Free to play, boxing, server choice

Discussion in 'The Newbie Zone' started by Augustas, Jan 31, 2018.

  1. Augustas New Member

    Hello Everquest Community,

    I played EQ a long time ago and am coming back to the game. I've played on p99, eqmac, and other servers but I want to return to the main game. I was able to recover my old account which is a silver account on the Bristlebane - The Tribunal server. I intend to remain a free 2 play player with the exception of subbing for a month to do the auto grant AA thing later on when i reach that level. My main interest will be enjoying some old world content, POP and before, with my new toons. After that maybe I'll progress to new content but that isn't a priority at the moment.

    My plan is to box 2-3 toons on my computer using mercs i guess. I've never used mercs before so I have zero experience with them. All I know as a free to play player I am limited to apprentice mercs and I've read that is a disadvantage. Some of the classes I've always enjoyed are mage, sk, shaman and bards. So, I'm thinking I will box some combination of those classes to adventure through old zones and dungeons with.

    So with that little bit of background I have a few questions I am wresting with.

    1. I'm considering playing on the test server for the All-Access account and benefits that come with it. My concern is the lower population and lack of items for sale on the bazaar to gear out my characters. In the current game will I acquire enough gear through quests and the normal leveling process? I know back in the day, gear did not come that easily. I had to farm and buy from other players.

    2. On The other hand, Live servers have a lot more people, possible guilds to join, and more stuff for sale in the bazaar. If I decide to play on a live server how bad are the apprentice mercs I will be limited to with free to play accounts. Will the low level mercs keep me from being able to explore the old school dungeons I enjoyed so much a long time ago like Lower guk, sol B, old seb etc.? My impression is that these zones will be easier now on live with access to defiant gear.

    That is basically the decision I'm wrestling with. As a free to play player wanting to do old school content what's the best choice?

    Thanks,
  2. Yruc Augur

    Welcome back and good work getting your old accounts back, that is a boon.

    While playing on test, i think your characters get the benefits of being a gold member, there is very little population on the server (I've never really played on test, but I think there is only 1 guild that does any type of raiding) Since so few people playing there, you will be on your own pretty much all the time unless you can get into that guild.

    Live servers are of course top heavy - most of the population is 100+ so the old zones you want to play at 1-75 will be empty as well. Though have a better chance of getting into a guild that can maybe help you level. You will spend a lot of time with a merc. The mercs will get you through the old zones just fine upto level 60 or so. Boxing and using 1 tank merc and one / 2 healer merc plus what ever 2 / 3 characters you want to play will help you level as well.

    Boxing with merc any class well work well. You mentioned shaman, shadow knights and bards, this will work fine, i would maybe switch the bard for an enchanter but otherwise that set of characters should be fine. If you play on Live, they have the defiant gear which drops a lot and is pretty easy to get, especially if you do the hot zones for your level. (Franklin Teek (sp) in plane of knowledge hands out a daily quest in a hot zone (xp bonus in the zone) and they start around level 20 or 25) The hot zones change on server resets not on a daily rotation, but they can help you get geared up.

    Server recommendations - I would recommend - FV / Xegony - both servers have decent populations - both have guilds that help new and returning players.

    If you are wanting to play and group with people in the old zones, I would recommend going paid and joining a TLP server. Agnarr is launching Luclin today and there will be a zillion groups for the new Cat peeps and bezerkers. Grouping is still good even before this launch from 1-60... While Agnarr will only goto LDoN and then it will no longer have expansions. So it does have a shelf life but is a lot like eq was back in the day with some QoL changes (quality of life changes, no corpse runs, better xp rate, no hell levels, etc) It has the highest low level population in the old eq zones.

    Phinigel is also another popular TLP the low level population has thinned and not as easy to get a group. They are also launching a new expansion today . Phinigel will progress through all the expansions and eventually become a live server.
    IblisTheMage likes this.
  3. Quatr Augur

    These types of questions come up a lot.

    The short answer is that yes, you can easily do most of the level 1-65 contents solo (with a merc) and you can do almost all of the group content with boxed characters. Apprentice mercs are not that great even at that level, but they are serviceable. After 65 you'll need to pick your zones more carefully, but you should be able to get into the 70s without too much trouble. For example, Grieg's End is trivial in full Defiant gear and the middle of the zone doesn't green out until 71-72.

    The long answer is that we, the people who answer questions in the Newbie Zone, have been playing for a very long time, so we take a lot of things for granted. If I had to start on a new server, I could easily get to 70 in a few weeks of relaxed playing at the most. I would know where to go to get platinum, which zones are not worth visiting, which quests are worth doing at which level and so on. A new or returning player who doesn't know this stuff will be less efficient, so don't be discouraged if your experience doesn't quite match what you read here.

