Expansion Speculation

The only thing we really know about the future, as far as EverQuest II is concerned, is that we may see an "open" player versus player system - though I have beaten this topic to death already. I suppose you could mention more content and raids but that is self explanatory. At the same time, Sony Online Entertainment really isn't giving us any details right now as to what to expect but I'm sure we all have our ideas.

If we take a look back at the adventure and expansion pack history of EverQuest II it is certainly full of surprises. Our first adventure pack, the Blood Line Chronicles, really didn't provide anything revolutionary but was a solid source of new content that most particularly enjoyed. The Splitpaw Saga was quite different to say the least: we definitely saw revolution. The art of scaling down instanced dungeons and increased solo content was fantastic. Who else could forget the Desert of Flames: player versus player arrived, along with tons of other content. So the question is, what's next?

The answer to that question is both obvious and complex: what we will see is more quests, raids, land masses and arguably increased player versus player, but what else? Will we see another revolutionary gameplay mechanic like we saw in the Splitpaw Saga? Or something closer to the Blood Line Chronicles? This is the topic that I want to tackle today.

I know I have beaten the topic to death lately, so please forgive me, but we can't forget about the possible "open" player versus player system that the game might receive. If the developer resources are poured into it then we're going to see a rather large and deep product. Simply too much to put into an update so it would definitely go into at least an adventure pack, if not an expansion.

So what else could we see that's relatively new, or at the very least evolutionary? To put it into two words: solo content. Of course it won't be this exclusively - group content is given - but given how the design philosophy for the game seems to be going it seems, it makes sense to assume there will be a larger solo role. Though these discussions, solo and group roles, is largely small fry: it's time to look at the big time.

Ever since I began covering EverQuest II I've been hearing rumours here and there of a possible boat expansion, to be blunt. It has always made sense to me, and to all my readers it should as well, if you think about it. The Shattered Lands is well, shattered, which results in lots of water and plenty of islands. Perhaps the only thing holding it back could be the instanced zones but it is far from a major hinderance.

If boats could be player owned per se, and obviously larger ones by guilds, they could be used as "new, unique housing" -- who wouldn't love the thrill of just floating around on the open sea and being ambushed by enemies. So obviously it's not the same as housing but has a dynamic effect. In addition, no MMORPG really employs this kind of idea so it would be a great opportunity for SOE to show once again what they're made of.

Another idea which is a lot closer to an adventure pack, or even a live update more likely, is for factions across the board to mean something substantial. We've already seen how well this works in the city of Maj'Dul in the desert of Ro: being KOS to the competing factions in the city is truly exciting. Of course, when I say an enhancement to factions it cannot be the same thing: I'm talking about the factions that dwell in Qeynos and Freeport.

Realistically this is what I would like to see: if you favour one faction in either city then the others don't treat you the same way, unless of course you help them substantially. This could mean anything from reluctance to offer quests to total refusal to sell the player weapons and armor. This would create a strong meaning to factions as they are and especially forces the player to care considerably for their standing, contrary to how some of those factions work right now.

A few months before the Desert of Flames expansion launched I threw up the idea, and hope, that the city of Maj'Dul would become the hub for players to gather at to group, trade and of course participate in player versus player. Aside from the last item, it really hasn't come through. The population, by and large, remains fragmented and this needs to change. So what's next? A true neutral city that will become a hub for all of Norrath.

One of the problems that I will point out frequently is the fact that the community aspect of EverQuest II needs some help. The community is fragmented, segmented and this needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. Quite obviously as well, the best first step is to create the neutral hub that I speak of: let's bring everyone to the same place. How this would be done and where is up for debate, but don't be surprised if this one comes down the pipe.

At the end of the day the future looks bright regardless. SOE has a brilliant track record with this game when it comes not only to updates but adventure packs and expansions as well. It certainly will be an interesting time when we see the announcement of the next adventure or expansion pack, be it at Fan Faire or sooner.

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