\t \u201cI remember what the game was like when I first logged in, you know, 27 years ago,\u201d Youssefi said. \u201cIt sort of swallowed you into this different universe. And it almost was like a different place, but it was real in my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n This is the feeling of the original EverQuest, and he said that chasing it drives the Legends project.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, it was about trying to rediscover whatever those elements were that made the whole greater than the sum of the parts that that game had,\u201d Youssefi said. \u201cEverQuest Legends, as it looks and plays, and sounds, and feels right now, that was lost to time, and we had to go back and we had to get the original art assets, the original music, the original spell effects, and sort of reassemble everything.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s something about the world of Norrath, as it was, it gets its claws into you and it does not let go,\u201d Wellman added. He\u2019s also a longtime player, having joined EverQuest with his brother at age 10.<\/p>\n Now Game Jawn is lining up a procession of updates and one very notable expansion. Kunark, the continent first introduced in original EverQuest\u2019s Ruins of Kunark expansion in 2000, is coming to Legends. The Rulers of Kunark expansion is pegged for December, but before that Game Jawn has to fill out some more of the Norrath map.<\/p>\n Lake Neriuss and Nektropos Castle will be the first area to be sketched in, in an October update<\/a>. This will be familiar ground to some EverQuest players: Nektropos Castle is from EverQuest 2. The Castle itself will feature high-level content, while Lake Neriuss will be friendlier to lower-level players.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re kind of bringing that zone back, but then also kind of doing our own thing with it as well,\u201d said Wellman. Outside the castle is a lively trading hub overseen by Lord Everling, and inside the castle\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cWho knows?\u201d Wellman said coyly. \u201cPeople don’t tend to get through them. There\u2019s, for some reason, some heavy guard presence at the gate.\u201d One of the first challenges for players then, will be to complete quests and gain access to Nektropos Castle and discover its secrets.<\/p>\n For Youssefi, one of the most impactful changes is to the kinds of loot that players will find in different areas of the game.<\/p>\n \u201cThe original itemization of the game was frankly boring,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat about a level 20 dungeon, or level 30 dungeon? Why is everything a piece of leather that has, like, one AC?\u201d He praises the work that Game Jawn has done to rework the loot tables in certain dungeons \u2014 including the Nektropos Castle.<\/p>\n \u201cThat comes with its own itemization,\u201d said Wellman. \u201cWe may look at some of the stuff that was in EverQuest 2 as inspiration to make little homages, but for the most part will be its own entire thing.\u201d<\/p>\n The update will also feature Half-Dark El<\/a>f<\/a> as a playable race, which will come with their own new starting zone. Its scope necessitated that Game Jawn push back the release of its other planned fall update, Rujarkian Hills. Rujarkian Hills was initially scheduled to go live in September, but on Sept. 17 Youssefi announced on the EverQuest website<\/a> that it would be pushed back to 2027, to make way for Nektropos and the upcoming Kunark expansion.<\/p>\n Rujarkian Hills is a rugged, sandy zone populated by Death Fist orcs and other wildlife. The focus here is not on quests, but rather on exploration \u2014 and killing things.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s a little side path [in the Oasis of Marr] that’s been there for 27 years now,\u201d said Wellman, \u201cbut it’s just kind of walled off.\u201d<\/p>\n The so-called \u201cOrc Highway\u201d seemingly leads to the Rujarkian Hills, which are visible on maps of the continent Antonica. Previous editions of EverQuest have explored caves underneath the hills, but the Hills themselves have been impassable.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s something that’s been nagging in a lot of people’s heads for a long time, and a number of people on the team, and we’re like, “Why don’t we just do it?\u201d\u201d said Wellman.<\/p>\n The zone will serve higher-level players, some of whom have been vocally disgruntled about a lack of advanced content.<\/p>\n Wellman recognizes the gap that needs to be filled. \u201cWe need more experience zones kind of in that range,\u201d he told Polygon.<\/p>\n Those who are binging the game likely have memories of decades of additional content that hasn\u2019t yet made its way to Legends. After 64 hours of gameplay, I\u2019m only just starting to do raids and explore difficult areas like The Hole. As a City of Heroes and Warframe veteran, I realize that\u2019s baby numbers for an MMO. But I\u2019m also enjoying other games, and trying to get off my damn computer once in a while, and the happy accident is that I have yet to run out of things to do in EverQuest Legends.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve also given myself the metagoal sitting in every Big Chair in the game, which is going to take some time.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t![\"Polygon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/polygon-2026-fall-preview-website-element-v2.png\")
\n <\/a><\/p>\n![\"EQL_Lake-Neriuss_05_PRESS_3840x2160\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/eql_lake-neriuss_05_press_3840x2160.jpg\")
\n IMAGE: Daybreak Games<\/p>\n![\"EQL_Rujarkian-Hills_19_PRESS_3840x2160\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/eql_rujarkian-hills_19_press_3840x2160.jpg\")
\n IMAGE: Daybreak Games<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/screenshot-2026-09-12-225629.png\")
\n IMAGE: Daybreak Games via Polygon<\/p>\n
![\"2026](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/2026-fall-preview-package-art.jpg\"\/)
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