EverQuest II’s 2026 Expansion Is Descent to Val’zyroth, Beta Starts October 13

EverQuest II’s next expansion has a name: Descent to Val’zyroth. Head of Studio Jenn Chan confirmed the 2026 expansion in the game’s September producer’s letter, with pre-orders and beta both set to begin on October 13, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. PT.

The expansion’s big feature is Personas, which lets players level a completely different class from scratch on an existing character. For long-time EQII players with years of progress tied to one character, that could be a pretty meaningful change, depending on how flexible the final version ends up being.

Story-wise, Descent to Val’zyroth follows Gerion’s Reckoning. With Cthurath exorcized and Freeport’s Overlord missing for too long, Queen Cristanos moves to take advantage. The expansion sends players through Subtunaria and into the Underfoot, including the Teir’Dal city of Neriondalon, alliances with underground groups like the Tontu molemen, and a push toward Brell Serilis’ planar workshops.

Before that, the expansion prelude, Paths of Sedition, begins October 6 at midnight PT. That setup centers on Ancient Elddar artifacts turning up in underground markets while Freeport edges closer to chaos.

Daybreak also has a developer livestream planned for November 18, 2026, which should give players a closer look at the expansion after beta has been running for a few weeks.

The letter also touched on the live game’s near-term calendar, including Nights of the Dead, Heroes’ Festival, Extra Life Bonus Week, and Frostfell. Frostfell is getting a new Event Gifting system tied to house items like the Frostfell Gift Getting Stocking and Frostfell Gift Giving Sack, plus a Registry for sending and receiving gifts.

Other recent updates mentioned include heroic balance work, standardized vitality, a 250% cap on primary progression stats, experimental high-resolution UI scaling, Rise of Kunark unlocking on the Wuoshi TLE server, and the Revelations of Malice game update content.

Further reading: Official EverQuest II Producer’s Letter