Echoes of Faydwer: To Fae or not to Fae

by: Tony "RadarX" Jones

Echoes of Faydwer has been out for a few weeks and for the most part seems to be a success. This expansion (the third for EQ2) seems to have taken a completely different direction than Kingdom of Sky or Deserts of Flame. A new playable race, a new starting city, new tradeskills, and tons of new zones, this expansion seems to offer everything. The questions is, is it enough?

The expansion looks absolutely beautiful and is filled with nostalgic settings of the original EverQuest. The city of Kelethin lives up to expectations, having a number of platforms in the giant trees of Greater Faydwer. Why hundreds of years later they STILL haven't put in safety rails I can't understand. I've heard some people complain about the darker colours of this zone but I think it's right on par with the original Faydark. EoF also approaches the other end of the spectrum visually with bright zones like Steamfont Mountains and Lower Faydark which are filled with giant vegetables, mushrooms, geysers, and smoldering craters.

One of the most visually interesting zones is the Loping Plains. This level 60-70 zone is dark, ominous, and can be likened to a Castlevania setting. A town with a gothic cathedral and other buildings sits among a dreary landscape. This is also home to the amazingly built Castle Mistmoore whose splendor is sullied only by the gajillion vampires inhabiting it. I can't imagine anyone could be disappointed with how the expansion looks, so lets move on to the stuff people are more interested in.

The Fae are …well some people are excited. I'll admit the presence of a new race is a great motivator to get people trying out low level content. They are colorful, they float and…and…I just can't make one personally. I'll admit they look good, but they fit my playstyle about as well as a gnome. The Fae are a good/neutral race and can only be classes that fit those parameters.

Transportation! No I don’t mean more griffin towers. If you aren’t starting out in Kelethin, you get to take a boat. That’s right! You too can stand on a dock for 3 minutes and wait with the crowd! I don’t find it that painful honestly. If you just can’t wait though, ports are back baby! You heard right, find a druid or a wizard and have them port you to the closest point near your destination. While I did find it odd you need to harvest something to flag yourself to use the druid rings, I guess I can understand making people visit them before porting. The inner zone transportation is absent from all the zones except Lower Faydark. They have horsies! Visit the Stable Master in various points in the zone to unlock the ability to travel there by horse. You can cross the entire zone in about 3 minutes by horse so it’s well worth it.

The Important Stuff!

Let’s get down to the meat of it though, the gameplay. Why should you play Echoes of Faydwer? The new race has a new city with all the normal starting quests that you’d find in Qeynos and Freeport except this is all in one zone. While you might feel like an Ewok running around the platforms (who as I stated still have no rails) you’ll find everything you could possibly need.

Quests, quests, and oh right, more quests! All new heritage quests have been added, which starts at level 5 followed by tougher ones until level 70. New signature quests have also been added which will net you some nifty loot even at level 70, but be prepared to put some time in to complete them. Collection quests galore have also made their way into the expansion, existing in every overland zone and even in some dungeons (Kaladim for example).

OMG what about the lootz?! This expansion, as stated by SOE, is about gear upgrades and abilities. There is gear galore to be had, you’ve just got to find it. First, they’ve introduced armor sets. Wearing 3 pieces will give you a special ability, and wearing 5 will add an additional even better one. I’ve personally seen gear for this at level 60ish and 67ish. The level 67ish gear is class specific and no drop, so be prepared to hit the same instances a lot.

If you frequently group in EverQuest 2, you’ve never been disappointed, and that won’t change with this expansion. In the early 20’s you’ll be smashing orcs in crushbone, by the 40’s it’ll be the dangerous clockworks of Klak’Anon, and by the 60’s the shadowmen of Obelisk of Blight . There are instances everywhere to be done

If you solo frequently, you know that in the past EverQuest 2 has been lacking in that department even as recently as Kingdom of Sky. I have good news for you! They’ve heard our cries and have added tons of solo content. The Loping Plains which is the high end overland zone had at least 8 quests I could grab the first time I was there. Every other zone was no different, there are multiple quests to be done no matter where you go.

If you are a raider (omg did *I* just address raiders?), there is some new and interesting content for you as well. While the Estate of Unrest didn’t make it in the expansion, the Freethinkers Hideout, and Emerald Halls have been providing a significant challenge even to the most hardcore of guilds. I’ve yet to hear of the contested Avatars or the Headless Horsemen who roams being killed yet. Most people I’ve talked to attribute that to not having the proper gear yet. If you aren’t raiding...why? Get going!

Finally we have the new tradeskills. While Niami Denmonther over at eq2traders is the expert, I’ve poked around enough to see what the tinkering, transmuting, and adornments have to offer. The tinkering is very similar to WoW’s engineering. It provides little toys that players can use and some even better toys for the tinkers themselves. Transmuting breaks down unneeded items and turns them into resources that are used to make adornments. What are adornments? Not frilly little things you hang around your inn room, that’s for sure. Different types of adornments are made from each crafting class and can do things like add fire damage to a weapon, increase Hit Points to a pair of gloves, or reduce falling damage on a cloak.

Overall, I’d have to say this is the best expansion I’ve seen for EverQuest 2 and as someone who has played since launch it’s difficult to get me excited. I genuinely enjoy everything that has been added and believe this has breathed fresh air into what many might have called stagnating. If you've been tinkering with the thought of coming back and trying EverQuest 2 again (*looks at some of Ten Ton Hammers own staff*) the new expansion comes with all the other expansions, so you wouldn't be missing a beat.