I have dabbled with EQ off and on for many years. I always feel drawn back to it when the current games I'm playing seem to lose their flavor. I would like to return to the game, and start from scratch and level up a character completely solo, all the way to current day content. No boxing, just solo. Is this even possible, and what classes are capable of doing this without needing a lot of game experience? Most of my experience was up to planes of power and a little after but I have almost no experience after that. I've come back and played on progression servers but I'm looking to get caught up to current day content to see what it's like. What are the current patch active healthy servers for a central time zone person would also be awesome to know. Thanks!
Short answer: No. The game today is nothing like it used to be. It used to be about grinding your way to max level and then raiding. That mentality and play style will cease to exist(in a sense) around House of Thule expansion with missions. Missions require a minimum of 3 players or 2 players and a merc to request. You get currency to purchase gear/spells and valuable AA rewards for completing them. Fast forward to Call of the Forsaken which introduces heroic adventures which are very similar. Pretty much all aspects of the game nowadays require a group do anything meaningful. I guess you could grind and kill your way to a somewhat high level but it would take a very long time after 80. It would probably not be an enjoyable experience working at such a severe disadvantage. If you have your heart set on such punishment then choose a pet class like Beastlord, Magician or Necromancer.
Up to a point you could. I normally do not run a merc till about level 70-75 on my new characters. I like playing old style but not on TLP so that is my compromise - play without a merc on live servers. Plus it allows me to really learn the class. I do a lot of the Teek kill 5 daily and there are tons of other solo quests that will give you good exp in every zone. I have done this with shaman, palladin, enchanter, ranger, sk and wiz. The ranger was the easiest.
It's possible to play EQ solo, it just sucks. The game has always been about grouping and the mechanics are set up for grouping both with strongly defined class roles (tank, dps, healer, cc) and with massive amounts of synergy between classes. Find some buddies to play with regularly or box and it can be a lot of fun.
It is very doable. As others have pointed out, it will be quite a long grind. You won't be able to solo some content (like group missions) unless you go back and complete it when you reach higher levels. You will probably want to group with people some of the time. You can certainly solo very well with a mage, necro, or beastlord. A ranger will also work, although it will be even more of a grind. Enchanter is a great solo class that requires a great deal of skill. Pick a class and jump into the tutorial. Get a tank merc as soon as you can -- at low levels, they kick butt and take names. A tank merc will work great for any class up to level 60 or so. EQ is all about having fun playing in the style that is fun for you.
For what it is worth, my 2CP's There is Solo and there is Molo. Molo is you and a Merc. Healer Merc Gives Cleric Buff's, heals and fights and rez(do they still?) In the End Shadow Knight if your into Melee, then there are Mage, Necromancer and Beast Lord if your into Pets. Second Level, Rangers get very playable once they get Endless Quiver and the damage bonus's. There really, my opinion, is no reason to not employee Merc's. They do not really cost anything until around level 15(?) and then it is coppers per 15 minutes. PoK has all the different Merc's just do a find and select the Mercenary type you want. They present a drop down, If your all access you want the Journeyman group other wise Apprentice. Be aware some Merc's offer Monster types as mercs as well as their race type. If you use merc's then be aware you can right click yourself and your merc to set "Roles" I generally set myself as main assist and "Tank" merc's as Main Tank. Me vs Red's (Healer or Tank) Me vs Yellow to white (DPS Caster or DPS Melee) Me vs Dark Blue and below (Mostly DPS Caster) You can Molo/Solo EQ with little problems those who say no are not accepting that TIME SPENT is the factor. My take since, we Veeshan (that shard no longer exist BOO EQ) beat the original EQ (pre Kunark) is simple. I pay for EQ to pass time and be entertained. As such I have NO desire to rush to 115 in 15 minutes. Why do that and then get bored as hell. So I am in no rush.
