EverQuest: Lost Dungeons of Norrath

by Sony

Product Features

• You may have explored five continents of Norrath, its moon and even other dimensions -- but now you'll uncover Norrath's secret, long-forgotten history. The mystery that began in Broken Skull Rock leads you on a trip to forgotten dungeons, secret catacombs, and long-buried ruins.
• Experience dungeon crawls with new environments, objects and items in 40 new dungeons
• Interact with hundreds of NPCs and fight your way through deadly new monsters
• Learn hundreds of new spells & tradeskill recipes, and sicover amazing treasures like the Satchel of Abu-Kar

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0000A2Q7Y
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 7.2 x 1 inches ; 4.8 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: September 8, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,997 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

You Are In Our World Now... Unlock the Mystery!Product Information[Requires the Full Version of EverQuest to Play]The Lost Dungeons of Norrath is the largest expansion to datefeaturing the most content ever delivered in an EverQuest expansion!The Lost Dungeons expansion features 48 new dungeons that span the old world ofNorrath focusing on several long lost locations including the Rujarkian Hillsand Deepest Guk.  Encounter never before seen monsters that prowl the hallsof these dungeons waiting to challenge any explorer brave enough to venture in.A mystery is unfolding and a new age of exploration and adventure has begun.Product FeaturesBonus!  Limited Edition Rune Keychain IncludedPersonalized Adventures tailored to challenge your group.48 distinct zones - 19 more than any previous expansion.Raid Adventures provide exciting new battles for up to 36 players.Customize your equipment with new Augmentations.Succeed in Adventures and choose how you wish to be rewarded.Interact with the environment in new ways.  Disarm pick or simply bash new chests vases coffins tables and more.  Take what is rightfully yours!Learn hundreds of new tradeskill recipes.Encounter a host of challenging new monsters and NPC's.Minimum Requirements Requires the Full Version of EverQuest to Play Additional Subscription Fees Required Windows 98 Me 2000 XP Pentium II 400MHz or AMD K6 or greater processor 256 of RAM 450MB Hard Drive space Direct3D compliant Video Card with 16MB of RAM and hardware T&L DirectX 8.1 or greater compatible Sound Card required 28.8K Internet connection required 4X CD-ROM driveRecommended Requirments Requires the Full Version of EverQuest to Play Additional Subscription Fees Required Windows 98 Me 2000 XP Pentium III 833MHz or AMD Athlon 800 or equivalentK6 or greater processor 512 of RAM 1.5GB Hard Drive Space Direct3D compliant Video Card with 32MB of RAM and hardware T&L DirectX 8.1 or greater compatible Sound Card r

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars EQ: Lost Dungeons of Norrath: Adds (some) new life to game, November 21, 2003

By 

Beau Yarbrough (Hesperia, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: EverQuest: Lost Dungeons of Norrath (CD-ROM)

This is a review strictly of EverQuest: Lost Dungeons of Norrath (LDoN). As this package does not include the basic game, and is only an expansion, this is not a review on the game as a whole.

While there is a lot of talk about how one can do many different things in EverQuest, for everyone but the most obsessive tradeskillers, it comes down to killing things and taking their stuff. The various expansions have let players do this in the jungle, on a frozen continent, do it on the moon, in a pirate stronghold, or in the homes of the gods themselves. In all of these locations, players move through areas shared with other players -- sometimes only a handful of other players, but in some cases up to 100 or more people interested in the same content.

This new expansion breaks that model for the first time, by creating content on the fly for players, in the form of dungeons for groups numbering 3 to 6, that ONLY exists for them. (Other players get their own instanced copies of these dungeons to explore.) While some players feel this flies in the face of the Multi-User Dungeon game tradition that EQ grew out of, it's a welcome change to not have to look over one's shoulder for other players at all times, or to have to compete over special "named" monsters and such.

The five LDoN dungeon "themes" (groups of different layouts in related dungeons) dynamically create content for groups from levels 20 to 65. The good news is that this makes the expansion potentially useful for the vast majority of players. In practice, however, it means players will be seeing a LOT of the same stuff, over and over again, as the creatures in a level 20 version of Deepest Guk are the same as in the level 65 version, just with different names and of a lot higher level.

