The Glade 4.0

Crap, didn't realize that was you, Ranelagh! I kept seeing this Mcduff guy in the tutorial last night, and barely managed to resist asking him to group just so I could find an opportunity to say, "Lead on!"

(And yes, I know that would have been both obnoxious and a misquote. Still barely resisted!)

Yeah, sorry- I must have missed you on last night too. I added you to my friends list so I could tag you once I saw you, but I had to log rather early last night.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

I didn't notice a Krir last night Sorry RD. Although it's taking some getting used to, I have forgotten so many things about how to work the interface. Like, how to get the level bar window up, how to check for guild members who are online. I added Jemi as a friend but since I'm west coast I probably did it too late in the session. Perhaps I'll comb this thread for names and add them all too, if I find myself that clever.

Are there any tradesmen who need silks and bits of metal before i delete them all? (Thanks Kaffis)

FYI you can also leave the tutorial (to get a merc, bank/guild bank, tool boxes, whatever) and come back in.

You can either /say "I am ready to leave" to Arias (target him), which should take you to PoK if I recall, or you can go to the cave exit across the little stream and click it to go to Crescent Reach.

To get back in, just camp and re-enter the tutorial from the login screen, or you can just 'gate to bind' :p~~~

My experience on Razael is that you can get back into the tuturial as late as level 15 via the "gate to bind" method. Not sure about getting in via the login screen. It might be sooner there.

Think the cutoff via the login screen is 10 or 11, but I could be wrong.

I know I can gate my shaman back at 10.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

I haven't played EQ2, so I don't know the Kerran's storyline there, but I've always been kind of interested in the lore of cultures in EQ1 that seemed to have undeveloped potential. The Kerrans always struck me as a society the Devs intended to do more with but ended up ditching in favor of the Vah Shir offshoot.

I was questing in Stonebrunt and noticed one of the Kerrans referred to the Vah Shir as their ancestors.

I agree, RD. And it was the Vah Shir's homeland that got blown up in EQ2 -- Luclin exploded in the cataclysm that changed the landscape.

Midgen -- the Vah Shir's stuff up in Luclin makes it pretty clear that they and the Kerrans share a common ancestry, and that the Kerrans are pretty much the scraps of what didn't get beamed up to the moon way back when (I don't remember if it was a factional split, or what, but..). Vah Shir society continued at its zenith, while the Kerrans didn't have enough left to self-sustain and went into a long, steady decline resulting in modern Kerrans.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

What criteria does one need to fulfill in order to hire a merc? I popped into PoK but the window wouldn't stay open and had some message that I don't qualify.

Do you have the Seeds of Destruction expansion? I think that's needed.

I don't right at this moment. It looks like the mercenaries are well worth it though. Specially if I have off hours play times versus the rest of you guys.

Yeah, mercs really are amazing for soloing. They do siphon some of the xp, but in my (admittedly limited) experience, they more than make up for it by allowing for continuous grinding and/or hunting in higher-level areas than you can handle solo.

You might want to hold up for the thule bundle so you can get that too at the same price.

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

Can pre-order Thule now, but there are two options... basic which provides a few in game benefits for $40, or $70 for about double the benefits.

$70 for an EverQuest expansion, no matter how many "benefits," is absolutely asinine.

The benefits are not nearly double... The CE is a complete and total sham.

One 20 slot bag, a different color mount, and a mercenary- oh, and a 1 use ornament.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

If I Pre-Order Thule now, do I get the rest of my expansions now?

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

This is what was posted on our guild boards:

Greetings Norrathians!
The EverQuest team is proud to bring you our 17th expansion, House of Thule. The launch of this expansion is scheduled for October 12, 2010!!
You'll be able to pre-order your copy of House of Thule (via digital download) scheduled to begin on September 9, 2010. Pre-order will end on October 11, 2010.
Not only are you getting brand new zones, quests and content, this year’s expansion is bursting at the seams with bonus in-game items!
Here's what you'll get!
If you pre-order between September 9 and October 11, 2010:

*****************
Station Store Digital Download: Collector's Edition ($69.99 USD):
•Includes House of Thule and all previous expansions
•Includes the following in-game items:
◦Live Topiary Mount
◦Dead Topiary Mount
◦Gnoll Pup Leash
◦Sword of Truth Template
◦20 Slot Bag
◦Two Bag Slots
◦Wailing Mercenary Contract
◦Discordant Mercenary Contract
◦House of Thule Box Art Painting
◦House of Thule Painting

******************

Station Store Digital Download ($39.99 USD):
•Includes House of Thule and all previous expansions
•Includes all of the following in-game items:
◦Live Topiary Mount
◦16 slot bag
◦2 bag slots
◦Wailing Mercenary Contract (pre-order bonus item only) ◦House of Thule Box Art Painting

And no, you don't get the other expansions until Thule launches.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

Right, so I forgot the pet and house art.

But they're negligible anyhow, imo.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

I don't know what the pet does... my current familiar adds damage to my blunt attacks and cold nukes, so unlikely I will switch.

The house stuff, I agree is worthless, but if you have a couple characters on the account you play regularly, the extra fast mount and extra merc type might be useful. That is, if you don't have a backlog of mounts from previous expansion still unclaimed.

Pretty sure the pet is just a pet- for the house, most likely.

And the extra merc is just skin, not a new type- so only so useful.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

I could be wrong, since I have some but have never used them, but I thought the mercs from the Contracts were essentially "free", in that you didn't have to pay the initial purchase price. Still have to pay the timed fee.

If you still have to pay for the purchase price... well, that kind of pointless.

Depends on the contract.

Even if they're free, however- 85 mercs cost what, 10k? And with the "free plat" thrown around from the loyalty tokens, that's next to nothing.

I mean, I guess it's something- but so little for an extra $30.

I think they really made the wrong call with this- if they'd made it 10-15 extra, a lot of people would have bought it- as is, I doubt many will.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

Only thing I'm interested in are the 2 extra bag slots and the free 16 slot bag. Rest will probably languish in my Claims window.

Figured others might be interested in other offerings.