0. Introduction.
EverQuest is a vast game, and it keeps getting bigger - each expansion brings new zones to explore, new places to go and new things to see - not to mention new things to kill and new stuff to take. Even between expansions, only a priveleged few have learned the game well enough to get to and master the out-of-the-way endgame zones. Sleeper's Tomb requires a drop from named, Velious dragons; Vex Thal requires spending time in ten different zones on Luclin; reaching the Plane of Time requires having gone through virtually all of Planes of Power.
My ambition with this paper is to lay out the geography of EverQuest in the most intuitive manner possible. Those who have been playing for awhile, who have many characters of higher or lower level, and have a lot of play time, will know how to get around. This guide is for all those who have had the experience of being invited somewhere by a friend and been forced to decline; for everyone who has died on his way to a raid; or experienced any of the many pitfalls that can befall the solo traveller in EverQuest.
The aphorisms of Part I of this Wayfarer's Guide are for the new and inexperienced player cover what a player needs to get from Here to There with a minimum of fuss. For the most part, it covers travel in expansions up to Planes of Power. The tables and charts in Part II form an easy reference to all the various modes of transportation. Taken together they form a nearly complete picture of the way EverQuest's geography is "put together."
III. PoK and the Nexus Complex.
Plane of Knowledge and the Nexus are connected by a Stone and Book, and between them form the largest contiguous "city-block" in EverQuest. Here you will find: The Nexus, a zone connected to Wizard Spires in the EverQuest Trilogy, the Bazaar, where players in automatic "trader" mode sell goods; Shadow Haven, a large city with many tradeskill vendors; and Plane of Knowledge itself, the largest and best-stocked city in all of EverQuest and the modern social center of the game.
III. 1. Plane of Knowledge. This is the hub, the one stop travel shop, and every Norrathian needs to be familiar with it. You fill find portals here to and from every starting city, plus the Nexus, Plane of Tranquility and the Gulf of Gunthak, making a huge part of the game accessible within a zone or two. Also a trainer or two for every class and a large selection of spells in the library. Add many basic and planar tradeskill vendors and we have the indubitable social center of EverQuest.
Here is given a list of the Stones, the part of PoK they are found in, and what continent or expansion they will take you to. Each of these zones includes a Book to return to PoK.
III. 2. The Nexus Complex. The Nexus complex was the first attempt to make travelling around Norrath easier for those who didn't have a pocket Druid or Wizard. It connects to Wizard Spires on each of the continents of the EverQuest Trilogy, plus Plane of Knowledge. The Nexus is itself a part of Luclin. Each teleport pad is marked by a named "Scion," e.g. Antonica Scion, Faydwer Scion, etc. Stand on the appropriate teleport pad until the "magic voice" announces that the portals are about to activate.
The Nexus also connects to the Bazaar, Shadow Haven and the Netherbian Lair on Luclin.
IV. The Wayfarer Camps.
The Wayfarer camps are associated with the Lost Dungeons of Norrath expansion. Each feature a Magus who will teleport you to any other Magus, and a Soulbinder - this is one of the few ways, recently introduced, for melee classes to bind outside cities, and the opportunity should be taken while you are doing LDoN adventures. Wayfarer Camps are located in the following zones:
The Wayfarer Camps are where LDoN adventures are gained, and where LDoN points are spent. Each camp represents a particular Theme. In order to initiate an Adventure in any particular Theme, you would go to the Wayfarer Camp associated with the Theme and talk to the Adventure Recruiter there. Adventures can be Rescues, Collects, Assassinations, or Slaughters, the depending on the condition of success.
The entrance to the adventure may be several zones away, as indicated by the table below. When you reach the Entrance Zone, a blue line will appear showing how to get to the Adventure itself. Upon completion of the Adventure, Adventure Points are gained, which can then be spent at an Adventure Merchant back at the camp for unique equipment, spells and augments.
V. 'Ports.
Wizards and Druids are able to teleport to most anywhere one would like to go. The trouble is, most people do not know where Druids and Wizards are able to port to, and some people aren't aware that there are places Wizards can go that Druids can't and vice versa. Wizards are capable of Translocation, or teleporting others without going themselves; Druids must group to take another player.
VI. Boats.
The boats were the original way of traversing the continents of Norrath; if you didn't have a wizard or druid, this was how you got around. Now, however, the boats are rarely used; in their place are Translocator gnomes from the Arcane Scientists, who stand on the docks and transport to the same places the boats go. The connections are as follows:
(Note that the zone from Stonebrunt Mountains to Gulf of Gunthak is represented as a "boat" but is actually a clickable zone.)
VII. Invisibility, Spirit of Wolf and Other Travel Buffs - with Comments on Begging.
For those classes which do not get helpful travel abilities, there are a few options. One option is to buy potions, either from vendors or other players. Potion vendors carry Invisibility potions, and player Shamans can make Spirit of Wolf and Invisibility to Undead potions, all of which make travel much safer and simpler.
There are many ways of using Gate and Bind Affinity to simplify travel for casting classes; it is possibly an interesting enough subject to prompt a guide of its own. The only general rule is "bind as close as safely possible to where you are fighting." For melee this will usually mean the nearest city zone or Wayfarer Camp, for casters the Bind may and should be much closer to the action.
For those who can afford them, both vendors and shamans can sell you gate potions, which are capital-H-Handy for non-Gating classes; higher level characters have the option of the Clockwork Talisman series of quests in Planes of Power. Chipped Bone Rods, which are sold at Potion Vendors and have three charges of Locate Corpse, are useful if you have died while travelling in an unfamiliar zone.
The first and foremost method, however, is to ask for them in Plane of Knowledge using the public channels. This is reasonable, as most travel-friendly buffs have a trivial cost, especially SoW and Invisibility. Some people will not go anywhere without Virtue and KEI, and these people usually are willing to pay for the higher-level buffs.
Please use restraint when begging for buffs.
VIII. Afterwords.
This concludes the Wayfarer's Guide - if it has given you a better view of the world of Norrath and its interconnected adventure zones, I will think my work to have been well done and my time to have been well spent. Thank you for reading all the way down to the very...
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