EverQuest/Zones

EverQuest, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, is set in the fantasy world of Norrath which is divided into more than 400 zones. Zones are playable areas of the EverQuest universe that can be accessed by players. They are connected to other zones by 'zone lines' and crossing over to another zone is called 'zoning'. Zoning can take from several seconds to more than a minute, depending on the player's computer. Zones are in essence the smallest unit of seamless playable area in the game which are stored on the player's hard drive. An area such as a city might be comprised of three or four zones, while a large zone might contain an entire city and a vast forest. Zones represent a wide variety of geographical features that can be found in EverQuest, including plains, oceans, cities, deserts, and alternate planes of existence.

With the many expansions for EverQuest released over the years, there is a noticeable difference in the appearance of older zones and newer zones. Newer zones tend to have better graphics and some advanced features such as interactive objects or scripted events with non-player characters. One of the newer features is "instanced zones", introduced in Lost Dungeons of Norrath. These are zones where the adventuring party or raid can have an 'instance' of the zone all to themselves, and several instances can exist simultaneously.

Zones are somewhat difficult to categorize because of the nature of EverQuest. The game is constantly being updated by downloadable patches and has seen as many as twelve expansions. Some of the newer expansions added new zones to previously existing continents while creating new continents and alternate planes of existence. Some zones have been added through free downloadable patches in between the release of expansions, and a few zones have been removed after the release of expansions. Because of the overlapping of categorization by geography and by expansions, zones are listed here in a sort of compromise.

Several fall into generic categories, however. For instance, virtually every starting city has its own local newbie zone (levels 1-5), a local teens zone (5-15 or so), and a local newbie dungeon (5-20 dungeon).

The Old World
The Old World comprises three continents: Antonica, Faydwer and Odus. Most, but not all of the zones were present in the original EverQuest as released in March 1999.

Antonica

 * Befallen (10-25)
 * Befallen is nestled in the south of the Commonlands. It is a crypt filled with undead beings that can be accessed easily but to get deeper than the first floor one has to jump through a well (deadly) or try to get a key from a named mob. Befallen is the local newbie dungeon for Freeport.


 * Beholders Maze (Gorge of King Xorbb) (10-30)
 * This is a passage between west and east side of Antonica. It joins East Karana with Runnyeye, and was part of a popular route to bypass Highhold Pass.  With the Planes of Power expansion released, this zone is almost entirely obsolete.  (Only frequented now by players gathering their own material for pottery)


 * Blackburrow (5-15)
 * The home of the gnolls harassing Qeynos humans and Halas barbarians. This is an underground place which also serves as a travel path between the Qeynos Hills and Everfrost. Black Burrow is the local newbie dungeon for Qeynos and Halas.


 * Cazic Thule (50-60)
 * A dungeon in the Feerrott. A temple to the god Cazic Thule, inhabited by Lizardmen and various other jungle and swamp denizens.  Cazic Thule was originally designed for players in their late 20s through their 50s, but was later revamped into a zone for players level 55+. There is still a scaled back version of this zone on the Progressive Servers opened June 28th 2006.


 * The Commonlands (1-20)
 * Formerly two zones (East Commonlands and West Commonlands), the Commonlands were merged into a single zone with a patch in Dec. 2006 after The Serpent's Spine expansion. The Commonlands is primarily intended as the local teens zone for Freeport and Neriak, equivalent to North Ro. Adjacent to Freeport, Neriak, North Ro, Befallen, and Kithicor Forest.


 * East Commonlands (1-20)
 * See Commonlands


 * Eastern Karana (15-40)
 * The eastern quarter of the Plains of Karana. Possibly the most dangerous of the zones due to the various hostile animal life, griffins and evil eyes.  Adjacent to Highpass Hold, Beholders Maze and Northern Karana.


 * Eruds Crossing (1-60)
 * Erud's Crossing is the sea between the continents of Odus and Antonica, and offers a way to travel from the city of Erudin to the city of Qeynos. The boat used to pass alongside a volcanic island in the middle of the sea that is the home of some Kerrans (a translocator NPC now helps players to travel from Erudin or Qeynos to the island or back to either city from the island, on some if not all servers). The island is also famous for the number of Will-O-Wisps that wander on the island. Near the island is a sunken boat filled with zombies and surrounded by sharks. Adjacent to Qeynos and Erudin


 * Everfrost Peaks (1-30)
 * An Arctic zone split into two halves. One is an icy gorge surrounded by mountains.  The other is a tundra area.  Everfrost has one of the highest assortments of mobs to be found in the entire game, from the newbie area to the ice giants. Adjacent to Halas, Blackburrow and the dungeon Permafrost.


 * Feerrott (1-40)
 * The Feerott is the dark swampy home of the ogres and lizard men of Antonica. The ogres live in a cave system at the edge of the swamp, while the lizard men have established camps scattered throughout. It is also the home of the ancient ruined temple of Cazic-Thule. Adjacent to Rathe Mountains, Innothule Swamp and the Ogre city of Ogguk.


 * Freeport East
 * Freeport North (combined with West Freeport when Prophecy of Ro expansion was released)
 * Freeport West (combined with North Freeport when Prophecy of Ro expansion was released)
 * Freeport Sewers (10-70)
 * Freeport is located at the eastern edge of the Antonica continent and it's port used to offer a (painfully slow) way to travel to the Faydwer continent across the Ocean of Tears. Now a translocator NPC teleports travelers across the Ocean of Tears to the island and then on to the Faydwer continent on most if not all servers. This is a human city, the starting city of many humans of all classes. A part of the city is a kind of bazaar which was once used as a trading place by players (although, since the introduction of The Shadows of Luclin expansion, it is seldom used and most trade occurs in The Bazaar which lies off the Nexus instead). The guards in East Freeport and West Freeport are a corrupt group called the Freeport Militia. Their sworn enemies, the Knights of Truth, are the guards in North Freeport. There is a system of underground tunnels enabling travel through the city by those unfriendly to the guards. Freeport was completely revamped when Prophecy of Ro was released. North Freeport's features were combined into West Freeport, and a new zone was dedicated to the underground tunnels. Groups of patrolling guards were added as well.


 * Grobb / Gukta, Outpost of Marr (1-65)
 * When the froglok race was introduced with the Legacy of Ykesha expansion, the frogloks invaded the troll city of Grobb and ejected its former inhabitants, who were forced to move into Neriak's Foreign Quarter. The city was renamed Gukta, Outpost of Marr and occupied by the frogloks.  Much later (after the War, shortly before the Depths of Darkhollow expansion release), the trolls retook the city with the help of their dark elf and ogre allies.  The frogloks now live in a tent city within the Rathe Mountains which they call Gukta, and the city they temporarily occupied is once again called Grobb, home of the trolls.


 * Halas (1-60)
 * The city of the Barbarians, lies in a cavern valley across a chilling lake.


 * Highpass Hold (15-25)
 * Highpass Hold lies along the main travel route from Qeynos to Freeport, and is a mountain pass guarded as well as possible by the valiant guards of Highpass Keep. Orcs and gnolls have patrols that run up to the foot of the Keep itself, and the brave Highpass citizens have carved out their homes in the gulleys and nooks.


 * High Keep (1-60)
 * The Keep is the place to find some caster spells unavailable anywhere else and the basement is frequently overrun with goblins.


 * Innothule Swamp (1-30)
 * Innothule Swamp serves as the newbie zone for Grobb.


 * Jaggedpine Forest (40-60)
 * Jaggedpine Forest was once the tranquil sanctuary of people devoted to the god Karana, and nobody ventured into or out of its borders. Lately, however, Jaggedpine gnolls have begun infringing into the areas north of Qeynos.


 * Kithicor Forest (35-60)
 * Kithicor Forest is probably what is left from the old Elddar Forest together with Nektulos Forest. It is connected to the West Commonlands, Rivervale and Highpass Hold making it an important travelling zone for adventurers travelling by road from the east coast of Antonica to the middle of the continent. By day it is safe for travel, although some bixies and orcs can be dangerous to lower level characters. Presumably, the original intention was to provide a newbie zone for young Halflings from Rivervale; however, the generally poor hunting conditions (forest fog, limited visibility, etc) prevented the zone from ever being used as such. When the Plane of Hate (home of Innoruuk) opened with the Battle of Bloody Kithicor, the undead came to the Kithicor Forest and continue to roam it by night. The forest is inhabited by zombies and ghouls every night, making it a dangerous and edgy place for the traveller, most of whom are wise enough to wait until morning before making the crossing.


 * Lake Rathetear (15-35)
 * Lake Rathetear is a large lake, almost a small sea, that sits nestled in the distant wilds of Antonica. Many individuals who like to get away from the main population centers come to here and the Rathe Mountains because of their relative seclusion, and the lake and its surroundings are home to many who have carved out their niche. Aviaks, spellcasters, goblins, ogres, bandits, barbarians, Gypsies, gnolls, and the occasional hermit all reside in this area.


