I haven't "really" played EQ for quite some time. I cut my teeth in the Kunark days of the game and played off and on through PoP. I'm thinking of returning but it seems like the culture of the game has changed considerably. My main was a magician and the few times I've come back to the game I managed to level him to about level 90. Reading the forums and my limited experience returning to the game makes me think the game is no longer accessible for a single-box player who is nowhere near max level. I tried making some F2P accounts last time I came back to support my main (P2P) but I eventually lost interest in the grind because I wasn't as attached to these secondary characters as to my main. No game has ever been as satisfying to me as EQ but if feels like my time away has made it all but impossible to play again without dropping $60-$90 a month 4 or 6 boxing (my wife would kill me). Am I wrong? Can a casual, single-box player currently at level 90 really enjoy the game in its current state?
Well, what do you want to do? Raid, quest, group etc? You could do this: if you subscribe right now for one month then the account you subscribe with will get a free level 85 Heroic character so if you make a new account and claim the heroic then you will have your second box much closer in level to your mage. You could even make a second mage (people do!)I think that free heroic is good till May 10? But don't do it on your mage account cause then you can't box. Don't forget to cancel if you don't want the wife to know. Or keep it paid, its only $14 a month. You could even alternate the two characters so you can auto grant both. Not sure where you are spending $60 or $90 a month? I started boxing with 1 (ONE) paid account with a F2P. Went very far in the game just doing my own thing, quests, kill 5 dailys, some HA etc, am up to level 109 now. I take it at my own pace, no raiding and seldom group. Yes I used the lower merc on the F2P account but it worked for me. Eventually I added another F2P and another F2P etc.
Thanks for the response. I was never really into raiding and my schedule doesn't really allow for strict adherence to raiding schedules. I like to quest, group, and explore content. I really appreciate the tip about the heroic character. I'm wondering if I should roll a tank for the Heroic character? Are mage pets suitable tanks at the higher levels? The $60-$90 a month was assuming P2P for 4-6 accounts. Are F2P accounts for boxing going to be enough support to get me caught up to a level where groups are easier to come by? I realize they probably won't get me to endgame but if I can play content relevant to my level I'll be happy.
Mages with their pets are very very powerful, according to many on these forums, but I have never played one past level 50 ish. You can get far in the game with mercs depending on your playstyle. I am in no hurry and don't pull tons of mobs at once so I got up into the mid 90's with my J5 healer merc just doing daily kill 5 or quests or collections. Paid account #1. Then I liked the idea of an enchanter so I started boxing with a F2P account and an A2 tank merc. We were doing very good but it took a while to get very far. So I made a pally, again free with a caster merc. So now I am 3 boxing and its working pretty good, not taking all day to clear an area or finish an HA. I later tried an SK and am now using a shaman but all of these are F2P and all use caster mercs. I call them by back up singers Then one day I got a bug and went paid on my enchanter account and got her the J5 tank. Paid account #2. Huge difference. So I say if you can pay for 2 accounts and get a J5 tank and J5 healer you should be good for quite a while. Others will say mercs are the devil and you will never get far. But far to them is endgame, they also are hardcore raiders usually. Kinda look down their noses lol Now I am going to wipe all that out and say with a mage you may not need any of this! Mage pets are powerful. Check out the class forums and see what others have to say on their mages.
real tank when knowing what they doing and decently equipped ( armors and augm and aa's ) should do better than mage / bst pets . problem with free to play tank is they can't wear prestige gears and augments .and need lot of aa's to be good at tanking . as free to play i would play a mage , there are decent EM ( enhanced minion ) non prestige earring , who would be good enough imo. i would add a shaman with a mage if duo, not only your pet will always have shm buffs ( who include hp ,avoidance and str to the pet ), but you would have 2 overtime heal at higher level.and shm aura work on all pets and summoned pets ( haste + hp ) , and aa slow , and good at recovering mana ( via cannibalise ). with a mage you have dps . tanking and pulling ( via coh ) covered. what server are you playing?
