Best bang for my plat?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Jaruden, Jun 25, 2021.

  1. Jaruden

    Jaruden Member

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    33
    Hello again! My group is expanding in power and looking at how to help that effectively. I've finally come into some cash (Forest Loops!) and have about 2300pp between the group. I'm pretty rapidly spending part of that on spells, but wondering where I can best deploy it to help out my levelling.

    • My 30 BST is main tank. He holds up pretty well so far, but agro generation is definitely lacking. If a mob jumps to a caster, I'm hard pressed to get it back. I've got a 12/24 spear and some 8/24 h2h/1hb weapons I'm swapping around between to skill up. His armor is pretty poor (a lot of fungal fiend items I looted in my teens).
    • My 27 MAG just caught up and joined the trio. The pet does seems to do less DPS than the BST pet, but contributes pretty well. He's started picking up some big nukes and that's becoming noticeable part of our DPS now. He is basically naked, I've had no luck with anything wearable dropping (newbie robe and 2 loam bits I got for free).
    • My 29 DRU is mostly healer/damage shielder. Nukes if mana is happy. He's got decent beginner gear from a few PoK giveaways. He seems at the bottom of the list.

    A few thoughts I had...
    • Go all in on a really good weapon or two (Stave of Shielding seems commonly recommended) for the BST.
    • A haste item for the BST. Silver Chitiin Handwraps are only about 500pp. 21% I think. Or should I save up and go for a big haste item?
    • Armor for the BST. Since he tanks everything, make this better with higher AC/hp?
    • Horses for the casters? Does anyone have a horse guide? Should I just buy the cheapest ones? I think they're 10k pp each, so that's a lot of saving to go. (I run all old models, so I assume I get the benefit without the speed up issues).
    • Other?

    Thanks for any ideas!
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2021
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  2. Mokli

    Mokli I Feel Loved

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    Don't know a lot about beastlords other than when nicely geared they do well tanking stuff even at raids, mainly because of slow and have no problem holding agro if they needed to. So you will see improvements at the upper levels.

    Here's a horse guide: http://wiki.takp.info/index.php?title=Horses
    when the wiki gets fixed you can sort by those columns.

    If you have a Druid in group already, I don't see the need to get horses for speed reasons really. I just have the cheapest on mine, until they are upgraded at raids.
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2021
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  3. Darchon

    Darchon I Feel Loved

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    The Druid and magician can get by mostly without any gear for the next 20-25 levels. I would focus on the Beastlord. Get some core tank gear and a weapon/haste item.

    Thinking about your trio I would imagine that your beasts melee is probably 25% of your total DPS? With pets, mage/druid Nukes and DSes carrying the rest? If that’s right I don’t think spending everything on a weapon is the best route.

    Some typical tank gear like HP/AC rings is a good start. Leather AC isn’t that great until raid tier stuff. So beyond those rings I’m not sure what other cheap tanky items you could grab.

    The horse bug is in effect here. So if you have old models you can click the horse get the mana Regen bonus but no speed change. Horses are good for casters if you’re spending time in outdoor zones. But in dungeons they bring you nothing. If you’re leveling mostly after MGBs with KEI you really don’t need horses until your 50s.
     
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  4. Dominar

    Dominar Well-Known Member

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    Your BL should cast “Tainted Breath” whenever you lose agro. That remains the best fast agro all the way to 65. MGB are better than any gear you can buy. SCHW would be a good first haste and maybe some cheap rings with > 50 hp. Those will still be useful for a long time.
     
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  5. Kithani

    Kithani Well-Known Member

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    66
    Agreed, if there’s anything I’ve learned about EQ as an adult it’s that the hours I spent working on my gear in the bazaar in high school were a super waste of time when I should’ve just been exping.

    Make sure you use the summoned mage focus gear and then some AC/HP rings. You can vendor dive for some basic armor too every once in a while.

    One thing I did leveling up was farm a few rockhopper hides in my 40s and then offered them to people for skill up attempts in exchange for making me some armor (so example I give you the hides or acrylia for free but if the armor attempt is successful then I get to keep it). This should work well for Bst/Druid just pick a few high priority pieces like the tunic imo
     
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  6. Ugmar

    Ugmar Member

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    36
    Stave of shielding + cheap high ac shield (dragon shield of whatever color should work)+ haste (silver chitting at your budget then just save up for a RBB or cowl of mortality later in your career) is the best bang for your buck IMO on a tanking beastlord at that Level.

    For beastlord agro use spell spam (drowsy and blind are my recommendation for tanking and agro at your level though I'm not an expert) . Much higher threat per action than auto attack. Also allows you to focus on defense while holding agro. Rooting the mob infront of the beastlord will also keep it focused on the BL.

