thinking about changing form all access to getting expansion for here

Use the Chronomentors and mentor down to a level appropriate for an area you get quests in. If you are subbed you can move your AA slider so all experience goes into that and you will not level up until you move it again. The questing is great fun in most cases and the learning and seeing things is worth it. There are achievements for completing certain amounts of quests. I hit 5000 unique completed quests just over 2 months ago and have no intention of passing any up, I read there is an achievement for 10,000 unique completions as well.

Also, right now the Oceansfull Event is going on, this is the first year, I would make sure you participate. The is a collection, and 20 different gifts you can obtain just by opening shells in the ocean near the celebrating Othmir. In Antonica, there is a group up near Oracle Tower, in Commonlands, there is a group right at the end of the dock, and in Timorous Deep there is a group over by the pirates and sirens. You can open shells until you just cannot fathom opening another one although there is a 10-15 second cooldown between opening one and being able to open the next one. The mercenary Bdorn Alehammer has an underwater breathing spell or you can purchase Totems of the Otter relatively cheaply off the broker for 15 minutes of underwater breathing. Alternatively, you can just resurface before your breath runs out.

Have fun and welcome to Norrath.

Ah, that explains it. In EQ/ Plane of Knowledge, they are standing around in the open. It will say above their heads 'Froglok Merc' I think 'vendor' or 'hire' is in there to, but I'm not sure.

I'll check and see if I can find them. Still don't know if I have the merc feature or not.

Hmm... I went into the same building I did several years ago when I was playing EQ 2. But I don't remember a lion's head bove the door. I'll check that.

Tried to game, but I keep crashing out to character select, no matter what I do. I'll try later today or tomorrow. I posted in player support.

When you pull up the Claim window, take a closer look at the "fine print" on the items. If it says "one per character," that's what it means: no matter how many characters you have (*cough* dozens *cough*), they are all eligible to get one. If it says "one per account," that pretty much means you have to pick the one lucky recipient. Back in the day when it was mostly just Uwk, he grabbed up a lot of the unique things, the greedy piggy kitty, but some of them (if memory serves) are available again on the Loyalty Merchants?

Which reminds me: I really have to check on their inventory! Usually, all I get from them is the Treasure Hoard (which is something you can only get as a Member, I think; reduces one's apartment rent by 25%, and if you place four of them [which is totally legal] in the same house, your rent is eliminated) and the Small Bag of Platinum Coins if I feel the need to refresh after the Broker's been excessively harsh. :-/

BTW, even if you go F2P, you can get Broker Tokens on the Marketplace, I think like up to 5 at a time or something with one purchase. So it's not impossible; you'll just have to be specific and choosy as to which to sell.

And if you are F2P, you can still do Guild Chat, so that could be another incentive to finding a good one. I'd /invite you into mine on Maj'Dul, but one of the issues with dozens of toons is that I'm not always on the same server day in, day out, and since I'm now the only player in there, it might get lonely for you.

Uwk
who's in a much bigger guild on Skyfire, and could recommend it (looking, looking...Excel is my BFF) ... Harvest Home. Tell them Ionanna sent you. ;->

Another good couple of ways to find advice is through Zam (which is pretty outdated, frankly, but still has really decent info at least until the 90s->100s levels) and EQ2 Wiki, at the following links:

http://eq2.zam.com/

http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/EverQuest_2_Wiki:Main_Page

Just type in the Search fields and you're pretty much good to go; if you don't get too far off the mark, they'll both have suggestions, at least. Zam is far less irritating, with far less ads, but Wiki is (sigh) more useful. :-/

Also, there's Denmum's site:

http://eq2.eqtraders.com/articles/news_page.php

And if you really get into decorating, Lera's incomparable site:

http://eq2furniture.com/

which, as you might guess, has just about everything on every house item ever created, including old ones that might not be easily obtainable any more. There are filters that can be used to narrow down one's options. ;->

Uwk

I've found it's a 15->20 second cool-down between Clams...at least for my computer. :-/

And Otter totems can also be whipped up for you by relatively low-level Woodworkers as well, if the prices on the Broker get too outrageous. I have Woodworkers of sufficient level on both Maj'dul and Skyfire.

What I've found is most useful for me for Inventory bags and boxes is to have three "stacks," or columns, of two that fill the screen from top to bottom, like in an Excel spreadsheet: three each of Pristine Horned Leather Backpacks (32 slots each) and three each of Pristine Stonehide Leather Backpacks (28 slots each...or their Strong Box equivalents; I also have Carpenters that can make those: Pristine Rosewood and Pristine Sandalwood, respectively). If I put the top of a Horned pack near the top of the screen, for example, in the typical 4-icon width configuration, then I can sneak a Stonehide below it, where the bottom of the Stonehide hits the bottom of my screen (I play in Windowed mode). Total slots per "stack": 60. Quite a lot of room!

Uwk
aka:
Karanasdottir, Carpenter, Skyfire
Moliss, Tailor, Skyfire
Xandeira, Woodworker, Skyfire

Dacci, Tailor, Maj'Dul
Diannah, Woodworker, Maj'Dul
Pirupoika, Carpenter, Maj'Dul

and a Horde of additional dozens!

