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

by Danny "Ralsu" Gourley

Yesterday, I supplied you with a preview of the newest EverQuest expansion, Secrets of Faydwer (SoF). Today, I'll relive the tour of the content that I enjoyed with Travis "Rashere" McGeathy, Lead Designer for EverQuest. McGeathy took me to see the new content in roughly the order players will be able to tackle it, so pay attention to the flow of my tour. And keep in mind that SoF features 4 tiers of difficulty. Each tier brings greater challenges, harder mobs, and nicer gear. The design provides players with ample adventures to seamlessly progress through each portion of SoF. In the end, if you don't want to purchase this expansion by the time you finish this photo tour, the fault lies entirely with my writing and not the product. Sony Online Entertainment has crammed its fourteenth expansion full of activity, character development, and epic adventure.

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The adventure begins in Steamfont Mountains.

Humble Beginnings

The start of the plot for Secrets of Faydwer takes place in Steamfont Mountains, site of many EverQuest adventures long past. Contrary to what players might think, Meldrath the Mad, wicked gnome necromancer is alive and well. For years, he has been scheming away from the prying eyes of Norrath while his imposer kept adventurers busy with nefarious deeds. Meldrath has returned in classic megalomaniacal fashion, using the power of his floating fortress (Mechanotus) to lift part of the Steamfont Mountains out of the ground and assaulting Ak'Anon. In the aftermath of the battle, players with the SoF expansion will find the path open to new lands beyond the mountains.

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Don't let the pastoral setting fool you--Dragonscale Hills holds many dangers.

Dragonscale Hills

Dragonscale Hills serves as the hub of activity in SoF. These are ancient lands that have enjoyed isolation from the rest of Norrath. In fact, this place was marked on the original cloth map that came with EQ back at its launch, but people were never able to reach it. Many of the citizens will consider your presence an intrusion. The zone of rolling green hills, farmland, and windmills is fraught with dangers.

As you move through the areas, you'll note quite a bit of variation in art style and themes. The SOE team really expended some energy here to show how much it can do with EQ's engine. And the pieces don't look smashed together. Everything has a smooth flow and makes sense in its place within the geography--and within the context of the story.

If you are sight-seeing in Dragonscale Hills, you'll want to see the village of the brownies and the Mechomatic Guardian you've no doubt heard a lot about in the news postings from SOE. I'll show you all of those things in their time. First you'll also meander to Kirkoten Fortress, our next stop.

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Kirkoten Fortress

Home of far too many minotaurs.

My first battle with the mobs of SoF lasted just long enough for my machine to load my character after being summoned by McGeathy to Kirkoten Fortress. He had tried to use the SOE customer service command line to freeze the mobs, but he misspelled a word. The mighty minotaurs of the fortress were quick to surround me and clobber my poor /betabuff MAG to the ground. You can view the combat log if you are interested in what kind of damage 2 Kirkoten miners and a Kirkoten spiritwalker can do to an unbuffed level 80 MAG in about 6 seconds.

After my ordeal with the minotaurs, McGeathy buffed me with a special buff that gave me 50K hit points, and he got the mobs to freeze. The minotaurs in the fortress are the largest portion of a group that serves as slave labor to Meldrath. Hey, he's a little guy with a big brain. You don't expect him to do the manual labor, do you?

I did not get a chance to delve very deep into Kirkoten Fortress. The parts I saw featured clusters of minos at tents and fires. I did not get a chance to see the zone in motion, so I cannot comment on roamers. I detected melee fighters and spiritual casters. The mobs I considered were light blue to my level 80 character. This area is a wooden fortress carved into a mountain, so the color palette was mostly browns and grays. That's not a complaint, though. The rugged environment added to the overall feel of place.

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The brownie village was easily the most colorful location I visited.

Who Wants Brownies?

When I left Kirkoten Fortress, I landed in a brownie village. Standing in stark contrast to the harsh, drab stronghold of minos, this place was a lush green valley peppered with brightly colored huts connected by log bridges. Again, the zone was frozen, so I did not get to see the place in motion.

McGeathy explained that the brownies of the area have been forced into working for Meldrath. Apparently their tiny bodies make them extremely useful for cavorting around in the inner workings of large clockworks.

If you feel bad for this village of wild brownies, don't fear; McGeathy says we'll get to help them as we work through their story arc. I managed to capture a picture of a pair of brownies, both of which were light blue to my level 80.