Peter fucked around with this message on 11-21-2005 at 06:59 AM.
My highest level tank, a paladin, can still solo (albeit slowly) at level 20. That's assuming occasional groups of down-arrow greens, and single blues, with very occasional evens, but the evens are starting to get tougher. My highest level character, a mystic, is capable of soloing fairly decently (same constraints), and is a bit more of a challenge because I'm juggling my wards (EQ1 runes, essentially) and my offensive stuff. My primary arcanist (an enchanter on the road to Coercer) is enjoying the fact he can charm yellow mobs into working for him for a solid 8 minutes, then go after other mobs.
So soloing IS possible, if you play it smart.
More later.
sigpic courtesy of This Guy, original modified by me
Now recently they beefed up some mobs, and then toned down some of the changes when they proved to be too rough. So it's not as easy as it was at launch, but it's still very solid.
All classes bitch. You'll see it in any game. Right now there's a lot of Summoner Jealousy, because a summoner can sic a pet on a mob and sit around collecting XP. Or they can have the pet fighting something while they can forage (if you're in combat, you can't forage; Summoners have a loophole because they personally may not be in combat, but their pet is). These are exceedingly minor loopholes, however. But because of them, there are a LOT of summoners out there.
Two classes that are sitting happy and not bitching, nor are people bitching about them are shamans and rangers. Rangers in EQ2 have it pretty sweet. Lyinar's main character is a froglok Ranger, and she's loving it. My main is still my shaman.
Now...about the differences in EQ1 and EQ2 classes...
Don't play a class you played in EQ1 assuming it will be the same in EQ2. In EQ1, shamans were the swiss army knife. Buffs? yup. Haste? you got it. Slows? Got that, do it well. DOTs? yeah got a mess of those. Not so much in EQ2. We get the same basic DOT that ALL cleric classes get. But our strength (at least for Mystics) lie in our wards and our buffs. We aren't the DOT machines (I think Defilers and Necros do that), we aren't the best immediate healers (clerics are), and we don't do regen (Druids). We're healers in the sense we keep you from dying by keeping you and the group from taking damage. Oh we can heal, but that's just not our power-effective means of keeping people alive.
And I've never had a hard time finding a group for my mystic. Ever. So in some ways they're the same as shamans. Just not for the same reasons.
My only gripe are the models. Male basic models suck. Go for the new SOGA models for males. Female SOGA models are creepy (halfling females look like the powerpuff girls. I shit you not), so female characters should use classic models.
sigpic courtesy of This Guy, original modified by me
Let me clarify about mobs a bit. There are two types of mobs in EQ2. One type are marked solo mobs. They share the same con colors as the other type. When viewed in the target window they usually display 1,2 and 3 down arrows (more on arrows later) or no arrows at all. It is quite possible to solo an even, yellow, orange or sometimes even red solo mobs yourself. They are made to be soloed. They aren't necessarily a single mob. A group of VVV arrow mobs can be a solo encounter and entirely doable alone.
The other group are heroic mobs. These are mobs that are made for groups. Many times they are a single powerful mob. They come in all the con colors as well, and they usually have up arrows in the targeting window. Sometimes there is more than one mob, but often not more than 3 very tough mobs.
Now for the arrow system. The arrow system tells you the difficulty of a mob. A solo mob with a single down arrow that is white is going to be a slight amount easier than a non-arrow white mob. But a green mob with 3 up arrows is heroic and is going to beat the shit out of you without some real good tactics, if you can take it at all.
Some mobs for quests are epic level. Epicx2 for instance means bring 2 solid groups. There is no more than Epicx4 because EQ2 raids cannot be larger than 4 groups.
There are a LOT of quests in EQ2. Some are just flavor, some just give a little coin or a small item to use as you level up and some are really worthwhile. A small handful of these quests require grouping at some point, but most that do you can usually find people doing them. Or with the mentor system, higher level friends can mentor down to a lower level to help out friends.
I find EQ2 entirely soloable. I play a high DPS class, but every class has some utility in soloing, they just have to identify it.
Oh one thing I forgot. Con is a bit different. No-experience start with grey mobs.
Grey - green - blue - white - yellow - orange - red
And a mob is only aggo to you if it has a red lining around it. Otherwise it's non-aggro and you can pass it freely without attack. Lyinar Ka`Bael fucked around with this message on 11-21-2005 at 01:47 PM.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
quote:
We were all impressed when Ja'Deth Issar Ka'bael wrote:
nor are people bitching about them are shamans and rangers
Oh you should see the bitching about us. Warlocks and wizards are pissed we put out the same Tier 1 of DPS, forgetting the fact that we pay for that by having to buy poisons that may or may not proc.
But rangers are in a really good place right now. We got some love and it really beefed our class up. Lyinar Ka`Bael fucked around with this message on 11-21-2005 at 01:51 PM.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
With my Shaman, it's all about finessing the skills. Kinda like EQ1 bards and juggling the songs, but not quite.
