Bard Guide for p99. part 1

[astuce999]

We need more bards on p99, not just level 1-20 twink bards, but high level bards. The following is an attempt at making some sort of guide to help the bard level up!

Today’s article will focus on one aspect of bards. Twisting

This is the pride and bane of the bards. It separates the men from the boys. All the songs on p99 have a 3 second casting time. The great majority of the songs last for three 6-seconds ticks, so depending on the server tick, a normal song will last anywhere between 12-18 seconds. These parameters dictate that a bard can create a twist of 3 songs (9 seconds to cast, none will ever drop), or 4 songs (12 second cast, 1 song will rarely drop), or 5 songs (15 second cast, 1-2 songs will drop frequently).

Why would a bard want to sing sometimes 3, sometimes 4, and sometimes 5 songs?

A 3 song twist is a staple of raids, when lots of stuff is happening and sometimes the screen or server seems to slow down because of lag or anything else. It’s also used when it’s very important that a song never drops because of a situation that warrants it. For example, if in a fight you are fighting a caster that uses a lot of magic based spells, twisting Elemental(or purifying) Rhythms, Guardian Rhythms, and Hymn of Restoration with a drums equipped is a very good idea, because even if one of the resist songs drops for even a fraction of a second you may get stunned/nuked and then all hell breaks loose (for extra credit you may twist in the lute when Hymn of Restoration comes due).

A 4 Song twist is when the group is in cruise control, facing mobs that are manageable and wanting to keep a good rate of xp. It is also used when kiting single mobs since a song dropping (even selo’s or chains) will not mean the death of the bard. An example for a group twist of 4 songs will be Verses of Victory, Niv’s Melody of Preservation, Chant of Battle, and Psalm of Cooling. This twist is used a lot with a melee-heavy group, offensive based.

A 5 Song twist is for those masochists that really feel like shining. There are two ways to go about the 5 song twist. The first is to play the 5 songs the standard way through. The songs will drop 1 or two at a time for less than 3 seconds each, all in order as you work your way through the cycle. The second way, is to keep focus on one song, and have the other 4 drop once in a while, so you play 1 2 3 1 4 5 1 2 3 1 4 5, and so forth and so on.

Why would you want to play a 5 song twist if songs are going to drop? The short answer is “because of the server tick”. Take Hymn of Restoration for example, it heals X amount of HP every server tick for 3 ticks. If the song drops at the end of the 3rd tick, because it hasn’t been refreshed yet, the players will not be affected until the next server tick, where the next X amount of HP would be healed, which is 6 seconds later. If before those 6 seconds are up, the song is active again (a song is 3 seconds to cast, therefore giving a window of 3 seconds to start casting it after it has dropped), the same X amount of HP will be healed as if the song had never dropped. So you can have songs dropping left and right during your twist (or wearing off in case of dots) but never effectively notice any downside to it.

Here is an example of a 5 song twist (as of 08/20/2010) that you can do at level 50 without any downside; Fufil’s Curtailing Chant, Chant of Flame, Chant of Frost, Cassandra’s Chorus of Clarity, Hymn of Restoration.


Feedback and comments are very much appreciated, so that this article may be edited and future articles follow a different pattern.

Astuce Subterfuge

[azxten]

I played a Bard from 1-25.. the last few levels my hands started hurting but I pushed on cause I don't care about my health like that. Eventually I was forced to stop from the pain and my hands continued to hurt for about a week afterwards to the point I had to stop using a computer at all.

Of course, that's because I would not only twist songs but also swap out instruments for Hymn, Chords, etc.

I highly recommend if you play Bard to say fuck it to swapping instruments in addition to twisting except on important fights. Also, setup a hotkey bar with 8 hotkeys that have...

/stopsong
/cast 1

With 1 being 1-8. Now you can click/press 1-8 and start a song instead of having to double tap to stop and start a new one. These two things alone will save you from the horror of not being able to use a computer for a week. The third component is not playing EQ 20 hours a day for a week straight when your life falls apart.

