Everquest’s 21st expansion, The Darkened Sea, continues the “Year of EverQuest” celebration in honor of EverQuest’s 15th anniversary. The latest expansion for the classic MMO returns players to the lands of the Buried Sea. In The Darkened Sea, players will revisit familiar storylines and characters, and tread through both re-imagined areas and all new locales as they fight to return peace to Norrath.

Everquest II’s latest expansion, Altar of Malice, adds many new features to the now decade old game. Players will be able to explore the mysterious lands of The Shattered Seas.

The Shattered Seas is made up of two new overland zones, The Tranquil Sea and The Phantom Sea. Whether you enjoy grouping or playing solo, 15 new heroic zones and six advanced solo instances means that there’s a zone that will appeal to everyone! If you enjoy some friendly competition, there are also two new contested zones just waiting for some player action. Let’s take a closer look at some of the new zones available with this expansion!

In addition to the new zones, players and guilds will finally be able to reach level 100, a truly epic achievement. Finally, players will also gain access to a brand new playable race, the Aerakyn!

The Aerakyns are a new player race that features a variety of special customizations that include various horn types and a wide variety of colors for skin, scale, hair, and eyes. Special wing appearances, animated wing attacks, and a fiery racial trait help make the Aerakyn race stand out from the crowd. Such a wide selection of customizations means that you will be able to create a very unique character!

On top of the brand new expansions comprising of dozens of zones, hundreds of quests, and new level caps of 100 and 105, Everquest II celebrates its 10th anniversary this month. Originally released in 2004, Everquest II has a long and storied history that’s made it a fan favorite among raiders, questers, crafters, and player housing enthusiasts alike.

EQII 10th ANNIVERSARY QUICK FACTS:

• Christopher Lee and Heather Graham lent their voices to the inaugural launch trailer.
• EQII introduced the first robust Housing and Crafting system ever to grace an MMO.
• Emmy-award winning composer Laura Karpman composed the game’s original score.
• More than 1,000 voice actors, including Wil Wheaton and Minnie Driver, have brought life to the many characters of EverQuest II.
• Back in 2005, a simple, first ever in-game command (“/pizza”) allowed the denizens of EQII to order pizza directly from the game.

Seriously go buy this magazine. You can get all the details on the rest of the issue and where to buy the digital edition online after the break.

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Subscribers should already have this issue in-hand. If for whatever reason you aren’t subscribed, you can grab a subscription or the single issue on physical and digital newsstands.

Also inside:

• Exclusive new EverQuest Next info!
• Previews: Galactic Civilizations 3, Volume, Daylight, and more
• TEN gaming displays reviewed
• Playing Half-Life 2 with the Oculus Rift
• How The Dark Mod steals Thief’s crown

• All the usual suspects: letters, rigs, and everything else

RockPaperShotgun has an exclusive interview with Dave Georgeson regarding EQ Next and Landmark. One of the most interesting ideas coming out of the interview is that SOE is no longer content with simply one EQ universe. They would prefer thousands of unique player created worlds while at the same time offering a professionally created experience in the form of EQ Next.

Interesting concept, but can both ideas coexist independently while also sharing a market sector with their Everquest and Everquest 2 siblings? 2014 should be an interesting year.

Dave Georgeson, the always smiling and charismatic  lead for Everquest Next teased us for a possible announcement regarding the game. The tweet  “11 11 11 11″ lead many to speculate that an big announcement was forthcoming on 11/11 at 11:11am (or pm). What happens tomorrow at either 11s will hopefully be very interesting for news starved Everquest fans.