New Patch Ruins EQ-Live, Switching to P1999!

[vjfinazzo]

Okay, I'm not sure if you are all familiar, but the new patch that is coming out this month on the live servers is literally driving away HUGE amounts of lifetime players. They have gone too far, I will link it (HERE (https://forums.station.sony.com/eq/index.php?threads/changes-with-the-february-update-alternate-ability-grants-for-gold-members-and-ability-changes.207363/)) as I don't want to talk about it..

ANYWAYS..
I am looking to switch to Project 1999. I know I have some noob questions, so hopefully I don't get trolled and flamed like Universal Chat in EQ. Please bear with me.

If I started now, fresh on Project 1999, at a low level is there a lot of grouping to be had? I currently four-box on Live, but I would rather not do that unless its a necessity.

Also, if this is the wrong spot to post this or anything, I apologize right now. If its easier, send me a private message to talk about this. I am REALLY interested in Project 1999!

Thank you very much!!!

[Quineloe]

so after 12 years they finally decide to nerf AE groups?

I really like their bullshit excuse. Pulling all of Old Seb back then didn't tax their pathing processor to the point of breaking, and now it does?

[Pint]

Your in the right place, boxing is not allowed on p99 but as of late the population has been excellent, there are groups to be had at all level ranges all across norrath. Welcome to the server.

[khanable]

Yes, there is plenty of grouping to be had! With the new raid policies in place this server has been booming -- many folks coming back and many folks starting new.

Multi-boxing is not allowed here: you will be banned. You're allowed to play one character at a time. Period. Don't do it.

[vjfinazzo]

Didn't know about the boxing policy, I definitely won't break it! Awesome, thanks guys for the welcome, and the info!

I was just curious, because I love my tanks. But early game back in the day, you HAD to have a healer to be of any use. Just didn't want to be stuck playing solo and having to roll something that can play alone.

[Quineloe]

as someone who's currently playing in the low teens, it feels like 25% of the server population is clerics right now.

[vjfinazzo]

Wow, that's awesome!

My last concern, would be time of play. I work 2pm-10pm EST, I get home, shower, eat, and usually log into the servers around 10:30/11:00 PM EST and play until about 3 or 4 AM EST. Is there a decent amount of late-nighters out there?

[Grubbz]

That patch looks so bad i woulden't be shocked if this bumped p99 population up to 1500-1800.

[vjfinazzo]

That patch looks so bad i woulden't be shocked if this bumped p99 population up to 1500-1800.

Seriously, I just came back to EQ-Live 2 months ago. I started fresh, boxed my way up (since there is absolutely no low-level groups) to 82 currently, and grinded the HELL out of some AA's, got my toons to about 1.3k AA. The last 2 months, for NOTHING. Wasted, they are just giving out 4k AA's. I understand people want to be end-game faster, but they will not know how to use their AA's, and miss out on all that oldschool amazing content. Oh well, that's why I'm here :D

[Millburn]

Best advice for starting Project 1999.

PLAY WHAT YOU WANT TO PLAY

Figure it out as you go, don't be put off by the struggle. That's ultimately what's fun about Classic EQ in my opinion. Take your time, gear up as you level and take the time to travel the world in-between xp sessions.

[vjfinazzo]

Best advice for starting Project 1999.

PLAY WHAT YOU WANT TO PLAY

Figure it out as you go, don't be put off by the struggle. That's ultimately what's fun about Classic EQ in my opinion. Take your time, gear up as you level and take the time to travel the world in-between xp sessions.

I agree with you on that Millburn, but to some extent, if I had NO support to help me through the lower levels, playing a tank could get frustrating. But I miss the old grind, taking hours upon hours to level. Hell I'll be honest, when I came back to EQ-Live 2 months ago, I literally dinged 1-40 in a single night. Skipped over all the classic stuff. It stinks. But with this new patch, hundreds even THOUSANDS of EQ vets will be quitting, and if they love the game enough, they will be brought to P1999!

[jaybone]

QUITTING BECAUSE THEY NERFED MY AE XP.

[vjfinazzo]

QUITTING BECAUSE THEY NERFED MY AE XP.

