Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

The new instances are scaleable group encounter zones very reminiscent of the Lost Dungeons of Norrath adventures from the original EverQuest.  They offer private areas of play for adventurers looking to do something different without the threat of showing up to an already wiped clean zone. Starting in the caverns of Guk, we ported in and were greeted by roughly 9,000 angry undead frogloks who didn't seem to care that they weren't supposed to attack us.

The atmosphere in the next EQ2 expansion seems very dark, unless you count the unicorns.

They poured from tunnels and crevices by the dozen as they all fought for a chance to smack us around. Luckily the "invincible" portion of the tour was working correctly, and we quickly made short work of the rotting frogmen before continuing the tour, this time no longer "aggro" to the mobs.

Guk is everything you'd expect for a frog haven. It is wet and swampy and the ambience (which seems to be a focal point of this expansion) absolutely set the mood.  We were lead through the zone and shown new characters and key plot points that I cannot get into because I was too busy looting all of the chests that dropped in hopes of seeing what the loot is going to look like.

Because let's be honest, at the end of the day it is ALL about the loot.  

Is it overpowered? Is it underpowered? Do we have to worry about current gear being obsolete with the new expansion, or are we going to be given gobs of "vendor trash"? These are the constant and hard hitting questions that I can safely answer because I am a the world's biggest Shameless Lootwhore.

I kid you not when I say that I looted EVERY chest. Having not set group options to "lotto", it was first come first served on whatever dropped, and I constantly elbowed my way to the front of the line. Unfortunately, not a lot of the named were taken down, although I was able to transfer aggro to Calthine (constantly), and feign death so that the group was forced to engage whatever mob Kiara was trying to give us the history on. Most of the encounters played out like this:

Kiara: "This is Ultra-cool-looking-uber mob. His armor was constructed piece by piece so that it flows around him in a realistic manner and-

Coyote: "What does he drop?"

Kiara: "Well..I'm not-

Coyote: "Calthine, I think he likes you!"

[Mob is aggroed by me, hate transferred to Calthine. Once engaged, I feign and wait until they're forced to kill the Mob using ULTRA UBER SOE POWERS. Once the mob (and most of the group is down) I unfeign, and during the chaos I run over and loot the chest]

Everyone in group: [Swear filter symbols]

Through this method I was able to sample gear drops through most of the instanced zones, and I'm happy to report that you will not be disappointed. While most of the gear drops were legendary, the stats were either on par or slightly better than what I was already wearing. Nothing devastating in power, but nothing meager or under powered, so it is safe to say that the ramp for better gear will be a gradual incline and not a wall that makes your current gear seem obsolete.

As we moved through the different instances such as Ykesha's Outer Stronghold, Befallen, Guk, and a LOVELY place called the Necrotic Asylum, I had to stop and actually take full notice and appreciation of the zones. As I stated, ambience seems to be a key to the new expansion, and these zones brought nothing but delight. Melding sound, particle effects, and moving objects, each zone seemed to wordlessly tell a story and I found myself actually being drawn into even the simplest of corridors. The attention to detail, not just in zone or room design, but the mobs and objects found within was breath taking. Horror mixed with mystery, and even humor as we stumbled into both Captain Hamyr and Wilhem Horrorbile. I was honestly impressed at not only the levels of artwork, but the depth and creativity of each zone.

I was also surprised to find out that I COULD indeed die, despite the "magic buffs" the were supposedly keeping us alive.

Even with the protection of GM buffs, Coyote still managed to die.

Sure, I had to work at ending myself, but the confusion and surprise echoing from the lips of our tour guide made the death absolutely worth it. As I laid there, dead to the world, I took the time to play with the new attribute system and redistribute my 200 AA's (that's right, 60 more AA levels!) over the now THREE ability trees available. A third option has been added for each core class, allowing even more customization to the already seemingly endless choices a player can make.

We ended the tour in heart of The Void itself. The sky spun with rock and debris as we moved through a castle in a vortex in the middle of the cosmos. Giant void beasts lumbered by as we jumped through portal after portal, searched the level for clues and quests, and proved time and time again that hate transfer and feign death equal endless entertainment.

In the end I found myself deeply impressed and eagerly anticipating the expansion's release on November 18th. The Shadow Odyssey only promises to add even more fun and excitement to my already beloved game, and I cannot wait to jump in and throw my hate on Calthine.

Because I NEED to see what that next named drops.

***Special thanks to SOE and Kiara for the Beta Tour. It was amazingly well done, and greatly appreciated, and I will remember it fondly - by necessity - because I'll probably never be invited on another one.

- YPP, Coyote. (Your Pretty Princess.)***