Rift patch 1.6, "From the Embers," is expected to hit live servers this week!  We've been busy on the Public Test Server and have all the guides you need when exploring the new content.

The largest chunk of content is Ember Isle.  Start with our Ember Isle zone page, but you might also be interested in:

• Travel Stones - How to get there and how to get around.
• Sourcewell - What are they, how did they get there, and why they are important.
• Ember Isle Quest Series - All the quests, listed geographically.
• Ember Isle Maps
• Ember Isle Lore - The Story behind the Kelari, the Sourcewells, the Pyrkari and the Civil War.
• Emerald Enigma - the Emerald Isle puzzle!

Also expected with From the Embers are a new raid zone and sliver:

• Rise of the Phoenix - a level 50 raid zone in Stonefield
• Caduceus Rise  - a dungeon in Ember Isle with four Modes.

Last, but certainly not least, the first Telaran holiday will make its appearance with the Fae Yule Celebration!  You'll be spending snowflakes for your Wassail and Candy Canes as you honor the Yulemother.

We welcome your contributions!  Anyone with a (free!) ZAM account can edit our guides, and don't forget to upload your discovery logs to help our database grow!

In the excitemenmt of yesterday's free-to-play announcement SOE also opened pre-orders for the Age of Discovery expansion, slated to launch in late November or early December. Click the cloak on the right to see the gallery of pre-order items revealed at yesterday's webcast!

The Digitial Collector's Edition is a Station Exclusive and is specially priced at $59.99 for pre-order only. This version includes the base game, a Cloak of the Truespirit, Dungeon Maker Unique Monster Spawner #1, Dungeon Maker Unique Monster Spawner #2, Armored Flying Pegasus Mount, Unique Beastlord Warder Pet, Lavastorm Prestige Home, Custom Dungeon Maker Map Layout, and a Robe of the True Spirit. New accounts will also receive a free 30-day subscription.

After the pre-order period ends, the price of the Digital Collector's Edition will increase to $89.99.

The Standard Digitial Edition includes the base game, a Cloak of the Truespirit, and a Dungeon Maker Unique Monster Spawner #1. New accounts will also receive a free 30-day subscription. The cost for the Standard Digital Edition is $39.99.

Age of Discovery will not be avalable for pre-order in the in-game Marketplace, but will appear there on launch day.  Fan Faire attendees will receive the Collector's Edition and should have received an email prompting them to claim it.

The "base game" is all content from launch through the Sentinel's Fate expansion.  Age of Discovery does not include Desinty of Velious content.

To pre-order Age of Discovery, log into your Station Account today!

It’s taken EverQuest almost twelve and a half years, but by next month, players will be five levels away from doubling the level cap that they started with in 1999. EverQuest’s eighteenth expansion, Veil of Alaris, is heading to servers and I managed to hop into an in-game tour with SOE’s Eric “Piestro” Cleaver, to check out some of this new content.

I tried to think of a witty way to bring this news to the masses, but after an hour of pondering terrible opening lines (EverQuest II now Free-To-Quest… 2!), I think I've finally settled on just telling you straight: EverQuest II is going free-to-play. 

There. I said it.

Regardless if you're playing EQ2 or not, when one of the industry's most well-known MMORPGs declares that going free-to-play means "only good things for everyone involved," this certainly qualifies as very big news for all. I got the chance to sit down at a roundtable interview hosted yesterday by SOE's very excitable Dave Georgeson to discuss EverQuest II's new free-to-play shift, which is set to be released in early December, alongside the launch of the Age of Discovery expansion pack. Read on for more details!

Ember Isle, in all its denoted glory! I primarily explored the west and south sides.

Last week, I was able to go to San Francisco for a discussion with Design Producer Hal Hanlin and to test the newest patch in Rift. Currently 1.6 is on several testing servers, and during my time in the game I was able to see many other players running around the content. I focused primarily on three topics: the lore behind Ember Isle and its spirits; the new Onslaught mechanic; and the style and variety of the terrain. Read on to get my personal “feel” for Ember Isle, and what players can look forward to!

The Commonlands became a flurry of activity this month as the Far Seas caravans rolled in, offering their wares for the Freeport City Festival. The Flying Freebooters have joined the festivities and the Aether Racing course is once again available this month. The Aether Race and City Festival run concurrently and both end at 11:59pm PST on November 7th.

Nights of the Dead will soon come to a close for the year. A new quest, Survive the Night, challenges players in a flora versus undead battle. New decorations, goodies and a crafting scroll are available from the Nights of the Dead merchants. The event is slated to turn off at 11:59pm PST on Monday, November 7th.

EverQuest II turns seven years old this month and, in celebration of this event, both Freeport and Qeynos will once again host the Heroes' Festival. No new quests will be introduced but players can still enjoy the quests from prior years. The Heroes' Festival will run from 12:01am PST on November 18th through 11:59pm PST on November 28th.

The enchanted grottos will again be revealed later this month, allowing players to enter these magical realms and assist with the locals' tasks. Moonlight Enchantments will begin at 12:01am PST on November 20th and will conclude at 11:59pm PST on November 21st. No new items are expected to be on the grotto merchants.

The Beastlord Prelude Event introduces lore that explains why the long-awaited class is returning to Norrath. This limited time event will run until the launch of the Age of Discovery expansion.

Can you feel excitement in the air? How about the burning sparks flying across the sea from Ember Isle? Rift’s patch 1.6 is in the near future, and ZAM had a chance to meet with Design Producer Hal Hanlin this week, to learn some more information about the massive amounts of content being added to the game. While primarily focusing on the gigantic new landmass being added to Telara, we also were able to learn a bit about the new onslaught mechanics, instant adventures and the five-man dungeon, Caduceus Rise. Read on for more!

The Extra Life charity event was a marathon-style gaming session that started on October 15 and invited gamers across the world to play games for 24 hours straight and raise funds for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Trion Worlds got on board by hosting a Rift Extra Life event on the Belmont and Astrophinius servers. Players who signed up and joined the event-specific guilds received the title “the Charitable,” while players who stayed up for 24 hours received the title “the Insomniac.” There were also prizes for the best results in certain categories: highest level, most favor, most critters killed and so on.

I decided to try it out — partially because it's a great cause, and partially because I'm insane. The following is a record of my thoughts on the Rift Extra Life event and my increasingly sleep-deprived mental state over the 24-hour session.

With the recent launch of Update 1.5 and players catching up on their sleep from the Extra Life event, I find myself looking back at the history of Rift, amazed that eight months has gone by since the game's early head start launch on February 24. Releasing five major content patches, as well as dozens of minor (and not-so-minor) hotfixes in a space of several months is mind-boggling in retrospect, and really drives home the constant effort Trion Worlds has put into their flagship game.

For those ZAM members who are new to Rift or would like to take a trip down memory lane, I'm going to look back at all of the content that's been added to the game since launch. Follow along after the jump!

Members of the ZAM team recently participated in the Star Wars: The Old Republic media testing program, and they spent quite a bit of time trying out the classes of the Republic faction.

Keep reading after the jump to find out what Fewyn, Cyliena, Argo and Micajah have to say about the Trooper, Jedi Consular and Smuggler!