EverQuest and EverQuest 2 Unveil Plans for Year-Long Anniversary Festivities

Two of the most iconic MMORPGs, EverQuest and EverQuest 2, are set to honor their 25th and 20th anniversaries in 2024 with an extensive lineup of year-long events and fresh expansions. The legendary franchise continues to thrive, with the recent launch of its 30th expansion, Laurion's Song, in December.

Recognized as two of the most popular and influential MMORPGs ever released, EverQuest made its debut back in 1999, while its sequel, EverQuest 2, followed five years later in 2004. Despite being part of a series, both games operate independently as EverQuest 2 presents an alternate-universe Norrath, the game's setting.

2024 marks the Year of Darkpaw in EverQuest and EverQuest 2, named after Fippy Darkpaw, a notorious gnoll character that spawns in one of the game's starting areas. The Developer Roadmap for this year unveils an unnamed expansion for both games arriving in November (EverQuest 2) and December 2024 (EverQuest), along with noteworthy monthly events such as the Anniversary Tower and Heroic Adventures, plus event-exclusive mounts. Meanwhile, in EverQuest 2, the Year of Darkpaw introduces the Masquerades of Divinity story event, among other activities.

The milestone year promises abundant activities in both games. While much of it revolves around seasonal events, it's designed to keep players engaged until the new expansions roll out in the fourth quarter. Although the development team has kept details under wraps, their commitment to delivering what EverQuest players desire suggests that the upcoming chapters will be well worth the anticipation.

A key factor in EverQuest's enduring success lies in its ability to nurture a dedicated player base and adapt to evolving trends. For example, the addition of the Personas system in Laurion's Song allows players to experiment with different classes on a single character. This feature bears resemblance to Final Fantasy 14's job system, addressing a long-standing issue in MMORPGs, a genre known for its diverse class offerings to accommodate various playstyles. While critics may highlight the resemblance to another game, many players view it as a welcome quality-of-life enhancement that similar titles should incorporate, potentially contributing to EverQuest's ongoing success.

With two decades of heritage to draw from, developers of EverQuest 2 are also striving to provide ample content for current players. The game's 20th expansion, Ballads of Zimara, released in 2023, bringing about changes and updates to enhance gameplay, particularly for those seeking advanced challenges. The EverQuest 2 development team emphasizes the ongoing quest for improvement, even if it entails adopting elements from other established franchises and infusing them with their own creativity.

