This Saturday is Independence Day in the United States. We hope that everyone who is celebrating has a wonderful and safe holiday, and you get to enjoy the day with all your friends and family, either in game or in person.

We would also like to extend our most sincere thanks to all members of the United States armed services for keeping us safe. We appreciate all you do.

Please note that the SOE offices will be closed on Friday, July 3rd, and we will be offering limited in-game support during normal business hours. Happy 4th of July!

So tune 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 on the Station forums or via email.

Don’t forget you can find us on and !

In November 2009, the inhabitants of the world of EverQuest will enter the realm of Brell Serilis as they explore through the Underfoot. Announcing EverQuest® Underfoot, the 16th EverQuest expansion!

Read more!

We wanted to pull together some helpful tips for those starting characters on the new Mayong (51/50) Server! These links should help for those just getting started in Norrath, or coming back to the game after a break.

Click through to see our list of news articles and resources!

In honor of Independence Day and the opening of the Mayong (51/50) Server, EverQuest adventurers will be surrounded by a magical experience increase from around 11:00 a.m. PDT on Thursday, July 2nd until around 9:00 a.m. PDT on Monday, July 6th. Those nasty mobs will be worth an extra 51% experience points (on all servers!) through the holiday weekend. Happy adventuring!

We are pleased to announce that the Mayong (51/50) Server will be opening up at 11:00 am (PDT) Tuesday, June 30, 2009.

The rules of this server are the same as a standard server but the server does have the following differences:

• All new characters will:

• Start at level 51
• Start with 50 unspent AA points
• Start with a complete set of Flawed Defiant armor and weapons (Recommended level 50)
• Start with all spells and abilities through level 51
• Have all available skills at their maximum level (Spell specializations excepted)
• Tradeskills will not be set to a higher value initially
  
  
• Special Titles: There are a series of server first titles for the first defeat of various encounters.
  
  

The Mayong (51/50) Server is named after Mayong Mistmoore, one of Norrath’s most renowned vampires! Check back tomorrow as we share lore surrounding this historical figure.

Yesterday was the first full day of Fan Faire! Here's a quick look at a few of the happenings of the day. Check out our Daily Newsletter from Fan Faire 2009.

We've put together a short recap of what happened at Fan Faire last night! To see that news, check out our Daily Newsletter from Fan Faire.

This announcement marks an important milestone for Station Launcher.  After months of community feedback, prioritization, trials, some errors (of course), and a lot of hard work and diligence by teams across all of SOE to deliver a release update whose performance is so improved, that we can finally tell you...

Station Launcher is officially out of beta!

Since we last shared our vision of what Station Launcher could be at last year’s Fan Faire, we began listening to your feedback and it’s been a long road traveled to get to this point...

Months of hard work and preparation are coming to a close for us here at SOE. Our most highly-anticipated event of the year is finally upon us; yes, Fan Faire starts TOMORROW! (Has anyone checked Ashlanne's pulse lately? Is she still breathing? 911?)

If you're joining us in Vegas, we hope you're packed and all ready to go! You didn't wait 'til the last minute, did you? Well, if you want to double-check your bags, here are a few of the "tips and advice" features we've shared over the past couple of months…

Take a look at the new items available in the Marketplace today! You can see the other items already available on the marketplace by logging in to EverQuest and using the /marketplace command.

It’s two days until Fan Faire 2009? Are you ready for some fun?  Soon gamers from all over will descend upon Las Vegas to join SOE employees in days of massive online gaming fun. No matter which SOE game you play, there will be something for everyone who attends...even those who have yet to try our games.

To see a list of all the EQ panels and who will be there from the team, click through to read more.

Through the magic of the internet, Fan Faire attendees can follow along and contribute to the online presence of Fan Faire news and updates! We'll be using several social media outlets, as well as our own sites, to post news, announcements, photos and more from Fan Faire, as it's happening.

Here's a sneak peek of the items coming to the EverQuest marketplace on June 23rd! We'll bring you more on these items next week, but you can see the other items already available on the marketplace by logging in to EverQuest and using the /marketplace command.

So tune 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 on the Station forums or via email.

Don’t forget you can find us on and !

Even if you can't make it to Fan Faire, be sure to tune in for the live webcast of the 3rd Annual Community Address to see what’s new at SOE! We will be broadcasting live from Fan Faire this Friday night, June 26th, at 7:00pm PDT.

