My very first adventures into the world of Norrath began in Everquest Online Adventures, a game sadly no longer playable. It was actually my very first MMO and thus holds a lot of nostalgia value for me. It had a lot of cool zones but the one that was the coolest was the Isle of Dread. It had all sorts of really spooky things in it from bugs that poisoned you for an insane amount of damage, to swarms of blades that would eat your face and everything in between. It was also the home of one of my favorite deities, Cazic-Thule, although he wasn't actually killable in game for a very long time after the zone came out. I still remember using the lag from logging in to bypass an invisible wall to get down just to see him, even if I couldn't do anything to him.
This zone was also my first intro into raiding and all the joys and perils that involves. I experienced all the lag, the lack of coordination, the frustration of your 20th wipe at 10% because the tank got one shotted. And yet I also experienced the relief of finally killing that boss, winning that much needed upgrade, even getting the experience from the group doing the most overall damage, as that was how the kills were determined. This was all on a PS2 so there were no parses, no logs, no ACT copy+paste to show how good/bad people were being.
Later on, after Frontiers came out and the zone was considerably weaker because we were all 10 levels higher, this zone brought new challenges in the form of my necromancer seeing what I could solo. Could I manage to heal my pet through Impale's 4kish damage nuke? Could I manage to pull the named swarm of blades away from the 30 boars that were very likely to add before my pet went squish? Was there any way to keep Zin the Dessicator from healing? All these were quite fun trial and error questions that made me a better player. In fact the zone in general made me a better player and it's carried through all the MMOs I've played since. It's been a solid foundation for over 11.5 years of all the challenges and rewards this genre has to offer, and I probably wouldn't be the player I am today without it.
EverQuest Franchise Holiday Contest!
SOE and ZAM team up to give the community some awesome prizes!
UPDATE: Winners have been announced!
Thank you everyone for your entries! It's definitely been a trip down memory lane reading so many wonderful stories. The contest has now ended and we'll be finalizing the list of all qualified names before randomly selecting winners in a blind drawing.
Winners will be announced by 11:59pm Pacific Time on Tuesday, December 31, 2013. Winners will also be notified via Private Messaging (PMs) on ZAM that they have won. We will update this article and post a new one as well informing everyone of the results!
This holiday season, Sony Online Entertainment and ZAM want to share the holiday spirit with the community with an epic contest! It doesn't matter if you play EverQuest, EverQuest II or want to dive into EverQuest Next Landmark, there is something for all Norrathians here. We have one grand prize and three Station Cash prizes from SOE, as well as a bonus for ten lucky people from ZAM!
- GRAND PRIZE: One winner will receive codes to the collector's editions of the most recent EverQuest and EverQuest II expansions, Call of the Forsaken and Tears of Veeshan (a $90 value each), as well as a code for the EverQuest Next Landmark Trailblazer Founder's Pack (a $100 value; total prize value of $280)
- Three more winners will each receive one $10 Station Cash code (worth 1000 SC)
- Ten more winners will each receive three months premium on ZAM
Continue after the jump for details on how this contest will work!
How to Enter
- Log in to your ZAM account (registering is free!)
- Post a comment at least 3-5 sentences long (minimum) in the comments section of this article
- The comment should focus on your favorite location in Norrath, in any EverQuest franchise title. Why is it your favorite place? Did something fun happen to you or your guild there? Do you just love the environment or lore of the location? Are you new to Norrath, but want to talk about a location you are excited to visit in-game?
- You can supplement your comment by linking to a video or picture of this location! It's not required and won't affect your entry into the contest, but it's a lot more fun to share!
- Deadline for entries is 11:59pm Pacific Time on Friday, December 27, 2013... that means you have one week to enter!
- Only one entry per person, please!
Due to the amount of entries we have, comments may take a bit of extra time to load... patience, grasshopper!
How We Judge
- As long as your entry meets the contest guidelines above, you will be entered into a random blind drawing!
- Winners will be announced by 11:59pm Pacific Time on Tuesday, December 31, 2013
- Codes for the Grand Prize and Station Cash will be sent to the appropriate winners via private message on ZAM by 11:59pm Pacific Time on Tuesday, December 31, 2013
- Winners of the three months of premium on ZAM will have it added to their account and will be notified of their win via private message on ZAM. This has to be done manually, so there may be additional delay.
Obligatory Information
- No purchase necessary, but you need to register for a free account with ZAM if you haven't yet
- You must have an account with SOE to be able to redeem the codes. They will not work for PSS1 account holders.
- We don't care which country you're in as long as you have an SOE account
- The contest begins whenever this article goes live on Friday, December 20, 2013 and ends at 11:59pm Pacific Time on Friday, December 27, 2013
- One entry per person
- ZAM staff and their immediate family are not eligible. Sorry, hubby!
- SOE employees and their immediate family are not eligible. Sorry, Roshen!
That's everything! You can enter the contest for yourself, or to try and win an awesome gift for a friend or loved one -- either way, we can't wait to read everyone's stories!
Disclaimer: I'm aware that the picture above doesn't reflect the recent EverQuest and EverQuest II expansions... what it does reflect is my favorite locations in those games! =)
Ann "Cyliena" Hosler, Managing Editor
Follow me on Twitter: @Cyliena