EverQuest

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EverQuest
Studio Verant Interactive
Publisher Daybreak Game Company (USA, Europe)
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 Windows: March 16, 1999 April 28, 2000 macOS: June 24, 2003
North AmericaNorth America
EuropeEurope

North AmericaNorth America
platform Windows , macOS , PS2
genre MMORPG
Subject Fantasy
Game mode Multiplayer
control Mouse , keyboard
language English
Age rating
USK released from 12
PEGI recommended for ages 12+
information Total players: approx. 450,000 (worldwide)

EverQuest is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Verant Interactive . It was originally distributed by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), but today it is further developed and distributed by Daybreak Games .

It takes place in a fantasy world called "Norrath". Several expansions have appeared since its release, constantly expanding the world. At the beginning you choose the server you want to play on. Then you choose your favorite from different races and classes in character creation and enter the game world. Up to eight characters can be created on each server; An internet connection is required to play. A monthly fee has to be paid to the operator (SOE) for the paid full version; the basic version for Windows has been free since March 2012 and runs under macOS via Boot Camp (software) or emulator . In addition to Ultima Online is one of EverQuest to the classics of MMORPG.

In 2004 the successor EverQuest II was published, which, however, differs considerably from EverQuest in some cases and is also aimed at a different target group. A real-time strategy game called Lords of EverQuest was also released as a spin-off in 2003 .

Storyline and gameplay

EverQuest takes place on the fictional planet "Norrath", one of its moons - called "Luclin" - and the plains of Norrath's gods.

As a player, you explore the world, make alliances with other players or join guilds. The development of the character happens not only by advancing to new levels, but also by improving the equipment. The maximum level, including the seventeenth extension, is level 90. On the Macintosh server, 65 is the highest level. In order to become better, a player, together with his guild, has to work his way through the expansions that have appeared so far.

Since July 10, 2005, all races and classes have started in a start dungeon , which also replaces the old offline tutorial. After learning the basic commands, there is always the option of leaving the dungeon and entering the central travel zone (Plane of Knowledge). From this zone there are port stones to every former starting city. By reaching the eleventh level at the latest, it is no longer possible to enter this starting dungeon regularly. Many follow-up quests then lead from the various starting cities into the world of Norrath.

With the quests and the achievement of new zones the player gets closer to the history of Norrath and his gods. Many of the stories behind reaching new zones and the quests form a dense narrative background for the plot.

It is not possible with all classes to reach the maximum level alone. For this purpose, a group of up to six players must be formed. The possible class combinations may be restricted depending on the zone and equipment level.

The best equipment and the most powerful spells can only be obtained in so-called “raids” (see below). It can happen that all participants of the raid , the group, “die” when trying to defeat such an opponent . Some scripts are so complicated that it takes many tries before a guild can defeat this opponent for the first time.

If a character dies in EverQuest , the effects are not severe. The character loses experience points, abbreviated to "XP" for English experience points , and can thereby lose his current level again if he has not yet gained enough experience within the level. If a cleric is nearby, he can revive the character and thus restore part of the experience points. With the resuscitation, the unequipped character is teleported to his corpse and equipment. However, it cannot be fully used for a short time, as the resuscitation effect lowers values ​​such as strength and dexterity, but also wisdom and intelligence.
If there is no cleric in the vicinity or the cleric has also died, one has to go on the often dangerous rescue of the equipment independently; unless you have the ninth expansion and can have your corpse with the equipment in the guild lobby summoned for money.

Unlike EverQuest 2 , in EverQuest only the deceased character bears the "burden" of losing XP. This loss is immediate and, if resuscitation by a cleric is not possible, permanent. Since a loss of level is possible due to the loss of XP, you have to be sufficiently advanced in the required level before entering some special zones for which level restrictions apply. Otherwise it can happen that even the resuscitation does not return enough XP and it is then not possible to enter the zone to get to the equipment.

Races

The following races are playable in the world of Norrath:

Good breeds:

Neutral races:

  • Vah Shir (Cat People)
  • Humans
  • Gnome (English Gnome)
  • Barbarians (Engl. Barbarian)
  • Erudites (high people, English Erudites)
  • Froglok (frog-like creature)
  • Drakkin (human / dragon hybrids)

Evil Races:

  • Dark Elf
  • Trolls (Engl. Troll)
  • Ogre
  • Iksar (lizard people)

The Drakkin and Froglok are not available on the Al Kabor Macintosh server .

Classes

Not every breed can choose every class. Good races are denied access to the evil magic used by shadow knights or necromancers; conversely, an iksar cannot become a paladin. On the other hand, the spread of clerics is not tied to “good or bad”, but to the “level of development” of the respective race.