I don't swarm, mage beam, any of the AE xp, I don't get powerleveled, I never bought plat online. I am not quitting because of that. I am quitting because my Uncle (high end raider) and a HUGE amount of the high-enders are quitting. The AA Auto-Grant will just usher in a whole new group of people who don't know how to raid or group with their toons because they have never learned the AA, they are just granted. Plus my Uncle has played since 99 and all the work he put in to grinding AA, poof gone, now you can just log in, get a toon to 60-80 in a matter of a week, and you get 4k AA.

[Millburn]

I agree with you on that Millburn, but to some extent, if I had NO support to help me through the lower levels, playing a tank could get frustrating. But I miss the old grind, taking hours upon hours to level. Hell I'll be honest, when I came back to EQ-Live 2 months ago, I literally dinged 1-40 in a single night. Skipped over all the classic stuff. It stinks. But with this new patch, hundreds even THOUSANDS of EQ vets will be quitting, and if they love the game enough, they will be brought to P1999!

You're under-estimating our population a bit I think. There's going to be plenty of people for you to group up with. You've been abused by live too much, you're home duder. Play what seems the most interesting to you, don't dote on the what-if's when it comes to that stuff.

[Ajkuhuun]

PLENTY of groups at the low level, jump on in!

[Millburn]

PLENTY of groups at the low level, jump on in!

Man your avatar and sig look really familiar, did you used to play on SoD?

[vjfinazzo]

You're under-estimating our population a bit I think. There's going to be plenty of people for you to group up with. You've been abused by live too much, you're home duder. Play what seems the most interesting to you, don't dote on the what-if's when it comes to that stuff.

Ahhh, there's no place like home. Awesome, I appreciate all the feedback. I do have ONE last question. As to having to have EverQuest: Titanium.. is that something I have to purchase from the olden days? Or is there a downloadable/buyable version? Sorry, I read the rules and stuff, I'm just a tad confused.

[Ajkuhuun]

Man your avatar and sig look really familiar, did you used to play on SoD?

No I played on Lanys sorry :( I just made these for p99.

[Millburn]

No I played on Lanys sorry :( I just made these for p99.

It's just the art style and the pastel colors on the Iksar. There used to be this guy on the SoD forums who had an iksar laying on his side cleaning his scales with a little brush. It was familiar so I thought I would ask :P

[Millburn]

Ahhh, there's no place like home. Awesome, I appreciate all the feedback. I do have ONE last question. As to having to have EverQuest: Titanium.. is that something I have to purchase from the olden days? Or is there a downloadable/buyable version? Sorry, I read the rules and stuff, I'm just a tad confused.

None of us can tell you directly here, but do a little search on the webs you would be surprised with what you find. There's also a helpful thread here on the forums that have ... pretty opaque clues littered in it for you to help find your way.

http://www.project1999.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1305061&postcount=13

[Ajkuhuun]

It's just the art style and the pastel colors on the Iksar. There used to be this guy on the SoD forums who had an iksar laying on his side cleaning his scales with a little brush. It was familiar so I thought I would ask :P

Oh awesome. No the colors are lighter because my phone for some odd reason when it imports stuff from Sketchbook pro makes everything super light, and I was too lazy to darken it up in photoshop :/

[vjfinazzo]

Haha wow, thanks for those hints! Seriously, I figured it out instantly :D I will see you guys soon, I am going to download tonight, and I will be on the servers tomorrow night! Thanks so much, it's good to be home!!!

[Danth]

Just keep in mind that P1999 recreates Kunark-era EQ. It'll get Velious in time, but that's all. Aside from the name it's effectively a different game from Live. The level cap is 60 and it's very slow to get there. There are no AA's, no mercs, no level requirements on gear, no soulbinders, no Plane of Knowledge books to port around with, no modern class balancing, no Bazaar, and none of a hundred other features added since circa 2001.


Danth

[vjfinazzo]

That's totally cool with me, as long as the forums are friendly for me asking noobish questions, or I can find people to just /tell and help me, I'll be all set! :D Thanks Danth.

[Bazia]

Bro I'll be flat out honest, after you play here awhile you will be upset you wasted any time playing EQ live at all.

[vjfinazzo]

Bro I'll be flat out honest, after you play here awhile you will be upset you wasted any time playing EQ live at all.

I never got to enjoy the early content of EQ. I'm only 23, and by the time I got into EQ-Live, it was already around the LDoN/GoD era. My Uncle played since 99, and I remember watching him in '99 having to ride boats, run across many zones, get lost in towns, etc.