 * Lavastorm Mountains (10-30)
 * Revamped in early 2005, Lavastorm is a scorched lay of volcanic mountains and lakes of magma. It connects to Nektulos Forest, Solusek's Eye (Sol A), Nagafen's Lair (Sol B), the Temple of Solusek Ro, Najena and the Broodlands.


 * Lower Guk (35-50)
 * Lower Guk is only accessible through Upper Guk. The zone itself is split in two areas, Dead side, on account of the number of undead frogloks (led by the Ghoul Lord), and Live side, home of minotaurs and froglok nobles lead by the Froglok King. This vast network of dark tunnels is the ruins of the ancient Froglok city of Guk. In the original game (before any expansions were released), it was one of the two top zones in the game (with Nagafen's Lair). It was never safe to adventure alone in it and only groups of level 40 or higher can penetrate its depths. The undead frogloks are socially organised as they have a king, a preacher and a savant.


 * Misty Thicket (1-10)
 * Misty Thicket is a newbie and teen zone for Halflings from Rivervale. The Wall, a safety barrier that divides the zone between the newbie creatures and the teen creatures, is a source of pride and fanatical devotion within Rivervale.


 * Nagafen's Lair (Solusek B) (40-60)
 * Nagafen, or formally, Lord Nagafen, is a fiery dragon from the early days of EverQuest whose lair is in the dungeon of Solusek B. Nagafen has a legion of underlings including fire giants, kobolds, bats, and spiders. Nagafen is a fire dragon and uses a mixture of his voracious claws and fire to defeat his foes. As the game has progressed, the players became more powerful than Nagafen. Today a sufficiently skilled and equipped high-level player could kill Nagafen solo, but he is now protected by enchantments that expel such players (above level 52) from his den.


 * Najena (15-30)
 * A low-mid level dungeon full of undead, elementals and ogres. The dungeon was created by the dark elf sorceress Najena. The ever popular Journeyman's Boots originally dropped here as a regular loot item.


 * Nedaria's Landing (25-35)
 * This coastal area is located off of Jaggedpine Glades. It consists of forest with rivers and waterfalls and lots of roaming animals and griffawns. There is a huge cliff through the middle of the zone that can prove perilous to the unwary. At the shoreline in the northeast corner is a wayfarer's camp which allows transport to Taelosia by way of the Abysmal Sea.


 * Nektulos Forest (1-30)
 * Nektulos Forest is the newbie zone for the Dark Elf city of Neriak. A revamped Nektulos was released along with the Depths of Darkhollow expansion. A second revamp was released with the Prophecy of Ro expansion. It is guarded by patrols from Neriak and borders Neriak's foreign quarter, Lavastorm Mountains, the East Commonlands and Corathus Creep.


 * Neriak 3rd Gate
 * Neriak Commons
 * Neriak Foreign Quarter
 * Neriak, home of the Dark Elf race.


 * Northern Desert of Ro (1-30)
 * Revamped when Prophecy of Ro was released, the North Ro desert provides newbie to teen level hunting for Freeport characters.


 * Northern Karana (10-40)
 * The northern quarter of the Plains of Karana. Adjacent to West Karana, East Karana and South Karana.


 * Oasis of Marr (10-40)
 * See Southern Desert of Ro


 * Ocean of Tears (10-30)
 * A vast ocean between Antonica and Faydwer, home of several small islands. With the recent removal of the boats, few players travel through Ocean of Tears any longer. Trivia: The entire zone is backwards in the east-to-west direction; the continent of Antonica is west of Faydwar, but the Antonica-to-Faydwar boat travels westward, and vice versa.


 * Oggok
 * The city of the Ogres, north of the Feerott. Contains an unused tunnel on its north side, presumably intended as a zone line but never implemented.


 * Permafrost (15-60)
 * A network of frozen tunnels and caverns, home to Lady Vox, the ice dragon and one of the two most dangerous dragons from the original game.


 * Qeynos Aqueducts (1-50)
 * An underground maze of sewer tunnels, a newbie to teen zone for evil Qeynos characters. Also home to the evil factions in Qeynos.


 * Qeynos Hills (1-30)
 * The local newbie/teen zone for Qeynos and Surefall Glade.


 * Qeynos North
 * Qeynos South
 * Qeynos is a human city on the west coast of Antonica. Interestingly, Qeynos is an anagram of SonyEQ.


 * Rathe Mountains (10-45)
 * Rathe Mountains is home to many giants and giantkin, including Hill Giants, Cyclopes and giant skeletons. After the War preceding the Depths of Darkhollow expansion's release, the Frogloks moved from Grobb and now live in a tent city in the Western portion of this zone.


 * Rivervale
 * Rivervale is home to the race of halflings. As a consequence of the buildings being constructed for characters of shorter stature, players of races less vertically challenged may experience some difficulties entering or exiting some of the buildings and facilities of the city. It adjoins the zones of Misty Thicket and Kithicor Forest.


 * Runnyeye (10-40)
 * The local newbie dungeon for Halflings. It has been revamped once since inception.


 * Solusek's Eye (Solusek A) (25-45)
 * A mid-level volcanic dungeon for characters who have graduated from the surrounding Lavastorm.


 * Southern Desert of Ro (5-40)
 * A newbie/teen zone for characters emerging from Innothule Swamp. When Prophecy of Ro was released, this zone was revamped and combined with Oasis of Marr. The Oasis was the original next step for teen characters who graduated from their newbie hunting in North/South Ro. Oasis contains a couple of notable landmarks: the Orc Highway (a stretch of desert with a near constant parade of orcs for late teen characters), and the specter tower (with the mysterious inscription on its summit). For the Kunark expansion, the docks in Oasis found use in shuttling evil characters to the evil outpost in The Overthere by way of Timorous Deep. For the Lost Dungeons expansion, Oasis received an entrance to an instanced dungeon. For the Prophecy of Ro expansion, Oasis was merged into the revamped South Ro.


 * Southern Karana (15-35)
 * Splitpaw Lair (Infected Paw)
 * Possibly the only zone to have been entirely revamped not once, but twice. Originally a newbie dungeon equivalent to Black Burrow, it was rarely used due to the lack of nearby cities and bind spots, a particular hindrance to early characters who typically die frequently. A bind area was later added to North Karana and the zone revamped to a mid-high dungeon, but it continued to be unused. Again the dungeon was revamped to a ultrahigh level dungeon, but the poor risk/reward ratio means that Splitpaw continues to carry the stigma of a zone that simply can't find an audience.


 * Surefall Glade
 * Surefall Glade is the home of Human and some Half-Elf Rangers and Druids. The Glade houses a portal to Jagged pine and borders on Qeynos Hills.


 * Temple of Solusek Ro
 * The Temple of Solusek Ro was made available as a free download on October 13, 1999. The residents of this zone offer many quests, and everyone can safely enter the temple from Lavastorm Mountains. It is not usually used as a combat zone, although players may have to fight there to acquire some powerful items. The most important quests made available in the zone are the class-specific armors. These were introduced to replace the Rubicite Armor which was removed from the game when this zone was implemented. Nowadays, with new expansions, these items are comparatively a lot less powerful.


 * The Arena
 * The Arena is a huge circular stone building with no roof. The only entrance and exit is a small tunnel that leads to Lake Rathetear. Upon entering the zone, the traveler would then move into a huge cirular area between the outer rock wall and the arena itself. The only entrance into the Arena proper is on the opposite side of the building, to make sure players do not stumble into the actual fighting ground by accident. Moving into the entrance one sees huge stands, and in the center of the grounds is a huge square platform, where actual combat takes place. The Arena used to be the main site for many events in the game, including online weddings, guild wars, and events organized by game masters. However, due in part to the inclusion of a PVP area in the Bazaar and the relative difficulty of reaching the Arena, it became mostly abandoned. As of the time of the release of the Dungeons of Norrath expansion, the Bazaar was revamped, removing the PVP area within, and a Plane of Knowledge portal was added to the Arena, making it semi-popular again. The Arena itself was updated as part of the release of Prophecy of Ro expansion pack.


 * The Caverns of Exile (Solusek C) (50-65)
 * Originally one of several "pocket zones" (zones which were appended to existing dungeons on a temporary, but as yet continuing, basis).


 * Upper Guk (5-30)
 * Originally the local newbie dungeon for Grobb when it was inhabited by trolls, who did not coexist peacefully with the frogloks of Guk. With the Guktans relocated into the Rathe Mountains the frogloks of Guk again face their ancient Troll foes.


 * West Commonlands (10-40)
 * See Commonlands.


 * Western Karana (5-40)

Faydwer

 * Ak'Anon
 * Ak'Anon is the city of the Gnomes, led by their Mechanical King, King Ak'Anon. The zone houses different factions of both good, evil and neutral gnomes.  Gnomes are one of the few races in Norrath that have such diversity.  The zone starts as an underground tunnel that encompasses a large underground lake, dark catacombs and a zoo full of animals.


 * Butcherblock Mountains (1-50)
 * Butcherblock is a large newbie/teen zone for the dwarves of Kaladim and the elves of Greater Faydark. The docks, once frequented by (slow and very unreliable) boats, now contain gnome translocators who translocate players to destinations in the Ocean of Tears and the Timorous Deep. One of the more notable spots in Butcherblock is the chessboard. This chessboard is home to a group of giant undead skeletons which despite their size are low level.


