Maybe I don't really like old-school?

Discussion in 'Tips, Tricks, FAQs, and New Player Discussion' started by dj000, Nov 26, 2017.

  1. dj000 Member

    I've been considering getting the new EQ2 expansion, so finally logged into my main. It has been a year or so. I realize he is still only level 98 so I figure, "I'll knock out that last little bit to 100 and decide if I want to pony up for the expansion." Yes, I skipped last expansion. So, I go over to Ossuary of Malice Advanced Solo, pop a 110% XP potion, full vitality. This was the first time I got all the way through it as my one foray last year was short. I didn't do any research and didn't understand the bone wall mechanic of the first named. So, run all the way through, first time, kill everything. Woot! And I gained one pip of XP. 10% of a level with vitality and XP potion.
    Guess this is a wake up call for me. I just don't have the time to do the grind needed it looks like. I'm sure there are better places to run and I don't remember it being that painful, but maybe that is nostalgia and old age talking? And that's ok! Not sure the point of this post other than if anyone wants to share their experience or tell me I was doing it completely wrong (quite likely). I was just shocked at how little I accomplished in an hour...Still, I did have fun :) Everything is just so confusing coming back after a time away. I have 6 bars of abilities and I think I own like a dozen houses (I was a bit of a housing *****). Apprentices? Research (which I can't claim)? So much going on...

    PS - I posted this on the Reddit, but it's pretty slow over there and was interested in some feedback...
  2. Dwalen New Member

    Many people find doing the Agnostic dungeons to be one of the fastest ways to level. You may want to try those. The Crypt of Agony to be more specific.
  3. dj000 Member

    The Wiki shows CoA Agnostic to be around level 80? Are the XP rates that much higher?
  4. Dwalen New Member

    The agnostic dungeons level to you and your group. If you go in at 98 then the mobs will be level 98
  5. Rosyposy Well-Known Member

    XP for killing mobs has been reduced. :rolleyes: Too many people were running contested zones for it, I guess.
  6. Vencido Member

    95-100 is pretty brutal, but 100-110 is all done through questing next xpac, so as you go through the sig line you'll naturally hit 110, it has a much nicer feel to it.
    Snikkety, Semperfifofum and Prissetta like this.
  7. dj000 Member

    I just ran through CoA (after I figured out going to Sebilis wasn't the way to get to Agnostic version). Took me about an hour with my SK and merc. Got a couple pips and was certainly more fun - maybe fast enough to do a few more times and get to 99 :) Even in offensive stance, nothing could touch me but took forever to grind the room pulls down. There is likely tons I could be doing to fix this but I have no idea where to start...My merc is Daeron Ashenwing(?). He likes to taunt people about being dragonborn. I'm sure my AAs and gear are a mess too but I've only molo'ed and occasionally grouped with guildies when my guild was still alive.
    I will say playing around this morning has brought back good memories and may get me to pull the trigger on the expansion. Along those lines, suggestions for making my toon suck less would be appreciated (Glisk lvl 98 SK on Maj'Dul) and I guess a new guild is in order since ours is pretty dead. Makes me sad...
    Semperfifofum and Finora like this.
  8. Ellah Active Member

    It's always worth mentioning in one of the public channels when you run agnostics, you might find others who are wanting to level too or if you're really lucky a bored level 100 will come help and make it much quicker!
  9. Finora Well-Known Member

    Doing AoM instances for xp is almost pointless. You would get more xp mentored down doing older zones. It's blown since AoM was released (imo at least the solo/advanced solo versions have).

    Do agnostics, old quests in old zones, run through skyshrine.

    Good luck. =)
  10. Semperfifofum Well-Known Member

    ^ This. Lately I've been leveling to 95 and then using a 100-boost when the miserable xp gain sets in. Over the summer there were a few level 100-boosts available. If you buy the Collector's Edition of the expac you get one boost and a tradeskill boost.

    Crypt of Agony and many other dungeons are now also "Agnostic" meaning they scale to your level. I haven't figured out how to run them solo, but the Maiden's Chamber Agnostic can be started and run solo from the "door" in Jarsath Wastes. Many of them, particularly Befallen (which would normally be available for well geared lower levels) do NOT have an agnostic option on the door. :(

    in Maiden's Chamber you will get these annoying "loot" messages with nothing in them or an Adept book at your level. The loot from 90 (or 95?) and later is broken. Another thing to watch out for, it's possible for two people to be in the same instance of Maiden's chamber and not know about it. When you enter and before you attempt to get to the lower level, do a /who to check if you really are alone. They're in a gray area of contested and instanced.

