Dev Chat LogFollow

What is the concept behind the progression in God? Will it be like SOV where we work with 3 different factions? Or like PoP where we follow a storyline?

The storyline continues the saga of the wayfaring brotherhood which was introduced in the Legacy of Ykesha. You will be helping them explore the newly found continent of Taelosia. There will be a small amount of flags earned through the storyline but nothing as in depth as Planes of Power. The flags are directly related to the storyline but are a lot more forgiving than they were in Planes of Power.

Will the 2nd installment of the melee revamp go live with GoD?

Another segment of the melee system is going to be going live with the next patch. It is not specific to Gates though. There's further additions to the melee system planned for the near future.

There are going to be 10 instanced zones, will there be points like LDoN, and will these work in conjunction with LDoN Points?

No. The items in GoD will all be dropped and quested. The instanced zones will just allow multiple groups to experience some of the same content without blocking each other out.

Will GoD be the last expansion in EQ1?

Smed: No way. big, big stuff planned and being worked on.

Smed: We've done a major engine revamped plan on making that the basis for a lot of cool new stuff.

What is the targeted level range for GoD?

Everyone will gain access to some of the new features, like Leadership Abilities and the Tribute system The content is geared for 55+ characters, with quite a bit of it aimed at Level 65.

The Battle Cry line of effects looks very interesting and there is a lot of speculation about how it actually works. The most common rumor is that it provides a type of over haste for the entire group that stacks with other hastes. Can you please give us some insight on how the Battle Cry works?

The Battle Cry abilities do indeed provide a form of 'overhaste' as well as an increased attack rating that will benefit the melee abilities of an entire group for a short time. It's just one of the advantages of having a berserker part of your group.

Will we be able to use our old no-drop items to be turned into Tribute masters for favor points?

The tribute system does not allow no drop items to be turned into Tribute masters for favor points.

Smed, where do you see EQ going in the future?

Smed: With EQ II coming out a lot of people have the idea we aren't going to continue to support EQ. The truth is it's going to continue t be a major part of SOE's future and we plan on leaving the dev team to make expansion for a long long time. But we aren't going to rest on our laurels. We're going to push things from the design and technological perspective and our nerfing days are behind us all the people in this room swear.

Do the Berserkers currently have an Epic?

I tested the berserker Epic Quest yesterday and it is a great piece of lore. Everything is ready for it to go, including a new awesome looking weapon. Additionally the Berserkers have all content added for them which is ready for release; Planar drops, Ornate armor, Newbie Quest armor etc.

Is there any chance that the percentage of exp going towards leadership points will be adjustable so tat once a player fills out all of their AA they can put it into leadership?

The leadership experience does not work the same way as AA experience works. Leadership experience is earned based on a variety of factors including the difficulty o the mob and how many players are in your raid or group. There is no slider for leadership experience like AA's.

Will the new trade skill Quests be anything like as complex as the prayer shawl or solstice earring quests for us tradeskill junkies?

There are quests for almost every trade skill in Gates though they aren't as intensive as the shawl quests, they should prove to be beneficial and fun.

What is leadership experience? Is it like AA?

Leadership experience gives the leader abilities that can be used in group or raid settings. There are several different abilities that the leaders can choose from. The system itself is similar to AA's but the experience can only be gained by leading a group or raid.

Will GoD take a while for a guild to progress through like PoP and for guilds that are about ready to leave Time can you see them living in GoD entirely?

Yes Gates has multiple zones designed for progression for guilds that are now in the Elemental planes and the plane of time.

When will the new trade skill interface be introduced?

The trade skill interface will be released as a live feature with the update on February 10th.

Can you give us the final races for berserkers?

The races that can become berserkers are Troll, Ogre, Vah Shir, barbarian and Dwarf.

Smed, what is your position on the Yantis/IGE issue?

Smed: We have made our position very clear we don't endorse the idea of selling items or characters it's a violation of the EULA and more importantly it's not in keeping with the Spirit of EverQuest. We are looking into this further and but don't' expect us to go this way with EverQuest, and no , we do NOT condone it.

What can you tell us about the Berserkers summoned throwing weapons as far as abilities and such go? And how much money can berserks expect to spend maintain fin a constant supply of components

The berserker axes are meant to give berserkers a bit more depth to their abilities. The basic axes are set up to provide a decent amount of ranged damage, although less than ranger archery . They also have a few special techniques that allow them to throw their axes at specific parts of their enemy to debilitate them. Examples include a short duration stun, a snare, and the possibility of others in the future.

Will the graveyard zone go live with GoD?

The planned graveyard zone will not be going live with Gates of Discord. It will be released in an upcoming Live update.

How fast can we expect Leadership experience to rise? Is it sort of like AA in that regard or will it be faster/slower?

The leadership progress will be unique. We have made an extra effort to make sure players feel they are progressing.

Will new spells be quested, dropped, vendor sold or a PoP like system (runes/parchments)?

A few of the spells will be drops directly off of mobs while there's also a few that will be turn in via a PoP style turn in quest. Although there's one spell per class, per quest, so you won't have to repeat quests like you did in PoP.

The beneficial rewards from tradeskill quests - do you see these as being similar to marr cherries for the kejans, or quest that will have broad appeal and be worthwhile to a large portion of the player bas

Without gong into too much detail on exactly how the quests work...The tradeskill quest rewards will offer benefits with a more broad appeal for both the consumer and tradeskiller alike.