 * Crushbone (5-25)
 * The local newbie dungeon for the various races of elves from Greater Faydark. The boss mobs, Emperor Crush and Ambassador Dvinn, were once (and still are to an extent) a staple of in-game discussion and badinage. It is in Crushbone, referred to colloquially as "CB", that many players learn how to code their first hot-key, usually containing the message "Train to Zone!" A mob called the Orc Trainer dropped a highly sought after item called the Shiny Brass Shield; the Orc Trainer is credited with the birth of 'camping'.


 * Dagnor's Cauldron (15-25)
 * Essentially a large donut-shaped lake with a jagged spire in the center, Dagnor's Cauldron is a teen zone for the various races on Faydwer. An aquatic dragon patrols the southern waters, where the entrance to Kedge Keep is found. The Estate of Unrest is located south of the Cauldron. The bleak and jagged landscape is unfriendly to visitors, often hiding goblins around the next cliff, but a hardy mixed band of heroes known as the Fab Four have pitched their tent here to assist players in need.


 * Felwithe
 * Felwithe is the city of the High Elves.


 * Greater Faydark (1-10)
 * Greater Faydark is the lower end forest zone in Faydwer, and is adjacent to Lesser Faydark, Felwithe, Crushbone, and Butcherblock Mountains. Greater Faydark houses the Wood Elf city of Kelethin, made up of numerous platforms on trees to hold the buildings. Greater Faydark is a zone which allows for levels 1-12 or so to level up by killing the orcs, bats, rats, spiders and skeletons which roam the zone. After level 12, Crushbone is the logical progression for players seeking to slay higher level orcs. GFay used to be the trading center of Norrath until the Luclin expansion was released, when the Nexus zone took over.


 * Kaladim North
 * Kaladim South
 * Kaladim is the city of the Dwarves.


 * Kedge Keep (35-50)
 * Kedge Keep is located off of Dagnor's Cauldron and its entrance is under water. It is wholly an underwater dungeon, so anyone braving its halls must have some way to continue breathing, either by use of a spell or by an enchanted item which allows underwater breathing. Kedge Keep existed in the game for several months before being itemized (i.e., successful battles yielded no loot), so it developed an early stigma of being both a difficult and rewardless zone.


 * Lesser Faydark (5-40)
 * Connects Castle Mistmoore, Steamfont, and Greater Faydark. Thistle Underbrush, a wandering brownie, patrols the forest to give low-level people trouble. There is also a static brownie location good for soloing along the north-center area. Home to various wildlife, pixies, fay drakes, scattered orc outposts and a dark-elf outpost along the south-center section of the map.


 * Mistmoore Castle (20-45)
 * The castle of the vampire Mayong Mistmoore. A zone which was popular but soon acquired a stigma of difficulty. Due to pathing bugs and ghosting mobs it was considered highly difficult for its level. It hosted many GM events on various servers. Some of these events included an appearance from Mayong Mistmoore himself. At one point the castle was revamped into a zone for characters of level 65+, although it was subsequently rolled back at the time of the Depths of Darkhollow expansion's release.


 * Steamfont (1-20)
 * Steamfont, a series of mountain ranges near Ak'Anon, is the newbie/teen zone for the gnomes who are born there. One of the more notable spots is the windmills. The windmills are a common meeting place for low level adventurers. The zone features the gnome's main enemy Meldrath, who is an evil gnome necromacer who controls the local Minotaurs.


 * Unrest (25-40)
 * The Estate of Unrest is a haunted mansion and grounds, suitable for teen to midlevel characters. Garanel Rucksif was a dwarf who went insane and his ghost still roams the premises. The grounds to the Estate are great for lower level players. Entering the Estate, the mob level range varies with where you roam inside. A high level necromancer, named ??, is located on the second level near the fireplace. The basement is suitable for higher level players. Caution: There's always trains in the zone. Some time after the DoN expansion, Unrest became available as an instanced quest zone of variable level.

Odus

 * Erudin
 * Erudin is the city of the Erudites.


 * Erudin Palace
 * The city is mainly known for its palace, which is also home of some of the most powerful magicians of Norrath, and location of the city bank. There is also a library from which many can purchase spells of great power, some of which cannot be obtained elsewhere. No direct paths exist between docks, the palace and the main city, instead they are connected by magical gems that teleport the visitor from one place to the other. The zone being a city, there are few things to fight, although one can find sharks at the docks or try to battle the Erudin guards. The boat leads to Erud's Crossing while the south exit leads to the mysterious Toxxulia Forest.


 * Kerra Island (10-30)
 * Kerra Island is located near the mainland of the Odus continent (one can swim to it easily). It can be accessed from the west coast of Toxxulia Forest, then entered by way of an underground path to enter the zone itself. The island is a shelter for the Kerran race after they were chased from the mainland by the Erudites. The Kerran queen and her court are heavily guarded but the city is peaceful to newcomers. Most players have never visited the island, and know little about Kerrans. This is probably because the island is well hidden (it can't be seen from the coast) and conveniently accessible only to Erudites, who usually leave Odus to go to Qeynos to continue their adventures.


 * Paineel (1-60)
 * Paineel is the city of the Heretics, a breakaway faction of Erudites who practice necromantic magic. The zone's main feature is a large "hole", created from a magical war between the good and evil Erudin Factions.


 * Ruins of Old Paineel (The Hole) (40-60)
 * The entrance to this zone is behind a rock located in a pool of water in the Paineel zone, which requires a key or a lockpicker to open. Daring adventurers can use invincibility tricks to jump into the abyss in Paineel and safely land deep in The Hole. This underground zone contains golems, gargoyles, undead spirits of paineel, and rat-men. Good soloing grounds for paladins. This zone also holds many items and target creatures for the Epic 1.0 quest progression. This zone is also known for its ZEM (zone experience modifier) which gives disproportionately more experience per kill than similar level zones in EverQuest.


 * Stonebrunt Mountains (20-45)
 * Located on the small continent of Odus, the Stonebrunt Mountains are rich with vegetation and distinctive hills that give way to the towering Mount Klaw; the largest mountain in Odus and home to the Kerran village of Kejeka. The zone of Stonebrunt is designed to be a mid-level, outdoor zone similar in scope and scale to the Lake of Ill Omen on Kunark, which has proven to be a very popular zone in EverQuest.


 * Toxxulia Forest (1-20)
 * The forest is usually the logical place for new Erudites' first adventures. The darkness makes it hard to start a career and Kobolds will attack Erudites on sight. From the west coast it is possible to swim to the Kerra Island. In a downloadable patch, a new city was added to the end of the Forest: Paineel which also leads to The Hole and the Warrens. The druid and wizard teleporters to access the Odus continent are located in the middle of the forest.


 * Warrens (5-20)
 * The local newbie dungeon for Paineel, the Warrens is a vast underground tunnel system occupied by a race of kobolds. The most notable aspect of the Warrens is that it was a preliminary test of the Trivial Loot Code on live servers.

Planes

 * Plane of Fear (46-60)
 * The home of Cazic-Thule, the God of Fear. The Plane of Fear was the first alter plane in EverQuest, and represented the ultimate achievement for hardcore players at that time; it was the first zone specifically designed to extend the 'end game' experience, and it was the first zone to effectively limit which players could access it (by level, in this case). Because of the high numbers of mobs which gather around the portal into Fear, break-ins were considered exceptionally dangerous, although more recently better-geared and prepared players tend to have trivialised the risk factor.


 * Plane of Hate (46-50)
 * The home of Innoruuk, the God of Hate. The Plane of Hate has been revamped since it was first released and is now a completely different zone than it used to be. Two versions of the zone were for a while both accessible on the Test Server, hence the newer version being called Plane of Hate B.


 * Plane of Sky (46-60)
 * The Plane of Sky contains many powerful denizens and is famed for the length of time it used to take for a raid to clear it. There are many quests both originating and involving the Plane of Sky. Before being made available to players, the Plane of Sky was the home base for the EverQuest Guide Program.

Kunark
The continent of Kunark was introduced in The Ruins of Kunark expansion in March 2000. The Kunark expansion was ordered from an online Verant store and then shipped directly to players, many of which did not receive their box until several days past the opening date. Due to the inability of Verant to handle this volume, later expansions employed different forms of distribution.
 * Burning Woods (35-55)
 * Burning Woods got its name because of a huge meteor that struck the middle of the zone. The surrounding forest was decimated, and all that remains are burning treestumps. Over the meteor crater, Giants built a fort, which was a very popular place to hunt in its day. Wurms, Giants, undead and Sarnaks inhabit this land.


 * Cabilis East
 * Cabilis West
 * Cabilis is the city of the Iksar.


