EVERQUEST PROGRESSION SERVERS NOW OPEN

Just in case you missed the memo, as of yesterday the 2 new classic EverQuest “Progression” servers have gone live. I can tell you from first hand experience that the servers are currently PACKED and it’s a bit difficult getting things done at the moment due to the overcrowding.

How bad was it? To give you an idea, at times while I was playing on “The Sleeper” last night, there were 169 people in North Ro, 229 in the East Commonlands, 135 in East Freeport and a whopping 512 people in the Greater Faydark. Basically, it was a mad dash for all the newbie mobs you could find. I’m not saying don’t play, I’m just saying that if you do, be ready for the lag and effects of crowding in the lowbie areas.

I will say this for the progressive servers… since I’ve been out of the game so long, I certainly did have quite a few flashbacks to my early EQ days. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I even fell for one of the classic “type /EX for this feature” trick. Just as I hit enter it dawned on me what I was doing… that laugh alone was worth the price of admission for the night. I’ll also say I was a bit surprised at how many of the models in the game have been redone since I last played (a month or two after the launch of Lost Dungeons of Norrath – and even by then I played somewhat rarely.)

Check out the official EverQuest website here for more details as well as individual timelines for each of the new servers that I assume will update as those servers unlock content.

SONY TO OPEN 2ND OLD SCHOOL EVERQUEST SERVER

It’s the server so nice, they’re doing it twice. Due to an apparent massive interest in their “old school” EverQuest servers, Sony Online Entertainment has decided to make a second “progression” server available to players. The new server, named The Sleeper, is currently taking name reservations and is expected to open along with The Combine on June 28th.

Check out our previous article on the progression servers for more information here.

EVERQUEST TO OPEN OLD SCHOOL SERVER

DrkphreakX sends word to us that on June 28th, Sony Online Entertainment plans on opening a “progression” server for their classic EverQuest mmog. This server, named Combine after the long lost empire, will attempt to bring back the feel of the “old” EverQuest by initially limiting the game to the the “core” EverQuest game and only opening up the plethora of expansion packs that came afterward as time goes on. I don’t know about you folks, but as an old-school EverQuest player who couldn’t stand what the game became, I’m definitely intrigued by the idea. My only question now would be if they plan on rolling back the world to it’s original state so that I could once again take a Shadow Knight into Cazic to quest for a suit of Darkforge Armor. Those were the days…

DrkphreakX, You’re my boy, Blue! (No, I couldn’t resist making an Old School joke, ok?) Check out this post over in the official EverQuest forums for more details on the Combine server and the rules for early sign up and name reservation. I may just see you there.