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Returning player needs help (maps, orientation, etc)

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by coffee349, Feb 3, 2023.

  1. coffee349 Journeyman

    I'm a returning player whose had some substantial absence from the game.
    I've tried to download many of the new maps. The reason for my post is because it would be (I think) some benefit for any returning players like myself, in terms of geography to find some orientation. Therefore I thought I would make this post to ask.

    What new cities would be useful for me to try and orient myself in so I can learn where the bankers and venders are located, the various quest NPCs, etc.

    Also I would like to know what people think is the most beautiful city in the game, and please provide directions on how to get there? Back in the day, it used be Qeynos, but what do people think it is now?

    We obviously all know what the starting cities are, that information is pretty much the same...
    But what are the new cities, that seems to be hard to find or hidden information for returning players like myself, (other than the original starting cities) that it's useful to get familiar with now?

    Thanks to anyone whose willing to extend themselves to make a post to benefit returning players (like me).
  2. CatsPaws Just getting rid of the old

    First off you mentioned you "tried" to download maps. These are vitally important to the game. Did you get them downloaded?

    If not go to the last post and then back up a few posts in this link and the map guy has put in pictures of how to download - these are "Goods" Maps and you can also get "Brewells". Those are the 2 maps everyone uses. Most others are no longer working
    https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq/index.php?threads/goods-maps-pack.238818/page-18

    There are many features put in the game over the years to help new and returning players. One of them is the "Find" key. Its on your action screen. You click it and can pick from the list of NPC or Zone lines and it will make a yellow highlighted path to follow to get to them which makes it super easy to find bankers etc in any zone or city.

    Another of the updates was making Cresent Reach the start city for all new players (with an exception) where tons of new quests, vendors etc for lower level players. You can still go to the old starting cities but they are pretty much ghost towns.

    The best thing to do when starting over is to go thru the tutorial with a level 1 from start. You will learns a lot. And get some decent armor to carry you a while and a free merc.

    WB!
  3. coffee349 Journeyman



    Thanks for the really helpful post. Of course the welcome back is likewise much appreciated. I still have my old toon, so I don't have to start back at level one quite, but nonetheless the information is helpful, (esp. downloading the maps) and other features you described.

    What cities do most people hang out in now?

    Is it primarily PoK, or what new cities do people really like?

    I tried to find list of the new cities somewhere, you know, for the newer zones. I could find listings for some of the newer zones and that is good information. At the moment what really interests me is how can I find a list of some of the "new" cities.

    Would anyone be willing to post the names of some of the new cities they like and possible directions on how to get there, etc. That type of information would also be most sincerely appreciated.

    As you can imagine, returning players are always interested in what's new.

    Thanks again in advance for anyone whose willing to extend themselves to post. I think it could be a useful thread and therewith a type of resource of any returning players (like myself), especially next month with the Anniversary quests coming back.

    For returning players, the game is so much bigger now. Just trying to find your way around has now become such a big deal; especially as returning players likely don't have any old friends still playing the game and they don't belong to guilds anymore. Sometimes it's because their old guild doesn't exist anymore, so a resource like this thread for us could be a real life line back into the game. Please be generous with your helpful comments.

    Thanks again.
  4. Hdizzle Augur

    It is a big world for new/returning players. Thats why so many people play the TLP servers Lol. Good for you for jumping in the deep end!

    Not sure what level you are, past experience etc but join a guild and don't try and relearn the whole game your first night back.

    Eqresource.com is super helpful.
  5. Windance Augur

    Welcome back!

    What cities do most people hang out in now?

    - PoK and the Guild lobby are were most people "AFK" / hang out.

    - The starting city for new players is Crescent Reach. It might be worth starting a new character and just running through the tutorial and then work on the starting quests there.

    Maps are your friends.


    The in game zone guide is also very helpful.
    - Open your map
    - Click Atlas
    - Click Zone Guide

    It takes some fiddling but is a great resource for how to get from point A -> point B in game.