 * Charasis (Howling Stones) (45-60)
 * Locked Kunark dungeon (requires a key obtained via a quest involving two mobs around level 40), filled mainly with various undead and golems. One quirk of Charasis is the multiple keys necessary to progress in the dungeon (unless you have a rogue friend that can pick the doors): there are 4 wings (north, south, east, west). The north and east wings are the only ones that can be opened without a key, but the East wing's stairs are trapped. To progress in charasis, one has to get west wing's key from the north wing's boss, then south wing's key from the west wing's boss, and from south wing take a secret passage to East Wing where Drusella Sathir (the zone's boss, involved in many Kunark quests including the Veeshan's Peak key and the Iksar Shadow Knight's epic) resides. On top of two wings being locked, every wing's boss (but Drusella) is behind an additional locked door which requires a key found somewhere on the floor of the zone. Charasis' wings keys are all NO RENT, meaning that they're non-permanent items. In 2004, a permanent Master Key (the Hand of Glory, able to open every door of Charasis) was added, allowing non-rogue players to bypass the regular progression through the dungeon. Creating this key requires 5 items (one being a container) found in the various wings of Charasis.


 * Chardok (45-60)
 * Dungeon home of the Sarnak race, and to characters proving their loyalty to the Sarnaks.


 * Chardok, Halls of Betrayal (Chardok B) (45-60)
 * Originally one of several "pocket zones" (zones which were appended to existing dungeons on a temporary, but as yet continuing, basis), Chardok B is populated by many undead sarnaks as well as living Sarnaks loyal to Korocust, the hardest monster in the zone. The zone follows the theme of a haunted mine. This zone was also popular for its ZEM (zone experience modifier).


 * City of Mist (35-55)
 * The City of Mist is a beautiful zone that features a number of higher level quests. A group is necessary to adventure in this zone, as many of the creatures (mobs) will assist each other if they are under attack.


 * Crypt of Dalnir (30-45)
 * The Crypt of Dalnir is the hidden burial tomb of Dalnir, the ancient Haggle Baron of the City of Cabilis. Recently, however, the Kly have taken over the tomb and expanded it for their own, currently unknown, purposes. The poor creatures who have fallen under their sway protect the upper floors while they continue their experiments in the tunnels below.


 * Dreadlands (35-50)
 * The Dreadlands is an open stretch of grassland, badlands and tundra linking the Firiona Vie outpost with much of the rest of the continent. Twin spires serve as the teleportation foci for wizards and druids, but are now nearly obsolete.  Karnor's Castle is in the middle of the zone.


 * Emerald Jungle (30-50)
 * A dense forest which borders the Field of Bone and Trakanon's Teeth. Home to the green dragon Severilous. The City of Mist is also located inside this zone.


 * Field of Bone (1-20)
 * The Field of Bone is a starting zone for Iksars. One can take a character from level 1 to 15 very easily.


 * Firiona Vie (20-35)
 * Firiona Vie (FV) is a zone bordering the Dreadlands, Lake of Ill Omen and the Swamp of No Hope. The city of Firiona Vie was once a High Elven outpost, and the destination of the Elven boats from Timorous Deep. Following the war with the drolvargs, however, the elves fled to the east side of the zone. The zone itself is in fact much larger than the outpost which occupies only a small fraction of its area.


 * Frontier Mountains (25-40)
 * The Frontier Mountains are the highest and roughest set of mountains located on the continent. These harsh mountains cut across the western half of the continent, and are inhabited by a variety of powerful, large creatures, for whom the peaks are mere hills. Many of these creatures operate vast mining operations in the mountains for the minerals that lie beneath them.


 * Kaesora (30-45)
 * The ruins of an old underground city led by a Sarnak named Xalgoz who holds loot required to build the key to Charasis. Deep within this zone is a ruined library now guarded by ghosts, spirits and feasters.


 * Karnor's Castle (40-60)
 * The home of Venril Sathir, a boss mob which features prominently in a number of epic encounters, as well as many undead creatures. Karnor's is famous for having a large number of trains that continually disrupt adventuring in the area. Expect to hear shouts of "Train Left!" or "Train Right!" and be ready to move. (A train, in EQ terms, is large group of monsters, from 3 or 4 to as many as 20 or more, chasing a player who is trying to ";zone", or leave the area.)


 * Kurn's Tower (10-25)
 * A multi-storied ziggurat within the Field of Bone, brimming with skeletal undead.


 * Lake of Ill Omen (1-40)
 * The Lake of Ill Omen is the ancient site of the city of Veksar, which was cursed ages ago and has since sunk beneath the waters, giving the local area its name. The reptilian sarnak have moved into the area and have secured an ancient fortress to the southwest. The goblins have established a mine in the hills in north of the lake. The Brood of Kotiz has taken it upon themselves to eradicate the sarnak from the area, and have directed their trainees to do so.


 * Mines of Nurga (25-45)
 * Like the Temple of Droga, Nurga was revamped from a low level dungeon to a 55+ level dungeon. Houses mostly goblins."


 * Old Sebilis
 * The home of Trakanon, a raid-encounter dragon for various epic quests and good loot. Sebilis has many levels to it, housing live and undead frogloks on the upper floors, live frogloks and myconids (mushrooms) in the sewers below, and golems and live frogloks along the path toward Trakanon.  A key is required in order to enter Sebilis, and was once an extremely popular zone for experience crunching and loot farming, due to its numerous 'camps' that groups can occupy. Almost a dozen full groups can each occupy a separate camp in Sebilis without worry of hunting scarcity.


 * Skyfire Mountains (45-60)
 * A rocky, fiery outdoor zone with drakes, wyverns and wurms galore. Home of the red dragon Talendor.


 * Swamp of No Hope (1-25)
 * The Swamp of No Hope is also a starting zone for Iksars, although not as popular as the Field of Bone. Contains a treetop city of frogloks somewhat similar to the Wood Elf city of Kelethin.


 * Temple of Droga (35-45)
 * The subterranean lair of the Goblins of Mount Death in the Frontier Mountains. Like the Mines of Nurga, Droga was revamped from a low level dungeon to a 55+ level dungeon. Very similar zone, adjacent to the Mines of Nurga."


 * The Overthere (15-40)
 * The Overthere is a wide expanse of grassland and ruins with a large chasm at its center, housing the entrance to Charasis. The Overthere contains an outpost for the evil non-Iksar races to use as a base in their exploration of Kunark.


 * Timorous Deep (20-45)
 * The ocean zone of Kunark, connecting South Ro to the Overthere and Butcherblock to Firiona Vie by separate routes. A raid encounter dragon lives here, and various islands occupy hunting and quest opportunities for players.


 * Trakanon's Teeth (30-50)
 * Commonly remembered as the place where Sebilis is found. Trakanon's Teeth is a dense Kunark swamp, similar to the Emerald Jungle but with rougher terrain, and houses various ruins, rivers and lakes.  The answers to finding the key that allows access to Sebilis may be found within.


 * Veeshan's Peak (55-60)
 * When The Ruins of Kunark was released, Veeshan's Peak was the hardest zone of the game. It is the fortress of the Ring of Scale faction of dragons and is inhabited by six dragons: Druushk, Hoshkar, Nexona, Phara Dar, Silverwing and Xygoz. To access the zone, you need to do a long and difficult quest to obtain a key. Players are then able to pass through the portal located in Skyfire Mountains. Once inside, players have to keep moving constantly as it full of Racnar and Lava Drake which are quickly replaced (2 minute respawn timer) once killed. When the zone was new, teleportation was not possible inside the zone, the players had to clear the zone to the end to get out of it. This restriction was lifted several years later, and players can now exit the zone by any of the usual methods. The zone has since been revamped and a new, though no less difficult, quest has been added for obtaining the key.


 * Veksar (40-60)
 * A sunken city at the center of the Lake of Ill Omen. Rumored to have been originally an all underwater dungeon similar to Kedge Keep in the original Kunark expansion, but limitations in underwater AI caused the zone to be dropped from release. It was later added as a free download sometime around the Planes of Power expansion.


 * Warsliks Woods (5-35)
 * A craggy forest on the north shore of Kunark, bordering Cabilis, the Field of Bone and the Overthere. Contains the entrance to the Crypt of Dalnir. Home to a great many goblins, giants and Iksar outcasts.

Velious
The continent of Velious was introduced in The Scars of Velious expansion in December 2000. Due to the shortcomings of the distribution of the Kunark expansion by Verant, the Velious expansion was instead sold by third party resellers.
 * Cobalt Scar (45-60)
 * Cobalt Scar is a large gulf said to have been created by Veeshan herself, when she flew over Norrath and deposited her brood on Velious. The scar was made from her claws. Borders Skyshrine and the Siren's Grotto.


 * Crystal Caverns (30-45)
 * Crystal Caverns is a mid 30s to late 40s zone which contains the Coldain dwarf mining town of Frostone. There are principally 5 types of mobs in the zone: orcs, which inhabit the mine shaft, the dwarves in Frostone and nearby, the stalags which inhabit the bridge room and the left fork tunnel, the crystalline spiders which inhabit the center tunnel which leads ultimately to the zone's boss mob lair (spider-queen, Queen Drachnia), and the right hand tunnel which leads to the geonids and the back zone out. It should be noted that this zone out should be considered with caution since it is also the lair of the Coldain Traitor Roderick Tardok, a difficult mob at the levels at which he is usually encountered, extremely magic resistant and prone to cause a lot of damage very quickly (note: loot drop dagger from this entity will cause unique consequences so be careful).


