Varlyndria 2

[Drakiyth]

http://i.imgur.com/2HVMEOR.png

Hello everybody,

When I look at Varlyndria right now, I see another world. I don't see EQ and I sure as hell don't see my vision.
I see a world that has been so warped and twisted with custom stuff that the very essence of EQ has vanished
almost completely. I see a world that can't really be fixed. The work to fix it would just not be worth it in the
end when a new fresh server and start could be the key to keeping my vision alive to its fullest. One of the main
things that hurt Varlyndria: Ascension is the itemization and removing 99% of EverQuest... What a mistake.

I've released a Q&A of what is coming up and why I have decided to stop production on Varlyndria: Ascension
and start work on Varlyndria 2.

CHECK OUT VARLYNDRIA 2 HERE (www.varlyndria.com)




I won't be updating this thread very often until I get a lot of things to talk about. Expect a trailer or something very
informative that's worth a post later in the future.

[Xiggie3]

You have my attention now. Looking over your Q and A everything looks spot on. Provided people can bind in different cities I think some will end up finding a central city to bind in but you may have others choose their own city and I think it is awesome that you are making a way for people to do that. I like it that you are getting back to Everquest. I am seeing a lot of promise here and I am looking forward to when your V2 opens up as I will be checking it out.

[Township EQ]

I've played on Varlyndria ever since you started it.. I must say I'm skeptical of this new direction you're going but I've played through your content and you have a lot of talent and potential.. Best of luck to you.. Hope to check it out when you open up Alpha.

[AzsharasDad]

I must say that I disagree with this decision. I think you had a lot of good on the first Varlyndria; Things that set you apart from other servers. It simply lacked focus which I feel could have been repaired in time. This seems like a server I have already played a few times.

With that said, I wish you the best of luck and hope you prove me wrong! :D

I will surely try the server out as I do the majority of them.

[Drakiyth]

NEWS UPDATE:

Varlyndria: Ascension has been closed down forever due to 1 to 3 players being online at max in a period of
3 days. I am no longer using Akkadius' server machine and have taken all the information I need from it
and archived it in a safe location. (I still have the Ascension Database) I will be designing Varlyndria 2 on my own
personal computer and will find hosting for it later on when the server is ready for a live launch. Here is to a new
beginning and fresh start that this vision desperately needs right now.

__________________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Thank you for the feedback guys. I ultimately felt this was the best choice of direction of where to take the
server. I can always add custom content even with using EverQuest as a huge template for the start of V2.
I just want to make sure that if I do anything custom zone wise that it will fit into EverQuest and use the
same type of itemization etc. I want to make sure not to stray away from that core value like I did before.

This panel should give everybody a better idea of how the new path system is going to work in Varlyndria 2.
Originally, I said 32 paths would be introduced, but I felt this version of the server needed a special touch not
seen from me before. I wanted to do something new and unique this time around, so I have decided that I am
going to just allow players to build their own path by giving characters a core role choice and 2 special pools
of skills. Players will also get to name their path whatever they want at their path master. (Custom Title) This
system is going to be limited to 3 choices to keep a solid balance and not let things get out of control, but give
players just enough to make them a bit more unique and not stuck on a template that rules their actions 100%.

Some classes will share secondary powers like below but there will be different role choices, skills and secondary
on most classes to make them all unique.

http://i.imgur.com/A7ltICg.png

[Cfuson]

The biggest problem with the last varlyndria server was the fact that you couldent balance content. YOU CANNOT BALANCE CONTENT TOWARDS DONATORS.

When you make you're new server do not enable donation items or existing characters for atleast 2 weeks so the new crew of players can test the current content out without any benefits.

As someone who has played on both varlyndria servers and made multiple friends from it, thats the best advice i can give you.

[Drakiyth]

The biggest problem with the last varlyndria server was the fact that you couldent balance content. YOU CANNOT BALANCE CONTENT TOWARDS DONATORS.

When you make you're new server do not enable donation items or existing characters for atleast 2 weeks so the new crew of players can test the current content out without any benefits.

As someone who has played on both varlyndria servers and made multiple friends from it, thats the best advice i can give you.