EverQuest and EverQuest 2 2024 Developer Roadmap

EverQuest

January
- The Year of Darkpaw
  - Year of Darkpaw Swag for sale
  - Monthly collection, giveaway, limited edition items
  - Anniversary Tower
    - January quest, Heroic Adventure, and merchant items added
  - Soundtrack Volume 1 released on streaming services
  - Ask Me Anything forum thread
- Laurion’s Song Tier 1 Raids unlocked
- DirectX 11 API Port launches
February
- The Year of Darkpaw
  - Monthly collection, giveaway, limited edition items
  - Anniversary Tower
    - February quest, Heroic Adventure, and merchant items added
  - Soundtrack Volume 2 released on streaming services
  - Adding January giveaway item for purchase
- Laurion’s Song Tier 2 Raids unlocked
- Erollisi Day event returns
March
- EverQuest 25th anniversary month
  - New anniversary content
- The Year of Darkpaw
  - Monthly collection, giveaway, limited edition items
  - Anniversary Tower
    - March quest, Heroic Adventure, and merchant items added
  - Adding February giveaway item for purchase
  - Ask Me Anything responses posted
- Laurion’s Song Tier 3 Raids unlocked
- EQ Swag Store Launch
- Brew Day event returns
- Bristlebane Day event returns
- Stomples Day event returns
April
- The Year of Darkpaw
  - Monthly collection, giveaway, limited edition items
  - Anniversary Tower
  - April quest, Heroic Adventure, and merchant items added
  - Adding March giveaway item for purchase
- Tempest Festival event returns
May
- The Year of Darkpaw
  - Monthly collection, giveaway, limited edition items
  - Anniversary Tower
    - May quest, Heroic Adventure, and merchant items added
  - Adding April giveaway item for purchase
- New Progression Servers (rulesets to be announced)
June
- The Year of Darkpaw
  - Monthly collection, giveaway, limited edition items
  - Anniversary Tower
    - June quest, Heroic Adventure, and merchant items added
  - Adding May giveaway item for purchase
- Pride Month Familiars
- Hardcore Heritage event returns
- Scorched Sky event returns
July
- The Year of Darkpaw
  - Monthly collection, giveaway, limited edition items
  - Anniversary Tower
    - July quest, Heroic Adventure, and merchant items added
  - Adding June giveaway item for purchase
- Potential server merge - Thornblade to Mischief
- Death, Death, Death event returns
- Living Legacy Raids event returns
August
- The Year of Darkpaw
  - Monthly collection, giveaway, limited edition items
  - Anniversary Tower
    - August quest, Heroic Adventure, and merchant items added
  - Adding July giveaway item for purchase
- Extra Life incentives announcement
- Stone Cold Summer event returns
September
- The Year of Darkpaw
  - Monthly collection, giveaway, limited edition items
  - Anniversary Tower
    - September quest, Heroic Adventure, and merchant items added
  - Adding August giveaway item for purchase
- Talk Like a Pirate Day event returns
October
- The Year of Darkpaw
  - Monthly collection, giveaway, limited edition items
  - Anniversary Tower
    - October quest, Heroic Adventure, and merchant items added
  - EverQuest's 31st expansion beta + Pre-Order opens
  - Nights of the Dead event returns
- November
  - The Year of Darkpaw
    - Monthly collection, giveaway, limited edition items
    - Anniversary Tower
      - November quest, Heroic Adventure, and merchant items added
    - Adding October giveaway item for purchase
  - Champion’s Festival event returns
  - Extra Life Game Day
  - Raid, Raid, Raid! event returns
  - Feast of Giving event returns
- December
  - The Year of Darkpaw
    - Monthly collection, giveaway, limited edition items
    - Anniversary Tower
      - December quest, Heroic Adventure, and merchant items added
    - Adding November giveaway item for purchase
  - EverQuest's 31st expansion launch
  - Frostfell event returns
  - New Year’s event returns
- Throughout the Year
  - Server performance improvements
  - Ongoing conversion of Suite windows to the New UI Engine
  - Anti-cheat improvements
EverQuest 2
- January
  - The Year of Darkpaw
    - Year of Darkpaw Swag for sale
    - Monthly collections, giveaway, limited edition items
    - Soundtrack Volume 1 released on streaming services
    - Masquerades of Divinity
      - Missions, achievements, and currency merchant added
    - Zimara Breadth: Crested Expanse [Raid] unlocked
- February
  - The Year of Darkpaw
    - Monthly collections, giveaway, limited edition items
    - Soundtrack Volume 2 released on streaming services
    - Masquerades of Divinity
    - Adding January giveaway item for purchase
    - Missions, achievements, and currency merchant updated
  - Ask Me Anything forum thread
  - Aether Wroughtlands: The Delves [Raid] unlocked
  - Erollisi Day event returns
  - Varsoon unlocks The Shadow Odyssey Mid-Content
- March
  - Chronoportal Phenomenon event returns
  - The Year of Darkpaw
    - Monthly collections, giveaway, limited edition items
    - Masquerades of Divinity
    - Adding February giveaway item for purchase
    - Missions, achievements, and currency merchant updated
  - Brewday Festival event returns
  - Beast’r Eggstravaganza event returns
  - Game Update 125 Beta opens
  - DirectX 11 API Port on Test Server
- April
  - The Year of Darkpaw
    - Monthly collections, giveaway, limited edition items
    - Masquerades of Divinity
    - Adding March giveaway item for purchase
    - Missions, achievements, and currency merchant updated
  - Ask Me Anything responses posted
  - Bristlebane Day event returns
  - Game Update 125 launches
  - Varsoon unlocks Sentinel's Fate
- May
  - The Year of Darkpaw
    - Monthly collections, giveaway, limited edition items
    - Masquerades of Divinity Altars
    - Adding April giveaway item for purchase
    - Missions, achievements, and currency merchant updated
  - DirectX 11 API Port launches
  - New TLE Server Beta opens
  - Patches of Pride event returns
- June
  - The Year of Darkpaw
    - Monthly collections, giveaway, limited edition items
    - Masquerades of Divinity
    - Adding May giveaway item for purchase
    - Missions, achievements, and currency merchant updated
  - Summer Jubilee's Tinkerfest event returns
  - Summer Jubilee's Scorched Sky event returns
  - New TLE Server launches
  - Varsoon unlocks Sentinel's Fate Mid-Content
  - The Icy Keep: Retribution, Underfoot Depths, Zraxth's Unseen Arcanum
- July
  - The Year of Darkpaw
    - Monthly collections, giveaway, limited edition items
    - Masquerades of Divinity
    - Adding June giveaway item for purchase
    - Missions, achievements, and currency merchant updated
- August
  - The Year of Darkpaw
    - Monthly collections, giveaway, limited edition items
    - Masquerades of Divinity
    - Adding July giveaway item for purchase
    - Missions, achievements, and currency merchant updated
  - Extra Life incentives announcement
  - Summer Jubilee's Oceansfull Festival event returns
  - Game Update 126 Beta opens
  - Game Update 126 launches
  - Expansion Prelude begins
  - Varsoon unlocks Destiny of Velious
- September
  - The Year of Darkpaw
    - Monthly collections, giveaway, limited edition items
    - Masquerades of Divinity
    - Adding August giveaway item for purchase
    - Missions, achievements, and currency merchant updated
  - New Panda, Panda, Panda content
- October
  - The Year of Darkpaw
    - Monthly collections, giveaway, limited edition items
    - Adding September giveaway item for purchase
    - Missions, achievements, and currency merchant updated
  - EverQuest 2's 21st expansion beta + Pre-Order opens
  - Nights of the Dead event returns
- November
  - EverQuest 2 20th anniversary month
  - Heroes' Festival event returns
  - The Year of Darkpaw
    - Monthly collections, giveaway, limited edition items
    - Adding October giveaway item for purchase
    - Missions, achievements, and currency merchant updated
  - Extra Life Game Day
  - EverQuest 2's 21st expansion launches
- December
  - The Year of Darkpaw
    - Monthly collections, giveaway, limited edition items
    - Adding November giveaway item for purchase
    - Missions, achievements, and currency merchant updated
  - Frostfell event returns