EverQuest Franchise Holiday Contest!

SOE and ZAM team up to give the community some awesome prizes!

UPDATE: Winners have been announced!


Thank you everyone for your entries! It's definitely been a trip down memory lane reading so many wonderful stories. The contest has now ended and we'll be finalizing the list of all qualified names before randomly selecting winners in a blind drawing.

Winners will be announced by 11:59pm Pacific Time on Tuesday, December 31, 2013. Winners will also be notified via Private Messaging (PMs) on ZAM that they have won. We will update this article and post a new one as well informing everyone of the results!


This holiday season, Sony Online Entertainment and ZAM want to share the holiday spirit with the community with an epic contest! It doesn't matter if you play EverQuest, EverQuest II or want to dive into EverQuest Next Landmark, there is something for all Norrathians here. We have one grand prize and three Station Cash prizes from SOE, as well as a bonus for ten lucky people from ZAM!

  • GRAND PRIZE: One winner will receive codes to the collector's editions of the most recent EverQuest and EverQuest II expansions, Call of the Forsaken and Tears of Veeshan (a $90 value each), as well as a code for the EverQuest Next Landmark Trailblazer Founder's Pack (a $100 value; total prize value of $280)
  • Three more winners will each receive one $10 Station Cash code (worth 1000 SC)
  • Ten more winners will each receive three months premium on ZAM

Continue after the jump for details on how this contest will work!


How to Enter

  • Log in to your ZAM account (registering is free!)
  • Post a comment at least 3-5 sentences long (minimum) in the comments section of this article
  • The comment should focus on your favorite location in Norrath, in any EverQuest franchise title. Why is it your favorite place? Did something fun happen to you or your guild there? Do you just love the environment or lore of the location? Are you new to Norrath, but want to talk about a location you are excited to visit in-game?
  • You can supplement your comment by linking to a video or picture of this location! It's not required and won't affect your entry into the contest, but it's a lot more fun to share!
  • Deadline for entries is 11:59pm Pacific Time on Friday, December 27, 2013... that means you have one week to enter!
  • Only one entry per person, please!

Due to the amount of entries we have, comments may take a bit of extra time to load... patience, grasshopper!

How We Judge

  • As long as your entry meets the contest guidelines above, you will be entered into a random blind drawing!
  • Winners will be announced by 11:59pm Pacific Time on Tuesday, December 31, 2013
  • Codes for the Grand Prize and Station Cash will be sent to the appropriate winners via private message on ZAM by 11:59pm Pacific Time on Tuesday, December 31, 2013
  • Winners of the three months of premium on ZAM will have it added to their account and will be notified of their win via private message on ZAM. This has to be done manually, so there may be additional delay.

Obligatory Information

  • No purchase necessary, but you need to register for a free account with ZAM if you haven't yet
  • You must have an account with SOE to be able to redeem the codes. They will not work for PSS1 account holders.
  • We don't care which country you're in as long as you have an SOE account
  • The contest begins whenever this article goes live on Friday, December 20, 2013 and ends at 11:59pm Pacific Time on Friday, December 27, 2013
  • One entry per person
  • ZAM staff and their immediate family are not eligible. Sorry, hubby!
  • SOE employees and their immediate family are not eligible. Sorry, Roshen!

That's everything! You can enter the contest for yourself, or to try and win an awesome gift for a friend or loved one -- either way, we can't wait to read everyone's stories!


Disclaimer: I'm aware that the picture above doesn't reflect the recent EverQuest and EverQuest II expansions... what it does reflect is my favorite locations in those games! =)

 Ann "Cyliena" Hosler, Managing Editor

Follow me on Twitter: @Cyliena

Comments

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One of the many.
# Dec 21 2013 at 1:58 AM Rating: Good
The Kylong plains have always been an old favorite. From my adventures in Everquest 2, I remember gathering with my friends there before going questing. We would often role play there by the green light of sky and forest. I also recall the Maiden's Grace vessel that travels across to the Antonican Docks.
Hands down the best fun I ever had ;)
# Dec 21 2013 at 1:35 AM Rating: Good
I think my absolute favorite zone in both EQ and EQ2 was the tower of frozen shadows. I remember the time it took me to figure out how to get into it (phantom guards) and once you had the timing and the entrance spotted the sprint was still a challenge to get in and once you did you never left. ;) at least not if you were a cleric ;) since we did more undead damage than other classes it was a levelers paradise and if you stuck around the bottom floor long enough you could always get an invite to a pick up group to head to the top once you got a couple levels under your belt.
In EQ2 the did a fantastic job at recreating the tower with the phantoms still surrounding it and as a group zone it was both fun and useful even to raiders since there were item drops that were wonderful upgrades to the gear we started out with. The mirrors and puzzle type floors of the zone were fun to figure out and once you did the next floor would throw you a curve ball making it a whole new challenge to figure out.

