On a journey through countless expansions and a hundred in-game years, EverQuest II, sequel to the well-loved EverQuest, brings multiplayer gaming to new heights. With a metric ton of quests, players will indeed find themselves ever questing through a huge and detailed world. While content and exploration opportunities begin to thin out at the higher levels, EverQuest II will assuredly have numerous expansions – as if 10 CDs (or two DVDs) weren’t enough!

When starting EverQuest II for the first time you are presented with the opportunity to create your character’s identity via race and some individual character toggles. Though most of the choices center on your character’s facial features and only a few of the choices effect anything that can be seen from far away (skin color, hair cut/color, size), be assured that it is unlikely that you will find an exact twin on your journeys through Norrath.

Once your character has been created you are taken to the tutorial, and the beginning of your character’s storyline. Oddly enough, it seems that every adventurer in Norrath was once the victim of a shipwreck. Your first in game experience is a quick chat with Captain Varlos, captain of the Far Journey, the boat that saved you from the deep waters of the Norrathian oceans. Varlos and his crew will send you through a series of quests that teach you how to search containers, equip items, buy and sell to merchants, and how to fight.

Once you are let off the boat, a few copper richer and a wealth of wisdom wiser, you will get to make the second big decision in your character’s lifespan: their initial class. There are four choices for eager young adventurers to choose among: fighter, scout, mage and priest. Fighters are what the gamer community usually refers to as “tanks,” a class that is meant to take damage rather then deal it. Scouts are sneaky and their roles include reconnaissance, damage dealing, and of course, scouting. Mages do the most damage in combat, though they also take the most punishment – hey, we never said robes made good armor. And lastly, priests are healer types who keep their group on their feet and out of the grave.

There is another side to Ever Quest II, one of the biggest highlights of the game for many people: the crafting system. Beside your normal fighting class of mage, scout, fighter or priest, every player gets to choose an Artisan class. As an Artisan you have the ability to craft varied materials at the forge or chemistry table and as you level up and refine your expertise, you will be able to create valuable and rare items that your fellow adventurers will pay large amounts of gold for. Be aware, though, that crafting is no more a solo sport then fighting in EverQuest II; as you progress through the ranks you will begin to need components that only other artisans who specialized in other areas can provide. For instance, a Scribe or Scholar might have need of a component that only a Chemist can make, while an Outfitter might need something from a Scribe or a Scholar. In essence, it’s just as much of a team sport as fighting is!

Gameplay

As stated earlier, EverQuest II isn’t just a word salad plucked out of thin air. You will constantly find yourself buried in quests; at the lower levels, the amount of available quests is almost too much. Before heading out into the wilderness for the first time, wise players will cycle around all the neighborhoods of their city and pick up as many quests as possible; you will often have three or more NPCs asking you to kill the same monster!

Questing is split up into many different categories including kill quests, deliveries, collections and more. This splits up the monotony somewhat, yet still you will find yourself looking for variation or fun. This is where class change quests come in! Often your class change quest will involve something a little more challenging and entertaining; for example, Bards in Freeport will find themselves pretending to be monsters and singing to Orcs to become a Troubadour or a Dirge, while priests in Qeynos will be sent around town to heal NPCs.

Because of the large volume of quests in EverQuest II and the huge amount of time you spend doing them, sometimes just plain hunting can be enjoyable. While quests give good money and experience (EXP) rewards, at certain levels it is certainly more profitable to put your nose to the grindstone (a bit of a MMO pun!). This adds another element to the game: instead of just hunting or just questing all of the time, players must find the perfect balance between the two. Do you get better EXP from killing greys (low level monsters that give little EXP) for a half hour then getting quest EXP or do you do better just going after monsters your level?

Character Development

As you progress through the classes your character is given new skills and abilities upon leveling up. While every level 17 Druid will have the same skills, they will all have different levels of spells (Apprentice, Adept, etc.) and will likely use different skills more often then their peers. As classes become more defined and specialized they begin to play more specialized roles in parties; while both Enchanters and Summoners start off as mages, Enchanters specialize in mesmerizing skills while Summoners and their pets act as a two-for-one package team. There is even a difference in their third tier class that come from the same exact line! Troubadours and Dirges both come from the Scout/Bard line, but Troubadours specialize in defensive skills while Dirges take the more offensive side of singing.

EverQuest II is largely based around having a guild. Being in a guild not only provides good connections for hunting or crafting but it allows you access to some guild-only rewards such as guild housing, certain mounts, and more. This is not to say that every player must be in a guild – just that many find it easier.

Unlike guilds, groups are pretty much a must-have in EverQuest II. While you can find solo monsters all over the land of Norrath, it is the group monsters that show up most often in your quest journal and it is the group monsters that give the best EXP per hour rate. But, just as one must balance between questing and plain old hunting, sometimes soloing can be more profitable.

Let’s face it – not every person you find and group with in a MMO is going to be the perfect hunter. Maybe they aren’t paying attention, maybe they are new to the game…whatever the circumstances, you are usually not effected by how many times your party or group goes and gets itself killed. EverQuest II, on the other hand, makes the whole party responsible for each other. When a party member dies, you all share their debt. This can lead to a kamikaze form of griefing (causing grief to other players for fun) or a huge EXP debt when you haven’t died a single time! When finding a group, make sure not to be careless or choose unwisely. Try to group with people you know are reliable; even without the EXP debt involved, when a party member dies, that’s one less person hitting the target!

Put quite simply, EverQuest II’s graphics are amazingly detailed and very pleasing to the eye. Motion is fluid and realistic, down to tiny and minute details. The huge range of emotes available to players makes it easy to express yourself without words – an emote ‘conversation’ can last a pretty long time without running out of options! Moods also create another dimension to EverQuest II. Typing /mood happy or /mood sad will change your character’s facial features (lips, eyes, etc) to show the emotion of your choice.

The graphics also create a very palpable and effective backdrop. Players who start in Freeport will be treated to slumping buildings, grimy hallways, and many dark allies. Qeynos citizens, on the other hand, will spend their days in bright, clean neighborhoods with luscious foliage and a happy feel.

The large areas, such as the Commonlands near Freeport or Antonica near Qeynos, can cause quite a bit of lag due to the huge amount of land, foliage, and people in the area. Even high-end computers can have problems with some of these areas, and people on lower end systems are often frustrated by continuous lag and describe the necessary graphics settings as “choppy” and “ugly.” In my experience, laptop users will also have some extra problems with the graphics; my brand new Dell XPS with an ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 was constantly getting errors and forcing me to restart.

EverQuest II provides many opportunities to grow and have fun, be it in a group or on your own. One of the large problems with many MMOs today is that, after months and months of play, you suddenly discover that you haven’t been having fun all along. The nice thing about EverQuest II is it allows you many chances to change your pace. Tired of questing? Go grab a party in a high EXP dungeon. Think your group’s out to get you as many levels of debt as possible? Head to a quiet area and solo for a bit. Tired of hitting things in general? Grab some materials and start crafting. And never forget to have fun!