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

by Danny "Ralsu" Gourley

Secrets of Faydwer (SoF) is the result of nearly one year of development by the creative minds on Sony Online Entertainment's EverQuest(EQ) team. The fourteenth expansion to the game that brought massively-multiplayer online games into the public consciousness, Secrets of Faydwer is an enormous content and mechanics update that expands the game far beyond its current boundaries. Two stories bring players to unparalleled levels of power in the EQ universe. The first plot line follows the ambitions of the sinister necromancer Meldrath the Malignant. If possible, the second is even more dangerous to Norrath: the crystalline dragon, Kerafyrm, has decided that the only way to restore the world to Veeshan's vision is to wipe all life form the planet and make dragons the rulers of the land.

Get used to seeing Meldrath's personal "coat of arms." The feisty Gnome is back with a vengeance.

Some EQ veterans might be protesting that that pesky Meldrath has been dealt with before. You and every other denizen of Norrath will be troubled to learn that the Meldrath who has previously been seen in the Steamfont Mountains area was nothing more than an impostor positioned by the true Meldrath to keep you busy while he executes his diabolical plans. In the many years that you have been distracted by other crises, Meldrath has constructed an army of clockworks, minotaurs, and brownie slaves. His ultimate goal? Who knows? He's freaking nuts! Well, okay, the truth is that you'll find out about his evil plans tonight. In a major in-game event, Meldrath the Malignant will make his unwelcome return to Norrath in the form of a full-scale assault on Ak'Anon! Sure to be a moment that players both will talk about for years and view as a pivotal event in the history of Norrath, Meldrath will bring terror and pain to the Gnomes of Norrath from atop his floating fortress, Mechanotus. The battle will allow players to see a portion of the Steamfont Mountains literally lift off of the ground and ascend into the sky over Ak'Anon. When the rubble has cleared, and assuming anyone survives, the path to the zones of SoF will no longer be blocked by the mountains. Players who purchase the expansion will be able to move in and begin exploring with the launch of the expansion tomorrow.

Other old hands in EQ will remember Kerafyrm from The Scars of Velious (SoV). A crystalline dragon of world-shattering power, the nearly-omnipotent dragon had been betrayed by his brethren and put to sleep to protect the world. Players (as they are wont to do) woke the sleeping behemoth in SoV and found out why the other dragons feared his power. Kerafyrm left the inhabited regions of Norrath for parts unknown. We were better off with him sleeping. Since waking, he has watched the progression of civilization on Norrath and, frankly, he doesn't feel it's up the standard Veeshan intended. Kerafyrm has decided the time to take action is now; he's gathered those loyal to him and intends to destroy all life on Norrath, installing dragon-kind as the rulers of the world. His allies are powerful. In addition to some dangerous "common" enemies in his new lair, he enjoys the aid of Kildrukaun, Tjudawos, Zeixshi-Kar, and Vyskudra--each an ancient and formidable dragon. A raider's biggest wish granted, the battle to stop this dragon war will pit gamers against 4 dragons in a humongous lair packed with foes.

Meldrath always has an entourage of minotaurs to fight for him.

But before players can dream of confronting the likes of the four dragons of the apocalypse (my terms for them), they'll need to take on some of the challenges imposed by Meldrath. You see, the SOE team has worked hard to bring all of this content in four progressive tiers. As players move through each section, they'll encounter greater challenges, tougher mobs, and better gear. The goal is to give subscribers plenty to do and to smoothly transition them through each section of the new content. As they go, characters will reach a new level cap of 80. SoF also opens some powerful new Alternate Advancement  (AA) options. The AAs I saw in my playing time with SoF were major steps forward--stat max increases of double digits, stat total increases, new spells and skills, reduced action timers on new and existing skills, and more! Other changes include a new auto-loot function and some tweaking to invisible mechanics that produce visible results. For instance, casters will enjoy better natural AC than ever before. Of course, they're going to need it! To top it all off, the SOE team has been sure to include a variety of environments in the new areas, introduced a few new character models for mobs, and surpassed previous limits with the beauty and living essence of its zones.

I spent roughly ten days testing out the changes SoF brings with a level 80 magician (gotta love the /betabuff command!), but the highlight of my experience was a guided tour of the expansion content with Travis "Rashere" McGeathy, Lead Designer of EverQuest. McGeathy spent a little over two hours of his precious time giving me a private tour (due to a hardware glitch on my end, I had missed the tour with some other members of the press). By the end of my tour, it was easy to see why McGeathy was willing to sacrifice his free time to show me the "secrets" of SoF--this expansion is crammed full of  the stuff of guild chat legends. Any current EQ subscriber will want to purchase this expansion immediately.

My expedition took me through the SoF content in roughly the order intended for players. Check back right here at Ten Ton Hammer tomorrow for a thorough breakdown of that adventure, complete with dozens of screen shots! McGeathy also graciously answered a number of questions for me, so you'll see an exclusive interview with the man behind EQ this week, too.

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