Every week we highlight EverQuest community members. This week meet Shashana Pureblade from the Saryn server.

If you are interested in being highlighted in a Meet the Community, look for instructions here! We need more submissions, so send yours today!

The SOE Fan Faire has become an international meeting ground attended by players and guilds from all over the world. The players have one thing in common and that is their passion for SOE games.

This year is no different as we expect a number of international players to attend Fan Faire 2009. Recently, we talked to players who attended last year’s Fan Faire. The players are from Austria, Belgium, England and Germany. We posed the same questions to all of them…

Check out these interesting threads and many others on the EQLive Official Forums…

Looking for a Group… at Fan Faire!

Fan Faire is almost here! It's time to start preparing how you're going to find your friends when you arrive to Las Vegas!

Read on for tips on how you can find your friends at Fan Faire!

The Game Update scheduled for Wednesday, June 17, 2009 has been postponed. We will most likely reschedule this update for Thursday, June 18, 2009 instead. We'll update this status on Wednesday. We apologize for any inconvenience.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas! But… What you leave at home, stays at home!

We've got some tips on preparing for the 2009 LasVegas Fan Faire..to help you from leaving something important behind!

Fan Faire 2009 will be held in the famed Bally's Las Vegas, from June 25th-28th. Pre-registration closes at 11:59 p.m. PDT on June 16, 2009 and can be completed at the official Fan Faire website.

For those attending, click through to see a map of the hotel and space where the events will be taking place. Feel free to use these to map out your strategies for maximizing your panel attendance, or print them out so you reduce the risk of getting lost during the three day celebration. Attendees will also get this information in your conference packets.

The event schedule has been updated with new panels and other fun events. These new exciting additions include the EverQuest 10th Anniversary Party, an exclusive book-signing event for the 10th Anniversary book, DCUO panels with legendary Comic Book Artist Jim Lee, and much more! A full schedule of updated events can be found here.

This week we're trying something new…a puzzle! Put the pieces together to see what the screenshot of the week is, then come over to this forum thread and leave your guess for the location of the screenshot.

Fan Faire is quickly approaching and so is the deadline for pre-registration! Pre-registration will be closing TOMORROW (Tuesday, June 16th) at 11:59 PM PDT. Register online at the official Fan Faire website!

After June 16th, you will need to register at the door. Attendees who register at the door will enjoy all the same benefits as those who pre-register, but the process may take a bit longer and their badges will not be pre-printed.

For those who already know they'll be joining us in just 9 short days (!!) one of our players has shared some great info: Vegas Survival Guide, by a local. Inside you'll find tons of great tips from someone who used to work at Bally's and knows the area well. This is very much worth the quick read! (And many thanks to Eihort for taking the time to share with us!)

Click through for details on a special golfing offer for Fan Faire attendees!

Panpipes of the Dancer summons a pet satyr to your side, and is just one of the newest items available in the EverQuest Marketplace this week. We've also got goodies to play a game of catch, surround yourself with a warm glow, or even get a new title. To see all of the items that were made available this week, click here.

In addition to this cute little guy, we have several other pets and familiars available in the EverQuest Marketplace. If you're looking for a new friend, click through to see more and find one to suit you.

It's that time again, ladies and gentlemen! Time to warm up those pipes and get ready to sing on stage in front of hundreds (maybe thousands!) of your most adoring groupies with a live band backing you.

That's right! Live band karaoke is back for a fourth year at Fan Faire 2009. We'll provide the musicians. You bring the rock star attitude and vocals.

In order to help you prepare, we're giving you a sneak preview of the song list for this year. You'll see two lists inside: the first is sorted by artist and the second by title. Pick your faves and start practicing. After all, Fan Faire is less than two weeks away!

Every week we highlight EverQuest community members. This week meet Samwise Stormcloud from the Bertoxxulous server.

If you are interested in being highlighted in a Meet the Community, look for instructions here! We need more submissions, so send yours today!

Check out these interesting forums, and the many threads our players are posting on the EQLive Official Forums…

All servers will be coming down at approximately 2:00 AM PDT on June 12, 2009 for an emergency update to address the issues with melee damage. Expected downtime will be three hours or less. A client patch will be required.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

Don't forget that five new items are available in the EverQuest Marketplace this week! For more information on these and other items available on the marketplace, log in to EverQuest and use the /marketplace command.

Click through to see more images of the new items available this week!

