Yesterday saw the launch of the EverQuest II Origins server Anashti Sul.  This is not just another cheap nostalgia tour through the old content using the modern mechanics however.  This is an attempt to get back to an earlier feel of EQII.  Not the original feel, not the chaos of 2004, nor the transitional era of 2005, but what I like to think of as the “rebirth” that really kicked off in 2006 with the Echoes of Faydwer expansion.

Welcome to the age of origins

To get to this level of “origins” the EQII had to fork the code base so they could do things for this server that they have not be able to do on past fresh start, time locked expansion servers.

Now, this is not a trivial task and something that no doubt kept Blizzard from rolling out WoW Classic sooner than it did, though now they have three branches going, retail, classic, and classic_era.  But they also have something like 5x as many people working on WoW as Darkpaw has working on EverQuest and EverQuest II combined.

So I am kind of surprised that the Norrath team went this hard to bring back a 2006 version of a game that because… and I have a lot of affection and a great deal of investment in EQII… it was the title that launched in November of 2004 that sent most of its initial audience back to EQ or onward to WoW.

WoW Classic was a rousing success because millions of people played WoW to the point that it defined the genre.  Likewise, EQ retro servers succeed because somewhat fewer millions… but still millions… of people played EQ to the point that it defined the genre until WoW came along.

Which isn’t to say that EQII doesn’t have its dedicated audience… but it is a much smaller audience.  And yet, this is where Darkpaw chose to invested their limited and valuable development time.  I’m not saying I don’t appreciate the gesture, but I do question it some as a smart business move.

Here’s to hoping I am just a pessimist.

Anyway, I ended up down the editorial sink hole because in forking the code there are some extra steps you have to take if you wish to play on the new server because it does not use the default client.  From the launch announcement:

• Open your LaunchPad and login.
• In the top-left corner, click the ‘Version’ link which will open the ‘Select Game Version’ panel.
• Choose ‘Origins’ in the drop-down menu, and then hit ‘Apply’ to begin patching.
• Hit ‘Play’ once patching has completed.

That sounds simple enough but I still managed to run past it because my copy of the launcher keeps me logged in, so when it said “login” I hit play and if you do that you’ll never find the server.  So I took a screen shot to make it a little easier for the two people this will probably matter to who hasn’t yet logged in.

Origins Server Launcher Settings

So click on that “version” in the upper left, click on “select game version” from the options displayed, select “Origins” from the drop down, and hit “apply” and you’ll be set to start downloading the new client.

But EQ and EQII have long had dynamic background downloading, so you can play pretty much right away.

And what does all this get you?  Here is what the server offers up to tempt you to experience the game once more:

• The Origins Server, Anashti Sul, launches today!
  • The initial launch of the Origins server will be Shattered Lands, with no expansions and without The Bloodline Chronicles, or The Splitpaw Saga active on the server.
  • To patch the Origins server, you just need to set the version on the launchpad to “Origins”.
• An Origins server is a server set into a specific timeframe with as much rolled back to that exact timeframe as possible. In the case of Anashti Sul, the timeframe that the game exists in is early 2006.
• Some specific points of note:
  • Class abilities are as they were in 2006.
  • Character racial traits have been restored to their 2006 versions.
  • Enemy tactics have been consolidated into the class training trees at level 16, 26, 32, and 38.
  • Tradeskills exist as they did just after the removal of sub-combines.
  • Attributes have restored secondary functionality. Agility will help avoid melee attacks, intelligence will increase ability potency, strength will increase auto-attack and melee ability damage, and wisdom will grant extra resistance.
  • There is a marketplace, but it is very limited.
  • Qeynos and Freeport are back to their uncombined glory, complete with suburbs and hoods.
  • Zones have hard lockouts again instead of persistent instancing.
  • Krono may not be consumed, brokered, or traded on an Origins server.
  • Auto-Attacks will not trigger while an ability is in the process of casting.
• Some specific things could not be restored:
  • Weight. Strongboxes specifically have a limitation that will slow players who attempt to use them as bags outside of city zones or house zones. Otherwise, weight does not exist.
  • Mitigation and resistances are still their consolidated versions. For example, there is a single Arcane resistance instead of Divine, Magic, and Mental resistances.
• The Marketplace on Origins is very limited and will not include things that overly impact progression such as spell research.
• Origins Marketplace will work on a seasonal basis, where appearance items such as mounts, houses, etc will cycle on or off of the marketplace over time. If you miss an item that cycled off, it will become available again once that season cycles around again.
• Familiars on an Origins server will be appearance only and grant no bonuses.
• Mounts on an Origins server will only grant ground mount speed. No flying, no leaping, no slithering, no floating, and no stat bonuses.

The part of 2006 they don’t mention in the patch notes, but are clear about elsewhere, is that a Daybreak all access subscription is required to play.  Subscriptions were everything back in 2006, so it is completely authentic in not offering any  sort of free to play.

There is also a brief launch trailer to get you in the mood.

Sounds great.  I should be juiced up to give it a try.  And, since I have had a Daybreak all access account active for most of 2024 so far, all the better to write about Norrath on this anniversary year, I got right in there and rolled up a character.  I even got my first name choice.

Then I got into the game and to the starting isle and… I really felt the weight of having walked these steps so very many times before.  I did a couple of quests and logged off, not really feeling it.

Now maybe I was just tired at the end of the work day.  Maybe the weekend will find me more enthused.  But after having played at launch for two expansions, then again at Echoes of Faydwer with new characters, and once more at the EQII Extended free to play launch with another fresh set of characters, and finally a couple more times on past retro servers… well, it just made me feel tired.  Maybe some things are better left as memories.

But don’t let me rain on your parade if you want to give 2006 a shot again.  It was a different world back then and I was a much younger gamer.

Related:

• Darkpaw – Anashti Sul is LIVE!
• Darkpaw – June 19th Update Notes
• Darkpaw – Tips for New Players
• Massively OP – EverQuest II’s Anashti Sul progression server is live with its 2006 throwback vibes
• Inventory Full – Welcome To Anashti Sul. Please Have Your Papers Ready
• Inventory Full – It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again