From SOE:

Starting at 12:01 pm Pacific (Noon) on Tuesday, July 3, 2012, and lasting until 3:59 am Pacific on Thursday, July 5, 2012, we're offering Double Experience in EverQuest II! Take advantage of this limited time offer and watch those XP bars fill up!

June 29, 2012 - Craft-A-Holic Interview!

A while back, I answered a batch of questions for our EQ2 Community Relations Manager, Piestro. It was posted to the EQ2 site this afternoon, as well as to their forums for any who want to read it.

Edit: I've changed the interview link over to the one on the SOE main site, instead of the forums, as it is easier to read.

June 20, 2012 - Meh

Many of you are aware that our forums have had issues over the past couple of months, including getting reported as an attack site. We thought we had it all cleaned up after much gnashing of teeth, back and forth with the vbulletin folks and with google, and after taking a needed sanity break, I turned on forum registrations again last week. For less than a day. Not only did we get hit with a fresh spate of spammers, but once again we've been reported as an attack site, indicating that there is still an underlying security issue to be tackled. All I can do about it is whimper at the hubbyogre, who handles all the coding, software and security side of things, and wait for him to poke at vbulletin, wait on a response, poke at the code, etc. So, I am sitting here, again, feeling pretty helpless, while I get flooded on several fronts (my forums, SOE forums, facebook, ICQ, etc., etc.) by folks asking if I know about the problem.

So ... meh. (Which is the sound of an unhappy halfling who is helpless to do anything but sit and wait.)

We know about it, it is being worked on. There is no ETA. The sites themselves are fine, but the forums for both sites are iffy.

I wish I was able to find something positive to say about this, but ...

MEH

June 15, 2012 - SOE Weekend Blitz!

This applies to EQ, EQII, FreeRealms, DCUO, Pox Nora, MtG: Tactics and Clone Wars Adventures:

Don’t miss the SOE Weekend Blitz half price sale!
Get half price on every station cash item in-game!
Hurry because this is a limited time event! It ends on Monday June 18, 2012*

May 22, 2012 - Double XP Weekend

I found this notice on the welcome screen today:

Starting at 12:01 pm Pacific (Noon) on Friday, May 25, 2012, and lasting until 11:59 pm Pacific on Monday, May 28, 2012, we'll offer Double Experience in EverQuest II! Take advantage of these three days and watch those XP bars fill up!

May 21, 2012 - Tradeskill Interview ... and Sad News

Omougi gave a brief interview regarding GU63 and tradeskills, which is posted in this thread in the SOE forums.

As for the sad news, I post this with tears streaming down my face. That wonderful little 6-year-old boy, John (aka Ribbitribbit), for whom the EQ2 community came together in March to create many wonderful virtual playgrounds, has lost his battle with cancer. His mother posted the news in the SOE forums last night. My deepest condolences go out to his family. He was truly a special little boy who touched the lives of many.

May 09, 2012 - Hungry?

The tier 10 and above listings for crafted food and drink that are linked on the You are What You Eat guide have been updated to include the food and drink that come from tradeskill apprentice research. In addition, a Tier 10 Food and Drink Listing has been added that includes the level 90 apprentice food and drink recipes as well as the GU63 and elite apprentice food and drink recipes.

I have also added a small bit of detail to the Elite Tradeskill Apprentice Guide with a bit more detail regarding how to obtain the raid apprentice.

Last, but not least. Yes, we know there are problems with the forums, and there have been problems with our forums for a few weeks now. We are still trying to get a response from Google to get our forums re-checked and cleared. I am not a happy halfling.

May 01, 2012 - Resources!

I caught up on several out-of-date resource guides today. (I ran out of time before I could also tackle the harvesting tools guide, since my harvesting times changes from the fall were eaten by our data loss.) Hopefully, I caught all the changes and additions to the below documents. As always, please nudge me if I missed something.

