Zone Guide

Everquest 2 takes place on the world of Norrath. The regions of Norrath have been introduced gradually over the course of several expansion packs, but they all complement each other for the most part. The boundaries between expansion packs are not sharply defined, so we will present all of them integrated together in this User Guide.

Overview
Each major region of Norrath is a zone. When you enter a zone, the game pauses and the new section of the world is loaded from disk. Zones are connected with each other, either through checkpoints that you walk through, or through devices that you click on (such as a door or mariner bell). The word "zone" can refer to outdoor regions, dungeons and cities.

Outdoor zones usually have one or more major "hubs" where players will find relative safety and certain services such as merchants, menders, bankers, and a place to respawn after death. Larger outdoor zones may have travel services within the zone, such as a domesticated griffon, that help reduce the time it takes to cross the region. Passage to other zones are frequently found near these "hubs" as well.

Regions
The world of Norrath can be understood in terms of five distinct regions. These regions don't exactly correspond to specific expansion packs, but each region is fairly cohesive in terms of lore and geography. Each region gives a continuous experience across many adventure levels.


 * Shattered Lands (West - Karan): The regions surrounding the city of Qeynos have been sundered into islands and scarred with craters. Follow the rebuilding efforts of Queen Antonia as you rediscover lost lands on the continent of Karan.  These zones cover adventuring levels 1 through 50.


 * Shattered Lands (East - D'Lere): A tense standoff between the evil cities of Freeport and Neriak are evident in these wild lands. Choose your master and make a name for yourself as you reclaim and plunder these ancient places on the continent of D'Lere.  These zones cover levels 1 through 55.


 * Faydwer: The traditional home of the sylvan races has been overrun by forces of evil. The treetop city of Kelethin has survived, and sarnaks have arrived from their ocean refuge.  Take on the evil races and vampires that have overrun the continent.  These zones cover levels 1 through 70.


 * The Rediscovered Lands: The Desert of Flames and the Overrealm are the remnants of southern Norrath and the Plane of Sky overhead. Discover fame and fortune in the city of Maj'Dul.  Learn the fate of ancient civilizations and mighty dragons.  Find the ancestral home of the frogloks and fight the Void invasion.  These zones cover levels 45 through 80.


 * Kunark: The wild southern continent was lost for centuries, but has been found again. The dangers here are even greater than before.  The Iksar empire and the dragons both lay claim to this land and jealously guard its riches.  The liberated Sarnaks cling to their refuge city in the ocean nearby.  These zones cover levels 1-20 and 65-80.

Tiers
The EQ2 community has divided much of the game's elements into Tiers for easy reference. Each tier covers a ten-level range. Tier 1 refers to levels 1-9, Tier 2 refers to levels 10-19, and so on. When new expansion packs raise the maximum level of the game, we refer to the new levels as being a new Tier. Many aspects of Everquest 2 are neatly classified into 10-level tiers: equipment, spells, crafting recipes, and so on. Zones of the world are also referred to in terms of tiers.