I want to live back in those days. So I'm here :D

[Bazia]

Yeah you're not like my 25 year old ancient ass.

What class did you main while you played live?

[vjfinazzo]

Haha 25 is not ancient at all, we probably have a lot in common.
When I played back in the day, my main was a Necro and also had a Warrior, played and raided them equally once I got up to end-game. After a huge break, coming back to Live these last 2 months, my main has been an SK and I box a Bard/Shaman/Zerker with him. But I will not be boxing (as it is not allowed) on the P1999 server. So I am torn on what to create. I love my SK, but idk if Bard's were as beneficial back then as they are now. Oh, and I LOVE my Warrior.

[Derubael]

Welcome home! Bring your friends! There are plenty of groups to be had and people to meet at all levels, but it's always fun to have people you already know around to group and meet new people with!

[Bazia]

Depends on what you want to do.

If you are huge on raiding and already considering bard I would go with that, super easy to level with swarm kiting.

They are arguably one of the most OP classes in the game in this era and are in incredibly high demand by raiding guilds.

[vjfinazzo]

Welcome home! Bring your friends! There are plenty of groups to be had and people to meet at all levels, but it's always fun to have people you already know around to group and meet new people with!

My little brother started when I did (playing Live) just a few months ago, and he has really come to enjoy EQ like I always have. He NEVER played old content. He has been watching Project 1999 YouTube videos non-stop, he likes the old-school stuff, and the whole fact of the game being challenging. He wants to join P1999 with me too, but I read you can't have multiple IPs connected to the server :/ does that mean I can't get him to play? We have to share an account and play seperate?

[vjfinazzo]

Depends on what you want to do.

If you are huge on raiding and already considering bard I would go with that, super easy to level with swarm kiting.

They are arguably one of the most OP classes in the game in this era and are in incredibly high demand by raiding guilds.

Yeah I was highly considering Bard. One of my favorite classes to play. Thanks for the heads up. I will definitely want to raid high-end (once I get there).

[Danth]

Something you may be unaware of (since they were removed in 2001) is that some classes have experience penalties. Bards, Rangers, Shadow Knights, and Paladins have a 40% experience penalty. Monks have a 20% penalty. INT casters have a 10% penalty. In addition, some races--particularly Ogres (15%), Trolls and Iksars (20%) have additional penalties that multiply with the class penalties. A Troll Shadow Knight has a whopping 68% experience penalty, and requires probably twice the total experience to make level 60 that a Halfling Warrior does. You may wish to consider this when starting out.

Project 1999 has its own Wiki which is immensely helpful. You could easily find it via forum links or web search.


As noted above, Swarm Kiting allows a solo Bard to level at a very rapid rate that no other class can match, at the cost of being rather boring to do.

Danth

[Bazia]

Yeah I was highly considering Bard. One of my favorite classes to play. Thanks for the heads up. I will definitely want to raid high-end (once I get there).

Well Warrior and Bard both have very vital roles in raiding. SK not so much, it's more of fun utility type class that has limited raiding capabilities but is amazing for grouping scenarios.

I would recommend that you try out Bard first just because it doesn't require nearly any gear or platinum to be useful and can level really fast solo if you choose to swam kite.

They can also make lots of platinum by farming alone. Just make sure you group from time to time and get the hang of twisting a couple songs as there is no /harmony on this server.

Don't be that Bard applying to a raid guild at level 51 who has only grouped 3 hours in his entire lifetime haha.

[vjfinazzo]

Well Warrior and Bard both have very vital roles in raiding. SK not so much, it's more of fun utility type class that has limited raiding capabilities but is amazing for grouping scenarios.

I would recommend that you try out Bard first just because it doesn't require nearly any gear or platinum to be useful and can level really fast solo if you choose to swam kite.

They can also make lots of platinum by farming alone. Just make sure you group from time to time and get the hang of twisting a couple songs as there is no /harmony on this server.

Don't be that Bard applying to a raid guild at level 51 who has only grouped 3 hours in his entire lifetime haha.

Don't worry about the aspect of playing a Bard or twisting songs, I'm actually pretty good at twisting. I actually went level 1-40 on EQ-Live manually twisting my songs, just for the fun of it :] Melody takes almost all the fun out of the Bard. Click Melody, auto-attack. Zzzzz.