• The Node Knows - master harvesting guide
• What To Do With Your Rares - general overview of what each rare type can be used for
• Rares By Adventuring Class - Fighters
• Rares By Adventuring Class - Mages
• Rares By Adventuring Class - Priests
• Rares By Adventuring Class - Scouts
• Rare Useage Chart - handy for when you just want a master list for the rares, without a lot of extra explanation

The Rares by Adventuring Class series is especially handy for the non-crafters amongst us, so that they know what they will need for rares before approaching a crafter.

April 28, 2012 - Triple Station Cash, Today-Only!

Triple station cash is now in effect until Midnight (Pacific) tonight, April 28. Official post can be found here.

April 26, 2012 - Elite Apprentice Notes

While I still do not have details regarding the exact mechanic for obtaining the raid apprentice (Yelnar), I do have a bug warning and some yummy recipe details for you!

The bug warning for the elite apprentices is this: Since the hotfix that happenedTuesday, there have been issues with some players in the appropriate instances being unable to see Deshniak and Yelnar, while other players are able to see them and progress their scripts with no problem. There does not seem to be a method to the madness, and sometimes one alt on an account is fine, another is having problems. Forum posts and /bug reports have been submitted, so we are hoping there is a fix soon.

Meanwhile, I just spend several hours poring over my apprentices on Test_Copy to make a chart/spreadsheet of the elite apprentice recipes, including full ingredient lists, since I know folks are already asking in various /crafting channels for what they need to gather. The Elite Tradeskill Apprentice Guide now contains the browser-viewable recipe charts, while the Tradeskill Apprentice Spreadsheet in XLS format now contains two more tabs to include the recipes from both Deshniak and Yelnar.

Enjoy!

P.S. Yes, I know our forums are having issues. The hubbyogre is currently going around in circles with Google and Vbulletin regarding it.

April 23, 2012 - Back Up!

Thankfully, the planned 24-hour downtime did not take a full 24 hours, and the game is back up! Go forth and harvest some more! :D

EDIT: Or it was an unexpected oops that allowed a lot of people on, and it has now been fixed. Alt-hopping was apparently a bad idea, and I an unable to return now.

April 18, 2012 - Extended Downtime Warning

From SOE:

Important: We will perform maintenance beginning at 12:01AM Pacific* on April 23, 2012. This will impact the following services:

• Login for our games WILL be affected from 12:01 AM Pacific* to approximately 11:59 PM Pacific
• Commerce transactions, including purchases on our websites and in-game marketplaces will be unavailable between from 12:01 AM Pacific* to approximately 11:59 PM Pacific
• Account management will be unavailable starting 12:01 AM to approximately 11:59 PM Pacific
• All Games will be unavailable starting 12:01 AM to approximately 11:59 PM Pacific

April 17, 2012 - GU63 - Skyshrine!

The servers are currently down for Game Update 63. To make things easier to find, here is a repeat of the GU63 FAQ and the quick links from my GU62 Crafting Preview:

Frequently Asked

• How do I get to Withered Lands? You can access the new zone by heading to the docks outside of Thurgadin. Hail the New Combine Flightmaster on the NE dock
• How do I get to Skyshrine? Head to the west side of the map and you will find the path to Alivan south of the Sanctuary of Tears. The lightmaster for Skyshrine is in the back part of Alivan.
• What skill do I need to harvest in WL? 425
• I got knocked from the sky while flying. What is up with that? The dragon is flying overhead. Next time, when you see rain, land ASAP if you haven't got the crafter reward cloak or done the adventure line to prevent that.
• Where can I get the new recipe books? The four new recipe books are from questing in WL
• But I don't wanna do any more crafting quests! Is there another way? No. While we unlock the ability to buy the recipe books by doing the quests, the books that are sold are no-trade. (Since we get the books from doing the quest, this means that currently, buyable books does nothing useful. We're not sure when/if this will change.
• How do I get the new crafting apprentices? One is from a solo/duo/heroic Skyshrine instance, the other is from a raid instance (More information can be found here)
• Why can't I level past 90 adventurer? If you own the DoV expansion and have 280+ AA, then you probably forgot to fix your AA slider
• Why can't I spend my first prestige point? Sometimes you need to zone/reload in order to be able to spend it.
• How do I get prestige points? Adventuring past level 90. You get 1 prestige point for every 20% of a level that you gain after level 90 Adventurer. No prestige points for crafters.)

