Hey guys, Decided to take a break from Destiny and come back to EQ for a little. I was obsessed with this game when I was younger. Was just curious as to should I start from Level 1 again and grind it out or just spend the $35 for a level 85 Character? I'm def going Shadow Knight with my first character due to playing that as my main last time. Any advice or tips would be great too! Thanks!
The only problem with buying a Heroic Character if you havent played in a while is that you will be completely clueless about all the AA abilities and hotkeys. Knowing which zones to go to, how to get to them, how to obtain them and do Dailys and HAs. Also the heroic gear they start you with is ok but not great so you will immediately be looking to upgrade from the bazaar. Then there are all the AUGs you need to get. I mean its doable but the learning curve would be steep. My recommedation is play a few entry level characters until you find the one you want then if you have an old account you will have access to /veteran and /claim rewards burn those on the main one you want. ( /claim has a ton of freebie stuff, exp pots, bags, mounts, etc ) /veteran flags that char and allows you to have lesson. A short term double xp buff that you can use once daily. Anyway, long story short I would find a char you like and level it from the beginning. Do the heroic adventure quest line or whatever it is called. Go full Access to get access to the Tier I tank merc and auto-grant AAs. Combination of these will take you to level 70ish in no time and let you get familiar with the game again by the time you are 85 you should have a decent feel for your class. Lastly, pick a server that is well suited for guilds that recruit new and returning players. You can always transfer later if you want to. It is essential you find a guild to help you go from 80+ as mercs decrease in value and you will need help completing quests, HAs and getting better gear.
Welcome back. I'd recommend starting at level 1 and go from there. The game has changed so much since then you'll be basically starting from scratch. The number of people that have done something similar to what you're asking is fairly high both on various boards and in game. While some aspects are the same from 2003 many things have changed to the point of if you start at level 85 you'll be lost. There's a great tutorial followed by some pretty straightforward progression through the hero's journey. The sk boards still have a lot of information but sometime in the next week or three it'll migrate to a new host. I'd recommend heading to www.evilgamer.net to read what you can.
I will say a few more things: - Pick a server that has a deep bazaar with lots of gear for sale - Think about the FV server then think again. Once you are on that server you are stuck on it forever. It has some pluses and some minuses. - Vox server is newbie friendly but bazaar is lacking. - Xegony/Bristlebane seem to have decent player base. - If you have the $ laying around consider going heroic on your character around lvl 70-80 to max all skills. To be 35.00 is worth the countless hours you will spend afk attacking or defense training you will spend as a result of leveling so fast in the game. - If you are going SK go to wherever they post stuff about equip. Look at the AuG list and start working on it. - Consider boxing. You will be alone most likely for the first 85 levels of the game and possibly longer. Kind of depends if you join a guild and if you find people to group with. For the most part you will be on your own until at least lvl 70. - Defiant gear is the best you will get until about lvl 70-80. After that it drops off sharply. It is sort of overwhelming to know what armor you need to get after Defiant fades out on your first char. This is where a guild comes in handy. - Doing Dailys from Teek and HAs is the best way to lvl starting around 80. - Consider playing on a TLP server if you want to group and like re-visiting old school content. This is coming from someone who has multiple Heroic and non-heroic chars and has played on Vox, FV and Bristlebane.
If you want the 2003 experience, I would highly recommend jumping to the Phinny server. It is extremely active and you are really not too far behind the curve. There are people grouping in all of the typical leveling zones. Welcome back!
From one returning Vet to another, you're going to be lost.... unless you pay and play progressive. IF you don't plan to pay, just start over and have fun. But be forewarned. There is no grouping at lower levels. You are going to be alone. SK works great as a solo toon. Get a guild. Even if it is a crappy guild (mine isn't), they should be able to help with basic questions. If you really want to have fun, multibox. A decent desktop should handle 3 or more accounts. This is my recommendation because you can't always find people willing to buff. Also, the community has changed. It is more like Bnet and less like EQ. The old going out of the way to be helpful crowd is greatly diminished.
The thing to do is to do is start at 1 with a tank merc and you'll be able to get up into the high 60's before going Heroic. Once you're Heroic do the Journeyman tier 5 quest in Feerrott the Dream and keep on playing.
Fortunately, very little has changed in EQ from 2003, so you'll know what to expect. It's the ultimate time sink. I would seriously consider going heroic because leveling on live servers is so fast, that it is the only way to max skills and get 4k in AAs (autogrant on all access) without spending countless hours in molo mode. The gear you receive is roughly equivalent to Abstruse (HoT Tier 1 Group) and you are in position to get VoA Tier 1 (Rustic), a good upgrade. Also, as an heroic SK, you will be able to do the HoT missions and pick up 30AC augments, which will easily serve you to around level 100 or before if you end up raiding in the 90s. The AA issue is a valid one. It takes time to learn what all the AAs do, which ones to prioritize and when after level 95, etc. It's the downside of going heroic, but it is a lot better for players with time constraints than slogging through the levels to 85. When you want to go heroic is always an issue and circumstances are different with each player. Have fun. Join a guild. Be nice and drama free. It's a game.
There's an important decision for you to make: join a TLP server, play from level 1 on a Live server, or buy a Heroic. The choice is a very personal one, and we can't do much more than tell you the background. If you do go for a Heroic, there are some player written guides that you can find links to here - Heroic Characters.
How ever you want to play is how to go. If you want to shell out $$ to be instant level 85, then go for it. You will likely be asking in chat what is the way to the House of Thule or Burning Woods since you will not know much, or you can molo (you and your merc) very fast now days and at level 85 you can do the J5 merc quest solo in Feerot. You do not have to be heroic to do it. You can solo it and is easy. You could also get a group (maybe) and do a slightly different J5 merc at level 75. Some folk play free until level 85, then start paying monthly and then it allows you to auto grant all the AA up to that level, if you go back to free you keep the AA. I am not sure why folks buy heroic, the gear looks cool.
