The third of the traditional Daybreak Q4 expansions has been announced as the next EverQuest II expansion, Descent to Val’Zyroth, has been announced and is up for pre-order.  This is the twenty-third full expansion for EverQuest II, leaving aside the four adventure packs that are also part of the game. (These days though, The Splitpaw Saga could pass for an expansion.)

Descent to Val’Zyroth

Joining the LOTRO Wolves or Mordor and the EverQuest Favors of Fortune expansion announcements, we’re back to the Norrath team and their fixation on the dark elves.  I guess we’re over the era of scantily clad dark elf females on the cover of EQuinox Magazine with the splash screen above… though we can’t get away from the ever impractical high heeled armor… but somebody is still way too into this.

The dark elves on the expansion splash screen… which I had to crop back a bit so I could actually read the name of the expansion… are not gratuitous however.  They are the focus of the new expansion and are up to their usual no good.  The brief for the expansion is:

For years, a tenuous pact between Freeport and Neriak has been reluctantly honored, but after sensing weakness within the surface city, Queen Cristanos is done biding her time. Soon, Freeport and the entire continent of D’Lere will fall to Neriak unless the skilled artisans and brave adventurers of Norrath can find a way to stop her!

Spelunk the twisting caves of Corathus Descent, a treacherous network of passages overrun with insatiable predators and crevasses that plunge into the unmapped worlds, far below, where the borders of Subtunaria and the Underfoot blur. This is Val’Zyroth Ness, an enormous cavern replete with menacing fauna and malignant flora, where the Teir’Dal city of Neriondalon has emerged from ruin!

Breach the formidable walls of this resplendent city, revitalized by Hate, and hide amongst the downtrodden who serve their Teir’Dal and drachnid masters, such as the gnemlins forced to create and maintain an army of clockwork golems. Aid the wary race of molemen, known as tontu, as they fight for their survival within the nearby, ancient mines of Khor Boldir. Follow the Teir’Dal as they pierce the Plane of the Underfoot and invade Keramos Caverns, Brell’s mythical planar workshop, with vengeful intentions!

Be amongst the rare living souls to enter the infamous Duchy of the Dead. Navigate the sprawling labyrinth of impressive Teir’Dal crypts and mausoleums now devoted to the exploration and advancement of necromancy and other dark arcanum. Defeat the magical defenses and face the unnatural denizens that haunt the Duchy. Witness terrible wonders, unravel deific mysteries, and unlock unknown potential within yourself. Only then can you possibly stop Queen Cristanos in her own holy sanctum!

Hope rests on you and your Descent to Val’Zyroth!

So we’re off to thwart the nefarious plans of Queen Cristanos and save… Freeport?

I’m kind of a Qeynos and Antonica partisan if we’re going to get into factions.  Also, since you can start in Neriak as a dark elf, are you too expected to go on the guided tour to the Duchy of the Dead?

I guess I would have to roll up a dark elf character to see.  I am sure I must have at least one, though my main complaint about the dark elves isn’t them being viewed as a fetish object, but the fact that they are played as angry cardboard cut out villains, mean and swaggering without any sense of greater purpose.  Well, except for the taking over Freeport and its surrounding lands I guess.  They can stop betraying each other constantly to come together for a big project I guess.

So what does the new expansion bring, aside from, as Bhagpuss pointed out, a deep and abiding love for the color blue?  These are the bullet points being offered up:

  • Level any class on a single character with the new Personas Feature!
  • New and improved Untold Heroic Dungeons!
  • Embark on a scavenger hunt to discover a new Epic mount!
  • Descend into new Adventure, Tradeskill, and Signature quests within the speckled fluorescence of the deep!
  • Plunge into the depths of Val’Zyroth Ness, discover the shadowy machinations of the dark elves within the Duchy of the Dead! Witness the wonder of Keramos Caverns, delve into the mines of Khor Boldir and get prepared to tackle new solo, heroic and raid content!
  • Discover powerful new Collections!

It sounds like four new zones, an array of dungeon instances, the usual new collections, the new persona feature, and no increase in the level cap. (The previous expansion got us to level 135.)  Also, you get all the previous expansions because expecting you to buy them all is clearly a bridge too far, and a level 135 character boost token so you can get stuck right into the new stuff.  There will no doubt be the usual gear crate to equip yourself from when you arrive.

They usually like to point out that there are new alternate advancement options (to offset the static level cap this time around) and new spells and skills.  That is pretty much every expansion boilerplate.  That those are missing makes me wonder if they are betting on this new Persona feature to keep people busy by allowing them to multi-class on a single character.

EverQuest Legends much team?

Okay, maybe it isn’t playing three classes at once, but… well, I am not sure how the feature actually works, but there is a FAQ for it which I linked below.

Or you can find out how the feature works if you pre-order because not only will you get an array of pre-order bonuses, you will also be allowed access to the beta for the expansion.

Buying the expansion means the usual four price points… I am just going to re-use the graphic I made for the EverQuest expansion since they are the same.

Expansion Pricing

The Standard package gets you the expansion content and a wee bit of pre-order fluff, while the Collector’s and Premium packages pile on the fluff.  And then there is the Family & Friends pack, which gets you an addition in-game tradable copy of the expansion and a few other like items.

As usual, I have to assume somebody is buying it because they keep offering it every year.

Also not mentioned, at least I didn’t see it, was a launch date.  I assume we’re pretty safe in guessing somewhere between mid-November and mid-December.  I am sure we’ll get more details on that later.

Related:

  • Daybreak – Descent to Val’Zyroth expansion page
  • Daybreak – Descent to Val’Zyroth Beta and Pre-order is here!
  • Daybreak – Persona Guide and FAQ
  • Daybreak – Expansion order page
  • Daybreak – September 2026 Producer’s Letter
  • Inventory Full – Any Color You Want, So Long As It’s Blue