I've learned a hard lesson from exactly what you're stating here. I plan to release the donation system a couple weeks after release. I already had that idea on my agenda. The donation system is going to be as balanced as I can get it as well. Players this time around will be able to find everything that you can donate for in the game, but of course some things might be extremely difficult to achieve normally. I find that to be the fairest way to do this.

[Thorkinal]

Just a thought but maybe, Get Varl 3 going, a month, 2 months, see how people are liking it, see how your liking it, make sure everything is meshing, make sure its stable, get through , alpha, beta and launch it to live, and then and ONLY THEN, Start thinking about a donation system, Honestly, and take this lightly, because I donated alot of money to your servers drak, But talking about your donation system before its even out, Makes it seem like your popping these servers out for the cash flow. Start with a good idea, Obviously your creative, and you have the ability to make these servers, when you have it figured out in your head, and its working, and people are liking it, Give the option of donations but only at that point.

[Nerdgasm]

The biggest problem with the last varlyndria server was the fact that you couldent balance content. YOU CANNOT BALANCE CONTENT TOWARDS DONATORS.

Well in theory you can. You'd just have to make a split zone or a split instance, you know. If client hasitem $1234(Donation item), then increase the scalement of the mob...

In all seriousness Drak, as I've posted before. It's your server man. Do what you want to do, the way you're doing it now seems interesting... Balancing is the hardest part of the game. Bosses are naturally stronger but with the people whom play EQEMUM, it's either a SOLO server, or a BOX server, but for those people who play only 1 client, and try to do your content they are going to get angry because they can't solo it, eventually get fed up and quit. Those who box two on a solo server get angry because it's to easy. The only inter medium that would work is a Instance scaled to group, or raid, or solo.

[rdnck]

I played some on both iterations of Varlyndria. The reason I din't play more: your fascination with the whole * donator * scheme, and the fact that you insisted in wiping out all the work people put into their toons again and again. If I log to a server, I expect my toon to be right where I left it, with the gear it had when I logged out. Server theme longevity is key; rewriting your theme again and again is not the way to retain a playerbase. Also, you are NOT Sony, and I won't pay to play on any of the emu servers. Stuff your Donator schema.

[Kailow]

Yeah I have to agree with Rdnck. I thought the first varlyndria was cool, I liked how towards the end it was pretty much just getting every stat item you could for a certain build you were working towards. Soloing wasn't tough but it still took some work.

Varlyndria: Ascension really ruined it for me. I liked the idea, I liked the classes. I didn't like the part where literally you couldn't do ANYTHING unless you donated. Donor buffs from others really helped out, but the amount of dispells made it unbearable for any newcomer. Soloing wasn't an option. Every person on the server said it wasn't impossible. They all donated and got massive buffs whenever they wanted.

It is healthy for a server to wipe characters for a big change, and I think it would have done REALLY well for your Ascension server. It would have forced people to group up and make it a somewhat social hub. You had to scale back on the mobs, the amounts of them (literally, the hardest part of crushbone was the entrance) and their damage to make it playable to a brand new player.

I'll definitely try V2 based on the fact that I think your ideas are awesome. I really respect the fact that you can make the server pretty much bend to your will. Donations are fine, but don't make it a necessity this time.

[jabedoben]

I didn't play the server very much, but it was a cool idea and had a LOT of work put into it.

Just from reading the forums, I feel like what happened was that you tried modifying your vision for every single person that had an issue or suggestion. You ended up with something that was nothing like your original plan.

My two cents says that this time, stick with your vision, listen to people's input, but don't change every little thing because someone has a problem. You are a seriously talented developer and I am looking forward to your new project.

[Township EQ]

I actually agree with a lot of the people in this thread about you changing things when people have a problem.

I think if you can analyze how big of a problem each complaint is and act accordingly it will be better. Stick to what YOU want your server to be.. I know personally I would rather have 10 dedicated players on my server who play something that I made fully as I intended than 100 players playing something I changed for them an didn't agree with.

At the end of the day it's your server, it took Shards of Dalaya 8 months to get up to like 30 steady players online.. granted this community was a lot smaller back then, but you get the idea.

