I am a level 25 ranger still using the gloomingdeep short sword from the tutorial. Every other sword I find my level or same level as my weapon is same stats or showing as worse. I have tried scouring the net trying to figure out what weapon I need to be using and I cant get a straight answer. I am not quite understanding how this works.. I cant seem to find a better weapon. I don't care if I have to camp mobs to get something or buy it (only have 2100 plat). I just need a little guidance on what im missing and what I can be doing please.
What server are you on? If you are on a live server, a level appropriate Defiant weapon is going to be much better than Gloomingdeep weapons. Defiant armor and weapons are universal drops, meaning any mob can drop them, and they will be in the level range of the mob killed. So it's just a matter of killing a lot of mobs, but i see that would be a challenge considering you're still using a level 5 weapon. If you are on a server that does not have Defiant drops, like a TLP server, your better options might be low level quests from starting cities or level appropriate dungeons. There are plenty of resources online to find items in Everquest and where/how to get them. Frankly, it's a bit weird that you made it to level 25 without finding several better things already. If you follow the hero's journey (an achievement/quest lline started by opening the book you are given )or simply do all the quests you can find in Crescent Reach or Blightfire Moors (The last in-game introduced areas that are for starting characters) then you will gain at least a few weapons that a ranger can use. Allakhazam.com - Database>Zones>Levels will give you a large chart of Everquest zones where there are monsters or quests appropriate to levels. You'll see there are many zones where a level 25 can go, so pick one of those and see whats there if you dont want spoilers, or research that zone, find items you want and go camp them.
I've assumed you are on a live server. Well, ask around for a help and some good smaritan can fetch you a pair: https://items.eqresource.com/items.php?id=25203 plus https://items.eqresource.com/items.php?id=25210 from Kael AoC instance. Alternatively, you can ask someone to smith a pair of https://items.eqresource.com/items.php?id=58876 or https://items.eqresource.com/items.php?id=33682 or https://items.eqresource.com/items.php?id=12522 All those weapons are usable at level 25. And those are better than your https://items.eqresource.com/items.php?id=67129 and better than Simple Defiant weapons you can use at your level: https://items.eqresource.com/items.php?id=50526 Also, better weapons will become available with levels.
If you're on Live or a TLP that's post Serpents Spine (up to Intricate) and Secrets of Faydwer (all the rest), Defiant is generally the best for armor and weapons up to level 80. The prefix on the Defiant relates to the level range for the item. The Required (Req) stat is the minimum level you can equip the item. Recommended (Rec) is when the item is at its full stats. Between Req and Rec, the stats when equipped will scale to your character level. An item without a Req can be equipped at any level but if it has a Rec, the stats will 'scale' to character level when equipped (equipping a Rec 40 item on a level 5 character might have considerably lower stats when equipped than not). Items without a Rec do not have stats that scale. So, it is possible to see lower stats when equipped on a new item with minimum Req than a previous item that is at or over the Rec. This is also why the Teek quests seem to give you a lower level item if you're only looking at the Req. The Defiant armor and weapons generally drop in the zones associated with the Recommended level of the items though those with a corresponding Req level might also drop in those zones. For example, you can have Crude, Simple, and Rough dropping in the same zones since Crude is Rec 10, Simple is Req 5 to Rec 20, and Rough is Req 15 to Rec 30. The Gloomingdeep quest reward armor is identical to Crude Defiant which has a Rec of 10. I have a table on my blog post for the Defiant armor prefixes: https://rijacki-game.blogspot.com/2022/11/armor-set-by-prefixsuffix-with.html. Some weapons have a Req a level or two higher than the armor of the same prefix which I personally think can be a bit confusing and daft for a returning or new player. Zam has a table for the levels of the mobs in zones: https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/zlvlchart.html. That, along with the Hero's Journey, might be able to help you find areas to adventure. The newer (TSS and later) zones tend to have more Defiant drops than the older zones. Hot Zones generally have more Defiant drops than none. Current Hot Zone for the level is the one Franklin Teek wants you to go to for your level (he's in front of the Guild Lobby doors in Plane of Knowledge).
/achievement > Hero's Journey > Advancement > Boawb's Jealousy consists of 2 very short quest in Crescent Reach. If you're on a server that has Seeds of Destruction unlocked, it will allow you to choose from a 1-handed or 2-handed weapon. But when you finish the second quest, there will be another reward. Don't try to claim that reward right away. Wait for all the different rewards to finish popping up in the reward window or there's a chance you'll claim a weapon you don't want. That weapon will be better than the lower level defiant weapons, but you can get better by level 25. Starting at level 10, you can get the quest "A Dark Heart" in Crescent Reach for this 2-hander: https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=103666 In Blightfire Moores, do all 3 of Roanok's quests to get this 1hb: https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=52178 This will be available at level 20 as soon as TSS is unlocked on a server.
Getting gear that's an upgrade, by yourself is very difficult in EQ. Do you have a paid subscription. What server are you on?
If you do play on AB, I would give you some of my collected newbie weps for free. Just send me a message on the forums. Else check out my Newbie Quick Start Guide for some quested weapons.
You didn't ask about arrows but here's the answer anyway. You might want to look into these if you can get them... https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=23257 https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=891 You'll get endless arrows at L59. Enjoy. Oh, and what everyone else already said about what you actually asked. Checks out.
electrum bladed wakazashi! Used to be the best ranger weapon for that level range, though defiant puts it to shame now
When I returned after being away for many years, I was amused by what used to be 'good stuff' and how it utterly pales to Defiant. Playing on a TLP for a few months without Defiant, I was amused again by what I considered 'good stuff' again.
Only for original EQ until TRoK got released and I am not sure if it really was the best one for that short era in that level range. The SSoY proced right from lvl 1 in the past iirr, and would be much better then. During TSoV a better wakizashi twink wep got released: Wakizashi of the Frozen Skies. It has a strong proc on it. Maybe you meant that one ? Just an example of a better wep from TRoK, and there are dozens of them: Original EQ: The Ruins of Kunark: The Scars of Velious:
True, but SSOY isn't really for that level, its from lower guk, the epw came from a 30ish lvl target in mistmoore
It requires to camp and kill two lvl 35 named NPCs in MM/MMC over and over. Sure a bit easier than the lvl 47 ghoul lord, but still to hard for a lvl 25 ranger even when having a full group. It is a level 35+ quest. Both weapons were and are tradeable in the bazaar (EC tunnel, NFP, GFay, etc.).
