Get Your Fresh Produce Here

With E3 out of the way and summer starting up here are the things we are currently working on that you can expect to see over the next few months:

Loot rules in the Warrens: We plan to continue modifying the special loot rules in the Warrens. We will be eliminating several ways around the current "Trivial Combat Code" as well as looking at the problem of "spell twinking" in regards to the loot rules. We'll have to see how it goes, and see what people think.

Stonebrunt Mountains: The next "free" zone will be the Stonebrunt Mountains, which will be located off the Warrens. It will support a level range roughly equivalent to that in Lake of Ill Omen. We're expecting to release the zone sometime this summer.

Dungeon Touchups/Revamps: We have plans for some updates and/or revamps for some of the dungeons in the world. Our last patch included an updated Runnyeye complete with new monsters and treasures to be plundered. Next on the list is Permafrost Keep. Lady Vox has been in the mood to do some redecorating of her lair, which includes replacing some of her more lackwitted minions. Stay tuned for more specific information as it is released.

Big Changes Planned for PvP: We've had a number of meetings lately to plan changes to the PvP environments in EverQuest. One of the first things planned for this is to bring up a brand new PvP server with a new rules set on it. This will allow us to test our changes for everybody without throwing any current rules sets out the window. The name of this new server and when it will actually be going up are still to be announced.

3D Engine Enhancements: One of the first things up is the enhancement of the engine to support 32bit color with a 24bit z-buffer. This will get rid of the "moving stair step" visual artifact that you see in distant places where surfaces meet at odd angles. For the best explanation of this, look at the blockiness of the river in the Great Divide or the lava river in Skyfire, and finally look at the emblem at the entrance to Veeshan's Peak while moving off at a distance. For those with video cards that support a 24bit z-buffer, appearance will be greatly improved.

Deity Specific Quests: We're going to continue expanding on some deity-specific quests that went into game several months ago. We like the idea of these and have more in the works.

The History Unfolds: Keep an eye on the Harpy's Head Tavern site. As dynamic events take place across all of the servers, more information about the history and the future of the world will be made known.

Dragons, Ice Dwarves, and Giants: We're going to continue adding more quests and flavor to these three major Velious factions. Our goal is to continue balancing out the three paths so that the risk vs. reward is balanced for each one. Be on the lookout for new mobs and dialogues popping up in each of these races' territories.

New NPC Return Policy: Who hasn't accidentally handed a semi valuable item to a mob and gotten the "Thank You!" message? We are currently working on a way for mobs to return any non-quest items back to the player who accidentally gave them to you. More on this will be announced as it develops.

Class Balance Discussions: Some recent changes have been introduced as a result of Absor's now infamous Class Discussions. We're continuing to evaluate each class on an individual basis and will be making changes based on player feedback as we see fit.

But That Doesn't Make Sense!: We on the EverQuest Team realize that with all the factions, plots, and quests in Norrath we end up with a few oversights that just don't make sense in the overall story of the world. And so, for the sake of being true to our world, we've decided to keep an eye out specifically for these things and make changes where necessary. The fact that you now have the option to quest for your Ghoulbane from a froglok paladin rather than just brutally murdering the poor chap is just one example of these changes with many more to come.

Guildwars: We've noticed a huge lack in player participation of this feature due to a lot of bugs with it. Our hope is that by fixing these bugs and enhancing the system a bit more people might be interested in going to war with their local guilds.

Stay tuned for more new info on what we are planning for this summer. Until then, happy hunting!