After my last post, not having a proper leaderboard to show niggled away at me, so I’ve cobbled this together. Seeing as EQ2 Players no longer has the functionality to let you set your own level ranges for the leaderboards, and all:
A combination of the top questers from the 30-39, 40-49, and 50-59 ranges leaves Maltheas in a respectable 8th place. The 50-59 range puts in a surprisingly poor show, but perhaps folks who get to that level are more likely to power on to the higher tiers.
Brew some Maj’dul coffee, Mal. We’ve got a lot of work to do.
When last we checked in on Maltheas, extremiest of all extreme Everquest 2 questers, the leaderboard looked something like this:
He was doing pretty well, the highest placed 30-something in the world, with only 3 people of 50 or less ahead of him.
Sadly, the new and “improved” EQ2 Players website will now only allow me to create leaderboards within my own level tier, instead of choosing the level range for myself. This makes it almost entirely useless for my purposes. I truly hope that it eventually regains the functionality of the old system, because I am hugely unimpressed by the changes to the EQ2 Players website.
You *can* also make a leaderboard with no level restrictions, but level 36 Maltheas, while doing great for his level, does not appear on a board which allows level 80s onto it.
Anyhows, here is the current leaderboard for the 30-39 range:
What sorcery is this??? In spite of Maltheas completing a couple of hundred quests since last time, Annyya and Kirskax have come from nowhere, toppling Maltheas from his rightful place at the top! Admittedly, they’re both three levels higher, but nevertheless it seems Mal has some serious competition again. A little research shows them both to be part of the same guild, so they’re either a questing team, or a multi-boxer, either of which would have a bit of an advantage over a soloing rat. The Legion of Apathy show themselves to be anything but apathetic, and Maltheas will have to quest hard to catch up with them.
But he will. The Gods of Norrath have shown him a sign this very evening.
 Maltheas finally completes the Everquest 2 quest, Lion Mane Helm. Lion Mane Helm, finally completed. After years of smashing the Tortured Maid every time he rode past Zarvonn’s Tower, she finally dropped the quest starter “an unfinished helm”.
Mal has had quite a lot of luck clearing up low level item-dropped quests recently. Maybe the stars were aligned correctly, or maybe the drop-rate got upped, but either way every time one of those starters dropped it felt like finding a dragonhoard.
I *might* even celebrate by letting him level tonight!
Update: I knocked together a more useful and informative leaderboard.
Doing the Freeport side of the “Attack on the Crowns” World Event was proving to be a bit much for Maltheas. While he could, with an acceptable risk of dying, manage to get to Sir Tallen Yevix in West Freeport, he had no chance of getting into the heavily guarded Academy of Arcane Science to see Researcher Kendril. Not without some Frostfell Magic!
And amazingly, even though yesterday he had ten days to wait until he was eligible for the year 6 veteran pack, today it mysteriously became available. Having acquired the extraordinarily useful ability to teleport to a group member let our fearless ratonga bypass the guardian gargoyles and undead, and appear right next to the Researcher, who was eager for assistance. Though sadly not so grateful that he would tell the guards not to beat him up on the way out…
Malth made short work of finding the parts to Tinmizer’s Magnificent Messenger (slowed only by the one hour cooldown on Call of the Veteran), and being a master tinker, was even able to impress Sir Yevix by assembling the gadget for her. Whereupon we used it to contact Lucan, and find out where the heck he’s gotten to.
Turns out he’s gotten himself kidnapped by person or persons unknown. The smart money is on the Void. Sir Tallen managed to locate Soulfire’s hiding place and undertook to find it, to ensure its safety. Rather rudely, she refused to let Maltheas come with her. This would not do, as Maltheas had business of his own in the Overlord’s office. Fortunately, Researcher Kendril owed him a favour, and it was not long before, for the second time in his life, he stood within Lucan’s chambers. The last time he had been there, to assassinate the Overlord (that didn’t go so well), he had noticed something that bore further ….. investigation.
 It was the deliciouses!!! After having a quick nibble, he set to work stuffing several hundredweight of finely aged cheese into his bag of holding. The bulk of this was to be distributed to Ratonga families who had been driven into exile by Lucan for refusing to serve him. Revenge would be delicious, served hot or cold! Also, Maltheas’ annual Frostfell fondue party was assuredly going to be a big hit this year!
The important job dealt with, Sir Tallen arrived, and while she was a little annoyed Maltheas had managed to get there before her, she instantly forgave him, and set to work finding Soulfire. She seemed to have given the whole business quite a lot of thought! Even the room suddenly filling with Soulfires did not slow her down terribly much.
 So confusings!! Once she found the genuine Soulfire she declared herself the true ruler of Freeport, meaning that Lucan had been betrayed at least twice in one day. That’s Freeport for you, and entirely to be expected. Maybe she’s being possessed by a minion of the Void, but she didn’t seem anywhere near unpleasant enough. Actually she seems a lot nicer than Lucan, and unlike Lucan, actually likes Maltheas. We’ll have to see if we can persuade Queen Antonia to rethink trying to find the Overlord, though I suspect the Royals are going to stick together.
Seeing as the real Soulfire had already been stolen, Maltheas yoinked one of the fake ones to put on his wall, next to his replica Qeynos Claymore. It’ll make a great novelty cheese-knife for the party.