Quick Links

• GU63 Carpenter Furniture
• GU63 Withered Lands Crafting Quests
• GU63 Skyshrine Elite Apprentices
  
• GU63 Patch Notes
  

Update: Servers appear to be UP!

April 16, 2012 - Last-Minute Updates

The release of GU63 is less than 24 hours away. Remember to keep an eye on the GU63 Crafting Preview for any late-breaking news. You will find an update in there regarding a change to the new recipe book names (no changes to the 89 and below books, just the 4 new books). The GU63 Furniture Gallery is also complete, including the new book names.

April 14, 2012 - GU63: Draggin and Puffin

April 06, 2012 - Double ___ Weekend!

In addition to the double XP weekend this weekend, there is also a double SC weekend. (Excludes purchases of Station Cash by SMS.) The double SC weekend started at midnight, the double XP weekend starts at noon (Pacific). Both end at midnight Pacific on the 8th. Enjoy your weekend, folks!

March 20, 2012 - Ado About Knotting

Moonlight Enchantments and the Chronoportal Event may be going on now, but let us not forget that the celebration of mischief and pranks known as Bristlebane Day is also fast approaching. Mum, like any old-fashioned halfling, is a follower of the god of Mischief, who created those furry-footed halflings. However, this year she has a decidedly different way to celebrate it. Read more in the Bristlebane Day 2012 crafting preview: Ado About Knotting

March 15, 2012 - Around the Block

Ninety-nine (yes, 99) crafted building blocks were added to the game today, along with the ability to massively enlarge the crafted and purchased (SC, city fest) building block sets. You can check them out on the new Building Blocks page.

March 14, 2012 - EQII Players are Fabulous!

If you follow EQII news, you know that my request for help on Guk last week was not even close to the only one that was aired in EQII communities. (In fact, mine was spurred by seeing something on Zam.) You may have also seen it mentioned in the Norrathian Homeshow forum on the official forums, and then mention of the final event in the general forum. You may have seen it mentioned on the launchpad, and the main SOE site. You may have seen many of the screenshots taken, or the videos taken of little John (Ribbitribbit) or the amazing rollercoaster, etc.

Suffice it to say, lots of information is out there in the gaming community if gamers want to hear about how several hundred (we had over 100 in guildchat simultaneously on several occasions) volunteers banded together to help a dying child have a virtual playground to hop around in, since normal playgrounds are no longer an option for him. Many nongamers, unless directly involved in some way, still tend to have their eyes glaze over the moment you mention it was something that happened in a video game.

Until now.

A Toronto paper picked up the story today and worded it in a way that helps nongamers understand what it was all about.

While, in the end, it is still about caring people brightening the last days of a dying small boy and his family, I have to say it does my heart good to see the "real world" pick up a positive story about video gamers now and then.

Pat yourselves on the back, gamers, and then go check out all of those links. I am willing to bet most of you will be joining me in another round or two of crying before you are done with them all.

March 07, 2012 - Request for Help on Guk

I admit, I miss a lot on the SOE forums, as there is so much there to wade through. However, Calthine at Zam brought this to my attention, and my heart really goes out to this dying 6-year-old his family. The flood of support from the EQ2 community is bringing tears to my eyes, and if you would like to assist with decorations, in-game coin, etc. to make this dream come true, please check out this thread. I am going to go create an alt on Guk as soon as I finish posting here to see what I can do to help with grinding for the guildhall.

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