Welcome to the EQ Live Chat. We would like to thank you all for joining us here tonight. Tonight's topic of discussion will be Gates of Discord, we will be covering Gates features and answering Gates questions. If you would like your question to be responded to, please stay on topic.
Private message me with questions you would like to suggest.
Joining us for this chat are, Paul Carrico, Brain surgery victim and Assistant Lead Designer, Jason Mash Assistant Lead Designer (and monkey boy) Ryan Barker the Spell Guy (just for you Magicians), John Troy, Designer, Oliver J. Smith Lead Designer and holder of the Nerf Bat, Jamey Ryan Lead Programmer and Bard breaker, Todd Schmidt Assistant Lead Programmer along with special guest, John Smedley.
Thanks for coming everyone. I am Paul Carrico, an assistant lead designer on EverQuest Live.
Hey everyone thanks for coming! I'm Ryan Barker, systems designer.
Hi everyone, thanks for coming! I am Jason Mash, an Assistant Lead Designer on the EverQuest Live team.
Glad to see you all here. I'm John Troy, designer on EverQuest Live.
Hi everyone. I'm Oliver J. Smith, the Lead Designer of EverQuest. Welcome to our chat.
<----- Todd Schmidt, Ass. Lead Programmer. Test Server Guy!
Is buying the expansion in the stores going to give you anything like LDoN did?
Hey all, I'm the Lead Programmer on EverQuest and the controller of the fun factor(haha)
Yes. If you purchase the boxed copy of Gates of Discord you'll be getting an in-game item on launch day. This item will have a completely unique look.
<----- John Smedley, President of SOE and giver-outer of Fiery Avengers
Welcome Smed!
*Lisa_Veeshan* What is the concept behind the progression in GoD? Will it be like SoV where we work with 3 different factions? Or like PoP where we follow a storyline?
Please excuse the amount of time it takes to answer these questions. We're answering them as quickly as we can.
The storyline continues the saga of the wayfaring brotherhood which was introduced in Legacy of Ykesha. You will be helping them explore the newly found continent of Taelosia. There will be a small amount of flags earned through the storyline but nothing as in depth as Planes of Power. The flags are directly related to the storyline but are a lot more forgiving than they were in the Planes of Power.
*depen_hoss* Will the 2nd installment of the melee revamp go live with GoD?
Another segment of the melee system is going to be going live with the next patch. It's not specific to Gates though. There's further additions to the melee system planned for the near future.
*LokshaldBrel* there are going to be 10 instanced zones, will there be points like LDoN, and will those points work in conjuction with LDoN points?
No, the items in GoD will all be dropped and quested. The instanced zones will just allow multiple groups to experience some of the same content without blocking each other out.
*Rilraak-Xev* Will GoD be the last expansion in EQ1?
No way. Big, big stuff planned and being worked on.
we've done a major engine revamp and plan on making that the basis for a lot of cool new stuff
*Raxinie* What is the targetted level range for GoD?
Everyone will gain access to some of the new features, like Leadership Abilities and the Tribute system. The content is geared for 55+ characters, with quite a bit of it aimed at level 65.
*Destructive* The battle cry line of effects looks very interesting and there is alot of speculation about how it actually works. The most common rumor is that it provides a type of over haste for the entire group that stacks with all other hastes. Can you please give us some insight on how the battle cry actually works?
The battle cry abilities do indeed provide a form of "overhaste" as well as an increased attack rating that will benefit the melee abilities of the entire group for a short time. It's just one of the advantages to have a berserker as part of your group.
*Dyster* Will we be able to use our old no-drop items that are sitting in the bank as tributes for the new tribute system?
The tribute system does not allow no drop items to be turned into Tribute Masters for favor points.
Smed, where do you see EQ going in the future?
With EQ II coming out a lot of people have the idea we aren't going to continue to support EQ
the truth is it's going to continue to be a major part of SOE's future
and we plan on leaving the Dev team to make expansions for a long, long time
but we're not going to rest on our laurels.. we're going to push things from the design and technological perspective
and our nerfing days are behind us
all the people in this room swear
*Jerle_Minara* Do the Berserkers currently have an Epic/have a planned Epic?
I tested the Berserker Epic quest yesterday and it is a great piece of lore. Everything is ready for it to go, including a new awesome looking weapon. Additionally the Berserkers have all content added for them which is ready for release; Planar drops, Ornate Armor, Newbie quest armor, etc..
*Gorthag-ED* Is there any chance that the percentage of exp going towards leadership points will be adjustable, so that once a player fills out all their AA exp, they can put all earned exp into Leadership? (Or sooner, if they'd rather gain Leadership points than AAs)
The leadership experience does not work the same way that AA experience works.
Leadership experience is earned based on a variety of factors including the diffculty of the mob and how many players are in your group or raid.
There is slider for leadership experience like there is for AAs.
There is no slider for leadership experience like there is for AAs
*shaman* My question is Will the new tradeskill quests be anything as complex as the Prayer Shawl or Solstice Earring quests for us tradeskill junkies.?
There are quests for almost every tradeskill in Gates, though they aren't as intensive as the shawl quests, they should prove to be beneficial and fun.
