Tier 5 is where things seem to slow down again but to be honest there is not a whole lot of solo content here in this tier. You are approaching the end game content of the original Everquest II release. In the beginning of this tier you will most likely still be adventuring in Steamfont Mountains.  The Feerrott is also still relevant here until level 45. You will probably start to get tired of these zones and that’s ok since you will now be able to head out to a couple of new zones as well as some new heroic or group content. For more on zones that were covered prior Click Here. Let’s take a look at the core zones of tier 5.

Everfrost

Everfrost (40-50) was the homeland of the Barbarians. The city of Hallas use to reside in this winter wonderland. The city is said to have been lost since the shattering but some feel the city is still here somewhere in Everfrost’s icy waters. This is a really nice looking zone and is the only zone overland zone that resides in an arctic or snow environment, unless Vellious is the next expansion pack. This is a nice change of pace from the look and feel of other zones in Everquest. Everfrost was revamp recently in a game update. Much of the heroic content was removed and scaled back to be soloable. This update also added many new quest and quest hubs as well as making the zone easier to travel. There are 5 main valleys that are all connected by a series of tunnels. There are over 70 quests that can be completed in this zone by using the quest hubs that are located on the docks and 3 other major hubs throughout the zones various valleys. There are also several dropped items that give quests along with clickable items all through the zone that gives quests as well. There is on Heritage quest that involves Everfrost. Be sure to pick up An Eye for Power from Master T’Lys whom spawns on the docks facing north during the night time hours of Norrath. While you are hanging out in Everfrost you can check out a cool solo instance called The Forbidden Sepulcher (38-42).

Lavastorm

If Everfrost is a little too cold for you then Lavastorm (40-50) may be right up your alley. This zone is the extreme opposite from the icy winter wonderland. Here you have an active volcano that resides in the center of the zone. Lavastorm was revamp recently as well. New quest lines were added for charters level 40-55 as well as high-end solo content for levels 77-80. Also added were mount stations similar to those found in Looping Plains. There are no quests needed to access these mounts. They make travel around this hostel land much easier and safer. The zone works its way counter clockwise in almost an upward spiral all the way to the center volcano and the heroic shared dungeon of Solusek’s Eye (45-50) where the infamous dragon Nagafen resides. There are also new teleportation pads located on the docks in the Shrine of Thunder and to the far north halfway into the zone just west of the Temple of Solusek Ro, one in the far west in Solusek’s Valley and one more pad located at the entrance to Solusek’s Eye . You need to visit each pad once and bind to it. Lavastorm has some key heritage quests and a very important language quest called To Speak as a Dragon where you will speak with the Dragon Lord Nagafen and learn the language of the dragons which will be vital to many Deity and Epic Weapon quest lines later on.  Even with the revamp there are not as many quests here as there are in Everfrost. There are barley 50 solo quests for levels 40-57 here. The rest of them are intended for 77-80. Most of the quests take place on the docks and with the goblins located in the south and east of the zone. Very little quests exist on the west side of the zone. Two heritage quests can also be started here, The Lost Legend of Lavastorm (48) and Saving Soles (49). Oh and I almost forgot to mention that thisis where you pickup the Lore and Legend updates for the Efreeti.

The Sinking Sands

Once you hit about level 45 you can go out to The Sinking Sands (45-55) and the content of the 1st expansion pack. I love this zone and if you go and listen to Show #3 where I walk you through this zone. I know some veteran players do not like this zone but to me this is a good change to the normal lush green zones in the game. Now I agree I would not want to see much more desert zones from this point forward. There is a lot of good content here and should easily get you to level 50. You can make you way to the City of Maj’Dul and do a series of quest here. Also if you want to live in the city you can work on you factions with one of the courts of Maj’Dul. This will allow you live in the city and be able to purchase the advanced combat recipes for your tier 6 Expert Spells (formally called Adept III). With roughly 40 soloable quests here most of the quest will be found on the docks and in two camps along the beach. Travel in this desert is made easier by flying carpets located all over the zone. You will have to visit each of these carpets and attune to them much like you had to with the mounts in Lavastorm. The Cyclops Lore and Legend book can be found here in the zone near the giant spiders.

