Leveling post 50 is horrible.

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by Ultrazen, Jan 18, 2019.

  1. Quill Augur

    Bazaar traders typically have no gear. Yes... it was hyperbole but basically the same. If you're rolling in defiant, you'll get lit up like a Christmas tree 75+. Sorry... you just will. Maybe you muddle through that, or maybe you use the alternatives available to you.


    No... its been the stated stance of the game developers from Verant through DBG for 20 years. Two decades they've been saying it. Soloing has never been supported as a viable levelling path. Ever. If you want to do it, its a slow tedious process that takes inordinate amounts of time. That's not to say there haven't been points where you could solo, but it wasn't a planned thing... simply emergent behavior.


    Fair enough. You're still talking like 25 levels where you have of-the-level instances, and they act as a pretty decent gear-check.


    Haven't tested that myself so i'll take your word on it.


    For soloing? Go ahead and say it, doesn't mean its true. If someone wants to spend years levelling up, I suppose soloing is a reasonable alternative.


    I agree. But a single toon is not one of those things.


    And the guy who said that had a horrible experience of it. It made him a better player, but its hardly something you should peddle as a viable alternative, unless you really hated the person you try to get to do it.



    Just because I can walk over broken glass, doesn't mean I should do it. Could is not should.
  2. Tatanka Joe Schmo

    No, you just won't. Been there, done that. UNLESS you're a tank, as I said in a previous post. You keep making these definitive statements which just aren't true.


    Again, stating things which you know nothing about. They've also never said certain boxing s/w is OK, but nobody's ever been banned for using it. There's lots of things they don't say, but which is OK, or supported. And the sheer # of people who've done precisely what you say can't, and not in "inordinate" amounts of time. Which you don't define.


    Define years. Also, only /played time matters, calendars don't mean squat, because not everyone sits in front of EQ for the same amount of hours each day/week/month. And I can say it's true, >because I've done it<.


    I don't know what you're trying to say here?




    LOL, I'm NOT peddling what he did, that's the whole point. He was obviously missing key info which would have made his experience better. And there are multiple ways of doing that.





    BS analogy. How's this: You'll never walk on a hardwood floor, because you found a path with shag carpeting.

    Good for you, but the hardwood floors work just fine.

    It's obvious we'll never agree on this. Have a good day.
  3. Quill Augur

    There can be some real zoinks. I'm currently doing a Lxanvom Labors where every mob is level 86(both toons are 83 now), hits for 4.5K, and resists all root so I have to take two at a time at points. After I finish it, i'll probably never do it again lol. I probably should have dumped it from the jump, but I like a challenge.

    I highly suggest conning quest mobs and if needbe dumping the exped and regetting if they're like 3 levels higher in level. The yellow con can be deceiving. I did those other two missions earlier and they went smooth.

    I can confirm the T2 visible guy in Health doesn't open on one win each. It likely requires Lesser Spirit Armor (6 wins in each) to open.
  4. So Happy Augur

    I have never bought from any of the sites I was talking about either. No need on test at all. It is just interesting to me how the 3rd party prices fluctuation when a new TLP starts out. When a new TLP pops up the prices drop around 10%-15%.

    Some of these sites have been in business for a number of years, so I doubt any action is taken against users by DB. I do understand your hooker point though.
  5. Outlander Engine Elder

    This is why I don't recommend TBM to someone trying to level up. Do the CotF HA's, earn marks of valor, and buy that gear. Go and attempt the TBM content every level or two. If you can do it, then great. If you can't, then gain a level in CotF or elsewhere and then try again. There are levels where the TBM content is simply not worth your time.

    I would really like the dev's to go back to the TBM HA's and rescale them down. The gribbles get a bad name, but at least you can reliably burn lesson there. I learned quick to never pop a lesson while doing TBM HA's.
  6. Quill Augur

    To each his own I guess. Either way(between TBM and COTF) will probably work. But the progression for TBM needs to be worked anyway for that progression spell(on Warrior its Dichotomic Shielding), you get spell drops, and you can upgrade the gear as you go. Putting it off(its not a question of bypassing) simply means you have to do it at a higher level when you get there. So on aggregate, I prefer TBM.