*tearabite* what is leadership experience? is it like AA?
Leadership Experience gives the leader abilities that can be used in group or raid settings. There are several different abilities that the leaders can choose from. The system itself is similar to AAs, but the experience that is gained can only be gained by leading a group or raid.
*kizh* will GoD take a while for a guild to progress through like PoP, and for guilds that are about ready to leave Time can you see them living in GoD entirely?
Yes, Gates has multiple zones designed for progression for guilds that are now in the Elemental planes or the Plane of Time.
*Zanthus* When will the new trade interface we introduced?
The tradeskill interface will be released as a live feature with the update on February 10th.
*buck* can you give us the final races that will be able to be berserkers?
The races that can become Berserkers are Troll, Ogre, Vah Shir, Barbarian, and Dwarf.
Feel free to continue sending your questions to Brenlo.
Smed, what is your position on the Yantis/IGE issue?
We have made our position on this issue very clear
we don't endorse the idea of selling items or characters
it's a violation of our EULA and more importantly it's not in keeping with the sprit of EverQuest
We are looking into this further and but don't expect us to go this way with EverQuest
and no, we do NOT condone it
*Ceryk* What can you tell us about the Berserker's summoned throwing weapons as far as abilities and such go? And how much money can Berserkers expect to spend on maintaining a constant supply of components?
The berserker axes are meant to give berserkers a bit more depth to their abilities. The basic axes are set up to provide a decent amount of ranged damage, although less then ranger archery. They also have a few special techniques that allow them to throw their axes at specific parts of their enemy to debilitate them. Examples include a short duration stun, and a snare, with the possibility of others in the future.
*PoekenInny* Will the graveyard zone go live with GoD?
The planned graveyard zone will not be going live with Gates of Discord. It'll be released in an upcoming live update.
*Kretol* About how fast can we expect our leadership experience to rise? Is it sort of like AA *in that regard*, or will it be faster/slower?
The leadership progress will be unique. We have made an extra effort to make sure players feel they are progressing.
Please continue to send your questions to Brenlo. However, make sure to stay on topic -- Gates of Discord.
Folks please stay on topic. Questions about Class balance will not be addressed.
*Rylena* Will new spells be quested, dropped, vendor solds, or will they be via a PoP-like system (runes/parchments)?
A few of the spells will be drops directly off of mobs, while there's also a few that will be available via a pop style turn in quest. Although there's one spell per class, per quest, so you won't have the repeats like you did in PoP.
*Mordant-Dro* The benefical rewards from tradeskill quests- do you see these as being similar to marr cherries for the kejans, or quest that will have broad apeal and be worthwile to a large portion of the playerbase?
Without going into too much detail on exactly how the quests work... The tradeskill quest rewards will offer benefits with a more broad appeal for both the tradeskiller and the consumer of tradeskilled items alike.
*Dubyah* what kind of transportation (old world boats? planar books? wizzy ports? druid rings) allows players to travel to the new continent?
There will be a new shuttle that will take players from Nedaria's Landing to the ship city located in Abysmal Sea. Farstone magic is also available in the Wayfarer camps that will let you teleport from any Wayfarer camp to Nedaria and also to the beach area of Taelosia, Natimbi beach.
What was that? A question about raising level limits after G.O.D?
no comment
Action: PCarrico cries.
*Firriann* will the new GoD zones will be like the LDoN zones? or will we be able to change groups on the fly, more like the old dungeon crawls of the old worlds?
Someone is impersonating Smed. Call the authorities
We have provided functionality to add and remove group or raid members after the instance zone has started up to a point. Once you get passed a certain point, you will no longer be able to.
stay tuned
*nurok2* What levels is the tribute system supposed to be usefull for
The Tribute benefits will be available to all players, beginning at level 10.
*JohnGaltSS* for that matter, will new disciplines need to be quested after like spells, or readily available on vendors?
There aren't any new disciplines going in that are specific to Gates. If you mean the new combat abilities then yes they'll be available in a similar manor as spells are. So quests and drops.
*tearabite* Are berzerkers a pure melee class or will they be a hybrid such as Paladins or Shadow Knights? Also, will Gates of Discord contrain newer spells for existing classes?
*Lorindar* will there be any changes to current trivial levels or skill progression with the new UI?
There are no plans to make any large scale changes to current trivial levels or skill progression to any recipes due to the introduction of the new Tradeskill Interface.
*Jaeden* What is the motivating factor for the increased price for AAs in GoD?
You can gain xp at a much faster rate nowadays than you could when PoP was released. The increased group bonus, higher zone mods and availability of high level NPCs all mean you can gain AA's much faster now. The higher costs reflect that.
*Rhubeus* Gates of Discord being a new expansion, any new servers to launch with this release. New Rulesets seem to be the buzz lately with Discord taunting folks with a new twist in EQ gameplay
Berserkers are considered a pure melee class. They don't get spells similar to hybrids. They also have the option of using throwing as a primary form of damage along with 2 handed weapons.
There are no plans at this time to launch a new server with the release of Gates of Discord.
*waldina* are you Brenlo the Moderator today?
Yes I am!