Rivervale

Rivervale was once the home to the Halflings but has now been over run by evil creatures like many of the old world homes have since the shatering. Even though Rivervale (35-45) has a lot of Heroic mobs and encounters you still have a nice little quest hub located in The Fools Gold which is the large build in the center when you zone in. There are about 6 discovery location and roughly 40 quests. Some of which can be heroic. The heritage quest By Hook or By… starts here in addition to the Lore and Legend book for the Nightbloods. These are found in the buildings located in the zone. Again this zone has a lot of heroic mobs so it may be a poor choice for soloers. I think 3 players well equipped should have little problem with this zone.

Group Content

Obelisk of Lost Souls

For the group content you can still work your way through Rivervale (40-45) until your mid 40’s as well as The Obelisk of Lost Souls (35-50). This dungeon has many ways to enter it. The easiest way is to go to the Feerrott and enter via the Tower of Vul in the middle of the zone. This bypasses the Cavern zone, but if you die you will respwan in the cavern and will be locked out unless you do the access quest. The other way to enter this is by killing groups of shadowmen in Antonica west of the druid rings, Commonlands, Nektulos Forest in the far northwest of the zone, Thunderring Steppes, and Zek. This is a very confusing zone that still requires you to unlock each of its four levels. The zone is very maze like and will require you to run from one end to the next to camp mobs to unlock the next level. Still a good zone to quest in if you can find a group. There are a bout 12 named mobs in here for those whom need that AA.

Permafrost

Another good dungeon to venture into and plenty of pick up groups will form is Permafrost (40-50). This zone is located once again at the back end of Everfrost. This is bar none one of the more exciting Dungeons’s and yields very good XP for those in the mid 40’s.  Even though there are less that 20 quest that originate here and less than 10 named mobs it is still a fun zone. Be careful sometimes the epic mob Vision of Vox can be up.

The Temple of Cazic-Thule

Another excellent Dungeon is found in the far deeps of The Feerrott. The Temple of Cazic-Thule (42-48) with roughly 20 quests and 13 named mobs which is pretty standard for content in the old EverQuest release is still a nice change of pace. The only thing that stinks is this zone is very deep in the Feerrott and there just is not an easy way to get there. you can also get the Lore and Legend book for Lizzardman here are well.

Klak’Anon

Let’s not forget Klak’Anon (45-55) former home city of the Gnomes and is now over ran with Clockworks. This dungeon is located in Steamfont Mountains. This is a really fun dungeon and you will usually always see a pick up group in the chat Channels. There is one raid zone here and one group instance called Court of Innovation which has a few named npcs to kill for AA.

 The Tower of the Drafling

Located in the center of Rivervale is The Tower of the Drafling (40-46) is another nice dungeon that is very rarely enters unless you are on the heritage quest By Hook or By… or the Ranger Epic. There are not many quests that are started for here but there is some good AA to be had and the Lore and Legend book for the Bixies. You don’t need to go here to get the book since you can get this in Greater Faydark as well. Examine a lamp on a wall at to get 5 quests. There are only 3 named mobs and one discovery but still worth checking out.

Solusek’s Eye

Last but not least you can quest in the large dungeon in Lavastorm called Solusek’s Eye (45-50). There are over 7 levels to this massive zone. Home to many important quest lines. This was the end game dungeon before any expansion packs were released. Only about 15 quest start In this zone and moist of them are item triggered throughout the zone. Not a very efficient zone for questing and not a whole lot of pick up groups are ever formed. Most people will hit this dungeon up if the need updates to quest such as Speak as a Dragon and Sol Ro deity devotion quest updates which require you to visit Lord Nagafen deep in the bottom of the zone. Also one of the only places to complete the Lore and Legend updates for the Efreeti. There are however over 20 named mobs here which is great for AA

Tier 4 is where things start to pick up again. There are some good choices from which to choose to level in. There are four overland zones to choose from each with a distinct look and feel. Also more Heroic content begins to become available for the grouping kind. The problem with a lot of these zones is they do not start at the beginning of the tier. Some of them start at 35 and overlap with tier 5 zones so you may need to finish up in Butcherblock Mountains which has mobs up to level 35 or head on out to the Enchanted Lands which is a very popular zone for this tier.

