Returning from an age ago.

Discussion in 'The Newbie Zone' started by Tzunamii, Feb 10, 2017.

  1. Tzunamii New Member

    Hello Norrath!
    It's been quite a while. Last I was here, Luclin was the new thing, and most were still connecting via 56k line. Those were some of the best social experiences I ever had over the internet.
    I rediscovered EQ this past week, and am amazed by the changes. The graphics look great, but still familiar. I'm enjoying the map system, though there seem to be bugs (Butcherblock map doesn't load, for me anyway). The mercs are so welcome, I never imagined soloing on anything other than a Necro, or Beast Master. Or a good monk.
    I ventured outside of Crescent Reach around Lv 10, and journeyed to my old leveling grounds in the common lands, and was saddened by how barren it is. Ro, Oasis, even traveling through High Keep, not a single player, other than myself.
    My question is, is there a server where these areas are still used? Looking at an empty tunnel depressed me. Watching Lockjaw traipse along the beach unmolested is surreal to me.
    I asked in newbie chat where the lowbies group these days, and someone kindly responded "Crescent Reach", so I went back, and tried to find a group, to no avail.
    Soloing is great and all, but I want to group, and If I can find a server to grind out my old haunts, that would Probably make me an investing player again.
    I'd love to make Lower Guk my grinding spot one day, though I'm certain it's been abandoned long ago. Memories of being a chanter in a Frenzy group are still my best.
    Much Love, Tzunamii.
  2. moogs Augur

    Welcome back.

    Yes, the game has changed quite a bit. There are 20 more expansions' worth of zones and content than there used to be when EQ Trilogy was a top seller. There is not a lot of activity at the low levels because the speed of leveling has been increased tremendously: the actual xp rate, mercenaries, and maybe you noticed some "defiant" armor as random drops which are much nicer than most items that were camped for days back in EQ Classic. About 10 years ago, they introduced a new player race (drakkin) and put all new players in their town (Crescent Reach) to keep everyone together to encourage grouping. If you're a Gold subscriber, you have the option of skipping the tutorial zone and spawning from your race's home city.

    What you're looking for can be found at Project 1999, the emulated server that has received official blessing. That's free to play and has a lot of activity. Unfortunately you would not have any of the benefits of playing on an official server, such as ongoing development, etc.

    Another option, if you want to pay for a subscription, is to check out the Time Locked Progression servers. One of them just unlocked the Planes of Power expansion (the one following Luclin), so the level cap is still 65 and there are a lot of players still reliving their nostalgia.

    Of course, if you can manage to get through a week or two with your mercenary and learning to play again on whichever server you're currently on, you'll make it to 65 or so and you should start to see some other players at or around your level to group with. There are a number of guilds with new and returning players in mind that may present easier opportunities for grouping at any level and in any zone you wish to visit. I put an alt in a newbie guild (Dark Dragon Society on Luclin server) and it's pretty active and friendly. Having a good time so far.

    If you decide to continue playing, here's a quick video guide on how to get your maps installed:
    Tzunamii likes this.
  3. Tzunamii New Member

    Thank you moogs for such a well though out reply, you gave my exactly what I was looking for :)
    Yes, I noticed the "defiant" drops. I was happy finding leather and cloth at this point in my characters development back then. The leveling too is blazing fast, comparatively speaking. I can see hitting 65 in a couple weeks at this rate.
    I looked into P1999 and prefer to support further development. It feels good that EQ is still around, and I'd like to be a part in keeping it so.
    That said, I do Not miss staring at my spell book, needing a group for Orc-1-3, or hell levels.
    Thank you for the map vid, I'll be getting on that when I log in. Maps. Whoda thunk?
    Again, much appreciated.
    moogs and IblisTheMage like this.
  4. Anhari Augur

    Starting at level 21 with a merc (and a pet helps), goto Blightfire Moors, and find the white rats (silverfurs and whitherdfur) rats. They should start oout red to you, but maage your agro and let the merc do his/her job. They give amazing experience and are not social.

    I started at 21 last night and went to level 27 in just a couple of hours. @Docmacoy(pet) and @Mrspok(Merc) just keep killing whatever I DOT.