 * Dragon Necropolis (50-60)
 * Dragon Necropolis is a zone within the Western Wastes and is known for its traps, the wraith dragon for the Sleeper's Tomb key quest, and for its boss-dragon, Zlandicar.


 * Eastern Wastes (30-50)
 * Eastern Wastes is a wide expanse of tundra inhabited by a variety of wild animals. Inside the Orc fort is the entrance/exit for Crystal Caverns, and the Crystal Caverns back exit (out of the geonid tunnel) is just outside the Orc fort. This fort is also the site of the 8th Coldain Ring War. The zone can be accessed by crossing the bridge from Iceclad Ocean and through a canyon from Great Divide, and houses the western entrance to the giant city of Kael Drakkal.


 * Great Divide (30-50)
 * The site for the 10th and final Coldain Ring War, a huge zone-encompassing war between the dwarves and the giants. A high end guild or lots of players were required to complete the war in its day.


 * Iceclad Ocean (25-35)
 * Iceclad Ocean is the 'entrance zone' to Velious and home of Lodizal the great turtle. Iceclad Ocean is also the home of several pirates, some of which sell spells unavailable elsewhere for several classes.


 * Icewell Keep (50-60)
 * Icewell Keep serves two purposes to the Coldain. First and foremost, it is the home of their king, Dain Coldhammer. It has meeting halls and other areas of interest. The second purpose is to serve justice to the Coldain's enemies. Buried beneath the castle is the ancient Pit, a large set of caverns filled with horrible creatures. People condemned by the Dain are sent into the Pit to die. The Prophecy of Ro expansion brought with it the Monster Missions for an augment requiring three parts, one from each of the three missions.


 * Kael Drakkal (40-60)
 * Home of the Kromzek and Kromrif giants. King Tormax, Derakor the Vindicator, Statue of Rallos Zek, Idol of Rallos Zek and The Avatar of War reside here.


 * Kerafyrm's Lair (Sleeper's Tomb) (60)
 * This zone is the source of many legends among EverQuest players. The Sleeper's Tomb was at the time of the expansion the most difficult zone in the game. After all four guardians of the Sleeper, Kerafyrm, have been killed, it awakes and goes on a rampage killing all in its path. Kerafyrm himself was not intended to be killed (though on one occaisionhe was). After that the zone's name changes to Kerafyrm's Lair on that server. Entrance to the zone is from Eastern Wastes, and requires a key from a Velious first brood dragon.


 * Plane of Growth (46-50)
 * Home of Tunare, The Mother of All. Also present in this zone are Protectors of Growth, relatively unique creatures with zone-wide aggro-radius that spawn every thirty minutes. They literally run across the zone to the nearest hostile every time they spawn.


 * Plane of Mischief (46-60)
 * Home of Bristlebane, The King of Thieves. Although revamped, it has always been a bizarre zone where anything is possible. Inside it is a tree portal to Cobalt Scar, if you can find it.


 * Siren's Grotto (50-60)
 * A largely submerged dungeon filled with dangerous monsters, linking Cobalt Scar and Western Wastes.


 * Skyshrine (35-60)
 * A huge dungeon which also houses one of the most powerful Velious first brood dragons, Lord Yelinak. This zone is not dangerous for those on good terms with the Claws of Veeshan dragon faction.


 * Temple of Veeshan (55-60)
 * Home of the Claws of Veeshan faction of dragons. The vast majority of end-game velious items are here, drastically different "risk vs reward" for any other Velious (or previous) zone. Most of the Velious lore is attached with various dragons living in this zone.


 * Thurgadin (35-60)
 * Home of the Coldain dwarves. Home of the quest npc for the Thurgadin Gate potion (anyone can make). It is the place for handing in Kael armor pieces for forging into real armor, dropped by various giants in Kael Drakkal.


 * Tower of Frozen Shadow (30-60)
 * A midlevel dungeon consisting of roughly 7 different floors of creatures, each with a unique story and design.


 * Velketor's Labyrinth (50-60)
 * A high level hunting dungeon, notorious for its many crooked icy catwalks that easily lead to lethal falls. Home of Velketor the Scorcerer.


 * Wakening Land (40-60)
 * A forested outdoor zone where the Plane of Growth and the dragon Wuoshi are found.


 * Western Wastes (50-60)
 * A icy outdoor zone havening many dragons and a couple of high-level dungeons.

Luclin
Luclin, a moon of Norrath, was added in The Shadows of Luclin expansion in December 2001.
 * Acrylia Caverns (50-60)
 * The mines in Grimling Forest continue into the Acrylia Caverns. The zone in is small and occupied by grimlings, so beware. Named monsters in this zone drop items still worth the having for selling to lower level players. Some quests in this zone start the war between the Grimlings and the Vah Shir. At least one quest cannot be done unless the Vah Shir are in command of the zone as the quest turn in npc is only up then (pristine acrylia).


 * Akheva Ruins (50-60)
 * Once a splendid construction with huge rambling halls and roomy meeting areas, the ruins take awhile to find all the areas. Monsters summon and often the sound of footsteps or spells being cast bring things from under the floors. Akheva Ruins is probably the reason you might not want to hunt the dark race in Shadeweavers Thicket as there are a lot of them living here. Entering is a little difficult without some kind of invisibility as you pass through the building in Maiden's Eye to reach the zone line.


 * Dawnshroud Peaks (25-50)
 * A player can enter Dawnshroud Peaks and experience there and no where else from the level of 20 until 50 in a group, or from 23 to 59 solo. The mushroom monsters, then lightcrawlers and zelinak beasts, give way to the Tribal gatherers and finally the Sambata or rockhoppers to take any player up in level while still being close to Plane of Knowledge(PoK) and easy to get to.


 * Echo Caverns (20-40)
 * This zone is known to have a low and a high side, referring to level of npc and mobs a player will meet. The Necromancer spells for the Luclin expansion are located in Echo Caverns through a secret panel zone-in from Shadow Haven rather than being in Shadow Haven with the other class spells. The second zonein from Shadow Haven is located in the Dwarven quarters. Adjacent zones are Shadow Haven, Fungus Grove, and The Deep.


 * Fungus Grove (50-60)
 * Enterable from Twilight Sea by using a teleporter in the mage's tower or from Echo Caverns, this zone is dark and twisted. Fungi and plants abound, some stationary and others mobile. There are nice quests from some of the npc here, in particular a nice earring for druids which can be turned in for a nice earring for rangers or clerics.


 * Grieg's End (45-60)
 * A Torturous zone when entered from Dawnshroud Peaks zone, the entry to this castle on the light side of the moon is a small hall which opens into a room containing 4 or 5 monsters in close quarters. In times past this hall has had as many as three groups gathering to experience in this zone or recovering from a journey into the maze or actually pulling monsters to the entry, sometimes one group for each named activity. Plus it is the escape for lower levels zoning in to escape whatever becomes too much for them in Dawnshroud Peaks. Many of the named monsters near the middle of the zone drop nice gear which has been in much demand in the past (some of which are still nice enough to draw groups). Entering from the Scarlet Desert zone line gives a group a nice wide long entry to pull monsters to for a fight, but the zone line is difficult to get to unless the group includes a druid or wizard with the appropriate porting spell to Twilight Sea two zones away. Call of the Hero (CoH) does not work in this zone and some of the monsters can cast an illusion spell which makes members of groups look like the monsters of the castle.


 * Grimling Forest (20-40)
 * A zone of Mushrooms in gigantic sizes, some the size of small buildings and more the size of trees. There are several grimling encampments within the zone and a fort of Vah Shir which includes a bank but no tradeskill world containers. Periodically the Vah Shir manage to overrun the grimling encampments with the help of players in this zone. The largest grimling encampments are directly in front of the zonelines to the adjacent zones (Tenebreous Forest and Acrylia Caverns). The Vah Shir fort is directly in front of the zone line to Hollowshade Moor.


 * Hollowshade Moor (10-30)
 * This zone contains three combatant groups; sonic wolves, owlbears, and grimlings. Players may help or hinder these groups in taking over the zone. The zone has a large lake with islands and several caves. There are merchants in the fort for convenient selling. Adjacent zones are Shar Vahl (the city), Paludal Caverns, and Grimling Forest.


 * Katta Castellum
 * An ancient city built in the twilight regions of Luclin. Katta Castellum is adjacent to Tenebrous Mountains and Twilight Sea. The city has all the tradeskill world containers; Pottery Wheel, Kiln, Forge, Brew Barrel, Oven, Sewing Kit (loom). The city is built in a strong defensive position, to hold off enemies both known and unknown. Levitation spells don't work in this area at all, so you can't float off of the ledge down to the lower level where the bank is. The inhabitants of this city have no liking for the darker arts and many quests are available to rid society of the vampyres and such that reside in different zones of Luclin.


