Roshen, I have a suggestion, that I am sure others would appreciate also. The High Quality Lion Skin only drops off of Highland lions and they only spawn in North Karana and is used to make Prescient Fleeting Quiver and need 2 to make one Quiver. But it is also used in the rouge epic. Why not make a differant part of the rouge epic a bit more difficult, and make the High Quality Lion Skin have a higher drop rate, it trivs so high there is a chance to fail even if you are a master artisan like my necro is. Have killed 40 highland lions so far and nothing. Please give them a higher drop rate thank you
The class is spelled Rogue. The Rogue 1.5 precedes PFQ, they chose that drop deliberately. Two drops also required for Rogue epic (two bracers needed) The Rogue 1.5 is waaaay more annoying than PFQ or most 1.5's and doesn't need to be made worse. There's a reason it's rare. Hint: the mob is easy. There are already alternatives for the Rogue drop (HQ Cougarskins, bribe) Good luck, drop rate per Magelo is 2% (156 of 6250)
Having farmed for HQLS a lot in the past (haven't done it recently.) My suggestion would be to kill as many random mobs (not just lions) in the zone as possible as fast as possible otherwise the spawn rate for Highland lions really drops off. I have found using a ranger with a bow on a very fast mount with a Wiz Merc is the fastest way to kill. Tag a bunch of mobs with the bow (i.e. griffon/enne/awn's, bears, lions/ess, beetles/scarabs, wolves, ignore static Named, skellies, raiders, dire griffon, and hill giants), stop and let merc kill, rinse/repeat all the while watching track for Highland Lion pops. Also, keep all bear/wolf/cat skins/pelts, turn in 3 lows for one medium, 3 mediums for one high to Dar Forager Lumun in Mountains of Rathe. Sell HQ pelts/skins in bazaar.
I'm currently farming them with my Ranger... I probably get 2 skins, going AFK on and off, all day. (I have a few "real life spawns" that keep me from nonstop farming. Otherwise I would. haha.) It is frustrating. I have noticed killing hill giants and willowisps seem to pop the highlands.. but its more than likely just coincidence. I am only speculating.
Also, semi OT question... how else would one max tailoring without having to farm these rarer than Big Foot HQ Lion Skins?
2 % drop rate http://eq.magelo.com/item/13766#dropped http://mboards.eqtraders.com/eq/showthread.php?37646-The-Ultimate-EQ-Tradeskill-Guide
Wow wish I saw a 2% drop rate, but the rng hates me. Think with my luck is around 0.03% As a druid I usually dire charm Grimfeather if he is up buff him and then just slaughter anything that moves around the guard tower near gypsie camp. Highland lions are in the general spawn table so can pop from any of the roving mobs, best bet to get them is to just clear all the common mobs that path through an area. The zone isn't usually in use for leveling but keep in mind that it could be and watch for lower level players, hiring them to do your grunt work might be a lot easier. Buffed up and getting xp a couple lower lvl players can plow thru stuff pretty fast and they are self propelled. As to raising skill in tailoring have you tried doing cultural templates? I stick to making bracer templates as these use the fewest skin/silks per attempt. You do not need to stick with one tier but can go up a few levels if you have a lot of higher level material built up. The templates sell back to vendor so you will recoup at least part of your costs.
I would also like to say., these high quality lion skins are way too scarce! i been hunting hiland lions for going on 3 days now, roughly 10 hrs solid play time now. killed around 150 maybe more using my 70 ranger. still not 1 high quality, a bunch of ruined and medium quality, a whole lot of cats with out any skin. how that is possible is beyond me. was the cat scalped before i got to it? any way. this is why so many people get tired of EQ and quit. I for one reach my breaking point every few months and quit EQ. its been like this for me since 2002.
I especially like your advice to watch out for lower level players, as so many high-ups just don't bother.
They drop often in the baz. They usually go for upwards of 50k each. The quivers they make go for far more.
While I too get frustrated with lengthy tours in search of drops, or farming TS mats, the HQLS is not among my "loathe to try" list. granted it is not quick but, it was never meant to be. the bottle neck relief put into game regarding Epics was a huge improvement. there are only so many PH and the % is understandable, given the quest it is/was originally used in. Also the PQ is still, after years a desired item. High Quality Lion Skins to skill up TS Tailoring? that is just asking for frustration, there are numerous TS guides and alternatives to skill up. As a TS'r I would encourage you to look at any of the various guides and choose a different route for tailoring than skill up using HQLS, and to make some plat back for your efforts. TS can easily become a plat sink. farming pelts/silks in zones that also provide XP/AA and plat/vendor fodder...there are SO many choices.
The "high quality lions" sometimes wander near the guard tower and get whacked out by the guards. For a non-tracking class, your best bet is to hang out by that guard tower and kill everything that moves.
