2010

Leveling Quickly in EverQuest 2

stargrace March 24, 2010 7Comments

Yesterday I decided that it was time to level up my dirge. Now, when I put my mind to a task like that I really try to do it well. My dirge went from level 80 to 87 in a matter of five hours (which I understand is a large chunk of play time but I still think it went pretty well). One of the most common questions I get is HOW do I manage to level that quickly. It’s really not that difficult to level in EQ2, and I’ve touched on the subject briefly before but I really wanted to expand on it.

First of all you need to keep in mind that for the last 24 days I’ve been making use of a ‘recruit a friend’ account. Because the recruit a friend account costs $15, and it also allows the friend who has recruited them to get a ‘free’ month of game play, there’s really no reason for me not to take advantage of this. It also grants my main account (another) mount that gives my group a 10% increase to experience. You don’t need to be a recruit a friend to make use of this, everyone in group will benefit. That account alone gives me a 200% bonus to experience on both accounts.

I always level in an area with a LOT of mobs, that’s key. I don’t typically quest until I reach my goal and require achievements. I know you may not think that EQ2 is the sort of game that allows for ‘grinding’ but it really is. This is my leveling schedule and one I’ve used for basically every single character.

• 1-10 Freeport gates, I just kill the mobs outside until 10 (snakes etc)
• 10-22 Wailing Caverns
• 22-35 Fallen Gate
• 35-43 Runnyeye
• 43-50 Cazic Thul
• 50-60 Clefts of Rujark, Pillars of Flame
• 60-70 Sanctum of the Scaleborn, Nest and Vaults instances
• 70-80 Palace of the Awakened, Sebilis, Chardok
• 80+ Sebilis (bottom floors), Chardok, Erudian Library (main two floors)

That’s it. I get that it’s a very boring schedule, but that’s the point. I also understand that rushing to end game is not everyone’s cup of tea, but keep in mind the amount of characters I have and what ranges they’re spread between. Some times I don’t feel like sitting back and enjoying the ride, because I’ve already done it a million times before. Other things to make note of.

I box a tank, so yes technically I’m three boxing. I have the tank, my character of choice, and the recruit a friend account tagging along for the 200% bonus.

I use experience potions, and I have a lot of them. My account is over 6 years old, and that gives me a lot of options

I use the vitality replenishment token that came with the five year reward

While I can get to level 87 with just three days of game time played, it DOES NOT bode for a good character. The character only has 110 aa, and that hurts. It will be something that I must work on afterward (when I have all the time in the world). I also don’t bother gearing up any of my characters until they hit levle 70 or so, and then it’s just handcrafted with some resists so that the AoE’s don’t obliterate the little ones.

Alts are EXPENSIVE. They require gear, spells, and other little trinkets to compensate for the fact that you haven’t been playing them for years.

Basically the only thing you need to have to level up quickly, is patience. Patience to grind away at mobs for hours at a time and not become utterly bored of it. I like to thank EverQuest (the original) for my love of dungeon crawling. It’s really come in handy for EQ2.

What Are you Looking At?

stargrace March 22, 2010 5Comments

One of my favorite new mobs in Sentinel’s Fate. I keep wanting to look at this encounter and scream “what are you looking at?!”

The Paladin Meets Sundered Frontier

stargrace March 18, 2010 3Comments

The paladin inched her way from level 74 to 81 in two days which I was quite pleased about. I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary, used a few experience potions and smashed my way through Sebilis. Once I hit 80 I headed to the Sundered Frontier and started the quests in the area. There is of course a downside to leveling up so quickly and on tanks it’s a killer. The paladin only has 77 achievements at the time of this post, well behind where I should be. A lot of classes can get away with not having achievements, but for a tank class this is almost essential. We need those extra abilities that we gain.

I decided to try a 24 vs 24 battleground now that they’re back in game, and absolutely loved it. Far less squishy then my caster counterparts, I also loaded up on level 80 crafted battleground gear, which put my toughness around 400 or so. I’m uncertain if this is what made the difference, but I actually survived a few fights. I figured out that the key was having dps and healers trail after you. Taunting your attackers to keep them off of the dps classes, and keeping them occupied with you, so that your dps friends in the background can burn them down.

Of course since I’m lacking aa things still hurt, and the paladin certainly doesn’t have a very good choice of gear, and her skills leave something to be desired – but – this is what keeps me playing the game. Progressing forward in whatever character holds my fancy for the time being.

Speaking of which. I also managed to hit my 40,000 faction mark with the Kerra outfitters, which means I picked up the level 90 crafted battleground gear book. Excited? Yes. Except my tailor is only level 85, which means I have four levels to go before I can even scribe it. Ah well.

Happy gaming, I hope everyone has fun no matter where you find yourself. I’ll see you in Norrath!

Making Another Attempt

stargrace March 16, 2010 6Comments

Over five years into the game, and I’ve played pretty much every class – except a tank. Why? I’m not sure, I’m just not a big fan of tanks in general. It’s not that I don’t enjoy leading from time to time, but I’ve just never really connected with them, I suppose.

I have created tanks over the years and managed to level to 50 or so before setting them aside and eventually deleting. One tank actually made it all the way to 74, a paladin of mine. I actually enjoyed this character a fair amount, but then I took a break to work on other alts, and she was cast aside. Eventually she too joined the pile of deleted alts.

Now, one thing Sony has always been very good at is their customer support. Especially if you’re polite and patient and not requesting something absurd. Yesterday I got it into my head that I would indeed like to play the paladin, and at least be able to claim that I have ONE tank at the level cap. Even if I never group with the character. So I sent off a petition asking if it would be at all possible to have this character returned to me, explaining the finer details like why I had deleted, and when, etc.

A few hours later I received an email saying she had been returned, and thus I’m back to 12 characters on my main account, the paladin filling in that final slot (thank you)!

Mentoring down to 45 Hamal and I headed to Runnyeye to kill some easy encounters and while we were there I managed to ding 75. Not bad, now she’s only 15 levels away. Hopefully I’ll be able to stick with it this time around. We’ll see. That brings my current characters to:

• 90 Troubador / 90 alchemist
• 90 Mystic / 85 tailor
• 83 Coercer / 85 carpenter
• 81 Warden / 81 woodworker
• 80 Dirge
• 80 Templar / 90 jeweler
• 80 Ranger
• 80 Illusionist / 80 provisioner
• 76 Inquisitor
• 74 Paladin
• 58 Necromancer
• 1 Warlock

I have a few characters on my 2nd account as well, but that account is closed for the time being (my 80 swashbuckler is there). I also did a little house cleaning, and deleted my 2nd 80 illusionist, and a shadowknight I had. I’m constantly deleting characters to make new ones. There are a few who I of course have pretty strong emotional ties to, and refuse to delete. I had hopes of focusing in game on only one character plus crafters, but I just love all of the adventure classes so much I don’t think it’s going to be possible. We shall see.

In the mean time, happy gaming, and I’ll see you in Norrath!