[knowom]

I actually agree with a lot of the people in this thread about you changing things when people have a problem.

I think if you can analyze how big of a problem each complaint is and act accordingly it will be better. Stick to what YOU want your server to be.. I know personally I would rather have 10 dedicated players on my server who play something that I made fully as I intended than 100 players playing something I changed for them an didn't agree with.

At the end of the day it's your server, it took Shards of Dalaya 8 months to get up to like 30 steady players online.. granted this community was a lot smaller back then, but you get the idea. The bottom line is developers want to be happy all the time and players want to be happy all the time, but you can't always have it both ways and normally somethings gotta give double edged sword.

Drakiyth I think the biggest hurdle with balance was you just had too many classes templates to juggle. You can probably reuse the templates you made, but just narrow it down to one of your template types per class rather than a ton of fragmented subtle variations of very similar ideas. The fact that you have a bunch designed to pick from and go off could be great though as you could fine tune and narrow down your choices more easily. Less is more sometimes keep it simple keep it fun.

[Drakiyth]

Appreciate all the feedback everybody. You all have valid points that I agree with.


The early info that I posted about a class role, primary and secondary is still going to happen (sort of)
but it's going to be a lot different now. I'll try to explain to the best of my ability how character creation
works in V2.


#1: Path Role Charm - Choose one of these for free at Peyton Thomas. You can only have one, but
this item defines your role in the world with a solid 24 hour buff. There are 7 for each 4 of the class types.
I overall wanted to give players the ability to tank, dps or heal if they wanted to or a combo of both no
matter what base class they choose. An enchanter with 58% mitigation is going to be very popular for sure.
(Remember that V2 is going to use EverQuest as you know it so you'll be able to go through those tough
zones in a completely different way with the Class Role System.)

http://www.varlyndria.com/uploads/1/1/2/4/11245945/9061503_orig.png

http://www.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/2/4/11245945/9675071_orig.png


#2: Primary Power Set -
• Will use Augment Type 21
• Augment Type 21 will only be found on Rings. (giving players 2 clickies for primary powers)

#3: Secondary Power Set -
• Will use Augment Type 22
• Augment Type 22 will only by found on Earrings. (giving players 2 clickies for secondary powers)

#4: Weapon Mastery -
• Will use Augment Type 23
• Augment Type 23 will only be found on Chest Pieces/Robes. (giving players 1 clicky weapon mastery buff)



Overall your character will have 4 main clicky powers to assault/heal out of a monstrous list of things, including
pets, elements, combat abilities and you name it. (many things taken from the previous Varlyndria series)
They will also get a weapon mastery which will allow them to specialize in a certain weapon type,
(doing more damage/crits/chance to hit) with it.

These power sets will be bought at first up to a certain level and then must be found. They will also be
trade-friendly. This will allow you to create a warrior that uses things like Twisted Animator powers and
puppet mastery etc. It's going to blow open the options to design your base class however you want instead
of the old path system which restricted you to that path and pool of abilities.


Players will start in the normal tutorialb zone this time around. (It helps new players a lot). The Class Role NPC
will be there. Also, I will probably have a main hub located in the Guild Lobby again to bring back that old Varlyndria
Nostalgia and I will make some custom content for players to go through as well but nothing is going to get out of
hand and everything is going to stay within normal EQ rules. I will also make sure to make a handful of items like I
did with the previous servers instead of some random item generator like diablo. Which in essence is fun and cool
but it really does get annoying as hell with so much RNG all the time instead of knowing what's going to drop and
where to farm. (What made EQ fun) Going to do things the RIGHT way this time.

More to come.

[Udeni]

Why don't you make the class buff abilities worn buffs on the charm itself? Or are they going to be group target?

If they only affect you, I would think it would be better to make them worn, so you don't have to worry about buff slots and recasting every time you die, etc. I'm pretty sure there's also ways to make the charm give you abilities when you equip it also, instead of getting every ability and requiring the charm as a reagent.

Just my 2cp, I thought all the buffs that were self-only and effectively permanent were kinda silly to have take up buff slots.

