People come to official forums to find information on the game for just the simple basics. We used to have a newbie guide thread that was stickied in this forum to help new players get started. What happened to that thread?
They thought people would go look at a wiki instead of ask in the forums. The forum mods here are totally worthless...my opinion of them won't change until they start contributing in a positive way. Before we can get a couple of good sticky threads, we need to be able to edit posts more than 15 minutes after it's been created.
I have threads that I started (restarted) back when this iteration of the forum was started and I just have them in my watched threads and use that to find them for references and to occasionally update. I would much rather not have to bother, now, Roshen (sp?) with going back and editing stuff. I have thought from the start that the 30 minute timer was stupid. A limit on the number of posts to get unlimited editing is fine (say 100-200 posts), but for us to not be able to edit them after 30 minutes still is silly.
Especially when you typo as bad as I do and don't recognize it right away, 'cause you read how it was in your head and not how you typed until some time has passed. For those unfamiliar with me, I leave out negatives way too much, as well as many other things. Yther Ore.
I like this idea. I really don't like wiki much. I prefer the forums. Wikis tend to be outdated, and I really don't like the navigation on them.
I quite like wikis, but there's too much separation between the forum and the wiki. What I'd really like is some sort of super CMS that could be edited like a wiki/markdown cross, with separate views as blog, wiki and threaded forum. But, lacking that, a sticky post that was maintained would be an adequate substitute. It should hold starter links to the wiki AND TO NON-SOE RESOURCES (sorry, my caps lock key must have slipped there!. Crystilla's sig would make a good start. And keep it up to date, even under the current forum edit rules, by unsticking and reposting every couple of weeks.
Borek's TNZFAQ is a better source all around, but here's a sort of quick attempt to placate the original poster. And all of this info is available in here in many posts and signature links. Things to do prior to Installation or logging in: There are often promotions that have to be signed up before logging in. See the thread at https://forums.station.sony.com/eq/...more-new-info-for-those-who-missed-it.206408/ for the current (2014) offers. Installing / Updating: Download the patcher from https://launch.soe.com/everquest/ or if that page isn’t working, direct link is http://launch.soe.com/installer/EQ_setup.exe -- Download and save to your EQ directory. If you don’t have one yet, make a custom one, such as C:\Games\EQ and save it there. Once saved, run it from the custom directory. General guidelines Start a new character, even if returning to play an older character and do the Tutorial and all the quests. This will get you used to the UI and time to adjust it to your preferences. If you’re coming from another game that you are familiar with, you may want to search http://eqinterface.com/ for compatible UIs. See UI section. Also, in preparation, download a complete map pack from somewhere. See Maps section for details. Once you have finished the tutorial, you can leave two different ways. Most people, just click the black cave near the waterfall to zone into Crescent Reach. You can talk to Arias to have him port you to Plane of Knowledge, if you want to skip Crescent Reach or play old style from your original city. Another way to get to your original city, is if you picked one other than Crescent Reach you can use the Origin AA (Ctrl+V – select Origin – Press Make Hotkey button and place it on a hot bar). Again, most people generally will just go to Crescent Reach as it’s the most up to date starting city to play in. This is the point where you have to start making your own decisions about what to do and how to play. For those that like to be guided, following the Hero’s Journey achievements (/ach in-game command, or find it on the EQ button) or a good leveling guide such as the following ones: Almar’s: http://almarsguides.com/eq/leveling/ Some people love quests, some just kinda like them, and others don’t like doing them at all, and only do ones that are really valuable, such as epics when they’re relatively new. The choice is up to you, but generally quests alone won’t give you enough experience to level. Although many quests involve the need to kill things so you can get more experience just by repetitively doing them. There are many more ways to play as well, just grinding and questing and a mix of the two are the the most popular ways. Other Playstyles: Non-killing, quest only – This is very harsh method. Generally it involves lots and lots of questing that do not include killing in the quest. This is a very difficult way to level and highly restrictive. More so than any other playstyle. Progressive or Era-Limited: This is common among those that want the original or close to it playstyle and difficulty. There are many ways to go, but the common ones are Original game only; Upto Velious; Upto Luclin; and Upto Planes of Power. Basically you limit yourself to content and items that were available in those time periods. Server-specific playstyles: Zek is the player versus player server; Fiorina Vie is the role-playing preferred server; Then there have been various progression servers over the years. Everything else is generally a mix of one or more the various playstyles with varying limitations. General Advice for Level 10-50: The general leveling guide is to follow the Hero’s Journey achievements, if you like doing quests and to keep your armor updated. This is not necessary, as the tutorial gear will last you and just take upgrades as they drop along the way and do the Hotzone quests from Franklin Teek in Plane of Knowledge for excellent experience and gear rewards. Twinking: Generally there is no need to ‘twink’ per say, unless that is the main goal. That is to have the best 1st level character you can and don’t mind putting in a lot of time with a higher level player helping to obtain the items. Many twink lists are good for this since very few newer items will out do the old ones at first level. Magelo