Short Answer: YES Don't EVER let ANYONE tell you how to "enjoy" EQ, or blindly accept a definition of what is "Meaningful" about playing EQ. (if you played anywhere from 1999-2004 you'd know that EQ was NOT a game to only grind to max level to raid, that's WoW type thinking. It's about THE JOURNEY and whatever YOU choose to make of it.) Their are a lot of people in the current Live game that were not part of the original EQ experience (even though they claim to be) and simply apply what WoW taught them about MMO's to EQ. They are so used to being on rails that anything outside of their vision of playing the game means it is not enjoyable, efficient, practical....or whatever... Nowhere in your OP did you ask what is fun or anything like that, you asked, "...if it was POSSIBLE"...you already know what you want and have made a decision on how you want to play that is fun for you, you just want to know if it can be done. YES, it absolutely can be done. But just like in the EQ of old, if you are going to play mostly solo you need to be comfortable with the knowledge that most raid quality gear will be out of reach and even some tier 2(T2) level group gear, as well as the fact that it will be a very "grindy" way of playing.It will also, as you know, limit the class choices you will have...just not as severely as it did back in the old days since we have merc's now. (again, old EQ players already know this, as I'm sure you do. This dynamic has not changed very much.) List of facts for people wanting to consider for a solo style of play in today's EQ: 1. Druids, in lev. 85+, have mana regen issues that create more downtime while solo than you may be used to from the old days. 2. MAPS are a BIG help, but a hassle because you need to download them from 3rd party sites and install them. Not hard, just a hassle. 3. If you sub with a payment plan, not use Krono, for game-time you will get 500dbc a month to spend in the store. Each month a "special offer" with a time limit will pop up once you confirm a claim on the virtual money(hitting a green button) ONLY ONCE and if closed is gone until the next month. If you buy the prize packs it can pay off in a big way on the bazzar. The prizes are tradeable and is the only source of some unique mounts, illusions, and clickies from expansions past. These prizes can go for as much as 2mil plat each, depending on the item, on the bazzar. People will pay...they will pay, trust me. 4. Inflation is crazy bad, but can be worked with once you adjust your thinking. It might take some time to get a feel for the cost of things. 5. Rank1 spells/abilities are ALWAYS able to be bought from NPC's for all classes, even the INT casters. The Library in POK will have all spells up to lev 90 I think available to be bought with plat, not some special currency. After this, you will need to find the spell vendor NPC for that particular xpac that is usually in the first zone of that xpac and able to be found easily using the "find" button. 6. For solo play, or molo play (solo with merc), Mages, Necros, and Beastlords are generally the easiest to play for most people, IMO. Pet's can tank most trash mobs, and even t1 named mobs, with far less gear and effort than any tank, hybrid, or melee class. (although this can vary depending on the xpac, see #7) 7. Some xpacs are meant for "raiders" or "groupers" and leave the solo players out in the cold. When you hit one of these xpac levels most solo players will simply stay on the zones an xpac or 2 behind what is current.The xp will still come, but just slower. As you out-level that content, though, the more difficult mobs will be easier to kill and you will be able to upgrade holes in your gear you may have. 8. CHASELOOT...many players curse this idea, but it is a mechanic that at least gives "hope" to solo players to suddenly get a piece of raid quality gear they would normally not be able to get. It is tradeable and UBER expensive if you want to buy. So expensive, in fact, it is almost a currency all on it's own for some players. Hyper-rare to get as a drop from a mob, and silly expensive to buy from another player.The older the xpac, they more rare the drop IMO. For example, when EOK came out I used to get, on average, 1 chaseloot to drop while moloing a month. It got more rare when RoS was released, and I didn't see 1 single drop in EOK during ALL of the TBL xpac's lifetime. (usually costing Krono, google Everquest Krono to find out what that is) More tips, for sure, exist and I'm sure others will add. YES, you can solo to max level in EQ if you enjoy grinding mobs and being a little creative. Lowering expectations of loot and overall power-level of character is a need to understand with that.
I'd go beastlord for this challenge, you might even be able to do some limited gear farming at cap with a healer merc
While motivational, what you said sounds not very fun. That is my personal opinion though and if you choose to play with restrictions so be it. I have seen far too many people quit over the years because they are restricted to trying to solo/molo only or having to play only classes that can. Every now and then you need to peel off the rose-colored glasses and have realistic expectations which I provided to the OP. You're allowed to buy a Ferrari and only drive it in the city going 35mph while other people would take that thing out and open it up to 200mph, again your personal preference. I appreciate the shots over my bow though, I did play back in the day and watched people level up to 50-60 then reroll an alt because the game got too challenging after a certain point when it started requiring groups to achieve your desires. I am guilty of having a case of Altitis in the past.
I appreciate the shots over my bow though, I did play back in the day and watched people level up to 50-60 then reroll an alt because the game got too challenging after a certain point when it started requiring groups to achieve your desires. I am guilty of having a case of Altitis in the past. I should apologize if you felt some comments were directed exclusively at you, because it was more of a general topic overall I have feelings about. You served as a "reminder", but I was not going to direct them at you personally.(didn't quote you) No worries You play your way. I'll play my way. They'll play their way...takes all kinds to make the skeleton giggle;>
Tried to quote you, but it didn't take...edit didn't show up, probably some browser settings getting in the way... confused?....yea, me 2
Suck it up. I've soloed/moloed a Paladin to 109 One day, I may even be max level on a evel cap increase Still a few AAs to get before jumping to 110. Hoping that avoids the XP nerf referenced in other threads.
I don't think there is an XP nerf. It seems like 111-115 are just long levels. So jumping to 110 shouldn't affect your AA rate. It may even speed it up if you gain some good spells at 110. Of course, you should do whatever you find fun -- that's kind of the whole point of this thread.
Need to find a good (bot) group to leach off of, since I have something like 24 hours of those group experience goblets Of course they are no trade.
What sounds fun to someone else might not sound fun to you, or vice versa. There are tons of people to whom raiding does not sound fun. Yet there are an equal number of people who love it. I've mostly solo'd a monk from back in the day to now. Have occasional groups and times in the 70s when I got more groups, but I've by far solo'd and molo'd more than grouped and have had plenty of fun. There is plenty to do that is fun solo.
