14 DAY TRIAL // Sony Online Entertainment is preparing the release of another expansion for Everquest II, its long running MMO. It will be known as The Shadow Odyssey and it will be focused on adding some much needed high level content. The developers are planning 20 zones for the expansion, specifically for level 80 players.
Leading into the new expansion, the game is set to receive one big update, called Raising the Banner, that's set to come sometime in early October. As Raising the Banner is deployed, the structures that are now built on the outskirts of the starting cities will be completed and all guilds that are advanced enough will be able to buy those structures. In those guild halls, players can hang and form adventure and raiding groups while having access to the marketplace to sell wares and enjoy other services that become available as their guild continues to level up.
The Shadow Odyssey will tie in with an expansion that is set to be launched for the original EverQuest, called Seeds of Destruction. In both of them, players will be able to get some quests deity; Firiona Vie and Qeynos will be one of the main areas for adventuring, in its original inception as a lowly fort. Seeds of Destruction and Shadow Odyssey will both feature the Void, an area that is outside normal space and time. Places like Mistmoore, Najena and the Sebilsian Empire will also be used in the expansion as backdrop for adventures.
“Void shards” are set to make the game more upgrade intensive. In The Shadow Odyssey, the monsters will drop them and then these can be traded for upgrades at Erudite merchants. The developers are also seeking to implement a system that invites players to visit dungeons they have already cleared.
Everquest II needs to do something to keep its players interested as both WAR and World of Warcraft are going to attract a lot of gamers in the following months. EverQuest II: The Shadow Odyssey is scheduled for release on November 18.