26-Jun-2005 RIVALS Guild Wars and World Of Warcraft may have been steadily garnering all the MMO headlines of late, but Sony Online Entertainment has been quietly putting phase two of the grand EverQuest II master plan into action. True fans will recognise the Desert of Ro, where EQII's first expansion Desert Of Flames takes place, from the original EverQuest. In its first incarnation it was merely an open gaming space, but this time the whole area has been given a major overhaul and an Arabian Nights theme. This includes monsters such as mummies and spectres, beautiful desert scenery and also the odd magic carpet to get you from A to B. SOE has also tiered down some of the high-level content to make the game easier for solo players as well as small groups.
ARABIAN FIGHTS The expansion adds 12 new zones, in particular the new city of Maj'Dul, which lies nestled in the heart of the desert. Although you'll be able to attack the NPCs in this city, it's protected by a group of flying guards that will swoop down if you cause too much trouble. And since they become more powerful the more you kill them, it dissuades you from too much NPC killing, something that's been problematic in WOW. The city is also home to four different factions: the Court of Tears, the Court of Coins, the Court of Swords and the Court of Truth. All the Courts have their own unique missions and eventually you'll have to decide which one you want to ally with. The strength and support a Court gets from the players will ultimately have an impact on the city itself, and dictate the types of guards present, as well as the kind of relationship the Court has with its rivals.
BIT OF A BATTLE PvP has become a real love-it-or-hate-it feature in World Of Warcraft, so it will be interesting to see how it fares in Desert Of Flames. The developer is being quite cautious in its implementation, and is only including PvP in certain areas. However, SOE is bringing in a rather clever idea by allowing players to assume the form of different races and creatures when they fight in PvP. You'll have a base set of animals to start with, but you'll also be able to collect creatures throughout the game, Pokémon-style. This will enable you not only to test out how other creatures and professions fight, but also lower-level players will be able to compete with higher-level ones.
It looks as though Desert Of Flames is going to be more than just your average expansion pack. It not only adds the usual crop of spells, items and skills, but also changes the gameplay itself. The fact that SOE is addressing problems with the original game, while taking a long look at what's worked and what hasn't for its competitors, means DOF could well open up the world of EverQuest II for many new players.
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