Everquest 2 Nights of the Dead .

Halloween is without a doubt one of the most exciting times of the year in real life as people from all walks of life prepare to take to the streets, enjoying the plethora a of candy and treats offered by neighbors, businesses, and complete strangers. Maybe you’ve taken part in it before, or maybe you’ve made an effort to skip it completely over the years. No matter what your preference is, it is something that goes on, and avoiding i completely has never actually been an option. Video game holidays, on the other hand, are a different monster entirely. These are definitely something that can be enjoyed for a number of different reasons, and as you probably know by now, each MMO has a different take on the Halloween tradition. Everquest 2 is absolutely no different in this regard.

Each and every year hundreds, or perhaps even thousands of Norrathians gather at various points throughout the world. Some in the Nektulos Forest, some in the Loping Plains, and some in front of their preferred crafting stations to bake yummy treats. What’s the occasion? Nights of the Dead, of course! It’s one of the greatest holidays in Norrath, and you’re invited to join us there until Mid November at which point all of the wonderful festivities will vanish and you’ll be forced to return to the mundane routine of adventuring without the added incentive of Halloween goodness. That isn’t to say that it’s not a great place without Nights of the Dead, but you have to admit, it definitely adds a bit of fun. That being said, let’s explore what Nights of the Dead is all about, and once again, we remind you it runs until Mid November.

 

Questing Opportunities

There are a number of fun quests available, though most of them must be completed in sequential order. Want to know more? Take a quick look at your achievements window and hover your mouse over the ‘Nights of the Dead Devotee’ achievement, which will give you a list of all the quests that you can complete until mid-November.

The first quest you’ll undertake, most likely, involves a haunted mansion wherein an entire family was murdered, and it is your task to clear. It seems pretty straightforward (and it is), until you reach the end of the ‘dungeon’, and find a mirror. Clicking the mirror will present you with a boss to fight, but not just any boss. It’s you. Yes, you, or rather an exact copy of your character without your abilities and two levels higher. If you’re a caster it’s going to be an easy fight, but if you depend on melee, you’re going to have some hell to pay. This is actually one of the more popular Nights of the Dead events and why not? Who wouldn’t relish the opportunity to play with themselves in front of a mirror?

There are many other Nights of the dead quests for you to partake in, one of them being a very complicated maze which sported some amusing moral dilemmas – or what should have been dilemmas if your character had been thinking straight at the time. Throughout the maze, in which you try to find a cure for a certain NPC before he succumbs to an illness that will cause him to transform into a werewolf, and you started out with the best of intentions. As you progress through the maze, however, you encounter a plethora of challenges, one of which is the acquisition of a ‘frictionless piece of eight’ which immediately slips through your fingers, disappears, and causes you to fly into a primal rage which apparently causes your character to lose most of their intelligence, grow ten feet in height, and take on the all the abilities of an epic encounter. At this point you rush through the maze and encounter some normal Norrathian citizens who have seemingly taken on the names of food items and beat them to death as part of your apparent hallucination. Once you commit this senseless act of murder you move to the center of the maze where you encounter the poor guy you were supposed to heal, but you don’t have a cure with you, so you simply watch as he transforms into a werewolf and murder him in what could be considered cold blood.

Following this, you simply report to the quest giver that you er…saved the victim and are given the task of saving a small child who is trapped in a village full of zombies, at which point the entire thing turns into the Walking Dead with magic. Yes, it’s completely ridiculous, but this is the one thing I’ve always loved about Everquest 2: it never takes itself more seriously than it has to.

 

There are many other quests that you’re going to discover as you move forward through the Devotee achievement line, but you should also consider taking a look at the other achievements that you can obtain. Nights of the Dead offers unique opportunities to craft Halloween related food, earn achievements, and be an all around badass at the crafting table – its’ not something that you will want to miss, that’s for sure. To make it even better, they add a little something new each every year for those who are hunting new achievements.

The More Things Change…

There are some basic fundamentals that do not change during Nights of the Dead. First of all, you can obtain Candy Corn from quests, which can be traded to a Nights of the Dead merchant in major cities for rewards related to the holiday. To obtain candy corn, either head to the broker, or talk to Grabby Gigglegibber who will give you this sweet treat in exchange for Candy Treats – a fairly common Nights of the Dead monster drop. Remember, there are different offerings every year, and this year has been absolutely no different. Some of the additions for this year include:

• New Illusions for Gigglegibber Goblin’s Unpredictable Illusion
• New Rewards for existing Nights of the Dead Events
• New Costume Illusions(buy from Nights of the Dead merchands)
• New Recipe Book (Celebrations of the Dead VIII)

As you can see, this year, just like every other year around this time, there is a LOT of fun to be had for those who want to partake in the holiday. As always it is completely optional, but really, what kind of person would even want to miss out on the fun? There are plenty of bosses to fight, children to save, diseases to cure (or not) and zombies hordes to fight.

 

Returning to the Fray

As we said before, Nights of the Dead occurs every year at the same time, and if you completed any of the quests last year, you will be able to pick up right where you left off. You will be able to continue working on last year’s achievements, and if you have already completed all of the Devotee quests, you can investigate to see if there are any new achievements or perks offered for completing them a second time. Also remember that you can complete the quests on different characters, making it entirely worth it to dust off that old character you forgot you had. Don’t worry, we didn’t forget about it.

Getting started with Nights of the Dead is pretty easy. All you need to do is find an event quest giver to get you started, and these are usually found right in your home city. I found mine in Halas, for example, and it starts with the quest: ‘This won’t end well’ which sends you to the Loping Plains for your first quest. One thing to remember however is that the Loping Plains is a level 60 area, so if you are below that, make sure you travel with a group, unless of course you play a rogue that is capable of casting invisibility spells. There is actually quite a bit of ground to cover and absolutely none of it is going to be friendly. Don’t worry though; the end most definitely justifies the means. Unfortunately, there are very few Halloween quests that actually take place in the Loping Plains.

 

A Great time for All

Halloween is one of the greatest times in Norrath, whether you spend your time in Everquest 1 or Everquest 2. Just remember to ‘bring a change of greaves’, as they say, and for once, they aren’t joking; some of those quests are downright scary. Are you ready to experience the intensity that is Nights of the Dead? There are some quests that will be downright disturbing and some that will make you question your morality while laughing manically in real life. Most importantly, remember that nights of the dead is about having fun. There are lots of events for you to try and lots of ways for you to enjoy the holiday whether you are crafter, a quester, or dabble in a bit of both. Remember, the sky is the limit, unless you want to go to the moon. That’s something you’ll have to take up with Daybreak.