EverQuest has captivated players since its launch in 1999, shaping the MMORPG landscape and influencing countless games that followed. With over 30 expansions released to date, each one has contributed unique adventures, characters, and challenges to the rich world of Norrath. From the mysterious moon of Luclin to the icy wastes of Velious, every expansion offers something new, whether it’s a class, race, or groundbreaking game mechanic.
In this guide, we’ve ranked all EverQuest expansions, diving deep into their most notable features, strengths, and occasional pitfalls. Whether you’re a longtime adventurer or a newcomer to EverQuest, this list will help you explore the legacy of one of the longest-running MMORPGs in history. Let’s journey through Norrath’s past and present, uncovering the best—and the most controversial—expansions in EverQuest’s enduring legacy.
1. The Ruins of Kunark (2000)
- Summary: Ruins of Kunark, the first expansion, introduced the Iksar race, a new continent, and raised the level cap to 60. It featured vast zones and challenging dungeons like Sebilis.
- Pro: Groundbreaking addition with lasting iconic zones.
- Con: The grind was long, especially for casual players.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Ranked #1 for setting a high standard in expansion content, expanding lore, and revolutionizing EverQuest.
2. The Scars of Velious (2000)
- Summary: Brought players to the icy continent of Velious, focusing on faction warfare between giants, dragons, and dwarves, with zones like Sleeper’s Tomb and Temple of Veeshan.
- Pro: Added depth with faction-based gameplay and iconic raids.
- Con: The harsh terrain made it tough for lower-level players.
- Appropriateness of Rank: High ranking for its challenging content, unique faction dynamics, and significant impact on game lore.
3. Planes of Power (2002)
- Summary: Planes of Power introduced the Plane of Knowledge, a central travel hub, and challenging elemental planes with legendary raid content.
- Pro: PoK’s fast travel changed gameplay, and raids were iconic.
- Con: Fast travel detracted from the immersion for some.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Appropriately high for its transformative fast-travel hub and memorable raid content.
4. The Shadows of Luclin (2001)
- Summary: Luclin added the Vah Shir race, Beastlord class, and the Alternate Advancement (AA) system, along with a sci-fi-themed moon setting.
- Pro: AA system offered character growth beyond level caps.
- Con: The moon setting felt out of place for some fans.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Ranked high for impactful mechanics and major additions, despite mixed setting reception.
5. Omens of War (2004)
- Summary: Increased the level cap to 70, introduced Epic 2.0 quests, and brought solo, group, and raid content with zones like Anguish.
- Pro: Epic 2.0 quests offered long-term progression goals.
- Con: The storyline was less engaging for some players.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Rightfully ranked high for its balanced solo, group, and raid content.
6. Lost Dungeons of Norrath (2003)
- Summary: Introduced instanced dungeons, allowing private group experiences and adventure points for unique rewards.
- Pro: Instanced content made dungeons accessible and popular.
- Con: Limited dungeon variety made it feel repetitive.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Rightly ranked for pioneering instanced content, a trend that would shape MMORPGs.
7. The Serpent’s Spine (2006)
- Summary: Added the Drakkin race, Crescent Reach starting city, and a solo-friendly leveling path, appealing to new players.
- Pro: Accessibility and solo play broadened appeal.
- Con: Hardcore players felt it oversimplified the game.
- Appropriateness of Rank: High placement for its successful appeal to new and solo players.
8. Seeds of Destruction (2008)
- Summary: Seeds of Destruction introduced mercenaries, which allowed solo players to tackle group content, and revisited key events in EverQuest history.
- Pro: Mercenaries expanded gameplay for solo players.
- Con: The time-travel storyline felt disconnected.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Appropriately high due to mercenaries, which became essential to EverQuest.
9. Gates of Discord (2004)
- Summary: Known for its initial difficulty, Gates of Discord became a favorite for skilled players after release adjustments.
- Pro: Provided challenging content for hardcore raiders.
- Con: Originally over-tuned and buggy.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Rightfully top 10 after patches, with enduring appeal for dedicated players.
10. The Buried Sea (2007)
- Summary: Added oceanic zones, the fellowship system, and energy crystals, encouraging cooperative play.
- Pro: Fellowship system supported social gameplay.
- Con: Limited variety of content reduced replayability.
- Appropriateness of Rank: High ranking for its innovative social mechanics and group content.
11. Dragons of Norrath (2005)
- Summary: Focused on faction-based progression and added dragon-themed missions and guild rewards.
- Pro: Group missions offered diverse content.
- Con: Difficulty level felt low for some players.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Mid-tier ranking for accessible but lighter difficulty.
12. Prophecy of Ro (2006)
- Summary: Introduced evolving items and buff-blocking, adding new mechanics to high-resistance zones.
- Pro: Evolving items offered replayability.
- Con: Reused assets limited the expansion’s originality.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Fairly ranked for balancing innovation with a reliance on older assets.
13. House of Thule (2010)
- Summary: Added dream-inspired zones, customizable housing, and a level cap increase.
- Pro: Housing customization gave players personal space.
- Con: Dream theme felt disconnected from core lore.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Middle rank for its customization appeal and unique visuals.
14. Call of the Forsaken (2013)
- Summary: Introduced scalable heroic adventures, making content adaptable to group size.
- Pro: Scalable content suited varied group sizes.
- Con: Reused zones limited originality.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Mid-tier ranking reflects its accessibility and reusability.
