EverQuest’s newest expansion Night of Shadows launched this month and it is one of the biggest content updates the game has received in recent times. It is the 29th expansion in the game with new collections, raids, spells, and other content. If you have been away from the game for a while, there is a nice mix of story and endgame content which should cater to all types of players.
What’s New in Night of Shadows?
Here is a short summary of all the content in the new expansion:
- Seven expansion zones
- Four Tier One Raids and Five Tier Two Raids (More to come)
- New Spells and Combat Abilities
- New Collections
- New Tradeskill depots with 250 stacks of tradeskill items shared across characters
- New weapon ornaments
The Tradeskill depot is one of the best changes in recent times. Your account will gain a Tradeskill Component Depot that can hold 250 stacks of different tradeskill items. You can add slots with marketplace items as you need them! This depot is shared among your characters on the same account and server. It is like a shared bank. Each of these slots ignores the standard stack sizes and can hold significantly more of each item. Additionally, you can utilize these items anywhere in the world when crafting which is a much-needed quality-of-life change.
The new raids and expansion zones make up the meat of the content and it has been a blast going through some of the new areas. EverQuest is almost in its 30th expansion and it continues to bring new content to the table. There are signs of it aging but it does not look like the game will stop releasing content anytime soon even in the age of modern MMORPGs.
Night of Shadows Offers Some of the Best Lore We Have Seen
The lore of Night of Shadows is well done and the conflict in the in-game world has come to a boil. Norrath and Luclin are in imminent danger. The world seems to be at risk and it is up to us to help restore order. We will go over some of the important plot points so please be warned of minor spoilers ahead.
The new Darklight Caverns area features a series of tunnels and caves inhabited by animal spirits. These spirits have been hiding for too long after Kerrans first arrived in Luclin. We discover that the spirits escaped Akheva and are under the protection of goddess Sahteb Mahini. The cavern area is protected by a powerful illusion and anyone who wants to enter the caverns with ill intentions will find danger lying ahead. Unfortunately, danger still looms for the spirits and they have not been able to escape the caverns for years.
The Deepshare is overrun by corruption and there are some mysterious creatures that you will discover in the caves. The fungus people are extremely hostile to strangers and it is one of the most wonderfully crafted areas of the expansion. We do not want to spoil the experience for players and hope you enjoy the new area as much as we did.
Firefall Pass is One of Everquest’s Most Interesting Locations Yet
The Firefall Pass is one of the most important areas of the new expansion and you will spend a lot of time in the area. Once upon a time, it was a mountainous area in Luclin but one of its biggest mountains was shattered into two due to an earthquake. While the area still exists, traversal is dangerous and only the bravest souls manage to pass.
The area is overrun by Saureks, underground insects, and some furious birds that can get very annoying to deal with at times. If there is another area that matches the quality of Firefall Pass it has to be Paludal which is also a bandit-infested cave area. Paludal’s depths are home to the Shiknar Queen raid which is one of the better raids among the five tier-two options.
Another area that caught my attention is Shadow Haven. A locked door has been teased for a while and we finally got to know what’s hidden behind the area. A giant spirit creature is rampaging throughout Shadow Haven and it is up to us to put an end to its violence in the raid. The residents have long suffered at the hands of the creature and as if things couldn’t get any worse, Fungal creatures are here to disrupt the citizens’ restoration projects. But our efforts have helped restore the city to its former glory but it is only a matter of time before another threat presents itself.
Should You Play EverQuest’s Newest Expansion?
The lore and world-building of EverQuest have evolved greatly over the years and while the game might be showing signs of aging, it continues to deliver. In terms of world-building, the lore has come a long way since the very first expansion and we cannot wait to see what’s in store for the future of EverQuest. While the game might not be perfect and newer MMORPGs have eclipsed its popularity, it is still one of the “OG” MMORPGs to hit the market and it is endearing to see it continue to deliver quality expansions to its fans.
Keeping up with all of the content from previous expansions can be jarring for new players but it is still a good time to jump into the game if you are a new player. The content EverQuest offers is quite enjoyable but the barrier to entry due to paid expansions might keep newer players away. That being said, if you do not mind the upfront cost of the new expansions, it is a very enjoyable experience and while some of its gameplay mechanics might feel like they’re from an era gone by, it is enjoyable if you grew up playing old-school MMOs. Overall, Night of Shadows feels like it offers more of the same and that’s not a bad thing considering the lore and story development in the expansion.