Also, Bards are rare because of the 40% exp penalty. Same reason people are complaining about a lack of tanks now that the various exp bugs were fixed (Ogres outleveling Halflings, 6x group member bonus when duoing, etc). Mine is level 30 though and will shortly be 50 so don't worry more are on the way.

[Tiggles]

I played a bard exclusively for 5 years on Sullon Zek and my left hand fingers are now permanently curved down.


I wouldn't trade it for the world.

[knottyb0y]

Thanks for the informative guide! I look forward to reading more as a new bard myself. Lets hope i can avoid physical maladies in my efforts to twist virtual melodies.

KNotty

[knottyb0y]

When playing a bard what is more important, Weapons, Instruments, or Armor? As a bard should i melee in the party or focus on singing/buffing. It seems to me that depending on the party composition I would play more as a melee or as a "caster/crowd control" but I'm learning on the fly, any tips would be lovely.

Knotty

[Loquan]

All of the above, and also Melee DPS/Twisting songs :P

[eqdruid76]

Try not to forget that bards still don't work as they did on live. It's gotten a LOT better, and kudos to Haynar for all the work done. But it's still broken.

[madara]

Yeah best of luck, I like your positive attitude but I got a bard to 11 and it was just way too painful. If the mob speed, AE and charm kiting issues every get addressed I would surely reconsider getting carpal tunnel. Great memories charm kiting in EW.

[ukaking]

Whats the fastest way to swap out instruments?

[guineapig]

Whats the fastest way to swap out instruments?

You can use inventory slots on hotkeys if you don't mind not having bags in those slots.

[Savok]

Whats the fastest way to swap out instruments?

Leave a bag open and manually pick them up as needed. Use of hotbutton inventory slots is a must - check out my Vert UI.

I have played a bard on Live for 11+ years and most of that was by manually twisting. I just can't physically do that anymore (I have to type with single fingers these days).

[Swindle]

What do the numeric ratings on instruments do? A vendor bought lute is a 20 while some MM drop is a 21. Does this add to your instrument skill? Is the difference between 20 and 21 significant?

[Teeroyoyort]

lvl 40 bard here. And i need more spots to solo and group. Right now it's Lguk, and solb for groups. I used to solo the entrance of Lguk, but they're getting green'ish. I also solo Hill Giants in RM, but that place is usually very populated. More good places would help me greatly.

[azxten]

lvl 40 bard here. And i need more spots to solo and group. Right now it's Lguk, and solb for groups. I used to solo the entrance of Lguk, but they're getting green'ish. I also solo Hill Giants in RM, but that place is usually very populated. More good places would help me greatly.

Guards, specs

[Teeroyoyort]

havn't seen specs not camped, and i stay way from guards for faction reasons. I like banking in any city

[jeffd]

Guards, specs

unfortunately, guards have a ridiculous respawn timer on this server - something like 20+ mins.

[madara]

I notice that nearly the whole of misty thicket is empty for newbies to run to guards. I seen a few make it all the way to the middle with goblins only to die.

[Tealia]

It's seriously not worth having hand, finger, wrist, wrist, and elbow pain just to be a bard. I know most americans nowadays are fat and could give a crap about their health, but don't ruin your fingers so that you can barely play video games again.

I was a 60 bard through velious. I wouldn't touch them again unless they implemented some sort of auto-twisting. It's not worth it.

[liveitup1216]

I played a bard exclusively for 5 years on Sullon Zek and my left hand fingers are now permanently curved down.


I wouldn't trade it for the world.

woah another sullon zek player? i was a nobody paladin in tides of wrath for the longest time. don't tell me you were in hate/ruin... atleast i think the other guild was ruin, my memory is hazy.

[Tork]

I've played a lot, I did not experience the wrist pain out of twisting many are bringing up - I think a lot of it is avoiding rapid double tapping, but instead slurring the key presses, and trying to spread the twist over whole hand to reduce binding on adjacent fingers.

