DPS Mercenaries & New Hot Zones Go Live Next Week

The next game update is scheduled for Wednesday, June 9, and will mark the long awaited arrival of DPS mercenaries (damage dealers) as well as a batch of new hot zones. Here are the details from EQLive:

Rage of the Mercenaries!

The Rage of the Mercenaries Game Update brings DPS mercenaries and 13 new Hot Zones! Here's a sneak peek at what's coming on June 9th!

DPS Mercenaries!

Healers and tanks not enough? DPS Mercenaries are here!

Now you can add DPS Mercenaries to your arsenal! Mercenaries are NPCs for hire that will aid adventurers in their heroic adventures. They bring extra damage dealing ability to any party they are in and will make a powerful weapon against any enemy. Mercenaries' levels and abilities scale appropriately to your level and they will think and act for themselves with limited player guidance. They're designed for extra support or added damage in PvE encounters.

See your favorite mercenary liaison and pick up a "Damage" type DPS mercenary which uses physical attacks or a "Hedge Wizard" type DPS mercenary which will cast spells from range.

Did you hear about Bayle Marks? - Antonius Bayle IV, the Ruler of Qeynos, decreed not long ago that mercenaries should receive fair compensation for their time. The Bayle Mark was minted as a standard measure of payment for mercenaries of all levels.

The New Hot Zones are coming!

A new batch of Hot Zones are coming with the update!

Hot Zones offer an increase in normal adventure experience for the zone and have the additional bonus of some new content.

Franklin Teek in the Plane of Knowledge will be happy to point you to the current location of a Hot Zone appropriate for your level. Franklin also has a series of tasks that can be done in each of the Hot Zones. Each task can only be completed one time each day. The following zones will be "Hot" next update:

20 - The Lavastorm Mountains
25 - Blightfire Moors
30 - Firiona Vie
35 - The Gulf of Gunthak
40 - Goru`kar Mesa
45 - Natimbi, the Broken Shores
50 - The Broodlands
55 - The Bloodfields
60 - Barren Coast
65 - Arcstone, Isle of Spirits
70 - The Elddar Forest
75 - Loping Plains
75 - Blackburrow


Visit EQPlayers on June 9th to find out more information about the Rage of the Mercenaries Game Update.

Comments

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more then one?
# Jun 06 2010 at 12:28 PM Rating: Decent
Are we going to be able to use more then one merc at a time now? Tank+dps? Healer+dps? i have not see anything saying either way, so just wanted to ask and find out.
more then one?
# Jun 06 2010 at 1:47 PM Rating: Decent
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158 posts
I would expect if you could have 2 up at once for each player they would have announced that. As there was no announcement, I seriously doubt that that will occur. I also doubt there will be a feature, which would rock, to "own" one of each type and then select what merc you want to pop given the needs of the group you have.
Merc's
# Jun 06 2010 at 6:30 AM Rating: Decent
Well for a cleric that is level 85 and does not have a lot of AAs (211) I can tell you I get asked a lot to group with others. I also have lots of time to solo lower level content with my tank merc to work on AAs. One can not use a merc as a crutch or hindrance in ones growth in the game. I have learned to become a better cleric because of them. Learning my spells better and learning the limitations of my toon at that level with as many AAs i have at the moment.

Mercs are neither good nor bad its all about the situation and the players. No merc can ever really replace a PC toon unless you do not know how to play your toon well.
UF a must for new mercs?
# Jun 05 2010 at 9:06 PM Rating: Decent
Since the new mercenaries are not being released with the new expansion of Underfoot, rather after the fact.
Will these additions be allowed to players that have not yet purchased UF?
UF a must for new mercs?
# Jun 09 2010 at 12:49 PM Rating: Decent
Yes can use the DPS mercs without UF
Clarification
# Jun 05 2010 at 1:24 PM Rating: Decent
17 posts
Ok, first of all mercs weren't put into the game for just lower levels to catch up to higher levels. They were put into the game to make up for the drop in player base so that there could still be alot more groups out there as apposed to having a small number of groups doing things. Secondly, if anyone thinks that mercs are being swallowed up by UF they are dead wrong. T5 journeyman mercs can tank in UF and heals real tanks in there as well. The tank mercs can't seem to handle the named without a slower and an actual healer but they can probably still handle at least the lower group named. Lastly, mercs didn't ruin the game. They didn't make it better but they didn't ruin it either. Using mercs just allows people to go about things without needing to get ahold of a healer or tank so they don't have the same problem wow players have (sitting there looking for a tank or healer for ages).
Also for those of you that think the top geared players don't use mercs take a look at zek, everyone uses a merc. I mean EVERYONE. Especially in pvp as much as people hate it.
mercs
# Jun 05 2010 at 12:30 PM Rating: Decent
I think alot of you seem to miss the point of mercs. ITs not ment for endless hours of xping at 80+. Its not ment for raids(which you cant really anyway). Its not ment to kill named npc thats to OP and cant do unless a PC group.
However its ment for the lower levels to catch up to the higher levels without being, "LEVEL 50 LFG" for 5 hours. Thats really the point of mercs. Though some use them in many different ways.
One myth is that "higher uber end game players dont use them". This is WRONG! Infact our higher hp+aa affords us to use the mercs alot easier than most. If your 30khp and under 1k aa...you wont survive very long in UF trying to do what someone with 56khp and 3500aa can do. Thus the "mercs are useless in UF" myth.
Mercs are a great tool. But do us players a favor. Next time you wanna go "Merc it up"...put LFG on first. You might be surprised to find that maybe some "uber" players inviting you.

