Is Climate Change really melting the polar caps and endagering the polar bears? I need my skins man!

I have been playing this game a few hours each day and am having trouble collecting enough polar bear skins to make a complete set of newbie armour . I have a few pieces of armour now, but some of these require a few polar bear skins to even make a single piece.

So I hunt the polar bear cubs, but only about three polar bear cubs show up at a time. I've asked in general chat and more than once I am told there are adult polar bears in Everfrost Peaks, but besides Iceberg I have not found a single polar bear anything, other than the cubs directly in front of where you come out of Halas/in front of the PoK book or along the routes to Blackburrow, etc. I have checked just about every square inch, even coming to many dead ends and have not found anything else.

I have checked the venders, ALL of them, tailoring or not and no one is selling them. I even made a desperate trip to the bazaar. I did not find one person selling a single one, even at a ridiculous price.

I was told to hunt wolves and spiderlings to make the cubs appear faster, but I have already heard that hunting wolves as a druid and I thought maybe a shaman as well, was bad. I was told that was a myth, but then checking online, they say it is legit or at least was at one time or in some form or fashion. I was also told taking a bear skin of some kind and using a pattern you can make polar bear skins. But at least in Halas this is not possible or I can not find anyone with the pattern I need and I am not finding anything with an online search about if that is possible.

I can not imagine dozens of new people fighting over three polar bear cubs and only having a 1 in 10 chance of even landing a polar bear skin in the process and repeat this for many days or even weeks on end. And then I am told the Berserker class also requires those coveted skins as well... I do not see how that is realistically do able.

Edit: And great! I can not edit the title to fix the typo even before the 30 minutes are up. FACEPALM

it's not called EasyQuest

What is your level?

I don't think it will drop when you kill a mob using a pet.
You have to struggle just like a beginner.

I am only level 13 at present. Struggling is not the issue. The lack of polar bear cubs and apparently having the "supposed" elusive adult polar bears that I can not find is, as well as not being able to buy their skins from a tailor or find a way to create them. If it is taking me this long to get a polar bear skin here and there, I can only imagine as I previously stated, dozens of people all vying for the same skins. Granted people would be killing other creatures in the mean time, so maybe a couple more cubs would appear by virtue, but certainly not enough.

And if it is bad now, it would really be bad then. I have done newbie armour quests like this before, at least back in Classic. It never took this long. There was always a way to acquire what you needed in a relatively short time, as in a few days to a week at max. At the rate I am going, it will be two or three weeks.

Don't focus only on killing what you want. In many/most older zones, multiple models share spawn cycles. In this case, basically everything that spawns/paths anywhere near the PoK book can respawn as a polar bear cub.

If you want to look up general spawn areas, magelo is good for that:

https://eq.magelo.com/npc/3100

https://eq.magelo.com/npc/3103

https://eq.magelo.com/npc/23067

https://eq.magelo.com/npc/3070

Thank you. I asked in my initial post, but it was probably overshadowed by everything else... ^^! Does killing animals or wolves specifically effect your character, if you are a nature loving wood elf for instance or if your class was a shaman, a ranger or even a druid? Someone said that was a myth and yet online I am hearing it is true, at least in certain instances or during a certain era of EQ. I do not want to go on a murdering wolf rampage if it could do something negative faction or guard wise.

That and I forget how realistic the killing of wolves sound and I sometimes play with my windows open and groan wondering what my neighbors think as the wolf shrieks it's death cry. ^^! Most sounds are low or do not travel well, but that shrill pained noise... o0 Then I race to turn the volume down. ^^!

I think it's okay unless you kill in the Jaggedpine Forest / Qeynos Hills / Oceangreen Hills(Qeynos Hills SoD zone in old graphic bear).
...and Ak'Anon zoo?

Very few animal kills in old world EQ will affect your factions. Especially true in the starting city zones. I want to say there are some places where killing things case faction hits because this topic brings Jagged Pine Forest to my mind, but I'm not sure faction was an issue there.

