by Karen "Shayalyn"
Hertzberg




Many a MMOG gamer was born when he or she first loaded up EverQuest and
began to play in its fictional realm of Norrath. Launched in 1999,
EverQuest is undoubtedly one of the grandfathers of the massively
multi-player online gaming genre. Three years ago, EverQuest II, EQ's
sequel developed and published by Sony Online Entertainment, launched
with tremendous fanfare. It was supposed to be the EverQuest
for a new gaming age; brimming with new technology and visual goodness.
And EQ2 certainly didn't go lightly on the bells and whistles. Even
now, three years and a game generation later, EQ2 offers plenty of
bling; from its marvelous voice acting to the beauty of its epic
vistas.



The problem many gamers, myself included, had with EQ2 in the early
days was that it simply didn't have the size, scope,

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title="Sarnak Architecture"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 173px;"
alt="Sarnak architecture"
src="/image/view/14723/preview">

style="font-style: italic;">A look at Sarnak
architecture in Timorous Deep.

or soul of its
predecessor. Oh, its major zones were expansive, but
there were few of them, and the scenery didn't change much. In
comparison to EverQuest with its vast array of unique zones (such that
you could literally play right up to the end game and never visit
dozens of locales), EQ2 felt small
and cramped. Instead of having multiple unique classes, EQ2 boiled
them down to their archetypes and forced players to start as either a
defensive fighter, offensive fighter, mage or priest. Although that
dynamic has since disappeared and players choose their final starting
class immediately, the game that
launched 3 years ago had a lot of flash but not quite enough substance.




The good news is that EQ2 keeps expanding, and with each expansion it
becomes larger and more epic in scale--it has more substance. EQ2 has
released an impressive
number of expansions for a game its age. Desert of Flames and Kingdom
of Sky came first. Then EQ2 took a turn for the nostalgic with Echoes
of Faydwer, which revived beloved classic EQ locations such as the
Greater
Faydark forest, the Butcherblock Mountains, and Crushbone. It offered a
new race (the fae) and a new starting city (Kelethin). That format
apparently worked for SOE, because they've repeated it with the newly
launched Rise of Kunark. Rise of Kunark went live on November
13, 2007 and brought with it another new race (the Sarnaks) and another
new starting location (Timorous Deep).



Rise of Kunark offers a little something for every player. For
the new
or returning player (or those with persistent alt-itis) there's the new
race and starting area. For the elder player, there are many new places
to explore, all of them with names familiar to and loved by EQ
players of old.



But let's start off assuming you're going to want to play a Sarnak.


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title="Sarnak battles Spiroc"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 173px;"
alt="A Sarnak fights an enemy Spiroc"
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style="font-style: italic;">A Sarnak embroiled
in battle with a Spiroc.

Going Sarnak



The Sarnaks are a draconian race; dragon-esque humanoids that EQ
players will remember battling in dungeons like Chardok.
They've certainly changed over the 500 years (in game lore time) that
have passed since their ancestors were grappling with
the denizens of
Norrath. They're sleeker looking, and their customization options allow
for a nice array of looks for both the male and female models. True to
nature, female Sarnaks are a bit less flashy looking, but both have
options for tinting their scale colors and patterns as well as changing
the style of horns that cover each Sarnak's head.



Sarnaks begin their careers in Timorous Deep and a chain of jungle
islands found there.
Naturally, when you enter EQ2 as a Sarnak for the first time you'll
find that the race is dealing with a persistent pest; in this case the
Spirocs, an avian race. Will you aid your people and figure
out what these Spirocs are up to? Of course you will, and in doing so,
with
help from some side quests, you'll find yourself level 10 in no time.



The EQ2 development team has certainly perfected the art of creating
quests. The newbie quests in Rise of Kunark, while not terribly
engaging
from a lore perspective, move along nicely and result in the character
collecting some standard issue pieces of low-level armor. The quests
don't feel
tedious, and just about any adventurer should be able to handle them
solo.



The area surrounding the Sarnak starting village of Chrykori Island is
visually lush. I was struck by the level of detail in the
Asian-inspired architecture as well as the natural landscapes, with
their rocky cliffs and breaking waves. A few surprises lie in store for
adventurers, as well. Make sure you get close to a passing Silt Storm
(it won't hurt you), and keep an eye out for the lizard-eating plants
(they won't hurt you, either, but those lizards are toast).



Your Sarnak will be able to explore levels 1-20 in Timorous Deep.
Beyond that, you'll need to venture out to other places
in Norrath--the rest of the content in the Rise of Kunark
expansion is
meant for big kids. Go forth, young adventurer! Come back when you're
level 65 or so.



When You're Level 65 or So



My brother and I were discussing gaming a while back. He's a big EQ
fan, but couldn't get into EQ2 for some of the reasons I mentioned
above. Even so, when I told him that this expansion was adding old
school EQ
zones such as Sebilis, Karnor's Castle, and Veeshan's Peak he commented
that Sebilis remained one of his favorite zones, and that Rise of
Kunark might well be worth coming back for.



And SOE is counting on just that sort of reaction with its nostalgic
reintroduction of favorite EverQuest destinations. Although my beta
experiences didn't quite allow me time to play through all of the high
level zones, I did at least get to experience then on a guided tour,
led by EQ2 community manager Craig "Grimwell" Dalrymple.



The first zone we visited on our tour was Karnor's Castle, home of the
vicious dog-like Drolvargs. Some of my first real dungeon experiences
in EverQuest were in
Karnor's Castle (or KC, as we called it). I remember being
frightened, excited, and thoroughly entertained. The Karnor's Castle in
EverQuest II has much the same look and feel that the original
had, with a similar layout, but, as Dalrymple said, "Nothing is
untouched by the hand of time." Even so, the Drolvargs remain
hungry for the taste of hapless adventurers.



Our tour also stopped briefly at Sebilis and Veeshan's Peak. Alas,
there was no time for grouping or raiding so it was impossible to get a
feel for how challenging the new content would be. But rest assured
that all of it looks
impressive, and ominous, where that sort of look is called for. And
it's suitable for all types of play styles. Kylong Plains should keep
level 60-70 solo and small group adventurers occupied. Some dungeons
are competitive (Karnor's) while others are instanced (Veeshan's Peak)
but there's plenty of group and raid content to be had. Veeshan's Peak
looks particularly foreboding with its lava pits, but Dalrymple assured
us that falling into the lava would no longer result in an instant
death. "The zone is difficult enough on its own," he said. "Instant
death on lava just seems mean, especially with NPC knockbacks and such."


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our EverQuest II Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

About The Author

Karen is H.D.i.C. (Head Druid in Charge) at EQHammer. She likes chocolate chip pancakes, warm hugs, gaming so late that it's early, and rooting things and covering them with bees. Don't read her Ten Ton Hammer column every Tuesday. Or the EQHammer one every Thursday, either.

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