so I've been following this almost since the real sundown. I've always said "my best EQ exp was on AK with a close second being KPemu". I don't know why but the thought of restarting on a mostly legit server these days seems like a HUGE pill to swallow. Not to mention boxing 3 seems more like a job than a privilege without RoF2 client amenities (mouse scroll). Suppose I were to roll a solo CLR... Do I sit lfg at ANY time of the day? Do I mostly get charity groups? Does the path of boxing a melee far exceed the experience I'd receive solo? I long for the days of me and my buddy Zura boxing PoTactics for AAs again, or Kaany MTing like a champ on our raids. Hizenberge and his constant market manipulations and drama entertained the hell out of me. Since losing AK I've been part of a strange Pesudo-community of prog server fanboi who somehow keep running back into one another because Nagafens Lair 1.0, KPemu, Blood of Turmoil, and Nagafens Lair all attract the same people and somehow self destructive leadership. I'm so tired of this...
Hey marche, good to see you. certainly the "barrier to entry" is why i dont have any alts leveled up outside of my main 3, but i did have a good time leveling up in new zones and seeing old raid content in a new light thus far. your old rang/clr combo would do well here, but if you did want to solo it can be done; there are groups to be found. that said, boxing is more the norm than soloing. if you can get kaany to play here i'll paypal you a dollar.
That pill becomes easier to swallow in Luclin when people will start MGBing KEI and Aegolism. MGBs combined with mudflation will result in the early levels being a more fleeting experience; and with most of the sever compressed to higher levels, groups should be easier to come by at higher levels-- particularly when level capped players will need experience again.
On PC and AK I was strictly a solo player. However the ability to box here quickly grew on me and I am more capable and have accomplished more on these characters than I was ever able to before. I box three, though I prefer two sometimes, but I think even with one I would have been okay.
I've been playing solo cleric from 1-58. I generally just roll up on 3boxers and ask if I can join. Go full-on ridiculous battle-cleric mode if they already have one. It's been pretty fulfilling. I'm raising my buddy's enchanter and druid, but they're still 48. The druid's been handy for transport and stuff. You'll probably end up getting outfitted and PL'd. Nobles from 25ish-40ish is great.
Adding on to shortoks anecdote. I pretty much damn near soloed my cleric on AK from 1-46. A lot of times those outings definitely started off with a KEI and HoV but it's doable without them.
i tried to box but i don't even have the plat to buy 1 chars spells so i stuck to single box till i get this druid higher then i can just pl other chars. im the type of person that likes to work for my upgrades and plat tho i don't like hand outs.
Hi Marche, Ive enjoyed building peeps immensely here, great folks, I too mis Kaany and raden ill send kaany a msg on FB let her know lots of us are here. But i do think this server is here to stay, great bunch of developers who are very quick on fixing bugs and answering posts about problems, one time as quick as 5 mins. Sandi and I are both here and love it.
Others have covered it, but I will throw in my 2 cents as well. Solo vs boxing: boxing 2 characters for leveling isn't bad. Boxing for most people only usually becomes an issue if you try to do too much because of conplicated circumstances (raiding could be a great example). If one of your classes is a cleric, you could fairly easily box a meelie and lv that way. If you are convinced you'll box but are unsure about 3 boxing, I strongly vote you pick a class that you can mostly ignore while leveling. A good example would be a wizard. The wiz can basically be AFK, except you switch every mob or every two mobs to throw a nuke. You can also set up a hotkey to throw 2 nukes and thereby eliminate how much you play them even more. If you don't want that, you can always choose a utility class that would be beneficial for buffs. Perhaps boxing a chanter and simply throwing C would be nice-or a Druid for ports and nukes (like a wiz) and regen. Grouping: if you want to group, and someone is available at your lv, you are very likely to get that group. I am not in the 50s yet, but my understanding is that at that lv it is fairly easy to find a group. Guilds: there are "exp" guilds that exist almost solely as a means to band individuals together for leveling and groups. If you don't want to box, this is a good source for you. Starting out: levels 1-6 will probably suck. They did for me. Starting off naked in OLD EQ is hard. People will probably see you, though, and give you some stuff. Even being given a crappy weapon is huge for a meelie because the starting weapons suck so bad. You'll have fun. Join us.
A basic fact of life on TAKP is that 1-50 is fast, 51-60 is slow. That means the active population is top-heavy. Groups can be a bit sparse at low levels, especially if you don't play during prime time (evenings and weekends, EST-PST), but once you hit 50 you'll have tons of peers working on levels, epics, faction, spell camping, gear farming, etc.
As the former number 1 Shaman on AK, it's been tough to start over. I will get around to it, maybe around Luclin, as mentioned here.
I was stressed about joining and 3 boxing too. Thought it would be terrible. But it's been pretty fun and not too tedious. I'm looking forward to dungeon crawling and camping my own loot. L I've also witnessed the generosity of many on this server. A lot of very nice freebies have been given to me and many others. Every night I see at least two ooc's of freebies being given away. Last night I saw Daft giving away a peacebringer and very nice Velious loot.
