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Preview Section for the other 16 pictures that aren't shown here (starting with Kael screenshot and the next 2 pages in screenshot section)!
Text from the EQ Keynote (We transcribed most of it, view the
video if you would like to re-watch it, EQ is game 2 in the video)
This is the 20th major release for EverQuest, it's 19th expansion, so lets talk about the features we are rolling out.
We are taking you to an unprecedented level cap of 100.
We are also bringing you an aggro meter. So if you are that guy that is always pulling aggro when you're not supposed to, this is going to help you out. You can see your aggro compared to your group members, and you are probably going to make more friends this way.
Now the collection system we are bringing to you is pretty self explanatory. You can go out into the world and adventure and collect items through adventuring, and collect cool items and loot.
We are also bringing you a Slayer system. Slayer system is also bringing you cool items and loot for going out playing the game, killing 50 Orcs, getting a title, killing 100, so on and so on. Now think about all the mobs we have in the game. That's how deep this is going to be.
Now we're also bringing you the Autonomous Brokering System. What we're doing is we are souping up the brokering system. One of the key points to this system is you can now sell while being offline. Another cool feature is you can search for these items anywhere in the world, and if you choose to do so you can have that item delivered directly to you where you are in the game. You do not have to run back to the Bazaar, you do not have to go to the mailbox, you can have those items if you need them right away.
Now lets talk about the story a little bit. The Rain of Fear expansion picks up where the Veil of Alaris expansion ended. It started with the House of Thule, and we're continuing a storyline. By you helping to kill the Triumvirate, a huge explosion rocked Norrath releasing the power of Cazic Thule. Soon after, fear shards are raining all over the land. You've got Alaran gods, you've got Norrathian gods, they're fighting for power and now they want you to go out and help them bring some balance back to the game, across Norrath, because they know that the power contained in these shards is the power of Cazic Thule.
Shard's Landing: A serene valley with a massive landscape, and has an impressive underground city. Shard's Landing is the hub zone to the expansion. You will find the most content of all other zone's in the expansion in Shard's Landing.
Breeding Grounds: This zone is littered with dragons. We are bringing you a new type of dragon - Fear dragon, as well as the fire and ice dragons. We've got some rat men who have moved in because they are essentially opportunists and they are feeding on the dragon corpses.
Unknown Zone: When a fear shard struck this area, a gigantic tree took root. When this occurred, all the shard's are dropping, creatures and domain clan went to that area to find out what was going on, very curious. There's some mysterious fruit growing in the canopy that these creatures started eating. It corrupted their minds, it mutated them into frightening versions of themselves, and now you get to go experience this content and find out what the problem is as they live sad miserable lives addicted to the fruit. The coolest part of this zone - it is a gigantic tree. You are going to be adventuring in many levels of this tree, and also going outward along the canopy into the branches and also into the natural decks.
Chapterhouse: Chapterhouse is going to be a classic dungeon crawl as well, and will carry the story line of Befallen. Many undead, and lots of traps.
Grelleth's: This is a valley and dungeon of filth and muck. This was a pristine area, but Grelleth, a female warrior, took one of the fear shards and proclaimed herself Queen. She's invited other pigs to move in and help build this area. It's built upon scraps and trash, and they've erected a nice statue in her image. It's a massive zone inside and out, and when you get inside the castle it is massive.
Xorb: King Xorbb has been pretty much confined all these years. Fear shards struck the walls and floors that were confining him and freed him, and he doesn't feel like the conquered anymore. Now he's the conqueror, and he's set his sights on Rivervale. Valley of King Xorbb is the end zone to the expansion. You're going to find that the mobs are harder in this zone, and the rare mobs are just as hard.
Some Pictures from it (Click to enlarge):
Caster hats: Image is of concepts, will be live before the end of the year.