    Is there anything special I need out of COTF that I can't get anywhere else? I'm not that familiar with the itemization. Talking about some weirdass spell like the Prog one in TBM. Last I checked it was just traditional Missions and Group gearing.

    After years of (go farm dark blues), its nice to be killing whites through reds to level imo. I can deal with a quirky roll of the dice here and there. If I wanted to mess around at 110, i'd play the mains on Cazic.

    LOL... true that.
  7. Outlander Engine Elder

    To the best of my knowledge, no you don't. Blood drinkers coating was nice.

    You can't single pull reds and yellows. You can't tank the multiples you end up with. It can be fun for a little while, but the lack of progress can be a real obstacle for a new player. Remember, this advice players trying to level up.
  8. Quill Augur

    I looked it up and want the merc gear. So decided to hogroll CoTF heroics in two box. 84 war and 83 shm.

    Maybe you can't. TBM... If its single, its inc. If its two, I punt one with VP. If its three, like in the Temple B I can tank two in a pinch with a punt, but its close given I have to slow them fast. I tended to use zone out to ghetto split(root and zone) but at the level I was at, it was pretty well muddled through. Either way, I have this thing called Final Stand I like to use for hard pulls.

    I was doing crypt mission last night and had two level 86 mobs that hit for 4.5k that I had to take at the same time to get to where I needed to go. Did it multiple times. Had to wait on discs, but wasn't impossible.

    And in the DH heroics just lol. I've taken three at a time easy, but then I expected it to be a lot easier given its rep.

    Gribbles I steamrolled. Working the Skulk missions atm and have two done. How is that not progress? Taken as many as 5 at one time. Missions have gone anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.


    Ya... but new players are going to have that problem regardless. There is a steep learning curve.

    But it most certainly is doable in two-box, if you know exactly what you're doing. I did murdunk's last stand at 82 war 81 shm.
    Yinla likes this.
  9. Quill Augur

    BTW... to all you guys claiming COTF group gear is in the zip code or even universe as TBM group gear... just.. no. Just… stop. I'm literally sitting here looking at this trash on the COTF vendor and feel sorry for anyone who gears into COTF.

    I'll use one example. The most important piece of gear for any warrior is the primary weapon. The level 80 req version of each:

    COTF: 37/23 1hs, 32AC, 475 HP, hSTR 3, hAGI 2, hDEX 2

    My current weapon:

    TBM: 63/22 1hs, 59AC 915HP, hSTR 7, hSTA, 7, hAGI 16, hDEX 7

    CoTF seems to be fairly decent for regular augs. Some nice 30AC ones here that are worth buying. Also, the merc gear. But for general gearing? This isn't the group gear you're looking for. My hAGI is currently 203 and i'm only like half-geared into TBM. God knows what it would be in CoTF gear, but i'd be surprised if it were over 40.

    Oh... and you really should see what my 140/32 2HP from TBM does. COTF version? 75/30 *rolls eyes*.

    Edit: One other caveat. It works for getting clickie AA abilities like 8% over-haste or Form of Defense, among other things. That's pretty nice. But the gear itself? Go TBM.
  10. Tatanka Joe Schmo

    "BTW... to all you guys claiming COTF group gear is in the zip code or even universe as TBM group gear... just.. no. Just… stop."

    Point to someone who claimed this in this thread.

    And, by the way, they are in the same universe, Mr. Hyperbole ;)
  11. Ceffener Augur

    I don’t think anyone is shocked that gear from a newer expansion is better than gear from an older.

    Now when I was farming AC augs in HoT and UF there was gear that dropped that had better AC and other stats, but it would have lasted me 1-2 levels. Though with CoTF and TBM gear (as far as I have seen) you do miss out on all the clicky AA’s so worth getting/farming/borrowing on FV some of those for the boosted over haste etc.
  12. Quill Augur

    The sell was that CoTF was a viable option for levelling gear to TBM. Where you could go one or the other. You can't. I will say both used together for different things is ideal.

    From what i'm seeing, the itemization is as such:

    Visible and non-visible gear, you go TBM.. especially given you can buy the currency as needed. Get through Temple B by any means necessary as early as you can to open the aug vendors. As a bonus, it'll make farming CoTF easier.

