Bringing The Nostalgia

As the 20th anniversary of EverQuest II approached, the developers at Darkpaw Games knew that their 21st expansion would release just weeks from that milestone date.

With that in mind, there was a concerted effort to ensure that the expansion would touch on original themes & story lines that were unique and nostalgic to EQ2, while exploring areas that were yet to be uncovered.

With ties to Velious and Odus, Scars of Destruction would weave a new tale, while revisiting old but familiar foes.

The key art for the expansion gave us the first hint at one of these foes, as none other than Lucan D’lere takes center stage. 

In the Beginning

You’ll arrive in the expansion in The Sodden Archipelago. At first, this swampy starting point is a far cry from the vibrant, colorful landscapes of Ballads of Zimara. 

While the previous expansion evoked an ethereal and other-worldly sense of wonder, Scars of Destruction is a slap back to a sense of real danger. An exploration of areas unknown that are gritty, scary and vast, where getting lost is a real concern.

But all is not completely unfamiliar. For those savvy to the original EverQuest, The Sodden Archipelago is actually The Barren Coast on Odus, from EQ’s The Buried Sea expansion. 

However, it is now hardly barren, and not much of a coast, as the series of events over the past 500 years have shaped the landscape into a thick swamp. 

And here, you’ll meet the Kappa, a race of turtle like creatures, who inhabit and patrol the swamps. 

And the Kappa aren’t new to the EQ universe. They first appeared in EverQuest Online Adventures, but haven’t been heard from since. And now, 1000 years into the future on Odus, they’ve emerged in Scars of Destruction and will play a role in the unfolding storyline.

Though you enter the expansion in the swamp in Sodden Archipelago at Port Woe, as you explore, you’ll find multiple biomes. Climb in altitude a bit, if you can find your way through the swamp, and clear skies return and a new landscape emerges. 

You’ll also run into a mountainous corner of the archipelago that certainly rings true to the Sodden part of the name. The rain here is constant and you’ll find a tribe of baboon like primates called the Mondoku. 

Further up, you begin to see the first hints of the architecture that exists in the higher altitudes.

You’ll cross a field of army ants patrolling a desert plateau before you find yourself firmly trespassing into orc territory.

High up in Sodden Archipelago is a stronghold of Blackhook orcs. Yes, those Blachook orcs from the Orcish Wastes.

Here, with the…ahem… assistance … of some goblins, They’ve built , or taken over a vast network of Mad Max style architecture of scaffolding and junkyard ingenuity.

And the goblins themselves provide a little comic relief of dark humor in their resourceful use of acquisitions and their persuasion by the Blackhook orcs.

Farther up you’ll begin to get a glimpse of a more grandiose structure as the Blackhook stronghold emerges.

This sets the stage for entrance into Blackhook Spiral, the stronghold of the Blackhook Orcs.

Blackhook Spiral

While Blackhook Spiral is one of the dungeons in the expansion, the zone is so vast, and open that it feels like an Overworld area. 

This is a gritty and industrial landscape, with platforms and islands of cranes, ziplines and towers

But the orcs here hide a secret.

And a familiar foe. You see, we handed over the Lost Soul of Tarinax to the orcs some time ago, and very soon, we find out that Tarinax has returned, and has been trying out life or unlife as an orc. 

The ties of this part of Odus to the Void are visible and of particular note, especially to one who may be interested in opening a gateway to the Void.

And of course we must stop that from happening.

Western Wastes

Meanwhile, a continent away, over on what remains of Velious, Western Wastes is primed for exploration.

With expected populations of walrus, ulthorks and sirens, you’ll make your way through tundra and ice. 

But the story here also reunites us with some previous EQ2 lore.

There are parts of Western Wastes that are healing, lush and green….And it is not lost that the creatures here bear a striking resemblance to a reborn Lady Vox that has recently gone mysteriously missing in the Renewal of Ro. 

This Overland zone has plenty of adventuring, exploration and variety to experience, and as you approach the graveyard of dragon bones, with Chetari scurrying and pillaging about, you know you’re arriving at the entrance to the dungeon of Dragon Necropolis. 

Dragon Necropolis

This is where the full plot of Scars of Destruction comes into view.

The Chetari are still active and formidable in their claim of sections of the necropolis.

But of course, it’s all about dragons. More importantly, dragons that have found their final resting place in the sacred area beneath the scars of Velious.

You’ll battle with all sorts of undead dragons as you venture through the necropolis, with different wings of the dungeon dedicated to specific types of dragons.

It’s here that we catch up with the antagonist of the expansion, Lucan Dlere. 

But now that I’ve given you an overview of the 2 overland areas and 2 dungeon areas of the expansion, let’s get down to brass tacks of the other features of the expansion.

Features of the Expansion

While there’s no new level limit for the expansion, you can now boost your character to level 130. 

And then there are the staples of each expansion : New Adventure, signature and tradeskill line of quests. Heroic , Solo and Raid dungeon content in Dragon Necropolis and Blackhook Spiral, with 12 raids expected when all content is released between expansion launch and the next Game Update

But there are also two new features being added with Scars of Destruction.

The first is a petamorph key ring, to ease the inventory load of all those petamorph wands…

And also a weapon aura feature, to personalize your weapons with various auras to give them a unique look.

Where this expansion succeeds is tapping into the threads of nostalgic EverQuest 2 content. Pulling from the original stories and foes that established the game 20 years ago.

And admittedly, I am not a core EverQuest 2 player, but like the last 2 expansions I reviewed, this one made me WANT to play, to hear the story, unfold the lore of what was going on in these places that are cemented in EverQuest Lore.

I’m also truly amazed by what the development team is able to accomplish with story telling and art.

Story Telling

The lore is rich and purposeful in its direction, and it’s visual story telling as well as traditional video game story telling.

But once again, it’s the art that truly inspires me.

These aren’t the colorful rainbow palettes of Ballads of Zimara, but I think that the direction of creating more realistic unique landscapes like swamps, highlands, and rocky outcrops is a much more demanding task, to do it well.

And the artists do. Not only adding a realism to the swamps of Sodden Archipelago, but also in the weather-worn rocks of the zone, and giving nods to previous areas of Odus.

In Western Wastes, special consideration was given to not making a bleak, snow blinding one-note wasteland, but instead, capturing a tundra with hints of color from what was happening in the zone. Purposeful decisions that if you’re happily playing along you don’t notice. But that’s kind of the point. To make it FEEL a certain way, not look a certain way.

And take a moment to appreciate the work that is done with the NPC models in this expansion. 

Some NPCs, like the new Lucan D’lere were completely new models, with great animations that along with scripting help with the aforementioned story telling.

But also the wide variety of new NPCs, NPC reskins, or new model animations that were tackled to give life to Scars of Destruction.

It’s a strong expansion to be added to EverQuest II catalogue  as it now passes 20 years of live service.