Regardless, you always get faction messages. You can filter factions to a window just like any other chat to keep an eye on when you are taking faction hits. I feel based on the posts of yours I have read that you are looking for the true RPG style experience and faction is going to be important to you.

Qbert is right about the placeholders. We commonly think of placeholders as a special mob with a special name holding a spawn location for a rare mob (named). While this is true, there is also variety in the trash mob spawns. A number of areas has shared mob tables where a single mob can respawn as several different mobs. In nektulos, it's wolves, spiders, snakes, basilisks. If you only kill the wolves, you will eventually find pretty much no wolves left, because they respawned as spiders, snakes or basilisks.

So, kill everything, not just your bears.

One of the online searches stated the killing of certain animals status was only effected IF a guard or NPC witnessed a killing. But I truly do not know as it was more or less hear say or again in different EQ eras.

Yes I am going for the RPG experience. I am not 100% all the time in character, but I do dabble quite a bit in it. ^^!

Also doing research it says I can get polar bear skins from the Kodiaks, which were over populated in Rivervale last time I checked on another server at least. But I would of assumed they gave Kodiak skins. o0

Berserker logic - if you can't find the mobs you need, kill absolutely everything.

Mobs often share "spawn tables" so for example all of the insect types may be on one, all of the mammals may be on another, all the reptiles may be on another but it is zone specific so the rules for each zone may be different & figuring out what creatures are on which table can be an exhaustive process, but once you figure it out it can make your hunting/farming far more productive.

Of course having a Bard/Ranger/Druid that can track mobs makes this a great deal easier.

It's funny, after posting this I saw and killed over a dozen polar bear cubs in one run, closer to two dozen. More than I have had in a few days combined running through there. Of course not a single polar bear skin dropped, but at least the opportunity to kill them was present. ^^!

Yeah same thing and applaud you for doing your rightful newbe armor quest actually in halas for one, the Shaman Armor looks damn good, its worth wearing over that kobald stuff just for that, also its traditional and because ''escape to north'' will be new content to many newer players again.

However poor Ares (the rovolt leader) Has since earned his place in eq lore. The question is if your new toons are going to be caught and pummeled by the damned things ''Kobalds'' or not. (you can actually do both, newbe armor and tutorial until 14 and one Halas city task for the lovely raven Raven "Task giver'' without over leveling.

I like the voice actress that dose the kobald intro, and wonder if shes the same woman that dose ether the fisher/or ore lady in eq2 dark light woods, If not I am a fan of both of these VA's. I love fisher lady in Darklightwood shes like lore says she should be a changed Highelf and she reflex that realistically though mana blue from her alteration. Innoruk.
EQ2 is good for downtime but little else (now). Goblin king: Such a pity. (RIP David B).


Anyway: Just wait till most of the Kobalds are grey doing the newbie quest first then click enter tutorial at the precise time. (bane strike Kobald/Goblin/spider right away or half to). Also if not on vie you'll want the skull charm just for talking to people if nothing else.

(Just maintain the testicular fortitude to keep on your newbe armor until level 20-24. What a day? 3-4 hours on vie? Why not?)

I managed Once to do the tutorial, home city newbie quests (1 major task) and some reach quests (skipping over the 1 to 10) to ''skinner'' and go directly to Atkins ignoring farmers, ''de Resh ''I think'' and dear Liz'' His wife, for his (Atkins) 3+ all stats aug ''eventually'' which non Melee can use in there weapons. "Kill nox and Ogre king and come back later''.

''Blightfire moors is the place to be, if moors living is the life for thee, rotted trents far and wide, kill them gnolls and reclaim that countryside.''

Though after that, like Mesa, serpent spine things are harder to kill, give less xp ''there is the advantage to some of more traditional but eq nontraditional quests...but they give little xp. Better off if you know what your doing elsewhere really.

''Unless your a Drakkin, then you'd be a traitor''. LOL+ consider Strengthening the Blood every 5 levels, ''fire breath'' you need the spine, really you do Ie stonehive ''the funky trent who only comes out at night Rufi (kungfu whatever his name is) nestor and so on. For distinctive completionism and the extra leveling DoT. (I would advise doing it once and hero's journey then running like hell). Past that it is not worth it. Complete that little line and it said brave men may run screaming at the mention of Drakkin.