    Join the "general chat channel" or the F2P channels and say hi. Ask about guilds that accept returning players.

    Good luck !
  6. Yinla Ye Ol' Dragon

    Welcome back!

    Depending on how long you have been away, you might want to do the other tutorial quest in plane of knowledge which teaches you about auras, mercs, etc.

    Current main cities where you will find players, shadow haven and shar vahl, both are new versions on the only zones. Easiest wY to find how to get to new zones is using the zone path function available when you open maps. But you will find most players are hanging out in Guild Halls, Lobby and PoK.
  7. OldTimeNewbie Journeyman

    People don't really hang out in cities anymore. For a long time now the game has separated into 5-level bands. Gone are the days where a single city could serve as home base for your adventures for 50 levels.

    That said, PoK, the Guild Hall and Guild Lobby will serve you well. PoK and your Guild Hall will serve as travel hubs for any expansion, and you will be able to buy supplies and do trade skills there.
    Nennius likes this.
  8. coffee349 Journeyman

    Getting around Norrath

    Thanks for all the great info on the board.

    One other question might be transportation. How do you get to some of these new places? On the assumption you're not a Druid or a Wizard...

    For the lower levels it's clear you can click on PoK stones. It seems you can also go thru the Guild Hall if you're in a guild and use their teleports, but what if you're not in a guild? You can't enter the Guild Hall.

    Don't get me wrong. I think guilds are great but time management is an issue because between work and other stuff, don't have a lot of time for guild participation.

    The precious little time I have to myself that I'm able to spend gaming in EQ is finite.

    Any info would be appreciated, thanks.
  9. Raytan Augur

    In the PoK, there is a quest giver named Secalna Galnor. She is near the Loyalist Merchant and you should be able to find using Ctrl+f.

    The quest she give are all low level tutorial quests, and some include a free house and bag. One of the quests is called "Guilds & the Guild Lobby." Part of this quest will allow you to join a generic guild. The name varies per server, but it is a generic guild that allows you access to the Guild Hall off the Guild Lobby. This generic guild will not allow you to do everything a regular guild can do, like Guild Bank or neighborhood guild halls, but it does allow you access to certain trainers, merchants, and the guild teleport.

    The number of people in this generic guild can vary, and there is no physical guild leader, but it will allow you access to a Guild Hall and guild teleport without actually joining a regular guild at this time.

    Hope that helps some.

    Edit: I can't remember if the NPC's in the quest talk you through quitting the guild to complete the quest, but you don't have to. Stay in the guild as long as you like until you find a regular guild. Again, there can be a few others you see in the guild now and then, or none, varies on how many are working on the quest and stay in the generic guild.
  10. Sissruukk Rogue One


    There are many great guilds out there, even for people who don't have a lot of game time. One of the main reasons to join one, even a super casual one, is to use the gnome porter to get you to places PoK or not having a wiz/druid can't. In the event that you still don't want to join a guild and you have enough alts, you can form your own for the same purpose. You wouldn't even need to purchase a guild hall, as you can use the porter in the "old" guild hall in the guild lobby.
  11. Rijacki Just a rare RPer on FV and Oakwynd

    If you've been away for a significant amount of time, a others have noted, the tutorial in the Gloomingdeep Mines (default for a new character) is really well done, rather fun, and starts a character off with some rather good armor for the level they finish. I'm not sure at what point it is available on a TLP but it's on all Live servers.

    New characters on a F2P account can only start in Crescent Reach. New characters on a subbed account can choose the a starting city applicable to the race/religion of the character. Both can do the Gloomingdeep Mines tutorial, the only difference is where the Origin AA will take the character. The old starting cities are still available but they're usually devoid of any player characters (at least on Live). Only a handful of the old quests and quest lines from those cities have been updated since the addition of the "Defiant" armor.