So hands down TOFS was and is my favorite zone of all time in both EQ games. I'm actually hoping to recreate the zone in Landmark with a few twists of my own included ;)

EQ version
http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/outsidetofs.jpg

EQ2 version
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110521140738/eq2/images/d/d6/Tower_of_Frozen_Shadows.jpg
Nektropos Castle
# Dec 21 2013 at 1:34 AM Rating: Good
Having to choose a single favorite location seems next to impossible. I love all of KoS, Kunark, the Shattered Lands. I really like the newer expansion
D. But when I try to remember the strongest emotions it has to be be Nectropos Castle after launch before we figured it out. The atmosphere was incredible and due to the respawn there was a real danger to figuring the puzzle out. Great times.
Oh EQOA how I miss you! My first MMO
# Dec 21 2013 at 1:30 AM Rating: Good
In EQOA my favorite memories happened in Cazic Thule. As an elf paladin( the only one I've ever seen) I spent the better part of 48-50 soloing in CT. I was there soloing and also farming for the rubicite plate gear. Being my first MMO this was my first real gear grind also. That bright red set was such a contrast to most of the gear I had seen I just HAD to have it! Throughout that solo journey I also reached my first max level 50. And if anyone else played it(or other games similar) what's the first thing you do at max?!? That's right pull as many things as elfly possible and do a suicide dive because there's no more exp debt!! After hour upon hour I never did get that full set during that era with bad rng. It wasn't until Frontiers that I went back to my roots and finished the farm and got the full set. Ahh how I miss the game, the good times, and good people during that game.

Great article idea to bring back great memories!

Edited, Dec 27th 2013 2:26pm by Noodleydo
where to choose?
# Dec 21 2013 at 1:16 AM Rating: Good
**
654 posts
I play eq1 and eq2. For me the most beautiful place in eq1 is Oceangreen Hills and the surrounding areas. I loved going in and seeing how the areas that became surefall and qeynos and qeynos hills looked in the old days. i go there to relax and pick cornroses and do the quests that give me the placeable vials that look like vases.

In Eq2, that is the hardest to choose. I love the areas around Greater Fay, and darklight woods holds a special place for me. however, the Poet's Palace and the Shining Citadel are a big attraction for me. I send all of my toons through that area and love it. the quests, and the sheer beauty of the place are awesome. and down beneath the citadel where the nagas live - awesome xp and nice drops all around. I especially love the carpet that sends you back whenever you want and the mirror that takes you there is also a nice touch. Not to mention getting a Naga of my own from the quests.

i also love the new zone in eq2 - Vessprys is beautiful and what a lovely place for the dragons to go after they die. just beautifully done and i am enjoying it
____________________________
Success comes when preparation meets opportunity -- and EQ is no exception.
Feerrott going down...
# Dec 21 2013 at 1:01 AM Rating: Good
Being new to the Everquest franchise, it's hard for me to name a place I'd like to visit. But after seeing some of the Everquest Next videos, the forest location known as Feerrott really took my imagination. I love the look of the spooky forest and the awesome looking ruins. But that's not the best part. In one of the videos, when the floor was taken away from the characters during a fight, they landed in a subterranean level. Although this isn't a specific place, I like this break from the norm as it adds a whole new dimension of exploration. I can't wait to visit that exact location and try it for myself!
ToFS
# Dec 21 2013 at 12:52 AM Rating: Good
My favorite location in Norrath is the Tower of Frozen Shadow. I love how each floor within the tower has it's own theme. My favorite floor is probably the wedding. I spent many years playing Everquest and I still have fond memories of the fun, the friends and the adventures that I got to experience.
My favorite location...
# Dec 21 2013 at 12:34 AM Rating: Good
My favorite spot in all of Norrath would be the brownie village in Dragonscale Hills. The first set of tasks I had for that zone required us to kill some brownies in that location. I had never experienced killing brownies before and did not realize how tiny they were until we got up to that spot. The colors were amazing, the plant life was larger than what I had experienced before and I had never seen a village in the trees like that except for Kelethin which I saw when I first started in 2006. My group and I had more deaths during that task than in any others at the time due to me being distracted by what I saw rather than healing my group. I was finally able to go in there on my own and explore the huts, play a little hide and seek in the bushes, and really enjoy the fact that the brownies were so tiny compared to their environment that pulling them out of hiding proved to be a bit of a challenge. I have seen locations that were just as appealing to the eye as this little village was but none of them compared to the awe I experienced when I first got to that particular village. This was also around the time I got some graphic updates (the card I had at the time was way old school) so it was the first look I had at detailed graphics since Prophecy of Ro had come out. I always look forward to see what Sony comes out with next!
Kelethin ~
# Dec 21 2013 at 12:32 AM Rating: Good
'99 vet here! My favorite place to relax was Kelethin .. something so mysterious and calming about the music of the elven woodlands in the Faydark area. When I got rich, I would host drunken race contests from the orc lift to the bank! Whoever reaches the bank first, without falling to their death lol, wins a big prize :) The orc hill, crushbone, and the wizard spires were all conveniently near. I always thought the druid ring would be a secret unlock one day (the one near Kelethin). I was deeply into the lore when I played there. Oh man, good memories.

