Hello. I returned to EQ few months ago after playing from '99 until around '02. I played an enchanter back then so I started a new one when I returned since I kinda knew my way around the class. There are some changes but it still presents the smallest learning curve. I am on the Xegony/Druzzil Ro server on a FTP account and my toon is level 66 now. After going through the new noob areas, I found myself gravitating back into the old zones I knew back then. The low populations on the servers are a trip! Things that used to be packed with folks are ghost towns now. It felt funny being the only person in Old Seb or LGuk but it made for fast leveling. The whole merc thing was new to me as well. I've been using a tank merc and pairing him with charmed mob to solo. This brings me to my questions: - Now that I am in the mid-60s, my merc tank is starting to get torn up more. What type of merc is usually paired with enchanters? - The AA stuff was starting to get rolled out when I stopped playing originally, so this part of the game is new to me as well. I have some basic things like run3 and gate (I took that one just to free up a spell slot), and mnemonic retention for the extra spell slot. And some class specific things like dire charm and gather mana 1. But what are some other things you can recommend? -I am currently making regular runs through Veksar. That is a super fun dungeon! It reminds me of all the things I liked about EQ originally. But it has stopped being a good exp spot and I was hoping for some pointers as to where to go next. Being an older person who has only a few hours a day to play, I don't really group much because sometimes I have to log off unexpectedly and I would hate to do that to a group while we're in the middle of something. So any recommendations for zones that I can do with a merc and charm would be greatly appreciated. This ended up being longer than I thought it would be. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading and I look forward to any and all responses. Take care. =)
As the tank merc doesn't add a lot (when doing the charm thing) while still taking half the xp, I would just go without any. Or take one of the dps mercs just to check if this speeds things up enough to make up for the lost xp. Even on burn those should not be able to take aggro off a charmed pet. At this level the daylie tasks from Teek are a reasonable source of xp and also do a good job in bringing players together. So I would recommend going where those tasks lead and check out the zone. Always announce when you go out for the task in hope to find others to join you, or ask if others doing one of the tasks in order for you to join them. If you plan on always soloing and staying f2p, all those things don't matter, though. In this case just go were you want to and do do what you enjoy most.
You should consider boxing. If you can run Windows 7, and have a halfway decent video card, you can add a 2nd or even 3rd f2p account. EQ now natively lets you run multiple instances of the client, and you can alt-tab or window the EQ app screen. Now, you can throw another character of your choice plus another merc. I personally started 3 boxing and am having a blast! My main was an enchanter from back then as well, and he can still mez and tash like a champ! If you want the more old school experience, you'll have to go All Access and try out the progression servers - Phinigel stays pretty active most of the time, and makes you true box if you want to. Also check out websites like Fanra's and eqresource for more information to help catch you up.
Welcome back Madame Mystique does some great enchanter soloing tutorials on youtube. I'm not sure if her tactics work on lower levels - the self runes are weak at 66 from what I remember - but at least watching them will keep you playing the enchanter just to level one up. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmnp3xFEMrCKiNpTprUAcQ/videos
Tank mercs are strong to start, but get weaker at higher levels. Tanking is very gear/AA dependent, so it's no surprise that a mediocre tank is much less useful than a mediocre healer/DPS. I recommend attempting to leverage an enchanter's charm abilityand use a caster DPS merc. I also recommend to people looking to improve their game to consider multi-boxing. If you want to augment your charm-game, I'd recommend adding a mage and a wizard, then having 2 DPS casters and a healer merc. Or a druid/mage and 3 DPS casters. If you want a more traditional group, I recommend adding a shaman and an SK. Note that you'll probably end up using your SK primarily in this case. The below threads have more info: https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq...lee-class-for-achievement-grind.235993/unread https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq...g-player-boxing-question.235927/#post-3476878 https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq/index.php?threads/what-can-i-do-as-a-3-box.235872/
Thank you. I think you guys have convinced me to give boxing a try; although I have a feeling it is going to be like juggling cats.
I ran into the same problem with a rogue character and an enchanter character in the mid 60s. The tank mercenaries do well until then, but getting into level appropriate zones (i.e. Planes) the opponents hit harder and faster which means spending a great deal of time bandaging. Using a healer didn't help since the rogue or enchanter pet makes a lousy tank. Even the charmed stuff the enchanter could find were soft. I never could get past the 60s so left the game for a long while. I'm back now and ready to try a second account to buff up my group. I still have to level characters on the new account, but my plan is to take the enchanter with a DPS class (ranger or rogue) with one using a tank mercenary and the other a healer. The good ole trinity group. Having a tank with a healer, and also an enchanter for CC and buffs should help a great deal, and the DPS will help to bring things down faster. I'm tending toward the ranger, by the way, for the simple fact of having Snare. But that's a matter of taste. Anyway, that's my solution to the dismal 60s. I hope to finally be able to see some of the areas beyond Gates of Discord although I never did see much of them back in the day. Just getting past the Planes will be nice. Exploring should prove fun .. .and hazardous.
I've moved on to Grieg's End now and this is another terrific zone! I can solo (well, charm+merc) almost everything there except the Berzerker epic guys and Grieg's room. Best part is everything is still at least light blue at level 68. Any suggestions on where an enchanter can charm solo after Grieg's End? Thanks! =)
Did you look at "The Stepps"? The Serpents Spine release added some pretty high Zone XP Modifer zones as well as some pretty good loot and pretty good vendor loot. It occurs to me you may be overlooking something Your Animation dressed in Bazaar purchased Pet Armor and Pet Weapons, buffed(Cleric/ Healer Merc, Shaman, Beastlord, Ranger and Druid) with you and a Healer Merc are should be ... rather hard to kill. Be sure to use your Haste on the Animation and your slow and cripple on the Mob. Normaly that is leathel enough. It can not hurt to use the Choke like of Damage over Time as well as the Direct Damage spells.
Check out Blackfeather Roost (watch out for the tougher roamers down from zonein), Vergalid Mines(there's a nice aug that isn't too hard to quest for here), Direwind Cliffs then look at moving into Valdeholm and then Ashengate. I leveled through these zones from mid 60's to mid to high 70's.
Welcome back! Re: the low population..... To be fair, EQ has many more zones now than it did when you quit back in 2002. The game world was big then, but it's YUUUUGE now. Also, the population on the live servers is top heavy with high level (90+) toons. So yea, the old, lower level zones are virtually empty.
