Dear Norrath,

I’m sorry.  You were always my first love and I’m not
sure why I strayed. I was curious! I wanted to try new things, explore new
places, and meet new people!  Don’t worry though, I’m back...for now. I don’t
know how long I will stay, but I know that while I am here, I will enjoy the
hell out of you.

XOXOXO,

Savanja

I did something this week that I wasn’t sure I was going to
do.  With interest waning in
Aion and people fighting for their account
security (something that I’ve actually had nightmares about), I loaded up an old
favorite and listened to that magical music that never fails to make me feel
like I’m right where I belong. *sings EverQuest II theme*

First order of business? Reinvent myself.  My level 80
Barbarian Monk had been my favorite character since her creation in May of 2005.
Made as an alt to get me by until SOE fixed Shadow Knights and Berserkers, my
Monk WAH-CHAed her way through levels easily and she was the perfect character. 
I am so sick of looking at her now that I had avoided playing her in favor of my
level 55 Dark Elf Swashbuckler for a long while.  I wanted to check out the
Shadow Odyssey content though and this meant a higher level character was going
to be needed.

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You may just not recognize today's EverQuest II

Lucky for me, I had some
Station Cash left over from when I
did a name change on the above mentioned Swashbuckler and it was more than
enough to buy a change of race for my Monk.  She’s now a super sexy half elf,
complete with all of the Monkly ass kicking and none of the funky big butt
syndrome.

After arranging my UI (how the heck did I have it before?)
I was on a mission to re-learn my class.  I ran through various content, easy
solo creatures all the way to heroics to test my rusty skills.  I still sorta
suck and my armor is grossly outdated, but you know what I found? With a quick
change and a ride into the Moors of Ykesha it was as if I were playing a whole
new game despite the fact that EQ2 has been on my roster for nearly 6 years.

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be running through TSO
content, checking out old content, and getting ready for the launch of the next
chapter of Norrath’s future in the new expansion
Sentinel’s Fate. I encourage
those who have stepped away from EQ2 over the past couple of years to do the
same and find out how easy it is to take an old favorite and turn it into a new
experience.

Not convinced EQ2 is worth taking a second look at? With 5
years under its belt, there are oodles of content, both new and older revamped
zones. There are also plenty of goodies in the Marketplace that make it easy to
reinvent yourself just like I did. For those who still feel the need for casual
PvP battle; a recent announcement revealed that Battlegrounds will soon be added
as free content (separate from the expansion so it will be available to all EQ2
subscribers). Not only will these battles allow for large scale PvP combat, but
they will also be cross server broadening the population that you can play with.

For EverQuest II fans, keep an eye out on the
EQ2 site for
updates, new content, and new information as Ten Ton Hammer continues top notch
coverage on one of the best games ever made.