Whoo ty Zam !!
Favorite Place
# Dec 21 2013 at 12:30 AM Rating: Good
After giving this some thought, im going to say Soluseks Eye from EQ1. Leveling up my main in that game(before even the first expansion) i spent a lot of time in and around Lavastorm and its dungeons. I was reckless enough to try soloing in those dungeons on several occassions. I remember leveling, getting unlucky on a pull, deleveling, sneaking back to my stuff, and doing it over again... ok, more times than i would care to admit. Solusek also had a very interesting mix of enemies and styles for the time. One of the feats of personal accomplishment i was most proud of at the time was getting one of the names(kindle maybe?) to drop a no-trade sword with a special appearance, switching to a low(5ish) level alt, sneaking down to loot it, and sneaking back out with my new kinda sucky but at least cool looking sword in hand. The place was usually empty in those days, so it was like my own private interesting claustrophobic place.
EverQuest Franchise Holiday Contest!
# Dec 21 2013 at 12:16 AM Rating: Good
I am new here but my favorite location is Freeport. I love the constant action that occurs when exploring the town. The magical barrier which protects the city from dragons lurking overhead is amazing!!

I was also impressed with the player housing system. I currently own a small tiny 2 room inn suite in a poor shabby establishment but can visualize my character owning a large mansion full of amenities.

The guild system looks great as well. While wandering the city, I did notice many different guilds which all had their own custom insignias. I found that a nice touch of flavor for the game.

Looking forward to discovering new favorite areas through my little Troll characters eyes.
Favorite Location in EQ
# Dec 21 2013 at 12:09 AM Rating: Good
18 posts
I enjoyed quite a few places in EQ and EQ2.

My favorite place in EQ2 would have to be the Hidden Village of Kugup. After finding the place during the long quest to unlock the Frogloks as a playable race, watching the frogloks inside practicing their martial arts, inspired me to remake Croakus Maximus, my froglok paladin from EQ as a monk in EQ2. I still go there on occasion with Croakus, just to revisit and spend a few quiet moments there before returning to the hustle and bustle of Qeynos and the higher level zones.

My favorite place in EQ would have to be Lesser Faydark for a few reasons. Hunting the brownies for chocolate was a favorite past time. Sitting in the faerie village with my wife, watching the faeries floating around us. But the most important reason is the druid ring there was were my wife and I were married in the game.
Favorite location in Everquest franchise series
# Dec 20 2013 at 11:59 PM Rating: Good
My favorite zone in the world of Norrath is Velks Lab in Scars of Velious. the music in that zone is amazing. The group spots, and the solo spots are just so fun. Plus who doesnt like Lord Doljonijiarnimorinar? It was so fun to discover this zone off of the Great Divide, it will always hold a special place in my gaming memory for the good times had there, and the bad too! Tallon Zek server, great times had <3

Heres a little Velks Lab walkthrough video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ5G6ita5Mk
Beneath the city
# Dec 20 2013 at 11:20 PM Rating: Good
Oddly enough, I still pine for the Down Below, Vermin's Snye and Crypt of Betrayal. I think the under-city dungeons (for Freeport as well) are massively under utilized (there should be an option for scalable instance!!). I remember as a young player many years ago, delving into the depths of the under-city. Great music and ambient sounds as well as plenty of places to hide things like quest starters or clues.
Love in the Lake of Ill Omen
# Dec 20 2013 at 11:16 PM Rating: Good
13 years ago I met my wife as a fellow guild member in EQ. We were first guild mates, then friends, and it proceeded to become more. We fell in love, married in game, met in real life, and married there as well...in that order. The next ten years we spent gaming together and building a family until she passed away suddenly 2 years ago. She may no longer be physically in my life, but together our characters remain /camped out together in the Plane of Knowledge until the servers are finally taken down some day hopefully a long time in the future. We moved on to WoW as EQ2 did not prove to be to our liking, which I still play, but I am very much looking forward to EQNext as I hope to hopefully be able to recreate the experience of original EQ after all this time. In the mean time though, I will forever remember the moment when my character got down on one knee by a tree on the shore of the Lake of Ill Omen and proposed and she accepted.


