So much non-fun on Tormax

I'm doing my usual SOP of looking around TLP servers. Ran a magician up to level 19 and farmed a bit for my early focus in Items in Najena. I had the elemental fully dressed out, rawhide armor or better in every slot. Thought for a brief moment I should hunt up some saltpeter to get research up a bit. Moved away from the Najena entrance and what do I run into but a couple of level 35 lava bathing beasts. Didn't even have time to con them before they aggro'd and attacked. First round was ~700 hps which needless to say is more than my Magician had.

A lava bathing beast is from the TOV expansion. Kind of an unpleasant surprise to see it on a new TLP server. Maybe I can do my focus item turn in before I summon a new elemental.

I really wish DB wouldn't mix eras like this.

I've seen this before. There shouldn't be anything above level 30 popping in Lavastorm Mountains during Kunark, but several things were added into that zone later, and they've just lumped all of it into Kunark for TLP purposes. Without a bunch of player complaints (it's a rarely used zone), they never get around to walking it through. My best advice is to stick to the walls, the wandering reds are a lot less likely to see you then. Innothule Swamp has the same problem.

Those mobs are from Scorched Skies event that is currently taking place (if I am not mistaken) and I agree they should not be there to eat lowies.

Conversely, I think DPG should have large, roaming mobs spawn from adjacent higher level zones to give the kind of experience we enjoyed with Griffons and Hill Giants in the commonlands. For Lavastorm that'd include some Fire Giants!

If you need saltpeter an easier way to acquire it (albeit without the benefit of xp gain) would be to hit up Steamfont Mountains and mow down the runaway clockworks that populate the newbie areas and the level 7-11 area near the mino caves northeast of the windmills.

I agree the idiotic scorched sky even being on TLPs is a major /facepalm.. But at least for saltpeter there is other easy spots to go to farm it.

I strongly disagree. There is no reason that the first 2 scorched sky quests that utilize these mobs should not be in game. The event is just a limited duration thing once a year, the quest has been mad to scale down lower than the current max of 60.

The issue isnt the event mobs are there, its that the quest giver refuses to give the quest because that is gated behind having unlocked a later expansion for no reason at all.

It's gated behind a later expansion (ToV) because the content is only two years old. The original event announcement said quite clearly that it would only appear on servers with ToV unlocked. Yes, there are a couple of quest stages that are doable at a lower level, but the final quest stage is 105+. There is also a 110+ mission, and a collectibles achievement with a reward you can't use. It's senseless to argue this content should be unlocked in Kunark.

The first 2 quests are not gated behind ToV as I have done them on other servers that were not at ToV yet. What is senseless it to argue from a starting point of being factually incorrect.

It's called a bug. The more likely outcome is they will fix it. Neither the quest stages nor the mobs are supposed to be there. So says the official event description, which is by definition factually correct.

My issue is they seeded starting zones with numerous high level MOBs that are aggressive and inappropriate.

I mentioned lava bathing beast, but there are numerous MOBs added to that zone. You can't swing a dead cat w/o hitting a MOB two or three times the level that is appropriate. This isn't the only zone where that occured, Greater Faydark comes to mind where they added undead that patrol the area outside Crushbone.

It is really poor planning, period. These zones are important for everything from getting experience to resource hunting. All that was needed to be done was have the MOBs *NOT* aggro and kill everything in sight. It isn't the presence of the MOBs or the quest line that is the problem. The problem is having them mixed in and aggressive with a huge aggro range. If you can get close enough to con them, you are close enough for them to attack.

In my case, I ran a Magician from Qeynos to Lavastorm to use Najena and farm Research items. The solution offered here of using Steamfront to harvest saltpeter would work of course, but my solution was to stop playing the server for this and other reasons.

You're just taking Ls in every thread I check out

Yesterday I wanted to do the first part of the epic rogue quest on Tormax.
Not having a guild, I spent my time PMing players to ask for help to kill the first npc I had to fight (renux). Only a 50 ranger with whom I had grouped in the past was willing to help me.
On the internet, people said that the mob was easy, soloable by a 50+ druid. I told myself that two people could do it...
I give the objects, pop Renux, I talk to her and I start the fight: she MASSACRES me with blows at 200+, backstabs at 500+, in no more stun me! She resists all the ranger's spells (even though at her level), catches up with him (even though he was sow) and rolls over him.In a few seconds it's over.
I ask for help again on the general channel, I pm the 55+ druids one by one... no one to come and help us. Renux ended up depop.
Summary of the evening: I lost all the objects used to pop Renux, loan of 400 lost platinum (100 for the quest, 100 for the tp to plane of hate, 200 for two rez).


Playing Rog on tormax is just a NIGHTMARE!
You can't solo any mob of your level, the light blue ones kill you, all your class quests are extremely difficult to complete (that was the epic, but I wouldn't even talk about the Burning rapier);
you spend a fortune on potions and equipment to compensate: it's not enough. The Kunark expansion is insufficient to compensate for the extreme weakness of the class.
The server is depopulated, it's a challenge just to find a group and level up! How are we supposed to progress in these conditions?