    Best to remember that your damage on your beastlord from melee swings is a woefully low contribution to your DPS. Make the gearing choices with that in mind.
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2021
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  7. Break

    Break People Like Me

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    610
    I've always purchased the cheapest horse available because I use old models. That would be tan or brown rope bridle. With enough charisma, that should cost you 8,400 PP. If it costs more, you should invest in some opal encrusted steins to get your charisma up just past 100ish.

    If you want faster aggro, a spell haste II item would probably help. I do this quest for all of my new characters. It's easiest if completed before level 10.

    Another nice focus for early levels is this quest.
     
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  8. Baler

    Baler Well-Known Member

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    57
    So long as mana is well enough on the druid for healing and occasional buffing.
    Invest heavily into your tank, in this case BST. They are the wall between the mobs and your other 2 characters.

    Get Silver Chitin Hand Wraps, don't think twice about it and don't look back. Affordable Haste that will 'carry' you.
    This was the very first big purchase I made on TAKP, I even skipped HP rings for SCHW.
    Later I passed them onto alts and their value has never diminished.
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2021
  9. Cadsuane

    Cadsuane People Like Me

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    Weapon proc / spell effects that will generate agro (regardless of if it is resisted) include:
    - Stun
    - AC reduction
    - poison counters
    - movement speed reduction (snares)
    - attack speed reduction (slows)

    The same goes for your agro spells. things in the poison-DOT and Cripple and Slow lines are your mainstay. You can even use a higher-level slow, then chain cast a lower one after that and get the aggro even though it doesn't take effect.

    Note that the amount of a counter/ac/slow/etc, doesnt matter. agro is the same.
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2021
  10. Faults

    Faults I Feel Loved

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    If you need an SoS and SCHW hit me up I can help you out. I regularly give that kinda stuff away for free.
     
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  11. John Stark

    John Stark People Like Me

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    196
    Weapons for a BST are plentiful in the Baz, just as they are for all classes that melee. You can get a 10/18 Sebilite Croaking Dirk for 500 in the Baz, for example, for main hand, and a cheap staff or club for offhand even cheaper (mudman enforcer or smoldering brand are super cheap).

    In terms of gear for a BST, its going to be pretty dry in the Baz. Its a popular class for mains and alts, and BST items worth spending pp are not usually plentiful and in the 3-5kish range or higher.

    6ac 65hp rings would be a start (about 450pp each), silver chitin handwraps, etc.

    If you see something you want in the Baz, you can always ask about the price and offer lower. Its important to remember this, as the Baz prices are often set and then forgotten about, and a number of traders will get back to you and take a lower price. Baz is a bit bloated right now, and many will take less to move some merchandise.

    Plate tanks, especially Pal/SK, have a lot of very cheap armor and weapons they can grab, as there are tons of options in the Baz for them. Doesn't help your BST out, but that is the situation.

    For druid & mage, there is often cheap Wis/Int gear, and with a bit of mana, for prices that aren't crazy. Loam encrusted is cheap for casters, but most of it is junk with very little mana. The loam robe has 80 mana though and can be had for 300-500 if you check the Baz once in awhile.

    The Baz can be a rip off if you're impatient, but I've found a number of decent items for my kids characters in the 25-100pp range that provide hp, ac, mana, and their prime class stats.

    Having just suited up a BST alt that I haven't played yet, I can tell you that gear is sparse in the Baz and not cheap for that particular class. However, ask around, and you'll be surprised what people will sell for or even give away. Weapons in particular are ridiculously easy to get, so don't spend a ton on those.
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2021
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  12. John Stark

    John Stark People Like Me

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    196
    Also, this site really helps on pricing. Its not 100% up to date, because automated "live" Baz trading is not allowed here, but it gives a good overview of what many items have sold for over time:

    http://takp.shiftingbits.io/

    It can also give a rough idea of the availability of items.

    Use it. Don't pay 2k for something that typically sells for 350 if you just wait a day or two.
     
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  13. Jaruden

    Jaruden Member

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    33
    So much good info in this thread, thank you all! Lots of good ideas to consider and work through.
     
  14. Faults

    Faults I Feel Loved

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    Please don't spend money on weapons - I can barely give away what I loot
     
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  15. Palarran

    Palarran Well-Known Member

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    154
    The beastlord's warder should hold up pretty well tanking for a little while longer, so you don't immediately need to gear up the beastlord either (although it will certainly help if you come across any good deals).
     
  16. Thunderace

    Thunderace People Like Me

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    514
    Best bang for plat is spells, alcohol, and dirty gnome strippers from the dark side of Ak'non.
     
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  17. prattrs

    prattrs Active Member

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    61
    Nice team! I run MAG/DRU/CLR personally. I have a lvl 60 BST to swap in, but these days I only ever raid and I don't want to manage two pets. It's a great team though!

