New player here!

[Snrub]

Greetings all,

I am an old EQ veteran (played from 1999 all the way through 2010 before finally hanging it up). I have been aware of this server for a long time but never got around to giving it a shot until now.

I was curious as to what the grouping situation is like in the low to mid level game and what the popular hangout spots are?

I originally rolled an Erudite Magician, got to level six, and then rerolled as a Human Enchanter out of Freeport (now also level six) for a few reasons. First being, my main for my entire EQ lifetime was a Magician. I also eventually had a max level Cleric and Bard, but my classic, non-powerleveled EQ experience is solely as a Magician, so there's a bit of a "been there, done that" feeling. Also, I decided I wanted to roll a more group friendly class rather than a solo friendly class. Leveling up in classic for me as my Magician was done mostly solo due to difficultly of finding groups, and thus I missed out on a lot of things. There were a bunch of zones I never really spent much time in when they were level appropriate, such as Paw, Cazic Thule, Upper and Lower Guk, etc. It wasn't really until well into my 50s that I became a regular full-group player.

I know it's possible, but difficult, to solo as an enchanter, but I don't really want to go that route. Am I going to be sitting around with nothing to do as soloing becomes more difficult because I can't find groups? Keep in mind I am coming into the server fresh, I am completely untwinked and lack any sort of connection to other players on the server at this point.

[TheDoja]

Once you get Charm as an Enchanter, you are one of the best solo classes is the game along with Necromancer.

Look up some charm kiting techniques and locations.

http://xornn.tripod.com/introduction.htm


or the wiki version of this guide

http://wiki.project1999.com/Xornns_Enchanter_Guide

Here is a small level list of charming spots as you level:
http://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146423

If you want to be proactive in group and keep a charmed pet going (Pref one with Backstab, you will add greatly to the DPS)

I would recommend you finding GamTextTriggers and GINA to set up some timer and sounds that will show you Mez durations and play a sound when your charm breaks so you can quickly regain control in the middle of the fray. Without a clicky, I used Lvl 4 Mez>MR Tash>Recharm on breaks. When you get a clicky, you can just use Tash, Stun, Charm in quick succession.

Keep some merchant bought Torches in your inventory to give to some pets with dual wield to give them a quad attack. Sarnak fort in LOIO is great for this.

[maskedmelon]

Make liberal use of charm and other solo play style cc tactics while in groups and you should not have much trouble flying solo. Practicing in groups provides a safety net while providing the group with better dps and an all around better chanter. Welcome and best of luck.

I should add that cha gear is relatively inexpensive and should be your priority stat as it affects efficacy of lull/mez style spells as well as duration of charms. A deep mana pool does much of nothing for a chanter, especially once you obtain ToT.

[bloodmuffin]

Enchanter is fine. Just remember to stick with the class, don't keep rerolling.

1-10 will be the usually newbie struggle, once you break out of that you'll be finding groups pretty frequently towards 20, I'd say there's an overabundance of enchanters in the early levels (1-30) but that's just the majority rolling alts and really won't be seen again towards lvl 40+

The low to mid level grouping scene is bountiful depending on your play times, prime time is usually 3-8pm PST/-8GMT

Here's the usual path for grouping, pick what you want from the list, you can bounce around between places if one or the other isn't catching results. I put some as "if asked" only go there if there's a group formed or forming up there, don't waste your time sitting LFG in those spots or running out there to check.

East Commons 1-10 (since you started in Freeport)
Nro/Oasis till 12-16
Highpass orcs/Gnolls 12-20
Unrest 12-25+
Mistmoore Castle 18-30+
Highpass Keep 20-30's
Sol A 20-30+ (if asked)
Upper Guk 10-25+ (if asked)

30-35 will be a lot of back and fourth between places as CoM and Upper Guk are within your range but very far apart distance wise.

tip: Don't be a dummy and group in OT from 30-35 like I see so many do. Let the solo classes duke it out there. Twice now I've noticed I had out leveled these OT parties by nearly two levels on different alts while returning from CoM.

[webrunner5]

An Enchanter is one of the most sought after classes in a group on here. Throw in a healer and you have a group just with the 2.

You picked a great class to play IF you can play it great. It is a very hard class to play well let alone great. Not much time to rest, or be daydreaming. Even solo, once you get into Dungeons on one, you are committed to keep up the pace, because of re pops. But they can make it happen like no other class can. :)

[Snrub]

I definitely enjoy playing a more support-based role in groups. My Bard in EQ Live had over 200 days /played on it. I originally was going to roll a Bard here, but the lack of a /melody command turned me off, as I had grown used to not needing to manually twist my songs while playing on Live servers.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. It's good to know that the low level game is fairly active. I was worried that as this server had been around a while, that it would be very top heavy.

[Jigawatts]

Enchanters are always wanted. Along with shamans, clerics, monks, and tanks, they are pretty much in the first tier of desired classes on here.

It is pretty darn top heavy, but there are still lots of people throughout all levels of the game, either people playing alts or new people to the server (which we get a pretty steady influx of). And groups are pretty easy to come by, especially in places like Crushbone, Kurns, Unrest, Mistmoore, KC, Seb, etc.

Anyway, welcome to the server, you will have a blast.

