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Encyclopedia :
Z :
ZO :
ZON :
Zones of EverQuest |
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Zones of EverQuestEverQuest, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, is set in a fantasy world which is divided into more than 200 zones. Zones are playable areas of the EverQuest universe that can be accessed by players. They are connected to other zones by 'zone lines' and crossing over to another zone is called 'zoning'. Zoning can take from several seconds to more than a minute, depending on the player's computer. Zones are in essence the smallest unit of seamless playable area in the game which are stored on the player's hard drive. An area such a city might be comprised of three or four zones, while a large zone might contain an entire city and a vast forest. Zones represent a wide variety of geographical features that can be found in the EverQuest, including plains, oceans, cities, deserts, and alternate planes of existence.With the many expansions for EverQuest released over the years, there is a noticeable difference in the appearance of older zones and newer zones, which tend to have better graphics and some advanced featured such as interactive objects or scripted events with non-player characters. One of the newer features is 'instanced zones', introduced in Lost Dungeons of Norrath. These are zones where the adventuring party or raid can have an 'instance' of the zone all to themselves, and several instances can exist simultaneously. Zones are somewhat difficult to categorize because of the nature of EverQuest. The game is constantly being updated by downloadable patches and has seen as many as nine expansions. Some of the newer expansions added new zones to previously existing continents while creating new continents and alternate planes of existence. Some zones have been added through free downloadable patches in between the release of expansions, and a few zones have been removed after the release of expansions. Because of the overlapping of categorization by geography and by expansions, zones are listed here in a sort of compromise. The Old WorldThe Old World comprises three continents: Antonica, Faydwer and Odus. Most, but not all of the zones were present in the original EverQuest as released in March 1999. AntonicaErud's Crossing is the sea between the continents of Odus and Antonica, and offers a way to travel from the city of Erudin to the city of Qeynos. The boat passes alongside a volcanic island in the middle of the sea that is the home of some Kerrans. It is also famous for the number of Will-O-Wisps that wander on the island. Near the island is a sunken boat surrounded by sharks. Freeport is located at the eastern edge of the Antonica continent and its port offers a (painfully slow) way to travel to the Faydwer continent across the Ocean of Tears. This is a human city, the starting city of many humans of all classes. A part of the city is a kind of bazaar which was once used as a trading place by players (although, since the introduction of The Shadows of Luclin expansion, it is seldom used and most trade occurs in The Bazaar which lies off the Nexus instead). The guards in East Freeport and West Freeport are a somewhat evil group called the Freeport Militia. Their sworn enemies, the Knights of Truth, are the guards in North Freeport. There is a system of underground tunnels enabling travel through the city by those unfriendly to the guards. The city was originally known as Wielle and constructed by the Caerthielian empire (before the rise of the Combine Empire). It was then part of the Elddar forest. The city of the Frogloks, formerly the home of the Trolls and known as Grobb, but was invaded by the Frogloks as part of the events that happened after the release of The Legacy of Ykesha expansion. The surviving Trolls have now moved to Neriak Foreign Quarter. The city of the Barbarians. Kithicor Forest is probably what is left from the old Elddar Forest together with Nektulos Forest. It is connected to the West Commonlands, Rivervale and Highpass Hold making it an important travelling zone for adventurers travelling by road from the east coast of Antonica to the middle of the continent. At day it is safe to travel through it, although some bixies and orcs can be dangerous to lower level characters. When the Plane of Hate (home of Innoruuk) opened, the undead came to the Kithicor Forest and continue to roam it by night. The forest is inhabited by zombies and ghouls every night, making it a dangerous and edgy place for the traveller, most of whom are wise enough to wait until morning before making the crossing. Lower Guk is only accessible through Upper Guk. The zone itself is split in two areas, Dead side, on account of the number of undead frogloks (led by the Ghoul Lord), and Live side, home of minotaurs and froglok nobles lead by the Froglok King. They are the ruins of the Ancient Guk city and consists of a vast network of dark tunnels. In the original game (before any expansions were released), it was one of the two top zones in the game (with Nagafen's Lair). It was never safe to adventure alone in it and only groups of level 40 or higher can get deeper inside. The undead frogloks are socially organised as they have a king, preacher and a savant. Nagafen, or formally, Lord Nagafen, is a fiery dragon from the early days of EverQuest whose lair is in the dungeon of Solusek B. Nagafen has a legion of underlings including fire giants, gnolls and a multitude of other fire creatures. Nagafen is a fire dragon and uses a mixture of his voracious claws and fire to defeat his foes. As the game has progressed, the