Hit a wall at 85

Discussion in 'The Newbie Zone' started by Bailen, Dec 3, 2018.

  1. Bailen Augur

    I returned to play on the TLP servers, but have also been playing on the regular servers a bit, and it seems like the game takes a huge jump in difficulty once you get around 85. There's a big increase in the power of mobs around level 80. They tear through my tank mercenary like he's nothing.

    I have defiant gear which had been really good to this point and can't find anything better in the bazaar. Just wondering if perhaps the game at the upper levels is more for the raiders then casual players. I saw a player just one level above me soloing some of this stuff but he had what I assume is raid quality gear.

    Any advice about surviving at the higher levels on the regular server appreciated.
  2. bigpapa Augur

    what class are you playing?
  3. Qbert Gallifreyan

    A lot will depend where you are fighting. A level X mob is not the same in all locations. Have you progressed into higher tiers of mercenaries yet? The quest arcs in SoD are not too difficult to get through.

    As far as gear goes, House of Thule (the first level 86+ expansion) sees large jumps in gear quality, especially if you didn't work on the higher level quest gear (hero? from the achievements in heroes' journey).
  4. Bailen Augur

    I just have the Journeyman mercenary you get when you have all access.

    I was in Toshirakk where the mobs that were in the low 80s destroyed my tank merc and me as well.

    I didn't do anything to quest for gear. Defiant had always been good enough. thanks for the help.
  5. Silver-Crow Augur

    Defiant Gear is severely underpowered by the time you get to Seeds as it has relatively low AC and HP, compared to the current tier of the game you're in, leading to a strong likelihood of being one shotted. Those extra hp really improve your survival chances. I think a lot of the armor pieces are no-drop blanks which you spend pp on to make your armor, which is why you don't see a lot of gear on the bazaar. Go look at the allakazam site for the seeds expansion, and it should give you a breakdown of how the armor is made.

    As for tank mercs, do the seeds quests to get you the J5 merc, It makes a big difference.
  6. Tatanka Joe Schmo

    WHAT CLASS ARE YOU PLAYING??
  7. Geroblue Augur

    I would be interested in this as well. Mine are shaman and cleric.
  8. Gundolin Augur

    80 is a big decrease in power of your merc, basically from 10 - 55 your merc can solo while you watch, but as you go up from there the merc power goes progressively down, by 110 the merc tank is worthless. For level 80 I found better results with getting my merc buffed in the guild lobby, having a fully raid buffed merc definitely helps. With my cleric I was able to mostly solo through level 90 using a fully buffed merc. But some where in the low 80s I switched to all access and got the J5 merc so my perception may be a bit off.

    I would agree that you should start switching out of that defiant gear. I was thinking HoT gear starts at level 80 and should be an improvement. At level 90 move to the tier 1 RoF gear, and then 95 probably start on the TBM gear. (CoTF might be a better substitute between RoF and TBM. /shrug).
  9. Natto New Member

    I play on Test, so it might be totally different (on Test everyone is All Access) and can copy our toons from the Live servers every 8 hours. (can copy infinite amounts of items, plat - is why there's no economy on Test...)
    From Level 75, you can do The Broken Mirror (TBM) progression and by doing the "Into the Temple (B) quest, so you can purchase the Augments.

    If you have Remnants of Tranquility coins (they're tradable, so they can be sold in the Bazaar), you can purchase the TBM armor and weapons even before starting the progression, however you will need to complete "Into the Temple (B)" to purchase the Augments.
    You can upgrade your gear just by replacing the Augments, which can be sold back to the Merchant at 75% value. At Level 85, you'll probably need to have a couple thousand of these Remnants of Tranquility to fully equip yourself, so buying them on the Bazaar will be easier.

    Since TBM is the 22nd Expansion (between The Darkened Sea and Empires of Kunark), all gear is on par or better then previous Tier 1 group armor. (when they're fully Aug'ed)

    Also, if you have high level friends (and you're All Access) you can start the J5 Merc quest from Level 75ish. (the last part, you'll need a raid or a couple 100+ to complete)

    Defiant gear is... well good up until around Level 70.
    At level 71, if you can get a hold of "Glowing Othni", then that'll take you to 75-76ish when you can start the TBM progression and get your hands on TBM Gear and Augs. TBM gear by swapping the Augments can take you upto around 100-105.
    Quatr and Pirlo like this.
  10. Gnomeland Augur

    Game doesn't get harder at 85, mercenaries just get worse. Especially tanks, since they don't get that defense skill that players start to get from 85 on.

    Actual player tanks have no issues above 85.