My Chanter is something in the middle. Use my charmed pet to assault a group of Yellow Heroics...pet dies weakening one, I charm another into being my pet, root any that are still full health, DOT them, drop the pet on the weak one, back off, keep the one rooted, sic the pet on that one when it's done ganking the weakened one. Rinse, repeat.
I've discovered I'm surprisingly good at Chanter tactics in EQ2; never quite got the hang of it in EQ1.
sigpic courtesy of This Guy, original modified by me
sigpic courtesy of This Guy, original modified by me
I am kinda interested in seeing the old zones. Is Halas really gone? Say it isn't so, best town to start in. Can i find and dance on Holly Windstalker's grave? Peter fucked around with this message on 11-21-2005 at 04:54 PM.
quote:
The logic train ran off the tracks when Ja'Deth Issar Ka'bael said:
My Chanter is something in the middle. Use my charmed pet to assault a group of Yellow Heroics...pet dies weakening one, I charm another into being my pet, root any that are still full health, DOT them, drop the pet on the weak one, back off, keep the one rooted, sic the pet on that one when it's done ganking the weakened one. Rinse, repeat.I've discovered I'm surprisingly good at Chanter tactics in EQ2; never quite got the hang of it in EQ1.
Sounds a lot like playing a bard in EQ1. You know, all my friends want me to come back to EQ2. I played beta and played for 1 month and got tired of it.
Now everyone is telling me its just like WoW in how certain things work.
I dunno, I just can't seem to get back into it.
quote:
This insanity brought to you by JooJooFlop:
I had an Erudite Brawler on his way to being a monk when I played EQ2 briefly. I wasn't terribly impressed with the game.
The game got a combat update in September and Monks and Bruisers really are the shit now. Lyinar Ka`Bael fucked around with this message on 11-21-2005 at 05:05 PM.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
quote:
Peter had this to say about the Spice Girls:
I am kinda interested in seeing the old zones. Is Halas really gone? Say it isn't so, best town to start in. Can i find and dance on Holly Windstalker's grave?
Everfrost is still around, although it's a bit higher level. And you can go out into Antonica and dance on her grave, just watch out for her ghost because it roams the lands and will kick your ass.
Tradeskills are actually pretty viable. All the raw materials come from harvest spawns in the zones. Really the only thing you need to buy to craft is fuel. With cross-class tradeskill abilities, a single char can do everything. Or you can have one of each like I do. And you gain tradeskill levels separate from adventuring levels.
Unless you get lucky on a drop, the skills you receive have to be upgraded by tradeskillers, so it's a worthwhile enterprise.
And yes, the trial also got a bit of a revamp recently and it doesn't take too long to get up to where you can leave. Plus the quests they have you do just about gets you there.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
quote:
Brahmin Bloodlust's unholy Backstreet Boys obsession manifested in:
Now everyone is telling me its just like WoW in how certain things work.
Can you give me some highlights of WoW? I can't say if it is or isn't like it because I don't play WoW.
And to add to Deth's comparisons, rangers in EQ2 are masters of ranged combat. Because we are paper tanks, we specialize in having the mob die as it arrives at our feet. Cause if it gets to us, we're usually toast 
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
quote:
Lyinar Ka`Bael said this about your mom:
The game got a combat update in September and Monks and Bruisers really are the shit now.
Weird, because when I was playing when that update was on the horizon people kept talking about how they were gonna get nerfed.
quote:
JooJooFlop enlisted the help of an infinite number of monkeys to write:
Weird, because when I was playing when that update was on the horizon people kept talking about how they were gonna get nerfed.
People have been talking about how rogues are going to get nerfed in WoW for forever, right?
quote:
The logic train ran off the tracks when JooJooFlop said:
Weird, because when I was playing when that update was on the horizon people kept talking about how they were gonna get nerfed.
They didn't. They get very nice DPS. Plus they aren't bogged down in plate armor like other tanks, so their avoidance is nice and high.
I was just in a group the other night with a 33 monk tank and he was amazing.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
Soloing is definatley possible, and can be done regardless of class. You just have to know what you're doing. For example with my Shadowknight, the best strategy is just to kill the mob as quickly as possible, because aside from my small ward, I have nothing available to heal myself with.
With Adlak, it's different. I can root the mob at the beginning of the fight and apply DOTs and nuke it down a little, but seeing as I'm a healer, my DPS isn't fantastic nor is my HP. So I have to constantly be mindful of my own health and heal at the appropriate times (and make sure I have enough mana).
Anyways up until about a week ago, experience at 50+ was RIDICULOUSLY SLOW.
