A message from EQLive:

Now that the Progression Server (The Combine) has unlocked the Secrets of Faydwer, it has caught up to the present timeline of Norrath.

With the release of Seeds of the Destruction expansion, The Combine will become a regular live server.  The server will remain intact. No changes will be made to the characters.

As we have mentioned briefly at community events and on the forums, we are evaluating the possibility of releasing another new server. We plan to release more information about this in the months to come.

We’d like to thank everyone who took part in the progression adventure, and helped to make it a success.

- The EverQuest Team

Some big changes in today's patch. Here is the patch message as posted by Nodyin in the EQLive Forums:

*** Highlights ***

- Seeds of Destruction Zone Sneak Preview: All active EverQuest subscribers with accounts in good standing will be able to experience all new EverQuest Seeds of Destruction zones two week before commercial release! During this special event players can participate in quest lines and group encounters as they assist Antonius Bayle and preserve the future of Qeynos! Zones include the eerie devastation of the Void, the lush wilderness of Oceangreen and the perilous Temple of Bertoxxulous. Beginning October 7, 2008 seek out the herald of Druzzil Ro in the Plane of Knowledge to be transported to a time rift that leads to the preview content!

- Group Merge Ability: Looking to fill the last few spaces of your group? Groups now have the ability to merge with each other without disbanding from their own group! With this new feature, the group leader of one group can invite the group leader of another group to join his/her group. If the invitation is accepted, the two groups will merge together to form one group. This change merely allows groups to merge without having to make everyone drop out of their current group. All other group functionality should work as it did in the past. It does not increase the six person group maximum for groups.

This is Part 3 of the Seeds of Destruction "Unfolding the Lore" series from EQLive. It centers around the story of the Battle of Bloody Kithicor:

Bloody Kithicor

Two great armies converged on the Kithicor Forest for one of the largest and bloodiest battles in Norrath's history. Lanys T`Vyl, the Child of Hate and Firiona Vie, the Chosen of Tunare brought their armies to Kithicor to wage war for the fate of Antonica.

Firiona's relentless quest to keep the forces of evil at bay had all led to this. If her forces were to fall the fate of her world would belong to the Teir'Dal. Lanys hoped to impress her father Innoruuk, and be the instrument of his hatred against Tunare and all the forces of good.

The Official SOE Podcast #47 is live and has an interview with Free Realms' newest designer Julie Burness, who is also a former Vanguard community representative. To download it, visit the official Podcast page . For more information, check out this post on EQ2 Players.

We also feature an interview with members of our Usability Lab team. And don't miss out on the Top 10 list created by our listeners. Make sure you tune in to the very end for Inside SOE, a mini-interview with the Free Realms Brand Manager.

So listen in! You can get your Podcast goodness two different ways: head over to the Podcast’s official site , and click on your preferred bandwidth, or if you have iTunes installed, select iTunes Store, type SOE into the search box and click Subscribe! Your feedback is always welcome either on the Station forums or via email .

The EverQuest team have given Allakhazam the opportunity to show five exclusive screenshots from the 15th expansion titled "Seeds of Destruction". In a few of these screenshots you'll get the opportunity to meet a God that at one point Sony Online Entertainment told the players we would never see. Veeshan. Unfortunately, in these screenshots Veeshan, the Mother of all -- is dead. Everyone is dead. Save one individual we know all to well, Zebuxoruk.

Events that have taken place has created an opening in the rift of time and Zebuxoruk, who was imprisioned outside the realm of time -- is the only one who can help restore the balance. EverQuest will always hold a special place in my heart. It's a game that I've been playing since 2000 and I can honestly say that I haven't been this excited about an expansion since Planes of Power. Seeds of Destruction patches the cracks that exist in much of the EverQuest lore that has transpired over nearly 10 years. Who's excited?

Make sure to check out all five exclusive screenshots in our image gallery . Enjoy!

As we announced yesterday, pre-orders for the Seeds of Destruction expansion, which is set to be released on Oct. 21, are now available.

In anticipation, SOE has released Part 2 of its "Unfolding the Lore" series. The article focuses on Oceangreen Hills, Oceangreen Village, Blackburrow and the Temple of Bertoxxulous.

Check it out in its entirety at EQ Players , or continue reading below. We've also posted a selection of screenshots, which can be found here .

Pre-orders for the Seeds of Destruction expansion (set for release October 21) are now available. Some details from EQLive:

Act now to prevent the cataclysm and save Norrath from the forces of Discord! Pre-order and purchase ensures players have access to all the content and bonus items in the EverQuest Seeds of Destruction All-In-One pack, including:

• The pre-order exclusive Qeynos Shield of Foundation, as well as other amazing promotional items from past expansions.
• 20 new zones, including the eerie wasteland of the Void, the battle of Bloody Kithicor and the sinister heart of the Plane of Discord!
• The all-new Mercenary NPCs. Need some extra muscle or a healer archetype for PvE support? Hire a Mercenary for your party and crush the opposition!
• New level cap at 85! New spells, AAs and items await!
• The EverQuest Seeds of Destruction All-In-One pack contains all features and content from the 14 previous expansion packs.
• Legends of Norrath^TM digital card game client, including a starter deck, booster pack and a "Familiar of the Hooded Scrykin" loot card!

Here's a sneak peek at Wednesday's Game Update Notes:

*** Highlights ***

- Station Voice: Station Voice is a voice chat service powered by Vivox and included with certain SOE game subscriptions. Station Voice allows players to talk person-to-person in-game at no additional cost. Players can go far beyond basic real-time chat with the usual headset and microphone setup that is commonly used today, and will be able to access a suite of voice communication tools.

From the patcher: "All EverQuest Live Servers (except Al'Kabor) will be brought down at 4:00 am PDT on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 for a Game Update. They are estimated to be down for 8 hours. (PDT is -7 GMT: 5:00am MDT, 6:00am CDT, 7:00am EDT, 11:00 GMT) This information is subject to change in a couple of hours after we get confirmation of the exact downtime."

LEGACY OF EVERQUEST ® FRANCHISE CONTINUES WITH ANNOUNCEMENT OF EverQuest ® AND EverQuest ® II EXPANSIONS AT FAN FAIRE

All attendees to Receive Both Expansions for Free as Part of Living Legacy Program!

LAS VEGAS , NEV. – Aug. 15, 2008 – Thousands of video game enthusiasts are in Las Vegas for the annual Sony Online Entertainment Fan Faire where the upcoming expansions for the online role-playing games EverQuest® (EQ) and EverQuest® II (EQII) were just announced. EverQuest® Seeds of Destruction ™ is scheduled to be available on Oct.21, and EverQuest® II The Shadow Odyssey ™ is scheduled to be available on Nov.18. As part of SOE’s extensive Living Legacy program designed to entice new and past EQ and EQII players into the games and reward the existing loyal playerbase, all Fan Faire attendees will receive the software for both expansions for free, an unprecedented offering.

“It is such a privilege to announce the upcoming expansions for two of our most popular games, EverQuest and EverQuest II, in a venue like Fan Faire where we are joined by thousands of our loyal fans, and it seems more than appropriate to give those fans access to both of the expansions for free,” said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. “Both of these expansions are rich in content and adventure, and will provide our players with hours of excitement as they explore the online world of Norrath.”