Starting at level 30, a guild is able to buy into their first guild hall. This instanced zone can be used to hang out with your fellow guildmates, socialize, prepare for an upcoming raid and much more. Depending on your guild level you will have access to purchase a certain amount of amenities which cover a diverse range of services, transportation and decoration options.

The halls and amenities come at a cost; weekly upkeep must be paid to keep your hall open to the guild. Check out the large variety of options and their pricing in our Guild Halls and Guild Hall Amenity guides, now up-to-date for the Chains of Eternity release!

Dimensions are the intriguing take on player housing that TRION has added with their RIFT: Storm Legion expansion. Housing has been a hot topic of discussion for various MMOs with opinions swinging widely to either side of the argument, and I was more than a little curious as to how the concept would be adressed in RIFT.  I finally had a chance to sit down and take a look at their system earlier this week and have some thoughts to share on my experience.

Editorial: When I first heard about Star Wars: The Old Republic moving to Free-to-Play, I cheered BioWare on for making a smart move. As it became increasingly squashed under the weight of a number of summer releases, the switch to free would breathe new life into the game just as Christmas approached. At least, that was the theory.

What actually happened was an onslaught of concern and criticism over what would generously be described as “overly aggressive monetization”. When patch 1.5 went live on the public test server, and we were able to try out life as a free-to-play newcomer, I was stunned. Lower XP rates and no rested XP? No ability to hide an equipped helm? Only two hotkey bars?

I’ve been watching the storm clouds gather for half a year now. Since the announcement back in June I’ve seen feature reveals, from new Souls to new mechanics. I’ve interviewed developers and sat on roundtable discussions. But after the eyes-on and hands-on, the weather has finally broken; RIFT: Storm Legion is here. 

At ZAM we carve up our MMO reviews, sharing our experiences as we climb toward level cap and highlighting key features. After being knee-deep in planar creatures for just over a week, this is the first in a series of reports from the new continents of Dusken and Brevane. As my journey through Trion’s first expansion continues, I’ll keep you updated with what to expect in the later stages. 

After having mixed opinions on classic RIFT, I was apprehensive heading into this expansion. Would a cavalcade of new features be enough to keep pace with the rapidly evolving MMO genre? Would a new story arc, a dire warning from a faraway land, be enough to lure me to adventure? Would two new continents, that triple the size of the world, dazzle and amaze me? So far, the answers to these are both yes and no.

The Heroes' Festival, an annual live event first introduced in 2009, has made its return.. early! The event was scheduled to kick off on Tuesday, November 27, but it erroneously began the morning of Friday, November 23. Freeport and Qeynos will be filled with festivities to celebrate the 8th anniversary of EverQuest II.

Centered primarily at the Claymore in Qeynos Capitol District and Execution Plaza in the City of Freeport, players are able to participate in several event quests. Returning this year is the Dream Hero series, which has a new addition called A Dream Adventure, as well as Gandy's mission to light the Festive Flames. Mysterious disappearing decorations threaten to put a damper on the celebration. An appearance by the Heroes' Festival band sends players off on a mission to save the day so that the show can go on.

The Heroes' Festival is scheduled to run until 11:59pm PST on December 11th. For those of you with far too many alts check out our updated Heroes' Festival Quest Tracker!

Editorial: This weekend was jammed solid with options. SWTOR had just ushered in the new mission chain to gain HK-51 as a companion droid. Trion launched RIFT: Storm Legion earlier in the week. Planetside 2 wrapped up its beta, while City of Steam started theirs. If you’re into online gaming, you were literally spoiled for choice.

ArenaNet also joined the extravaganza with Guild Wars 2’s much-vaunted Lost Shores Event, combining three days of nautical adventure with an open invitation to everyone with a friend already in the game.

It’s also been a weekend of bugs, as if some technophobic Midas has been creeping around server farms globally, disrupting code and torturing servers. No game has been completely error-free, but some have suffered more than others. And when games suffer, the gamers suffer with them.

UPDATE 1:05pm PST: Servers that crashed are back online now. Keep an eye on the server status page if anything changes!

UPDATE 12:18pm PST: Servers are unlocked... GO GO GO!

You are welcome to join us in the #EQ2 channel of ZAM's IRC chat!

All servers have come down for the Chains of Eternity launch. They are currently estimated to be down for five hours, which would give a 12pm (noon) PST uptime. We'll keep you posted if we hear anything different. Patch notes are available on our GU65 page.

ZAM jumped head-first into the beta and we are excited to have some guides ready for you! We'd like to extend our thanks to Heroes of Test, and especially Whilhelmina, for their assistance on beta and the site. Check out all of our quest series, zone and crafting guides on our Chains of Eternity page. We also have a video we made of some of our expansion journeys.

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EverQuest II: A Glimpse Through the Veil
Cyliena of ZAM takes a look at the other side of the ethereal veil for EQII's newest expansion.

As Storm Watchers will already know, today is the day that RIFT: Storm Legion arrives on our shores. Trion’s first expansion for their flagship MMO features ten extra levels, two huge new continents to explore and a whole ship-load of new quests, puzzles and stories. We’ll also finally be able to create our own homes, taverns, castles and whatever else we can imagine with Dimensions.  

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To celebrate the launch, Trion have also produced a launch trailer. Using a machinima-style approach, the video introduces Queen Miela, the Storm Dragon Crucia and the neutral city of Tempest Bay, along with several of the zones and creatures we’ll encounter.

If you’ve not already seen it, take a look at the Storm Legion Preorder Video and Volan the Colossus for even more movie goodness. You’ll also find more about the expansion in our preview, and a huge resource at your fingertips with our RIFT Wiki!

Gareth “Gazimoff” Harmer, Staff Writer

With RIFT: Storm Legion launching imminently, we were fortunate to grab a seat at Trion’s latest community roundtable. Fiendish Design Director Simon Finch and passionate Lore Lead Nick McDowell took time out in the final days before launch, meeting with members of the RIFT community to talk about the new zones that we’ll explore in the expansion.

The topic itself is as large as the new continents of Dusken and Brevane, covering the new puzzles, the inspirations and development process for the new locations, and how we’ll navigate the new continents. We also talked about some of the unused or greyed out areas in Classic RIFT, the team’s plans for future updates post-launch, and what they’re excited about with player Dimensions. 

If all this leaves you hungry for more Storm Legion details, don’t forget to check out our report on the previous roundtable featuring those key Class changes, along with our own preview of the expansion. You’ll also find a trove of Storm Legion information in our freshly updated RIFT Wiki!

EverQuest II's ninth expansion, Chains of Eternity, brings the story back to all the players as they explore the Ethernere. After Firiona Vie's death during the quest Unexpected Consequences, the Duality and Ravinus worked together to open an ethereal tear in the Feerrott, allowing mortals to pass into the realm of the dead.

The Ethernere is overseen by Drinal, the Silver Reaper, though players will first encounter his steward as they enter the plane. The realm is in danger as two powerful essences seek to do their bidding through the Ethernere, and it is up to seasoned adventurers to help. In a change from past expansions, the signature lines will be completely soloable so everyone can experience the full story.

Continue after the jump for more information!