    As far as the Test server goes, I played there at one time as an experiment. At the time the Bazaar was almost empty because it was trivial to /testcopy characters with millions of plat from the live servers over and over again. Some people copied characters with good gear and gave it away in the Guild Lobby. I am not sure what the current status is. My recommendation would be to start on one of the Live servers and take your crew as far as you can, then reevaluate.
  4. SevrinSevendust Elder

  5. slayerofbats Augur

    I was exactly like you about 6 months ago, I hadn't played real EQ since about 2002 but I found my way back here.

    This is what I learned.

    Free to play mercs are not even worth using, they just blow their mana in seconds and then take all day to med up. It might not be so bad if you are in really no hurry to do anything and are happy to semi-afk most of your time, but otherwise they are worth bearing in mind that they are really useless. The silver account will have a merc that is ok though so maybe just use that one, and bear in mind that even the silver merc will not be able to tank in higher levels, so you need to play your own tank unless you subscribe permanently. The silver merc will do a decent job at healing though or dps. And then just use 2 melee mercs on the other accounts because at least they don't have mana and don't really matter.

    The population is extremely low on all the Live servers, the game is completely dead until about level 100. You may get extremely lucky and find some high level person playing a twink but it is rare to even find this, and even if you do, they wont stay that level for long.

    Getting to 100, things will change and you can start getting groups, but if you plan to play casually and do old content and take your time, then expect it to be all done by yourself. Also the gear that people sell is generally super over priced because of inflation, so don't expect to see cool old items like Ykeshas and stuff for a few plat, because people don't even go to pre PoP zones, don't bother looting old stuff, and if they do they will put it on there for a few thousand plat because anything less is not even worth their time clicking the icon. Also Defiant gear is so overpowered and drops quite often from random mobs, it makes all gear in the old game obsolete anyway, until around PoP. I intended to have fun in all those old zones like L.Guk and Sol.B, but the Defiant armor ruined the whole thing because it made it all seem pointless. Even Kunark and Velious are the same. There is no challenge there because of Defiant gear, so unless you deliberately destroy those items to try to impose an old school experience on yourself, then be prepared that it wont be as fun to do all that stuff and the game is designed for you to just skip it all now and get to level 60+ quickly.

    People say joining guilds will help these things, but personally I disagree and I say you wont find any guilds willing to play with low levels and old content. People like that are on a progression server or they aren't here at all. Guilds might group with you a few times, but they would be more inclined to try to PL you so you can help with high level content, and it will only ruin the game for you if you want to see the fun old world and gain levels for real. As soon as a guild gets hold of you it is, "Don't bother doing anything before the first 9 expansions or something, and don't bother trying to get any items. Just grind to level 75 and then you can follow some pre planned grinds to get to the high levels when the real game / grouping starts". Yet we both know, doing that is basically a waste of even playing this game.

    So the Test server is really not a bad option because at least you can do 100 levels with all the advantages of a paid account which will make things a lot easier. I am in the same boat as you though, and personally I went for a normal Live server option because I didn't want the easy mode of OP mercs anyway (Defiant gear makes things so much easier anyway), and I at least want the option of playing with people if I ever get to 100+.

    Also that old content like Guk etc, you will likely steamroll that stuff now without even thinking about it. Again, the Defiant armor broke the balance of the old world. It is just 50 times more powerful than anything you had back then, so you will kill random junk and gear up to be so strong that by the time you get to Sol B, or L Guk, you will be able to handle it easily with 3 characters. It isn't like the old days. Hope this helps.
  6. Augustas New Member

    Thanks for the replies. This is helpful. It sounds like, for my goals the limitations of the silver/F2P accounts wont keep me from doing what I want pre lvl 70. That being the case I certainly prefer a live server over test and the FV server seems to be recommended a lot so I think I will probably try it.