Hellos Diary! Big whiskery hugs!!!
This week me’s have mostlys been defendings the shinies Qeynos city from mean Void nasties. Apparently everybody elses was unavailables.
This was the ending-results. Her Royal Highness (who should not leaves the house dressed like thats. She’ll catch a colds!), saved from a perilous fate by a mere Ratonga (yay!), after her Kerran (tee hee!) Captain of the Guard (*mirthful squeak!*) got possesseds by a spooky royal ancestrous rude ghost and tried to do her the mischiefs. We were too lates to prevent him stealing the Qeynos Claymore, a powerful magicy artifact that is the very very importants. Me’s not sure whys this sword, and hateds Overlord Lucan’s blade, Soulfire, are wanteds by the voids like they made of cheeses.
The writings on the swords is in Void Glyphs, which sniffs a lot like a clue to mes. Anyhowses, it looks like they’ve gots it, and whiles I’s the go-to rat for the existential threats these days, I doubts they going to sends mes into the void to go gets it.
 Don't worries, Murrar Shar fans! He still breathings! So I decideds to go save Frostfell. But then I be doings that every year. This year thoughs, while teachings McScroogle not to be sendings junkmails and not be sos McScroogley, I noticed somethings:
 What is McScroogle doing with the Qeynos Claymore? I’s been findings you’s sword, your Majestys!
Though knowings that McScroogle, it’ll be turnings out to be the cheaps unlicensed knock-offs made by underpaids gigglegibber goblin.
All this, and Frostfell starts tomorrow too. Wheeeee. I’ve already dug out my bag of Frostfell hats and cloaks.
Maltheas is looking forward to popping over to Freeport to point and laugh at the Overlord’s ex-flying fortress. He only ever visited it once, in an ill-fated attempt to assassinate The Overlord (the original Freeport to Qeynos betrayal quest). It is a fine thing that such a symbol of Lucan’s oppressive dominion over Freeport has been laid low.
The most relevant fix in this mighty bugsquashing patch for our Extreeeme Questing Ratonga is:
* Many collections from Sinking Sands that were originally on the Kunark Burynai and then later removed have been added back to the tables in this zone.
That’ll help me catch up with folks who’d gotten them done via Burynai. I never had a Burynai :( there’s obviously a lot of fixes for quests I’ve not gotten to yet, as well.
I’m hoping that the drop rates for some quest starters might have been sneaked up. I was also sure I saw a fix for Et’sipe Ymeresh’s failure to spawn somewhere, but it doesn’t seem to be in the notes. I’ll check in on him anyway, as I’ve had the quest “Where will this lead me?” for far too long.
It’s also great to see “The Path of the Sun Wolf” making a return to the Peat Bog. Maltheas did it years ago before it vanished, but it’s an interesting little quest that I’m sure a lot of newer players will enjoy.
Everquest 2 : Will of a Tyrant patch notes follow, after the leap.
Continue reading Everquest 2 GU54 goes live today.
Loyalty has its rewards!
The 6 year pack will include a rather natty matching cloak and hat set. Not too keen on the colour scheme (Green is my colour), but it’s still a quite nice appearance only set. If we could choose a colour for it, that would make me even happier. Red + chains makes it look kind of evil.
 EQ2 Veteran Reward: The Shroud of Fate There is a gadget called “Call of the Veteran” which lets you teleport to a group member from anywhere in the world once per day. Handy indeed.
The pick of the pack, for me, is the Hammer of Adept Hands, a wondrous gadget that will refill your tradeskill vitality once per week. Somehow crafting feels wrong when you don’t have any vitality, so this will mean a whole lot more crafting from Maltheas’ fine support staff team.
It might seem a little weird that 6 year veteran rewards are becoming available when we only had EQ2’s 5 year anniversary celebration last week. The solution to this mystery is the bonus veteran time that has been gained through purchase of expansions over the years, meaning that some people have already hit 6 years worth. I hit year six in a couple of weeks.
Update: Turns out the Call of the Veteran is slightly cooler than we thought. Rothgar spilled the beans on the forum earlier:
The teleporter actually has two functions. First it summons a portal that only you can see. Right-clicking the portal gives you two options. One option is to port to a group member anywhere in the world. The second option is to summon a group member from anywhere in the world to your location. Once you use an option the portal goes away. I think the recast time on it is 60 minutes.
Yes, this works across zones and yes it works in dungeons. A player must meet the requirements for the zone before they can be summoned to you. So this means they have to have access to the zone and can’t possess a lockout timer for another instance of that zone. Our goal with the summoning ability was to allow veterans to share the “coolness” of this item with other players that might not have it yet.
Everquest 2’s Game Update 54 is mostly a bugsquashing release, with an eye to dealing with as many long-standing niggles as possible before the next expansion, Sentinel’s Fate, arrives in February.
Alongside that, we of course have the return of the Frostfell celebrations (Yay!), and a new monthly event which will celebrate each city of Norrath in turn. Frostfell is Maltheas’ very favouritiest time of the year, and he’ll be digging out his special Frostfell hat and robe very soon.
The patch notes are below. Hit “More” if you’re on the front page.
Continue reading Everquest 2 GU 54 hits the Test Center. Bugfixtastic patch notes.
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