  • Bard (bard)
  • Berserk ( berserk )
  • Beastlord (Beastlord)
  • Thief (rogue)
  • Druid (druid)
  • Illusionist (enchanter)
  • Cleric (cleric)
  • Warrior
  • Magician
  • Monk (monk)
  • Necromancer
  • paladin
  • Shaman
  • Shadow Knight
  • Ranger
  • Wizard

The class of berserkers is not available on the Macintosh server "Al Kabor".

Allowed race / class combinations

  Good breeds Neutral races Evil races
Classes dwarf Half past ten Halfling High elf Wood Elf Barbarian Drakkin Erudite Froglok gnome human Vah Shir Dark elf Iksar Ogre Troll
Beastlord No No No No Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes
bard No Yes No No Yes No Yes No No No Yes Yes No No No No
Berserk Yes No No No No Yes No No No No No Yes No No Yes Yes
cleric Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No
Druid No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No No No Yes No No No No No
illusionist No No No Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No No No
magician No No No Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No No No
monk No No No No No No Yes No Yes No Yes No No Yes No No
Necromancer No No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No
paladin Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Ranger No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No No No Yes No No No No No
Thief Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No
Shadow knight No No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
shaman No No No No No Yes No No Yes No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes
warrior Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
wizard No No No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No

Craft

With 3 exceptions, every race and every class can learn every craft in EverQuest and bring it to mastery. The exceptions are the gnomes, who are the only races in EverQuest who can learn the craft of tinkering, shamans are the only ones who can learn alchemy and thieves are the only ones who can learn poison crafting. The remaining trades are free to everyone.

In EverQuest , the maximum possible level as a craftsman is linked to the level as an adventure, so that a low-level character cannot become a master in the handicrafts.

There are players who see their goal as maximizing all of their crafting skills; they are no longer dependent on the help of other players in the manufacture of special items. A cross-server community has been found around the production of objects (see web links ).

The gods

In the world of Norrath gods play a very important role, as clerics get their magic power from their deity. That is why Norrath's mythology is also strongly developed. Among other things, the gods are also divided into two different levels - the main gods and lower ones. The difference between main and lower gods is that a character as a deity can only have one main god. The lower gods serve to consolidate the history and mythology of Norrath. Almost every deity can be visited in its zone and, if you bring enough friends, you can defeat it, whereby according to EverQuest only the projection of the god in the "real" world is defeated.

Traveling

At the beginning of the game, traveling on Norrath was very arduous. Unless you were a druid or wizard who can teleport yourself and others to certain places with the help of spells, you had to get around on foot. In Norrath this is still a very tedious affair today. If you still wanted to move to another continent at the time, it could happen that you had a journey of several hours ahead of you. The boat company only owned two ships that took about two hours to cross the Ocean of Tears and return to the port of departure. Due to synchronization problems, the boats and rafts are no longer implemented in the game. In their place, NPCs were placed on the jetties, which teleport the player to the corresponding jetty on command. With the expansion "The Serpents Spine" some of the ships have been implemented again.

With Shadows of Luclin , traveling became a little more comfortable, as five so-called "Spiers" were set up on Norrath, with which you can teleport to the moon, in order to then either seek your luck there or with the counterparts of the Spiers one of the five places to return to Norrath. However, one often had long hikes to the desired zone that could only be accelerated with the help of runspeed spells, which can only be conjured up by certain classes, or with horses. These have also been included in the game with this add-on, but the really fast horses were not affordable for many players.

With the add-on Planes of Power , traveling became really comfortable, as so-called "port stones" have now been added to all hometowns and some other zones, with the help of which you can be teleported directly (with just one click) to a central city, from which you have every opportunity to get to almost every location in the game as quickly as possible.

The network of travel stations became even more dense with the expansion Lost Dungeons of Norrath (LDoN) because there is an NPC in every so-called LDoN camp who can teleport the player to almost every other LDoN camp on a trigger set. For some time now there has also been an NPC in the guild lobby, porting you to all 5 LDoN camps. A port back into the guild lobby from the 5 camps is not possible.

For players who have joined a guild there is another possibility to travel with the expansion "Dragons of Norrath". In the guild hall introduced with this expansion there is an adjustable teleporter with target locations in large areas of EverQuest.

Group / raid

A group in EverQuest consists of 2 to 6 players. Depending on the task, it is necessary to pay attention to the composition of the classes in the group. In general, a balanced distribution enables a broader spectrum of tasks and thus of fun.

