Entertainment's official site teases readers with the listing of the game as a " PC PS3" release. The pictures aren't in widescreen -- a staple of the PS3 gaming library. We're still keeping this as a rumor, but from the shady speculation surrounding this event, we'd bet our pirate booty that this is all a big error in typing. A mis-type, if you will.

For the uninitiated, just in case this turns out to be true, EverQuest II: Echoes of Faydwer tells the tale of [insert cookie-cutter MMO plotline and gameplay mechanics]. Don't get us wrong, we're not hating on EQ2, but just like many MMO's, FPS's based in WWII, and JRPG's featuring spiky-haired and oddly prepubescent youths, there's not much to separate it from a crowd.

[Update: IGN contacted SOE and as we imagined, the rumor has been confirmed to be completely untrue.]

EverQuest II on the PS3, or a bad case of the mis-typings? [Update 1] originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 29 May 2007 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A whole slew of EverQuest and EverQuest II, electric boogaloo

Kevin Kelly — Thu, 10 May 2007 21:01:00 EST

Filed under: PC, Action, Adventure, Online, RPGs, MMO

Sony Online Entertainment gave us a lot of EverQuest to digest recently, including the fact that they are only going to be releasing one expansion per year from now on. Players were complaining that with the expansion packs coming out every time they blinked six months, they weren't getting enough time to explore the new worlds.

Speaking of new worlds, if you've never jumped on board the EverQuest bandwagon, you can pick up the just released EverQuest: The Anniversary Edition for only $19.99. It contains every expansion ever made for EverQuest, which at last count was thirteen. That's a lot of adventuring, folks. Hard to believe it's been around for eight years now.

EverQuest II also gets some love in the form of a huge new expansion called The Rise of Kunark, which comes out in November. It adds a new playable race, weapons, armor, zones, deities, now level cap at 80, and even a new mount ... a rhinoceros. We're not sure about you, but tooling around on a rampaging rhino sounds like sweet ride.

Gallery: EverQuest and EverQuest II

Continue reading A whole slew of EverQuest and EverQuest II, electric boogaloo

A whole slew of EverQuest and EverQuest II, electric boogaloo originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 10 May 2007 21:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EQII: Echoes of Faydwer previewed

Alan Rose — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: PC, Online, RPGs, MMO

GameSpy has put together a preview of SOE's new EverQuest II expansion, Echoes of Faydwer. Scheduled for a November launch, Echoes is the third proper EQII expansion following Desert of Flames and Kindgom of Sky.

Perhaps hoping to court new players who may only be familiar with the PS2's Champions of Norrath series (or to convert stalwarts of the original EQ), SOE returns the action to the popular setting of Faydwer. The Faydark zone will actually be a starting point for a new pixie race, and you'll have the opportunity to pray at the altars of classic deities such as Mithaniel Marr and Innoruuk to earn miracle items that will aid you in your quests.

While you're on your knees, pray you have enough time to actually play Echoes with the deluge of new games and console launches arriving this holiday season.

EQII: Echoes of Faydwer previewed originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 14 Sep 2006 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EQII gives nice big pat on own back

Joystiq Staff — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 18:05:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, PC, Online, RPGs, MMO, Business

The sequel that was supposed to be the greatest thing on this planet, EverQuest II, has recently put up on their Web site a complete list of all the 1337 content they've squeezed onto their game since its launch. In a totally selfless act of promotion, the kind folks at EQII let us all see just exactly what we've been missing in this ~~boring~~ exciting MMORPG experience. Here's just a sample of what we're sure you're kicking yourself for missing:

More than 1100 new quests
More than 1200 new items
Almost 400 new spells
8 new areas to the world

If only they had added the most critical item: Fun.

[Via MMORPG.com]

EQII gives nice big pat on own back originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 16 Jul 2006 18:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First impressions: Everquest II addons

Jennie Lees — Thu, 11 May 2006 23:30:00 EST

Filed under: Online, RPGs, E3, MMO

Everquest II, released over 18 months ago, is being continually revived with expansions and adventure packs. Expansions are full-blown boxed releases which add a great deal of content to the game, sometimes introducing major gameplay changes -- adventure packs are cheaper digital downloads that add new zones and story arcs.

The third adventure pack, The Fallen Dynasty, features the addition of a new set of Eastern-themed zones. In order to feel foreign, a strong Oriental touch runs through the landscape, from pagodas to rice paddies. The adventure pack is heavy on story, and players will have to earn the trust of NPCs before parts of the story unfold.

Continue reading First impressions: Everquest II addons

First impressions: Everquest II addons originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 May 2006 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony's MMO marketing shows signs of desperation

Jennie Lees — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 21:30:00 EST

Filed under: PC, Online, RPGs

Many of you showed scorn at one of Sony Online Entertainment's recent moves, their "all-in-one" Station Access Collection MMO bundle. But wait; they're not done yet. If playing PlanetSide for free isn't enough for you, SOE have teamed up with FilePlanet to offer a month's free play of EverQuest II.

Not tempted? How about some Star Wars Galaxies TV commercials to pique your interest? (Ignore what dedicated players are saying; hardcore players are so last season.)

We hope the marketing department hasn't run out of ideas yet; SOE are definitely piling on the publicity, but given the reaction to their Station Access Collection announcement, all this still won't be enough to rejuvenate their aging MMOs. Casual gamers or those new to MMOs might get suckered in briefly, but we're unlikely to see a huge rush of new players as a result of all these campaigns; if anything, the over-promotion will put people off.

Sony's MMO marketing shows signs of desperation originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 16 Feb 2006 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony's MMOs to be available in one package

Jennie Lees — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: PC, First Person Shooters, Online, RPGs

The variety of MMOs on the market can be confusing to new players, especially if you want to try multiple games out before you subscribe. Sony appear to have acknowledged this need with their new Station Access Collection which includes Sony Online Entertainment's top MMOs in one package.

The collection, available for $39.99 from March 14th, consists of EverQuest Evolution, EverQuest II, PlanetSide Aftershock, The Matrix Online and Star Wars Galaxies. Crucially, it'll include a month's free play for each bundled game, giving players a chance to try out all the offerings. Other publishers with a wide range of MMOs on offer may want to take a tip from Sony for a change; the perceived value is likely to make this product far more appealing than a single standalone game for the same price.

Sony's MMOs to be available in one package originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 14 Feb 2006 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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