 * Marus Seru (20-40)
 * Low rolling hills of sand with numerous rocks jutting from below is an apt description of this zone. Home of benign rock creatures and cranky grey rockhoppers with some bandit camps thrown in.  Marus Seru connects with Mons Letalis and Sanctus Seru.


 * Mons Letalis (30-50)
 * A Zone with deep valleys and high, craggy hills, full of rockhoppers, rock creatures and many other monsters. Most if not all the creatures agro easily and addon to any fight, not just fights with their own kind, almost as if there is not enough food in the surrounding terrain and the smell of blood draws them in.  Some of the monsters see invisible, so be very careful when traveling here. There is a spire like construction that houses the "boss" of the zone. Mons Letalis borders on Marus Seru and The Grey.


 * Netherbian Lair (20-30)
 * An ornately constructed T shaped hall with a high ceiling and a gigantic pillar at the intersection. The rest of the construction was never finished and its cavernous twists usually bring you back to the central hall if you survive. The guards patrol the T hall but the rest is dangerous to any unable to take on the denizens of the off hall spaces. Troglytes and Phlarg inhabit the areas of the central hall. The Netherbian Lair hall connects the Nexus to Marus Seru and the Dawnshroud Peaks.


 * Paludal Caverns (5-25)
 * A popular zone for beginning characters level 10-25 due to experience modifiers. This zone is a large cave on Luclin (the moon) that is home to the Recondites, a band of thieves who attack anyone on site.  The recondites share this zone with the Phlarg and Patog fiends who are fungus creatures. This zone is known as being an argumentative zone due to its XP bonus which attracts many people, and a lack of Mobs (Monsters) to kill, which can cause arguments regularly.


 * Sanctus Seru (?)
 * A sprawling city with all the tradeskills included. An arena and dungeon seem to be a part of the white, bright, forever shining environment. Guards all over the place, who often furnish experience for the evil who enter the place unwelcomed, with the skills to defeat them.


 * Shadeweaver's Thicket (1-30)
 * Shadeweaver's Thicket has hunting in several levels and two separate sides with no need to actually experience the outside world beyond Shar Vahl and Shadeweavers' Thicket until a player is in their twenties unless they need items for a quest that is in Hollowshade Moor.


 * Shadowhaven
 * An indoor city on Luclin that is safe for good and evil races. Includes vendors, bankers, and quest NPC's and is close to the Nexus and Bazaar. Faction plays a part in selling or buying from merchants but the bankers will all deal with anyone.


 * Shar Vahl (1-5)
 * Starting city for the Vah Shir race (an anthropomorphized cat-like race). Vah Shir benefited from the citizenship quests required of all residents of Shar Vahl. Many Vah Shir never left the city until achieving level 2 just by doing the citizenship quests.  Many of the quests for armor and equipment required that the Vah Shir turn over their citizenship papers before they were given the quest.


 * Ssraeshza Temple (50-60)
 * Located in the middle of The Grey, the Ssraeshza Temple is a dungeon with many quest drops for multi-item turn-ins (some of which are for keys to higher level adventuring)


 * The Bazaar
 * Prior to The Shadows of Luclin, on most servers, the EverQuest community gathered and traded equipment in the East Commonlands zone, Greater Faydark, or sometimes the bazaar area of North Freeport. Each player would announce an offering to the whole zone and wait for interested people to contact by tell. Players had to stay at their computers and manually manage each transaction. With The Shadows of Luclin expansion, Sony implemented an automatic trading system only available in the Bazaar, which is located off the south of the Nexus. The zone itself is not particularly big but features vendors, banks, and stables. Due to the number of players gathered there, The Bazaar is notorious for lag and slow response times. Users can buy trading bags and put the things they wish to sell inside them, be it armor, weapons, or quest items. They then choose a price for each item and switch to Trader Mode. Once in Trader Mode players appear to other players as a standard vendor, and your customers can then buy your things. An interface allows one to search for items available for selling. The layout of the bazaar was significantly changed at the launch of the Dragons of Norrath expansion. The new Bazaar is larger and includes two halls with several circular rooms containing trader platforms. The red hall is for selling things while in trader mode and the blue hall is for standing as a buyer to buy specific things for player-determined prices (usually more than an NPC vendor will give but less than listed in the Bazaar) or to barter items for other items. Buyer mode does not require specific bags like Trader Satchels.  You must have on you the cash and items required to buy what you list and the space for it in your inventory. Players who wish to sell items for more than the vendor will give may check the interface for barter to sell items outright to players who set up in the blue hall as buyers.


 * The Deep (50-60)
 * The Deep is a dungeon full of traps, the most famous being the bridge that is not there. If you use the visible bridge, you will fall into a chasm from which you may only gate out of. Therefore, a druid or wizard was a necessary member of any group until the advent of wide-spread use of gate potions and the return character to home feature.


 * The Grey (40-60)
 * A vast wasteland of grey rock, this zone is completely airless. The vast majority of the inhabitants lie immediately beneath the surface, hidden from view until they erupt to attack the hapless passerby.


 * The Maiden's Eye (45-60)
 * A Lush expanse of rolling hills filled with goranga tribesmen, coterie undead, four armed ladies? and shrouded spooks with multiple sites for both groups and soloing. Many spells drop in this zone so is a popular zone.  Borders on Dawnshroud Peaks, Akheva Ruins, and Umbral Plains.


 * The Nexus
 * The receiving gateway for transportation from Luclin to Norrath down below. Carved out of solid rock, there are various tunnels leading to separate teleportation pads, each catering to a different location in Norrath. The Nexus proved to be the pivotal moment in EverQuest when players could travel between continents without the need for a 45-minute boat ride, or obtaining a ride from a fellow teleporting player. Like the transcontinental railroads, Norrath suddenly became a much smaller place. The Nexus also developed the concept of the singular 'common zone', a place where every player can safely rest, find groups, sell wares, provide directions from a known location, and generally socialize outside of a combat environment. The Nexus was made less important by the Plane of Knowledge in the Planes of Power expansion. The Nexus is still the safest and sometimes fastest way to some places, if you can not find a wizard or druid. Places such as North Karana (the port in spot for the Antonica Continent), reachable only by going through three to four zones if you use the Plane of Knowledge portal to Qeynos, Rivervale, or Feerott. If not for the Nexus there would be more travel through the Bazaar (which is still laggy), as the Bazaar is the only other way to Shadowhaven and Netherbian Lair, which lead into other Luclin zones for players in twenties to fourties.


 * The Scarlet Desert (35-50)
 * This zone houses voracious animal and plant life in a sandy environment surrounded by craggy mountains.


 * The Tenebrous Mountains (30-50)
 * Tenebrous Mountains is a large mountain range on the dark side of Luclin. Scant foliage lives on the slopes of the hills, and the creatures that inhabit this area are more likely to use sound than sight to find their prey. This is also the home of the rapidly growing coterie of vampires.


 * The Twilight Sea (20-40)
 * The Twilight Sea is a small, calm sea in the twilight regions of the moon. There are a vast number of islands that dot the sea, and these islands have many residents on them. The sea itself is ringed by cliffs and low mountains.


 * The Umbral Plains (55-60)
 * Home to several boss mobs with nice no trade armor upgrade drops for levels that can not possibly hunt here without a raid. Mobs summon and add on frequently and hit hard for the levels that would make use of the armor.


 * Vex Thal (55-60)
 * Vex Thal was the end game dungeon in the game with the Luclin expansion. Based on the difficulty of obtaining access to this zone, the preceding raid zone, Ssraeshza Temple, was the hardest zone boss-wise in the expansion. Vex Thal was, however, the most difficult zone in the game to raid in due to the enormous amount of difficult trains, pathing problems and hard common monsters.

Planes of Power
These zones were introduced in The Planes of Power expansion in October 2002.
 * Bastion of Thunder (60-65)
 * Torden, the Bastion of Thunder, more commonly known as BoT, is the home of Agnarr the Stormlord. Killing him is part of the quest  to be flagged for the Tower of Solusek Ro, although there is now an alternative (and far less demanding way of obtaining this flag by means of a simple quest in Western Wastes). It is primarily an XP grind zone for characters between 62 and 65, and the mini-bosses and the wing-bosses are extensively farmed as they are a reliable source of Ethereal & Spectral Parchments (which are used in the Planes of Power Spell quests for level 60 -65 spells) and (what was once) high-level armour, of a type known as "Ornate"


 * Doomfire, The Burning Lands (65-75)
 * Also known as the Plane of Fire, it is the home of Fennin Ro. His essence is required in the creation of the Time key, the Quintessence of Elements.


 * Drunder, Fortress of Zek (60-65)
 * Also known as the Plane of Tactics, it is the home of Rallos, Vallon and Tallon zek. These three gods are for access to the Tower of Solusek Ro.


 * Eryslai the Kingdom of Wind
 * Also known as the Plane of Air, this is the home of Xegony. Her essence is required in the creation of the time key, the Quintessence of Elements.


 * Halls of Honor (60-65)
 * The Halls of Honor are the home to Mithaniel Marr's army. In these halls three tasks must be completed in order to gain entrance to Mithaniel Marr himself, who resides in a zone off of Halls of Honor The Temple of Marr.  This zone is used greatly by kiting classes in order to kite because of a large rectangular area near the entrance of the zone. It is also a zone favoured by mid-60s enchanters as a place to practice various charm solo strategies.


