Qeynos Rises (EQ2) Game Update 64

Today Game Update 64: Qeynos Rises was released in EQ2. Qeynos gets an overhaul to match the one in Freeport. Seems like yesterday I was just logging into check out the Freeport revamp, but then again I took a significant break from the game.

I betrayed from Freeport before the revamp, with my main, so I played through the last update (FP) it with my new Beastlord. I decided to stick to Qeynos with my Inquisitor so I could have a chance to soak up the new atmosphere in Qeynos with her and check out the new quests, instead of playing through with yet another alt.

At first glance Qeynos appears much the same. The layout is still entirely familiar and, well, exactly the same, except for the fact that it is now two zones, combined down from four. Which is nice not having to do all of the zoning, I'd prefer one big zone but this is better than nothing. I'd say that Freeport got a revamp on a more massive scale, but Qeynos still looks nice, those who don't like much change to old zones will appreciate this revamp more. I think Freeport was really needing a makeover it was pretty dank looking to start with, as far as capitol cities go. There are updated textures and the larger buildings, such as the palace, have been redone. It still looks pretty much the same with some updates in textures, familiar but a little more gloss to it. Queen Antonia Bayle also got a make over.

We have some npc's moved around and added here and there. The broker now has a banker friend beside her, he's a welcome addition, in my opinion. There are also many new quests to play around with. New points and racial skills to check out, pretty nifty if you ask me. You get one point to spend for every nine levels you gain.

Zam has a great guide on what quests have been added, if you want to check them out you can find them here. There are a couple of housing goodies for simply checking out an inn room, they are pretty neat too, similar to the quest Freeport offers. If you prefer the look of Qeynos over Freeport betraying should be a cake walk with a mercenary. I've done it twice without mercs, as a low level scout and as a high level cleric. It wasn't bad back then so it should be a walk in the park these days. Just remember, if you're F2P, if you try to betray to a locked class your character will be locked until you  purchase the class or you grab a subscription, though many classes are now neutral. There are a few that are not still!

What you can look forward to in this update:

• New revamped areas combined from 4 to 2 zones with amazing designs with Qeynos Palace overlooking the city.
• Class Focus Effects have been consolidated and will now be available starting at level 9 and then every 9 levels in the Character Development window.
• Massive PvP Update with new PvP stats derived from PvE stats, PvP gear that is useful in PvE combat, revised achievements, infamy, bounty, and a new token earning system.
• Level-agnostic gameplay in Battlegrounds making it more fun, rewarding, and accessible for everyone. Players level 30 to 89 can play together as well as levels 90 to 92.
• Earn bonus tokens to spend on new items in Battlegrounds with kill streaks, rewards for breaking streaks, capturing the flag, and more.
• Battlegrounds tokens can be spent on new gear starting at level 10.
• Fighters receive a new stance called "Recklessness," allowing them to do significant damage while sacrificing their ability to withstand damage.

I haven't had a whole lot of time to check everything out but I did a few quests and looked around to see the new look of the place and took a few pics while I was at it. EQ2 really keeps up with content and keeping things current, I have a lot of respect for the developers who are always trying to raise the bar, it's truly a wonderful game. It's one game that has really aged well and keeps getting better as it ages. That's the great thing about older MMORPGs, they offer such a robust amount of content, in most cases anyhow.

I'll pop back in later to play around more, lots to do! Don't forget about the new Public Quest outside of Qeynos, another thing on my list to go see. For now I have to go get ready for a barbecue. See you in Norrath! Check out the official site here. Showing off a few pics and the official video:

Revamped palace in Qeynos.

Guards get shiny new mounts! Gorgeous!

The clock in Qeynos seems smaller to me... 

Freeblood racial quest chain. The story is pretty good so far.

Questioning citizens about the revamp, seems they noticed that not much has changed, lol. 

Old Qeynos wall textures, you still see this on some of the buildings. Perhaps it is still a texture on the citizen's home from the previous picture, lol.