Last night the EQ2 Producer's Letter was released over on EQ2Players. Scott "Gallenite" Hartsman is the game's Producer, for those that don't know, and writes periodical articles on how the game has done recently, and where the development team wants to go with it down the road.
What is this Producer's Letter about? Pretty simple... or well, is it? I don't know if "simple" fits this announcement, because it sounds like an extremely large undertaking. For players familiar with EverQuest, Neriak is making its return to the game world of EQ2, as part of the largest free content update to-date for the game.
Names have power.
It's strange how the sound of a single word or the sight of a particular arrangement of letters on a page can instantly give rise to a wide array of feelings.
Some names have more power than others.
Neriak.
It's an exceptionally strong name. For me, at least, it's in hearing it out loud. Three syllables that contain a sense of dark malevolence, raise tales of intrigues unending, and bring forth images of a race of people whose ambition is outmatched only by their ruthlessness and cunning.
There's another name that may not be familiar, but it too plays a significant part in what's coming.
Arasai.
It's a lighter sound, which is fitting for what it describes. It also sounds as if that lightness has been twisted. Meticulously developed, or crafted, if you will. Like a fine weapon on display.
As many of you have no doubt guessed, I'm talking about the next major live content release for EverQuest II. We've talked a lot over the past year about our commitment to making sure there's always something interesting going on in Norrath. What's coming takes that even further.
With Echoes of Faydwer, we had hoped that people would enjoy a return to a more traditional MMO starting experience, and were pleased with the results. We got a lot of positive reaction by introducing the starting city of Kelethin inside of Greater Faydark, as well as a new race, the Fae.
Later this month, we'll be releasing the largest free content addition that EQ2 has ever seen. The complement to that experience: The city of Neriak, the large outdoor zone of Darklight Wood, and a new playable race, the Arasai, one of the races who will be able to start there.
These zones are another collaboration with our SOGA studio in Taiwan, the same studio that developed the characters and environments for The Fallen Dynasty. Their artists working in conjunction with our designers and artists have really brought Neriak back to life.
We decided to go this direction for a couple reasons. As we were developing the storyline for Faydwer, we saw the potential both in gameplay and story development for a dark, twisted shadow of the Fae, and we've wanted to explain a few important things about this area of the world for quite some time.
Head over to Gallenite's latest Producer's Letter to learn more.
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