Out with the old, in with the new!

As the remaining days of 2023 begin to fade, we would like to take a stroll through memory lane and recap the year. But first, a little about what’s coming up! 2024 is going to be a huge year for the EverQuest Franchise, EverQuest II turns 20 years old, and EverQuest is going to be 25! We will not let either celebration go gently into that good night either! We have so many plans, events and more for the Year of Darkpaw: An EverQuest Celebration! 

This year, EverQuest II turned 19 years old, and I hope everyone is enjoying their mount and new items from the Heroes’ Festival. The 20th expansion, Ballads of Zimara, was released a few weeks ago with Chrono Dungeons, Advanced Researcher and a host of quests, achievements, and collections. Also, 2023 saw the release of Empire of Antiquities, Shattered Overture, and Fractured Skies.

Zarrakon, the PvP server, was released this year and so was the Swag Store. The Swag Store contains so much great EQII merch including mousepads, t-shirts and coffee mugs with some of your favorite art!

There was content added to many of the in-game events, such as Erollisi Day, Chronoportal Phenomenon, Brewday Festival, Bristlebane Day, Beast’r Eggstravaganza, Summer Jubilee with the new Plume equipment slot, Tinkerfest, Oceansfull, Nights of the Dead, and Panda, Panda, Panda! Phew!

New Pride Month familiars, The Great Cloak Caper, reworking of Gear Up, Level Up into Swag It Up, and Terrors of Thalumbra, Kunark Ascending, and Planes of Prophecy becoming free to all round out the bigger beats of 2023.  

Here is 2023 in a nutshell:  

January 

• Renewal of Ro Raid Zones Unlock
  • Raj'Dur Plateaus: The Hunt
  • Sandstone Delta: The Standing Storm 

February 

• Varsoon unlocked Fallen Dynasty - Explore the Island of Mara and its environs. 
• New updates to Erollisi Day 
• Renewal of Ro Raid Unlock
  • Takish Badlands: The Boundless Gulf 

March 

• New updates to Chronoportal Phenomenon
• New updates to Brewday Festival
• New updates to Bristlebane Day
• Game Update 122: Empire of Antiquity Beta Opened
• Server Merge: Tarinax to Antonia Bayle
• Server Merge: Kaladim to Antonia Bayle 

April 

• Launch of the EverQuest® II Swag Store 
• New changes to Kael Drakkel 
• New updates to Beast'r Eggstravaganza 
• Game Update 122: Empire of Antiquity launched 
• Varsoon unlocked Echoes of Faydwer 
• New PvP TLE server, Zarrakon, launched 

May 

• Season 2 of the Swag Store Released 
• Mercenary AI Update 

June 

• New updates to Summer Jubilee and a new equipment slot for a Plume 
• New content for Tinkerfest 
• New Pride Month Familiars 
• Varsoon unlocked The Estate of Unrest, Shard of Fear, and three instanced Avatars
• New The Great Cloak Caper community event 

July 

• Terrors of Thalumbra, Kunark Ascending, and Planes of Prophecy Expansions were added as free-to-play 
• Zarrakon unlocked Echoes of Faywer 
• The Great Cloak Caper continued 

August 

• Varsoon unlocked Rise of Kunark 
• Swag Store updated 
• Large updates to Summer Jubilee's Oceansfull Festival 
• Game Update 123 (Shattered Overture) and Expansion Prelude (Fractured Skies) Open Beta 
• Extra Life Incentives announced 

September 

• Game Update 123: Shattered Overture and Fractured Skies launched 
• Updates and a small revamp to Panda, Panda, Panda! - Those fluffy rapscallions will no longer require you to complete all their previous adventures to embark on their latest escapade. 

October 

• 2023's Expansion Beta + Pre-order 
• New updates to Nights of the Dead 
• Varsoon unlocks Runnyeye: The Gathering, Veksar: The Invasion, and Shard of Hate 

November 

• Extra Life Game Day
• Extra Life server bonus week
• New updates to Heroes' Festival - Celebrate our 19th Anniversary! 
• 2023's Expansion Launch - EverQuest II's 20th Expansion! 

December 

• New updates to Frostfell 
• Varsoon unlocks The Shadow Odyssey 

Now back to the Year of Darkpaw: An EverQuest Celebration! We have been thinking up and making ready all sorts of fun things for the entire year. To start things off, on January 1st until January 31st we're giving away this adorable pet: Maxembert the Feisty. Aren't they just the cutest? Once you get them in game, maybe you can stay for a while and hunt down all of the items in the new fabled collections, of which there are 5 new ones in January. Perhaps you'll want to browse the new wares from Darkpaw Celebrator Katrynn. Also kicking off are new missions, achievements, and a new event called Masquerades of Divinity. More on that to come, but for now, be on the lookout in January for the Herald of the Fathom Lord to guide you to your journey.

Maxembert the Feisty

Stay tuned for more information about the Year of Darkpaw: An EverQuest Celebration and all the other surprises we have in store for 2024! This is going to be good! 

The heat is on for 2024, 

Jenn Chan 
Head of Studio 

Join us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Discord.