 * Crypt of Terris Thule (46-65)
 * Also known as Plane of Nightmare B, this is a small zone in which Terris Thule resides. It is solely for the fight against her, and only a few other mobs populate this zone.


 * Plane of Disease (46-65)
 * Plane of Disease is the home of Grummus, a demi-deity linked to Bertoxxulous. This zone is a good spot for kiting and charming because of large areas free of mobs and the great number of mobs in the zone.  Grummus is required for the flag to enter Crypt of Decay.


 * Plane of Innovation (46-65)
 * The Plane of Innovation is an industrial wasteland that surrounds a massive factory. Narrow valleys filled with refuse cut through tremendous heaps of junk. Small niches have been dug out of the junk by old, cast-off clockwork automatons that were long ago replaced in the Factory by newer, more efficient models. These derelict beings retain a built-in desire to exist, and so they scour the factory junkyard for spare parts to help maintain themselves.


 * Plane of Justice (46-65)
 * The Plane of Justice, also known as "PoJ", is one of the least demanding of the Planes of Power, and entrance mobs are a staple of most players XP in the mid to late 40s. It is also the site of six AA and planar progression quests.


 * Plane of Knowledge
 * With the popularity of the Nexus as a 'common zone', the Plane of Knowledge was specifically designed to be the next generation of 'common zone', with tradeskill vendors/tools, banks, guildmasters, teleports to every city, and an access hub to later expansions. Once available only to players who bought the Planes of Power expansion, the role of the Plane of Knowledge eventually became so prevalent that Sony later made it available to everyone. Some players cite this zone as being the downfall of what some would call "old school" EverQuest because it creates easy access to nearly the entire game.


 * Plane of Nightmare (50-65)
 * In the mists of the darker portions of the astral lurks the Plane of Nightmares, home to the horrors that crouch in the subconscious of all creatures' minds. A dense forest dominates much of the plane, pockmarked by many small clearings. The trees are gnarled, their bark twisted into patterns that resemble horrific faces. These sentient creatures are powerful and malevolent, springing to life when any mortal being enters the realm. A river bisects the forest, eventually pouring into a great, murky lake. In the caverns beneath the earth live still more nightmares.


 * Plane of Storms (55-65)
 * The Plane of Storms is a land of enormous forests, great mountains, scoured deserts, and stormy lakes. The realm is the manifestation of the will of Karana, the Rainkeeper, who resides in his Bastion of Thunder atop Mount Grenidor, which sits in the middle of a vast expanse of open wilderness. Jagged and impassable ridges extend from Mount Grenidor, dividing the land into three areas. Tribes of Storm Giants call this land home. To one side of Grenidor is Krendic, the Desert of Chaos. It is a sea of hard, dark brown stone polished smooth by wind-blown sand. To another side is Renidar, the Forest of Tears. Massive trees grow here and travel is made via their huge branches. Above and below, the trees seem to extend indefinitely, disappearing into a haze of fog. Then there are the plains. Large rivers flow down the mountain and across the plains to empty into a large lake along the southwest border. Shipwrecks can be seen on the southern shore. Some smaller lakes have formed where water has collected on its journey to the southwest.


 * Plane of Time (60-65)
 * The Plane of Time was the hardest zone in the game at the time of The Planes of Power expansion. One had to go through all the other zones in the expansion and kill all of the gods in order to get access. The act of killing the boss mob of Time, Quarm, was the zenith, at one point, of EverQuest activity. There are two versions of this zone. When players are first granted access, they enter a safe version of the zone where none of the inhabitants are hostile. (This version is commonly called the Plane of Time A.)  Some of the non-player characters will chat with the players and provide some lore and back story about the Plane of Time.  From this safe version, players can then access the raid portion of the Plane of Time, a separate zone (now instanced) that consists of multiple phases, each with a time limit and its own menagerie of opponents to defeat.  This zone is commonly referred to as the Plane of Time B.


 * Plane of Torment (60-65)
 * The Plane of Torment is home to Saryrn, Mistress of Pain. She dwells at the top of a large, black tower with a raven named Sorrowsong. The tower pierces a blood red sky, and blood frequently rains upon her realm. Players must fight their way through the tower to get to her. While progressing through the tower you can see some of her helpless victims being tortured.


 * Plane of Tranquility (46-65)
 * The Plane of Tranquility contains the entrances to the Planes where the Gods dwell. The plane is a large island surrounded entirely by water, with a very serene atmosphere. It is said to be the very embodiment of Quellious herself.


 * Plane of Valor (55-65)
 * It is here in the Plane of Valor that prospective mortal heroes seeking entrance to the Halls of Honor are tested. Upon entry to the plane, heroes encounter an amphitheatre that provides access to the rest of the realm. A large, well-maintained cemetery is also found here, bordered by a beautiful forest. A river winds through the forest and feeds the fertile lands. At the river bend, a suspension bridge stretches between two large guard towers, connecting the two shores. The river crossing leads to a wasteland of glass, and beyond that lies the Canyon of Marr. Continuing, one may finally discover the sacred Halls of Honor.


 * Ragrax, Stronghold of the Twelve (60-65)
 * Also known as the Plane of Earth B


 * Reef of Coirnav (60-65)
 * Also known as the Plane of Water


 * Ruins of Lxanvom (55-65)
 * Also known as the Crypt of Decay A(upper) and B(lower). This is where Bertoxxulous is. The entire plane is similar to that of the interior of a mausoleum. The air is filled with a greenish haze and stone coffins, some open with their occupants missing, are everywhere. The creatures, who inhabit this plane, resemble decayed corpses in some way or another.


 * Temple of Marr (60-65)
 * Home of Lord Mithaniel Marr.


 * Tower of Solusek Ro (60-65)
 * Vegarlson the Earthen Badlands (60-65)
 * Also known as the Plane of Earth A

Ykesha
These zones were added by The Legacy of Ykesha downloadable expansion in March 2003. Ykesha added the ability to create and view maps of each zone, which had a huge impact on the ease of navigation. The theme of Ykesha is pirate based with the majority of the zones home to powerful undead monsters.
 * Crypt of Nadox (45-65)
 * Dulak's Harbor
 * Gulf of Gunthak (35-45)
 * An island region accessible by sea from Odus. Home to the Broken Skull Clan trolls and the Luggald race. The main island is called Broken Skull Rock, and it is located off the southeastern coast of Antonica.


 * Hate's Fury (55-65)
 * Torgiran's Mines (45-65)

Lost Dungeons of Norrath
These instanced zones were added by the Lost Dungeons of Norrath expansion in September 2003. All of them are geographically located on the Old World continents of Antonica and Faydwer. The zones come in five themes as listed below, with minor variations in dungeon layout, which are in fact separate zones, therefore the expansion contains 48 separate zones.
 * Deepest Guk - 8 variations based on an undead Froglok (Lower Guk) theme
 * Miragul's Menagerie - 10 variations based around a frozen zoo of deformed creatures
 * Mistmoore Catacombs - 10 variations with a Mistmoore vampire theme and home to undead creatures
 * Rujarkian Hills - 10 variations of Orc lands
 * Takish-Hiz - 10 variations based upon the Deserts of Ro and the Elves that inhabit them below the surface.

Gates of Discord
These zones were added with the continent of Taelosia in the Gates of Discord expansion in February 2004.
 * The Abysmal Sea
 * Barindu, The Hanging Gardens (58-70)
 * Ferubi, Forgotten Temple of Taelosia (63-70)
 * Kod'Taz, Broken Trial Grounds (65-70)
 * Natimbi, The Broken Shores (40-70)
 * Qinimi, Court of Nihilia (50-70)
 * Qvic, Prayer Grounds of Calling (65-70)
 * Riwwi, Coliseum of Games (55-70)
 * Txevu, Lair of the Elites (65-70)
 * Yxtta, Pulpit of Exiles (65-70)

Instanced zones

 * Ikkinz, Antechamber of Destruction (65-70)
 * Inktu'ta, the Unmasked Chapel (65-70)
 * Sewers of Nihilia - Emanating Crematory (60-70)
 * Sewers of Nihilia - Lair of Trapped Ones (60-70)
 * Sewers of Nihilia - Pool of Sludge (60-70)
 * Sewers of Nihilia - Purifying Plant (60-70)
 * Tacvi, Seat of the Slaver (65-70)
 * Tipt, The Treacherous Crags (65-70)
 * Uqua, The Ocean God Chantry (65-70)
 * Vxed, The Crumbling Caverns (65-70)

Omens of War
These zones were added by the Omens of War expansion in September 2004. With the Omens of War expansion came the new epic weapons for each class. Epic 1.5 for the more casual player and Epic 2.0 for the high end guild member. Epic quests involved questing throughout all the previous expansions as well as major tasks in this expansion.
 * The Bloodfields (55-70)
 * Linked off of Dranik's scar The Bloodfields is a higher level zone with some of the armor quest NPC's as well as a few static and a couple of roaming Named mobs.


