Whether you love them or hate them, gnomes have played an important part in the lore of Sony Online Entertainment's EverQuest II. In the full article you can find more information about the gnomish city of Ak'Anon, their king, and the various establishments in the area.

In case you want to know more about these inventors, be sure to check out the full article.

Finally, after all that waiting, Sony Online Entertainment has finally announced that the expansion packs for both EverQuest and EverQuest II are on sale today. Both EverQuest's Secrets of Faydwer and EverQuest II's Rise of Kunark expansions will be available for US$ 39.99. You can either do it the old fashioned way and buy them from stores or do it the new-fashioned way: purchased download. Screenshots in the full article.

Sony Online Entertainment's Everquest team is hosting a new event for Everquest players, called the "Dawn of the Clockworks" contest. In it, SOE hopes their MMORPG's players will create and introduce interesting new clockwork contraptions that will astound people everywhere!

The contest will run from November 12, 2007, (12:01 am, US Pacific Time) to Wednesday, December 12, 2007 at (11:59 pm, US Pacific Time. For the contest information and prizes, head to the full article.

As EverQuest moves onto its 14th massive expansion, the developers from Sony Online Entertainment are continuing to improve the northern continent of Faydwer as it is set for a major visual facelift when the next maintenance comes in this Thursday.

Veteran gamers who've been playing this long-running MMORPG will appreciate the new changes that the Steamfront Mountains will be getting. You can take a look at the "before and after" pictures we've compiled below showing the improved graphical models, as well as the added textures.

There's no doubt that this will give players a new perspective after seeing how the revamped Steamfront Mountains add with the already rich lore of the world of EverQuest.

Steamfront Mountains feature the lands of the gnomes and their clockwork creations. Asides from that, small communities of dwarves and elves live alongside the gnomes. All these new changes continue to build the great mythos behind this eight-year old MMORPG. If you're still not convinced, take a look at the images below.

 

Check out the rest of the images after the jump!

When the mother of all MMORPGs is set to release its 14th massive expansion, you know that they aren't going to slow down any time soon. Sony Online Entertainment's EverQuest: Secrets of Faydwer marks the continuation to one of the longest standing MMORPGs to hit the online community.

Due to the success of EverQuest, it's no surprise that the rich mythology behind the game has driven many players to continue its legacy today. The expansion itself takes a look at the unexplored lands of Faydwer and its many denizens inhabiting it.

Taking a look at the new screenshots and artwork for the game, it's pretty clear that the developers at Sony have taken care to make the game still look fresh even though the game is nearly a decade old.

Either way, if you're thinking of getting into the groove of this phenomenal MMORPG, take in the scenery of Faydwer and the creatures residing in it through these wonderful screenshots and artworks we've provided.

The rest of the MMORPG's screenshots await after the jump!

Sony Online Entertainment's EverQuest II development team posted an article over at the game's official site to give fans a preview of things to come for Game Update 36. Last month, Update 35 was released and a lot of features like new races, cities and zones have been activated.
 
Despite these new updates, SOE still maintains that Echoes of Faydwer is not coming to the PlayStation 3 so that pretty much leaves the whole of Norrath to the hands of PC gamers. Anyway, we listed the preview below and we will inform you as soon as Game Update 36 goes live.

And also, please take note that the link below should take you to the official EverQuest II site where you can discuss these soon-to-come changes with fellow EQ II players.

EverQuest II Game Update 36 Preview

• The Final Chapters: The Swords of Destiny quest line will draw to a close with GU36, providing players a chance to complete their quest and discover the final details about the place of these infamous swords in history, and their role in Norrath's future.
• New Raid Zone: The Throne of New Tunaria (aka Felwithe Castle) will be available as an instance for high level raid groups to explore and defeat. There will be ample opportunities not just for a very challenging instance, but also exploration of the lore surrounding the Thexian Throne.
• Dressing Room: GU36 will also bring a new window in which players can preview how many items appear in EverQuest II. You'll be able to preview weapons, garments, armor, furniture, mounts, and more before buying them. This new window will allow you to preview these items from links, merchants, brokers, recipe books, during trades, while inspecting others, in the commission window, and more.

