Update

I want to first thank this community for your support. This has been an extremely difficult time and myself and Hunter's family are extremely moved by all of the kind words.

I mentioned earlier that plans were in place to keep the server going. Over the last week I have thought long and hard about this and spoken with key contributors over the years. These are my goals. I want to make sure that the server has a solid hosting environment and hardware is equal or grater than what was provided in the past.  I also want to make sure that work continues to improve the server with additional content and features that are aligned with how Hunter and I have done things in the past.

Over the past 8 years it took the combined efforts of Hunter and I to create EZ server and all of the content that you have enjoyed playing. My role in particular was behind the scenes doing design work, brainstorming, providing checks and balances about new features, noobie quests, selecting models, populating the raid zones (Time, Qvic, Anguish, Dragons, Gods, Abyss, etc), adding gear, etc.  In addition to my help many people have assisted us along the way to add feature enhancements like instances, new spells, etc. I've selected two of those outstanding individuals to help me drive this server forward.

Akkadius - Many of you know Akkadius from his work on EQEMU and hosting services. Over the years he has assisted EZ server with code updates, bug fixes and feature enhancements. He will be taking over as the server host, GM, and admin of the EZ server.

Hatebourne - Hate has been of great assistance to Hunter helping drive new content over the past couple of years. He will continue his role as a GM and will be the lead designer of new content. Together with Akkadius they will be the two key drivers of new content and features moving forward.

Basher (Me)  - I will continue to be behind the scenes providing checks and balances, brainstorming and making sure that the new content follows the same logic and design that Hunter and I put in place.

Others - There are so many others I have to thank which have supported us over the years like Crab, Secrets, etc. I would very much like to see this collaboration continue.

We will be relocating the server this week and doing performance tests. More info on this to come from Akkadius so please bear with us in this transition.

Many of you have asked how you can help support Hunter's family so I wanted to note that plans are in place to reactivate the donation system with proceeds going to Hunter's wife and child. More on this in the future, the priority over the next few weeks will be stabilizing the server.

Thank You,
Basher (Cofounder of the Ez Server)

Dear Players,

I am deeply saddened to inform you that Hunter (Aaron) the GM and founder of the EZ server has passed away. My deepest condolences go out to his family, wife, son and to this community which he built and cared for.

Steps will be taken to preserve the EZ server and keep it online indefinitely. I will report back later once final decisions have been made.  

Thank you so much for everything you have done to help turn this small project that Aaron and I started 8 years ago into the strong community that it is today.

If you wish to donate to his family I will provide instructions at a later time. Please do not continue to send emails directly to his address as we do not have access at this time.

Thank you,
Basher




EDIT: I received an email from Aaron's wife. She said that she was able to read through what we have posted and it made her cry. She was surprised at how happy he made us as a GM/Developer. Your thoughts/prayers/wishes are being seen by her and she thanks you for them.

-Hate

[What do you call a Half-Elf Ranger?]

What do you call a Half-Elf Ranger?

Hunter
http://ezserver.online/magelo/character.php?char=Hunter

Tier 3&4 bosses on the island have been cut down in size by 50%

This will take effect after reboot.

-Basher

Added Gem drops to Avatars in PoGods and Castle Mistmoore

Note: Jewelry in Mistmoore was originally designed to fill in empty inventory slots on new characters.  At that time Platinum had limited value therefore making a profit from farming jewelery was unintentional.  Since this has been part of the game for several years I added in a chance to obtain valuable gems as a substitute.

These changes will go into effect after the 6AM reboot.

Thank you,
Basher

BASHER (The Invisible GM)

Great work you two!  I had a stable connection with 400+ users online today!

-Basher

I talked it over with Hunter, based on the specific details of this event we are going to unban Danyelle and let him off with a warning.  Hunter will reinstate the account when he gets back home from work.

-Basher