Favorite Zone

[Hibbs]

Just curious what everyone's favorite zone is? classis or not. I'm sure that this post has been made plenty of times but I really enjoy hearing about the mystical places and adventures there that make us love this damn game!

One of my favorite zones would have to be Veksar. I remember the first time I swam to the bottom of Lake Illomen and entered this place. Damn it was cool! Water dripping down from the ceiling, the dreary purple haze, the rubble of the building, the goblins, golems, and highborn that inhabited it! I spent many nights down there with my Dark Elf Necromancer duoing with my buddy who played a Vashir Beastlord. This place was packed full of places to explore. Iirc one of the best places at the time to XP and grind AA's, with lots of good loot!

Forever one of the best!

Lets hear it!:D

[kjs86z]

Velks

[Baylan295]

Howling Stones. It’s like home to me. I’ve spent soo much time killing in that zone. You learn mechanically all sorts of cool mechanics and it’s just a phenomenal zone for enchanters.

[Cen]

Kaladim and Neriak in general. Maybe Halas.

I'm not sure except its a home city

[TripleLegit]

Many memories in Qeynos, Qeynos Hills and Blackburrow..

[joppykid]

Velks and Cazic. Wish they'd bump the ZEM in Cazic so people actually went there to group. Such a challenging zone with the OP casters healing through walls haha.

[Rygar]

The Hole of course. Most amazing zone in the game.

Is massive, makes you rely on some other classes to succeed (such as evacer), faction enabled for brell rogues for easy CR and scouting, and randomized rare spawns.

It was actually created to try to encourage crawling as opposed to the standard 'camp and pull'. Original devs hated camps and didn't understand why people were satisfied staying in the same area for hours at a time.

Unfortunately, original Hole had terrible pathing and caused a lot of wipes and frustration. There was also a lack of 'big ticket items' that caused people to just burrow into Seb / HS and such.

But for EXP junkies? Amazingly beautiful. Love the use of anti-summon spells being viable, mix of undead, etc.

Very little improvements needed. I think a staging area at the beginning for folks to sit and yell for 'LFG' safely would have been nice and maybe down by the docks could have added an alligator or two for charming or some kind of lizard.

Also would have liked to see more quests involved for crawling deeper in (besides epics). Such as citizens of paineel wanting you to retrieve artifacts that were lost when their city was overtaken, etc.

But man, it is sweet as is I tell you. Masterful zone design at it's finest.

[Jimjam]

The classic/kunark era tutorial. Wish I could still find my RoK CDs to play through it one more time. I guess they got thrown out.


I quite like Halas too. Feels like a convincing stone village in the highlands (except the way in/out). I feel you could do 1-60 very easily just using Everfrost and its immediately adjacent zones.

I was doing this on a barbarian shaman, but I cheated at 29 and bought befriend animal from West Karana. There is a level 24 wolf that spawns behind the permafrost temple and he makes a pretty sweet pet!

[ScaringChildren]

Crushbone

I practically lived there in '99.

[UnHoLyPoWeR]

Many memories in Qeynos, Qeynos Hills and Blackburrow..

A lot of hours roaming Qeynos areas on live. Gonna have to 2nd this.

[Pint]

high keep

[TripleLegit]

A lot of hours roaming Qeynos areas on live. Gonna have to 2nd this.

Glad I’m not the only one, find that Freeport was a much more common choice for human rolls. But man I spent so much time in Qeynos Hills, Surefall, the Karanas etc. on my first ever character on live. Those zones induce the absolute most nostalgia in me I love going there from time to time when I’m bored just to wander around and remembering the glory days!

[UnHoLyPoWeR]

Glad I’m not the only one, find that Freeport was a much more common choice for human rolls. But man I spent so much time in Qeynos Hills, Surefall, the Karanas etc. on my first ever character on live. Those zones induce the absolute most nostalgia in me I love going there from time to time when I’m bored just to wander around and remembering the glory days!

I had no idea Qeynos was like the unfavored human city back in the day on live, my whole life coulda been different if I had started my first characters in Freeport haha. Obviously learned later on Freeport was the place everyone was at cause of EC.

There is a certain nostalgia for me being in those areas that I can't kick, sounds dumb as hell but I feel maximum immersion being over there still.