[jaybone]

I don't swarm, mage beam, any of the AE xp, I don't get powerleveled, I never bought plat online. I am not quitting because of that. I am quitting because my Uncle (high end raider) and a HUGE amount of the high-enders are quitting. The AA Auto-Grant will just usher in a whole new group of people who don't know how to raid or group with their toons because they have never learned the AA, they are just granted. Plus my Uncle has played since 99 and all the work he put in to grinding AA, poof gone, now you can just log in, get a toon to 60-80 in a matter of a week, and you get 4k AA.

I don't see how any of this is of any concern to your uncle. I imagine most guilds still have application periods on live. And if they suck you don't accept them its as simple as that.

[Derubael]

If you have someone in your household you'd like to be able to play with you, just post for an ip exemption in the petition/exploit forum. Eunomia (a staff member here) is amazing about processing them very quickly. You should both be able to play together within a day or two.

Keep in mind we DO watch for 2boxing, and if you violate that policy your accounts will be subject to disciplinary action. I know this is a terrible way to steer a 'hey, welcome to the server!' thread, but I just want to put it out there so you are aware.

There is a "Project 1999 PnP - Server rules' thread at the top of this page - would be a good idea to at least skim through the first handful of points to get an idea of whats allowed and what isn't.

[Bazia]

My little brother started when I did (playing Live) just a few months ago, and he has really come to enjoy EQ like I always have. He NEVER played old content. He has been watching Project 1999 YouTube videos non-stop, he likes the old-school stuff, and the whole fact of the game being challenging. He wants to join P1999 with me too, but I read you can't have multiple IPs connected to the server :/ does that mean I can't get him to play? We have to share an account and play seperate?

You can apply for an IP exemption through the petition forum, they get handed out every couple weeks and then you both can play.

I will just warn you though once you have hte exemption don't be tempted to box his toons or your own or anything.

Boxing is really looked down upon by the community here and you will get banned and/or blacklisted by the community. It will seem convenient to try and get away with it a few times but trust me don't bother it's not worth it.

[Tongpow]

Man your avatar and sig look really familiar, did you used to play on SoD?

your thinking of Nathasar i think, he has Avatar/sig that looks similar i thought the same thing when i came here

[vjfinazzo]

You can apply for an IP exemption through the petition forum, they get handed out every couple weeks and then you both can play.

I will just warn you though once you have hte exemption don't be tempted to box his toons or your own or anything.

Boxing is really looked down upon by the community here and you will get banned and/or blacklisted by the community. It will seem convenient to try and get away with it a few times but trust me don't bother it's not worth it.

Nah, I'm not gonna try and get around the rules or cheat my way through it. Accounts will be run on separate computers, with two humans playing. I'm not coming here to play for a week and get banned :P that is great news, he will be glad to hear that. I can't wait to experience the old content again.. gahh itching for it. With that being said, once I get an IP exemption, what boxes best with a Bard? My brother LOVES Magicians. He will probably go that route regardless :p

[vjfinazzo]

I don't see how any of this is of any concern to your uncle. I imagine most guilds still have application periods on live. And if they suck you don't accept them its as simple as that.

I know, I understand that part. But for my Uncle, it's mostly the time, money, and effort he put into getting those AA. ALL veterans of the long-term picture will be upset, just read the forums. What they spent 10+ years grinding the old hard ways, are now just being handed out like candy to the new people who spend $15 for a month of gold? If you don't see a problem with that, well let's not get off topic. I won't discuss live stuff here, if you want you can post on the EQ forum or message me.

[Jimjam]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmxEB-hZ_Ck

"Three thousand hours. Three thousand hours clicking on that mouse, collecting weapons and gold. It’s almost as if it was a huge waste of time."

[Clark]

Welcome to the server!!

Also I stopped playing in 2007, but that is some of the most disgusting news I've seen yet since then.

[fadetree]

LOL they are just giving away thousands of AA now. Why don't they just spawn you on creation with a fully leveled and geared player?

[myriverse]

Eh. It kinda of becomes the nature of the beast after so many times of one-upping the last expansion.

[Daldaen]

Eh most of you haven't played max level EQ Live in many years.

4k AAs isn't that fascinating. Considering max is often 10-15k depending on class. Still have to earn the most recent and useful AAs, as well as gear, augments, plat etc.

