Happy Frostfell Norrath!

Happy Frostfell Norrath! With the start of the week all adventurers in Norrath have started to receive Frostfell greeting cards. All the major cities in Norrath have been redecorated with Frostfell stuff! The best part of Frostfell is a whole new area to go to... I'm not sure what the place is called but it is a winter wonderland.
You gain acess to the whole place from a magic closet! What will they think of next?
I actually laughed out loud when I realized what had happened to this half-elf...
Yes those are rainbows. Yes they are how you get around... yes...
Hey look it's Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer!
This is a quest Mr. Scrooge gives you, to go and face his 3 ghosts in his place. It is actually quite fun. You can see me in ghost form floating, and I am actually in control of Mr. Scrooge there.

To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of this frostfell stuff. Maybe its because I see so many Christmas commercials each day, I'm just kind of burnt out on Christmas this year. I just want to spend some time with my family and exchange some gifts. I don't even really feel like doing all of these Frostfell quests and stuff.

Neriak, City of Hate

Neriak... at first I didn't like it, but it quickly grew on me. At first it seems kind of gaudy but then it becomes just awesome. ^^

This really reminds me of Lineage 2.
The Forge of Blue Flames. Really, that's what it's called.
I would love to ride one of these. ^^ But I would have to find a purple outfit to match...
I bet this was in the first EverQuest.
Mm.. just a floating scroll at the top of the library.
Yeaah that armor is cool.
The Queen!

Cownose is created!

I was messing around with character creation a few days ago and on a whim I put "Cownose" as a name. The name was accepted! See, a long time ago I definitly tried to make a character with the name "Cownose" but it was not acceptable under the naming rules. Well, SOE must have changed the rules because Cownose was made! (On that note, my character Crazy on the PvP server's name is now Crazyxxx. How does that make sense? Some GM definitly renamed him, but I don't see why adding xxx at the end makes it any different! XD)

So I made Cownose an iksar. I know, two iksars in a row. But you know, I just love the iksar so much. They are really great looking. Wouldn't it be sexy if two male iksars where kissing each other? Well... I guess they can't kiss with those jaws but it would still be hot. AHEM *looks to the left and looks to the right* Anyways...

I was going to post a mega-blog with like 20+ pictures in it, but instead I am going to split this into two parts. The first part will be The Darklight Woods (the starting area I chose instead of Freeport) and the second part will be Neriak the City of Hate.

At first I didn't like the Darklight Woods, but I soon warmed up to them. This is the first thing you see that makes you say "Woah hey look at that, cool!" This right here is called The Well of Souls.
Of course it recycles some things, but that is expected. I like how they added some green stuff to these guys. They look great.
Dark elfs are short as ever. I'm not sure if I like their armor...
Er... yeah this isn't Darklight Woods. ^^ But I went into the Commonlands and I just think this is a good picture. The Commonlands have some great lighting! Oh yeah, and take a look at my armor! This is my first "gi" I think it is called. Basically armor for monks/bruisers. I love how it looks so much I could wear this piece of armor till I am level 80!
Mmm... I forget what this is called but it is good looking. One interesting effect in the Darklight Woods is that everything has this dingy sort of haze over it. Makes the screenshots look awful but the effect in-game is nice.
The Tower of Bone. Necromancer, magic rock, the usual story.
Ah, hehe, this isn't in the Darklight this is in the Wailing Caves. Hey, I love a good painting!
This is an epic undead orc found at the bottom of the Wailing Caves (the first part). He killed us three times in a row! We never could beat him.
OK back to the Darklight hehe. This screenshot isn't the most interesting, but I love when an MMO has some unique piece of scenery or some structure. So... it is definitly worth posting.

Mmm... I know this is a horrible picture, but it comes from an awesome quest! I summoned this flame creature (I think it is embodiment of hate or something like that) who was supposed to be worshiped by the people praying here. But of course I did some nasty tricks in the summoning and well... lets just say there where lots of sacrifices. ^^
There has been more then one interesting quest in the Darklight Woods. But.... I won't spoil anything.
Vampires do love their crypts!
Drake hunting!
Back in the Commonlands I stumbled upon this... I'm not sure what it is. These guys where like level 50!

It's called EverQuest 2 and this is what it do!

I am sitting here listening to the Eurythmics on their album titled "1984 (For The Love Of Big Brother)" yes it is the soundtrack to the 1984 movie. It is actually a very rare CD! It has songs like "Sexcrime" and "Room 101".

Wow, I think that is the most real-life stuff I have talked about in a long time! Better post a screenshot fast!
The looming gates of West Freeport... uhm loom in the distance. Ooh... look, pretty wings!
I gained level 20 in Outfitting. That gave me access to the appearance tab, a feature which I really love. It lets you change what you look like to other people without changing the bonuses you get from armor. Here you see me wearing the regular (non-rare) level 10-20 armor.
I used to have some of this armor on a different character. I forgot how detailed it was... I noticed there is a subtle tree in the chest design. For low level armor it actually looks really good.
But this is an MMO! Nothing says you can't upgrade! I was going to harvest all the rares myself to craft this armor, but I got impatient and just bought the rares I needed to craft! (I figure I'll just harvest more and sell them to make my money back) This armor is Blackened Iron Vanguard. Good stuff, I love it! Behind me is the entrance to the Nektulos Forest.
The only part of my armor I don't like is this shield. I made the rare... and it looked exactly the same as the common version. What a letdown! This picture was taken inside the Nektulos Forest.Riding a griffon is fun... the first time. Ah, well I suppose it is better then walking!