 * Dranik's Scar (30-70)
 * Is the first zone you will see in the Omens of War expansion. It is a mid level outdoor zone with links to several other zones including, Noble's Causeway, The Bloodfields, Harbinger's Spire and the 3 Dranik's Hollows instanced zones. There are several named mobs as well as the armor quest npc's for the expansion located here.


 * Harbinger's Spire (55-70)
 * An indoor zone as the name implies, Harbinger's Spire is a tower shaped zone. Using stairs players can access different levels that became more difficult as they go up.


 * Noble's Causeway (60-70)
 * Another outdoor zone, Noble's Causeway is often used as a connection to get to Wall of Slaughter (WoS). Players without wizard or druid transport to WoS have to run through this zone in order to reach WoS. This results in many a train from Dranik's Scar side to WoS side of the zone. Home to several named mobs and quests for some very nice casual gamer items, Noble's Causeway is never lacking in population.


 * Riftseeker's Sanctum (69-70)
 * Considered to be the Omens of War endgame for casuals, Riftseeker's Sanctum has a level restriction of 70 with many good drops and an interesting zone layout. Split between a red (hot)upper and blue(ice)lower, the zone has mobs of appropriate color/heritage for each side. Upper has a "princess" guild raid and lower has the "prince" guild raid, along with two raid mob encounters. Riftseeker's Sanctum's only entrance/exit is in the middle of Muramite Proving Grounds.


 * The Ruined City of Dranik (65-70)
 * Another outdoor zone, The Ruined City of Dranik is a high level experience zone. It also hosts the Catacobs of Dranik and Sewers of Dranik instanced zones. ruined City of Dranik is a very large zone and features some very hard patrolling "sweeper mobs", that can see invisible players and generally wreck havoc if you are in the wrong spot at the wrong time.


 * Wall of Slaughter (60-70)
 * Omens of War's pick up group spot of choice is here in WoS. Many a player spends many an hour here "leveling up" and collecting various item and spell drops. Another outdoor zone, Wall of Slaugher boasts another "sweeper mob" as well as many named camps. Wall of slaugher connects a player to Muramite Proving Grounds and the endgame raiding zone of Citidel of Anguish.


 * Muramite Proving Grounds (65-70)
 * Another Outdoor zone, levitate is disabled in Muramite Proving Grounds or MPG. MPG quickly became a zone to get a pickup group post level 65. MPG hosts many good camps with named mobs a plenty. MPG also hosts the "trials". The Trials are a single group or raid instance event. Finishing all six raid Trials was part of accessing the Citidel of Anguish. Single group trials awarded the players with different good loot as well as some special AA's only acquired by finishing them.

Instanced zones

 * Catacombs of Dranik - 3 variations, single group (60-70)
 * Dranik's Hollows - 3 variations, single group (60-70)
 * Sewers of Dranik - 2 variations, single group (60-70)
 * Asylum of Anguish - 18 to 54 person raid (65-70)
 * The endgame zone for EQ players during the OOW period. Players have to finish some major raid trials as well as some single group content. The reward is a zone with the best armor and weapons you could get at until the next expansion came out, as well as the last part to the Epic 2.0. The endgame "boss" of the Cidital of Anugish, Overlord Mata Muram, an encounter that requires flawless guild cooperation. No mistakes can be made by even a single player on the raid. Each player has to pay special attention to the encounter as well as their role in the encounter, any mistakes by anyone attending the raid will have dire consequences and can cause the raid to lose the encounter.

Dragons of Norrath
These zones were added by the Dragons of Norrath expansion in February 2005. This expansion was similar to the Lost Dungeons of Norrath in that much of the content is instanced zones, with a quested theme, success in which brings a reward in the form of either radiant crystals (for a good expedition) or ebon crystals (for an evil expedition), which can be accumulated and traded with merhcants for spells and equipment.


 * Guild Hall
 * Guild Lobby
 * Lavaspinner's Lair (50-70)
 * Stillmoon Temple (65-70)
 * The Accursed Nest (60-70)
 * The Ascent (65-70)
 * The Broodlands (50-70)
 * Thundercrest Isles (55-70)
 * Tirranun's Delve (65-70)

Depths of Darkhollow
Depths of Darkhollow introduced the idea of Monster Missions - the ability to transform into monsters to complete task based quests.


 * Caverns of the Lost (60-70)
 * Corathus Creep (45-70)
 * Coven of the Skinwalkers (60-70)
 * Dreadspire Keep (65-70)
 * Dreadspire, The Demi-Plane of Blood (65-70)
 * Illsalin Market
 * Lair of the Korlach (60-70)
 * Living Larder (60-70)
 * Prince's Manor (60-70)
 * Queen Sendaii's Lair (60-70)
 * Ruins of Illsalin (45-70)
 * Shadow Spine (65-70)
 * Snarlstone Dens (60-70)
 * Sporali Caverns (50-70)
 * Stoneroot Falls (45-70)
 * Stoneroot Falls: The City of Xill (50-70)
 * Temple of the Korlach (65-70)
 * Temple of the Korlach: The Council of Nine (65-70)
 * The Cocoons (65-70)
 * The Corathus Mines
 * The Hatchery (65-70)
 * The Hive (45-70)
 * The Hive: The Lost Notebook (60-70)
 * The Lodge of the Fang (60-70)
 * The Nargilor Pits (60-70)
 * Undershore (45-70)

Prophecy of Ro
The following zones were added in the Prophecy of Ro expansion of February 2006.


 * Academy of Arcane Sciences
 * Arcstone, Isle of Spirits
 * Deathknell, Tower of Dissonance (65-70)
 * Freeport Arena
 * Freeport City Hall
 * Freeport Militia House
 * Freeport Sewers (10-20)
 * Freeport Theater
 * Razorthorn, Tower of Sullon Zek (65-70)
 * Relic, the Artefact City
 * Ruins of Takish-Hiz (50-70)
 * Skylance (50-70)
 * Sverag, Stronghold of Rage (50-70)
 * The Devastation (40-70)
 * The Elddar Forest (65-70)
 * The Root of Ro (45-70)
 * The Seething Wall
 * Theater of Blood (45-70)
 * Tunare's Shrine (45-70)

The Serpent's Spine
The following zones were added in The Serpent's Spine expansion of 19 September 2006.


 * Crescent Reach (1-20)
 * Highpass (revamp) (15-25)
 * Blightfire Moors (20-40)
 * Stone Hive (35-45)
 * Goru'kar Mesa (40-60)
 * Blackfeather Roost (55-65)
 * The Steppes (60-70)
 * Sunderock Springs (63-73)
 * Vergalid Mines (60-75)
 * Direwind Cliffs (70-75)
 * Icefall Glacier (70-75)
 * Ashengate, Reliquary of the Scale (75)
 * Valdeholm (72-75)
 * Frostcrypt, Throne of the Shade King (75)

The Buried Sea
The Buried Sea was released as the thirteenth expansion in 2007. It features both new raids and group missions and the addition of 'fellowships', mini guilds of up to 10 people. By setting up a fireplace, members of the fellowship can teleport to each other and benefit from various beneficial effects while in the vacinity of the fire.

In addition to the usual new armor and weapons, a new slot was introduced to house special 'powersources'. These powersources enhance new armor obtained in TBS expansion depending on the type of powersource that is fitted.

Pirates theme heavily in this expansion.


 * Barren Coast
 * Deadbone Reef
 * Jewel of Atiiki
 * Katta Castrum
 * Maiden's Grave
 * Monkey Rock
 * Redfeather Isle
 * Silyssar, New Chelsith
 * Solteris, the Throne of Ro
 * Suncrest Isle
 * Thalassius, the Coral Keep
 * The Buried Sea
 * The Open Sea
 * Zhisza, the Shissar Sanctuary

Other zones
Monster Graveyard


 * Marauder's Mire
 * A zone that was only available on the now defunct Legends server.


 * Mines of Gloomingdeep (1-10)
 * A zone from the EverQuest tutorial.
 * With the patch from June 29, 2005 the (revamped) tutorial now supports players up to lvl 10 (used to be lvl 5 prior to the patch), although it is technically possible to remain in Gloomingdeep until level 15.


 * Shadowrest
 * A graveyard zone designed to house decayed corpses once they vanish from the zones they died in. After 7 days, players may visit Shadowrest to retrieve them. The zone can be accessed by talking to one of the appropriate NPCs who will transport the player there.


 * Sunset Home (CSHome)
 * The 'new' home zone for EverQuest Customer Service representatives (Guides and GMs), created especially for this purpose after their old home area (the Plane of Sky quest room underneath the first island) was turned into a public space and opened to players. This zone contains many vendors that supply items and equipment needed by GMs and Guides in the course of their work, as well as a number of [|NPC former Guide/GM Avatars] honoring the memory of their former owners who are deceased in real life. This zone is not accessible to 'mortal' players since it has no zone lines (it can only be accessed by teleportation) and the zone data files are not part of the normal EQ installation but must be manually added.

Zones d'EverQuest