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At least you'll see it coming!

Mechomatic Guardian

"There's a wee clockwork over there I want you to see," McGeathy told me. And then I saw it--the biggest freaking clockwork I have ever seen in my life! The Mechomatic Guardian really brings the "wow factor" to SoF. We were back in Dragonscale Hills somewhere, but I'm not quite sure where. The massive mechanical contraption was lumbering around, just looking cool as hell. I considered it and saw the anticipated red ring beneath its gargantuan foot.

As if this mob wasn't cool enough by itself with its giant axe for an arm, McGeathy told me something even more impressive: the mob is a walking zone unto itself! As it turns out, the Mechomatic Guardian is the handiwork of Meldrath (no surprise there). He was used a little in construction of Mechanotus, but the primary purpose of this behemoth is to destroy.

To Meldrath's dismay, Mechanotus sustained some major damage during the launch of Mechanotus, and the Guardian hurtled out to land in Dragonscale Hills. Some of it's components were damaged in the fall, and many of its gnomish operators inside the metal frame died. Now the Guardian patrols the hills, knocking helpless victims out of its path with ground-shaking footfalls. Players will eventually get quests that take them inside in an attempt to shut down the 100 foot menace.

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The tale of this lost zone is a very tragic one of death and betrayal.

Loping Plains

Before I had even scooped up my jaw from the awesome sight of the Guardian, McGeathy had whisked me away to a place he called the Loping Plains. I immediately recognized the theme here. I was in a dry, lifeless area with a graveyard to my right and a mausoleum in front of me.

Players will find some of the answers to what took place in the Loping Plains over in the Hills of Shade. But the short of it is that the elves and humans who used to live in the area. Regardless of what killed them, their tormented spirits remain. The place is teeming with undead, so bring a Cleric or Paladin friend along when your tour bus takes you here.

The only mobs I saw in this area were dark blue to my level 80. I did not get close enough to see many, though.

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Experience a Little Culture

Ah, the proud EverQuest tradition of raiding a theater.

I was a little sad to leave Loping Plains because I had not seen much information on that place anywhere. But we still had a lot to cover, and the next section was very cool. I landed in an area that looked a bit like a fairground. I saw little tents or huts ahead to my left, but I was drawn to the right.

I saw a building there with what looked like a stage. A specter hovered there, looking like a macabre priest ready to deliver his sermon. I approached the mob, which was red to my level 80, and asked McGeathy, "What is this thing? Level 85?" He informed me that the shade was in fact level 90, and it is a raid event mob. Wirlem is the Phantom of the Festival, an area that alludes to Phantom of the Opera.

When I got done posing with this soon-to-be-famous dead guy, I traipsed over to the huts to visit the spectators of this ghoulish performance. These Mistwynd citizens sported a new shade model for SoF. They were dark blue to my level 80, and McGeathy intimated that they are somewhat hard to spot inside dungeons on purpose.

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What has two thumbs and does not want to go in there? This Erudite!

Bloodmoon Keep

After the good times at the festival, we made our way to Bloodmoon Keep, the first Tier 2 area on our trip. Outside the massive cathedral-looking stone fortress were a pair of orcs. Though they are the toughest of their kind in Norrath, I though they looked pretty ordinary. Just your everyday orc, like that jerk who drives the bus and won't let you out at your stop. But McGeathy engaged one of the orcs to "piss him off," and he quickly changed into something even more formidable.

The orcs are lycanthropes. When enraged, they morph into their were-forms and become considerably stronger. McGeathy warns that groups challenged by the orcs in their natural forms had better gear up a little better and return because the were-orcs would mop the floor with them.

Once inside Bloodmoon Keep, I got to witness a player die from his own orc train before McGeathy froze the zone. I also saw a room with a dais and several angry ghosts. These were fallen elves, I was told. Among them were someone named Emyria and a guy named Falstaff. The room was packed tightly, so expect exciting pulls and the need for crowd control in this room.

The last thing I saw before leaving this orc citadel was a room filled with Faycite. No NPCs were here, and I learned that it is an event room. It looks like players will find ample challenge and excitement in Bloodmoon Keep.