15. The Darkened Sea (2014)
- Summary: Oceanic-themed expansion with underwater challenges and a level cap increase.
- Pro: Unique underwater mechanics provided variety.
- Con: Difficult navigation in underwater zones.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Middle placement for its distinct but divisive theme.
16. Ring of Scale (2017)
- Summary: Continued the Kunark storyline, adding high-level raid zones and Kunark nostalgia.
- Pro: High-level raids expanded on beloved lore.
- Con: Primarily nostalgic with limited innovation.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Middle rank captures its nostalgic appeal and limited originality.
17. The Broken Mirror (2015)
- Summary: Featured mirrored zones and evolving items, providing new takes on existing zones.
- Pro: Mirrored zones were an interesting twist.
- Con: Heavy reuse limited freshness.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Fairly ranked for its innovative but limited approach.
18. Empires of Kunark (2016)
- Summary: A Kunark expansion focused on nostalgic zones and lore.
- Pro: Appeals to long-time fans of Kunark.
- Con: Lacks groundbreaking features.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Middle ranking for its appeal to fans without much new content.
19. Veil of Alaris (2011)
- Summary: Added a new continent, complex lore, and advanced high-level zones.
- Pro: Lore-rich zones for advanced players.
- Con: Grind-heavy gameplay deterred casual players.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Lower ranking reflects its grind despite depth.
20. Underfoot (2009)
- Summary: Known for high difficulty, Underfoot catered to skilled players.
- Pro: Challenging content for dedicated raiders.
- Con: Intense difficulty alienated casual players.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Low rank captures its niche appeal.
21. The Burning Lands (2018)
- Summary: Elemental-themed zones and high-level raid content.
- Pro: Elemental themes and challenging raids.
- Con: High difficulty limited accessibility.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Properly ranked low for appealing to hardcore raiders.
22. Claws of Veeshan (2020)
- Summary: Added Velious-inspired zones and dragon-themed raids.
- Pro: Velious nostalgia for fans.
- Con: Heavy reliance on asset reuse.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Low placement due to asset reuse without new mechanics.
23. Torment of Velious (2019)
- Summary: More Velious zones with high-level challenges.
- Pro: Atmospheric, nostalgic zones for Velious fans.
- Con: Extensive reuse of assets limited appeal.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Low ranking reflects limited new content.
24. Terror of Luclin (2021)
- Summary: Continued Luclin’s story, with advanced AAs and high-level zones.
- Pro: Expanded class customization.
- Con: Relied on reused Luclin assets.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Low rank balances advanced mechanics with heavy reuse.
25. Night of Shadows (2022)
- Summary: Furthered Luclin storyline, adding new zones and raids.
- Pro: Updated raid design.
- Con: Relied heavily on reused themes.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Low rank reflects lack of originality.
26. Laurion’s Song (2023)
- Summary: Elemental-themed content with high-level challenges.
- Pro: Endgame raids for high-level players.
- Con: Limited appeal beyond endgame content.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Rightfully ranked low for niche appeal.
27. Depths of Darkhollow (2005)
- Summary: Depths of Darkhollow introduced monster missions, allowing players to experience gameplay as monsters and explore the underworld zones of Norrath.
- Pro: Unique mechanic of monster missions gave players a fresh way to engage with the game.
- Con: The monster missions weren’t universally popular, and the expansion lacked the long-term appeal of others.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Ranked low due to mixed reception and less lasting impact, though the monster mechanic was innovative.
28. The Legacy of Ykesha (2003)
- Summary: Often called an “extension” rather than a full expansion, Legacy of Ykesha introduced the Froglok race and added quality-of-life improvements, like guild management tools.
- Pro: Frogloks added diversity to playable races, and guild tools were useful.
- Con: Limited content made it feel like a minor update compared to other expansions.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Ranked near the bottom as it added few zones and felt more like an add-on than a full expansion.
29. The Darkened Sea (2014)
- Summary: This expansion introduced underwater zones, new high-level content, and additional Alternate Advancement abilities.
- Pro: The underwater zones were visually unique and offered challenging new mechanics.
- Con: Underwater navigation was challenging, and it wasn’t universally popular among players.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Placed low due to divisive mechanics and limited appeal, though its visuals were distinctive.
30. Secrets of Faydwer (2007)
- Summary: Expanded upon classic EverQuest regions and introduced high-level raid content with a new level cap increase.
- Pro: Nostalgia-heavy, revisiting beloved Faydwer zones with higher-level content.
- Con: Relied heavily on revisiting older areas without significant innovation.
- Appropriateness of Rank: Rightly ranked last as it provided little innovation, focusing mainly on revisiting existing areas and content.
Based on current insights, The Outer Brood expansion for EverQuest, set to release in December 2024, appears promising and likely to rank fairly high among expansions due to its unique features and lore. This expansion introduces a vast leviathan carrying a castle, hosting an invasion force of dragon-sized creatures. Notably, it adds new zones such as the Hodstock Hills, Aureate Covert, and the Gilded Spire, which provide immersive, atmospheric settings for both group and solo players. Additionally, players can look forward to new Dark Elf Rangers, a feature sure to excite longtime fans with a fresh race/class combination.
While The Outer Brood may not fundamentally change gameplay, its appeal lies in the high-stakes lore, expansive zones, and challenging raids. Based on player expectations, it could potentially rank in the middle-to-high range of expansions, likely around the top 15, depending on how well the new features resonate with both endgame raiders and lore-focused players once it launches