No matter where I go in game, no matter what characters I make, Qeynos is always home. #GnollFangsForever :D

[ineubis]

Virtually every single toon I have ever rolled (with the exception of Iksar) over the years has "gone through puberty" (levels ~10-20) in North Ro/Oasis. That desert will always have a special place in my heart. The sand, the music, the dervs. <3

[tsuchang]

Just outside Freeport gate where my human warrior, (deleted then a monk), spawned. The first experience in the game.
The other zones all have their own flavor, even the four zones of Karana each have a bit of their own personality.

[Nommis]

Oasis hands down. Docks, crocs, orcs, giants, specs, gobs. It's got everything.

Does anyone else remember in 1999 how the Oasis was bugged and the deepwater goblins spawned 10s of wolf pets that could be pulled single to kill by a group? There was a never ending conga line of dogs to kill.

[Polixa]

Lower Guk dead side for grouping memories
Sol A for leveling up in P99 (wish the ore was nerfed so the farming would stop)

Plane of Tranquility for the theme music
Sunset at the white bridge in North Karana was gorgeous
North Ro, just for the music

[TripleLegit]

I had no idea Qeynos was like the unfavored human city back in the day on live, my whole life coulda been different if I had started my first characters in Freeport haha. Obviously learned later on Freeport was the place everyone was at cause of EC.

There is a certain nostalgia for me being in those areas that I can't kick, sounds dumb as hell but I feel maximum immersion being over there still.

No matter where I go in game, no matter what characters I make, Qeynos is always home. #GnollFangsForever :D

Dude i hear you, I didn't realize it wasn't popular until i played P99 and it was dead. I was a ranger, eventually i was forced to reroll and play in Gfay. However, i spent plenty of time running around my favorite areas prior. Gnoll fangs > CB belts for sure. Man now i want to go to Qeynos next time i log in.

[Neesow.Shadowleaf]

Qeynos Hills / Black Burrow 100% member first day I started on eq my buddy gave me full bronze and a axe of the iron back though I was god of the hills haha well tell I lost my body getting wrecked by a giant bat.

[TripleLegit]

Qeynos Hills / Black Burrow 100% member first day I started on eq my buddy gave me full bronze and a axe of the iron back though I was god of the hills haha well tell I lost my body getting wrecked by a giant bat.

Welcome to the Qeynos Fan Alliance my friend. You are most welcome here.

[Crede]

Greater Faydark all day, nothin feels more like home. Great starting areas nearby, that awesome tree city you always wanted after seeing Hook and the Lost Boys, and classic leveling progression from Orc Hill to Crushbone. Ain't nothing as scary as a train with Crush & Dvinn in it.

[aaezil]

Everfrost peaks/Halas

First eq experience - and zone was constantly full of xpers unlike nowadays :(

[Bardp1999]

high keep

+1

Blackburrow close second

[Nexii]

Neriak forever and always. See sig

[feniin]

Najena has to be #1 for me. Such a well designed, compact dungeon. LGuk deadside is the best but liveside is such a clusterfuck that it can't be my #1.

[GnomeCaptain]

Whether I roll up a Gnome or High Elf or Human, they're going to be battling fire beetles, collecting gnoll fangs, and avoiding Varsoon. Sometimes I even find myself camping Pyzjn, even though I don't really want a GBS.

Qeynos and the Karanas evoke too much nostalgia for my original character: an Erudite Wizard that found great relief in Qeynos and beyond after a few levels in Tox. And of course I can still remember making that first trip to the Freeport neighborhood only to die horribly in Befallen before moving on to Oasis.

[Evia]

I have a few I really love....
1) Sebilis. The lore is fantastic + its such a well designed dungeon!
2) Crystal Caverns. I also enjoy the lore in this place and the music is incredible. Everytime Im in CC I just get this really good vibes.
3)Surefall Glade. This place has a very cozy, serene feeling to it. Probably the most peaceful starting city.
4)Highkeep. No matter if you're slaying Goblins, Guards or Nobles. Not many zones can support leveling from early 20s until early 50s WITH a bank!
5) The Hole. Arguably the most underappreciated zone. Lore here is top notch and has SO MUCH depth to it! Truly a magnificent zone to explore and crawl through with some good elf pals.


Edit: noticing a lot of my favorites are rooted in a good bit of lore knowledge? Maybe lore is more important to me than I thought...

[TripleLegit]

high keep


High Keep pretty nostalgic for me as well. Lots of memories killing guards back in the day. On live I remember there being an exploit though where you could pull guards into an upper room and they couldn’t come in for some reason so people would just nuke them to death and level that way. Weird.