I did the newbie armor stuff just recently on a Berserker. I got the skins in about a couple hours for the full set of newbie armor. Here's what I did:

When you first enter the ravines in Everfrost Peak, kill that group of mobs at the entrance. Leave nothing alive, and kill anything that is walking by too. The kobolds and goblins that spawn there may also be replaced by a polar bear cub on respawn. Then walk over to the PoK book and kill that group and everything that walks by too. By the time you are done with this, the first group should be respawning or about too. Hit any patrols walking by in between spawn timers too.

Go back and forth doing this and you wont have you to run around the ravines looking for stuff. By hitting the patrols walking by, you can sometimes get a polar bear to spawn that will eventually walk through the groups you are wasting. If your bags get full, just run back to the campfire at the zone entrance and sell your garbage. This is way faster than running around looking for bears, they will respawn and sometimes multiples will respawn.

I would also try killing the wolves and see if you take a faction hit. If you don't, then waste them too. Everything must go for the highest chance of getting another polar bear spawn.

I actually got the last of my newbie armour tonight. I am quite pleased with myself. ^^! Although I would be a little cautious if I was on the PVP server as my newbie breast plate actually gives off light... o0 And is this newbie armour the same as in Classic? Did it actually raise some stats when equipped or give off light as well?

Regardless I tried that trick of killing most everything from time to time, but polar bears just were not spawning as quickly as everything else. And then of course on top of that you may not even get what you are looking for the majority of the time even if they do spawn. But that is behind me now. Now I just need to see what I am suppose to do as it was in Classic. I am not sure if there is a guide or NPCs will ask you for quests and everything just gets jumbled up in random clothing pieces or more coherent sets are available. I know the defiant gear keeps popping up, but that is too new for my blood.

Also newbie armour does not come in the form of masks, shoulder pads and the like? I have everything that was offered by my class "master", but I would assume shoulder pads at the very least would of been included. No cloak or tunic either?

Also I traveled to Surefall Glade and almost no one wants to even give me the time of day. Is it because I am a barbarian and or a shaman is the reason or because I had killed so many polar bears and wolves? Or they always act like that if you are not a ranger or a druid? Only the task master (I believe that was his title) decided to give me a job. I need to hunt a poacher. I will of course try to complete that, just not sure if I had done something wrong to deserve the brush off from the others or that is just how they treat everyone. Maybe due to my set in stone deity as well.

Killing animals is only an issue if your in certain areas. If your at a druid ring don't kill the bears.
If your in surefall glade don't kill the bears. I think some where or you get an emote that says don't kill the bears.
Surefall glade has most npcs are on a certain faction. It might be because of who you worship also.
I was doing the bear hide armor from the brother and sister that sit in front of surefall glade entrance and I had to work on faction before they would give me the quest.

When in doubt, kill one thing and see if it has any bad faction hits for you. Naturally be a bit thoughtful about it. If you see an elf for example you should assume that it gives +/- faction. I've never seen a case where killing just one of something, in a newbie zone, would give you extremely bad faction, and if you do get it, you can usually find something else to kill to raise faction again.


One time I did see a remarkably bad faction hit on one kill: the 'good' fairy things in the zone where Woushi lives...killing those gives a hit to the Elvish tree city royals...as a ranger in our party found out.


It was "a sifaye messenger" and gave a -10 hit to Tunarean Court.

If only 3 spawn and 1 in 10 are dropping a skin, then I have to say that you are in an amazing golden drop zone. Go try for the DE SK armor ( or any DE newb starting armor for that matter ). I am 4 weeks into camping a mob for a single item for my DE SK........Its the game. Enjoy the grind!

Hmmm... well I did kill a few bears while in Surefall Glade... ^^!



I am not sure I am seeing these faction messages. I have been toying with my chat channels though, so I guess I need to take another look.

The Surefall glade bears are protected. If you happen to be killing it when the ranger is around your dead at your level.