A raid is the union of several groups. There are currently several options in EverQuest. Depending on the requirements, a raid can be set to 6, 9 or max. 12 groups with 6 members each. In the case of the largest raids, up to 72 players have to be coordinated. With the newer expansions, however, raids are usually limited to 54 players.

Raids, also called raid groups, are formed to defeat particularly powerful opponents. Since a raid is always about extensive actions, these must be thoroughly prepared by the raid management. In a briefing , the tasks are precisely distributed to individual groups, sometimes to individual players. The newer the expansion in which the raid takes place, the less information there is about the opponent (s), so that a strategy must first be developed in order to be able to defeat the opponent at some point. Most raids are organized within a “guild”, but there are also “open raids” in which players from different guilds, or players without a guild, team up to achieve a raid goal.

Extensions

Several extensions have appeared since EverQuest was launched. Each of these expansions have significantly increased the size of the world (the number of zones) and often added new features to the game. For example, the in-game map that was added with Legacy of Ykesha or the port stones that were introduced with Planes of Power .

With each expansion, the equipment available to players has been improved and new spells introduced. Functions, equipment and often spells that were introduced with a certain expansion are usually not available as long as you have not bought this expansion, even if you own all subsequent expansions.

The expansions now make up the majority of the explorable areas. Almost all extensions have in common that they have one or more zones that cannot be entered without preparation. The exclusion from these zones can be the insufficient player level or a missing key / character flag. EverQuest uses these exclusion options to guide players through the various expansions. For example, if the bulk of a raid only has equipment from Shadows of Luclin, the raid will likely fail a target in Gates of Discord. To make the connection a little easier, each extension in the open zones offers equipment that can fill the “gaps”. The relatively easy-to-reach equipment from "Omens of War" can surely replace the difficult-to-get equipment from the end zone of "Shadows of Luclin" and enables players who started EverQuest later to become players who have been EverQuest for a long time play, unlock.

The following extensions have appeared so far:

  1. Ruins of Kunark (April 24, 2000)
  2. Scars of Velious (December 5, 2000)
  3. Shadows of Luclin (December 4, 2001)
  4. Planes of Power (October 2, 2002) (Last extension on the Al Kabor server for Macintosh users)
  5. Legacy of Ykesha (February 23, 2003)
  6. Lost Dungeons of Norrath (September 9, 2003)
  7. Gates of Discord (February 10, 2004)
  8. Omens of War (September 14, 2004)
  9. Dragons of Norrath (February 15, 2005)
  10. Depths of Darkhollow (September 13, 2005)
  11. Prophecy of Ro (February 21, 2006)
  12. The Serpent's Spine (September 19, 2006)
  13. The Buried Sea (February 13, 2007)
  14. Secrets of Faydwer (November 13, 2007)
  15. Seeds of Destruction (October 21, 2008)
  16. Underfoot (December 15, 2009)
  17. House of Thule (October 12, 2010)
  18. Veil of Alaris (November 15, 2011)
  19. Rain of Fear (November 28, 2012)
  20. Call of the Forsaken (October 8, 2013)
  21. The Darkened Sea (October 28, 2014)
  22. The Broken Mirror (November 18, 2015)
  23. Empires of Kunark (November 16, 2016)
  24. Ring of Scale (2017)

Even outside of the extensions, the content and the presentation are regularly worked on; these changes are distributed via the patcher and are free of charge.

particularities

Ubisoft received the license to set up three localized servers. These servers were in France (Sebilis), Germany (Kael Drakkal) and England (Venril Sathir). On June 10, 2005, all localized Ubisoft servers were closed after the number of players who regularly played on these servers had decreased significantly, and the entire player base was transferred to the European SOE server "Antonius Bayle". This means that there is no longer a localized server, the NPCs only “speak” English.

This was preceded by amalgamation of US servers with low utilization and servers with high utilization because the number of players had decreased due to the new releases of EverQuest 2 and World of Warcraft .

In January 2004, a version of EverQuest called Online Adventures was released as the first MMORPG for the PlayStation 2 console . The successor is called Everquest Online Adventures: Frontiers , but was only released for NTSC consoles, i.e. Japanese or US versions of the PS2.

The only classic (classic) server was the Macintosh server Al 'Kabor (extensions only up to Planes of Power ).

Awards

Roman translations

literature

  • Nikola Poitzmann: Looking for virtual worlds? Structure and effects of the online role-playing game EverQuest , Marburg 2007
  • Robert B. Marks: EverQuest companion - the inside lore of a gameworld , McGraw-Hill / Osborne 2003

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ See EverQuest.com/FAQ : Technical 1. How can I download and play EverQuest? , sat. 2012-1120-0133.