In a bid to keep players logging in through the winter season, EverQuest II just announced rewards for the next three months leading up to the release of the Destiny of Velious (DoV) expansion on February 2011.

The instructions are rigid but rewarding: Players who have an active subscription on Dec. 14, 2010 and Jan. 17, 2011 and purchase the DoV expansion will get to unlock the Ice Wolf mount and a new Freeblood Vampire race.

The first image of the Ice Wolf mount has been released for public adulation (it’s white, furry and has a mean face on), but the bigger question among the community is how the vampire race models look like.

“Do they sparkle?” asked a concerned EQII player, obviously afraid of Twilight look-alikes invading the game. “The wifey’s going to call her vampire Edward or some such nonsense. I swear if these vampires look like anything from Twilight, I’ll go mad.”

To make the wait for these two February 2011 rewards more bearable, SOE is giving away two bonus rewards on December and January that will be revealed just when the rewards are distributed. That’s Dec. 14, 2010 and Jan.17, 2010 respectively.

Bad news for EverQuest II Extended free and silver members though — you’ll need to upgrade to a gold and platinum membership, or become an EQII Live subscriber to qualify for the three-month wide rewards. So go upgrade if you think it’s worth the wolf mount, vampire race and all that biting.

Feel like a landed elite with the new seven-year Veteran Reward for EverQuest II loyalists: The Mistmoore Crag Estate!

The sprawling property will be built into the game once the Arcanum Revealed update goes live on October 12, and will be accessible as soon as your account hits exactly seven years.

The mansion’s terrace view spans the Timorous moor as it sits atop a mountain ridge, but there’s a mystery behind the structural beauty: Why was the estate abandoned by the previous owner Mayong Mistmoore?

Seven-year veterans will have a grand time discovering the history of the estate and decorating it to their liking. There are five rooms that can hold up to 600 items. Plus no upkeep cost to worry about!

The Mistmoore Crag Estate is the pinnacle among the Veteran Rewards but those assigned to newer subscribers are nothing to scoff at, either. There are buff potions and unique equipment from as early as your Day 1 in Norrath.

So don’t feel bad when the  veterans start showing off their sprawling estate–in fact, hand them a housewarming present so you can be invited over again for some human chess at the main hall (Might as well have fun with all those check squares!)

EverQuest II has jumped on the free-to-play bandwagon, but not exactly the same one ridden by Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online.

Unlike the two titles who have gone or will go the full transition from a paid subscription model to a wholly free-to-play model, EQII will just set up separate free-to-play servers under the “EverQuest II Extended” (EQ2X) service.

These free-to-play EQ2X servers will run alongside existing live subscription servers and will represent “a completely separate gameplay mechanic with the aim to attract new players to the world of EverQuest II,” according to the  Producer Dave “Smokejumper” Georgeson in a letter to fans.

“‘EverQuest II Extended’ shares all the content and features of Live EQII. It plays the same. It looks the same. It *is* the same, with two obvious exceptions: a) it’s free-to-play, and b) it has a more robust marketplace,” added Mr. Georgeson.

In elaborating on what a “robust marketplace” means, the producer explained that more convenience items will be made available in the free-to-play EQ2X servers—not top-tier items of Legendary and Fabled quality—but still powerful enough to help with leveling and general adventuring needs.

He also assured gamers the game can still be enjoyable without the purchase of these “convenience” items since all content will be identical to the ones running on the Live EQII servers.

SOE has set up a comprehensive EQ2X questions page which can be browsed now for more details. Meanwhile, existing Live EQII players can also sign up to try out the service, which is advisable before recommending the free-to-play service to friends interested in exploring Norrath sans subscription.