to get really good stuff

I just want to point out how much of a joke that Raid gear is just BIS gear.

https://u.eq2wire.com/soe/character_detail/446680001540

I'm wearing 6 KA raid items (only cuz im too cheap to buy the KA collection neck or else it would be 5)

The rest of those 5 items net you 800potency and 220CB more than their next BIS items combined.

It's all good and thanks for that.

There was a time, around Plane of War, when I was frustrated by the story/lore being limited to the few players who could raid. But the Signature Quests and the Heroics do a great job with the story now. And the Ascension classes make you uber. The first Ascension skill I got was Septic Strike which at Apprentice level has a base damage of average 5 million. So you're not likely to get stuck on a quest you can't complete anymore. That said, it's not that hard to find heroic groups and for most casual players that's plenty. Just be sure to read the strategies online so you know what you're supposed to do.

For my alts I'm happy just doing the Advanced Solos and Solos for leveling Ascension. One of the more fun ones is the Sorceress in Arcanna'se Spire, Vessel of the Sorceress (Advanced Solo). My husband calls her the Pinball sorceress. Lots of lore if you read what she says (probably later though, after the fight, save a log file).

Another thing that makes this game casual friendly is the SLR sales. Activate your auction channel and you can go buy some heroic or raid gear that way. But honestly if you're just in it for a good story, or adventure, you won't miss not having raid gear anymore.

So how about the T4 jewelry that is a 1000 potency upgrade over everything else thusfar, fervor overcap armor and *mythical* epics when we get there? Most BiS stuff is from raids

Best in slot items
Cloak, TS epic
Bracers,burning key
Hands, PG
Legs, PG
Main/secondary/ranged, epic 2.0
Neck, collection
Charm, Ascension
Ring, PG
Wrist, Faction

Waist, arguably Roost but one groupable now same as turtle healm.

That's quite a few slots that can be filled without raiding if you look at it more than 50%

T4 wrists have like 2400 potency and are not relic, and the cloak is not BiS. A t3 raid cloak is better.

The fact that you are only contesting im wrong about 1 or 2 slots proves my point.

The total gear output based upon any BIS raid items vs any just general BIS item outside of raids is <10%

Most of the raw damage increase comes from actually doing your epic, then doing PGs. Just notably 150 fervor proc, 10 raw fervor, 40fervor overcap, 1200potency 600kability mod, 300%hp + all the special acsension boosters from the jewlery in the questline.

No raid gear equates that kind of power.

So if you are a player who inst doing those yes you are feeling the hurt.

You don't have to be in a raid guild to raid. A bunch of raid guilds will allow raid members outside the guild to join the raid force. And I think all the servers have some sort of co-op raid force, in which a central group of people organize raid forces that anyone can play with (on Maj'Dul, that would be the CRA Brigades).

That being said, even pretty casual raid groups get severely annoyed when That One Raider constantly has their head in their hinder parts, isn't following instructions, goes ninja AFK, won't turn off AOE attacks on certain fights, fails to joust etc. You're making the whole raid less fun for the other 23 people when you are the consistent Raid Fool.

If you are getting yelled at, then at some time NOT DURING THE RAID, ask the raid leaders and other raiders for help. Maybe you need to do something different with reforging and they can advise you. Maybe you need to learn how to figure out a more effective casting order. Maybe you need to buy certain Signets and make sure you always have them (along with a stack of each kind of cure, potions and items to restore power, etc.) Perhaps you need a different AA setup to be more effective.

Another way to be a better raider.... go to the EQ2 Raid Progression page and figure out who the top raid guilds are. Look up players of your class who belong to those raid guilds at EQ2U and if they've made their info available, compare their gear, stats, AAs, etc to your own. Also, look up yourself at Dragon's Armory and look at your stats... hovering over any stat will show you what that stat does and what the hard and soft caps are, to help guide you in reforging. You can ALSO look up those raiders of your own class as mentioned before, and see more detail about how they are set up.

If you are raiding with some jerk(s) who think abusing others is all LULZ, then shop for a better raid group. My own philosophy is that if you are not paying me Real Life money in the form of a paycheck or are not married to me, you don't get to yell at me, period.

How many casual raid guilds are ever going to see T4 loot? None, so like i pointed out you can by spending your time grinding PGs and running 1 group get more than 50 % of you equipment better than running raids at the present time.
On a side note Oviana the cloak you mentioned is that the Sar' Vamp one? I just wondered why it was BiS is it because it can be reforged?

I wasn't aware these were still being conducted on Skyfire - but that's fine - thanks.

Understandable - irks me as well in PUGs lol

Happened to me twice, I asked for help and was told there was no time to teach newbies, find another game to play.

Nah, I play now the way I want and no longer have interest in raiding. I rarely "need" on gear in groups either as I'm not really a gear "*****" anyway (just my term for players "needing" on everything that drops whether they need it or not, not an accusation for all players or assigned to any particular group of players).

My crafters make me good enough items and once in awhile I meet up with old friends and get an upgrade.

This style works fine for me these days.

Yeppers, I've been using those sites for years and find them very helpful for all my toons.

I agree completely!

It's a game, I'm here to have fun, meet decent people and maybe make some friends along the way.

Anything else is of no interest to me... Therefor... No raiding for me LOL

I play on Skyfire. The "we take anyone" guild used to be Metalocalypse. Not sure of today. I still see Forces of Evil running Pugs regularly, and before I joined a raid guild I would go with them on Pugs a bunch, they know their stuff imo. Other groups that run heroic pugs: Genisys, Aegis (not lately tho, what happened?), and Legion. Lately I see a lot of people in Forgotten Souls around, but haven't noticed them pugging.

There's more "anonymous" settings than before so it's hard to tell who's starting a group. I assume because of previous hurt feelings... games can be hard on the soul. I think we all need to acknowledge that we've been wronged and we wronged others in the past and move on. Adrenaline --> aggression is no bueno. Stuff happened, bury it and play.

I'd offer to help, but I'm waaaay behind everyone now. Took me a month just to get the UI behaving, then another month to finish the first run through of the new Signature quest. I took a break during AoM, so lots of time lost. I want to go through Thallumbra with my second toon before KA, but it's so hard to resist the Ascension skills. LOL decisions!

That part where you said they were unwilling to help you because "no time for newbies" that's low. They could've at least told you about EQ2library, a (new?) website that has writeups on the heroic and raid zones and the strategies within. Happy grouping, or soloing if you prefer!

Only 1 experience was on EQ 2 - the other was on VG!

Yah, I found that site not too long ago - very helpful

Btw, if you're interested i can group with you if you want to go through any of the timelines - I have lots of toons that have not done any of them and I have multiple accts.

Thankfully there are more mature raidleaders on EQ2 than this fellow

All right. I followed you I think that allows you to start a conversation with me. I'll let you know who I've been playing lately and maybe we'll meet in Norrath!

Is that the "fake" news we hear so much about today?

Pretty close yeah