Advice from others with limited time

Discussion in 'The Newbie Zone' started by FL!P, Feb 14, 2023.

  1. FL!P Augur

    Hey guys, I have been playing EQ since 2000. I absolutely love the game and want to play, I just have no idea how to play. It is one of the only mmos that truly captures alot of what I like in a game. But seems hard in my life to carve out much time. My life recently got pretty busy, and i find it hard to get online for extended periods of time, def hard to commit to raid nights because something always seems to happen, or by the time i get home from worked im just to smoked to care to log in.

    That said how do you guys with limited play time play? I love the relaxing feeling of EQ and mostly the nostalgia. I tried 3 boxing and it just burns me out, I absolutely hated it. The only way I really enjoy the game is just playing one character, but im always solo so I hate having to rely on others for buffs / ports lol. I do not mind grouping and very much enjoy it, but the time it takes to usually find one and get there eats at alot of my time. Also once you get up in levels its hard to accomplish much with a 30 minute to hour long grind session here and there it feels.

    The focus of progression with EQ seems to be raids though, which is something I just really cant do. The game is fun when i am by myself piddling, but when I have to sync up with 30-40 other people in a 4 hour window it becomes rather frustrating. Most people here feels like they have no life, so they enjoy the fellowship and taking there time and dragging out events. (not an insult). Where I have a busy life, and am not here for the social aspect, but rather purely progression.

    So does anyone have any advice on just trying to enjoy the game without committing to a big guild and trying to stress out over making multiple raid nights to see anything? How much can one accomplish in this game solo now? Sorry for the rambling it is still early
  2. Derka Power Ranger

    Are you trying to play on a Live server or TLP? If it's a live server you can pretty much go through the game without raiding at all and still be a successful player maxed out in group gear. If you are trying to play on a fast paced TLP where it's easy to fall behind from time constraints and you need to raid then that will be a problem.
    I play on live and due to having children now, my playtime ranges from an hour or two before work to an hour or two before bed. Some nights I am able to catch the last hour or two of raids. Find people on your same schedule to group and make friends. Mercs allow you to kill things by yourself but you will need to coordinate groups every now and then for missions.
    Again it really comes down to server preference, Live is more laid back and TLP has a higher playtime demand
    Xianzu_Monk_Tunare likes this.
  3. kookoo Augur

    well what class are you playing and server?

    IMO for those with limited time to play firiona vie is probably the best one, since you got a permanent 50% xp bonus who stack with all other xp bonus we can have.

    since most items can be traded , you can have help there too if needed.
    some * big * guild can accept you without having to raid., and being in a big guild, you could have more chance to get groups, even if it is only to burn LOTD , they usually check with their guild before going at the general chat to get more.
  4. CatsPaws No response to your post cause your on ignore

    I enjoy this game 100 times more since I stopped raiding. No stress, no limits as to what, who, where and when I want.

    After all why do you want to raid? The armor? Yes, you need it to raid but you don't really need it for the rest of the game. It would be nice but there is plenty of other good armor out there.

    You said you burned out 3 boxing but I would suggest just 2 boxing. You won't burn out with the right set up and with the merc's added then you have a nice group.

    Some 30 minute ideas:

    Do the daily hot zone from teek up to level 95 - its only kill 5 mobs and if its nearby then can be done in 30.

    If your into tradeskills then look up one or two recipes and in one session you gather all the mats. Next session you make it all.

    Have a quest? Check it out online so you know the steps and can get thru it faster. If you can only get half of it done then finish next time

    I was in the same boat as you a few years ago and started making alt accounts to make my own buff characters. So I felt Enchanter was good to start with for the speed, mind candy and some other things. So made the enchanter on a free account and that worked really well. Then I wanted Brell's all the time - bang another free account! Then it was Shaman. Then it was a rogue to run around and find collects.

    Bottom line is while I have many accounts, some of them are just buff bots that I only log in so they can buff my main. I no longer wait around in guild lobby for buffs. Just log in which I want and go on my way.

