Sony Online Entertainment has announced that "EverQuest II: Echoes of Faydwer" has been shipped to North American retail stores and is also available to purchase at echoesoffaydwer.com.

"The retail version of the game is available for a suggested retail price of $39.99, and includes the base EverQuest II game, the Echoes of Faydwer expansion, and the two previously released expansions, Desert of Flames™ and Kingdom of Sky™.  The digital version is also available for a suggested retail price of $39.99 and includes the Echoes of Faydwer expansion (requires EverQuest II base game to play). 

"Our goal with Echoes of Faydwer is to solidly deliver on the best parts of the classic EverQuest feel, while adding plenty of new and exciting places to the world," said Scott Hartsman, senior producer of EverQuest II. "With its rich, vibrant environments, amazing sounds and music, brand new race to play, and the largest collection of places to adventure, Faydwer is shaping up to be a fantastic experience for all EQ2 players, new and experienced alike."

This new EverQuest II expansion is the first to provide content for all players, from level 1 to level 70.  Echoes of Faydwer introduces a new playable race, The Fae.  This winged, fairy-like race lives in the arboreal city of Kelethin, the new starting location for the Fae, as well as Dwarves, Gnomes, Half Elves, High Elves and Wood Elves.  Kelethin is one of many new zones players will explore, all of them based on zones from the original EverQuest, until now separated by 500 years of conflict and cataclysm.  Players can also quest through other popular zones from EverQuest, such as Butcherblock Mountains, Castle Mistmoore, Crushbone Keep and Steamfont Mountains. 

A new Deity system also awaits players in Echoes of Faydwer.  Adventurers can choose to worship one of eight gods from the original EverQuest, opening up a new line of quests for new loot, items and even more powerful spells.  Cloaks, a highly requested item from the player community, have also been added to this new expansion, for solo players as well as customizable cloaks for guilds.  Echoes of Faydwer includes over 350 new quests, armor, and new horse mounts available to players of all levels.

Players will encounter over 40 new types of creatures, more than 20 new zones and adventure areas, obtain all-new items, equipment, spells and tradeskill recipes and will be able to compete against other players for new PvP (Player vs. Player) rewards for PvP-enabled servers. The Achievement system introduced in the Kingdom of Sky expansion has been enhanced to include additional sub-class abilities, allowing players to further customize their characters’ abilities."