[Drakiyth]

Why don't you make the class buff abilities worn buffs on the charm itself? Or are they going to be group target?

If they only affect you, I would think it would be better to make them worn, so you don't have to worry about buff slots and
recasting every time you die, etc. I'm pretty sure there's also ways to make the charm give you abilities when you equip it also,
instead of getting every ability and requiring the charm as a reagent.

Just my 2cp, I thought all the buffs that were self-only and effectively permanent were kinda silly to have take up buff slots.


These buffs will not be group targeted, they will indeed be self only. If I made these items into a focus/worn early on most
of the items found in the game would not stack and become worthless. With this, you'll be able to use a healing/spell damage focus found
elsewhere along with the buff. Also, worn can't directly increase your melee damage sadly. It's not able to in the source, only
a buff does it. (This was tested a while back on the older Varlyndria. +melee damage worn effect using the Damage Modifier Spell Effect did not work.)

I'm going to be staying away from changing source code this time around and work with what I got in the build. (Currently on 2506)
(which is a lot to work with honestly) I don't want to cause lag/link death central and piss players off because they can't play, when
the server is running really good on test so far. Screwing with too much source can downright destroy your server if you don't know what you're doing.
I've done many tests with other people in source code changes in the past and they never came out like we wanted them to. All they lead to was major
crashes and a headache from the pits of the nine hells. (D&D reference) :) Overall, it's a single buff for the class role and a single buff for the weapon
mastery you choose. There won't be many more than that. Normal class spells will not be touched and the custom spells will be balanced and not over-shadow
those normal spells either. These buffs will also be immune to dispells.


EDIT: Btw, I noticed you typed "getting every spell and having this as a reagent.". That is not going to happen anymore and was scratched. The reason
being, the spell types are so vastly different from each other (such as songs/disciplines) I decided to make the spells you get clicky based dependent on the
augment you have equipped. (Like Materia in Final Fantasy 7). This will allow ALL classes to use the same powers and players to build their characters however
they want without me having to create thousands of the same spell. It also lets you fully play the original class and just have some extra abilities to make you
unique. You also get your normal class abilities too which haven't been touched and which also need to be learned and found like the old EQ. You will also need
to find these special augments as well but can get most of them early on from a vendor. If I could do this where you don't need a buff I would, but it's going to
interfere with other focus items in the game. The buff is the best way to do it because it lets me tackle multiple avenues of damage effects, defense effects etc,
where a focus/worn can only handle one at a time. It also lets you get items that STACK with these buffs. It's really the best way to do it aside from redesigning
the source code. Which i seriously don't want to bother with at all as it's not necessary to make a server fun. The old Varlyndria did not have an ounce of source
code change when I first came into the scene and did very well until I made some unwise choices and mistakes with that server.


Also, you'll notice that even if you do have a tank that chooses say. "Fire Augments". That WAR/PAL/SK can get a max of 200% spell damage where a caster can
get 290%. This will be a main factor in classes and who does what for damage even though they are shared. The class roles balance everything out.

[Drakiyth]

Weapon Mastery Stones will be treasured around the world. Players can get the lower level versions of these stones early on but will need to find stronger versions of them by adventuring in Norrath and beyond. These stones can be traded so they will be very sought after by all players.

http://www.varlyndria.com/uploads/1/1/2/4/11245945/8540037_orig.png


Class Role System Chart (Updated)


Added Pet Master as a new Role. Players can focus fully on making their pet into a super beast now.

http://www.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/2/4/11245945/8830089_orig.png

[Drakiyth]

SYSTEM CHANGES BEFORE OPEN TESTING PHASE

I have decided to do some changes to the system I currently had because I simply
couldn't figure out what a primary and secondary would be exactly, as the original idea for
secondary powers was weapon mastery, but I decided to make that into its own chest augment.