    Random access thoughts:
    - Lodi shell pieces are basically free. That means DRU and BST can both get a decent EB item for 1kpp each, which is back slottable. I would take advantage.
    - SCHW are cheap, okay starter haste, have about the same stats as anything you buy cheap for just the stats.
    - For wrists I would buy whatever UP wrist is cheapest and wear it for the AC/resists.
    - There is some Withered Leather (?) gear out of the Hole which should be really cheap and good for BST (and DRU probs).
    - All else fails, it's super easy to farm a bunch of greyhopper hides in Marus Seru and make Greyhopper Hide armor for your dudes, which is sort of like a grey tinged crappy version of Wu's.
    - Spammed Drowsy all the time while leveling, still barely into the acceptable range for casting slow come 60. So spam alteration.

    I'm convinced that weapons don't matter a whole lot for a BST. For one thing, their fists have good ratio, and H2H is their highest skill. For another, BST damage output is the aggregate of lots of relatively minor sources: melee, proc, pet, pet proc, ice spears, perhaps a DoT. Finally, relative to a MAG or DRU, in my experience, the BST is not the DPS star of this trio. Use the BST to slow, pet heal, cast useful spells, and tank in a pinch.
     
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  18. Auyster

    Auyster People Like Me

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    752
    BSTs do some mad damage if they are raid geared. Getting monk weps is just egregious for the utility a BST brings.
    BST DPS can be mindless and very effective though, with the pet along with 1/3 of a monk's melee DPS. A BST brings a lot of damage on XP mobs.

    One important thing for BST tanking is that they get block. Block is essentially twice as good as parry and the most OP defensive skill.
    Also pets are ridiculous DPS on XP mobs but in raiding your trio may become more of a detriment when positioning of the mob becomes important.
     
  19. prattrs

    prattrs Active Member

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    61
    I love BST. Tovok was almost a BST. Just saying, spending plat on BST weapons is not a great idea, beyond the Stave of Shielding level.
     
  20. Auyster

    Auyster People Like Me

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    752
    Sword/Fist+Board the BST. Get that sweet shield AC, don't need to melee to get aggro. Spam poison DoTs and drowsy.
     
  21. prattrs

    prattrs Active Member

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    I would love it if BST got double attack instead of DW. Spear and shield would be great!
     
  22. Auyster

    Auyster People Like Me

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    752
    Well BST gets 15% double attack in PoP through AAs. I think 15% DA chance is like 50 double attack skill though.
     
  23. prattrs

    prattrs Active Member

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    61
    Had that on live. It was okay. I would say that if you derive any brain chemicals from watching your toon connect hits fast, then BST is not your class now or ever.
     
  24. Gumgak

    Gumgak Active Member

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    85
    I ran a similar 3-box myself, BST/CLR/DRU. Beast tank, cleric heals, druid DS, snare and DoTs. One thing that helps with aggro is tanking with Flash of Light. Generates good aggro (iirc) and blinds the mob so it will only ever attack PCs (or your warder) in melee range, leaving your casters fully protected as long as they stay at a distance. Until higher levels where you encounter summoning mobs, this is pretty much a guarantee to keep mobs off your other boxes.

    If you've got the plat for a good weapon or two, you could go that route. However, ratio 2.0 and 3.0 weapons should be more than adequate for your level (my BST was dual wielding Polished Steel Ulaks (H2H, 9/27), or even using a Runewood Great Staff (2HB, 22/40) for tanking) until I started raiding. I would focus more on the armor and equipment. Cheaper and fairly available options are Acrylia Studded/Reinforced, Brown Chitin Leggings/Sleeves, etc. Silver Chitin Handwraps (SCHW) are a perfectly fine choice, and what I used myself while leveling up.

    My Cleric and Druid were always undergeared compared to my Beast, due to his nature as a tank, and I outfitted them in whatever somewhat cheap gear I could find as I leveled up and made plat.

    One tip that I would give you is to not neglect your 2HB skill. You'll be hitting slower, but much harder. You'll also deal more riposte damage after level 40 than you would if dual wielding, while at the same time taking less riposte damage from enemy mobs due to fewer attacks. With your mage nuking and your druid's DS and heals, you'll still have nothing to worry about.
     
    Last edited: Jul 21, 2021
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  25. Auyster

    Auyster People Like Me

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    Blind acts as a fear if the PC with most aggro is not in melee range.
     
  26. Gumgak

    Gumgak Active Member

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    Aye I know it can act as a fear with nothing in melee, but it will attack the closest PC to it. Tested earlier tonight when a party member kept running in to melee and was closer to the mob than I was. The mob kept going after the other one, even though I was top of threat list. Will also attack pets if the PC leaves melee range as well, still saving the casters.
     
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  27. Wellmine

    Wellmine Active Member

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    107
    Gumgak blind was severely nerfed it no longer works as it used to.
     
  28. prattrs

    prattrs Active Member

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    I like all of Gumgak's advice, only quibble is I say just spam Drowsy. You need that Alteration. You can afford to fizzle invis a million times (every BST does it it's hilarious), but you really want to be able to cast your slow/pet heal the first time.