The mercs have what looks like a golden book (at least, that's what it looks like to me) over their heads, to distinguish them from a quest giver or random NPC. I think the mercs will show up with the icon even if you don't have that feature, but I'm not sure what they say to you if you can't hire them.

There's definitely a 20 second cool-down between clams. I'm personally glad of it; it helps with people sharing, at least I've found it so. Usually I find another clam right when my cool down for them ends, so I think it's well timed.

One thing to keep in mind about the otter totems: You can't refresh the timer with the effect, like you can with other totems. If you try to refresh it, what you do instead is cancel the current water breathing effect early. When the totem effect ends, only then will it start the recast timer, which means you're stuck with your breath going down while waiting on that timer. I'm finding that with lower level toons the recast timer is EXACTLY the amount of time that it takes for your breath to run out, which means that by the time you start casting the totem again, you're starting to drown. I'm absolutely convinced that whatever dev thought up those totems is a sadist. Because they're DIFFERENT from all other totems in those particular aspects, and in such a way that it's dangerous to your character.

You SHOULD be able to get your 25 items (for the title) within the 15 minute otter timer, unless you're very unlucky. Even if a lot of people are harvesting, the repop on the clams is pretty fast, so if you're used to an area and know where the clams pop there, it shouldn't be too difficult. And unless you're doing it in GD (where the clams are REALLY deep down), going up for a breath before casting another totem also shouldn't be a problem.

I found some purple flickering areas and did those. About a 20 second time between each one. I get a necklace 3 times, and 2 or 3 other items. I need several more items to fill that collection.

I did find the otters hoping up and down, shooting off fireworks. None of them appeared to sell totem breathing items to me. There was a lamp on a post near them. I clicked on that, nothing.

I did find, in a nearby gully, a rock path, near the guy who says he doesn't eat enough 'a killer of gnolls'. Thats where I got the items I found. I swam out, and didn't see any clams. I did see barracudas and sea turtles, along with some crabs with giant pinchers that big.

No clams spotted in the water. Nor small purple flickering areas. My character's breath hardly lasted at all. I know in EQ the higher the character's swim skill the longer the character can stay under water.

I didn't see many player characters out there. I wasn't going to jump off the cliff to look for clams. I didn't think my character would like that too much.

And I did find the Veteran Flying mount, pick one of 4, in my Loyalty part of Marketplace. I need 50 loyalty tokens and have 30. So I can get one eventually.

The collectibles (purple glowies) don't have a "set" cooldown time; they're like any other collectible. Not sure what was meant by purple areas. The Map doesn't actually highlight the region, which I think it should. :-/

Nope, they don't sell anything. It'd been really useful if they did; maybe next year, hopefully.

Where was this, what area? In Antonica, they're just west of the Oracle Tower transport tower destination. In Timorous Deep, they're to the Northeast of where you zone in; there's a transport guy with a griffin you can hire to fly you over to that beach quickly. Quite a few of the clams are so shallow in that area you can see them poking out of the water. The ones in the Nursery in Greater Faydark are pretty close to the shore, in the flatter areas of the seafloor.

I think what's needed is probably the coordinates of where the Othmir dancers are in each zone. ;->

That's supposed to be true here, but the difference between, say, a Swim of 200 and one of 250 is pretty infinitesimal, imho.

You're better off buying Totems of the Otter on the Broker, getting some from a friendly neighborhood Woodworker, or (my favorite!) getting a Priest caster character or one that can breathe water racially (Erudite, Froglok, and Iksar are the ones I'm remembering at the moment; I have my toons along those lines get a lot of extras for the other toons).

Good luck!

Uwk

You will find more items available if you go to the actual loyalty merchants in Qeynos Harbor near the docks. (Or in Freeport, in the docks area where the broker/banker/mender are, if you're evil.) If you can't find them, you can ask a guard... I think "loyalty" should do it. Then they'll be marked on your map.

There should be several other flying disc mounts, that have some different appearances. One looks like blades swirling under you, one has musical notes flying around you, one has flaming skulls, and I can't remember what the fourth one has. Those cost fewer coins than the elemental mounts, although I don't remember exact cost.

The problem with the flying mounts is that unless you're the minimum level to use them, you can only put them in the mount appearance slot. I think, though, that the loyalty merchant has several ground mounts available. Could be wrong about that, but your best bet is to check.

Just make sure you check both of the loyalty merchants. There are two of them, and they each have different things for sale. I don't recall there being any kind of rhyme or reason as to which one has which items, so you really do have to check both. Some of the items you can only purchase if you have a membership, but once you own them, you can continue to use them even without an active membership.

Why I suggest the leaping mounts at lvl 30. Its almost as much fun as flying and it a blast to use! The quest chain can be hard at lvl 30 but im sure if you find you cant get it done, someone on the forums or on server will help you do it!

