EverQuest II: Rise of Kunark is a new expansion for EverQuest II. At E3, we spoke with the developers to see what they had in store for the game.

First up is a new race, the Sarnak. These guys have been bred from the NPC race players have likely already heard about. They set out from Veeshan's Peak, a new area in EQII, but a familiar one to EQI veterans.

The level cap has been raised from 70 to 80, and a new rhinocerous mount is being added to the game. New achievement outfits for both RAID and solo play should give players plenty to do if they don't feel like creating a new Sarnak.

Another new feature coming is persistent instancing. Here, say players began an instance, but one of their mothers came and said they had to log off and do their homework. No worries, they could all choose to leave the instance and come back tomorrow and finish where they left off. That should help to appeal to an audience who doesn't like to stay up to 5 AM.

Now obviously, EQII has been struggling a bit in the face of competition like World of Warcraft. So we asked a few questions about the state of the game, and got some good feedback.

They said the player base in EQII has now grown to EQI size. They feel as though they went too far from what EQI was, and that was why they felt the need to get places like Kunark and Veeshan's peak back into the game in order to create that nostalgic EverQuest feel. They're also making it very easy for players to get into EQII, as Rise of Kunark will come with the base game and all the prior expansion packs.

Look for EverQuest: Rise of Kunark to come out late this year.