Zones of EverQuest II

EverQuest 2, an MMORPG, 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 composed 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.

Zones in Everquest 2 tend to be laid out differently than in its predecessor, EverQuest. MOBs have a set location that they stay within, and will stop chasing characters after they've made it a certain distance away. Within a zone there may be a fairly high discrepancy in the levels of MOBs, but they are generally kept well separated from each other.

EQ2 makes use of both standard and instanced zones. Some instanced zones have a lock out timer, where if a player exits a zone, he may not reenter for a set amount of time, usually 18 hours. Some instanced zones are full size dungeons with multiple floors and boss mobs, others are very small, containing as few as one mob.

The land of Norrath was broken apart by a fictional event called "The Shattering", where the moon of Luclin broke apart and rained down on the land, drastically changing the landscape. Most of the old zones of EverQuest survived in some form or other.

Qeynos

The city of Qeynos is split up into four main zones and six suburbs.

Central Zones

;North Qeynos:This is the primary zone of Qeynos, where the gates to the queen's citadel are found. The fighter's guild guards the stairs. The temple of Rodcet Nife survived The Shattering and the priests' guild still uses it.

;South Qeynos:Primarily a residential area, South Qeynos also holds the mage's tower.

;Qeynos Harbor:This is a busy harbor; boats set sail to many other zones from here.

;Eldarr Grove:Remarkable for its wooded atmosphere, the Grove is named after the eldarr tree growing in it, thought to be the only one to survive The Shattering before the rediscovery of Faydwer. The scouts' guild can be found in the branches of the tree.

Suburbs

;The Baubleshire:This zone is home to the gnomes and halflings.

;Castleview Hamlet:This is the home of the high elves and frogloks.

;Graystone Yard:Graystone Yards is home to the dwarves and barbarians.

;Nettleville:This is home to the humans and kerra; it was once called "Nettleville Hovel".

;Starcrest Commune:The Commune is home to the erudites and humans.

;The Willow Wood:This area is home to the half elves and wood elves.

Adventure Zones

;The Caves (7-18):A newbie dungeon, the Caves are home to three different clans of gnolls and golems, as well as bats, spiders and snakes.

;The Forest Ruins (5-15):A newbie zone, the ruins are those of an old, abandoned castle. Once inhabited by elementals and the spirits of departed wizards, the ruins were taken over by the Blacksail corsairs. The surrounding area contains animals and insects.

;Oakmyst Forest (5-15):A newbie adventuring zone, Oakmyst Forest is inhabited by mainly peaceful wildlife, but the wildlife is under threat from poachers. A small area contains corrupted dryads.

;The Peat Bog (5-15):A newbie zone. The Peat Bog is home to marsh faeries and swamp creatures, some of which are hostile. There are rumors of Bloodsabers to be found in the area. The Peat Bog connects both with Antonica and the Vermin's Snye, giving evil characters who wish to avoid the guards at the main gates a way inside Qeynos.

;The Down Below (5-15):A newbie dungeon that connects all the districts of Qeynos. Aside from the undead and sewer life, Bloodsabers can be found.

;Vermin's Snye (15-25):A sewer below the Down Below with correspondingly stronger inhabitants, including gelatinous cubes and more Bloodsabers. Vermin's Snye connects with the Peat Bog.

;Crypt of Betrayal (20-30):The lowest level of the Qeynos sewer system. The headquarters of the Bloodsaber Cult can be found here, as can various powerful undead.

Freeport

;West Freeport:

;North Freeport:

;East Freeport:

;South Freeport:

;Beggar's Court:One of 6 suburbs, home to the humans and half elves

;The Big Bend:One of 6 suburbs, home to the ogres and trolls.

;Longshadow Alley:One of 6 suburbs, home to the dark elves.

;Scale Yard:One of 6 suburbs, home to the barbarians and iksar.

;Stonestair Byway:One of 6 suburbs, home to the kerra and erudites.

;Temple Street:One of 6 suburbs, home to the gnomes and ratonga.

;The Graveyard:A newbie zone, a haunted graveyard on Freeport's outskirts.

;The Ruins:A newbie zone where the Freeport militia battles encroaching orcs.

;The Sprawl:A newbie zone.

;Sunken City:A newbie zone, a former district of Freeport that was partially submerged under the ocean waves.

;The Thieves Way:The sewer under Freeport.

;Serpent's Sewer:A lower layer of the Freeport sewers.

;Edgewater Drains:The lowest layer of the Freeport Sewers, some areas of the Edgewater Drains are completely underwater.

Antonica

Formerly the name for the largest continent on the face of Norrath, Antonica is now used to refer to the area that was once called the Qeynos Hills. It is mainly grassland, with a few forested areas and beach fronts. The Sabertooth Gnolls that long plagued the people of Qeynos survived, and are a hazard to travellers.

Blackburrow

The stronghold of the Sabertooth Gnolls. The lower levels have been taken over by giant spiders. The tunnel that used to lead to Everfrost has collapsed.

tormhold

Formerly a fortress under the watch of an order of Paladins, Stormhold fell in the Shattering and has been abandoned to the Undead ever since. The zone consists of three levels full of undead, and a system of caves below dug out by a tribe of goblins and inhabited by monstrous salamanders.

;The Tomb of Valor:An instanced zone accessed from within Stormhold. The final resting place of Lord Chesguard, lord of Stormhold.

The Commonlands

The Wailing Caves

Fallen Gate

The Thundering Steppes

Formerly the Plains of Karana, the steppes were drastically changed in the Shattering. The landscape is scarred from shards of the shattered moon and dotted with craters. The Serpent, the river that once quadrasected the plains, was drained, and undead fill its basin. The plains are full of hostile animal life. Centaurs make regular attacks on the steppes settlers, two clans of gnolls make travel dangerous, and the southern area is inhabited by hill giants.

Ruins of Varsoon

Nektulos Forest

The Nektulos Forest was the dark elves starting zone in the original Everquest. It served as a passage way between East commonlands and the Lavastorm Mountains and also served as the entrance to the Dark Elf city, Neriak.

Nektropos Castle

Zek, the Orcish Waste

Deathfist Citadel

The Feerrott

Cazic-Thule

Everfrost

Permafrost

Lavastorm

Solusek's Eye