The autogrant of AAs is a necessary ploy to attract new players to the game. Try introducing someone to EQ live currently. Most just quit outright because of what you must do to become even remotely viable in the group game even in the 75-80s range.

The exp curve helped but it was still a huge mountain to climb before you could become a functioning member of a group.

Th swarm EXP nerf does suck though. That is a large part of what made the game fun. It will still be possible for certain classes, but they really just need to update their hardware to handle mass pulls.

[Rogean]

Lol I kind of see where they are coming from with the process usage.. it's the same way here. However, they have the personnel at their disposal to optimize their pathing code, instead of blaming the players and nerfing a bunch of shit.

I'm pretty sure we have far more zones running per server than they do and bard AE kiting doesn't break a zone here (as far as I'm aware?).

[Tecmos Deception]

When these spells and abilities were created some time ago, we never could have imagined players would utilize them in such clever ways.

Lol.

What the hell else did they intend players to do with spells that were 1) inefficient on smaller groups of mobs and 2) able to hit very large groups of mobs? Break AE mezzes for the lulz? Get yourself killed in a normal group?

Terrible.


But at least it is meaning new players for p99. This place is the best :)

[phacemeltar]

no AA's here

[Nocsucow]

Lol I kind of see where they are coming from with the process usage.. it's the same way here. However, they have the personnel at their disposal to optimize their pathing code, instead of blaming the players and nerfing a bunch of shit.

I'm pretty sure we have far more zones running per server than they do and bard AE kiting doesn't break a zone here (as far as I'm aware?).

thats because you got good shit big rog

[heartbrand]

Swarming was dumb. As a shadowknight I could pull an entire zone into a corner and kill it with ease. People crying over that being nerfed eight years later are lol. Thanks for this post I'll make sure to log into life to optimize my 7000 AA's for this change.

[Tecmos Deception]

With that being said, once I get an IP exemption, what boxes best with a Bard? My brother LOVES Magicians. He will probably go that route regardless :p

Lol, stop saying box. It's a naughty word around here. Boxing only means "one player playing multiple accounts at the same time" in p99. That said though, it is legal to play 1 account on red and 1 account on blue at the same time if that's your cup of tea.

Bards work decently with any other class, but they don't work great with any other class either imo. They are stronger the larger the group is because so many of their abilities make everyone else in the group stronger + enable faster pulling and stuff. But they still can make it work.

Make sure you read up on the overall mechanics of these classes before you pick one; I'm willing to bet none of them work much at all like they do on live: http://wiki.project1999.com/index.php/Main_Page

[mnemonikos82]

Not to be overly negative, but while we will get a good number of quality players from that exodus, we'll also get a crap ton of the crappy players. Can you imagine the sheer number of "I want a new server" and "Waaaaah prices are too high!!!" posts you will see now?

All this means to me is that I need to get my characters into their 40s and past the first hell levels before the wave hits us. You'll lose a bunch of players when they hit 30 and their xp bar just stops moving...

The beautiful thing is that unlike WoW and EQlive, Classic EQ was not tremendously easier at the lower levels so I'm sure the baddies will get weeded out.

[Man0warr]

Yeah people who have been used to getting to level 80 in 2 days with a merc and killing 3-5 mobs for an AA point aren't going to last long here.

[RiffDaemon]

Swarming was dumb. As a shadowknight I could pull an entire zone into a corner and kill it with ease. People crying over that being nerfed eight years later are lol. Thanks for this post I'll make sure to log into life to optimize my 7000 AA's for this change.

Thal is my SK's home :(

Still interested to see what the finalized patch will be.

[Glain]

We were 1k server pop last night at 12 am pst

[Skywarp]

I used to swarm with an SK in fort mechanotus for hours days and weeks. Each pull could be 50 to 100 mobs. The only bad thing I saw was when my mortal coil didn't proc. Sometimes it could get laggy but no one in the zone ever complained. Most of the time you would see omg, holy shit, etc. I I know for a fact rangers in the feerott2 used to cry piss moan when they could gearshifts temples because it was perma camped. When the rain of fear launched people just moved deeper into HOT and raped. To many people crying is why they are nerfing this. Period. Plat sellers and farmers have ruined that game.

[Cyrano]

You're gonna love it here, shit is like crack. Gets in your veins.

