The Buried Sea

Announcement

Sony Online Entertainment announced the expansion on January 12, 2007, in a press release known here from a reprint: "Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) ... today announced EverQuest® The Buried Sea(TM)". It "will only be available via digital download beginning February 13th, for the suggested retail price of U.S. $29.99." Clint Worley, the game’s new producer, said: "As the new producer on EverQuest I am very excited to have this tremendous opportunity to work on such a storied franchise". He promised "two new worlds to explore, ship-to-ship combat on the open seas against swash-buckling pirates, and a variety of new missions created especially for this expansion." Source [2]

On launch day, February 13, 2007, everquest.com ran "Welcome to EverQuest The Buried Sea, the 13th expansion for EverQuest!" Source [1]

The story at launch

The launch article set the scene on land first: "Throngs of undead trample the earth both night and day as Norrath's sun withers. With each passing hour, the growing numbers of creatures of the night rising from crypt and grave seem part of a grand design to overwhelm the lands." Then it went under the water: "Trouble also lurks deep beneath the Buried Sea off the coast of Odus in a city named Katta Castrum". That is Katta Castrum (not Katta Castellum, the Loyalists' city on Luclin), "a city built to sustain the beloved leader of the Combine Empire named Tsaph Katta who was poisoned by General Seru." Source [1]

"Generations of Combine Loyalists have tried to cure and awaken Katta while they house threatened populations of Kedge, Shissar, and Sphinx. But in recent times, the artifact that powers and protects their city has weakened. Without it, the city will be crushed under the pressure of the sea." Source [1]

SOE’s two 2007 texts give the city different ages. The launch article said the city had "remained undiscovered for hundreds of years"; SOE’s January 12, 2007 press release said it "has remained undiscovered for millennia". Source [1] [2]

What the expansion added

The launch article listed: "Two Paths of Advancement: Battle pirates on the open seas or dive deep beneath the sea to Katta Castrum, lost stronghold of the Combine Empire." It went on: "Ship-to-Ship Combat: Cross the plank and fight for your life on the open seas as you raid pirate vessels!", with "more than 60 challenging new missions ranging from defending merchant vessels against marauding pirates to uncovering the secrets behind the combine city and the danger that threatens it". The way in was remade: "An updated Toxxulia Forest is now available that includes Kerra Ridge and access to The Buried Sea expansion zones." Kerra Ridge is the 2007 content name for the old Kerra Isle. Source [1]

A February 12, 2007 article explained Energeian power sources: "The power source is a new item slot, similar to charms"; "the armor is just a conduit, but the actual effects come from the power source itself"; sources "are charged items that are used up either over time or as their effects go off", and "Energeian items come in a variety of purities". The launch article tied them to the lore: "Tapping into the Combine Empire's technology, players gain access to a new inventory slot for an Energeian power source." In its example, "an Energeiac sword gains a chance to cast a fire damage spell if a fire Energeian source is equipped or a frost spell if a cold one is." Source [5] [1]

Guild Banners and Fellowships

A January 26, 2007 article said: "When deciding new features for The Buried Sea expansion, the EverQuest team really wanted to focus on ways to reduce the amount of downtime." A planted Guild Banner "will last for 1 hour or until there are less than the required number of groups within the zone", and members "purchase a special guild stone to use the guild portal in their guild hall to teleport to wherever that Guild Banner is". Keys still counted: "If someone is not flagged for the zone, they will not be able to teleport to it". Source [3]

Fellowships are "a form of mini-guild that can co-exist with normal guilds" in the February 6, 2007 preview; "any three members of a fellowship can work together to create a campfire", which "serves as a teleport destination for members of that fellowship". To found one, "players must journey to a particular NPC in the Plane of Knowledge." Source [4]

SOE’s February 6, 2007 preview gave fellowships "a maximum of 9 members", while its launch-day article a week later said "Fellowships have a maximum of six players". Source [4] [1]

The end zone

Before launch, designers David "Nodyin" Ford and Jonathan "Prathun" Caraker narrated "The Buried Sea: Behind the Scenes" (February 7, 2007), a tour "of some of the more scenic locations in this expansion" with "a little back story". Source [7]

On March 2, 2007, SOE released a video, "Raid on Solteris", that "explores the end zone of The Buried Sea": Solteris, the Throne of Ro. Ford said: "I was very honored and excited to be part of the team that designed and implemented the end zone". Source [6]

Zones and the way in

This list comes from a fan database’s guide, because no official 2007 zone list was found. It lists Barren Coast (levels 50-65, "entered through Toxxulia Forest"), The Buried Sea (65-75; "buy a ticket from a Dockmaster and get on board a ship") and Katta Castrum ("entered through the whirlpool in the middle of the Buried Sea"), with three zones by portal from Katta: Jewel of Atiiki to the south, Thalassius, the Coral Keep to the east, and Zhisza, the Shissar Sanctuary to the north. The guide says Silyssar, New Chelsith is "entered through the caves in Zhisza", and Solteris is the raid zone. The same guide lists instanced islands, "Jardel's Hook, Maiden's Grave, Deadbone Reef, Blacksail Folly, Suncrest Isle, Monkey Rock, and Redfeather Isle", plus "The Open Sea (an instanced zone for missions that take place on ships)". Source [8]

The guide names two sides. The first is the "Blacksail Smugglers", whose missions start on Jardel’s Hook, where the merchant Halon Griere trades for Doubloons; the other is the "Combine Empire Merchants" of Katta Castrum, whose missions start in "the temple area of Katta Castrum" and who take Orux for group missions and Phosphenes from Solteris raid missions. Source [8]

Its Katta Castrum zone page lists it as a City, levels 55-75, not instanced and not keyed, with connections including the Guild Hall, The Buried Sea, Jewel of Atiiki, Thalassius, Zhisza and "Solteris, the Throne of Ro". Source [9]