After 9 years, it is time for me to call it quits on this EQ2Wire News site.

I feel I have always put players first, and that choice has repeatedly cost me support I might have otherwise gotten from the EQ2 team and Sony Online Entertainment. At the last SOE Live, I was jokingly branded “chief shit-stirrer” by the Community Council for my constant vigilance of issues affecting customers, and my frequent and often uncomfortable requests for accountability.

I have often cast a bright spotlight on business and development choices that I felt negatively affect players. Even though all that, a mutual respect had been maintained for 7 years. And for every negative article, I spent as much time (or more) promoting Game Updates and Expansions and providing players with up-to-date information whenever possible.

A great many other things are going on in my life which bring me great satisfaction, from growing heirloom tomatoes, to judging and preparing competition BBQ, to developing circuit boards from Arduino projects. With limited time, something had to give. With my deteriorating relationship with Daybreak Games, and the fact I no longer play EverQuest II, that decision has come into sharp focus over the last few months. The hardest part has been the idea that I will be letting players down. All I’ve ever wanted to do for 9 years writing this site and 7 years flying to Las Vegas and writing about this game, is to help people.

I wish Norrath well and hope that the next expansion is successful and that players out there step up and document it and help others.

I will continue to maintain and update the EQ2U Players site, which still receives over 30,000 character lookups per day, as long as the EQ2 Census service remains available.

Dellmon, Feldon, Kander, and Leko at SOE Live 2013