For example, to twist 4 songs, I'd do


13
42
14
41

I rebound my assist hotkey to s, have tab set to toggle targets, r to closest mob, f to target self. To switch instruments, I set up a hotbar with a L shaped layout:

[main weapon]
[inventory spot][secondary]

Then I can kind of click through in a pattern to switch out weapon and instrument, or multiple instruments by holding one on my mouse - situationally, a hotkey with /autoinventory helps, as it both auto-equips or auto-inventories whatever you've got on your mouse, in that order.

I also off load my movement to the arrow keys, so there's not much going on with the other hand - making it easier to reach over and hit screenshot. In addition, if you rearrange your bags so they all tile, you can use the open/close all functions, which I rebound to ] and [.

Having your open inventory was something I did my entire career, and having that spot hotkey'd is also useful as it allows you to activate the many, many inventory items you will accumulate as a bard, and can quickly grab and swap from collection of open bags.

Hope this helps.

-Tork

[Savok]

The values on the instruments is a mod to increase the value of your songs. The higher the value the better some parts of a song will be. Haste and slow never increase with instruments.

If you were to sing Psalm of Warmth with a drum you would have more AC and more resists (you can try this yourself and checking your resist/AC values).

The real power of a bard is being able to maximize each song by swapping out instruments to match the song that is about to land. If your a really experience bard you could melee for 2 seconds, swap to a drum just before the psalm song hits, swap back to a melee weapon, swap back to a brass horn for the next song, then melee, then a lute for regen song and then back to melee etc. Then you can try to do it for four songs.

You can also setup macros for each song gem:

/stopsong
/pause 1
/cast X (where X is 1 - 8 for the song gems)

This will half the amount of keystrokes needed to play a bard in one swoop.

[Lazortag]

If you were to sing Psalm of Warmth with a drum you would have more AC and more resists (you can try this yourself and checking your resist/AC values).

How can this be true, if Psalm of Warmth is a singing-song?

[User]

What do the numeric ratings on instruments do? A vendor bought lute is a 20 while some MM drop is a 21. Does this add to your instrument skill? Is the difference between 20 and 21 significant?

If memory serves, (and if this server functions like the live servers did) an instrument mod of 10 would be equivalent to having no instrument equiped at all (100% of a song's effectiveness, or +0% over the base effectiveness). An instrument mod of 20 would be equivalent to 200% of a song's effectiveness, or +100% over the base effectiveness. Basic formula is: ([Instrument Mod] - 10) * 10 = X% modifier.

Example: MM Lute is Stringed: 21. ([21] - 10) * 10 = +110% modifier.
Example: This suggests that if you found an instrument with a modifier less than 10 (let's say 8) that your modifier would be: ([8] -10) * 10 = -20%. A penalty of 20%. Since I've never heard of such an instrument this begs the question of why the devs didn't start the scale at 0 instead of 10.

If, for instance, a Stringed song's base effect was to heal your party by 10 hit points per tick, then with the MM lute equiped the same song would instead heal for 21 hit points per tick (keep in mind that the instrument only needs to be equiped at the instant you finish casting the song; once the song buff is up you may remove the instrument and keep the bonus until you sing the song again).



So to answer your question, the difference between 20 and 21 is +10%.

As someone already pointed out, not all songs can be modified. Some songs have certain parts that will be modified and some parts that are constant (haste songs are a good example; haste is NEVER changed). Some songs cannot be modified at all. Some songs (like selo's) have a hard cap on how far they can be modified. I can't remember but I want to say Selo's caps at 26 or 28. It's been too many years and too many beers ago, sorry.

[Lazortag]

If, for instance, a Stringed song's base effect was to heal your party by 10 hit points per tick, then with the MM lute equiped the same song would instead heal for 21 hit points per tick (keep in mind that the instrument only needs to be equiped at the instant you finish casting the song; once the song buff is up you may remove the instrument and keep the bonus until you sing the song again).


This is largely not true for most songs. From my experience Bard DOT's will do the same amount of damage whether you have a lute or a gypsy lute equipped. Why is this?

[Lithiar]

i just heard of this server recently, but im planning on playing a bard, now i just gotta wait for the fios guy to install my internet.

