Originally Posted on Stratics...
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<Brannoc> Welcome to another great House of Commons chat with the
developers of Everquest! The topic will be Omens of War so please try to
ask questions around it.

<Brannoc> Please send said questions to [QT]Brekkee or [QT]Gowel or [QT]
PhroG - to do so type /query NICK and type in the window that pops up.
Questions sent to myself or the developers will NOT make it into the
lineup, so don't bother. Full logs of the chat will be up on
http://eq.stratics.com shortly after the chat.

<Brannoc> So without further ado we'll start with a brief introduction
from the developers, now would be a good time to send those questions.

<Rytan> Hi everyone, I'm Ryan Barker a senior game designer on EverQuest

<Rashere> Hey everyone. I'm Travis McGeathy, one of the game designers
on EverQuest.

<Brenlo> Howdy, I am ALan Crosby also known as Brenlo

<Brenlo> and sometimes I go by Hey you

<Brannoc> *Melisande_Luclin* Are there things in OoW that will be for
all levels other than the Task System?

<Brenlo> good question

<Brenlo> Rytan is thinking up an answer

<Rytan> The task system is the only content of the expansion that?s
geared towards ?ALL? levels but it?s very far reaching. The system has a
lot of content that causal players are going to be able to enjoy at all
levels.

<Brenlo> His keyboard is on fire

<Rytan> The new zones for the expansion are geared for levels 45-70 and
generally accessible to all players. There?s only one keyed zone in the
expansion. It?s a lot like Velious in that regard.

<Brannoc> *Subu* What are the plans for continued development of
Everquest after OoW is released or will there be a major push for
Everquest 2?

<Brenlo> We have already planned out the next 18 months of EQ
development and have lots planned for the future. EQ and EQ2 will run
concurrently and there are no plans to make anyone switch games. We want
you to continue to enjoy EQ for years to come.

<Brannoc> (Please remember to focus your questions to the Omens of War
expansion when sending to our QT's!)

<Brannoc> *Pumra* will a level 1 be able to use the task system?

<Rytan> You actually do have to be at least level 3 to get a task, but
with the new tutorial you?re probably going to be level 5 before you
even get out of the tutorial. So it?s really available to everyone
almost immediately.

<Brannoc> *Fanon_EMarr* Will we continue to see rune-style spell turn-
ins in OoW or will there be a return to the actual dropped spells? In
addition, will any spells besides transit-relate be available from
vendors at release?

<Rytan> The spell acquisition system for Omens is going to be a lot like
the PoP system, except that you?ll get a different rune for each level
set, and you won?t get repeats of the same spell when you turn them in.
We don?t plan on having any non-travel spells on vendors at release.

<Brannoc> *Bigfan* Once OoW goes live, where should I go, or what should
I do first?

<Brenlo> Where should you go? Whereever you want =) Provided you are of
appropriate level. You could start on your epic 2. Do some tasks. Try
some of the new tradeskill recipes or start working on the new AAs or
levels. Personally, I will be doing a few tasks.

<Brannoc> *Grizumpy* In OoW is there going to be a wider variety of
augments, for some focii that were left out of God, Currently there are
only a few items that "Extend Dot Duration" and they are all in Planes
of Power, Will OoW look to address the lack of certain focus/augs in
GoD?

<Rytan> Augments as well as traditional gear will have the foci
available on a number of new pieces of equipment. Omens should offer a
greater variety of items available for any foci that you?re looking for.

<Brannoc> *Auricula* Will OoW have content soloable to level 70 for
casual players who are not elemental-equipped. Will there be soloable
instanced zones?

<Brenlo> We will not be adding any solo instanced features at this time.
It is something that we are exploring but would take a tremendous amount
of work and is not something we could do rapidly.

<Brannoc> *MrGnomer* How tough will Magi pets be compared to now and how
will current focus work on them?

<Rytan> Mage pets are getting a solid boost from 66-70. There?s several
mages in beta that are from the mage?s tower that have been working with
me to help tune the pets for omens. This is also true of the
necromancer, beastlord, shadowknight, shaman, and enchanter pets.
Current foci will continue to work on the new pets.

<Brannoc> *Darcreaper_7th* how does the tasks work and what do you get
out of it once finished a task

<Brenlo>Tasks put together a few elements that may require you to kill
something, explore an area, or hail a certain NPC. Each time you will
have a change of getting one of 3500 different tasks that result in an
xp reward and perhaps some cash.

