Lords of Everquest Preview

Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) has a record of accomplishment for taking risks and having them pay off. After huge and lasting success with EverQuest, SOE blazed new trails with the MMORPG/FPS hybrid PlanetSide. Now SOE is throwing its hat into the Real Time Strategy ring with Lords of EverQuest (LOE). With units coming straight from the EverQuest Universe, SOE already has a wealth of factions, classes, and special abilities to draw on, so you can expect to see a lot of variety, which should make for some interesting strategies.

Stand back, dark-clad stranger of the night!

I need some juice... ah, there it is!

In this stage of the Beta, the only single-player mission is the in-game tutorial, which acquaints new players with standard Real Time Strategy (RTS) controls like movement, combat and how to activate your units' special abilities. SOE has stated that there will be 32 single-player missions for people to cut their teeth on and get familiar with game mechanics before plunging into multiplayer. After the comprehensive tutorial is completed, you can jump onto the SOEGames.net service and find other players to compete with, or you can create your own game and populate it with computer opponents. SOEGames.net is a free service that players will be able to access when they purchase the game. There will be NO monthly fees in order to play against others online, unlike the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing version of EverQuest. Since SOE is all about online play, they know what it takes to make online play an enjoyable experience. To that end, I experienced rapid connections to the service, speedy patch downloads and no lag in-game. Granted, there were very few people online while I was playing but seeing that the MMORPG version of EverQuest supports tens of thousands of people on their servers at one time, I don't think lag will be a problem for them.

Once you have entered or created a game, you can choose from three main factions that should be familiar to anyone who has played EverQuest: The Shadowrealm, The Dawn Brotherhood, or The Elddar Alliance. After choosing your faction, you can choose from one of five different Lords to lead your troops into battle. Lords have his/her own strengths and weaknesses that lend to their play style and carry over to the troops that they command. After deciding on factions and lords, the game begins, as does the normal RTS grind. Resources have to be harvested (in this case, Platinum) buildings must be constructed to gain access to new units, unit upgrades, and base defenses must be constructed. Even in the early stages of the Beta, one thing is clear: The game is a visual treat. All the buildings and units are finely detailed and animated. When units use their special abilities or cast spells, each one has unique animations and sounds that you may enjoy due to the camera controls that allow you to zoom right next to anything on the map.

Thanks to Warcraft III, all of the aforementioned features are considered defaults for any RTS today. Where LoE leaves the pack behind is in the way every unit, not just your Lord, has the ability to gain experience and raise levels, making troop management very important. While you do have the ability to mass produce a single troop type and follow the tank rush mentality, it is much better to send out forces that compliment each other so they can survive and grow in strength and power until they are Knighted, rather than to die in waves. Once a unit gains Knighthood, it gains another special combat ability that makes it a force to be reckoned with. In addition, units can do different types of damage (slash, crush etc.) and have different resistances to these damage types. Therefore, it is important to match the right kind of troop against the enemy that is attacking you in order to defend yourself in the shortest amount of time, and most cost effective manner. Another interesting twist is that if your Lord is struck down, not all is lost. Each faction has the ability to resurrect his or her fallen Lord so he/she can continue the fight. Resurrection is feature that carries over nicely from the MMORPG into the RTS world of EverQuest.

Let the training begin!

Hey, tree-dude, nice tattoo!

During my first game, I had to get used to the new buildings and the units they produce before I could really make a dent in my competitors. This is par for the course with any new RTS game and me. Once I was somewhat familiar with the Tech Tree, I began to assemble my first raiding party. Including my Lord, I had several archers (for ranged attacks and to deal with air units), two bards (who could temporarily charm enemy units so they would fight for me), and filled the last two slots of my eight member party with Gaz Warriors. Gaz Warriors are little Froglok fighters that carry a bone club and a small round shield. To my four and half year old son, these are the coolest units, EVER! (his words).

After assigning my troops to a hot key, I left my camp and began exploring the map. I found several small groups of monsters that provided my group with some experience and raised my group to level two. After five minutes of exploration and wild animal combat, I found the first enemy troops. A small group of Defilers and Goblin Blitzers (goblin air units) were trying to guard a platinum mine. As my troops tore into them I felt that my basic group was well balanced for just having learned how to play. I soon learned I was wrong. Dead wrong. SOE did not add all those units and upgrades just for looks. As I moved into the enemy base feeling cocky and self-assured, I was met by an equal sized group as mine, but this one consisted of Morgri (large siege beasts), Sacrifical Healers (Dark Elf clerics), Tricksters (Dark Elf rouges) and several T'Xol Mogri (more siege beasts) that looked like great winged demons. Long story short, I got my clock cleaned because I did not have the right mixture of units to deal with their attacks. After they cut through my remaining forces and base like a hot knife through butter, I realized I had a lot more to learn about tactics and troop composition. There is defiantly more than meets the eye in this game!

Lords of EverQuest looks to be shaping up to be a strong contender with the other RTS titans on the market today. At this point, SOE has stayed close to formula that makes other games great while adding in some interesting innovations of their own. (Vince is mostly referring to Warcraft III - 2Lions) Look for Lord of Everquest to be storming store shelves anytime now, as it is slated for a Q4 2003 release.