PS: Though we had long quit EQ before she passed, when it went F2P I couldn't help but logging back in to take a number of remembrance pictures. The link it to a pic of our first virtual couple of many.

http://tinypic.com/r/mrfn6b/5
Favorite location in EQ
# Dec 20 2013 at 11:16 PM Rating: Good
My favorite location in Everquest was the Ocean of Tears. I'm referring to the time before maps and a Guild Lobby for corpse retrieval. My wife used to log me on and camp me out in the bottom of the ocean at random times, or when I was away at work. I'd get home, log in, and hilarity would ensue as I tried to figure out where I was. With a little luck I'd figure out I was drowning before I died....
Favorite Location in the EQ Franchise...
# Dec 20 2013 at 11:09 PM Rating: Excellent
*
75 posts
Honestly, it's really hard to pick one.

However, the one that always pops into my mind when people talk about zones with a lot of memories in them is definitely East Commonlands (pretty sure it was east, been so long since they combined them that my mind's fuzzy on that now, haha). This was the major trading outpost on my server before the bazaar came about...and as such you always had people "Selling bags at Shady, Torch 1/2/3"...as well as the inevitable "SLATE TO TUNNEL!" I think the latter part was what I always found somewhat humorous. The memories of people complaining, selling, buying...and the in general "Camp checks!" back in those days still stick in my mind.

To this day I still sometimes comment on it in-game. ^^
So many places.
# Dec 20 2013 at 11:09 PM Rating: Good
There has been so many places in Everquest and Everquest2 that has been eye openers to me, but i suppose the one place that has always stuck with me would be the Giant tunnel entrance into Blackburrow from Everfrost in EQ1. The first time i had actually found blackburrow all those years ago i stood there looking at this massive cave opening leading up into the entrance of Blackburrow, It was truly impressive.
Although there has been many such moments before and since then in the world of Norrath and many other worlds, that moment has always stuck with me for some reason perhaps because at that point and time i remembered just how big Norrath really was.
New player on "Freeport"
# Dec 20 2013 at 10:56 PM Rating: Good
I've barely played any EQ games since I was more of an Asheron's Call player, but whenever I've thought about it, the city of Freeport came up. I usually like to play the side that's seen as "bad" just because they look different. The guys that band together, not so much because they like each other, but because not banding together means certain doom. To create a hodge-podge town, on the coast no less (I've always had a love of the sea), really sounded interesting to me.
EQ1 POS
# Dec 20 2013 at 10:54 PM Rating: Good
Many great memories from both EQ1 and EQ2. However, if I were to just pick one, it would be the times I'd take a group up to Plane of Sky and 1-group it. It's been forever since I've been there, but I want to believe we were all about level 60 at the time, which would have been the cap. I had a group of friends that I would constently group with when my guild wasn't online...and many times I'd port them up to POS and we'd clear the first two island. It was nice because no one was up there and it was challenging because it was suppose to be raid content. I loved finding content that would was designated multi-group content and being able to slowly clear it with 5 or 6 people. It gave you a sense of accomplishment, it made you work flawlessly as a team, and the social time was great.
My Favorite Location In Norrath
# Dec 20 2013 at 10:41 PM Rating: Good
It's tough picking just one place in EverQuest/EverQuest 2 because of so many great locations! But If I had to pick just one it would probably be Highpass in Classic EverQuest. It was tough to get up to Highpass at lvl 15-16 in the first place. Then once you did, it was always fun fighting the Orcs/Gnolls with other folks. I will never forget that place. Then after a few solid nights, you got to move into the keep where the goblins ran wild! So many good memories with many different players. I will never forget that place! I hope we see something similar in EverQuest Next, but till then.. that mountain keep still has my heart! I loved Highpass!
Contest Entry! The Secret Freeport Entrance!
# Dec 20 2013 at 10:38 PM Rating: Good
So many great memories in Everquest. It's just so hard to pick one location. The city of Neriak was so intriguing and awesome. I love the idea of an underground city formed in sprawling caverns and tiny caves. I also highly enjoyed Kelethin (just not falling off it's plaftorms as a fledgling WE Ranger!). More than any place though - the East Commonlands was my biggest stomping ground. It just seemed to be the natural meeting point for all my friends' and I 10-20 something characters. Mostly evil races (ogres, trolls, dark elves). It was just convenient, and it had everything important nearby.

