SoE Live 2014: EverQuest Next

Last year at SOE Live, EverQuest Next (EQN) was unveiled with two of the intended classes, Warrior and Wizard. Since that event in 2013, any details on EverQuest Next have been super secretive. It was even a topic avoided during the Year of EverQuest event earlier in 2014. This year’s SOE Live roared with a plethora of details and further development of this upcoming iteration of the EverQuest franchise.

When are they building EverQuest Next? Much of the technology used to create Landmark is still maintained as the development systems for EverQuest Next, which means that when there are workshops being led by SOE, the community can interact and help design the architecture in Landmark, making them one of the developers in the process. Much of the physics and features in Landmark act either as direct features in EQN or foundations for other features. For instance, the Tiers of Depth in Landmark offer a direct translation in EQN, allowing for caves and passageways that players can discover. Another feature recently introduced in Landmark, Flingers, are the foundation for the Catapults and other things requiring physics throwing. Even the Claim System in Landmark, where you can dedicate a piece of land to your own usage, lays as the backbone for Guild Homes in EQN.

As a reminder of the features EQN will possess, it will have a destructible world and artificial intelligence (AI) that will react to being wiped out, relocated, and shift in terms of the movements and activities of the player population.

Here is a quick rundown of what was seen at SOE Live’s news on EQN:

• Debut of – Dark Elves
• Combat
  • Active and skill. Position of body and facing, to time attacks. Observing targets is vital. Use of abilities accordingly.
• 40 Classes at Launch (Goal)
• Wizard, Warrior (Unveiled at last year’s SOE Live)
• Introduction of Cleric. First of support classes.
  • Leader/support. Mobility.
  • Buffs
  • “Intercession”. Dash ability, if there’s an ally nearby it restores their Armor.
  • “Heaven’s Vengeance”. Lights an area in a bright AoE half-sphere. Boost to stats and regeneration.
• Introduction of Elementalist. Control AoE.
  • “Ice Shards”. Shoots out three bolts, more hits when closer.
  • “Fire Pillar”. Massive amount of Fire Damage when staying in the center (does Fire Dance).
  • “Flash Freeze”. Flash-freezes the ground (not just a decal, the ground is actually frozen). Freezes opponents when used in conjunction with Ice Shards.
    • A Warrior can Whirlwind to destroy and burrow into the ground.
• Introduction of Tempest. Lightning-oriented striker.
  • “Druid”/”Assassin”-type
  • “Lightning Strike”. Basic Attack.
  • “Spark Rush”. When she turns into lightning, can be used in conjunction with Lightning Strike.
  • “Cyclone”, flips through in a gust of wind.

And it was mentioned during the conference that the game keeps track of everything you’ve done and gives you hints of what you would like to do. While the market is filled with MMOs right now, some deserving of attention and others earning their respect, EQN is shaping up to be a promising project to look forward to!

For more information on EverQuest Next, visit https://www.everquestnext.com/ and for all things Sony Online Entertainment, visit https://www.soe.com/.