From 4:00 AM PDT until 6:00 AM PDT on Thursday, June 11, 2009, we will be conducting back-end maintenance that will affect the in-game chat and mail systems for SWG, EQ2, and possibly EQ. SWG and MXO worlds will be offline entirely for the 2-hour duration.

We apologize for this interruption and will resume all affected services as soon as the maintenance is completed.

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) and The Jace Hall Show are pleased to announce the creation of the epic documentary based on the monumental entertainment property, EverQuest®. EverCracked! The Phenomenon of EverQuest chronicles the trials and tribulations leading to the development, launch and success of the hit massively multiplayer online game which celebrated its tenth anniversary in March 2009.  The full-length film will debut at the 2009 Fan Faire in Las Vegas, NV on June 26. 

The small but determined band of heroes, the Ethernauts, have made headway against the terrible and mysterious invasion that threatens all of Norrath. But with all of Norrath against them, and internal shadows beginning to tear them apart, can they finish what they started and give Norrath its future?

Storm Break will add more than 240 new game cards that introduce new strategies and gameplay, as well as incredible new loot cards featuring new horse and hydra mounts, a flying dragon illusion for EQ players, and a once-daily item-repair cloak for EQII players.

Follow the story of the Ethernauts to its thrilling end with the next expansion for Legends of Norrath, Storm Break!

Fan Faire is quickly approaching and so is the deadline for pre-registration! Pre-registration will be closing at 11:59 PM PDT on Tuesday, June 16th.

After June 16th, you will need to register at the door. Attendees who register at the door will enjoy all the same benefits as those who pre-regsiter, but the process may take a bit longer and their badges will not be pre-printed.

If you've been waiting to register because your server name is not showing correctly on the registration site, please go ahead and register and pick any (incorrect) server from your game. Then send us an email at fanfaire@soe.sony.com with the subject "Server Correction For My Badge" and include your registration info -- please include your Station ID, your name, your game and the correct server name.

Read more…

So tune 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 on the Station forums or via email.

Don’t forget you can find us on and !

All EverQuest Live Servers (except Al'Kabor) will be coming down around 2:00 am PDT (PDT is -7 GMT: 3:00am MDT, 4:00am CDT, 5:00am EDT, 9:00am GMT) on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 for a Game Update. The servers are estimated to be down for about 6 hours. We apologize for any inconvenience.

We're trying something new this week instead of your usual Screenshot of the Week. Now our image is...interactive! Well, sorta.

Check out the following two images and see if you can find all 10 differences. Clicking on each image will bring up a bigger version. When you've found what's different, come post your list over on the forums, then come back next week to see if you got them all right!

Here's a sneak peek of the items coming to the EverQuest marketplace on June 9th! We'll bring you more on these items next week, but you can see the other items already available on the marketplace by logging in to EverQuest and using the /marketplace command.

We are proud to announce this year's Players of the Year!

The team had the torturous task of trying to choose the best out of all the entries that were submitted. It's always a tough job, since we've got so many deserving and creative players.

Our winners this year are Bownzer of the Crushbone server, from EQII, and Palarran of The Tribunal server, from EQ!

Every week we highlight EverQuest community members. This week meet Shurlok from the Xegony server.

If you are interested in being highlighted in a Meet the Community, look for instructions here! We need more submissions, so send yours today!

From 9:00 PM PDT until 10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, June 4, 2009, SOE Account and Commerce flow, Station Store and the Station Marketplace will be unavailable due to maintenance. We expect this maintenance to take approximately 1 hour.

This might also cause some forum accounts to temporarily lose permissions, due to the inability to verify account status while the maintenance is taking place. This is only temporary and normal permissions will return automatically once the maintenance is complete.

We apologize for this interruption and will resume all affected services as soon as the maintenance is completed.

Check out these interesting forums, and the many threads our players are posting on the EQLive Official Forums…

SOE is always looking for new ways to provide flexibility in payment options for our customers. Using a credit or debit card is not always convenient for everyone, but the alternatives aren't always well known. We wanted to share some information about a different method of payment that you can use; one that is just as convenient and secure as using your credit or debit card, but one that offers more flexibility to you.

Read on for more details.

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry, and it's underway right now in Los Angeles! It's a pretty big deal, and lots of companies use the occasion to make big announcements, show previews of their upcoming games, software and hardware, and talk with convention attendees and the media about their products.

Read on for details on how you can get the latest news from SOE at E3!