is another good resource for searching for top end first level characters and their equipment. Note though, some of the characters are made with items that although don’t have a required or recommended level, cannot be obtained by first levels due to the No Trade nature (unless on Firiona Vie server) and the zone requirements. Trio jewelry by levels 15-20 and above are often the best HP/Mana/AC pieces to get, and used to be readily available in the bazaar. See gizmotron for a calculator. There may be some specific raid items that depending on how you weight / value them, maybe better, and the defiant jewelry from the PoK merchants () are sometimes more sought after due to the foci. OoW upgraded augs used to be readily available in the bazaar and due to fitting several slot types were very popular twink items used with DoN Culturual armor. Leveling Advice 51-61: Depends on whether you want to earn AAs or not, or use the Auto-Grant feature. If you plan on earning them, then all you should ever want to start with, other than some of the UI / utility ones are listed in my starter AA guide. Or you may want to earn all the tradeskill ones first, before starting the Auto-Grant so you earn them with the 1000% AA bonus for low AA count. Auto-Grant is generally easy way to go now-a-days as you get all but the tradeskill and silent casting line of AAs for each level as you level, upto level 85 and Underfoot expansion. By 59, you’ll want to start looking into farming or buying a complete set of Elaborate defiant gear, which is generally pretty cheap other than chest and legs in the bazaar. By 61, you may want to away from keyboard (AFK) in the guild lobby (GL) for an hour or so to get whatever buffs you can. Only upto level 90 (with a few 91 exceptions also) will land, but will more than double you HPs. From 65, onwards, you’ll want to do this to get fully buffed, and for those with mana, have more mana regen than you can use up. Leveling 62+ Advice: For the standard playstyles, continue with defiant gear until 71+. At 71 some other / better equipment becomes available. See Thach Jorden’s quests (basically just turn in of tradeable items to get no trade equipment). By 80/81 you’ll probably want to buy or start working on farming HoT gear. Leveling 85+ Advice: See a Heroic Character Guide Maps: Mapfiend Map Packs Select All Maps and hit the Download button. Or get them from other places, such as http://www.elitegamerslounge.com/home/mapquest/ and others. It’s now best to install in a custom directory under the maps subdirectory of the base EQ directory. For example EQ\maps\mapquest for the elitegamer mapquest sets. If you’re having problems getting maps to install, can check to make sure the folder is not marked Read Only and you have permission to change it. Installations in the Program Files directory often lead to permission problems. If this is the case, you can try taking ownership via the instructions at http://web.archive.org/web/20120414205751/http://www.wintuts.com/Change-permissions-take-ownership for Vista+ Windows OSes. Details of Maps: Map File Contents: http://everquest.allakhazam.com/fcluster/gotopost.pl?mid=1181103120166445609 Map File Layers: http://everquest.allakhazam.com/fcluster/gotopost.pl?mid=1234992557259729646 Directions and Location: https://forums.station.sony.com/eq/index.php?threads/progression-advancement.205726/#post-3021165 UI Note, there is a bug where too many installed UIs will cause issues and not be able to load any but the default. I’m not sure what the number is, or if it’s even constant; just something to be aware of, in case you installed dozens of UIs. The way you install a UI depends on the type. The two basic types are partials and complete sets. Complete Set Installation: Download the zip file. Open and extract it and it’s sub-directories to your base EQ directory, uifiles sub-directory. The details depend on what application you use to view / extract zip files. Here’s the simplest using windows default viewer. Double-click on the zip file. It opens up a folder view. Click Ctrl+A then Ctrl+C to select all, then copy. Open My Computer and browse to your Everquest directory, then the uifiles sub-directory. Press Ctrl+V. Note, most ui designers want you to delete old folders of the same name before pasting. For Winzip and other similar style archive viewers, simply open the zip file, then hit the Extract button; browse to your Everquest\uifiles directory and hit the Extract or Ok button. Make sure sub-directories are checked. Partial Set Installation: Partial sets generally require you make a sub-directory in your Everquest\uifiles directory and install the various parts you want there. Some may require copying the default folder contents there first also. Read any text file that comes with them or directions from the eqinterface web page you downloaded it from to determine if anything special has to be done. In-game selection of UI: Once in-game, press Ctrl+O and click on the Load UI button; select the ui folder you want and check the various options you want. Other Resources: Blatantly taken form Crystilla's Signature: Borek’s guide: http://www.paullynch.org/tnzfaq/ Almar’s: http://www.almarsguides.com/ EQMage: http://www.eqmagetower.com/wiki/ReturningtoEQFAQ Redmace: http://redmace.com/guide-to-everquest/returning-players-guide/ General Resrouces: Allakhazam: http://everquest.allakhazam.com/ Grouping: http://everquest.allakhazam.com/wiki/EQ:Grouping Grouping Level Ranges: http://everquest.allakhazam.com/wiki/EQ:Grouping_Level About Quests; Some Game Terminology; Expansions info: http://everquest.allakhazam.com/wiki/EQ:Expansions Some Advice on Mercs and about Controlling Mercs. INI and User Files to backup / transfer. Advanced Resrouces: Lucy Item Database Definitions How to read Spell Data information and how to determine sticking and stacking EQ Wiki Tribute Item Lists: Clicky Items Augmentation Basics of Augmentations Best Defensive Augs Slot 4 Augs with a Proc Omens of War Augments Containers Special Procs Aggro Procs Old Alla Weapon Comparison Formula PB AE Weapon Procs Yther Ore.
Gizmotron link: http://nathrach.republicofnewhome.org/gizmotron/ PoK NPCs that sell defiant jewelry: Iason Yureska (Level 50+ items) and Keefe Stearns (Level 5-49 items). OoW Augs: http://everquest.allakhazam.com/wiki/EQ:OoW_Augments Yther Ore.