If you decide to play I'd be happy to throw some gear/plat your way to help you get started. My trader is currently hovering in "Too much stuff to deal with" territory. Just shoot me a tell on Syphietrader, or find me on Syphie/Year/Jessies.
Don't three box to start. Just don't do it. Here's what I would do in your position: If cleric is what you seek, simply box a mage with it. Why mage instead of melee? 1) Mage pets are spectacular 1-49. Especially if you can get someone to help you do the mage fire pet focus item quest. A melee takes more time and effort to gear up. A mage sends in a pet and hits a macro nuke. This allows you to focus on your cleric when grouping or soloing. In a group, the mage just throws out ds, sends pet and delivers a nuke a monster. 2) Cleric + Mage DS will allow you to power level any additional alt or replacement main within a fraction of the time it will take your first duo to get to 50+. Don't worry about not having SOW. Most of the best places to level are within 1-2 zones of a POK book. Don't worry about ports, both your guys have gate. You have rezzes, hp buffs for the pet, ds, nukes, summonable items, etc. Get both characters the diamond inlaid mask (Spell Haste 2) and the mana preservation ring now that velious is open, and you'll be set. Three boxing is not required here. Get into the game first, two box this easy combo and then weeks or months down the road you can expand if you see fit.
Can you elaborate on the mage fire pet focus item quest? As an aside this combo is what I have as well as a bard.
The four pet focus items each increase the max HP on your pet and they all come from ToSR quests all requiring you collect and turn in 4 items: Toes from a giant(ish) Rare Gem (Sold from JC vendor) Hand Held item (Dropped in Feerott from Alligators or Najena from Mages/DB Skeletons) Random drop The fire elemental one is the Torch of Alna. Requires Fire Giant Toes (Sol B), Fire Drake Scale (Lavastorm), Fire Emerald (85pp at any JC vendor), Torch (Najena/Feerott)
I haven't tried soloing, I have been 3 boxing since I started. That being said, I don't think I would ever turn down a solo player (or duo/trio) wanting to join up with me, especially a cleric. Aside from the social aspects and general ease of content that comes with larger numbers, it is actually mechanically desirable to have a 4th in the group even if they're afk. Due to an intentionally reproduced bug, in a 3 player group each player gets 46.7% of a mobs xp on each kill, while in a 4 player group each player gets 55% and in a 5 player group each player gets 52%. Thus, even an afk 4th/5th player will increase the xp gained by a trio. If that 4th/5th player is actually playing, even as a battle cleric, its even better. You probably won't find a group from 1-30, unless you can convince someone to make an alt to lvl with you. 1-30 goes exceptionally fast if you are twinked or getting plvled, and is still very fast just doing it the old-fashioned way. Thus, anyone 3-boxing will fly through these levels quickly and probably doesn't even think much about grouping with others. It really starts slowing around 40, then comes to a screeching halt at 51, so thats where most of the newer players are. That being said, 1-30 will be the roughest stretch as a solo cleric. Mage as a 2nd box would significantly increase your killing power, but does require at least some small amount of real boxing. Something like a bard as a 2nd (or 3rd) box can be completely ignored and give a good boost. Once you get mana song, just have him /follow the cleric or park him at a pull spot with mana song playing, and forget he is even there. Once you're at a level with a good enough population to group, ditch the boxes and start soloing for real.
Wow! What amazing response to my post in less than 24hr. I really miss this community! I'm not sure what exactly it is, perhaps it's all the modern clients across various servers. This TAK client,particularly the lack of mouse scroll, is SO frustrating. I really liked the post about boxing a mage. That is some really sound advice. Fortunately however, boxing a cleric / ranger on AK was the BEST EQ I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing, and I'll be going back as thus. Thanks guys, I really hope TAK doesn't start to slip like the original when people flood the gates durring PoP like how when the PC hack was released.
I played with scroll for 16 years. I haven't used it in over a year. That said, I honestly haven't logged into TAKP a single day where I haven't cursed not having mouse scroll. I just no longer attempt to scroll. Not trying to be a turd (but I guess I am), but I disagree with this. To me a more accurate statement would be "You learn to live with it, and begin caring less about #fashionquest because you never get to see yo sexy self /cry" Then you /cry for realz in the RL.
That's fair. As a tank, I greatly appreciate being able to see 360 degrees. I feel the same way when I pull.
I play melee toons in third person 100% of the time. Casters in first. Unless I'm pulling as a monk, but I'm constantly using it for vision as I'm splitting. Personally it's strange...fashionquest is prob only part of my log out 30sec. I really wish this is one of the things they let slide here.
I believe the scroll wheel is a client issue. Not something they're just not allowing. We didn't have it on AK. And it's the same client
Adding to mac client would be difficult if its possible at all. Adding to PC client is possible. Its a choice. And something that is not being allowed.
Client is classic, people are just spoiled on the 3rd wheel mouse thing. Glad it is a client limitation and just isn't being allowed Allowing for all sorts of client changes so it is easier is just a slippery slope.