[mizzbiscuits]

Crushbone, Gfay, and Felwithe. I like elves.

[cornisthebest]

permafrost

[Neesow.Shadowleaf]

Whether I roll up a Gnome or High Elf or Human, they're going to be battling fire beetles, collecting gnoll fangs, and avoiding Varsoon. Sometimes I even find myself camping Pyzjn, even though I don't really want a GBS.

Qeynos and the Karanas evoke too much nostalgia for my original character: an Erudite Wizard that found great relief in Qeynos and beyond after a few levels in Tox. And of course I can still remember making that first trip to the Freeport neighborhood only to die horribly in Befallen before moving on to Oasis.

My first EQ experience was watching my buddy camp Pzyzjn on his Tom Selleck looking human mage watching for hours in hope of it. The first one he got was huge cause for celebration .. Thus started the lust for EQ Pixels!.. lol

[toddfx]

On P99 I would probably definitely have to say it's Oasis. The pace of the hunting is fantastic, be it crocs or orcs, and the balanced population makes it great for easy grouping during peak hours and also great for soloing once things calm down. There's always a wide range of mob types to kill within your level range to keep things interesting, and the challenge of going after yellow or even red cons is more inviting than most zones I feel.

It's a zone that can be perfectly safe if you have your wits about you but will bite quickly if you're caught napping. I love the lingering danger of the occasional wandering high level mobs.

I like that for the most part you have plenty of room to define your own camp, and it's usually pretty easy to pop in and jump straight into some action. It's also great how common it is for higher level folks to roll through with buffs or saving groups from the giants.

The merchants and the proximity to both portals and EC are also of course nice perks.

[mccriddles]

gfay for me, its where almost all my characters started or went to grind those first levels. that music in kelethin is the best. I often just sit there and let the music play while i read forums or whatever when im bored.

[Yoink1986]

Warrens for me. Can lvl from like 5 to 20s there. Ton of mobs. Lot of roamers so if you aren’t geared we’ll it poses difficulty. Some names and well Muglwump!

[Bbeta]

Veeshan's Peak

https://i.imgur.com/ZX1x4gE.jpg

[Crede]

gfay for me, its where almost all my characters started or went to grind those first levels. that music in kelethin is the best. I often just sit there and let the music play while i read forums or whatever when im bored.

Try setting your alarm clock to Kelethin. Honestly made waking up easier in the morning lol. Hard to be mad waking up to that score.

[Hibbs]

Virtually every single toon I have ever rolled (with the exception of Iksar) over the years has "gone through puberty" (levels ~10-20) in North Ro/Oasis. That desert will always have a special place in my heart. The sand, the music, the dervs. <3

I loved hunting in East Freeport gates and then setting out into North Ro. I faintly remember there always being a lot of people around the wizard platform near the tunnel. Once and awhile you would hear a clicking scarab or madman grunting to himself wandering by. I also spend an unbelievable amount of time at Derv2 camp.

In the oasis I feel I always did crocs rather than orc highway for some reason. There was always people training specters to a zoneline too so you always had to be mindful. I feel like that doesn't happen to much on P99.lol

Good stuff

[Morbo the Annihilator]

Kelethin and Gfay for maximum nostalgia.
When my slowass computer would be entering the game, i would always hear the noise of people sitting/standing or interacting with the Kelethin lift before the screen actually came on. Those noises send me straight back to 99 and my first few days of running back and forth between Kelethin and Orc Hill in excitement/terror.

It was my first interaction with people online in a 3D environment that wasn't a shooter, characters dashing this way and that across the Kelethin bridges, on some task or other.

Then Crushbone was next level immersion. Hearing about the perils of Dvinn and Crush from other players well before actually seeing them in person, then looking up to see movement and spell effects through the window of Crush's tower, and wondering who those gods of Everquest were that were fighting in there.

That same feeling followed me everywhere around Norrath. Listening to friends camping Ancient Croc or grouping at Exe, seeing spell effects and fighting on Spectre island in Oasis, the first time i saw a necro actually killing town guards in Freeport.
Just witnessing the unknown made me want to keep logging on and seeing more of Norrath. Back then, i was happy just wandering around, even if i wasn't actually progressing.

EQ merges content across levels incredibly. Being a low level character witnessing the antics of higher level characters made for great immersion and drove me to keep playing.


Nostalgia aside, i'd have to jump on the HS bandwagon.
One of the best balanced zones in the game. Challenging for any group makeup. The thrill of solo/duoing/trioing in there is unmatched.