    Edit: and don't forget Overseer. Just set it up when you log in and you can get exp, collectables, tradeskill matts etc

    Enjoy the game your way cause we are in their world now.
    Xianzu_Monk_Tunare likes this.
  5. Alnitak Augur

    Playing a single character on a live server may get quite frustrating. At higher levels it's very hard to progress without a help. Two practical choices: join a large casual guild and get help in your "choke-points", or box.
    You do not need to agressively box a trio. Just another character boxed is a massive help. Say, box a bard,, one of the easiest to box, it delivers a massive help by just being there playing the tunes and auto-attacking. No need to constantly and actively play it and it will still deliver 80-90% of its capability.

    Mecrenaries are very viable helpers up to the very top-end of the game (basically - up to the current expansion). Some are even decent in the current game (after gearing them up and developing mercenary AA's). So, if you box you get 2 mercenaries to help you, a basic tank-healer pair is already a force in itself. Also, healer mercenaries are actual clerics and buff the group with all current-level long-term cleric buffs.

    That would lead to the only practical choice you have to make - what class to play as your main. Pet classes have an advatage of commanding an extra real tank (pets are capable tanks when taken care of). Beastlord has an advantage of being a shaman hybrid and brings to the table about 90% of shaman buffs + its own extras (mana regen and atk buffs, also group melee adps covering mercs and pets). Mage is awesome these days, has massively higher range dps (comparing to the beastlord), pet gear and damage shield. And Call of the Hero is actually a class-defining spell. Necromancers are individuals by nature. All 3 classes have really capable pets.

    Or you may want to play a plated tank (use melee dps mercenary in such case instead of a tank), but you'll have to bum buffs from others at hgher levels.
    Or play a priest (shaman, druid, cleric) and send merceraries to fight for you.
    Pure dps/support classes are harder to play solo/duo as a pair healer-tank mercenaries start struggling at higher levels.

    Whatever classes you pick - you can progress on your own in levels. Even in a short playtime (say under 1 hr in a day) you can do well: ask for a daily quest from Franklin Teek in Plane of Knowledge (he is near entrance to the Guild Lobby). A task is to kill 5 particular type of mobs in some specific zone, which is a Hot Zone of the month. The tasks go up every 5 levels up to lvl 95.
    So, you get the task, travel to the designated zone, and kill 5 specified mobs. Franklin will reward you with about 16% of the level experience and a piece of a very nice gear for the level (back, shoulder,belt only). That zone has a bonus experience for killing mobs (hence - Hot Zone).You can pick a camp in that zone and run a Lesson of the Devoted for 30 mins killing mobs for double experience + HotZone extra boost.
    Also, do the Overseer quests once you are done with Lesson. It will earn you 8-12% of the level in addition (do it twice daily with 12-hr quests, or once daily with 24hr quests).

    This way you can regularly earn 25-35% of the level daily with under 1 hr play time.
    This approach slown down at lvl 95, but by then you will already know what and how you want to do in EQ.
  6. Tatanka Joe Schmo

    Some ideas:

    If definite on just playing one char, make it a SK, MAG, or BST. Possibly necro. Those are the easiest classes to go it alone.

    You mentioned boxing is too much. I second the recommendation above to try just two boxing. One definite recommendation for 2-boxing is to roll a bard. With the melody command, you can box a bard and give it absolutely minimal attention while you play the main. As time goes on, try giving more attention to the bard. Eventually, you may feel like you could add a third char, give that char the attention you were giving the bard, and put the bard back on minimal attention mode.