[fastboy21]

Okay, I'm not sure if you are all familiar, but the new patch that is coming out this month on the live servers is literally driving away HUGE amounts of lifetime players. They have gone too far, I will link it (HERE (https://forums.station.sony.com/eq/index.php?threads/changes-with-the-february-update-alternate-ability-grants-for-gold-members-and-ability-changes.207363/)) as I don't want to talk about it..

ANYWAYS..
I am looking to switch to Project 1999. I know I have some noob questions, so hopefully I don't get trolled and flamed like Universal Chat in EQ. Please bear with me.

If I started now, fresh on Project 1999, at a low level is there a lot of grouping to be had? I currently four-box on Live, but I would rather not do that unless its a necessity.

Also, if this is the wrong spot to post this or anything, I apologize right now. If its easier, send me a private message to talk about this. I am REALLY interested in Project 1999!

Thank you very much!!!

These changes are awesome. Going back to EQ live!

[gwideon]

EQLive was ruined years ago when they went into constant class re-balancing because of whine-quest.

[Uteunayr]

Okay, I'm not sure if you are all familiar, but the new patch that is coming out this month on the live servers is literally driving away HUGE amounts of lifetime players. They have gone too far, I will link it (HERE (https://forums.station.sony.com/eq/index.php?threads/changes-with-the-february-update-alternate-ability-grants-for-gold-members-and-ability-changes.207363/)) as I don't want to talk about it..

ANYWAYS..
I am looking to switch to Project 1999. I know I have some noob questions, so hopefully I don't get trolled and flamed like Universal Chat in EQ. Please bear with me.

If I started now, fresh on Project 1999, at a low level is there a lot of grouping to be had? I currently four-box on Live, but I would rather not do that unless its a necessity.

Also, if this is the wrong spot to post this or anything, I apologize right now. If its easier, send me a private message to talk about this. I am REALLY interested in Project 1999!

Thank you very much!!!

Yeah, I am not playing live anymore since they got rid of swarming. Swarming is just too damn fun as a Shadowknight. I am sad that they are basically gutting Lich Sting entirely, so I am done.

There is plenty of low level grouping. P1999 has a far better leveling experience than EQ Live does, as it takes you around 70-80 levels on Live to get to where you get groups (House of Thule at about 80ish).

[Potus]

EQLive was ruined years ago when they went into constant class re-balancing because of whine-quest.

So the second week after launch?

[fastboy21]

So the second week after launch?

kekekeke

[gwideon]

So the second week after launch?

Bah, the whining may have started just after launch but I didn't think constant class rebalancing was unbearable until mid-Luclin. I think Brenlo [sp?] was in charge of it.

[Clark]

You're gonna love it here, shit is like crack. Gets in your veins.

[Sarajo]

Met a 15-year paying veteran today who has logged out of EQLive forever over this latest development. He's absolutely loving Project 1999.
I'm glad we're picking up quality people in this move, and I'm glad a quality home exists for EQ Live refugees to return to.

[Oogei]

Met a 15-year paying veteran today who has logged out of EQLive forever over this latest development. He's absolutely loving Project 1999.
I'm glad we're picking up quality people in this move, and I'm glad a quality home exists for EQ Live refugees to return to.

[Swish]

Unsurprisingly it was the management of EQ Live that drove me here a few years ago.

They shut down the "Mayong L51/50AA" server, but promised a new blue server. So the community, who had voted for this in its place... was upbeat about it.

A month into the new blue server (Trakanon), "rumors" emerged that they were shutting it down...so everyone just assumed it to be true, logged out... and then SOE came along and shut it down due to "low population". I found P99 about 3-4 months later and never looked back.

Screw SOE, screw their cash shop and screw the way they manage their servers - its beyond terrible.

[phacemeltar]

lol, refugees

[veejur]

Noone will tell you this, but getting 35-40 is a little rough. Make sure you pick a char that can solo for a few mid levels or have some twink gear. I'm decently geared and have been stuck for a while, MM groups too low and com/solb/lguk groups at my lvl nonexistent.

YMMV

[element08]

I'm around the same level and it seems much easier to find one or two people to duo/trio with in outdoor zones than finding a dungeon group in solb/lguk. I haven't tried com but guessing too low for there at 34. Or if you join a leveling guild like knights who say ni, supremacy, etc makes it easier to find similar level people lfg.