The Enchanted Lands

The Enchanted Lands were known as the Misty Thicket and Kithicor Forest back before the shattering. This was also the original home of the Halflings. You can get here by way of your local Guild Hall or Nektulos Docks mariner bells. This is a level 30-40 zone which is rich in quests. It is nicely laid out and has some good quest lines to boot. You can get here by the Mariners Bell on the Nektulos Docks. You arrive at the docks which is the main quest hub of this zone. You will also find Foomby’s Stolen Goods heritage quest here as well as Bristlebane’s Profit for those who want to start on their deity quest. There are over 21 discovery locations, 21 Named mobs and you can also pick the Lore and Legend: Goblin and Siren books here. So AA is very plentiful here it’s just the quests tend to dwindle around level 37.

Zek, The Orcish Waste

Zek (30-40) which used to be the Jaggedpine Forest is another excellent zone for this tier and is quite often out leveled before you can get here to adventure. You can get to Zek via the Mariners Bell on the Thundering Steppes Docks or your Guild Hall. There are a ton of quests that exist here and there is no shortage of XP to be had here. If you follow the quest lines to the end you can make level 40. One good tip is to just run around and kill the catapult operators for great XP. They are located just inside the zone. The main quest hubs here are located as you would expect on the Warship Dock and Fort right when you zone in. The other good hub is located in the north west of the zone in the area called Three Toe’s Watering Hole. There are a lot of Object-Triggered such as the Tombstone Quests as well as plenty of Item-Triggered Quests dropped quests. There are 14 discovery locations, 20 named mobs and the Avatar of War spawns here near the Deathfist Citadel in the far north of the zone. The Rescue of the Green Hoods and Training is a Shield heritage quests also start here.

The Feerrott

Once you hit 35 you will be able to head over to The Feerrott (35-40) which is found from the mariner’s bell on the Thundering Steppes Docks and your Guild Hall. I like this zone but many people do not like this zone at all. You can easily get lost in this zone and if you thought you felt claustrophobic in the Nektulos Forest you’re going to fill like a sardine here. This is an interesting zone when it comes to quest for there are two different quest lines. One for the good aligned and one for the evil. Good and evil people can work together on them regardless of your alignment. I see why many people do not like the quest here. They are not as many as the other zones in this tier. Most of them are acquired in the two main quest hubs after you come off the docks and venture through a small tunnel. This will offer you a quest that will take you through many important landmarks in the zone. You will also find the quest hubs in camps on the left and on the right. There are over 25 discovery locations, 27 Named mobs which include the infamous Acrimoniad Epic x2 that drops the runspeed enhancing Girdle of Escape. Also noteworthy is the Avatar of Fear whom spawns in the Cave of Fear near The Temple of Cazic-Thule. The Heritage Quest – The Screaming Mace starts here if you can get lucky to find the rare drop from Agony which is also a very rare spawn.

The Steamfont Mountains

Steamfont Mountains (35-50) which is found on the content of Faydwer is another zone that starts mid way into tier 4 at level 35. Some people claim this zone is just an extension or a copy of Butcherblock but the quest lines here are really well done and very interesting. This is also the place where Gnomeland Security Headquarters resides with some excellent quests. You can get here by many zones within Faydwer. The most common point of entry is from Greater Faydark. When you zone in you will find the fist quest giver at the crossroads due east of Greater Faydark. From here you will be sent to the main quest hub Gnomeland Security HQ. There are over 25 discovery locations and 28 Named mobs here. The Lore and Legend: Clockwork & Minotaur are also found here as well as the Heritage Quest ‘The Staff of the Observers’.

