EverQuest: Omens of War

EverQuest: Omens of War
Developer(s)	Sony Online Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Sony Online Entertainment
Platform(s)	PC
Release date(s)	September 14, 2004
Genre(s)	MMORPG
Mode(s)	Online
Rating(s)	ESRB: T

EverQuest: Omens of War, often abbreviated as OOW or Omens, is the eighth expansion released for EverQuest, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). The expansion focused on high-level content and introduced new folklore to the EverQuest universe, and was often humorously referred to as 'Omens of Warcraft' by the player base at the time.

This expansion:

• Added five more levels, increasing the cap to 70
• Introduced new Epic weapons, known as Epic 2.0
• A new Tribute system, allowing guilds to pool tribute points to purchase various effects
• A "task system", intended to "allow players to have quick solo content while waiting for a group to form".
• An expansion of the character Title system, allowing players to choose which available title their character could have, as well as adding a great many more, including tradeskill titles like Expert Chef
• A ninth spell slot, which could be earned via AA purchase
• A voice macro system, intended to allow players to make audible comments to each other.

Zones

• Dranik's Scar
• Harbingers' Spire
• Muramite Proving Grounds
• Nobles' Causeway
• Riftseekers' Sanctum
• The Bloodfields
• The Ruined City of Dranik
• Wall of Slaughter

Instanced Zones

• Catacombs of Dranik
• Citadel of Anguish
• Dranik's Hollows
• Innoruuk's Realm
• Muramite Proving Grounds Trials - 6 group, 6 raid
• Sewers of Dranik

The expansion's final zone, Citadel of Anguish, gained particular notoriety among players who raided in the game as a result of the Overlord Mata Muram encounter. Widely considered the most difficult raid boss relative to it's time in any MMO, the encounter had a unique mechanic which would target a random member of the entire raid and require a specific action take place within a few seconds of the emote or else the raid would be completely wiped out. While the mechanic is now commonplace today, during it's time the boss was widely considered "impossible," to beat until Cestus Dei on the Veeshan server conquered it on March 23, 2005. It would be months before another guild in the game would defeat the encounter.