@Uwkete

I walked my character out the gate into Antonica. I looked on the map and found Oracle Tower. Walked out there, and in one of the nearby gullies were the Othmir dancing and shooting off fireworks. In the gully where the 'killer of' was standing. Looking at my screenshots, the Othmir are standing in a guly that shows on the map like sand, but its not. Its a green area instead. Looks like that is the only screenshot I did that day. Argh, I usually do lots of them. Probably the two key method I have to use to take one. My swim, on all the characters, is probably a 5.

How can I modify the keyboard short cuts ? The UI only shows what type I can save a screenshot as, I chose png.

@Juraiya I had looked around slightly and didn't see them. I'll check again.

@Meneltel I sometimes have to do the old 'Run Away !' when I get in too deep on a quest.

Oh, the purple areas are the collection points with the ? mark above them.

I checked all 3 Loyalty merchants. One had housing items, one had the 50 LP mount, and the other had other items like armor and weapons. I looked at the entire list on all 3, no other mounts listed.

Here is part of my log, with info I typed in using my screenshots to help me.

Just in front of Magnon Baelvurn 'Slayer of Gnolls'. This is also the stone ramp going down to the ocean.

(1529252017)[Sun Jun 17 11:13:37 2018] Your location is -640.31, -22.28, -473.11. Your orientation is 131.01, 0.00, 0.00

Over looking the Othmir dancing and firework area. Screen shot shows 'Tower Lands'.
(1529252045)[Sun Jun 17 11:14:05 2018] Your location is -716.68, -21.61, -488.88. Your orientation is 58.26, 0.00, 0.00

Othmir dancing and setting off fireworks.

(1529252365)[Sun Jun 17 11:19:25 2018] aNPC 129288 an Oceansfull celebrator:an Oceansfull celebrator a says, "Give thanks to Prexus for all he provides, above and beneath the waves!"
(1529252383)[Sun Jun 17 11:19:43 2018] Your location is -821.13, -29.53, -519.35. Your orientation is 236.64, 0.00, 0.00

The tower lands tower I clicked on to get there, is the griffon keeper.

Only monsters to acttack my character was an octopus. I did see some underwater goliath, looked like a rock elemental, which I avoided.

Items I found were: Othmir Fishing Stand, Dancing Othmir Shaman Plushie, Rodium Anchor, Square Basket of Shells, and Lodizal PLushie.

No ? spots on the cliff near Magnon this time, but there were several players zooming around on flying mounts. So I suppose they got them. No big deal, I got several on Saturday.

Due to the number of sea creatures, I don't think my characters below level 20 would last long enough to get to a shell nor open one.

Where can I find out what my swimming skill is ? I looked through my character 'C' window and couldn't find it.

For your various skills, you open your character window and to the left you will see a bunch of tabs/buttons. Click the one labeled Skills. At the bottom of the window that opens, you will see three tabs: Adventure, Tradeskill, and General.

Adventure will have stuff like your weapons & spell skills. Tradeskill will have your skill levels in the various crafting abilities & the secondary crafts. General will have everything else from swimming & harvesting to the languages you know.


For the Oceansfull festival, oddly enough some of the higher level zones have fewer mobs and thus easier shell gathering for lower level folks.

EQ2 Traders corner has a nice write up of places you can go to do this.

As it is, you do have to go to different zones to get all 9 of the collectibles, the glowing purple points with the ? ("glowies" or "shinies" as they're also known, even by the NPCs, some of whom can get very territorial about it if they're the instructors in such ;->).

High level zones like The Great Divide/Icy Fingers location (look for griffins without a tower; the first one after you zone in at the docks of The Great Divide will take you to where you need to go in Icy Fingers) can often have the aggro nasties away from the more "public" areas. If you go to the "fenced off" area, in the water, near where the dancing othmirs are in Icy Fingers/Fina's Rest (or Retreat, or Reddit, or whatever the hell it's called; it gets annoying after awhile) and use a Totem of the Otter, you can sink straight down afterwards (I like using the "End" key on my keyboard; that and "Home" will get you straight up and down) and head to the very bottom, until you can't go any further down. It's muddy/sandy down there and somewhat murky, but it's also as FLAT as The Commonlands. Flatter. None of this ridiculous up and down sea canyons, hoping for a flat spot for a Clam nonsense, and if you get in a good area, there are like half-a-dozen Clams all over the place at least. You could probably open about 25 of them on one Totem. You are, however, so far down, that you'd best keep an eye on your Totem timer, and start heading back to the surface when you've got like a minute and a half of water breathing left. Check your Map (M) and see where you are; head for the very faint curving line of dots on the eastern side of the main island, and that will be the water "fence." No aggro critters there.

As you rise up (using "Home" I think is a default), keep your camera on the underside of the surface; if you're running out of time, you do NOT want to get stuck under a large floating chunk of ice. :-/

Uwk

I found Qeynos mercs at /loc Your location is 819.96, -23.34, 63.61. Your orientation is 69.74, 0.00, 0.00

And I don't have the merc bit on this account. Have to wait until payday anyway.

If you think you're going to buy the new expansion, then don't buy the merc feature. It comes with the new expansion.

Right. I'll wait until fall when the new expansion comes out.