Sinsu> Ranger main 3500+
Sinsue> Cleric box 900+
Sinsusshammy > Shammy 100+ :(
Mercs
# Jun 05 2010 at 12:28 PM Rating: Decent
double post..opps

Edited, Jun 5th 2010 2:31pm by SinsuGinsu
Why Complain!
# Jun 05 2010 at 11:45 AM Rating: Decent
Reading these posts tells me a couple of things. 1. The high end experienced players have their groups and raids and have little or no need for a crutch. 2. The rest of us can do our thing and hope Sony continues to throw us a bone now and then.

Edited, Jun 5th 2010 4:02pm by Idiotan

Edited, Jun 5th 2010 4:04pm by Idiotan
Finally a DPS Merc
# Jun 05 2010 at 7:38 AM Rating: Decent
39 posts
Mercs basically made Cleric class go from required in groups to useless.

DPS mercs will breath new life into the class. I just pray they make the DPS perform better than the War mercs.

Can't wait
Finally a DPS Merc
# Jun 05 2010 at 11:02 AM Rating: Decent
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158 posts
I will take a knowledgable player run cleric over a merc any day. Anyone who thinks a cleric merc trumps a player run one is an idiot.
Finally a DPS Merc
# Jun 06 2010 at 3:53 PM Rating: Decent
Please when you find a player cleric that can keep a grp alive better then a mer I would like to see them. So far all the player clerics I have invited to my grps have been **** poor at best. I go hours without any worries or deaths when using a cleric merc. Every time I have ggrped with a real cleric the grp gets wiped or at least one if not more peeps die. So to say a player is better then a merc is totally ubsured. I will avoid a player cleric as much as possible and opt for a merc 99% of the time. And with the addition of the DPS mercs I can drop the tank and go for the DPS and just have my War box tank. And mercs are not a crutch. A crutch is sitting LFG for hours because one cannot solo very well and waisting my monthly sub sitting around being bored in GL. Mercs are a way to acually be able to play the game and experience what it haves to offer without haveing to wait for the nonexisting pu grp to form.
Hmmmm
# Jun 05 2010 at 7:34 AM Rating: Decent
Mercs aren't going to make people leave this game... having 10 year old toons that will get renamed in the server merge may tick people off enough to leave. Sony needs to look at letting surnames rate in the naming scheme. I for one look forward to the new mercs... and I ain't ubber. The people I group with use the healer mers all the time in most zones at all levels. Real toons still do the damage. Healer mercs work well and are only used if the real thing isn't available. Healer mercs are NOT replacements for a true healer. They are a tie me over.

Cheers
Merc's
# Jun 05 2010 at 7:24 AM Rating: Decent
ok so u able to have 2 merc per charicter now becuase its no use havinga dps merc if u need a merc to heal u or need a tank
Merc's
# Jun 06 2010 at 8:48 PM Rating: Decent
The Video makes it look like you choose one or the other
And Mercs
# Jun 05 2010 at 6:19 AM Rating: Decent
Scholar
Avatar
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187 posts
What is everyone's problem with the mercenaries? You cannot bring them on raids, and for harder content (Like most of UF), they are essentially worthless.

Not only that, if you do not like them, do not use them. There are plenty of people out there that are not all uber or in a bad *** guild that need them to play.

Get a grip and get off of everyone's back that uses mercs.

And Mercs
# Jun 05 2010 at 7:34 AM Rating: Good
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113 posts
agree
SoD mercs killed eq
# Jun 05 2010 at 6:03 AM Rating: Decent
Quote:
This will help EQ if anything. UF is what is making people leave again, after the success of SoD. You want to see another huge nail in the EQ coffin? Make another UF, I triple-dog dare you.


UF was there reply to veteran players whining that sod dumbed down game to much handed gear out to anyone and made raiding obsolete.Fact that most merc bred players are talentless hacks at best is why they revamped it 6 times making it easier each time. 6 guilds actually completed it before renerf ,them i say are last bastion of skilled players. Few here and there but why try when merc on afk leveling and soe hands gear out.
Skilled players ran through hell levels and learned toons now 85 3 k aa's and tier 5 group gear is easy but answering why he dont know what taunt means is baffling. You say UF killed eq, i say sod did. least pre mercs groups existed.

Edited, Jun 5th 2010 8:04am by ganghiz
Good
# Jun 05 2010 at 4:35 AM Rating: Decent
This will help EQ if anything. UF is what is making people leave again, after the success of SoD. You want to see another huge nail in the EQ coffin? Make another UF, I triple-dog dare you.
New mercs
# Jun 05 2010 at 3:20 AM Rating: Decent
Soe has been tryin to kill off eq for a while .eq now is worse then wow its no longer a mmorpg its rpg that people must pay for. Guild wars is same but free the aspect of eq that was great is now dead. looks like time to find diff mmo this one is dumbed down to point of useless to pay for =/.
New Update
# Jun 05 2010 at 12:54 AM Rating: Decent
32 posts
I hear there is an update scheduled for October 12th where you can purchase the opportunity to play in a group. Basically, the group will be made up of tank mercs, healer mercs, and dps mercs with a random paying player thrown in here and there. Sony has finally killed the need to group with other players.
Yeah Right
# Jun 04 2010 at 11:35 PM Rating: Decent
Basically, since these mercs are special, it sounds like you can open up your pocket books to get 'em. If not, you play with the gimp mercs you have now that get swallowed up in UF
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