[Hibbs]

EQ merges content across levels incredibly. Being a low level character witnessing the antics of higher level characters made for great immersion and drove me to keep playing.

Feel this 100%

[tycohunden]

Steamfont mountains

[Primordial Ooze]

Dude i hear you, I didn't realize it wasn't popular until i played P99 and it was dead. I was a ranger, eventually i was forced to reroll and play in Gfay. However, i spent plenty of time running around my favorite areas prior. Gnoll fangs > CB belts for sure. Man now i want to go to Qeynos next time i log in.

Same. I started my toon on p99 as a half elf druid till I realized Qeynos was dead and re-rolled a wood elf. I love Qeynos Hills. I'm not sure why - objectively, there's not a lot going on in that zone. Just nostalgic, I guess. But that's why I started a thread about Jaggedpine and an SFG port to open up that zone.

Also, Qeynos is just such a nicer city in general than Freeport. It's all pretty and tidy with vines growing on the brick. Freeport is a damn desert with piles of shit everywhere.

[TripleLegit]

Same. I started my toon on p99 as a half elf druid till I realized Qeynos was dead and re-rolled a wood elf. I love Qeynos Hills. I'm not sure why - objectively, there's not a lot going on in that zone. Just nostalgic, I guess. But that's why I started a thread about Jaggedpine and an SFG port to open up that zone.

Also, Qeynos is just such a nicer city in general than Freeport. It's all pretty and tidy with vines growing on the brick. Freeport is a damn desert with piles of shit everywhere.

Not to mention easier to navigate by far. And Blackburrow is an awesome place to level. It’s really too bad no one groups there, that is the one classic experience I want to have that I still haven’t. That zone was a blast grouping on live.

[Arachnor]

Doomfire, The Burning Lands aka Plane of Fire.

Everything about that zone was grim and imposing from the scenery to Blazzax & the spider queen.

The first time you see him, Fennin Ro is just flat out terrifying.

[Crede]

Demiplane of Blood was probably my favorite raid zone. Nearly every one of those fights separated the people who sucked from those who didn't. One random person could easily wipe the raid if they failed to follow some of the scripts.

[Yoink1986]

Demiplane of blood was one interesting zone for sure.

[LulzSe©t]

oasis/timorous deep
the feerott / guk comes close
gfay for the ambiance

[mccriddles]

Try setting your alarm clock to Kelethin. Honestly made waking up easier in the morning lol. Hard to be mad waking up to that score.

great idea

[Caldwin]

Ain't nothing as scary as a train with Crush & Dvinn in it.

Except when trying to zone to escape that train, only to zone right into another train on the other side. Then having to zone back, hoping the first train was gone. I called that zone ping-pong.

I definitely have fond memories of Gfay and Crushbone. I remember being on my wizard at the path from the orc lift, when someone ran by with a train. I went to root one. But, when the root landed, the orc was on the lift. The orc went up and down twice, then back up. It was gone when the lift came back now. I laughed so hard seeing that orc going up and down on that lift. Not sure where the guards were all that time, but I didn't see them anywhere. I wish I took screen shots of that orc on the lift.

[Crede]

I laughed so hard seeing that orc going up and down on that lift. Not sure where the guards were all that time, but I didn't see them anywhere. I wish I took screen shots of that orc on the lift.

They were probably off helping some other people with trains lol. Can't count how many times people would train to that orc lift, those guards should have been gettin paid overtime. Can't think of any zone where the guards were more active than at Orc Lift.

[Tethler]

They were probably off helping some other people with trains lol. Can't count how many times people would train to that orc lift, those guards should have been gettin paid overtime. Can't think of any zone where the guards were more active than at Orc Lift.

Maybe west freeport gate guards lol. always bashing some skeleton or chasing someone to the zoneline who came in to bank,

[ScottBerta]

Old Sebilis without a doubt.

[LulzSe©t]

oasis
timorous deep
gfay
guk
feerrott

[Nathaniel]

For real dungeon crawling I enjoy most: Cazic Thule, Tower of Frozen Shadow

[Jaleth]

Befallen or Unrest for me. Just something about the lore and the creepy haunted feel to those small zones. Good experience that could turn awful real quick with shouts "Train to zone!"

[LulzSe©t]

Forgot about ToFS
it was the last dungeon i really LIVED in during live

[plzrelax]

Kurns Tower is definitely my favorite zone. The exp is fantastic, and questing for the Skull of Torture is good fun too