The final system will look like this:

• CLASS ROLE CHARM - Allows class to pick 1 of 8 class roles they wish to play. (Free 24 hour mega buff)
All class role buffs aside from the pet master will cast reclaim energy on your pet. This is done to prevent
players from getting a pet master charm, casting it, deleting it and then getting another class role charm.
Class Role Charms are under a special lore value which means you absolutely cannot have more then one
of these charms at any given time on any piece of gear or your inventory/bank. This is not just the same
item type but any of the charms. Example: You cannot have Class Role Charm: Destroyer and Protector
even though they are different items. Also, these buffs will not stack at all so you must remove your
current buff to get the new one if you switch charms. Class role buffs are based on the actual type
of class you are. (look at the list on the main development page)

• WEAPON MASTERY STONE - Fits in the Chest slot type 23 and gives the player a nice buff that stacks
with their Class Role Buff. Players can have multiple versions of these stones in their inventory on different
chest items if they wish, but they cannot stack with another weapon mastery buff. Weapon Mastery Stones
can be obtained by buying them from vendors or finding them in your adventures. These stones can also be
traded to other players.

• SPELL STONES - (Replaced Primary/Secondary idea) Fits in earrings, rings and bracers - slot type 22 and grants
players a large variety of clicky spell/ability powers. Spell stones have 6 types of shared CDs which will be
displayed in the name of the stone. Each bracer, ring and earring only have 1 type 22 slot, so players can
only have 6 of these special powers at any given time. Spell Stones can be obtained by buying them from
vendors or finding them in your adventures. These stones can also be traded to other players.

EXAMPLE: Stone of Fireball (Rank 1, Type 1), Stone of Ice Spikes (Rank 4, Type 5), Stone of Poison Mist (Rank 1, Type 1)
The Fireball and Poison Mist stone would share the same cooldown. This is just an example and some of these ability names
might not be official or appear in the game.


My goal here is to let players build their characters with a variety of choices instead of pigeon hole them to a path.
More to come on V2 as I get the server built.

[Drakiyth]

Some new development changes have been added to V2. I want to make
sure things are solid and make sense in this system.

I'm adding a type 22 augment slot to all weapons and I have changed the weapon mastery stone to be named
combat mastery, and they fit inside the necklace slot now instead of the chest slot. The chest to necklace change
was made so that it made sense jewelry type items were holding these powerful enchantments. Weapon stones will
also come with aggro builder spell options for classes that want to tank and aren't the traditional tank classes. This
includes a spell that procs when casting spells, so a wizard kit can sit there and cast and pull aggro while using a
protection role if they wanted to.

CURRENT ITEM TYPES THAT WORK FOR THE STONES
Necklace, Bracer, Bracer, Ring, Ring, Earring, Earring, Weapon


http://www.varlyndria.com/uploads/1/1/2/4/11245945/9506364_orig.png


NOTE: I'll be releasing some really cool info on the spell stone magic types later this week or next.
The old paths will really influence my design on these but things like the soulreaper won't be making the cut since
they are just ridiculously hard to get right. I will have things like blood ritual however instead of vampire. I'm going to
stay away from the word "vampire" if all possible. It's just heavily and ridiculously over-used in novels and fiction.
Also, don't forget that ALL classes will be able to harness the power of these spell stones instead of just one class,
so you could have a blood ritual rogue or even a blood ritual monk if you wanted to! I will also only release a handful
of these spell stones at launch and keep adding new ones into the game. This way there is a good amount of things
to choose from but you're left wanting more. Expect to see things like: Fire, Cold, Lightning, Arcane, Unholy, Holy,
Blood Ritual, Poison, Plague and Fighting as some of the starter stones to get things rolling.

More to come.

[Drakiyth]

http://www.varlyndria.com/uploads/1/1/2/4/11245945/header_images/1382163989.png


VARLYNDRIA 2 NEWS

Notice: I have been sick with a nasty flu for almost a week now so it has really slowed down production on the server.


NEW WEBSITE DESIGN
Varlyndria 2 has a new website design and a new forums. These forums will replace the Varlyndria: Ascension forums.

FIRE PREVIEW

http://www.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/2/4/11245945/2575258_orig.png

SPELL STONE TYPES

• TYPE 1: Opener - Opener spells have a long cast time on them but deal tremendous damage. They are best used
at the very start of combat to out-right destroy or severely harm your enemy.