The much-ballyhooed adventure points received for these adventures is something of a mixed bag as well. While it does allow players to save up for loot they want (in a codified version of a system a lot of player guilds have come up with on their own), the points were never really balanced for any characters other than the highest level ones -- it will take rougly 24 missions for a level 20 shaman to save up for a level 24 Spirit of Shrew spell (an indoor-useable movement speed increase spell that also allows its subjects to see in the dark -- quite a nice spell for low level characters), and by the time they've earned all these points, they will likely be level 29 or 30. Things get better after level 60, but prior to that, there is a great deal of this head-scratching lack of math on the part of the development team.

Likewise, the "interactive objects" -- chests and vases that players can open up and loot -- are better in theory than in practice. While they add a much-needed dimension to EQ, these items are relatively rare and almost are always trapped (including many with traps that can kill a group more or less instantly). In addition, two thirds of them require spells to deal with, and these spells are even more expensive than other low level spells, meaning most groups under level 60 simply won't be able to access this content. And, assuming all those hurdles are overcome, the loot inside ranges from OK (the same as any named NPCs in the dungeon might have had on them) to a mere handful of coins, calling into question as to whether the extraordinary efforts needed to open them were worth it after all.

Having said all that, the dungeons themselves are a great deal of fun, and offer 90 minute bursts of intense excitement, with rewards of several types awaiting successful adventurers. LDoN is not perfectly implemented (both Velious and the Planes of Power were far better designed and offer much more to a player), and is perhaps somewhat light on content for the cost, but overall has to be counted as a success, and is superior to both Legacy of Ykesha and the deservedly derided Shadows of Luclin expansion.

Recommended for EQ players between the levels of 20 and 65 who group up often and who already own Scars of Velious and the Planes of Power expansions.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Still waiting for a group, October 26, 2003

By 

J.Putnam "erasure3" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: EverQuest: Lost Dungeons of Norrath (CD-ROM)

LDoN is a nice if not frustrating expansion for EQ. Whether or not it's for you depends on your game style and patience level. However, you must be level 20 or higher and you will need to be somewhat experienced with EQ to do well. A quick summary of Pros and Cons:

Pros:
The graphics and sound are terrific.
There are several dozen dungeons to group in.
Each dungeons is an "instance"; that is, your group is the only group in that dungeon.
No respawns. Once you kill something it's gone, so if you need to get out in a hurry, your way back to the zone will be empty.
It's impossible to lose your corpse. Corpses "pop" outside the dungeon entrance after adventure is over (if you don't get a rez of course)
Experience is currently good, but will likely get lowered (nerfed)

Cons:
Figuring out how to "get started" with LDoN is somewhat complicated. Fortunately, enough people know how to so all you have to do is ask
To start an adventure you MUST have at least 4 players and the number of levels between the highest and lowest must be 7 levels (some argue it's 8). More often than not, more than 4 players is required and it can take a very long time to get a group together. This is the biggest downfall of the game and why I became tired of the expansion so quickly.
Currently, most groups look for the same class of players, so some classes tend to take much longer to find groups (if at all). For example, warriors and enchanters generally have no trouble, while druids are usually picked just to fill the 6th spot.
New items are purchasable only with Adventure Points, which are gained through successful adventure completions. Even the higher-priced items don't seem that great for most classes.
You tend to find alot more bad attitudes in LDoN as adventures tend to go very well or very badly. When they go badly, I've encountered many people who tend to get personal and insulting.
Although there are different "themes" for the dungeons, the overall quest is the same: kill, loot, kill, loot,...
The quests have a maximum time of 90 mins plus an additional 30 to complete a failed mission. In addition to the time finding a group, running to dungeon entrance, and splitting loot, the amount of time required can be several hours for one adventure.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Power Leveling, December 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: EverQuest: Lost Dungeons of Norrath (CD-ROM)

A very well spent $25. No need to camp for good drops or loot anymore. The "instancing" of dungeons in the game for your party only ensures that you and your party are the only ones in the dungeon. It automatically adjusts the difficulty to the level of your party (so have highest level enter first for best loot and experience). The dungeons are supposedly for between 4-6 persons, but don't try it with only 4 unless your party members are "super-twinked" and experienced with good communication. Add the weight-reducing bag you get for doing the easy quest, and it makes sense to buy this retail version..with the "digital download" you don't get a bag. Don't forget to upgrade it to the 10 slot Giant bag by doing a bit more quest work. - Susy Whorton