In EQII you get "Vitality", which is comparable to rested experience in WoW. While you have vitality, you earn double experience. At the top of the hour, every hour, you get 0.5% vitality. When I had 100% vitatliy with Adlak (before the change) at level 52, it lasted me about 15% to my next level (could go from 20% to 35%). With the new changes, at level 55, with 100% vitality... it should last me well into level 58.
So grouping, soloing, and exp at 50+ is a lot better than before.
Anyways, yeah. It's good stuff.
And thanks for providing the higher level perspective. 31 is my highest so I'm still getting there.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
quote:
Jaggedpine Mistwalker painfully thought these words up:
Pesco plays on Mistmoore too, and I think he's higher than me now... D=
Yea, dinged 56 a few days ago. Slowing down for tradeskills though. 
I enjoy my Ranger but if you aren't a DPS class expect soloing to go a little slow. Better yet, just don't watch a Teir 1 DPS class solo. You'll feel better about it in the long run otherwise you'll just get depressed and make a Ranger.
I solo, group and raid often. My co-worker is a Paladin and my brother is a warden, we all love our classes. The revamp did a lot for the game. All aspects of the game are reachable by both hardcore and casuals. Ofcourse, the hardcores will still get more there is plenty of fun challenging combat for casuals.
And Lyinar, wizards / warlocks aren't pissed because we put out the same DPS as them. They are pissed that we put out more then them. To the tune of 200+ more DPS then them on a single target encounter, sustained. Ofcourse, if the ranger can't manage aggro worth a shit they die but that isn't the point. We are gods in the end game, pure and simple.
Monks / Bruisers are good but not awesome. They are more of a DPS / Spot Tank class then anything these days. We use mostly Gaurdians and Paladins for tanking. But if I have one as my group tank I'm not gonna complain, heh.
Oh yea, SOGA sucks. Pesco fucked around with this message on 11-22-2005 at 02:34 AM.
We're just slightly higher on that Tier now than they are, but what's funny is they forget the fact that they have almost the same DPS, they don't have to buy their DPS like we do with poisons and we get exactly one group buff: Pathfinding, while they have utility spells outside of damage ones.
What tradeskill did you take up? I have one of everything to at least 20 except Armorsmith, but my 31 Prov is my highest.
And actually for the guys the SOGA models don't look too bad but the women make me want to gouge my eyes out with a fork, especially the halfling females. Redid my cleric and thought I would die from Cuteness Overload. Even the gnomes aren't as bad. The wood elves look freaking awful, big droopy eyes and elongated faces that just make them look mentally retarded.
I thank God they don't have a frog SOGA model. I don't have any on. I think I'd puke.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
Poisons aren't a big deal, Legendary Teir 6 Super Poisons (for reference I use Adeste's Disruption) are about 10 gold which with Teir 6 vendor trash loot selling for 11+ gold a pop, it is made up easily. Yea, paying for poison sucks but it is well worth it. Wizards / Warlocks need groupies to get that extra DPS, we buy ours.
I'm an alchemist. Not all that hardcore into, it is mostly to make potions / poions for myself. Though I don't need it all that much as my guild keeps me stocked well. Pesco fucked around with this message on 11-22-2005 at 03:48 AM.
quote:
When the babel fish was in place, it was apparent JooJooFlop said:
No way those new models can be worse than the old models.
Yes, yes they are. The SOGA models are a special "Asian" type of model and they look like complete ASS.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
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Lyinar Ka`Bael spewed forth this undeniable truth:
Yes, yes they are. The SOGA models are a special "Asian" type of model and they look like complete ASS.
As opposed to the original models that also look like complete ass?
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JooJooFlop had this to say about the Spice Girls:
As opposed to the original models that also look like complete ass?
The original models look good, cept for some of the male models. Now some of the male SOGA are okay, but the females look like ass.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
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Lyinar Ka`Bael painfully thought these words up:
but the females look like ass.
I wouldn't say that
quote:
This one time, at Yuri camp:
I wouldn't say that
check out halfling females.
The eyes, man. The eyes will SUCK OUT YOUR SOUL
sigpic courtesy of This Guy, original modified by me
quote:
Ja'Deth Issar Ka'bael was naked while typing this:
check out halfling females.The eyes, man. The eyes will SUCK OUT YOUR SOUL
One race does not ugly females make! Again,
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
To my knowledge, the current western models are starting to get some attention from the art department but we will see. It might just end with the armor revamps.
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Pesco stopped staring at Deedlit long enough to write:
For those that don't know, SOGA models aren't new EQ2 models. They are the models used in EQ2Asia. Some people saw them and liked them so they asked and recieved.To my knowledge, the current western models are starting to get some attention from the art department but we will see. It might just end with the armor revamps.
Less chunkiness in the models and more organic looking skin and hair would be nice.
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Lyinar Ka`Bael's unholy Backstreet Boys obsession manifested in:
What race are those, Yuri, half elf?
Wood Elf I think.. the first two at least. I'm not quite sure though.. I don't actually play!
