Call of the Forsaken

Call of the Forsaken (CotF) is EverQuest's twentieth expansion. Released October 8, 2013. Additional game update Hate Rising released on January 22, 2014, with more content to come later.

Prologue
The once peaceful plains of West Karana have been disrupted by a series of cataclysmic events, all leading up to the abrupt arrival of a powerful dragon from another thread, known as Lady Lendiniara. The force of her entry has torn an invisible seam that binds together countless realities, exposing what ancient texts refer to as Ethernere.

Without knowing how or why the dragon oracle arrived in their world, many Norrathians view Lady Lendiniara as a threat, while others interpret her arrival to mean the end of times is near. Factions begin to form, some prophesizing the demise of the world, and others uniting to confront the dragon invader.

Whether this winged harbinger is friend or foe, one thing is certain – she did not travel through Ethernere alone. There is only one within this world who possesses the knowledge to send Lady Lendiniara back to her home, but can you really trust the ramblings of a madman?

In your quest to send Lady Lendiniara back to her world, you will travel to many previously undiscovered areas within Norrath, searching for artifacts of great power, while also encountering familiar faces many thought to be lost in time.

Official list
New Call of the Forsaken™ Game Features:
 * EverQuest.com - Expansion Content
 * Mercenary AA – Increase the skill of your mercenary with new alternate advancements.
 * Mercenary Gear – Raise the effectiveness of your mercenary with by earning new items they can use.
 * Heroic Adventures – Delve into our mission-style content that allows for unique experiences each time you play through them, including a chance at new loot, rares, and currency you can collect and spend at special merchants!
 * Shared Bank Slots – Share more with an increase in shared bank slots! [Two additional]
 * New Crafting Recipes – Take your craft to new heights with new recipes for all!
 * More Spells, AAs and Items – Further your skills and power.
 * New Raids!

More info

 * New Hero's Forge armor sets.
 * Tier 1 of CotF expected to be roughly Tier 4 Rain of Fear difficulty and item level.
 * Mercenaries:
 * Mercs can gain AAs. The AAs will all be passive, not activated.  They will go across all of your mercenaries (if you have more than one).
 * Can wear gear. There will be special merc only gear that they wear, they won't wear player gear.
 * You will be able to see their stats.

Yes there are new AA and spells coming for your classes. How many we're not 100% sure on as we're still developing them. Merc AA start at level 20 to get you into the system, but those increases are very small, and you won't get into the higher powered stuff until later.

Heroic Adventures are not going to change based upon what classes you bring, but they can s[c]ale based upon level, but only yo [sic] the highest level character in your group. Merck [sic] ARE allowed into heroic adventures and in fact were [sic] tuning them around the 2 player, 2 merc group.

We are releasing 4 zones at launch, with more coming throughout the year.

Number of raids is not finalized. We have planned out probably more than we can make currently.

Rare random drops
Added many new items that drop randomly in Call of the Forsaken zones. These items are very rare, but can be traded if you do not desire them for your own use.

The loot being dropped is ROF T1 & T2 [raid level gear]. There are no T3 drops on the tables. I just looked at them.

The percentage chance to drop is right about 0.5% chance currently. Of course, being a RNG [Random Number Generator] thing, there will always be those edge cases where someone gets one instantly, and someone never sees a drop.

As for how many pieces of gear could drop.. I'm not going to answer that because I think it doesn't do anyone any good to know. Again, the intent for these items was not for people to try and farm them, but for there to be a chance, however small, while doing normal content to get a nice surprise.

And yes, we intend to continue this. We all think this is a cool thing. It in NO WAY is going to replace raiding, or allow people to gear their characters with full raid loot, or anything of the sort. I suppose someone who is Bazaar mining could eventually build up a full set, but that seems a bit far-fetched.

Short version: This game is supposed to be fun. We think this was a fun idea. It's staying.

Zones
There is only one tier in the initial release of CotF. However, some quests / missions will require you to do quests / missions in "lesser zones" before being able to request them.


 * Bixie Warfront - Some mobs but mainly a Heroic Adventures hub.
 * Ethernere Tainted West Karana - Hub zone.
 * Neriak - Fourth Gate - End zone.
 * The Dead Hills - Some mobs but mainly a Heroic Adventures hub.
 * The Plane of War - Zone to be added in 2014.
 * The Void (H) - Another copy of The Void.

Getting to CotF
Hoof it

Note that you can use the Find menu to locate these.
 * Bixie Warfront <> Crescent Reach:
 * Bixie Warfront <> Stone Hive:
 * Ethernere Tainted West Karana <> The Western Plains of Karana (West Karana): In West Karana at the zone to Qeynos Hills there is a bonfire with two cloaked figures worshiping it, click (or just approach) the bonfire to zone to Ethernere.
 * Neriak - Fourth Gate <> Neriak - Third Gate:
 * The Dead Hills <> Dulak's Harbor:
 * The Plane of War <> Plane of Tranquility: Accessed through the previously inactive stone in the cave in the Plane of Tranquility.

Guild portal

A "Stormstone of the West", on sale from the portal crystal NPC for 289pp, will take you to Ethernere Tainted West Karana.