• TYPE 2: Follow-Up - Follow-Up spells should be used after the Opener but can be used all during a fight when
they are up. These spells are instant cast and have long recharge times.

• TYPE 3: Rotation - Rotation spells are easily cast during a fight with their fast cast times and are usually on medium recharge times.

• TYPE 4: Area Blast - Area Blast spells hit everything around you or your group and are used for mass killing or healing.

• TYPE 5: Beneficial - Beneficial spells either target the caster or another player with a positive effect or healing value.

• TYPE 6: Special - Special spells can be anything to make that set unique in some way. Example: extra heal, damage, pet etc.

[Drakiyth]

SPELL STONE AUGMENT IDEA HAS BEEN AXED - 10/23/13
The spell stone augment idea has been axed due to too many complications
within the database and things not working correctly as they should. The
system was buggy and very choppy and I have decided to go back to the
drawing board on V2's system. The class role charms work great however, and
will be staying put. I've got some ideas to give players that old-school path feel
but much different this time around as I still want to give all classes the ability
to be anything they want.

Stay tuned...

[Drakiyth]

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

• TRINITY MASTERY SYSTEM - This new system is going to allow players to join various
factions that specialize in different themes like the old path system, however this time around, players will be able
to join a total of three factions to build their character with. The powers you learn from these factions are based
on what class you have chosen and its resource used to cast abilities. In EQ there are three types of ability
use: Disciplines, Spells and Songs. The Trinity is basically one of three class types that casts spells, use pure
endurance disciplines or sings songs (bards). When a player joins a faction they will also need to continue to improve
their reputation with that faction to further learn any new abilities the faction can offer them. Players won't just be
handed all of their abilities this time like Varlyndria: Ascension. They will need to work and prove themselves to
earn access to them.

EXAMPLE: BARD FIRE SONGS WHEN JOINING THE FLAMECALLER FACTION (NOT OFFICIAL)
LEVEL: 01: Scorching Melody
LEVEL: 05: Searing Song
LEVEL: 10: Theme of Burning
LEVEL: 15: Aria of Fire
LEVEL: 20: Call Fire Sprite 1
LEVEL: 25: Lyric of Warmth
LEVEL: 30: Carol of Smoke
LEVEL: 35: Call Fire Sprite 2
LEVEL: 40: Theme of Melting
LEVEL: 45: Dance of Flame
LEVEL: 50: Call Fire Sprite 3

EXAMPLE: WAR, MNK, BER AND ROG FIRE DISCS WHEN JOINING THE FLAMECALLER FACTION (NOT OFFICIAL)
LEVEL: 01: Burning Rush
LEVEL: 05: Searing Slam
LEVEL: 10: Fire Heart
LEVEL: 15: Call Fire Goblin 1
LEVEL: 20: Cinder Slash
LEVEL: 25: Ash Vice
LEVEL: 30: Searing Slam 2
LEVEL: 35: Inferno Spin
LEVEL: 40: Call Fire Orc 1
LEVEL: 45: Flame Stance
LEVEL: 50: Whirling Fireball

• VARLYNDRIA 2 MASTERY FACTIONS
NOTE: Players can join one of these factions at level 1, 20 and 50 for a total of 3 factions. Faction masters will teach
players new abilities based on their class type (song/disc/spell) and current reputation within that faction. Players will
need to get their reputation up with that faction before they can learn what it offers. Raising your reputation will be done
from completing quests with that faction or offering valuable items to its cause.

STARTER FACTIONS - WILL BE RELEASED AT LAUNCH
• Flamecallers - Faction that specializes in fire and the molten earth.
• Icebringers - Faction that specializes in ice and the arctic cold.
• Earth Wardens - Faction that specializes in nature and wild beasts.
• Stormseekers - Faction that specializes in lightning and wind storms.
• Weapon Masters - Faction that specializes in offensive melee combat.
• Guardians - Faction that specializes in defensive combat.
• Hunters - Faction that specializes in ranged combat and trap making.