    You also mentioned not liking soloing, cause you have to beg for buffs and ports. There's an easy solution to that.... have a porter and some buffers on other account(s). This is not boxing, there's no grouping and co-ordinating required. And the extra account(s) can be F2P, so there's no extra cost. Also, starting with the 111-115 spells, the long lasting group buffs no longer have ranks, so your F2P buffbie will cast haste, crack, or focus at the same strength as an elite raider :)

    I agree with the recommendation above to skip raiding. You either have to have a lot of time, or a very regimented schedule to be able to do that. Your approach sounds a lot like mine. Some days, no time to play, some days just enough to pop on and do Overseer and check the trader. Most days I do play, it's for an hour, definitely less than two, so spending time looking for a group is just a waste of my gaming time.
  7. Fanra https://everquest.fanra.info

    EQ is more of a social game than anything else. Sure, there are those that play by themselves but the whole point is to play with others.

    The best experience, for me, is playing with my fellowship/guild. There are plenty of guilds, mine included, that have both raiding and non-raiding members.

    That said:
    While you do require others for many buffs (although the guild lobby often has people mass group buff), you can create a guild with just one character and use the guild portal to port to all the destinations it offers.
  8. FL!P Augur

    Man there is some solid information in here I never knew about. I will probably go back to live, I cannot keep up with the TLPs anymore. I have characters on bristlebane so I will probably return there. Thanks for all the input guys, I will probably still just run one character. Mainly because I do not feel like paying for 2 subscriptions, (to have access to AAs and spells). I will just make something that solos decent and see how far I make it.
    CatsPaws and Fanra like this.
  9. CatsPaws No response to your post cause your on ignore

    Another note on paying for accounts. All my buffers are on free accounts. They don't need a lot of AA and on many spells there is not that much difference between base and rank II. You can buy a Rank increase in marketplace that works for free accounts but I never have since I am ok with the basic spells.

    All these buffer accounts I have are a step up from when I worked with no buffs at all. Yes, you too can play the game buff less! Kinda like in the buff and just as rough.

    Solo what you like to play. Mine is Ranger, others prefer and say Necro are tops.

    Also if you just want the ports in the guild hall and don't want to make your own guild there is an in game guild on each server. It has no officers and no raiding etc but allows you access to the guild hall on the right in the lobby so you can use the port feature.
    Its called Guilds & The Guild Lobby

    If you chose to use a tank merc then buy lots of these with your loyalty points, overseer currency or in marketplace. They allow you to rez yourself or even others any time, any place. 96% Token of Resurrection
    Fanra likes this.
  10. Annastasya Augur

    Lots of good advice here. Everquest is a game that essentially demands some minimum amount of time and energy, and lots of people in your situation simply cannot commit to any of that.

    Learn to love the low level game and enjoy your favorite pre-level 80ish zones and content. There's nothing wrong with that. Simply put, if you cannot find, for example, 20 hours a week to dedicate to the game, you are very unlikely to come even close to maximizing your character's gear/stats/clickies/special abilities etc.
  11. kookoo Augur

    i got several toon that i only use one kronos per year just to keep up with some usefull aa's ,
    you could try FV , and many can get enough plats there to buy kronos from others players , from selling group stuffs , or collectibles , tradeskill items , ect,

    prices are high in FV but you can turn that to your advantage , specially at higher levels.

    you could try a mage who got dps, tanking and pulling (with COH , if grouped with at least another toon ) covered, and mage are easy to box.

    anyway good luck and have fun playing EQ :)
    Xianzu_Monk_Tunare likes this.
  12. FL!P Augur

    Yea Anna, you are correct. The game sadly requires a great deal of time. But i am also fine with doing content out of era. I just want to chill and see the game without making it a work schedule. I love grouping with actual groups of people, but even with grouping these days 90% of the time its someone watching netflix half afk making no conversation at all. They def not gonna do any pulling. Feels no diff than a merc at that point.
  13. Flatchy Court Jester

    If you refuse to box your gonna have to hook up with someone who does then if you go live server. I really only play sat and sun morning anymore for about 3 hours each day. I 3 box and have one friend I group with. The group game is no problem. The heroic missions are another matter. Some people can do them. Well I think any group can do When One Door Closes, mission as long as you are a decent grouper.