    Good luck and welcome to back EQ. As they say, Your in Our World!
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  5. IblisTheMage Augur

    WB =)
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  6. Tzunamii New Member

    Thank you Anhari and Iblis!
    I'll head there today and grind Anhari, thank you! I'm looking forward to being where I was when I left, around 60. I'm 23 atm, would have taken Much longer in the day. I must say, my Merc has been awesome so far.
  7. Tzunamii New Member

    That is to say, I'll head there today and grind, Anhari.... damn commas :D
  8. moogs Augur

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  9. Tzunamii New Member

    Thanks moogs, this rat camp is Awesome!
    Just hit 35, and they're still dark Blue :cool:
    moogs likes this.
  10. Anhari Augur

    I am glad that I came back and read these forums. I forgot about the white rats, but am very glad to share them with you :)
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  11. Geroblue Augur

    Yup, the rats are good xp. Note that sometimes they will head over to the wolves when their hp gets low. I haven't had a problem with the wolves attacking yet though.
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  12. Tzunamii New Member

    I've fallin in love with Mesa snakes, grinded out 11 lvs there, and made a Ton of plat!
  13. Peechka Journeyman

    Soon as I was done with the rats,Lv40ish I moved to the middle part where the undead giants are, its like a crater just south of the rats, stayed there until 40-43?.

    Then I moved my way up north, Goru'kar mesa? Or something like that, If you head west from zone line, there will be a ton of bears, spiders and occasional Minotaur dudes. did those until they got blue, then moved again north along the main middle path until I saw yellow huge spiders, then giants, I stayed there killing giants until 50.

    At 50 I replenished all my spells and outfitted my dudes in brand new intricate defiant, bought the defiant jewelry from the merchants right by the zone the crescent reach in PoK, then headed for the hole. Tip: (Sometimes you get lucky and if you check the merchants around PoK, you can find defiant gear that people sell, too lazy to list on /bazaar. Check around and find good deals. I found almost a whole set of intricate plate and a bow on a spell merchant.)

    Then fought my way inside the hole(Ruins of old Paineel) until I found a nice camp of yellows and other various mobs and red ghosts, by the main tunnel leading to the temple and stayed there killing until lv 55 went by fast, like 2 hours. Then pushed my way down the tunnel towards the temple once the mobs there started to blue out. Camped right outside the temple until lv 58-59, another 3 hours or so, and then made my way in the temple itself once I broke it. I figure I will stay there until lv 62 or such and then find another place. Tip: (Make sure to utilize the fellowship fire if you have 3 characters. It allows you to do quick runs (gate) to PoK, sell stuff, then a quick return to camp. I did not know about this feature for the longest time. Its nice to know. It also allows you to do quick ports back in case of a wipe, look up EQ fellowships on google for explanation)

    I have a 3 box of SK/Ranger/Shaman along with 1 melee dps merc, 1 caster DPS merc, and one healer merc. I also have one of my dudes with a second merc slot with another healer if I need him for some tough named or something but healing has not been an issue yet. Just rolled them up on FV this past weekend, and already im nearing 60s. I usually played on Test before this, had mid lv 90s dudes I had since like 2011. But I got sick of the bugs and downtime on test so I decided to roll them on FV.

    Also make sure you do a /claim and see if you have any mounts to claim. I had one for all 3 of my dudes that made traveling outside way easier and much faster, plus they add a 5 hr HP/Mana buff, even if you get rid of mount.

    Also, if you only have one toon, think about making 2 more (free accounts to start) before you get to far along with your main. You will have tons more pleasure out of running 3 than one once you progress further. It also opens up the option for CC, more damage and more mercs to fill an entire team. You will be your own team ready to tackle even the most demanding group content. Yeah its a pain at first to get used to it, but it gets to be like second nature. In the past I id it just by making windows a bit smaller on my screent hen switching window to window, but this winter Id ecided to try IS boxer which helps a ton, its like $10 per 3 months or something and makes boxing 150% easier.
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  14. moogs Augur

    Peechka, let me know what you think of Splitpaw.
  15. Peechka Journeyman

    Have not been there since like 2000, back when it was lv 35 dungeon, anything I should know about this palce?
  16. moogs Augur

    You should know that it's full of elementals now. They're around level 65-70. I went with a couple of guildies last week and we had a blast there. It's great xp all through the 60s if you have high level buffs. Starting at 61 you can receive level 95 buffs. At level 65 you can receive level 105 buffs. That will pretty much double your stats...
  17. Peechka Journeyman

    Thanks for the infos, I will most assuredly check it out. As for the buffs, Im mostly a purist and want to go on my own. I figure the defiant stuff is already giving huge advantages for the time. Its like wearing raid gear since lv 1, lol. Plus what would my shaman do then?
  18. moogs Augur

    Hey, nothing wrong with that. One of my friends used to click buffs off of his paladin because he considered it cheating.