EXPANSION FACTIONS - WILL BE RELEASED IN PACKAGES OF 2 EVERY OTHER WEEK OR SO.
• Radiant Champions - Faction that specializes in light and heavenly power.
• Dark Heretics - Faction that specializes in darkness and hellish power.
• Twisted Animators - Faction that specializes in chaos, sonic waves and puppets.
• Distortionists - Faction that specializes in psionic powers and illusions.
• Arcanists - Faction that specializes in arcane forces and magical enhancements.
• Rotfeasters - Faction that specializes in plagues and vermin control.
• Bloodlords - Faction that specializes in anatomical alteration and restoration.
• Nightshades - Faction that specializes in poisons and stealthy combat.
• Abyssalists - Faction that specializes in water and sea creatures.
• Deathspeakers - Faction that specializes in undead, spirits and bone magic.
• Arcane Engineers - Faction that specializes in clock work robots and powerful golems.
• Timeweavers - Faction that specializes in time and cosmic energies.
• ????????????? - More to come after these.
• ????????????? - More to come after these.

[Township EQ]

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

• TRINITY MASTERY SYSTEM - This new system is going to allow players to join various
factions that specialize in different themes like the old path system, however this time around, players will be able
to join a total of three factions to build their character with. The powers you learn from these factions are based
on what class you have chosen and its resource used to cast abilities. In EQ there are three types of ability
use: Disciplines, Spells and Songs. The Trinity is basically one of three class types that casts spells, use pure
endurance disciplines or sings songs (bards). When a player joins a faction they will also need to continue to improve
their reputation with that faction to further learn any new abilities the faction can offer them. Players won't just be
handed all of their abilities this time like Varlyndria: Ascension. They will need to work and prove themselves to
earn access to them.

EXAMPLE: BARD FIRE SONGS WHEN JOINING THE FLAMECALLER FACTION (NOT OFFICIAL)
LEVEL: 01: Scorching Melody
LEVEL: 05: Searing Song
LEVEL: 10: Theme of Burning
LEVEL: 15: Aria of Fire
LEVEL: 20: Call Fire Sprite 1
LEVEL: 25: Lyric of Warmth
LEVEL: 30: Carol of Smoke
LEVEL: 35: Call Fire Sprite 2
LEVEL: 40: Theme of Melting
LEVEL: 45: Dance of Flame
LEVEL: 50: Call Fire Sprite 3

EXAMPLE: WAR, MNK, BER AND ROG FIRE DISCS WHEN JOINING THE FLAMECALLER FACTION (NOT OFFICIAL)
LEVEL: 01: Burning Rush
LEVEL: 05: Searing Slam
LEVEL: 10: Fire Heart
LEVEL: 15: Call Fire Goblin 1
LEVEL: 20: Cinder Slash
LEVEL: 25: Ash Vice
LEVEL: 30: Searing Slam 2
LEVEL: 35: Inferno Spin
LEVEL: 40: Call Fire Orc 1
LEVEL: 45: Flame Stance
LEVEL: 50: Whirling Fireball

• VARLYNDRIA 2 MASTERY FACTIONS
NOTE: Players can join one of these factions at level 1, 20 and 50 for a total of 3 factions. Faction masters will teach
players new abilities based on their class type (song/disc/spell) and current reputation within that faction. Players will
need to get their reputation up with that faction before they can learn what it offers. Raising your reputation will be done
from completing quests with that faction or offering valuable items to its cause.

STARTER FACTIONS - WILL BE RELEASED AT LAUNCH
• Flamecallers - Faction that specializes in fire and the molten earth.
• Icebringers - Faction that specializes in ice and the arctic cold.
• Earth Wardens - Faction that specializes in nature and wild beasts.
• Stormseekers - Faction that specializes in lightning and wind storms.
• Weapon Masters - Faction that specializes in offensive melee combat.
• Guardians - Faction that specializes in defensive combat.
• Hunters - Faction that specializes in ranged combat and trap making.