[Hurnal]

This is largely not true for most songs. From my experience Bard DOT's will do the same amount of damage whether you have a lute or a gypsy lute equipped. Why is this?

I think this is due to rounding error. At least right now (at level 26) Chords of Dissonance does 8 damage base, 16 damage with a lute, and 16 with a lute of the Gypsy Princess. I think the formula will automatically round down the damage, so with the LoGP I am really doing 8 * 2.1 = 16.8 damage, but the server just rounds off the fractional part.

I will post again when CoD starts doing 10 damage base (should happen sometime in the mid 30's) and report if it does indeed do 21 damage with the LoGP.

[Lazortag]

Cool, I use MM drums/Gypsy lute anyway and I haven't exactly compared to the other instruments recently, so it would be interesting to know your findings.

[Hurnal]

Indeed, as of level 32 the base damage of CoD is 10 and it hits for 21 with LoGP. I see the same rounding effects with the level 30 chant and using hand/MM drums.

[qwrtish]

Can someone post a leveling guide about bard-friendly places to kite? Staples such as SK and others are often too crowded to really take advantage of AE Kiting's efficiency, but finding viable alternatives can be equally hard. Most guides just list group locations, but when one kite pull can give 7-10% of a levels XP that seems like an unattractive option with this server's ridiculously slow XP.

[Cyph]

I would just like to thank you all for your input on this thread.
Next time I go to play EQ I'll update my key layout as Tork recommended as well as setting up some macros. I still haven't figured out how to hotswap weapons/instruments, so if someone could help out there, it would be much appreciated :)

[Lazortag]

Indeed, as of level 32 the base damage of CoD is 10 and it hits for 21 with LoGP. I see the same rounding effects with the level 30 chant and using hand/MM drums.

Yeah, I was on a corpse run and so only had a hand drum from the bank, and the chant spells did way less damage than the mistmoore drums! I didn't realize how beneficial the mods were, I always thought they meant something else because of some stupid alla post I read. Oh well.

[toddfx]

I have been playing with macros to automatically cast more than 1 song at once, but when it comes down to it, nothing is as reliable as single song macros.

[maestrom]

My setup for bard was a little strange but it worked for me.

I used the arrow keys for moving instead of WASD and bound song slots 1-8 to numpad 1-8. 0 was autoattack. I had too many hot buttons going on to make /stopsong macros so i just double tapped but having everything on the numpad made double tapping much more convenient. Also it let me move with my left hand and twist with my right hand with the mouse close by for emergency looking.

btw, Tork is the reason I became a bard.

He sucks.

[Teseer]

I can throw in my 2 CP when it comes to leveling spots:

I started AoE kiting at around 10. I found the perfect place to start was in BB.
If you look at the EQAtlas Map of ButcherBlock Mountains (http://www.eqmacwiki.com/eqatlas/butcherblockmap.html), go to number 12 on the map.
This is a group of 4-5 bandits that respawn real quick. There is very un-even ground here which at first I was worried about. It was very difficult to drop the DoT and hit get hit. After like 5 pulls I was able to do it no problem. Low and behold, since then, kiting on level ground is like mega-easy.

I kited these guys till about 13-14. At this point I headed to Lavastorm.
Here I just chilled at the Entrance to Nektulos and kiting Dervs/Drakes/Snakes/Imps.
**BE VERY CAREFUL TO AVOID THE BASILISKS!**
These bastards have a long stun proc. If you have bad luck and get nicked when your dipping in for your DoT, you'll be stunned and owned by your train.
I love this place for the crazy loot (I got a few Emeralds here) and the fact that higher levels are running to SolA/B so you get random drive-by buffs :)
Also, not crowded at all here.

I did LS till around 17 and left for EK. I went to the Gnoll Obelisk. This is at number 7 on the EQAtlas Map of EK (http://www.eqmacwiki.com/eqatlas/ekaranamap.html)
Very low risk here, just watch for the Griffin that wanders somewhat close. Grab the 9 gnolls and whatever other blues are within sight range. This is fantastic cash as well, with the merchant closeby and bronze/leather drops.

