It all started in December 2000 when I purchased Everquest, the game. I have been a gamer since the early 1980s but had never played an MMO before.
In the next few weeks, @bingbabe would become an 'EQ Widow' as I was drawn into the harsh unforgiving world of Norrath, an obsession that would last for several years.
More recently I installed the Everquest client again on my PC. It's free to play now but a far cry from the heyday of the early noughties when adventurers banded together for quests and glory.
Many zones are now deserted as players have long since left the game for other ones with superior graphics, and easier gameplay.
This is the story replayed today as my level 66 Barbarian Shaman who can now freely roam through low and mid-level zones without fear of being killed.
If you are not a gamer and have never played an MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online Game) then you may not be able to relate to this at all.
Everquest was named 'Evercrack' due to its addictive nature and for good reason.
Other article's in this series:
The Everquest Chronicles: Halas and Everfrost
The Everquest Chronicles: The Entrance to Blackburrow
The Everquest Chronicles: Blackburrow and the Ice Giants
The Everquest Chronicles: The Bandits of Western Karana
The Everquest Chronicles: Northern and Eastern Karana
The Everquest Chronicles: HighHold Pass
The Everquest Chronicles: Kithicor and Beyond
The Everquest Chronicles: Freeport and The Ro's
The Everquest Chronicles: The Temple of Cazic-Thule
While there is still more to look at (and remember) in Antonica, I was itching to visit Kunark again. The Ruins of Kunark was the first-ever expansion for Everquest being released shortly before I was born in early 2000.
Source
...'I dreamed of Kunark as a young Shaman. One day I would
step foot in these dangerous lands'...
While I was a young Shaman, growing up in the frozen wastes of Everfrost I joined a guild and heard fantastic stories from a high-level Ranger about, 'The Lake of Ill Omen'.
To my young ears it sounded exciting and dangerous at the same time, and a place I felt drawn to.
It had been 17 years since I left Kunark and remembering the way was the first obstacle. Sure, I could get there using the portals but that was not in the spirit of the true adventurer.
You had to catch the boat in the old days and so I made my way to South Ro (previously the Oasis) to see the boat pulling away as I arrived.
It's more like a raft and you need to wait for the next one which was in real-time and around 5 minutes.
While this seems to be a waste of time, I always liked the fact that nothing came easy, and making your way to another continent DOES take time.
Timorous Deep is made up of a few islands and the connection area between Antonica and Kunark. The nostalgia flowed through my Barbarian veins viewing the approaching tropical islands and knowing I had spent weeks on these beaches around 19 years ago.
Passing the Aviaks, who still insist on attacking me even though they are 20-25 levels my junior, it was time to visit The Great Oowomp.
This Level 34 Ogre became one of my camps while growing up, that's if he was not already camped.
When entering Timorous Deep, one had to yell, CAMPS?.. to the general audience. If a reply of OOWOMP was not registered, then one could take the camp and kill this Ogre repeatedly for his riches.
The Great Oowomp spawned every 5 minutes or so making him a popular kill spot. He dropped several very bad items that could be sold to vendors for a nice sum of platinum.
You had to be careful with this Ogre as he was a caster class and could pack a punch. Once you had the strategy correct, he was a stable camp of both wealth and experience for the solo Shaman.
Now, he falls over like putty and even dropped a Chipped Bone Bracelet with the terrible stats I remember.
The next boat (raft) would take me to The Overthere; an evil zone and one I loathed travelling though.
Not remembering to cast an Invisibility spell while arriving and checking the bad in-built Everquest maps for the location of Warslicks Wood, the patrolling guards decided to attack.
THREE guards of Level 50 should not be a problem but I panicked a little as town guards general hit above their level.
All were conning Green to me, which means I would be granted experience on their defeat, but could I defeat them?
Casting Turgors Insects on all was the first step, and with my Gate prepared as an escape route, I checked the health of my mercenary.
He was doing OK, though I had to send him a few heals to mitigate the damage. No matter how hard I tried, I could not land any DOT's (Damage Over Time) spells on any of the guards, even after lowering their resistances with a Malos spell.
This was going to be a battle of attrition and after a full 5 minutes, of healing the mercenary, the guards were all dead.
I sighed relief and immediately cast Invisibility on myself. No more bloody guard's thank you very much!
Passing through the evil port town of Danak, I made it into The Overthere which is full of low-level monsters and no threat to me.
Warslicks Woods was in the distance and I swiftly ran passing Sarnack statues along the way. The Sarnack race is abundant on Kunark and this is who I would be meeting next at the Lake of Ill Omen.
The Woods were full of murk and fog. Even in past times, few battled in this unpopular zone. I scoured the horizon but could see nothing but gloom. One more zone and I reach my destination.
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If you found this article so invigorating that you are now a positively googly-eyed, drooling lunatic with dripping saliva or even if you liked it just a bit, then please upvote, comment, rehive, engage me or all of these things.
Take me back to the days. I still long for a mmorpg that made me feel how EQ felt back in the day. Nothing really comes close. I still play it once a year or so just to get the old feels back, not the same. Man that was an amazing time when Kunark first opened up, hill giant farming for that damn forest loop i believe it was called. good times.
Blimey.., I had no idea you were an ex-EQ player. I'm on right now in the Lake of Ill Omen wasting the Sarnack Fortress which is way too easy. Dreadlands and Karnock Castle is next purely for nostalgic purposes.
It's not the same.., as the people have all left and that's what made it great. That Forest Loop.., haha! and those giants.. I met some in the Frontier Mountains on the way to the Lake.
Back in the day those Forest Loops were like 300 pp, youd be lucky if you got 1 to drop all day. If you did, they went straight to the east common tunnel I believe it was called, where you would eagrly /auction WTS Forest Loop 299 pp! - Use the money to buy a Wurmslayer. I was a Ogre SK.
I remember the Wurmslayer and had an alt as a Shadowknight, they were great to play, especially reverse fear kiting, hitting them in the arse! The tunnel was great and there was always some dickhead who would train a Hill Giant in there causing havoc and mayhem amongst the newbies.
The tunnel is empty now, as is the Bazaar.. as I think you need to be a premium payer to sell your stuff.
Looks like a ton of fun. Every time you post one of these it gets me feeling nostalgic for some gaming. Something immersive that I know I am probably better off not playing because it will consume all of my time.
I took over my life for a few years, it was that good. Talk about immersive, and unforgiving. Nothing came easy, levels were a big deal and did not happen often, even during 1-10 they were slow.
It wouldn't work now and recently I have looked at The Elder Scrolls Online, ditching it fast as it was too easy. Only WoW has ever come close to Everquest.
Yeah, I miss WoW.
It's not my type of game... But your writing about it was very nice, @slobberchops.
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Thanks for continuing to make Hive awesome.