The ideal box is 3-box. 3 toons and 3 mercs makes for a full group. It is only a select few people who are going to want to box more than 3, as the returns for the 4th character are usually not offset by the workload and RL $$ cost as compared to a merc. 6-boxing is done, but by those who enjoy doing it, not by those making a stop gap for a real group. I 3-box and regularly swap out mercs (and boxes) for people. 3-boxing is ideal for me, because I can survive current content while being very efficient in old content. Since 3-boxing works with a 3-month sub, plan on your actual sub being $39 a month if you space the rolling subs out. You do not need to sub all 3 accounts however. Remember this about boxing. No merc can slow, root, snare, stun, mez, port, evac or summon corpse. But a FTP shaman can slow just as well as a P2P shaman. You then need to set your goal for your 3 accounts. 1) Is it your primary goal to multi-box to support your main? or 2) Is it your primary goal to multi-box because you want to multi-box? If you answer is #2, then your tank should always be your subbed character. A strong tank will carry a group more than any other combination of FTP/P2P characters. You need that tank to be able to use prestige armor and augs to be properly effective. The other characters are fine FTP, although you might want to eat some krono or rotate some subs to get some AA later on. If your answer was number 1, then pick your main and make your group around supporting the main. Say you are going to play a ranger... use a merc tank on the paid account and 2 cleric mercs on the free accounts. Box a mage to CoH/tank and a shaman to slow and patch heal. Other options work, but this is an example of a good box to support a ranger. If you sub 2, sub the mage, get a good earring and pet tank AA. Switch to a J5 cleric merc and 2 wizard mercs. FTP characters with Apprentice mercs can do just fine keeping the XP bar moving while you LFG, but 2-3 paid subs in a 3-box 3 merc group is excellent for all occasions. As I said, I 3-box. I am in the #1 group in that my box supports my main and my goal is to group or get old ach done by myself. I main ENC and added a cleric years ago because I regularly played with a tank friend. When I came back playing again, I rolled my 1st 3-box, a mage. The mage pets tanks for me on auto-pilot like a merc. I get a good DPS boost in having the toon at all, plus the merc, but also because mages compliment enchanters well. Also the mage is a DPS class, so I can very easily find a real tank to play with, keeping the XP bar rolling on all 3 toons, while having a backup tank (mage pet) if things go sideways. Once you have the AA, the only thing affected by prestige gear for a mage tank is the pet focus, which is acceptable even in current content, except against some named.
I almost have to say no. This is specific to the way you need to level in that range. It is almost all about doing quests like Gribble that only reward you if complete the tasks before a timer runs out. I find the Gribble quests nearly impossible to do with a single character. A puller with some kind of Calm like an Enchanter or Druid may be able to wade through them, but you often end up with 3 pulls and a single character will not have the horsepower to handle that. *BUT* for a lot of the stuff I like, not a problem. I enjoy doing old world quests and with a level 90 Magician you will be a god there. I mean you just get a summon a pet and have a healer merc to take on most zones. At 90 you can group with any character up to the level limit so don't be afraid to ask for help on tough tasks.
You don't actually have to box at all to enjoy the game. Join a leveling guild and make friends, it actually works! There are a few requirements though: you must be sociable, you will have to ask for help sometimes, and will have to help others. and not only rely on yourself. And it will be slow, you can't "speedrun" a social game. Don't count on a small closed circle of friends to be there for you all the time, search wide and keep expanding your social network Eventually, groups will come to you...
Yes! Absolutely! Many box, for a variety of reasons. I box because I MUST be able to AFK at any given moment. This does not lend itself well to socializing. So I box my team. If I wipe, no worries. Campfire back and rez up, buff up, go again. If I suddenly AFK and my group wipes because I was AFK, that's not fair to them. So I box. You can absolutely enjoy the game and progress as a single-box casual player. But your expectations should reflect your play style.
