When Daybreak dropped producer letters for EverQuest and EverQuest II earlier this month, the MMORPG fanbase immediately started buzzing about the new progression servers on deck – and this week, the studio is beginning to explain a lot more about what players can expect from them.
Let’s start with EverQuest II, since it’s actually gunning for the Origins server beta next week on May 2nd. In fact, we can stop calling it Origins because that’s not actually its name. Anashti Sul is.
“This server will start in The Shattered Lands era (no expansions unlocked), and you’ll get to experience the look and challenge of the classic world of Norrath,” Daybreak explains. “Systems will seem less complex, stats and gameplay will be reflective of the 2006 era, and there will be more focus on grouping with that old school MMO feel! If you missed out on the 2006 version of EverQuest II, you should check out the redux of it in 2024 on Anashti Sul; it’s going to be mind-blowing!”
According to the dev blog, the server rules are pretty simply: no spell research, no Krono, no weight, no holiday events, no free trade, no persistent instances, no tradeskill subcombines, and only a limited marketplace. Attributes have their old secondary functions, bosses will rollback to their original design, Freeport and Qeynos are old school, and the server is “on its own design depot” for the first time in EQII history, meaning it’s completely forked away from the live game now. The beta will run in staggered phases through June 13th.
Over in Classic EverQuest, there appears to be much less concern about testing, as the pair of time-locked servers, Teek and Tormax, are outright launching on May 22nd.
- Teek will see new expansions unlocking about every two or three months on a set schedule, with standard progression, random loot, free trade, and no multiboxing at all until Omens of War unlocks.
- Tormax, on the other hand, looks to be similar to Teek except for the random loot and free trade. Those aren’t mentioned.
And of course, you have to sub to access either server; paid name reservations are already live.