What kind of transportation (old world boats, planar books, wizzy ports, druid rings allows players to travel to the new continent?

There will be a new shuttle that will take players from Nedaria's Landing to the abysmal Sea. Farstone Magic is also available at the Wayfarer Camps that will let you teleport fro any Wayfarer Camp to Nedaria and also to the beach area of Taelosia, Natimbi Beach.

Smed: What was that, a question about raising level limits after GoD? No comment. Stay tuned!

Will the new GoD zones be like LDoN zones? Or will we be able to change groups on the fly more like the old dungeon crawls of the old worlds?

We have provided functionality to add and remove group or raid members after the instance zone has started up to a point. Once you get past a certain point you will no longer be able to.

What levels is the tribute system supposed to be useful for?

The tribute system will be available to all players, beginning at level 10.

For that matter will new disciplines need to be quested after like spells, or readily available on vendors?

There aren't any new disciplines going in that are specific to Gates. If you mean the new combat abilities then yes they'll be available in a similar manner as the spells are: Quest and Drops.

Are berserkers a pure melee class or a hybrid such as Paladins or Shadow Knights? Also will Gates contain newer spells for existing classes?

Berserkers are considered a pure melee class. They don't get spells similar to Hybrids. They also have the option of using throwing weapons as a primary form of damage along with 2 handed weapons.

Will there be any changes to current trivial levels or skill progression with the new UI?

There are no plans to make any large scale changes to trivial levels or skill progressions due to the introduction of the new Tradeskill Interface.

What is the motivating factor behind the increased price for AA's in GoD?

You gain xp at a much faster rate nowadays than you could when PoP was released. The increased group bonus, higher zone mods and availability of high level NPCs all mean you can gain AA's much faster now. The higher costs reflect that.

Gates of Discord being a new expansion, any new servers to launch with this release. New rulesets seem to be the buzz lately with Discord taunting folks with a new twist in EQ gameplay.

There are no plans at this time to launch a new server with Gates of Discord.

Will we see any advancement in EQ lore? Will that ugly barbarian Morden Rasp return the stolen stone? Will the valiant trolls reclaim their homeland?

There will definitely be a continuation of the lore that started as far back as Planes of Power. You will have to play through Gates of Discord to see what Morden Rasp has in store =)

Will there be new spells for existing classes?

Yes there's several new spells for each of the existing classes. Gates is actually signaling the return of Ancient type spells if you haven't heard it around the messagebaords already.

Are zerkers going to be limited specifically to 2H Slash weapons with Axe graphics only? Or will a selection of 2H Slash weapons be usable?

Berserkers will only be able to use 2-Handed weapons, this includes 2H-Blunt and 2H-Piercing.

Can you tell us some of the effects you gain from the Tribute System?

The Benefits that you can expect to see from the Tribute system include effects that can be used to increase health and mana regeneration, vision enhancing effects, among other beneficial effects.

Smed, any word on community message boards for EverQuest?

Absolutely. We are going to be re-opening the EverQuest community boards on a MUCH broader basis in the near future and the Devs will be around daily to answer questions on these boards and they will be free.

Will leadership experience have a separate bar as AA experience does?

Yes, leadership experience will be a unique way to advance your character independent of AA's and your regular experience.

Is there a new Druid Ring?

Yes there are new portal locations on the new continent for both Druids and Wizards. There is also a magus that will teleport you to the new lands if you happen to be on good terms with the Wayfarer's Brotherhood.

Will the Taelosians be hostile to Evil Races or Good and will they be added as a new race in future expansions?

Taelosians will be dubious to players when they arrive on the continent. They have been separated from the races on the known continents for so long that they do not have any past history to base their preconceived notions on.

There are no plans to add them as a playable race at this time.

Will the tribute system be limited to people with deities only?

No the tribute system is available to everyone.

Is SoE and EQ staff scared of what Blizzard is bringing to the table?

Smed: Well..let's dodge that question for now - the designers all want to ;)

What type of zones are we in treat for? Outside? Dungeons? If outside what kind of scenery?

Gates of Discord will have a variety of zone types available. At the start of the expansion players will find themselves on a large ship city. From there they'll be able to move through an underground sewer system that'll target small group settings. Further in the expansion they will find themselves in a temple area that'll target raids specifically.

Everyone will be able to see indoor zones, outdoor zones and underground zones.

What kind of abilities can we expect to see with the leadership Experience system?

There are abilities such as visually marking multiple NPC's gaining health or mana enhancements for your group or raid and regen enhancements.

Will adventure points from GoD differ from those of LDoN?

There are no points for the instanced zones in Gates of Discord. They do not carry the same restrictions as LDoN zones did.

Is the berserkers 'berserk' power going to be structured as a combat ability like Lay on Hands or as a personal spell buff?

There new berserker skill is called Frenzy. It is an actual skill attack and not a buff.

Will GoD instanced zones be timed?

For all intense and purposes, no.

What difficulty level are GoD raid zones tailored towards?

There are some encounters tailored for Vex Thal level and several tailored to be difficult for Elemental and Time equipped characters, with correspondingly better loot.

How long do Tribute buffs last and do they auto recharge?

Every 10 minutes tribute buffs will deduct points from your favor pool. Buffs last as long as you have points to pay for them.