<Brannoc> *Guest36* How much did input from the players factor in to the
content of OOW (AA's, zones, ect.)

<Rashere> Player input plays an important role in the design of any
expansion. For Omens of War in particular, the feedback we received from
players during previous expansions played a large role in the overall
design of the expansion.

<Rytan> The players in beta and on test are one of our most valuable
resources when creating and tuning content.

<Rytan> we've got lots of players that we're constantly talking to in
regard to all aspects of the game.

<Brenlo>In fact, after gathering your feedback the team took many of the
designs back to the drawing board and reworked much of the expansion.
All thanks to you and your input.

<Brannoc> *SDKSnowboy* Several rumors have been afloat as to leveling
from 65 to 70. Will advancing to level 70 be based purely off of
standard XPing, and will there be any Requirements, AA or otherwise, to
achieve levels.

<Rytan> Leveling from 65-70 will be exactly like leveling from 60-65.
Traditional experience filling that little yellow and blue bar that you
all know and love.

<Brannoc> *zabab* Are you going to give ranger mgb AA?

<Rashere> There are no plans at the moment to add Mass Group Buff to the
Ranger AA list.

<Brenlo> Sorry Rangers

<Brannoc> *Sobewiz* will OOW offer "piggy back" into zones that some
members or recruits may not be flagged for, much like the Elemental
Planes ?

<Rytan> Yes there?s plans to allow recruits to be added more easily to
the locked zone in Omens. I don?t want to go into detail as it?s not
finalized yet, but it should be big improvement over what you had to do
in the past to backflag players in PoP and Gates.

<Brannoc> *Give_monks_more* The cost of aa's in oow... will they be like
PoP or GoD in terms of pricing? Most ppl consider GoD aa's overpriced,
and will there be any refund of GoD over priced aa's?

<Rashere> The cost of AAs in Omens of War is not fixed at the moment,
but I?m expecting them to be priced below the level of Gates AAs. I?ll
be taking a look at the cost of Gates AAs in the near future and may
make adjustments

<Brannoc> *LoD_Tsar* How much of Omens content will be instanced?

<Rytan> There?s instanced areas for each of the appropriate level ranges
that Omens is set up to support for experience group content in addition
to several static zones. There?s also a portion of the raid content
that?s instanced as well, along with several static events/raids as
well. Really it?s a mix of both types.

<Brenlo> Oh and Yes Rashere knows Rangers have MGB. It was his attempt
at humor. . . =P

<Rashere>shoulda added a smiley

<Brannoc> *Bahlec* what will the max ft that a char can aquire be?

<Rashere> The maximum level of Flowing Thought in Omens is still under
debate.

<Brannoc> *strumsor* Hello, all the bards in my guild, myself included,
am curious about the new charms in OOW - they seem very powerful. Could
you give us a little detail into what the max level for charm is? thanks

<Rytan> The final level limits for charm aren?t finalized yet, so I
can?t tell you what they?ll be at release. They are in review and you
can expect to see adjustments to those spells as beta progresses.

<Brannoc> *Rykzz* What can we expect in OoW for the casual gamer who
might not be even close to maxing out his avatar?

<Brenlo> Casual gamers will get lots of benefits from the task system.
However the content is also very open and available for levels 45 and
up. So there will be lots of room for pick up groups and xp groups
without the need to raid. Only one zone in the expansion even requires a
flag, so head on over and enjoy the new content, new items and new AAs.

<Brannoc> *Nerfme* Are level 51 to 65 tasks going to be in game on
release?

<Brenlo>We plan to at the moment but things can change. Watch for any
announcements as we get closer to launch.

<Brannoc> *Wemerwena-Quell* based on the negative feedback in the
EQforums on everquestlive, will the devs change the class AA's before
OOW goes live?

<Rashere> The AA list on beta currently is a preliminary list that will
be tweaked and tuned throughout the beta testing period.

<Rytan>Again there's a lot of feedback coming from prominent members of
the player community that are influencing our decisions as beta
progresses.

<Rytan> we're definitely not trying to make this expansion in a vacuum

<Brenlo> We also need to evaluate what is best for the game and all
classes and not just one class. We do value your feedback on the AAs
though and encourage you to continue to submit it. In a constructive
manner please. =)

<Brannoc> *Guest80* Will there be any high level frogs added so us frog
levelers can keep up the trend in OoW for getting to 70?

