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EverQuest and EQII expansions announced

Norrath revisits its past.

Sony Online Entertainment chose its annual Fan Faire convention in Las Vegas this week to announce expansions for long-running MMOs EverQuest and EverQuest II.

Speaking at his yearly address, SOE chief John Smedley said that the original EverQuest "is still going as strong as ever. We're very dedicated to the game, and we're coming up to a milestone I never expected to see – the tenth anniversary."

In honour of this occasion, he unveiled Seeds of Destruction, that difficult fifteenth expansion, which is due out on 21st October. Fittingly, the new content has something of a victory lap feel to it, sending players on a journey through numerous portals which will take them back to various iconic moments from the history of the game. The major gameplay change to Seeds is the addition of Mercenaries, player-controlled NPCs who can be paid to fight alongside you in battle.

In turn, EverQuest II will receive The Shadow Odyssey, the sequel's fifth expansion, on 18th November, featuring more than twenty new zones, and 60 new available achievement points, bringing the total to 200.

Continuing the theme of Seeds of Destruction, Smedley promised that The Shadow Odyssey would allow players to experience yet more nostalgic EverQuest themes, such as Najena, Mistmoore and The Sebilisian Empire, and adventure through over 18 goal-based dungeons (presumably this means there will be 19), which, he added, were, "really good".

Elsewhere, a new 'Dungeon Delving' mission system will allow players to replay content with new loot drops, and there will be two new deities added.

As part of SOE's current Living Legacy promotion, all Fan Faire attendees will receive both expansions as free digital downloads – but, seeing as you're reading this here, that probably suggests you won't be. Bad luck.