[Comapavik]

Can someone explain swarming and how a shadowknight does it? Haven't played live since GoD.

[Sarajo]

Can someone explain swarming and how a shadowknight does it? Haven't played live since GoD.

Something about using riposte to kill an entire zone, or something. Iunno.

[Clark]

Can someone explain swarming and how a shadowknight does it? Haven't played live since GoD.

[harnold]

I don't get it, everquest nerfs ae exping sounds like a good thing, ae'ing hundreds of mobs to quickly level up is fucking retarded to have in a game and caters to the easymode wow mentality, why is everyone acting like its so terrible? Sounds like a pretty good change to me

handing out all those aa's is stupid though

[blondeattk]

` ae'ing hundreds of mobs to quickly level up `

no thats not whats happening. They are nerfing the way people make AA exp. which by lvl 100 can be 4000+ aas to gain.

CLearly you havent tried grinding 100 lvls the `standard` way?? Dont get on your soap box unless you have a lvl 100 toon with 5000 aa, and know what your talking about!

[RiffDaemon]

Can someone explain swarming and how a shadowknight does it? Haven't played live since GoD.

2-hand ripostes with life-tap procs are the bare bones of it. Add epic 2.0, visage, damage shields, defensives, crit heals off leech dots, etc. and you're a self-healing machine that can deal a shit-ton of damage to a shit-ton of mobs.

[Daldaen]

AAs that give you 100% chance to double riposte on each riposte. Then your epic click is a 1min buff that works like Leechcurse disc (percentage of your melee attacks returns as health). Also you get an AA that does the same thing and has a chance to proc on a killing blow. Visage is an AA that doubles your melee DMG output for about 1-2min basically.

Beyond that everything else is pretty much fluff. Tons of mobs that are light blue attack you, you riposte enough for high enough damage to regain the health lost from those low level mobs hitting you. The key is to kill a mob and proc mortal coil (the AA mentioned above) before your epic ends.

[Uteunayr]

Can someone explain swarming and how a shadowknight does it? Haven't played live since GoD.

Okay, here's how you Swarm Kite as a Shadowknight. It was all I did on live, and was the only reason why I played.

You get AAs that make it so you Double Riposte (every time you're hit, you have a chance to Riposte based on skill, this AA lets you have a chance to hit back twice). You get AAs that make it so when you hit a target, you have a chance to cast a Lifetap. You get AAs that make it so you triple attack, that you hit things a lot. You get defensive AAs to lower incoming damage. You get cooldown AAs like Visage of Death to both boost your defense and your offense.

And most importantly, you get Mortal Coil. Mortal Coil says that when you kill a creature that is Light Blue or higher, you have a chance to proc an effect that makes all damage you deal return some health to you. Additionally, you get AAs to increase proc buff timers, so it lasts for 2.5 minutes each proc.

The essence is to make it so that you've maximized your DPS, and maximized your defensive stats, so damage does very little to you, and your damage output is greater than their damage output to you.

Then, you get your 1.5 and 2.0 epic. The epic has a clickie effect called "Lich Sting" which says 40% of your damage becomes healing (I believe the 2.0 is 60% or 80%). This is Mortal Coil on demand.

You go to a place where you have Light Blue enemies (as that is the minimum level to proc Mortal Coil). At first, when you don't have Visage or an Epic, you will kill enemies until you get a Mortal Coil proc, and then do mini swarms, picking up 20-30, killing a few to get a proc, and then dragging the remainder with you to the next pull. Once you get Visage and an Epic though, you will pull 100-150 mobs with you to a corner.

You back up into the corner, pop Harmshield, and then while you get all the mobs right up on you (Harmshield will prevent spellcasters from staying out of range), you pop your Epic, and spam click Visage so once Harmshield drops, you're in Visage. You start attacking immediately, and your health will start to spike. You'll drop to 20% health, but then your ripostes go through, and your Epic clickie "Lich Sting" will proc, giving you HP for every Riposte you do. So you go back up to 100%. Having more HP/Armor/Defenses helps neutralize this spike, as this is when you're most likely to die.

