The Fallen Dynasty

A Peek at the Newest Adventure Pack

By: Savanja

 

We have an exciting week this week, with the newest Adventure Pack, "The
Fallen Dynasty" and the Live Update #24 both due out on June 14th.  And those of us
here at Ten Ton Hammer have been diligently keeping an eye on both so that we
can bring you, the newest information on these potentially game changing pieces.

Last week, Blackguard and Raijinn were kind enough to take many of us from
the EQII fansite press out for a preview of The Fallen Dynasty.  During
this time (when the Gods weren't striking down a pet with the unfortunate name
of "Blackguardsucks"), we wandered around the zones, checking out the
gorgeous new architecture, beautiful scenery, and some rather challenging new
mobs.

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SOGA Style Models

First of all, I'd like to say kudos to the graphic arts team that put
together this adventure pack.  The look is phenomenal!  The Fallen
Dynasty was done with SOGA, in a similar style to the SOGA character
models.  Now, I'm not a big  fan of the SOGA style character models,
but I have to say that the look of the NPCs and the architecture of these zones
are so amazing.  I was really wowed by the graphics of the buildings, and
the furniture.  So even if you don't appreciate the SOGA style character
models, I think that most would agree that it really works in this particular
case.

The two previous adventure packs were targeted to the lower and mid levels,
this one is more for the upper level characters, with mobs ranging from upper
50s to mid 70s.  I'm always happy to see more high end content, and this
adventure pack will be a must have for those in their 50s and 60s as a staple
for quests and level grinding.

As a quick walk through of the major zones, I'll provide an overview. 
But I do want everyone that picks up this AP to take the time to explore all the
nooks and crannies.  There is a lot of neat stuff tucked away in
semi-hidden locations that kind of give you a little thrill when you discover
one all on your own!

 

The Village of Shin

One of the main outdoor zones within Mara is the Village of Shin.  Here
you will find a mender, brokers, merchants, and oodles of quests.  This is
the center point of these new found lands, and a very busy little
place.  

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The Village of Shin

Beyond the graphics, the first thing I was struck by was the activity amongst
the NPCs in the villages.  It feels very alive.  The workers in the fields,
fisherman along the river waiting on that day's catch, the compulsive gamblers
watching the piggie races, they all seem to have a purpose.  There is
Master Long Shan who tells a story, (that you all will want to stop by to listen
to) as he teaches in the courtyard.  And various families go about their
daily lives throughout the area.  This is a very calm and interesting place
to roam about and get to know the locals and get involved in the interesting
drama between some of the families in this area, and learn a little bit of
Norrathian lore in the process.

I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but I did spend long lengths of time and
quite a bit of coin at the pig races.  This is a brilliant money sink, as I
just could not resist cheering on my favorite piggy (Go Muddy!) race after
race.  It's possible I'm just simple minded, but there were quite a few
other people gathering around as well, so I wasn't the only one hooked on this
event.

 

Mystic Lake

Mystic Lake is another outdoor zone.  It's a lovely semi-wooded area
with pirates, poachers, and various woodland animals milling about.  Follow
the water upstream and you will come to an amazing shrine surrounded by adorable
little shrine monkeys.  You can travel
beyond this area to find more to explore and more dangers to conquer.

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Some Very Mean Girlies

Underneath Mystic Lake there is some underwater fun, which I just loved.  The Gateway of
the Forsaken is a little submerged gem that allows you to juggle the joys of not
drowning with the fun of slaying mobs!  It's actually a little amusing to
see if you can get all the way down there without drowning.  Note to
players, feigning death under water does not work well!

Through Mystic Lake, you can access The Forsaken City, and Nizara, The City
of Nayad.  Both are very nice grouping zones in the typical dungeon style.  I was especially
impressed with the difficulty of the Nizara, it seems to be a very challenging
zone with heroic mobs in the lower to mid 70s.  And through my explorations
of these dungeon zones, I came across quite a few named mobs, which for those
that have hit the level cap, they are a joy to see when they are working on
those coveted achievement points.

 

Worth Spending The Coin?

All in all, this is going to be a great adventure pack for the higher level
players and tradeskillers.  But it isn't going to be of much use for the
lower level players.  If you are new to EQII adventure packs, and in your
lower to mid levels, I'd recommend checking out the two previous packs, The
Splitpaw Saga and The Bloodline Chronicles, and save this one for when you are
little bit further into your gaming career.  But for myself, a 69 Monk, I
plan on downloading this content and making great use of it!  And not just
for the piggie races, I swear!

 

 

 

Questions?  Comments?  My virtual door is always open!  Drop
me a note via e-mail!


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

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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