UPDATE : For a complete review of The Outer Brood

It’s Pre-Order Day for The Outer Brood.

That’s the day when the expansion goes on sale, opting you in for beta, and a little more info is released on the zones for the expansion, and features that are expected.

It’s also a good source of screenshots, videos and more. And The EverQuest Show has ya covered.

Watch the Sneak Peak Trailer.

What We Learned

  • 6 New Zones
  • New Key Ring for Activated Items
  • Dark Elf Rangers! (New Race Class Combo)
  • Beta begins today. Pre-Order qualifies you. Beta Reward is a Bag Hat Ornament

Sneak Peak The Outer Brood – Video Highlights

Let’s take a moment to talk about a few key points from that video:

Things with more wings! That seems to be a theme.
And if you don’t have wings, get more legs. Why not 6?
Interesting transport ships of some type. Where do they take you, if they move at all?
Golden statues of the invading dragons
What is this peculiar thing? A power source? It looks important.
Very cool dragon cannons, likely those described to be on the back of the flying fortress
And some new video of the big bad 4 winged dragon.

Zones in The Outer Brood

There are 6 new zones expected for The Outer Brood

Hodstock Hills

The shores north of Freeport were neglected by both the human city of Freeport to the south and the dark elf city of Neriak to the north. It acted as a buffer, a neutral zone, for the two groups. While the dark elf settlement Gal`Saris and the large halfling city of Bobble-by-Water had long since been abandoned to time, the small villages of Hodstock (inland) and Temby (on the shore) have held small populations and mostly traded with small cargo ships and Freeport directly. The only other people who really made use of this neutral zone were some bandits escaping from the law, trusting the isolation to keep them away from the watching eyes of Freeport or Neriak. They kept to small encampments with trusted partners and, if needed, went to Temby to trade or seek passage.

However, peace for these towns living in the forgotten and neglected Hodstock Hills was not meant to be. While Temby survived the initial assault from the strange golden dragons and their kin, Hodstock village itself was not as lucky and now sits in ruins with many of their people killed before they escaped. In the southeast, the invaders continue their assault. Even more frightening than the invaders is the massive leviathan that hovers beyond the clouds, looming threateningly above the coast of Hodstock and the city of Freeport just a skip away.

The Theater of Eternity

On the back of the leviathan sits an entire city, a city large enough to host an invading army of dragon-sized monsters. And at the front of that city is a military parade ground and practice area. The leviathan’s own body protects the space, its scales, and spines somehow coerced to stand upright around the area. They have also used the scales that make up the floor of the parade grounds as barriers against the encroaching forces of Norrath. Despite the defenses and the scalewrought defenders, the structures have suffered from fly-over attacks by the dragons of Norrath and the power of its mortal heroes.

The might of the Norrathians has not been enough. The defenses remain intact, and the cannons still devastate any enemy that dares to step onto or fly over the Theater. A large force of scalewrought guards the structures beyond the Theater of Eternity. Those who would stop this invasion face terrible danger, but we must take the fight to the invaders here to drive them out.

Aureate Covert

This place serves two main purposes. It shelters and houses the servitors of the great golden dragons, whom Norrathians have interpreted as calling themselves “Aurelians.” It also constantly reminds those servitors how magnanimous and powerful their Draconic masters are. It is clear that the structure, while magnificent, does not accommodate the massive outer brood dragons, as they cannot fit into most of the rooms and corridors. Stepping into such a place, a home for lesser creatures, would demean them. There are no doors in the interior here, since privacy is not a consideration for the servitors, and theft is not even a thought. Until the Norrathians started fighting back, the doors leading out to the Theater of Eternity, which served as defensive structures to prevent enemy invasion, were usually open.

Icons to their masters await the servitors at every turn. But behind all the art and glory given to the dragons, there lies a theme of their goddess Veeshan. Even here, the only being considered greater than the golden dragons, is their creator, Veeshan.

The Harbinger’s Cradle

The Harbinger’s Cradle received its name for two reasons. It is the place where the small leviathans used as transport vehicles dock, but it is also the place where the Aurelians tend to lay eggs. Perhaps the most shocking thing about this place, beyond the massive scale of it and the powerful creatures that are relegated to grunt work here, is the fact that it is inside the body of the great leviathan. It is a mix of organic and constructed elements. They used the actual bones of the leviathan to craft the stones for building the docks. The deeper areas of the Cradle are hollow spaces inside the living leviathan itself. It is unclear how the Aurelians created these spaces, but it does not seem like they created them by force, such as digging. Or cutting.

The Brood Architect works in the hatchery, filling it with eggs of various types and creating new and more useful servitors. The Brood Architect also allows eggs from existing forms of scalewrought to hatch unhindered as needed.

The Chambers of Puissance

Deep inside the body of the great leviathan are vast chambers. These chambers contain structures made from blocks carved from the bones of the leviathan. The Aurelians apparently exposed some of the leviathan’s internal organs here for easy access. Why they desire this access is currently unclear. Even the great beast’s massive heart is exposed, and scalewrought of various types can be seen moving around it, sometimes injecting it with what appears to be magically infused liquids.

Apparently to the scalewrought these spaces are nothing unusual. But the pulsating walls and huge visible organs are disturbing to most Norrathians. There is also a mystery here. Significant magic pulses through the spaces, scalewrought go about busily working toward some unknown goal, and still the leviathan survives all of this. If the heroes of Norrath can get past the defenders, exploration of the Chambers of Puissance should yield information that can help defeat the invaders.

The Gilded Spire

Looming above all else on the leviathan is The Gilded Spire. This is the resplendent home of the Aurelian dragons, where their scalewrought servitors supply all of their needs. Lavishly appointed with precious metal, gemstones, and magical lighting, every space is a testament to the glory and power of the Aurelians. Vast ceilings allow space for flight and the heads of colossal statues dedicated to the Aurelian vision of Veeshan. The lower levels are busy with servitors preparing for every whim of the dragons that they serve, but the upper levels remain a mystery to them.

It is the upper levels where the rulers of this small city live and manage their servitors and the war that they must now wage against the children of Veeshan on Norrath. The great general, Usira, organizes his forces in the control room, where they make plans to cleanse the lesser creatures who have failed their duty to Veeshan. And above that is the shrine to the Mother, where the high priest Yaran seeks guidance from Veeshan.