One month shy of its sixth birthday, EverQuest is getting its ninth expansion, called Dragons of Norrath. Much like the Legacy of Ykesha expansion, Dragons of Norrath offers as much technology upgrades, some of them long in coming, others badly needed, as new adventure zones.

To set up the expansion, a major GM event took place in the game that changed the face of a few zones, not the least of which was Lavastorm Mountains. The upgrade was almost jarring, as Sony threw out one of the original 1999 zones from the game and replaced it with a 2004 design. It reflects not only the improvement in technology over the last five years, but how much better Sony has gotten in zone design.