Group Content

The group content starts to get spread out and a little backwards if you ask me. Most of the dungeons that are level appropriate are in the tier 3 zones. The ever popular Nektropos Castle is located in the far northeast part of the Nektulos forest. I highly recommend this dungeon. For one it’s a lot of fun and there are a few of Heritage Quests that involve this zone as well as the only place currently to obtain the Fairy and Ghost lore and legends books and lots of named mobs here with 28 of them to kill. You can start the adventure pack The Bloodline Chronicles (30-40) here as well which has over 23 named mobs. You will have to claim Ring of T’Haen  to start the quests. There are some zones that are soloable but the main content is purely group orientated. It is a must that you claim your ring and head over to the D’Morte Burial Chambers. You can solo this and get 14 named mobs for some nice AA points. If you can get someone to mentor you could make a killing in AA’s. Check out the Dire Hollow (33-36) and Underrot Caverns (35-39). These instances are near the main river near the Timber Falls in the Nektulos forest.

Another fan favorite is the Runnyeye Citadel (30-40) located in the Enchanted Lands has over 26 named mobs. This is a good dungeon to quest in and there is generally always a pick up group available for this zone. The zone is also home to the Evil Eye Lore and legend book so make sure at least go there for this.

Once you are in your late 30’s you can start looking for groups in the Deathfist Citadel (40-50) located in the far northeast of Zek. This is most excellent experience and not to mention you will get a lot of AA points here due to the shear amount of discovery locations at 23 and 14 named mobs.

This is also where you can start you adventure by killing 28 named mobs in The Obelisk of Lost Souls (35-50). This dungeon is another realm and there are many ways to get here. The most direct way is from The Feerrott. There is a temple in the middle of the zone. The other ways are by killing groups of shadow men in numerous zones such as Antonica or Commonlands. This will open up a portal to the alternate entrance of this zone. Last but not least is the Overland zone called Rivervale (35-45) this is mostly heroic and is geared for groups but has 12 discovery locations and 2o named mobs. There are lots of Epic Mobs here as well. It’s too bad this zone is not quested in much and I very rarely see any pickup groups for this zone. One more thing here is that The Ruins of Varsoon (25-35) is still good till 35 as well as the Split Paw Saga.

It seems that according to the stats on my site leveling is the number one topic that is being googled. Since that is the case I am going to tailor some posts to leveling in Everquest II. Some of this information is already available in the EQ-IQ Leveling Guide and Show #5. I am going to revise certain sections of the guide and add to it with my weekly posts.  Today’s discussion is leveling in your 20’s.

Things slow down quite a bit from the first 20 levels when compared to the Timorous Deep and Kunark starting area. Its not that leveling itself is slow but the solo content is sparse in this tier. The quests in general do not flow as well as the Kunark zones which there are none for level 20-68. Nor are there as many quest hubs in these zones. Hang in there because once you make tier 4 things start to open up once again and you will be flooded with plenty of content to level in.

The tier 3 zones are the most accessible zones in the game. They are basically the central hubs to access just about every other major zone in the Norrath.  There are three major tier 3 zones, Thundering Steppes, Nektulos Forest and Butcher Block Mountains. Don’t think for a moment that because you are evil aligned and the Nektulos forest happens to be off the Commonlands that you have to progress your adventuring here.  You can take the Mariner Bells from the Antontica and Commonlands Docks which can take you to either the Thundering Steppes or Nektulos Forest. You can also use the boats on the Butcherblock Docks to go to either of these zones as well and vice versa. Unlike the tier 2 zones traveling is not automatic. To travel using the griffons in each of the tier 3 zones you will have to do a simple quest given to you by the griffon master. No matter which of the zones you plan on adventuring in I highly suggest you complete the griffin tower quests in each of the tier 3 zones.

The Thundering Steppes

The Thundering Steppes found off of Antonica is a very popular zone and is well laid out for questing and adventuring. You can also get here by boat from the Butcher Block Mountains and from the mariner bell on the Nektulos forest docks. There are 3 major quest hubs here and 3 minor ones. The Docks provides a lot of options in the form of quests. There are a few quest givers that will send you to other zones and many of the quests have sub quests you must complete before you can complete the initial quest. Also very nice is the Far Seas Requisitions which can be found table on the dock next to Taskmaster Deldrin. There are six which you can pick up all at once and when you finish them you can get four more Special Contracts. Other hubs which are recommended are the Antonica Gate, Griffin Fields, Bridge Keep and Coldwind Cove. There are a number of drop items that will start quests here as well as items within the zone which when clicked will also give quests. (more…)