<Brenlo> Well, we really would like you to go out and see more of the
world than just the Froggie areas. Besides, you must be tired of frog
legs by now.

<Rytan> I play a froglock! >

<Brenlo> He has warts and everything

<Brannoc> *tearabite* Will tasks be only part of OoW. Or will the tasks
require you to adventure all over Norrath?

<Rytan> The task system will involved zones all across Norrath. It
should give you some new reasons to visit those old zones that you might
have been to in a long time.

<Brannoc> *Saree3* How did you choose the name "Omens of war"? Previous
expnasions carried the name of the continent mainly like Velious, Kunark
& Luclin.

<Brenlo> Well we wanted to sort of take a new direction with the naming
conventions. We think you will like the new approach. . .

<Brannoc> *Computer* How will the new bind/gate system work. It looks
like there will be new secondary bind points for casters and melee will
be able to gate. Is this correct?

<Rashere> The Secondary Recall AA will recall the player to a point that
is set by use of an item called a Stone of Marking. The stone has the
same limitations as normal bind affinity.

<Rashere> In addition, a general AA will allow any class to recall back
to a friendly city. That point cannot be changed.

<Brannoc> *locvz* Can we expect to see more zones similar to Kod`Taz in
terms of loot, tradeskills, augments and experience in Omens of War? If
so, will it (or they) be locked? How many locked zones are planned for
Omens of War?

<Brenlo> There will be only 1 zone that requires a flag. Only 1. The
rest of the zones will be open and populated with all kinds of fun
monsters with great items.

<Brannoc> *Garbar* Will we be able to BIND in OOW ? not being able to
bind anywhere in GOD is a real pain, and everyone i play with dislikes
it

<Rytan> Bindable locations will be less restrictive then they were in
Gates. You won?t be able to bind everywhere, but there will be a few
locations that you can bind in.

<Brannoc> *ramsly* hello  how will the epics compare to each other in
the upcomming expantion and will the solo epic be worth the effort to
get?

<Brenlo> We have laid out templates for each epic quest to make sure
that each is comparable. No one class will have it easier than another.
The epics will also be just as valued from class to class for their
stats. I am not sure what you mean by solo epic. If you mean the epic
1.5 then yes it will be worth getting and will be a natural part of the
quest progression.

<Brannoc> *Naika* reguarding epic 2.0....will epic 1.0 be required in
order to move on to 2.0? thanks 8)

<Rashere> The original epics are not required in order to do the quests
for the new ones, but possessing one of the original epics will allow
you to skip some of the earlier steps.

<Brannoc> *Jolo* what level and class characters do the developers of
Omens play?

<Brenlo> We all play different classes and levels. I, for expample, have
a high level Magician, while Rytan has a Bard, Monk and Shaman. Rashere
plays with his foot hair.

<Rashere>My erudite finds your halfling ways disturbing.

<Brannoc> *Sylvene* What are your favorite pizzas? Anyone do anchovies?

<Brenlo> I do not do anchovies. I like those new BBQ pizzas.

<Rashere> Why destroy such a wonderful creation by adding little fish?

<Rytan> Peperoni Mushroom for the win!

<Brannoc> For our final question of the night: *Sole9042* The new
graphics in OoW look great! Will the new graphics effect anything other
than the new content added?

<Brenlo> Well not yet is the short answer. Everything we build from now
on will look that good or better. We are trying to figure out how to
best get all of the other zones and monsters done. When we do, they
would not be part of an expansion and would be available to all EQ
players.

<Brannoc>(Ok I lied) *naiche* will there be new visible titles before
your name associated with OoW AA gain?

<Rytan> We're working on plans to retrofit the old world areas with the
new style art as time allows.

<Rytan> that was for the one above BTW >

<Rashere> Omens of War introduces a new feature that allows characters
to earn titles through various means and then choose which one they wish
to display at any time.

<Brannoc> And that's it for this one! Thanks for coming everyone, and be
sure to join us next time around. If you didn't get your question in,
try next time! The logs will be up on http://eq.stratics.com shortly.

<Brenlo> Thanks all for coming and chatting with us. Thanks to Stratics
and their team for setting this up.

<Brenlo> Special thanks to Sylvene for her wit and charm =)

<Rytan> thanks for coming everyone!