    For regular augs and click AA, you go CoTF as needed. I didn't check it, but unless its absolutely needed(i.e. overhaste), higher levels of the clicks should be on higher level vendors... and I wouldn't farm that until later in the process so you get the better AA. But given the need to farm this, be very careful in how you spend.

    Keep in mind that a lot of the augs from HoT and UF that you mentioned are straight-up sold on CoTF vendors... which can make CoTF HA's a far easier way to get them than pitching your tent in the expansions they drop in. I know the augs from that era well enough to recognize stuff like the Incarnadine Gemstone and Lavasource immediately.

    Both sets of gear work in conjunction with each other, but anyone who claims you can go CoTF instead of TBM is wrong. And anyone who doesn't get TBM as soon as they can @75, is fairly well crippled in capability. They just are. There is no way around that fact. You need the heroics and focii along with the much better HEM, and if melee... weaponry.
  13. Ceffener Augur

    Unless raid source is wrong there was not enough 30ac+ augs from the vendors for a full set at 85 and most of them were limited on what slots they could go in. I did buy all the CoTF AC augs, but to get a full set, still had to farm some.

    I don’t think anyone would have a problem staying in COTF gear and farming Gribbled and other in era stuff, obviously that’s what people did before TBM. Better gear just makes it easier.
  14. Quill Augur


    One place the CoTF HA's do curbstomp TBM HA's is vendor loot, which is intense. So many more mobs per mission and diamonds galore. Like two Gribbles missions gave me 8K plat(which then can be turned around for RoT). So if you look at it as a means to gear up two-ways, doing the CoTF missions is quite valid. I'd just stay away from the normal gear.

    AC augs, sure. Clickie AA, sure. The rest buy from TBM.
  15. Conq Augur

    Leveling post 50 has never been easier. Ever.
    Conq
    Tatanka likes this.
  16. Outlander Engine Elder

    He's talking about me.

    Links please? 63/22 1Hs at level 80? 140/32 2Hp?

    Level 85, I bought husk sharpened axe (69+11 / 23 with anger proc)
    At level 88 I paired it with a steel seed blade (75 / 23 with anger proc).
    At level 90 I bought Vermin Slicer (84/24) and used CotF currency to buy adamantine spell blade (75/22).

    So how in the heck did you get a WAR 1Hs at 63/22 at level 80?

    And at level 80, for a warrior, CotF is Sword of Brell's Ire at (47+10/24) not 37/23.
    Or maybe Twisting Whirlwind (37+10/24).

    As for armor, why in the heck are you worried about HAgil? And you're at 203 Hagil at level 80? Say what now? I need more information to see these comparisons. Granted, CotF gear has almost no heroic stats, but I'm not sure that at level 80 you are going to get much benefit from them anyway. There's a post with a parse, I'd have to go find it again.
    Tatanka likes this.
  17. Outlander Engine Elder

    I'm well aware of final stand. Good on you for VP. My Enchanter couldn't mez, pacify or charm them at that level, since they were all red's and yellows. Thus no single pulls except the odd roamer. A double pull simply ate me. With a 10 minute refresh on that disc it wasn't worth my time to sit there and wait. I moved on to something more productive.

    You could say it was a PEBKC problem, but I took all the EoK tier 1 named in castaway gear, so I'm not a complete incompetent.

    yeah yeah yeah... I'm not willing to beat my head on something like that for 2 hours as I wait for discs to refresh between each pull. There's a reason folks use dark blues to level.

    Skulk and murdunk are not TBM.

    I'll find my old spreadsheets and do an AC/HP and Manna/Endurance stat comparison between level 85 TBM and CotF visible armor. I did it for level 100, but I don't think that's relevant here. You can point out where I went wrong.
    Tatanka likes this.
  18. Quatr Augur

    Back when I was moloing my under-geared Monk from 67 to 90+ (see my post a few days ago), I stuck to older expansions until level 80. Defiant was perfectly fine in places like PoP where GL buffs meant that I could kill non-stop without a merc.

