We took a tour of the upcoming expansion with Holly Longdale and Akil Hooper.

Altar of Malice marks the 11th expansion for EverQuest II. First announced at SOE Live 2014, the expansion will add two new overland zones as well as several new Advanced Solo, Heroic and Raid dungeons. The level cap will increase from 95 to 100 for adventuring, tradeskill and guild levels, and both tradeskillers and adventurers alike can enjoy a variety of new quests and collections.

Purchasing the expansion will include last year's Tears of Veeshan content. Chains of Eternity and prior expansions will be set as free for everyone, excluding the Age of Discovery feature pack, which will continue to be sold on the Marketplace.

We recently joined Senior Producer Holly "Windstalker" Longdale and Creative Director Akil "Lyndro" Hooper for a preview of some of the zones we'll get to visit in Altar of Malice, as well as some extra tidbits of info about the expansion.

Overland Zone: Tranquil Sea

The first overland zone encountered in the expansion is the Tranquil Sea. Players land in an iconic location—the Isle of Refuge—but some obvious trauma has recently occured here. We find scattered members of the Far Seas Trading Company around the area and a devastated Malvonicus' Tower, which disables any flying, leaping or gliding around it.

Since the tower's explosion, Captain Greymast, who is the leader of the Far Seas TC, has been on the run. It is up to adventurer's to find the captain and uncover what happened.

We also visited Death Weave Isle, where the urzarach (who are a sentient race of "spider-bears") have created their own village full of many webs and cocoons. The urzarach have a "tenuous relationship" with the Brokenskull Pirates who live beneath their isle and may have been affecting some of the more feral urzarach on the isle.

Finally we visited the isle of Dshinn, a volcanic isle where a tribe of Pygmies reside with the local dinosaurs (deinodons). They live in harmony—"if harmony means willingly sarcrificing themselves as food for the giant creatures." The southern part of the island is in Tranquil Sea, while the northern half is in the other overland zone, Phantom Sea.

Overland Zone: Phantom Sea

The Phantom Sea received the biggest applause during SOE Live 2014 after the mention of Kithicor Forest residing within it. Well-known in EverQuest for its nighttime terrors, you can anticipate unique experiences during both the day and the night on this isle. Ghorkaal, a fishing village populated by Dark Elves, is found upon Kithicor Island in Phantom Sea. You will also run into the daunting Ossuary of Malevolence and grand Castle Highhold dungeons.

East of Kithicor is the Grim Shales, formed by a massive, fallen shard of Luclin. Upon this ruined, dangerous area are iksars, Akhevans and other magically altered beings. Also found on Grim Shales is the legendary Ssraeshza Temple (in fact, the surface of the isle is the bottom of the upside-down temple). The isle of North Dshinn features hot springs, which are quite familiar when compared to the ones in Steamfont Mountains.

Dungeon: Zavith'loa

Zavith'loa is home to a tribe of war-like lizardkin called the Allu'thoa, who Akil likened to "evolutionary offshoots... cousins to lizardmen." This dungeon is a system of lush, overgrown caves beneath Dshinn, with an art style reminescent of Fungus Grove for anyone who played EverQuest's Shadows of Luclin expansion. The story behind this once-secluded race will be uncovered as you progress through the expansion.

Within the cave system you'll come across a chasm of lava at the heart of Dshinn's volcano. The Allu'thoa have embraced their environment and become lavamancers, who can manipulate the magma to build their dwellings.

Dungeon: Brokenskull Bay

Lead by Captain Krasnok (once the final boss in EverQuest's Legacy of Ykesha expansion), the band of pirates of Brokenskull Bay live in their city beneath Death Weave Isle. The captain's ship, the Hate's Fury, resides within the bay. Brokenskull Bay has "lots of verticality and openness... lots to explore and get to know the pirates" Bridges and ziplines (which players can ride, too) allow one to traverse between the city's structures.

Carlos "Gninja" Mora, who designed the zone, said that "l had so much fun making it, as you can tell. I mean, dancing pirates... what's not fun about that?" There is a contested version of the zone, and some interior parts of Brokenskull Bay can be entered.

"It may require some faith to take that next step..."

Dungeon: Ssraeshza Temple

This dungeon was home to the grand Shissar race and found within The Grey back in EverQuest: Shadows of Luclin. Having fallen from Luclin to Norrath, the pyramid embedded upside down deep into the Grim Shales isle in Phantom Sea. You'll navigate along former ceilings-but-now-floors and encounter the vicious Grimling race, as well as Akhevans (another nod to EQ's Shadows of Luclin expansion), while trying to uncover what these creatures are focused on accomplishing within the temple.

Dungeon: Castle Highhold

Found on Kithicor Island in the Phantom Sea, Castle Highhold was once the headquarters for the Far Seas Trading Company, but has now been invaded by the Akhevans. These four-armed creatures are out in force during the day, but also like Kithicor, the castle ungoes a transformation at night, where you can expect to encounter "darkness, webs and angry beasts."

Additional Information:

• Level 100 armor pieces can be upgraded multiple times to increase their power
• Legendary, Fabled and Mythical crits are being added and will be important to damage output
• Player mitigation and resistance changes have been modified so that increasing resists will now make a noticeable difference in how much damage is taken from spells
• Sets of adornments with "a lot of cool benefits" are being added. Each additional adornment in a set will give incremental benefits; gem set bonuses can also be mix and matched for more variety.

Check out this article for more details on the expansion pricing and bonus goodies. If you're an AoM beta tester who would like to contribute walkthroughs, hop over to our expansion landing page or drop Cyliena a PM on the official forums!

Ann "Cyliena" Hosler, Managing Editor