See the rest of the preview after the jump!

Rumors of a PS3 outing for the EverQuest II expansion Echoes of Faydwer have been shot down by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE). According to IGN, the official word from EQ2 senior producer Scott Hartsman is that "it isn't happening."

"At this time, there aren't any plans to bring Echoes of Faydwer to consoles of any kind at," said Hartsman. SOE Public Relations Manager Michael Shelling also added, "There are no plans right now, but EverQuest Online Adventures is still available for PS2 and a dedicated community of players."

As for the pictures, Jason (Unregistered) commented on our previous post on the subject that they looked like they were from the new Neriak content update. A quick check revealed that the screenshots were indeed from a recently-released batch of screenshots for the new content update. The screenshots focused on the new Arasai race.

MMORPG fans who are hoping for a PS3 MMO can look forward to a couple of possibilities mentioned by SOE President John Smedley. According to IGN, aside from the DC Universe MMO expected to come out next year, a "spy-themed MMO and a 'whimsical' MMO are in the works for the PC and PS3".

French site Play-3 Live reports that a Sony PlayStation 3 version of the popular MMORPG EverQuest II: Echoes of Faydwer is in the works. There's not a lot of details on that, but they did post these screens allegedly from the port.

It does seem a little bit doubtful to us if we judge the buzz on these images alone. The graphics seem to not be too far off from the PC version. We thought that if it was getting ported, it could look a little better. Still, it's possible that they didn't change the visuals for the sake of quelling lag issues.

EverQuest II: Echoes of Faydwer takes players on the journey of their lives into the island of Faydwer where the land is quiet but the spirits are restless. Using traditional MMORPG elements with quest-driven play that enhances your abilities, the game racks serious longevity and great fun for all ages.

More screens after the jump!

In the latest Producer's Letter on the official EverQuest II website, a few bits of info were revealed about the upcoming content patch for post-Echoes of Faydwer EQ2.

The new live content edition will be the complement to the earlier Echoes of Faydwer release and is slated to be the biggest that has ever been seen for EQ2. The next addition, on the other hand, will bring players to the city of Neriak, the large outdoor zone of Darklight Wood.

A new playable race, the Arasai -- one of the races who will be able to start in Neriak -- will also be introduced. Best of all, it's going to be free. If you're interested in learning more about the story behind the city of Neriak and its denizens, click on the "read" link below.

MMORPG.com managed to catch Sony Online Entertainment's Scott Hartsman during CES 2007 in Las Vegas. Not that Scott needed any cornering, as he's quite pleased with how EverQuest II: Echoes of Faydwer is turning out afterall. As for the meat of the cornering interview: the return of the Estate of Unrest.

Which is to say, it ain't returning... yet, since it didn't make it in time for the Echoes launch. BUT it will be provided for free in the next scheduled update of EQII this February. Okay, so when the Estate opens up in February, will it be as homey and familiar as it was in the first EverQuest? "The biggest hurdle we have to overcome in defining the old zones is how to re-introduce the zone in EverQuest II without copying EverQuest," Scott tells MMORPG. Beyond a few (and obvious) similarities, such as the hedge maze, the entire zone itself has been expanded for its EverQuest II appearance.

The Estate will be "a playground" for those levels 65-70, so to the lower-levelled: you have been warned. There will be a number of mini-bosses in the zone, as will be trains, but they won't be as epic as in the first EQ and not as aggro (at least not through floors).

Finally, speaking of meat, we now quote the MMORPG writer who says thus:

Well… there’s the matter of a really buff, manly-man drool-worthy Fae male… but when Scott puffs out his chest and tells me how buff his Fae is, how can I gainsay him?

Okay, too much info.