    At 80, I bought Tier 1 HOT gear in the Bazaar. It was dirt cheap because it's so common. Some pieces cost me just a few hundred plat. Most of it lasted me until 92 when Tier 1 RoF gear became available. It was more expensive than Tier 1 HOT gear, but still affordable.

    I skipped CotF vendor-bought gears because it was from older expansions (by design) and not as good as what you could find in the Bazaar. I only used Gribbles to make enough non-tradeable currency to buy augments from CotF vendors. I could have camped the augments the old-fashioned way, but it would have taken longer. I had done those camps on multiple other characters and didn't want to go back yet again.
  19. Quill Augur

    TBM HA chest for the weapon itself. I got lucky and it dropped in the first HA chest I opened. I will put a link for each part, as like most TBM stuff its put together. The base sword is actually level 75 req, but I got it at like 80 and went with the level 80 augs.

    Broadsword Of The Stranger: http://lucy.allakhazam.com/item.html?id=147032
    Deep Crust Fire Geode (Type 4): http://lucy.allakhazam.com/item.html?id=82194
    Stalwart Sulstone of Swiftness (Type 5): http://lucy.allakhazam.com/item.html?id=147085
    Stalwart Sulstone of the Fighter (Type 6): http://lucy.allakhazam.com/item.html?id=146700
    Stalwart Sulstone of the Gallant (Type 9): http://lucy.allakhazam.com/item.html?id=147091

    The type 5 boosts heroics, the Type 6 is boosts the base damage, the Type 9 is for the general stats. The Type 4 is a general aug for proc or damage, of course. I went with the EB aug, which I already had from doing some LoY.

    I just hit 85 earlier and upgraded the last two augs to Extravagant variations(rest of the name is the same). Its now 71/22 with 1301 HP and Force of Corruption IV @ lvl 85.

    I use a Shield in the offhand against upcon typically for the AC softcap gains, and because i'm not suicidal. I'll swap to the two-hand if its like even cons(like Gribbles missions) or worse for DPS(and holy cow does the 175/32(Shadowthorn with level 85 augs and a Lavasource for an extra 10), rock the house @ 85). I did get the 1hb to drop, but haven't put it together yet. I like not getting rung like a cowbell, so if its higher.. break out the board.

    Because i'm primarily fighting upcons. If you're going against upcons, hAGI is king because it helps negate the advantage between you and a mob due to level and provides Dodge +1% every 25. If you're farming below you, hDEX is better because it applies to more than one avoidance skill (+1% to Dex/Parry every 25).

    240 hAGI at 85, and I have quite a few type 5's left to fill. Finally went and bought the T1 visibles. Have you never seen a TBM Type 5 aug? You can stack one heroic stat off them in each slot at this level. I chose hAGI because I was primarily fighting mobs higher level than I am.

    Keep in mind, I'm not the one being pasted all over the walls here, and claiming they can't tank two mobs. Yes... you get a ton of benefit at this level. I'm not new to Warrior, I've played it as a main.

    Also... fyi some of these CoTF rares have insane HP and are outside of the extents of even the two-box. I probably need to get the shaman more gear as mana becomes an issue. I got Deathcaller down, but both Bloodsucker and Warpriest are at like 1.5 million HP now. I got Bloodsucker to 27%, and Warpriest to 10% before wipe.
  20. Outlander Engine Elder

    As I remember, Warpriest and Bloodsucker have a tendency to not scale down. Check the /con before engaging to make sure they're your level. I got really frustrated with Warpriest a few times before I found out he was bugged.

    Thanks for the links. Yes, I'm aware of how they build, but since they were out of my reach at that level, I never built one or really looked into it.

    I was using a shield when tanking up. I had found a cheap Brazen Barricade for sale and gave it a go. No dice. Winners never quit, and Quitters never win, but if you never win, and you never quit, you may be insane. I, personally, moved on and came back at a higher level to try again.

    So in other words, once you have TBM gear, you can do the TBM HA's... which you need to do to get TBM gear. Sounds like Everquest all right.

    For a box heroic crew just leveling up, without access to upper level gear, loads of plat, or higher level friends to drag them through the first HA's... I still say CotF is the place to start. However, the TBM weapons are definitely something to note. Little jealous actually.