    I sometimes play after work for a couple hours by myself, 3 characters and 3 mercs. Nameds are not a problem. Most of my merc and partisan I did just like that. I know you said you do not want to box but I said that at one time too, now playing one character to me is boring.
  14. empyror New Member

    I came back to the game after about a decade's absence. I spent accumulated daybreak cash to get my old toon up to 100... and then realized I have no idea how to play a level 100 toon, nor, honestly, EQ in general. So I started up an alt and went through the tutorial. Then I looked over at the TLPs and decided to go give that a try. This was just after Xmas 2022, and I have now a whole server of alts, one level 31, one 25, one 21, and the others 20. Turns out I'm really enjoying trying out different class/race combinations. I'm going to keep doing that (I've already deleted several) until I get that out of my system, then we'll see.
    Will I go back to Xenogy and my old main, or maybe one of the several 70+ alts there? Will I decide to stick to one of the new guys and level up? I don't know. But I do know I'm not going to be raiding, which is a little sad, but not very. One of the reasons I left the game was that it took too much time to stay up at the top end. Now, I'm happy just exploring, and there are literally decades of content if you aren't stuck at seeing just the bleeding edge new hotness.
    The thing is, though, I'll likely stick with a TLP, because there are as far as I can see very few folks playing the low end game on live servers, and that means there's very little of the bazaar game, not to mention, you might as well forget the bazaar game as defiant gear will always beat that. But on a TLP folks are still interested in all that old world gear, I've had drops I could use, other drops I could sell, and on the very modest income from that, could buy gear I could use.
    I think it comes down to what you want from the game.
  15. Relyn Lorekeeper

    You don't have to box, just need to pick the right class to molo. I got my necro to like 113 before I stopped playing for a bit on FV. Could have been 120 from just overseer if I bothered to log in, lol.

    People say there are groups around those levels, but I never really saw anyone else around tbh. Of course I wasn't looking to group. Just doing what I wanted and leveling up slowly but surely.

    I also didn't really find the leveling that slow until around 110 either. After might have been ok, but I prefer to just grind away. I find it soothing. :)

    Oh, and experiencing eras I haven't before was fun. Some of them were really good. Also, I was glad to experience some way later without having to jump through all the hoops. Might have to try a TLP to experience them with other people at some point, hehe.
  16. kookoo Augur

    everytime i log in ( in FV ) i can see here and there lower players LFG , this morning in a 2 hours session , i have seen a level 15 shaman and a level 60 cleric lfg, no clue if they have find a group or not tho,, lfg still exist , not much, but it is,, now logging at same time ( or around same level ) as others lfg is another thing.
    btw in FV there are several chat channels =, newplayers / general / general 1 ,/ general 2
    when one is maxed at 400 , you can try to get in the others
  17. Loup Garou De loop de loop

    Speaking of chat channels keep in mind that the biggest base of new players are on free accounts.

    Free accounts do not have access to General Chat.

    Ergo make sure your lfg in newplayers chat channel also.
  18. Tatanka Joe Schmo

    Of all the limitations applied to F2P accounts, that's the one I don't get at all.
  19. Loup Garou De loop de loop

    I think because it makes a huge reason to get new players to subscribe since that is one of the "benefits" mentioned on the hype.

    A rumor I heard was that it was made that way to deter Krono sellers etc from making new accounts and spamming General Chat.

    I have noticed that even my subscribed level 1 characters can stay in newplayers chat until they hit level 21 (?) and then they are booted out and if I want them still in it then I have to /join newplayers. But the Free accounts don't get booted.
  20. FL!P Augur

    So you guys that are running 3 box setups.
    1. Do you only keep 1 account gold status and the other two free silver accounts?
    2. What 3 box setups are you running? any particular reason why? (did you pick one because it favors a play style or limited time for ex.)
    3. What 3 box setup requires the least amount of attention / apms? ( with a newborn I am always having to step away, I do not mean to come off lazy.)