Hiya, I'm a returning player that used to be über back in like 07 (or whenever DoD was a thing). I'm aware that power creep has been mindblowing and that what is soloable now is crazy. Can a top of the line character solo Crystallos? If not, what's the minimum # you guys think are required to clear it? Thanks in advance!
Do you mean solo the raid instance or solo the group version of the zone for leveling an alt or something? To solo the raid instance, ignoring mechanics I don't know about that might require multiple people, the right class can probably solo crystallis pretty easily if they are....maybe 100 or 105? So a top of the line character would blow it away (assuming there are not events that require multiple people and you skipped those). I just did a few of the sof targets on a top of the line ranger, albeit lower tier encounters. He was slaying the raid boss in less than 30s without hitting any burns. Crystallos would take a bit longer but he'd have no issue there either, he took very little damage and could easily heal whatever damage he did take. Group zone, maybe a 95 would be enough to slaughter the zone on the appropriate class?
Something to keep in mind that Mercs are not allowed on raids. At All. The Anguish raid can be done solo but you still need 6 characters - who are anywhere and of any level - online and offline. So long as the lower level does not try to enter the zone then they count as 1 of the 6. POP raids are often solo'd by folks needing the progression. Sometimes just checking out the zones or raids in Allah or even these forums can help you decide For example The first comment in this link is from Oct 2020 https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=4528
Raid instance I meant... sorry, I didn't even think of group content :x I'm too casual to do anything worthwhile in this game anymore... I had a friend borrow my account and level'd me from 75 to 80 and I'd like to stay there as many of the things I enjoyed soloing back then still conned non-green to me like AoW, Dozekar, Grieg, Grummus etc. I was doing them with only 15k hp back in the day but my AA and gear were top of the line then. So I had a dream of staying at 80 and just getting the best gear an 80 can get to make my solo'ing fun even more substantial by taking on even harder old-school content up to, say, PoP Gods. It seems Crystallos stuff is the BiS for an 80. Thanks for the replies!
I just recently went to Crystallos to do exactly what you're trying to do for my baby bard. I am a fully TS-raid geared ToV wizard with all relevant AA, and soloed everything in fire, earth, and ice wings, and then had one other person help me for the rest of the zone. Not because I needed it necessarily, but because they wanted to get some items too. However, to do your visible gear, you'd need the prior tier's gear to get it upgraded with the items from Crystallos, and some things like Breakneck, are harder solo, so might need a little help.
Friend borrowing account... this was over a decade ago though LoL. First I'm hearing about that rule but again, I've been out of the loop for that long. @Biltine - is previous tier armor group content? Do I need flags or keys? What is Breakneck? Sorry for being so useless; I probably will never get geared due to many factors but I can dream, yes? Hah~
It's been awhile, but IIRC, you get Tier 1/2 gear from the earlier raid targets like Steam Factory and Big Bynn. Then it needs to be upgraded with Gyro Cores from MMM (Meldrath's Magnificent Mansion) raids (of which Breakneck is one), and THEN you can upgrade with the essences from Crystallos. For added fun, the Gyro Cores are only available for 2 classes, like Wiz/Berz, so you might not get the ones you need. They're all raid targets, but should be mostly soloable by a top end character.
For a level 80, I think the TBM gear (from Remnants of Tranquility) is roughly equivalent to -- or better than -- the Crystallos raid gear. Correct me if I'm wrong: I just took a really quick look. If you can drum up a little high-level help to get flagged for the TBM vendors and get some Remnants, that might be an easier way to gear up. There are guides around if you search. Of course, if this doesn't fit into your idea of fun, just ignore this. I'm just mentioning it as an option for gear.
https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=125416 If this is what you mean, then I have gear that good (at least hp/mana wise) and I haven't gotten gear in well over a decade. The Crystallos Prismatic stuff is ~800hp/mana My dream sounds like a pain... idk anyone who currently plays and I doubt a bored lvl 115 would take the time to assist me in SoF content. I'm on Nameless or whatever it's called now in case anyone is reading this and feels extra helpful haha.
I have run this raid a few times flagging some of my characters so they can buy stuff from the OMM raids, namely the rez stick. 115 monk had no issues soloing the whole instance.
I do mean that stuff. You can put in a type 9 aug to raise the hp/mana a lot. At level 80, the type 9 augs are in the neighborhood of 700 hp/mana for a total of over 1000. You can also add a type 5 aug for heroics. Here are the type 5 and 9 augs (a level 80 would use the Stalwart augs): https://tbm.eqresource.com/pohealtharmoraugvendor.php Like I said, it's just another idea. I think the TBM armor is the best option from levels 80-105. After that, you can use conflagrant.
For t3 sof armor, if you're willing to spend the plat you can change any core to the one you can use and also buy an uncored template to start right at t3 without needing the t1 or 2 piece. you do however need the t3 piece to make t4 afterwards. Sidenote you can also do t1 hot targets for lvl 80 (rec 85) gear that's about twice as good as sof t4. First floor raid should be easy but mechanics on ritual of terror are probably going to require a few people so that one might be out of reach.
I can nearly solo the entire Crystallos raid instance. I still drag my shaman along as a 2-box for cures. I forget if it's really necessary, though. It's just habit. (TBL/ToV raid geared)
The rez stick is why I tried it as well. I just have to get around to getting people together to beat the Vox MM. Bleh.
this may help illustrate what you can do with TBM gear https://www.almarsguides.com/eq/quests/TBM/GroupGear/