Veteran MMOGs have the big benefit of having big worlds and
this is certainly true for
EverQuest II’s world of Norrath.  Through expansions
and game updates, Norrath has grown by leaps and bounds since its release giving
players more options for adventuring than ever. Along with the game’s land mass
growth, travel has also gotten easier than ever allowing players to branch out
and game in places that might have been hard to reach previously.

With all these options, how do you find the best places to
go? Let’s take a walk through Norrath and explore the best spots, both well
known and not so well known, to adventure and level your way through your
character’s career.

Tier One and Two (level 1-19)

With Qeynos and Freeport no longer available to new
characters, your options are to spend your first levels in Greater Faydark,
Darklight Woods, Timorous Deep, or New Halas. Each of these starting areas will
easily take you well past level twenty if you get in on all the content and do
the local quests.  After these level is when you’ll want to branch out and
explore more of the world.

Tier Three (20-29)

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The newbie zones are a great starting point but
eventually you have to leave them.

At level 20+ the best solo hangout will be Butcherblock
Mountains. Nektulos Forest and Thundering Steppes are okay for mob grinding but
they lack the quest content that Butcherblock has. For grouping, you need to hit
Ruins of Varsoon and Crushbone Keep. These aren’t very hard dungeons so even a
small group can run them and the experience is great.

Tier Four (30-39)

Butcherblock can take you through to your early to mid
thirties, after that you can visit Enchanted Lands or Zek but you’re probably
better off skipping over these zones and heading up to Feerrott and Steamfont
Mountains. Steamfont is particularly nice and you can find lots to do at the
Gnomeland Security Headquarters. For groups, Kaladim (previously a higher level
dungeon) and Runnyeye are both very nice.

Tier Five (40-49)

After you’ve run out of content in Steamfont, hopping
between Lavastorm and Everfrost works well. You can do the bulk of the quests in
both zones to gain enough in level to start in on Desert of Flames content.
Groupers can check out Klak’Anon, but I still personally prefer Permafrost and
Solusek’s Eye. These classic zones are huge and mobs are spaced well for ease of
movement. Have to love the classics!

Tier Six (50-59)

My favorites here are Lesser Faydark and Sinking Sands.
Pillars of Flame has one good quest hub and I enjoyed gaining faction with the
Ashen Order of monks, but it’s not well organized and questing takes forever so
I’d skip it unless you really like exploring. Be sure to stop in at Maj’dul,
there are some good quests in there. The Clefts of Rujark and the Shimmering
Citadel are both a lot of fun for groups. Shimmering Citadel is one the earlier
zones that manage to be somewhat challenging (at the time) and interesting.
Silent City is also good and huge with plenty to do.

Tier Seven (60-69)

Approaching level sixty, you have to get into the Kingdom
of Sky. Tenebrous Tangle is okay, its better part being its dungeon Sanctum of
the Scaleborn, but there are a handful of good quests to get you started if
you’re in your fifties still. The Barren Sky is really a great zone and still
one of my favorites. Signature quests are available and if you have a few
friends, Palace of the Awakened is a solid and still challenging dungeon to
check out. Closing in on level seventy you’ll want to head to Bonemire, in
particular, to the Drednever Crash Site for some nice questing. There are a
couple of must see dungeons for groups in this tier: Obelisk of Blight and Halls
of Fate. These are both instances that net the phat loots and experience for
those in a hurry to get to cap.

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The higher tiers have plenty of content to please all
players.

Tier Eight (70-79)

Welcome to Rise of Kunark! This has been one of my favorite
expansions. Not only is there quite a bit of content, but questing has gotten a
lot smoother at this point. Fens of Nathsar and Kunzar Jungle are amazing zones.
I’m not as fond of Jarsath Wastes but some do like it so it’s worth taking a
peek. You’ll also find excellent group zones here; Sebilis and Chardok are both
worthwhile. For the early part of your seventies though, take your friends into
Castle Mistmoore or the Estate of Unrest from the Echoes of Faydwer expansion.
These dungeons are particularly fun for those who played the original EQ.

Tier Nine (80-89)

For those who are just now playing through these levels,
you are at a little bit of a disadvantage. The Shadow Odyssey expansion offered
a lot of cap content (when cap was level eighty) allowing players to focus on
other things such as gearing up with shard armor or piling on the alternate
advancements. For those coming through here now, with the level cap higher, you
have a whole expansion that is almost unnecessary. At this point you can either
skip The Moors of Ykesha altogether going right into Sentinel’s Fate content or
you can spend some time in the Moors.If you decide to hit the Moors I suggest
locking your level and taking experience in AAs only at around level eighty-two.
Gain AA and build a full set of
good gear at this point because Sentinel’s Fate
content is difficult for the under equipped. Groups should get into the shard
awarding instances found in the Moors, Commonlands, and Lavastorm. 

If you’ve decided to push on to Sentinel’s Fate then you’ll
be making your way to the Sundered Frontier and Stonebrunt Highlands.
Unfortunately this isn’t a really big expansion so that’s about it for solo
players. The questing has a strong and smooth progression but if you solo a lot
you’ll probably fall a little short on gaining enough experience to ding ninety.
Take some time on the faction, collection, and repeatable quests and make sure
you’ve talked to every NPC! Instances continue to be a focus for groups and with
so many scaling from level fifty to ninety it really isn’t difficult to find
something to do. The newer dungeons such as The Hole, Vastly Deep, and The
Research Halls always have groups forming up to get in so there is no excuse to
miss out!

These are my favorite leveling spots, do you have some? Be
sure to share your favorite zones for other players to check out on our forums.