Protectors of Moonglow

Well, it's 12:30 a.m. on release date and most of my friends have already went to Wal-Mart and picked up their copies, so I have been freed!! Am I going to give you a bunch of spoilers from what I've leared? Heck no!! I'm going to let you enjoy it to it's fullest potential, but I wanted to let you know about some of the new features that makes this expansion different from the rest.<br><br>The Planes of Power is definitely the most thought out and fun expansion yet! The emphasis on events is very clear as soon as you enter the first tier of zones. The beta testing was very extensive and attention to detail was paramount. They really learned a lot from the previous expansions and it really shows.<br><br>The attention to detail will be obvious as soon as you arrive in the Plane of Knowledge. Every NPC in Knowledge, Tranquility, and Justice (that's over 230 btw) will respond to you when you hail them. It really gives you the impression that the lands are complete.<br><br>A new feature in PoP is the ability to look at your alignment, people you have talked to, and even items in your inventory. Different NPCs will respond differently over time depending on the progress that you have made in the planes Other NPCs will wait for you to speak to one character before saying something to you. The days of skipping content and just going to the end of the quest are long gone.<br><br>Also included in the new engine for PoP is the ability to recognize languages. Some characters in the planes are not aware of the common tongue, and you will be required to speak to them in their native language. <br><br>The expansion is clearly geared for the 50+ crowd, although any class will clearly benefit from the new portal system.<br>The Initial Planes<br>Plane of Knowledge<br>Plane of Tranquility - Quellious, Goddess of Tranquility<br><br>The presence of Quellious keeps the Planes of Knowledge and Tranquility completely non-combatant. All classes and races are welcome here equally.<br><br>The Plane of Knowledge is divided up into many areas. There are the good/neutral/evil areas of the town, as well as the library and the tradeskill sections. Many people here will respond to you differently depending on your alignment. <br><br>Collection quests are also big here, with at least 20 quests that require elements from the old world. Also, if your inventory is filled with some old memorabilia, there are many people here that will recycle your favorite old armor for experience and rewards.<br><br>The Plane of Tranquility is your nexus for the planes. Every planar zone is accessible thru this peaceful island and is a terrific place to meet your friends for your next adventure. Different portals to various cities across Norrath/Kunark/Luclin are available.<br>The First Tier Zones<br>Plane of Justice - The Tribunal<br>Plane of Disease<br>Plane of Innovation<br>Plane of Nightmare - Terris-Thule, The Dream Scorcher<br><br>The first level of zones are your basic experience areas with several events tied to each one. You can access each one directly from the Plane of Tranquility.<br>The Second Tier<br>Crypt of Decay - Bertoxxulous, The Plaguebringer<br>Plane of Storms<br>Plane of Valor<br>Plane of Torment - Saryn, Mistress of Torment<br><br>The second tier of planes is accessed once you complete the needed tasks in the first level planes. <br>The Third Tier - The Gods of Nature and Influence<br>Tower of Solusek Ro - Solusek Ro, The Burning Prince<br>Bastilion of Thunder - Karana, The Rainkeeper<br>Drunder, The Fotress of Zek - Rallos Zek, The Warlord<br>Halls of Honor - Mithaniel Marr, The Truthbringer<br><br>My choice for my favorite zone is Solusek Ro’s Tower. This awesome looking zone was brilliantly designed and inspires awe and fear just by being in it.<br>The Fourth Tier - Greater Gods of Elemental Power<br>Plane of Fire - Fennin Ro, Tyrant of Fire<br>Plane of Earth - The Rathe<br>Plane of Air - Xegony, the Goddess of Air<br>Plane of Water - Corinav, Avatar of Water<br>The Fifth Tier <br>Plane of Time<br><br>Not much is known about the Plane of Time. No one outside the developers of the world was allowed access into this mysterious area.<br><br>The Plane of War was merged with The Plane of Torment and will not be in the game.<br>Boss Mobs<br>They are absolutely GORGEOUS!! Fighting Terris Thule or Xegony will just leave your mouth agape! Fennin Ro’s swinging attack comes right from the screen of the Lord of the Rings. You will be so impressed with the graphic on all the mobs, the art department really worked overtime for this.<br>Poisons<br>Have you been looking at your alternate experience skills and wondering why they were 'lackluster'? Well, it's because rogues have a terrific new poison system!<br><br>Poisons were completely revamped in PoP!! Although the older poisons did not change, the new poisons are more of a potion than a poison. Right clicking on a poison has a 6 second apply time, and will equip any attack with a 10-15 minute proc effect. The initial planar poisons will be the smaller 10 minute, lower effectiveness types, but completing a certain roguely quest will let you make the much more potent 15 minute types.<br><br>Stackable poisons are also available in both 5 and 10 charge uses! Very similar to the shaman's alchemy bag where they put in 5 or 10 potions to make charges, the developers used this idea in the poison trade! Just like the shaman’s bag, you won't be able to buy this bag just at any vendor. I'm sure someone in the Plane of Knowledge has some clues on it though.<br><br>The recipes are being added to the game the day the expansion goes live. This means that I have no more of a clue on how to make the poisons as you do. There will be multiple ways to create the same poisons, and all of them will require you to kill blue or higher mobs to make them! No more hunting those boring green zones for ingredients!<br>Other Items<br>Soloers: The first thing most people will do when they first enter the Planes of Power is to go kill a mob and ding. I want to warn those who enjoy the solo life, that they may not want to become level 61. Once you gain that first level, the entire top floor of Sebilis turns all green! The fifteen levels of blue mobs has been greatly reduced to approximately seven or eight. So a lot of your favorite spots to solo blue mobs will now be gone. This will greatly reduce the number of zones that you can choose to gain experience from.<br><br>Character Flags: While you complete your tasks throughout the planes, you will be ‘flagged’ when you are complete. Various NPCs will respond differently to you according to how your character is flagged. You can visit the great Seer in the Plane of Knowledge to see how you are doing at any time.<br><br>Be knowledgeable about ‘temporary’ flags as well. There will be some quests that if you answer the wrong way, you won’t be able to complete the quest. Camp out or zone, and the quest text will reset and you can try it again.<br><br>Items: Most of the items and stats were not available to beta testers until the last few days of testing. There will be new class armor for each class available from the Plane of Tranqulity, yet details are very sketchy at this time.