Yesterday saw the launch of the second of the two EverQuest Time Locked Progression servers slated for 2026.  The first was Frostreaver, which landed back at the end of May.

Now up Lethar, named for Lethar the Black, the dragon boss of the Ashengate North. (thanks Allakhazam)  The server is notable for opening up with The Serpent’s Spine expansion, which is where that raid is located.

The Lethar Server Awaits

Starting with The Serpent’s Spine expansion is interesting on a few points.

First, on September 19th we will arrive at the 20th anniversary of the launch of the expansion.  There is potentially a nostalgia element to the whole thing… if being the 12th expansion is at all special or anything.  Out of a pack of more than 30 expansions at this point standing out takes some work.

Second, and no doubt more importantly, The Serpent’s Spine was an attempt by the EverQuest team to adapt to the brand new world ushered in by World of Warcraft where people expected something of a guided experience in leveling through an MMORPG.

I am going to quote the Wikipedia entry about the expansion for context:

The Serpent’s Spine was released as the twelfth expansion on September 19, 2006. New features include new zones, a new player race known as the “Drakkin”, an attainable player level of 75, as well as new spells and alternate advancements.

The expansion was added with the aims of making soloing (playing EverQuest alone rather than as part of a larger group) a more viable option. This was done through the addition of a new town, home of the newly added Drakkin race, which provides various tasks for all levels of game play to gain experience, gear, and money. The advertisements for The Serpent’s Spine stated that one could go from level one to level 75 without a group or exploring any of the previously existing locations in the game simply through completion of these newly added tasks.

The Serpent’s Spine expansion also added the rest feature, allowing players who have been out of combat for a short period of time to regenerate mana and health at a drastically increased rate. This effect was added to aid those soloing, as well as to solve complaints about down time or time spent meditating to regenerate lost mana.

So you could go from a fresh character to the then level cap in a whole series of new zones with quest chains and a storyline to guide you along.

It was something of a massive undertaking and that the team had the resources to basically make an all new level 1 to 75 experience from scratch says something.

Granted, it was a bit dodgy in places, and it wasn’t as solo as they might have suggested… think more the problems of soloing in Stranglethorn Vale than the happy path of Elwynn Forest… but it could be done, and all the more so if you chose the right class or could pair up with somebody.  A warrior/cleric duo could cut a serious path through things.

I have been wondering when/if this sort of TLP might land.  This doesn’t target the hardcore 1999 nostalgia base, but it is a different and viable way to play the game.

Thirdly, that they are going with TSS as the opening is also a bit of a blog history moment for me as the expansion launched seven days after I started the site, so both will be 20 years old this month.  It was the first new EverQuest expansion I wrote about.

I even played some of the expansion back in November of 2006 and have a few posts in what now feels like a very rough approximation of my current writing style, like the cave man version of me banging pixels together.  So you can go back and laugh at some of my early work.

  • Nov 19, 2006 – Crescent Reach – Low Level Drops
  • Nov 18, 2006 – Crescent Reach – Level 10 to 15 Quests
  • Nov 13, 2006 – Thoughts After a Week in The Serpent’s Spine
  • Nov 11, 2006 – Crescent Reach Pumas & Truffles
  • Nov 10, 2006 – Crescent Reach – Level 5 to 10 Quests
  • Nov 8, 2006 – Signs of the Hollow
  • Nov 7, 2006 – Crescent Reach – First Quests
  • Nov 5, 2006 – Mobhunter – The Serpent’s Spine Review
  • Nov 5, 2006 – EverQuest – Drakkin Dreamin’

The screen shots are all gone because I hosted them at Image Shack, which is still around but which doesn’t host for free anymore.  I could probably find them on an old drive… but that would require effort.

TSS still feels like “the new stuff” in EverQuest to me despite being 20 years old.  But I suppose everything after Ruins of Kunark feels like “the new stuff” to me.  The distortion of time as you age is strange.

Finally, it feels to me like there is some tension between this TLP launch and EverQuest Legends.

And yes, there is undoubtedly going to be some tension between EQL and any TLP launch as both are targeting the same nostalgic installed base of past players and those interested in the history of the genre.

But TSS was also billed as a new way to play EverQuest compared to the old days of sitting out in front of Freeport or Qeynos and kicking snakes and skeletons.  EQL also offers an alternative to the original, though through mechanics rather than zone and quest design.

They are unlikely to be in direct competition, but who knows?  I do wonder if there could be an EQL/TSS cross over episode in some future version of the game?

Well, as the launch announcement for the Lethar server says, “Log in today for a good time!”

“Good times” not guranteed, your mileage may vary, fun may shrink during shipping, checks will not be honored, void where prohibited by law.

I will be interested to see if TSS has as much (or as little) draw as it did back in 2006.  I honestly have no idea how well it did back then.  And I didn’t totally copy and paste the entire original Friday Bullet Points mention of this server to use as the core of this post.  I only copied MOST of it, and then filled in some more.  Recycling is good for the environment.

Also, back when I first posted about the server, the launch date was August 26th.  I guess I missed it slipping to August 31st somewhere along the line… and launching on a Monday is strange as well.  I don’t know.  I am sure there is a story in there somewhere.

Related:

  • Daybreak – July 2026 Producer’s Letter
  • Daybreak – Lethar Launch Announcement
  • Daybreak – Lethar Rule sets FAQ