I did these till about 22. At 22 I left for the Zone Line to the Gorge of King Xorbb.
Here I grabbed the HUGE number of Gorge Hounds. Horrid loot, great exp.

I did these till about 24/25. From this point I went to SK and here I am today. I can't find any other spots and I'm lookin for one if anyone has an idea :)

(TL;DL)
1. lvl 10 -> BBM, number 12 on the MAP (http://www.eqmacwiki.com/eqatlas/butcherblockmap.html)
2. lvl 13 -> LSM, Nektulos Zoneline
3. lvl 17 -> EK, number 7 on the MAP (http://www.eqmacwiki.com/eqatlas/ekaranamap.html)
4. lvl 22 -> EK, Gorge of King Xorbb Zoneline.
5. lvl 25 -> SK :(

[guineapig]

Once you are around 30 (maybe sooner) you can take a stab at the gnolls outside of Splitpaw while you're in SK

You can kite in Rathe Mountains starting at around level 34-36 depending on your comfort level. The killing will be slow still but the payoff is pretty good. At 38 with your second targeted drum-dot the speed of kills will be considerably better.

There is always competition there, this is true. However bards have some advantages:

Unlike the necros and mages there, bards have tracking so you know exactly when a mob has re-spawned and can outrun anyone to it.
And unlike druids, bards don't have to meditate between kills.

Oasis is a good spot for kiting specs around the same level but you will probably want a peggy cloak or some form of levitation to truly be effective there due to the steep cliffs and the water.

Although you can go there sooner, I don't recommend the Seafuries in OoT till 46 for a simple reason. You really need your third targeted dot in order to kill at a decent pace there (fire, ice and magic). I guess if you are purely using charm then this slow pace is somewhat negated but then you end up having to meditate eventually which a bard should never be doing. Like I said, you can try it sooner... but it's EXTREMELY slow going and you will be resisted a lot!

[Lazortag]

Oasis is a good spot for kiting specs around the same level but you will probably want a peggy cloak or some form of levitation to truly be effective there due to the steep cliffs and the water.

actually you can just use the levi song and go to a flat part of the zone. Although using levi cloak and kiting them over the water can be fun.

Honestly though Oasis specs are really weird. Sometimes I can kite them fine and sometimes it's abysmal and it's impossible to hit them/not get hit by them. Yet at the same time the specs in OOT are really easy to kite. I'm going to bug report it soon because it's very bizarre and I have no idea what causes it.

[Teseer]

Ohhhh, where are the specs in OOT?

Also, the Gnolls outside Paw were great exp from 25 on.

Edit: Found em, nm :)

[guineapig]

actually you can just use the levi song and go to a flat part of the zone. Although using levi cloak and kiting them over the water can be fun.

Honestly though Oasis specs are really weird. Sometimes I can kite them fine and sometimes it's abysmal and it's impossible to hit them/not get hit by them. Yet at the same time the specs in OOT are really easy to kite. I'm going to bug report it soon because it's very bizarre and I have no idea what causes it.

Yeah, I tried using lev song in my twist there but it was really annoying and takes up a twist slot. AoE dot song range is abysmal in general but particularly with specs so AT the time I stuck with a targeted dots, Brusco's and snare.

Brusco's in general is a good idea to use with you are single target dot kiting but don't have your third dot yet. It's extra damage ever 4 tics that you wouldn't otherwise be adding (since your dot has a 3 tic duration anyway).

[Lazortag]

Yeah, I tried using lev song in my twist there but it was really annoying and takes up a twist slot. AoE dot song range is abysmal in general but particularly with specs so AT the time I stuck with a targeted dots, Brusco's and snare.

Brusco's in general is a good idea to use with you are single target dot kiting but don't have your third dot yet. It's extra damage ever 4 tics that you wouldn't otherwise be adding (since your dot has a 3 tic duration anyway).

Oh I was talking about AOE kiting. AOE kiting specs is definitely faster than single kiting them. It's just that the OOT ones are for some reason much easier to kite than the Oasis ones.