players became more powerful than Nagafen. Now a skilled high-level player could probably kill the dragon all alone if he were not protected by enchantments that would teleport such strong players out of his lair once they struck him. The city of the Ogres. Qeynos is a human city on the west coast of Antonica. Rivervale is home to the race of halflings. As a consequence of the buildings being constructed for characters of shorter stature, players of races less vertically challenged may experience some difficulties entering or exiting some of the buildings and facilities of the city. It adjoins the zones of Misty Thicket and Kithicor Forest. Surefall Glades is the home of Human and some Half-Elf Rangers and Druidss. The Temple of Solusek Ro was made available as a free download on October 13, 1999. The residents of this zone offer many quests, and everyone can safely enter the temple from Lavastorm Mountains. It is not usually used as a combat zone, although players may have to fight there to acquire some powerful items. The most important quests made available in the zone are the class specific armors. These were introduced to replace the Rubicite Armor which was removed from the game when this zone was implemented. Nowdays, with new expansions, these items are comparatively a lot less powerful. The Arena is a huge circular stone building with no roof. The only entrance and exit is a small tunnel that leads to Lake Rathetear. Upon entering the zone, the traveler would then move into a huge cirular area between the outer rock wall and the arena itself. The only entrance into the Arena proper is on the opposite side of the building, to make sure players do not stumble into the actual fighting ground by accident. Moving into the entrance one sees huge stands, and in the center of the grounds is a huge square platform, where the actual fighting will take place. The Arena used to be the main site for many events in the game including online weddings, guild wars, etc. On many occasions there were many events organized by game masters as well. However, the zone is mostly abandoned. FaydwerAk'Anon is the city of the Gnomes. Felwithe is the city of the High Elves. Greater Faydark is the lower end forest zone in Faydwer, and is adjacent to Lesser Faydark, Felwithe, Crushbone, and Butcherblock Mountains. Greater Faydark houses the Wood Elf city of Kelethin, made up of numerous platforms on trees to hold the buildings. Greater Faydark is a zone which allows for levels 1-12 or so to level up off by killing the orcs, bats, rats, spiders and skeletons which roam the zone. After level 12, Crushbone is the logical progression for players seeking to slay higher level orcs. Kaladim is the city of the Dwarves. Kedge Keep is located off of Dagnor's Cauldron where its entrance is under water. It is wholly an underwater dungeon, the character entering must be able to ensure that he or she can continue to breathe, either by use of a spell, or by an item which allows the player to breathe. The Estate of Unrest is a haunted mansion and grounds. Garanel Rucksif was a dwarf who went insane and his ghost still roams the premisis. OdusThe city is mainly known for its palace, home of to some of the most powerful magicians of Norrath, and location of its bank. There is also a library from which may be purchased spells of great power, some of which cannot be obtained elsewhere. No direct paths exist between docks, the palace and the main city, instead they are connected by magical gems that teleport the visitor from one place to the other. The zone being a city, there are few things to fight, although one can find sharks at the docks or try to fight with the Erudin guards. The boat leads to Erud's Crossing whereas the back side of the city lead to the mysterious Toxxulia Forest. Kerra Island is located close just off mainland of the Odus continent (one can swim to it easily). It can be accessed from the east coast of Toxxulia Forest, then entered by way of an underground path to enter the zone itself. The island is a shelter for the Kerran race after they were chased from the mainland by the Erudites. The Kerran queen and her court are heavily guarded but the city is peaceful to newcomers. Most players have never visited the island, and know little about Kerrans. This is probably because the island is well hidden (it can't be seen from the coast) and conveniantly accessible only by Erudites, who usually leave Odus to go to Qeynos to continue their adventures. Paineel is the city of the Heretics, a breakaway faction of Erudites who practice necromancy. The forest is usually the logical place for new Erudites' first adventures. The darkness makes it hard to start a career and Kobolds will attack Erudites on sight. From the west coast it is possible to swim to the Kerra Island. In a downloadable patch, a new city was added to the end of the Forest: Paineel which also leads to The Hole. The druid and wizard teleporters to access the Odus continent are located in the middle of the forest. PlanesKunarkThe continent of Kunark was introduced in The Ruins of Kunark expansion in March 2000. VeliousThe continent of Velious was introduced in LuclinLuclin, a moon of Norrath, was added inPlanes of PowerThese zones were introduced in YkeshaThese zones were added by Lost Dungeons of NorrathThese instanced zones were added by the Gates of DiscordThese zones were added in the Gates of Discord expansion in February 2004. Instanced Zones Omens of WarThese zones were added by the Instanced Zones Dragons of NorrathThese zones were added by the Dragons of Norrath expansion in February 2005. Other zones
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