I do have to say that I think the underground entrance to Freeport from EC was just genius! It truly made the city so different form others. You could bypass the faction threat to stow-away on ships and sail to new frontiers! That was definitely something I had never seen before in any other game up until that point. Extremely awesome mechanic - both for roleplaying, and content-crushing. Loved it!
Can't I just pick Norrath itself?
# Dec 20 2013 at 10:36 PM Rating: Decent
Well, to start off...I started with EQII because my dad played it and let me create a character on it. It was my first MMO, so I learned quite a bit in it. As for my favorite area...It would have to be Queen's Colony. It was the first area I zoned into, where I finally got to move around in a world full of fantasy that was shared with other players, and my first venture into the massive entirety that is called Norrath. I even always left a free slot to just create a new character and play through it every once and awhile up until they removed that starting point. I can't wait until Landmark and then EQN hit so I can once again have a bit of freshness to the game. :)
Favorite Locaton... Asylum of Anguish!
# Dec 20 2013 at 10:34 PM Rating: Decent
I started Eq1 back right after Ruins of Kunark came out. And I still play it all the time. I find it a welcome releive to be able to wander out and Kill at random. I find it releives my stress.
But to get to the point. Asylum of Anguish in the Omens of war expansion. Running from Boss to Boss. My first real Raiding Zone. I had been on fear and hate raids but nothing like the madness of Anguish. Love it!
Halas
# Dec 20 2013 at 10:33 PM Rating: Decent
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzHgWnUzuG8&fmt=18
You roll out from under your pile of hides that you call your bed in the early in the morning, it is before dawn and the sun has not appeared in the sky yet. You pull on your tattered mammoth hide boots, and wrap your polar bear pelt cape around your shoulders. You shiver briefly as your body adjusts to the climate. You grab your great sword, namely the Langseax of the Wolves; it's going to be a good day. You look to Jinkus as you pass, and he grunts in return as he rummages through a snow drift for some herbs; you will never understand that man. You pass by Kylan O'Danos, the grizzled old veteran that taught you everything you know, and he clamps his enormous hand down on your shoulder, glances at your sword, and grins knowingly; it's good to be a Barbarian. On the way out of town, you make one last stop by the general store for some iron rations and a few flasks of water. Hetie McDonald is running the store today, as usual, and you leave her a little extra because she always makes for good times after a hunt. You stuff the rations and water in your pack and head off to the ferry to head out of town. Halas was built to withstand an invasion from the goblins hordes, and has for quite some time. You hop off the raft, pass down the tunnel and wave to the guards as you head off into the tundra. You breathe deep the frigid early morning air, and take one last look back at the fire that seems to always be burning near a few of the merchants in the tunnel. You begin your trek into the frosty wasteland that seems so beautiful in comparison of that glade thing the tree huggers are so fond of. You see a polar bear and those silly looking spiders off in the distance to your right, and you head off down the left path looking for some fun. A few minutes into your walk, you see a fire in the distance and grin. As you begin to approach, you slide your sword off of your back; you know better than to use a scabbard in the colder climates as your blade can freeze into your scabbard. You glance at your sword once more and think back to when Renth McLanis gave you it as a reward for the head of that murderous cur, Paglan. What a fine reward indeed. You take a few more steps towards the burning campfire, and begin to smell some type of burning fur, or hair; those dirty beasts don’t even clean their kills before cooking them. You charge towards the shapes huddled around the fire, bellowing a call to Rallos Zek; the weak will indeed perish today. You cleave into the shoulder of the first goblin, almost severing its head. The others let out a shriek of surprise as they fumble with their crude clubs. You turn and slam your bracer into the mouth of the one to your left, knocking it onto its back, stunned. As you wade towards the final goblin, it throws its club at you, and turns to run. You grab a wolf’s blood potion from your pack and quaff it down. You quickly sprint after the goblin, and run it through with your sword, lifting it from the ground. The poor creature’s feet spasm briefly before your toss its corpse to the ground. You trudge back to the goblin you left sprawling on the ground, probably with no teeth, you laugh and approach the wretch as it crawls around in a daze. You stand over it, easily twice its height when the creature is standing, more so with it on its hands and knees. You draw your sword into the air with both hands, tip pointed down towards the creature’s spine, and drive it through the back of the goblins throat. The creature barely lets out a wheeze before it becomes a gurgle of blood. You pry your sword from its spine and wipe the blood off on the creature’s tattered shirt. You look up into the sky and breathe another lung full of the frosty morning air; yes, it is good to live in Halas, no shortage of these crude beasts around.


Edited, Dec 21st 2013 6:32pm by Arilwind
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