    You want to molo past 85? Select a class that doesn't depend on mercenary tanks. Not that you can't get to 110 with a mercenary tank but it will require playing a priest class and fighting content one expansion behind at ALL times and it will still be slow.
  11. Gnomeland Augur


    Playing on Test is completely different from playing on Live, the experience isn't similar at all.

    1. On Test, you can and should box. There is no reason not to.

    2. On Test, you can buy top level equipment for 1 copper. Just ask on General and beg for a hand out, test copy is free so everyone has maximum dropped equipment.

    3. On Test, there is no money farming because everyone has infinite money; so there is no player bought equipment path from 80 to 105 as there are in other servers. Instead, there is free equipment which you can buy for 1 copper or beg for, but expect to beg since most people don't even bother to sell.
  12. moogs Augur

    Mercenaries get all of their upgrades every 5 levels. Yours will be noticeably stronger at levels 81, 86, 91 and so on but still relatively weak.
  13. bigpapa Augur

    tank merc............... and depend what class you are playing.?

    some class are very gear dependant , if you are playing a melee dps , you can't heal your tank merc and yourself.
    if you are a healer you might have to chain cast heals to keep the tank merc alive.

    if you can play with friends or don't have problem to get group it's the best . if not you might want a true solo class , or a class who can handle the mobs at 85 + . ( can be from root / dot ect,wiz..shm...druid,..necro..,bst, mage , and some more class ). real tank are very gear dependant , having to gear yourself with good armors might be difficult if you are not boxing or having friends / guildies to help you ...

    that's why many are playing a mage , they not very gear dependant ( beside one decent ~ good earring with EM pet focus ), and very good to box if you going that route ( you get dps,tanking and pulling ( coh ) covered.).

    TBM gears ( 75 + ) help a lot if you can have some renmant of tranquility for the tbm gears.

    * what server are you playing? if in FV I can help you for the remnant part .
  14. Bailen Augur

    Thanks for the advice. I am playing melee characters. I have a Paladin, Ranger, and Bard in their 80s.
    Seems difficult to upgrade them because I won't be able to molo the content needed to get upgrades.

    I do have a 75 shaman and 72 beast lord. Maybe I'll go back to the shaman. As you've pointed out, not as gear dependent.
  15. spiderbutter New Member

    I play test server for this very reason three box crew will make your encounters pretty simple. I would suggest make a mage because the pet can tank name mobs at 110 as an example. The secret is just have more dps than the mob and you win. Sure you can solo but it will be slow and painful doing it.
  16. Alekzandre Augur

    Do the Heroes Journey, you will be awarded armor, weapons, pet focus, etc, that will allow you to go fight in HoT and get the next level of armor there. See Achievement: Herald of Oceangreen Hills, and "Paragon's" Armor (that is the name of the armor) such as "Paragon's Leather Bracer". There is a whole quest line in Seeds of Destruction that is fun to do and rewarding. Defiant is no good to you now. You will need to be All Access (for a time anyway) on your main.

    You can also do the HA's (Heroic Adventures) and get armor there, depending on the class, and group availability, starting at 75.
  17. Ghazghul Journeyman

    Did you do the Merc upgrade task or just using the one provided?
  18. Parkers Journeyman

    Yeah you need to get the J5 Mercenary, and spend some of those mercenary AA.
  19. Agoraphobic New Member

    Any 2-box with at least one gold account should make the game easy. Drag a silver account bard around afk with melody on your bst. You won't need upgrades as badly. Mobs will die and you will level fast enough that you'll be content with your gear. The Paragon's stuff is good, and you'll also have gear from HAs done either 2-box or, better, with new EQ friends you meet on your adventures. Buy cheap weapon and pet focus upgrades on bazaar or with HA currency.
  20. bigpapa Augur

    I would say at least one gold account---------------->> the one who will be tanking the mobs , you need one to be able to , and being prestige is almost needed for FTP real tank , a mage as example after you get all aa's on defensive for pet and decent EM earring , it could stay longer without having to get more aa's ( sub ).

    btw , if playing in firiona vie , you will level 50 % faster ( permanent 50 % xp going there , the added bonus we had lately just adding ( stack ) for even faster leveling .

    and when being higher level , you could start to get decent augments and all and be able to sell that in bazaar for a good amount of plats, and be able to buy a krono and there from players ...collectibles , spells ,armors are some of the things you can sell there as well and the list go on.

    only downside I can see from playing in FV.you can't server transfer once there.but I play in another server as well since 1999 and if I had to choose only one server to play at it would be Fv all the way.

    the elvish being the common language there is not an issue at all, just get one point into elvis and spam your merc for 5 to 10 in to max it at 100.

    ,there are more players playing in FV than other live server , and several guild looking for more , one top 5 ~ 10 high end guild , and several more who are raiding as well , and with all the players there I would not be surprised to see more raiding guild there in the future.