    Also consider High Keep Contested, which still gets quite a bit of activity, and the Vesper Isles dungeons are really decent and I was able to molo them as a healer + merc. If you work your way through the Vesper Isles timeline, it will be a nice zone and at the end you get the title "Ages End Champion" - besides, talking to dragons is always fun.

    It sounds like you don't have an alt at level 100, so getting gear from heroics in Phantom Sea isn't an option. My advice would be, pick your favorite class, buy the expac, and boost one of your characters. It's the path of least resistance.
    Prissetta likes this.
  11. Steelviper Active Member

    Basically, they removed all bonus exp from doing older expac zones, because people have whined about other people grinding out their Tithe (new Deity improvement of your Potency / Crit Bonus / Stamina system introduced in the post-AoM Terrors of Thalumbra expac) in older contested zones like High Keep Contested, and made sure that people only get really good exp in current, newest content now.
    While that freed up the old contested zones for people who just like to do them for fun, it also shafted everybody trying to level up from scratch to 100, so they now intruduced the instant level 100 tokens - if people were willing to pay the extra cash for the prestige versions of coming expac. Although the coming on 28th November Planes of Prophecy expac has 1 account-wide level 100 boost in any version of the expac, fortunately.

    Still, doing the old content for leveling is not a good idea anymore, Agnostic dungeons being the moderate, and probably most quick alternative. Some older raid zones do give acceptable experience still - if you have the dps power to do them.
    Spindle likes this.
  12. Sudedor Well-Known Member

    If you can get the Panda merc, it might make it go faster. Not sure if that is locked to L100 or not tho.
  13. Thorsbane New Member

    I just leveled a toon up from 1 to 97 just doing quests. The exp is pretty crazy good actually. I just left Obol Plains and was already level 96. If you ask me that is great exp.
    Spindle likes this.
  14. Sudedor Well-Known Member

    Sure, there really is no "wrong" way to do it. Some people enjoy some things, others enjoy different. Some classes are better at doing things one way versus another class. Where I see more people get frustrated is where they try to "force" a class to do something it isn't good at . . . or when what they think a class should be doesn't equate to reality.
  15. Carynn Well-Known Member

    AoM seems to have gotten the worst shaft of the xp nerf. Pre-nerf you could level 96-100 doing the quests. Post-nerf it's level 96-98, leaving you two levels shy and nowhere to go but agnositc grinding, if you've followed the various expansion solo quests as you leveled. :( Since there really is no grouping anymore, doing the heroic quests can be nigh impossible for anyone under 100 and not uber geared.

    There is a thread under general called SK v. Monk (or Monk v. SK) that has some info and people you can contact, or you can drop a post in the classes thread about what you want to know for your SK.
  16. Soara2 Well-Known Member

    If you r on skyfire you can roll w me when I box lvl alts but no mercenary allowed..they screw up my pulling if u have them set wrong
  17. Semperfifofum Well-Known Member

    If I was trying to get to 100 from 97 atm, I'd go to ToV. The storyline keeps you so involved, you don't notice time going by. And the zones are pretty doable. A guildy can take you to HKC for quests, shiny's, etc if they are inclined. It was well traveled, so there are a lot of people familiar with it. And now that it's easy for 100+, the Spherical pulling of mobs doesn't make you die. As soon as I was 100 I'd go to Thallumbra. Another amusing story and involving solo zones. Only the algorithm one is not my favorite. And I missed Thallumbra completely, so I was doing it always solo. Kralet Penumbra Contested is *just* challenging enough for a halfway geared KA character level 100. Had some good times soloing that. I don't know if you can get in before 100 though.
    Kheldorm and Prissetta like this.
  18. Melt Actually plays the game

    I've got some more definitive answers to this one.

    If you want purely speed, the best thing to do is go discover teleporters in Plane of Magic
    Lower than that, if you're at 98, you can do altar of malice heroics. With decent xp buffs, you get about 30% per heroic run, with missions.
    After that, agnostics. Not fun.
    Then, High Keep Contested. Slightly more fun.
    Then, Skyshrine. Not fun.
    And, at the bottom, questing to level.

    Xp is borked. If you have access to Plane of Magic, the teleporters will insta-ding you to 100 from 0, with the added bonus of stopping at 90 to get all your AAs for some ungodly reason.
  19. Kheldorm Active Member

    No, no they won't anymore. That was an exploit bug that has been corrected. It was cutting into sales of XP pots. At 95, doing the teleporters and the explore deed in PoP will give you about 35% with an xp pot and vitality.

    Of course, they didn't roll back anyone who used that bug. o_O
  20. Anhari Active Member

    bug : undocumented feature.
    exploit : using an undocumented feature
    ban : something that happens to good people for using the exploit (err...bug),
    BUMMER!
    Semperfifofum likes this.