Hello all. I am new to EQ2, and am rolling a swashy when I get home tonight. I was just wondering if anyone had any tips or anything for a beginner. I played WoW for a couple years, and had a rogue as my main, and figure that this would be similar enough that I can focus more on learning the game than having to learn an entirely new way of playing(such as tank or heals). Thanks Kel
Keep on top of your gear. When you start using your Achievement Points, I'd suggest going for the Agility line first. Always keep your poisons applied (rt. clk. and "autoconsume"). Remember, you're not a Ranger. You get up close & personal. Sneak up behind them and unleash death. Unless you take the Reach line for PvE, in which case you can melee kite mobs to your hearts content.
Also, do any of you have a preferred tradeskill to go with the swashy while levelling? I was thinking it would probably be a tossup between alchemy, for the pots and especially the poisons, or armorer, for making my own armor to stay up to date on the gear. I might be totally wrong with that though. Any suggestions?
Jeweler. I've got a Weaponsmith (ZOMGcanusayGRIND?!?!), a Tailor, a deleted Provisioner (see Weaponsmith comment), and a Jeweler, all up around the same levels. Transmuters make the same adornments as Weaponsmiths (secondary tradeskill, and an expensive one to level). The most usage you'll get is from the Jeweler. Every tier needs new gear. The Mastercrafted stuff is good. For PvE it's real good. Take into consideration how many pieces you'll make per tier, both for yourself and for sale. Now, that's 8 pieces, including a belt. That's the most utility of any crafter, except maybe a Tailor. Add in Magic/Holy Symbols for casters & healers, just to throw up for sale. And ... an Armorer makes plate & chain, a Tailor makes leather and cloth. But all classes need jewelry. You'll also be able to use every rare but wood. For the crowning achievement ... you'll make all your own Adept III's; the second-highest level combat art upgrades. Toss in the overabundance of recipes (not just jewelry and adornments, but skill-ups for every scout class in both common Apprentice IV and the Adept III versions), you'll not have to repeat or grind recipes until you're in the 70's. Doesn't seem like there's such a hard decision ahead of you now, does it?
I'd go Alchemist. While levelling you can buy adequate gear/spells off the broker, but you will always need poisons (and for rading potions). By the time you get to t8, hopefully a guildie/friend will make adeptIIIs for you. You will also get treasured drops better than most stuff you can make for yourself as a jeweler, and armourer too is only stopgap gear until you get better drops. Except for a brief flurry when the level cap goes up jewelers make nothing that is in demand - imbued rings aside perhaps (well I made a killing including server disco on them when the cap went to 80). Alchemists on the other hand, make posions & potions which are consumerables, and have the same or more recipes than jewelers so levelling is also fast (and more profitable). It might be different on a PvP server, but thats my experience on PVE (4 level 80 crafters, and a couple more almost there).
Alchemist is great. Will save you a fortune on poisons. Jeweler is also nice if you want to make your own A3's but I recommend Alchemist
Remember that, try as they might to nerf us, we are still a utility class (that can DPS almost as much as some tanks ). You won't see many of them until your early teens, but we get a lot of interesting abilities, such as snares, interrupts and stuns. Your basic M.O. should be (in true swashbuckling fashion) to keep the mob so distracted that it doesn't realize you are hitting it until it's already dead. Another tip: when you get your mez at 26, you can use that when you health gets low and wait for some CA's to reset, specifically Cheap Tricks, which gives you more damage free time to kill the thing. So, unload everything, use Disarming Grin and hit ESC to stop attacking - wait until key CA's are reset or mez is almost up, then finish off the mob.