Druid and Wizard ports
 * Well Wailet in Ethernere Tainted West Karana (loc -450, -4220, can be found with Find) sells druid ring, circle, and zephyr teleport spells to Ethernere Tainted West Karana, as well as Stone of Marking and Guidestone.
 * Jimmar Kadd in Ethernere Tainted West Karana (can be found with Find) sells wizard ports.

Traveling around CotF
Much like Rain of Fear, CotF has portals in the hub zone (Ethernere Tainted West Karana). The dragon Lady Lendiniara stands before the portals seeking help from adventurers.

Unlocking the portals
To unlock the portals, you need to first visit the non-CotF zones mentioned in Hoof it above. Then zone over to the CotF zone and use the portal there to go to Ethernere Tainted West Karana. This will unlock the portal to that zone. It appears that the portal to The Void (H) is unlocked from the start.

Spells
Rank I

You can go to various NPCs in Ethernere Tainted West Karana and buy Rank I spells. Use the Find Window to find them.

Rank II

Rank II spells are obtained by either drops off of Named mobs, or purchased from Requisitioner Rhies (Group Merchant} in Ethernere Tainted West Karana with Marks of Valor.

Rank III

Rank III spells are obtained by turning in Captured Essence of Ethernere, obtained from CotF raid chests, to Requisitioner Sheon (Raid Merchant, Rank III Spells) in Ethernere Tainted West Karana. You can not choose which spell you want, they are given to you in a set order. See COTF Rank III Spells: Captured Essence of Ethernere for details.

Armor
It appears the armor system will be much like that in Rain of Fear.

Blacksmith Cerray in Ethernere Tainted West Karana sells Etheric Energy Enhancer and Ethereal Attuner.

The price of each of those items is 13k and 11k platinum respectively.

To make Tier 1 group and raid armor, place the dropped item in a Ethereal Attuner and hit the Combine button (the box isn't consumed, and can be used unlimited times).

To make Tier 2 group and raid armor (not available in initial CotF release), place the dropped item and a Tier 1 piece of the same slot in the Ethereal Attuner and hit Combine. Again, the box will not be consumed. If you don't have a Tier 1 piece, you can use an Etheric Energy Enhancer in its place. This will use up the Etheric Energy Enhancer.

Beastlords, Necromancers, Shadowknights, and Shaman can change the focus on their wrists by placing it in a Ethereal Attuner and hitting combine.

Group

 * Tier 1 group armor is called Latent Etheric. The piece that is used to create them is called Latent Ether.

Raid
In addition to mob drops for raid armor, you should be able to use raid alternate currency to purchase it.


 * Tier 1 raid armor is called Suppressed Etheric. The piece that is used to create them is called Suppressed Ether.

Alternate currency
There are several new types of alternate currency in Call of the Forsaken.

Marks of Valor are obtained by completing Heroic Adventures. They can be used to purchase mercenary gear, Rank II spells and group level player gear.
 * Marks of Valor

Medals of Heroism are awarded to each member of a tier 1 raid upon completion. They are used to purchase Rank III spells and raid level player gear. Completing certain raids unlocks different gear. Requisitioner Sheon (Raid Merchant, Rank III Spells) in Ethernere Tainted West Karana sells the items.
 * Medals of Heroism

For Hate Rising raids, each player will receive 20 Medals of Heroism upon completing a raid, instead of the 10 given for the initial Call of the Forsaken raids.

Lore

 * Main article: Call of the Forsaken lore

A series of cataclysmic events in the West Karanas bring the arrival of powerful dragon from another dimension (EverQuest 2), Lady Lendiniara. Torn through an invisible seam that binds realities, she does not arrive alone, but brings others. No one is sure if she is friend or foe.

Lady Lendiniara is from Ethernere, a realm where the living cross over to the dead. Ethernere is watched over by Drinal, the Silver Reaper.

...she's the EQ2 version of Lendiniara being forced into the EQ1 timeline. It's her, but a different her [from the EQ1 Lendiniara the Keeper, who guards the west Temple of Veeshan], if that makes sense.

Rewards

 * EverQuest: Call of the Forsaken In-Game Rewards

Standard Edition
 * Tirun House Pet or Familiar
 * Gargoyle Statue
 * Painting: Naythox Thex
 * Painting: Cristanos Thex
 * Mark of Neriak
 * Journeyman's Pocketed Rucksack (32 Slot Bag)

Collector's Edition

All Standard Edition Items plus the following:
 * Hive of the Bixie (Daily upkeep cost of 42 platinum)
 * Ethernere Wurm Mount (Mount is (according to SOE) not the fastest speed, 300 HME and some AC)
 * Contract of the Bixie
 * Honeycomb Satchel (36 Slot Bag)

Pricing

 * Standard Edition (pre-order): $39.99
 * Collector's Edition (pre-order): $59.99

SOE Live All Access Pass purchasers

Those who purchased an SOE Live All Access Pass will receive the Standard edition at no extra cost. For an additional $20 they may pre-order the Collector's Edition instead.

To order the Collector's Edition, go to the CotF order page and order it. When you get to the confirm order page, it should say SOE Live attendees will only be charged $20 when it comes to the actual time to bill it.