There will definately be a continuation of the lore that started as far back as Planes of Power. You will have to play through Gates of Discord to see what Morden has in store
*VaylinIs1337* Will we see any advancement in EQ lore? Will that ugly barbarian Morden Rasp return the stolen stone? Will the valiant trolls reclaim their homeland?
Reverse that order please.
Me response was for Vaylin
*jhazard* will there be new spells for existing classes?
Yes there's several spells available in Gates for each of the existing classes.
Gates is actually signaling the return of Ancient type spells if you haven't heard it around on the messages boards already >
*Aelenadrinal* Are zerkers going to be limited specifically to 2Hslash weapons with Axe graphics only?? Or will a selection of 2Hslash weapons be useable?
Berserkers will be able to use any two handed weapons, this includes two handed blunt weapons and two handed piercing.
Jason Mash can you tell us some of the effects you can gain from the Tribute System?
The benefits that you can expect to see from the Tribute system include effects that can be used to increase health and mana regeneration, vision enhancing effects, among other beneficial effects.
Smed any word on community message boards for EverQuest?
Absolutely. We are going to be reopening the EverQuest community boards on a MUCH broader basis in the near future
and the Devs will be around daily to answer questions on these boards
and they will be free
*Corae* will leadership experience have a separate bar, as AA experience does?
Yes, leadership experience will be a unique way to advance your character independent of AAs and you regular experience.
*halindrome* Is there a new druid ring?
Yes there's new portal locations on the new continent for both druids and wizards. There's also a magus that will teleport you to the new lands if you happen to be on good terms with the Wayfarer's Brotherhood.
*Govaleo* Will the Taelosians be hostile to evil races or good and will they be added as a new race in future expansions?
Taelosians will be dubious to players when they arrive on the continent. They have been seperated from the races on the known continents for so long that they do not have any past history to base their preconceived notions on.
There are no plans to add them as a playable race at this time.
*doddil* will the tribute system be limited to people with deities only, because having just clicked through at the beggining, im already screwed for my armor and not being able to get the cheap good stuff like fierce heraldic, and i am forced to save up for ornate
No, the tribute system is available to everyone.
um
*HellChild* is SoE and EQ staff scared of what Blizzard is bringing to the table ?
well.. let's dodge that question for now
the designers all want to
*curtree* What type of zones are we in treat for? Outside? dungeon? If outside, what type of scenery?
Gates of Discord will have a variety of zone types available. At the start of the expansion players will find themselves on a large ship city. From there they'll be able to move through an underground sewer system that'll target small group settings. Further in the expansion players will find themselves in a temple area that'll specifically target raids.
Everyone will be able to see indoor zones, outdoor zones, and underground areas as they adventure through the Gates of Discord.
*azezel* What kind of abilities can we expect to see with the Leadership expirience system?
There are abilities such as visually marking multiple NPCs, gaining health or mana enhancements for your group or raid, and regen enhancements.
*Garlin* will adventure points from gate of discord differ from those of Ldon? or will they all tabulate togther
There are no points for the instance zones in Gates of Discord. They do not carry the same restrictions that LDoN zones did.
*Vermourn* is the berserkers "berserk" power going to be structured as a combat ability like lay on hands, or as a personal spell buff?
The new berserker skill is called Frenzy. It is an actual skill attack and is not a buff.
*Rathelon* Will GoD instanced zones be timed?
For all intense and purposes, no.
Okay folks, we are only taking 2 more questions.
*Rynthemage* What difficulty level are GoD raid zones tailored towards? (VT, Elemental, Time or beyond)?
There are some encounters tailored for the Vex Thal level and several zoned tailored to be difficult for Elemental and Time equipped characters, with correspondingly better loot.
*Tounces76* How long will "Tribute" buffs last, and do they auto-recharge themselves?(Aka deduct more pts to refresh)
Every ten minutes favor points will be deducted from your favor pool. Different tribute buffs require different favor costs. Your buffs will last as long as you have favor points to pay for them.
*XaX* is GoD equipment a big upgrade from time level equipment?
There is definately equipment on Taelosia that is an upgrade to gear that can be found in time.
By the way we do have some exciting news. EverQuest is about to get even better as we make changes to the EverQuest engine which will allow us to provide you with the great game you have enjoyed but on a much more stable platform. All you have to do is install DX9 and we will do the rest.
Now a note for those of you that have not yet joined us in the 21st century, you may find that your older video card will not be compliant with DX 9.
If you find or suspect that your video card is not DX 9 compliant, you can go to your manufacturers website or visit the EQ Tech page (On Eqlive.station.sony.com) and check for any issues and the latest known drivers. Also stay tuned as we are putting together a deal with Nvidia and eVGA.com to give current EQ Subscribers access to discounts on several different Nvidia powered 3d accelerators.
Remember every one of you will want to have your latest video card drivers ( No Drivers from 6 months ago are most likely not the latest drivers).
Thanks for coming everyone. We hope your questions were answered. If you would like to know more about Gates of Discord, you can go to www.gatesofdiscord.com.
Thanks all and have a good night.
Thanks for coming!
Thanks for coming everyone, I hope our answers were informative!
Thanks for coming all.
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