Just an aside to the malachite. 1) You really want focus items when they become available. I am probably one of the worse offenders at not doing this, but items like Shovel of Ponz are nice to have at lower levels. I usually just power through the lower levels. The time to quest them exceeds the benefit. You may want to ask in general chat if anyone has one they aren't using. 2) Next level are Staffs of Elemental:[water, air, fire, earth]. These are somewhat common drops or fairly easy to get for higher level characters. Worthless to someone over level 60 so depending on your server, just ask. 3) Don't bother with Magician Epic unless you are a glutton for punishment.<like myself? 4) Soon as you hit level 59 the two items that are easiest to get for focus are on a vendor in PoK for ~4,000 pp or off Mina the Witch in the Barren Coast zone. It should be easy to make the cash thumping Hill Giants or once again, just ask if someone wants to help you out. I can't recall her level but a two person team of approximately ~65 level PCs with Mercs should be able to handle her. 5) Next level of focus item is also on the PoK vendor for not much more, something like 6,000 pp. Takes you all the way to level 85 IIRC. They will have ~summoning attached to their name. If you don't want to do any of this, there is equipping your elementals with summoned items. Temporary summoned items stick with Elementals even after you log off. Two approaches I take are have a high level Magician summon items or just do it yourself with what is available. On a TLP server for example I will tailor tattered armor and hunt areas with armor drops. Unless it is going to make you rich, see if the Elemental will equip it by dropping it on them. Stuff like low end defiant only sells for a couple of pp and your Elemental will love it. If you find high level Magician that will summon equipment for you, go for low level weapons like Fist of Ixiblat. The high level stuff won't go off because it is level restricted. Certainly get the Belt of the Magi'Kot and Muzzle of Mardu. Same wag about level restriction with other items like summoned jewelry having level restrictions except if it has AC on it, it is always good. Doing everything, [focus, equipment] is better then just doing one, but if you only do one, do the equipment. I often get 4 or 5 levels on the same Elemental at lower levels. I start off buying 10 malachite on a new Magician and have a couple left over when I hit the 50s. Not uncommon for me to use the same elemental for 10 level through the judicious use of grouping and bailing out with gate spell when things get too hot. This is not the only way to play of course. Lot of people do chain summoning: You start summoning a replacement elemental while the first one is fighting a losing battle. Just before the spell finishes you click on leave or use an reclaim item to get rid of the first Elemental and a split second later your new one appears fresh as a daisy. You can tell I am a bit obsessed with the Magician class. Really fun and satisfying to run flat out. As always, name what server you are on if you wish and there will probably be someone in the forums that will give you a hand.
It is sold here and there.(Jewelry shop/etc...) It also drop from the mobs. Malachite http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=7778
The original intent was to have mage pets require progressively more expensive gems as levels increased, and in the very early days there were some that required lapis lazuli, but then they went back to malachite again. Fairly early on in EQ history the lapis lazuli ones changed to malachite also.
I should have noted the actual focus items for summoning pets are no drop, but the raw materials for the quest can be freely traded. Maybe I am remembering this wrong. I seem to recall when the game first came out you couldn't zone with a pet. I can't remember if you could even log w/o losing your pet. Doing something like hiding<DE Magician?> or going invisible would cause the pet to go by by too. Could be the Mandela effect, but at least for a couple of months griefers would cast invisibility on you to destroy your pets. I think there was even an exploit to get two pets at once. Game is MUCH better now!
Actually if you care to look, you can find my posts in ~alt.games.everquest but I have been doing online gaming/newsgroups much longer then that. Try Compuserve Like most people, I took time off to play other games which is why I only had 9.5 years at the time I took this screen shot. It is a few years old but as you can tell, I don't take Walter out much. 11 days in the last 20 years sounds about right.
