Today I finally got back into EverQuest in earnest. I started out by actually creating a whole new character, a gnome magician, and taking him through the new tutorial. Nothing really new was revealed that way, but it did get me used to the controls again. After switching back to my enchanter, I then spent a while fine-tuning the controls and UI, setting up windows, setting hot keys, creating spell lists, etc. The setup I’d used before is long gone, and I doubt it would have done me any good anyway.

I also grabbed a few map packs from map collection sites and installed them. They’re not nearly as pretty as WoW’s, but they’re still pretty much essential.

Somebody asked in /ooc how to get to some zone I hadn’t heard of, and my curiosity was piqued, so I followed their directions and headed there myself (via a stone-activated portal in the guild hall), and wound up in a rather spooky-looking part of the Depths of Darkhollows areas. It was all dark and underground like the fungal caverns of Luclin, but populated by mind-flayer-like creatures and weird, twisty paths. I might have to come back later for leveling, since the enemies were blue to me.

Back in PoK, I ran across an old guildie friend and we chatted for a bit, and then it was off to the bazaar to see what was available. I was afraid of what inflation might have done to the market, but managed to pick up five pieces of defiant silk armour that boosted my stats considerably, for not too much money. My HP went from 4352 to 5030, my mana from 5756 to 6263, and a bunch of other stat and regen increases as well. I’ll have to keep checking back for other good pieces, especially as I (hopefully) sell off some of my own stuff. Update: And I wound up selling my LoN booster deck for 55k plat, which should get me off to a pretty good start.

Next up, I’m going to have to get one of those fancy new mercs and get practicing on my charm soloing…