    Any advise on which mercs to use?
  7. Augustas New Member

    haha you just answered my question while I was replying thanks
  8. Quatr Augur

    The big thing about the FV server is that almost all gear, including raid gear, is tradeable. This changes the economy quite a bit. If you plan to stay there after 70, you may have to figure out a way to make money in that kind of environment. Of course, you can also /testcopy to the Test server at that point.
  9. Augustas New Member

    So how does that effect prices on the regular tradeable gear? Is it cheaper because the raid stuff can be purchased?
  10. Quatr Augur

    Last I checked group gear, including low-level group gear, was very expensive because there was so much plat in the system. It's been a few years, though, so you may want to check with active FV players.
  11. Augustas New Member

    In classic EQ having clarity or the appropriate level equivalent was a BIG deal. Is this still the case?
  12. Kyzvs Augur

    I box subbed SK, Mage and Chanty - even though I'm subbed I'm using apprentice healer, caster and dps mercs into the 70's with no issues as I'm tight :D

    I would say do the heroic reward achievements - the armour my SK has for doing the Jonas Hand ones makes tanking 3+ reds (yes still with 1 apprentice healer merc) time and time again no bother at 72 - the AA's are popping really quickly - I don't auto-grant as I like exploring the lower level game. It's much better stats than the equivalent defiant, well worth the time. I tend to find my redbone caster goes oom the most, the healer keeps up fine.

    The one thing you do lose though is the granularity of participation. Apprentices are passive or active, no efficient / burn etc etc.
  13. Yruc Augur


    helpful yes. required no. The defiant gear that drops, has mana / hp regen on some pieces that helps. Also shaman can make mana potions that work like clarity / stack with clarity etc. Also in the db store you can buy a bottle of clarity (based on your current level) that lasts for 4 hours and lasts through death. I think it costs like 100 or 200 points (1 or 2 bucks basically)
  14. Fohpo Augur

    FV is expensive, but that also makes acquiring plat easier. If you decide to roll on FV, feel free to hit me up in-game @ Jimmydiesel. I'll be happy to help out with gearing and what not.
  15. Gundolin Augur

    As far as gear goes, before level 70 really defiant is all that you need, and you really shouldn't need to buy that in the bazaar, you should be getting drops for that fairly easy.

    Also the Apprentice Mercs work fine up to about level 70. My apprentice tank hardly needed to be healed, so my FTP cleric specialized in Evocation originally and I had to do the quest to reset it.

    So if you really are focused on the POP/LDON and below game FTP boxing should be fine on any live server.
  16. Augustas New Member

    So much good info here. The EQ community is great.

    I did compare FV bazaar prices to a couple others and the prices were A LOT higher. Since I can't sell in the bazaar being F2P ill probably try Xegony or just stay on Bristlebane.

    I think Ill have 3 classes that all wear different types of armor so not much defiant should go to waste.
  17. AlmarsGuides Augur

    http://almarsguides.com/eq/gettingstarted/boxing/

    http://www.almarsguides.com/eq/leveling/RoS/

    Guides you might find helpful and if you choose FV (or anyone reading this does) you can get a bunch of free stuff for you & your team by PMing me here or leaving a comment on this page: http://www.almarsguides.com/scholo/giveaway/


    As far as FV and the pricing on that server goes, I have compared FV to Tunare as well as Bertoxx and I found FV prices to be cheaper. Everyone always talks about FV bazaar prices being out of wack but I don't believe these people know what they're talking about (or are searching incorrect items like Sunshard Ore or some crap). In my experience everything "major" is cheaper on FV.

    Search Defiant Gear pieces 1 - 70
    Search the RoF attuneable gear 92 - 95
    Search the Latent Etheric Gear @ 100
    Search Castaway Gear/Items that make it


    All those things are SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper on FV than other servers and they're basically required for character progression towards the end of the game. In fact you can't even find half of the items you need on regular servers to gear your characters out most of the time.
    Yruc likes this.
  18. Augustas New Member

    I was reading your boxing guide last night. Thanks for putting those together.

    I used m.q.2. to 6 box on PEQ, a popular emulation server, but I'm not sure how I played there is allowed here. I was always at the keyboard controlling things but many of my characters were programmed to do things without me having to hit a button. For example my melee would automatically move behind the NPC and start attacking, my cleric would keep me healed whenever I got below a certain level. Those kinds of things. On that server its normal for players to run 24+ characters.

    On this server I just want to casually play 2-3 toons as easy as is allowed.

    I looked again at the defiant prices on the bazaar, maybe I'm just hitting it at a strange time but the prices on FV were a lot higher on things like defiant BP's. The lowest level defiant was really affordable but the higher level defiant was pretty outrageous. 60,000-100,000 for level 60-70 defiant PB compared to a couple thousand on Bristlebane. Maybe stock was just low and a couple people were trying to price gouge.
  19. Fohpo Augur

    If you end up on FV, hit up Jimmydiesel in game for some help gearing and what not
  20. Augustas New Member

    Just updating the thread. I ended up making a SK, mage, and druid on FV. I just hit level 10 and left the tutorial after finishing the quests. /wav