How can we get so stuck in the balance of a class and a game that has been around for more than 25 years ?

Boy this server sure is desolate.. I better make a rogue...

Spoiler : if you are ever in a fight where 110% of your chance of success lies in the mob being snared and/or feared... Consider bringing along a class who can lower magic resistance. Popping an epic mob with no debuffers, slowers, or any form of a plan B is something you really shouldn't admit to in a public forum.

Boy,

Kunark's renux had to be level 40+ (just see its description on p99). There on the progression servers, it is its revamp version which is in play.
It is level 50, has more than 10,000 hp with a dps of 272, proc stuns and regen 100 hp/sec. Where is the old everquest experience in there? How are you supposed to defeat something like this with kunark items??

I'm sorry that you lost a lot of progress on your epic, because it sucks and is discouraging.

It seems like you're trying to do it basically alone or with just minimal help you pick up a long the way, and that you might not have done it before. Even easier epics like rogue are not meant to be done alone, and if you're not super familiar with the fight you probably want to bring a bit extra than the bare minimum.

Renux is not bad with the right group composition, and if you had a plan you probably could have done it by adding an enchanter for tash, then ping ponging her around until snare landed, then snare kite while you dps. I'm also not really aware of her being buffed in the last 20 years.

if you want to progress as a rogue you need a guild and to be playing in groups

Implement VP corpse rules and lvl 70 roamers in all start zones on my command. Eliminate bind spell?

Check!

Perma-bind all pc's to starting city?

Check!

Key quests to exit starting city designed?

Check!

Make key corpse bound?

CHeck!

So it is written, this game is not intended to be anything less than group or guild friendly. So speaketh the developers.

If you want a real heartbreak, read up on Mitigation of the Mighty.
https://everquest.fanra.info/wiki/Mitigation_of_the_Mighty

Some of the stuff is just plain silly but it is intentional. A for instance, Lodizal used to be one of my favorite targets. https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/npc.html?id=5419
Lot's of good spell drops, quest items, gear. It is usually stupid buffed. Part of the MOTM is if your pet hits it, you get summoned and severely thumped about the head and shoulders. How this works in practice is if you come in aggro range, it hits you. You run, but your pet attacks it. Even if you haven't swung a weapon or cast a spell, you get summoned and beat to death. This isn't even an Epic MOB, just something you bump into in a ~level 30ish zone.

Seems like a lot of MOBs are on this buff even if they aren't listed. I mean they may not have MOTM but buffed beyond reason they are.

I'm not sure of all the details. I was running a Druid on Teek and someone 65ish<?> was trying to do their Epic, Druid or Ranger not sure which. They spawned the Dark Elf Corruptor + 2 Dark Elf Reavers which are level 45 MOB and it was a pretty tough fight for them. A MOBs 20 levels below them! I ended up tossing in a few heals just to make sure they won.

Anyway, your experience is pretty much what to expect. I've had the same problem asking for help with named and rare pops even when I was in guilds. The main focus is to max level and raid, everything else is considered a waste of time. It is the way the game is designed, it is what most players want to do. Even Epics are not the goal so much as having an Epic to make you a more effective raider.

Thank you for the answer.
I am suspending my subscription.

If I had known this before I would never have gone back to EQ.
I don't see the point in playing on Tormax if this game is built for guild and team play, when the server population is too low for that.
I lost money, but at least I wouldn't waste any more of my time on it.

Allow me to be the very first to congratulate you on not doing the bare minimum for minor success, and immediately quitting something because it was too hard and required flexibility, foreplanning, and execution to succeed.

Make sure to plop that at the very top of your next job resume.

No I won't allow you.
What do you even know about my experience with Tormax?
What do you know about my life irl to allow you to criticize my way of working in light of my experience in gaming?

For your information, I am not English or American, I am French.
When I play on Tormax it's with European schedules: it's already hard to find people on your schedule, but imagine what it's like with French schedules!
For your information, when it's 10 a.m. at my place, it's 2 a.m. at your place.

Since the creation of my character I have had to set up my ROG by logging in at 5 a.m., every day, just to be able to group 2 hours before going to work and increase my XP;
I had to create a 40 enchanter and a 30 shaman to be able to assist my Rogue in potions, in farming, in reselling objects, to be able to increase my blacksmith skill in order to compensate for the equipment that I could not have for lack of groups and means;
I came to the server with two friends who had even less time than me, with family obligations, but with whom I was able to build as best I could to 3.

We had no time to devote to a guild because of our IRL life and our odd schedules, but despite that we managed to climb, I climbed a Rogue on Tormax level 52 in these conditions.

But you, you who comes to criticize my choice of class on a depopulated server from your first post "Boy this server sure is sorry.. I better make a rogue..." you now come to tell me that I gave up at the first difficulties ??
Would you also like to transpose that into my way of working?
It is the hospital that does not care about charity!

Go ahead, go mount a Rogue on Tormax at level 52 like I did and there you can criticize abandoning this game.