[Snrub]

I just thought I'd post some observations after getting a little more time in to play. I am now up to level 12. The slog through the first few levels was a little boring, mostly because I didn't really feel much like an Enchanter yet due to lack of spells.

The good:

1) People on the server, have for the most part, been very nice. Before I left EC I experienced many drive by buffs that I never even asked for.
2) People actually group and talk to each other. When I quit EQ Live about four years ago, grouping was for the most part non existent outside your inner circle of friends. Combine this with the fact that many people (including me, out of necessity) boxed three or more characters, and combine that with mercenaries, there wasn't really any reason to group.
3) I've reminded myself that I prefer MMOs with slower paced combat. I feel this encourages the social aspect.
4) There is a decent amount of low level people to group with, despite the server appearing to be very top heavy.

The bad:

1) It's somewhat intimidating as a new player to the server person with no connections. Most people I've grouped with so far are very twinked (I even grouped with an < 10 rogue who had his epic), and I'm running around in full cloth armor. I suppose it's a good thing I chose a caster.
2) Spells are very expensive. I don't remember having this much trouble affording spells on the live servers back in the day. Are spells more expensive here than on live? Even with selling bone chips and orc belts to higher level people, I'm still not able to afford every spell.
3) I know this is classic, but I wish the boats were faster. I traveled from Freeport to Crushbone last night, and I forgot how much I hate boat rides.

[Estu]

1) It's somewhat intimidating as a new player to the server person with no connections. Most people I've grouped with so far are very twinked (I even grouped with an < 10 rogue who had his epic), and I'm running around in full cloth armor. I suppose it's a good thing I chose a caster.
2) Spells are very expensive. I don't remember having this much trouble affording spells on the live servers back in the day. Are spells more expensive here than on live? Even with selling bone chips and orc belts to higher level people, I'm still not able to afford every spell.
3) I know this is classic, but I wish the boats were faster. I traveled from Freeport to Crushbone last night, and I forgot how much I hate boat rides.

With all due respect, in my opinion your concerns are kind of non-concerns.

1) There's no reason to be intimidated by twinks. The vast majority of people will group with you regardless of your gear; people understand that new players have to come up from scratch. Starting with a caster is not necessary, and there is a lot of cheap gear available in EC that low-level players can definitely farm money for. Just because someone else has a lot of fancy gear doesn't mean that it has to be an attack on your ego. If anything, it's nice when twinks group with you because their gear means that you get EXP that much faster (since you'll be killing stuff quicker).

2) Sometimes you may need to take an hour or two out of your leveling in order to farm a little platinum (i.e. to farm items to sell to other players). Bone chips and orc belts are both good; high quality bear skins and spider / spiderling silks can also be sold. You also don't necessarily need to buy every spell; some spells are a lot more useful than others. Also, the spell costs become much less of an issue as you get into your high teens and onward, since the money you get from vendoring random stuff you find on monsters (gems and research components) ends up being more than adequate. Affording spells can be a little scary in the early levels for sure, but it is far from insurmountable; with smart buying choices and a little bit of extra time farming, there is no reason you'd be in trouble.

3) Don't take boats, period, unless you for some reason need to go to an ocean zone. Your best friends are the commands "/ all druid 39 60" and "/ all wizard 39 60". See who's online and doesn't appear to be busy EXPing (you can tell based on what zone they're in) and ask nicely for a port, explaining that you're new to the server and don't have much money to offer. The vast majority of druids or wizards who would port someone for money (and most do) would port a newbie for free.

[Mentathiel]

The twinking is a little scary sometimes, but the random gifts from passing players and the low prices in EC mean that we are all a little twinked compared to true classic characters.

I play a rogue (my main) who at level 21 already has a lot of gear which she wouldn't have got for another 15 or so levels in 1999. Yes, I had a moment of wanting to cry when I grouped with a ranger who had two serious haste items (which don't stack) at 21, but that was the same group where the party paladin handed me a Sarnak-Hide Mask (for +5 strength) as a freebie.

[Teneran]

I also started out here recently and offer the following advice.

1. Don't buy every spell (now anyway); just buy the essentials. You're going to be poor for a while, you just forgot that from Live.
2. Take advantage of downtime on the boats. Sure, it takes forever but I do things like cook dinner, take a shower, clean the house ... all things i need to do anyway and I just do them while on the boat, multi-tasking! Same when I have to med to full if soloing.
3. You can't really twink a caster so you're fine wearing cloth, do be intimidated.

[MEGANS LAW]

thanks

[DrKvothe]

I'm not sure how it compares to live, but one of the most important tools for a button-busy caster like solo enchanters is an instant clicky. When you click an instant clicky, all of your spells ignore the global cooldown except for the spell you just cast. For the spell in the top spell gem slot, when you cast it then use instant clicky, it becomes immediately castable again too.

This allows you to react much, much faster to SNAFU than if you don't have an instant clicky. The cheapest tradeable instant clicky is probably spyglass, which costs about 25pp worth of mats for a tinker to make and usually auctions for 75-100pp. Rod of insidious glamour, however, is quest-able in your mid-20s and serves this purpose perfectly. Just make a hotkey for it and bind it near your thumb (i use spacebar for my shaman's spyglass).