You have 90 seconds to get a kill to force a Mortal Coil proc, which is why Visage and some other AAs are good for offensive ability. You need to get the last hit, not a lifetap, to proc Mortal Coil, so you start mowing through light blues, and once you get a Mortal Coil proc, you can relax. Cycle your DPS cooldowns, do not cast any spells (you can't riposte while casting), as DPS cooldowns are now defensive cooldowns (given the HP return), and you'll start to clear them out.

And then they all die, and you get 100-150 instances of Light Blue kills. Loot up, you make shit tons of cash. Additionally, you can power level players by having them group with you, as the XP you get is incredible. It is like being able to solo Chardok AE, if you got 2-3x the XP Chardok AE provides.

There's about a 30-40 minute relaxation time between pulls as you wait for respawns, so you can dump everything into it. Harm Touch can make for a great way to push toward an early MC proc.

It is absolutely the most fun you can have on Live, and it isn't the Beaming AE that has caused server instability in EQ. They are just killing SK to try and "be fair". Ruins the one fun thing you can do on Live EQ now days. The one thing that goes into real strategic play.

[Champion_Standing]

` ae'ing hundreds of mobs to quickly level up `

no thats not whats happening. They are nerfing the way people make AA exp. which by lvl 100 can be 4000+ aas to gain.

CLearly you havent tried grinding 100 lvls the `standard` way?? Dont get on your soap box unless you have a lvl 100 toon with 5000 aa, and know what your talking about!

So they are taking away the best AA farming method but giving you free AAs to make up for it, sounds like you are really get screwed here.

[Uteunayr]

So they are taking away the best AA farming method but giving you free AAs to make up for it, sounds like you are really get screwed here.

He wasn't referring just to AAs, he said getting to level 100 that way. Getting to level 100 without any form of swarming is incredibly long and dull, since most classes have been homogenized in terms of play style. Necromancers are weak Magicians, Rogues are Barbarians with a positioning requirement, Rangers are Rogues/Barbarians with a range requirement. But ultimately, they all play the exact same, and it is incredibly boring.

Swarming added some complexity to the game, some strategy. Sure, it takes a long time to get to max level on Project 1999 too, but support/enchanting is still a thing, soloing can still be mentally taxing rather than dull, and so on. It is a far more fun and challenging grind on P1999 than the dull "Kill 5 dogs. Turn in. Say dogs. Kill 5 dogs. Turn in. Say dogs." over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over with absolutely no variation in the camp whatsoever.

Maybe it is just me, but when I think of EverQuest when compared to other MMOs, I think about how free EverQuest lets you be with killing stuff. You can swarm stuff, you can root rot, you can charm, you can AE, and so on. You can't do most of this stuff in other MMOs, and it is what gives EQ its charm and unique appeal.

[Jfertal]

Basically what uteunayr said sums it up perfect. With 2.0 and roughly 900 aa placed in all of the right spots I was doing all of PoF c2 no problem. Sk swarm was an art and a skill especially higher levels when you received more discs.

[Menaan]

I don't see it mentioned here, but I think one of the worse things with the upcoming changes is not just the AE xp nerfing, but the true reasoning behind why they are doing it. They can claim all day long it's due to performance problems caused by it on the servers. But the truth is, they had to have some way to make it more appealing for people to buy the level 85 characters that are going to be available in the marketplace rather than just getting a character power leveled to 85 in a couple hours. I mean come on, this mass killing has been going on for years, and they are just now getting concerned with how it effects the servers.. yeah right.

So yeah, if you had not heard, coming up within a month or two, you will be able to buy any level 85 class / race you want on the marketplace. No one knows for sure what the price is yet, but it's guessed that it's probably going to be around 3500 station cash. So essentially for about 30 dollars you will have a level 85 character with max AAs (assuming you are gold subscribed, 45 if you are starting fresh on a new account and need to subscribe to gold for one month).

This is also the reason they are doing away with the auto granted 500 station cash a month for gold subscriptions. They originally tried to make it so you had to buy an item worth up to 2k each month but there was to much outrage over that, so now they are making it so you have to claim your 500 station cash each month. So they are hoping people will forget and not just get a free level 85 character every 7 months.

All of these changes are really about nothing more than money for SOE, not improving the game, or the state of the servers.

[Jimjam]

Could it be that they are using more sophisticated pathing algorithms in more sophisticated zones on the same old hardware (compounded by the fact the hardware is getting more and more bloated with having to host more and more zones)?