Freeport, home of the Overlord

I am kind of tired... so I am just going to get right into it. Perhaps I will think of things as we explore the screenshots together!

Under the city of Freeport is an extensive sewer system. There are some really cool steam things down there.

That is one ugly... well, you know.

Eww... that is just gross!
I like the architecture in the ghettos.

These things are called rust monsters.

Nice detail on this axe.... I like it! It is called the Giantslayer's Axe

A tranquil scene in the Commonlands. In the distance you can see one of the magic spires that are scattered around Norrath.

Arcane science. Golems, zombies, chemicals, and books!

This is the church of Freeport! I think I would like to go to that church.

I know this picture seems grainy and boring, but it is a good example of what it looks like when it rains in Norrath.
This is another one of those statues in the middle of a ghetto. I forget where this one is...


Hehe, I know I normally never post pictures with any interface in them. However, I think one time doesn't hurt! This picture is an example that not only World of Warcraft is funny!

I made a wood elf in Kelathin to try out the ranger class. I didn't really like the ranger but I got a nice picture of this faerie statue.

I call this thing a "shroomonster!"

A return to EverQuest 2 (again)

Wow, no exclamation point in today's title! Oh wait, there it is again. Hehe... it does seem like I use a lot of exclamation points in my blog's titles. If you look at my history about half of them have a "!". A friend of mine even said over xfire that he didn't read the blog because it was "Too sappy and happy-go-lucky." Haha, what can I say? I am excited about the things I do in these MMOs and I love them all! I just have such a passion for these games, and this blog is a good example of how much I enjoy exploring them and seeing new things.

Well what new things have I been exploring and seeing? The world of Norrath!

I played EQ2 right when it was launched and have played it off and on since then. It's a great game with a wonderful world. It has it's flaws but also its pluses.

Well, I will be talking more about Norrath as I get deeper in. For now, lets take a look at the Isle of Refuge! This is the place where trial accounts have their fun, as well as the first place you start as a new character.

Some history on the Isle of Refuge: It used to have an instance where you are on this boat and you get attacked by a drake and the boat crashes and you end up on the Isle. Was this taken out? Perhaps I just had the tutorial disabled, as it is basically a tutorial. Also, the Island used to be for both Qeynos and Freeport and you would be able to talk to both sides and make a decision on where you wanted to go. Now you are either one or the other and the whole island is either Qeynos controlled or Freeport controlled (the monsters are a bit different depending on which side).
You can see the ship you start in in the background. In the foreground you can see my new character Cxaxukluth laying the smackdown on a crab! Well you can't see the crab but belive me he is there.
Around the corner from the docks are... The Tower of Something! OK I can't remember this towers name... but I bet it has one!

If you look up you can see the exploded moon of Lucin. When Lucin exploded much of the world of Norrath was ripped into chunks and destroyed. And that kids, is how you make an EverQuest 2!

A patrol of Freeport Guards. And a statue.

Because this is the Freeport side there is a statue of Lucin behind the Tower of Something. If this where a Qeynos character you would have a statue of Antonia Bayle. If this was that hybrid island back at launch... well I have no idea! Did there used to be both statues? A completely different statue?


There is a great painting at the top of the Tower of Something. I imagine that it is a painting of
the entrance to the Plane of Fear.

Here I am laying the smackdown like only I know how! One thing that bothers me, even with the interface turned off you can still see that big arrow. I'm going to have to figure out how to disable that.
Another great painting. I can't tell what it is though... a dungeon or city from EverQuest 1 definitly. I think the "painting" is actually an EQ1 picture. (And thinking in retrospect, perhaps that first painting is an EQ1 screen too)

Ahh yeah... love to watch that tent burn.

OK well that is all for the Isle of Refuge! I enjoyed it, did every quest there was to do, and I got some good shots in the process. Next stop.... Freeport!


In the center of every ghetto in Freeport there is some kind of special monument. In the center of the Scale Yard there is this statue. In my opinion it kind of sucks... I mean it's a great statue there is nothing wrong with it but in Freeport there are statues all over the place! What makes this one any different? Oh, and another interesting detail, in Freeport all the races are doubled up and separated into ghettos. Iksar and Barbarians, Dark Elfs and Trolls (I think) etc. etc.

I feel sorry for those Barbarians in the Iksar ghetto because Iksar are dedicated to the elimination of every other race... oh well. Perhaps the overlord thought they where the only race both smart enough to avoid the Iksar and strong enough to fight them if they did get into a tiff.

Here is what is in the center of the Dark Elf ghetto. Kind of nice don't you think? One thing to notice is the evil "dark" smoke coming out of some of the fire thingies. I wonder the lore behind this symbol... I'm positive there is background on it. There is so much lore in EverQuest 2 I could make a whole blog just talking about it.

OK well that is all for now, I can't wait to get back to it and see more! There is soooo much to show you in EverQuest 2.