    Up until level 80, for the most part the "good" armor and equipment is all "Defiant". On all but the free drop servers (FV and Mischief?) the defiant armor and 80+ armor is "bind on equip" which is called "attuning" in EQ. Almost all newer armor (newer being post 2007?) has a "rec" and "req". Rec is the recommended level (and armor worn lower than that level may have some stats scaled down) and Req is the required level (you generally can't equip it before that level). The Defiant armor is in the 4 armor types: cloth/silk, leather, chain, plate.
    • Crude to level 10 (and the rewards from the Mines has the nearly the same stats)
    • Simple 5-20
    • Rough 15-30
    • Ornate 26-40
    • Flawed 37-50
    • Intricate 48-60
    • Elaborate 59-70
    • Elegant 70-80
    Level 80+ the best armor for the visible slots is put together from at least one drop item, one or more merchant bought item, and sometimes a tradeskill made item to make a class-based armor. You can look on 'Zam for the visible armor by expansion.
    • Example: An Abstruse Remnant of Truth is combined with an tradeskilled template for a wrist item of the armor type, and a merchant bought agent relating to the class, in a merchant bought container (that's consumed in the combine) to make a class-based wrist item. The Abstruse remnants drop from the lower level "group" zones (T1) of the House of Thule (HoT) expansion from Named/Alpha mobs.
    Spells come in ranks: base level bought from a spell merchant directly, RKII from "group" content, and RKIII from raid. Before HoT, the RKII and RKIII spell scrolls dropped. 86+, you get a dropped item that is turned in to get the RK spell of your choice. (If you're flying through levels, don't bother with the RKII or RKIII, the normal will get you through most things. If you want to stay at a level range for a while via AA slider, the more powerful spells can be nice but not absolutely necessary for most.)
    • Example: A Minor Nebulous Dream Fragment drops in T1 group zones in HoT. You take it to Kaelynn Stearns in the Dreaming version of Feerrott and hail her to get a "quest" which will allow you to turn the fragment into her. The reward for that is a choice of level 86 spells/abilities for your class at RKII.
    All base level spells up to 90 (?) are available in the PoK library. Starting at level 80 spells are located in a location applicable to the expansions at that level. If there was no level increase in the expansion, there still might be some spells available on an expansion merchant. The location/expansion changes every 5 levels. Most of the places to buy spells are accessible from the Guild Hall teleporter or a relatively easy to get to zone from the port in spot.
    Player housing was added to EQ with HoT. You do not need to be in a guild to set up a house. The EQ housing locations is sort of a blend between an open world and an instance. There are neighbourhoods which are instances with "open world" plots that can be developed with placable items. Houses can be placed on a plot but are an instance when entered. Neighbourhood Guild Halls are placed in a Neighbourhood on a plot but can also be entered from the Guild Lobby door. There are some adventuring benefits to housing in the form of trophies that you can place to give you a bonus on something. Trophies are earned from doing different things. There are some very creative people who have decorated their plots and houses, but, sadly, housing in EQ doesn't have a large community of decorators.
    Starting in Rain of Fear (RoF), collectibles were added to EQ. These can be ground spawn items (glowing balls) or drop items. If you complete collections, you can get achievement rewards. Unlike EQ2, just picking up a ground spawn does not break invis, sneak, or IVU but some spawn near mobs that can see through it all.
    Achievements were added to the game at some point while I was gone (I returned in 2020). Many achievements give some sort of reward. Sometimes the reward is for completing an achievement of completing a group of achievements. In addition to collections, there are also achievements for quest/mission completion, exploration (going to every zone in an expansion), killing Nameds in a zone, etc. Click on the EQ, then Character, then Achievements to see them all. It's also a handy listing of all the Expansions and their zones :)
    I'm trying to remember all the bits I've picked up since returning that would have been nice to know :)
    Oh and the tutorial in PoK mentioned earlier is also really good if you are a returning player. It can be done at any level. It's not as fun as the Gloomingdeep one and most of it is just reading A LOT of information, but it really does go through most things that have been added in the last couple of decades.

    Before I forget, WELCOME!! I hope you find lots of fun no matter where you land.