EXPANSION FACTIONS - WILL BE RELEASED IN PACKAGES OF 2 EVERY OTHER WEEK OR SO.
• Radiant Champions - Faction that specializes in light and heavenly power.
• Dark Heretics - Faction that specializes in darkness and hellish power.
• Twisted Animators - Faction that specializes in chaos, sonic waves and puppets.
• Distortionists - Faction that specializes in psionic powers and illusions.
• Arcanists - Faction that specializes in arcane forces and magical enhancements.
• Rotfeasters - Faction that specializes in plagues and vermin control.
• Bloodlords - Faction that specializes in anatomical alteration and restoration.
• Nightshades - Faction that specializes in poisons and stealthy combat.
• Abyssalists - Faction that specializes in water and sea creatures.
• Deathspeakers - Faction that specializes in undead, spirits and bone magic.
• Arcane Engineers - Faction that specializes in clock work robots and powerful golems.
• Timeweavers - Faction that specializes in time and cosmic energies.
• ????????????? - More to come after these.
• ????????????? - More to come after these.

The work being put into this is pretty damn extensive. Looks like it will be great, Drak.

[Drakiyth]

http://www.varlyndria.com/uploads/1/1/2/4/11245945/header_images/1382163989.png


Thank you for the support, Township. I'm doing everything I can to make V2 a new experience for everybody but also
more fun than my previous installments with this new faction system. Giving players a real mmorpg feeling as they progress
and earn their special powers in a modified version of the everquest they already know and love.

I've been hard at work figuring out how this new system will work and it has taken a lot of trial and error with many systems
that were designed being scratched and redone from start because of them simply not working out. I finally feel I have the
system where it needs to be and this will speed up the progression of the server significantly. Players will be able to talk to
the recruiter of the factions in the guild lobby and when they join will gain access to their headquarters which will be placed
in various areas of Norrath.

Here is a pic of the Flamecaller's Headquarters.
http://www.varlyndria.com/uploads/1/1/2/4/11245945/4674457_orig.png


Players need to earn faction levels to learn new spells, songs or disciplines (based on which class type you are)

http://www.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/2/4/11245945/1672280_orig.png

[Drakiyth]

All faction headquarters will have npcs to gain faction from by completing quests for them. If you do
somehow bypass a faction level, that npc will have no use for you anymore and won't accept items you
give it or give you a quest. You can still climb to the top of your reputation with relic turn-ins but you'll
miss out on some cool quest items if you do so. Players can earn other things besides faction and money
as well as they progress further, such as weapons and armors related to their faction.

Example: Completing the Amateur Flamecaller quest will reward a fire dagger and fire maul to the player
as well as give them 200 reputation points with the Flamecallers, allowing them access to their new
spells/songs/disciplines.

http://www.varlyndria.com/uploads/1/1/2/4/11245945/184005_orig.png

http://www.varlyndria.com/uploads/1/1/2/4/11245945/5495933_orig.png

http://www.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/2/4/11245945/5648972_orig.png

[Drakiyth]

http://www.varlyndria.com/uploads/1/1/2/4/11245945/header_images/1382163989.png

I have had a lot of what you would call "real life struggles" lately with so many different things going on in my life, but I
have still put what time I can fit in into the server and it's coming along pretty good. Here is a snap of the Icebringers Guild
which is located inside Everfrost. The tomes below are earned by becoming a member and you earn higher level ones by
completing quests/turning in relics/getting your faction up with your current guild. You can get a second guild choice at
30 and a final guild choice at 50 for 3 guilds to work faction on to make your character extremely elite.
http://www.varlyndria.com/uploads/1/1/2/4/11245945/2260887_orig.png

http://www.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/2/4/11245945/9429316_orig.png

[Drakiyth]

Sorry about the lack of updates. As you probably already read on the old necro-posted thread I am working a full-time job now
and don't have as much time to work on the server anymore. I haven't fully forgotten about it however. I am still working on it.
I appreciate all the feedback and praise I have gotten on my old content and some people still feeling my stuff and vision was the
best. I can't thank you enough for your thoughtful and encouraging e-mails and support. I hope one day I can re-live with you all
that experience again. Sadly, financial stress is a part of life and something that's never easily dealt with.


EARTH GUILD - LOCATED IN GFAY
http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/8886/893w.png

[Maze_EQ]

How much acid do you think Drakiyth takes before he starts developing servers?