[BlackBellamy]

Every time I think of playing a Bard I have this vision of me endlessly clicking 1 2 3 4 over and over and over and over until I go insane.

[Lazortag]

Every time I think of playing a Bard I have this vision of me endlessly clicking 1 2 3 4 over and over and over and over until I go insane.

When you're grouping it's often like that. But even then, sometimes you get more responsibilities and you end up tanking/pulling/CCing/twisting all at once, which is ridiculously fun and involving.

Soloing is also a lot more than just clicking "1 2 3 4", but I imagine you could have figured that out.

As a Bard you get a lot of your better songs earlier (aoe at 2, speed at 5, regen at 6, lull at 8, mez at 15 I think, etc.) so it's actually a pretty good class for just starting out, and if you find you don't like it, you'll only have wasted a few hours of your life, no big deal.

[Lazortag]

Every time I think of playing a Bard I have this vision of me endlessly clicking 1 2 3 4 over and over and over and over until I go insane.

Also, sometimes it gets really nutty and instead of pressing 1 2 3 4, you press 3 1 2 4 or some other permutation.

[nalkin]

Also, sometimes it gets really nutty and instead of pressing 1 2 3 4, you press 3 1 2 4 or some other permutation.

combination*

[Darklake]

Permutation is correct. Combination simply refers to using 1, 2, 3 and 4 regardless of the order used. Permutation defines the order.

1 2 3 4 and 1 3 2 4 have the same combination, but are a different permutation.

/geek

[MiRo2]

Although you can go there sooner, I don't recommend the Seafuries in OoT till 46 for a simple reason. You really need your third targeted dot in order to kill at a decent pace there (fire, ice and magic). I guess if you are purely using charm then this slow pace is somewhat negated but then you end up having to meditate eventually which a bard should never be doing. Like I said, you can try it sooner... but it's EXTREMELY slow going and you will be resisted a lot!

46 is a must for Sea Furies, not because you need 3 dots to make it efficient, but because you need Fire/Ice dots. I've seen you kite a few times on the island and it makes me cry every time. You should try doing 2 at a time instead of 1. The dots last long enough that you can keep Fire/Ice up on two mobs, and Selo's on yourself at the same time. It might be slightly slower to kill the 2, rather than 1, but I've noticed I kill 4 for every 2.25 you kill.

Should go something like this:

[Selo's]+[Target mob A]
[Fire]
[Ice]
[Selo's]+[Target mob B]
[Fire]
[Ice]
[Selo's]+[Toggle target with last target]
[Fire]
[Ice]
[Selo's]+[Toggle target with last target]

I found I can do this for hours while watching TV with little to no problems.

[guineapig]

46 is a must for Sea Furies, not because you need 3 dots to make it efficient, but because you need Fire/Ice dots. I've seen you kite a few times on the island and it makes me cry every time. You should try doing 2 at a time instead of 1. The dots last long enough that you can keep Fire/Ice up on two mobs, and Selo's on yourself at the same time. It might be slightly slower to kill the 2, rather than 1, but I've noticed I kill 4 for every 2.25 you kill.

Should go something like this:

[Selo's]+[Target mob A]
[Fire]
[Ice]
[Selo's]+[Target mob B]
[Fire]
[Ice]
[Selo's]+[Toggle target with last target]
[Fire]
[Ice]
[Selo's]+[Toggle target with last target]

I found I can do this for hours while watching TV with little to no problems.

Actually I do 2 at a time whenever I see a second one up... usually during off hours.
I find it goes much faster when the second mob is a pet instead of trying to kill 2 at once.

Fire/Ice is nice but you gotta add magic dot too. It adds another 40 damage per tic with a Selo's drum. So that's 64 + 64 +40 for a total of 168 damage per tic. My single kite is usually those 3 songs plus snare. (I'll twist in regen if my health is below 75% until it's back to 100%).

When I use a charmed mob I am constantly twisting 5 songs to minimize kill time:

Charm pet, magic dot target, snare target, fire dot target, ice dot target, recast charm. I am constantly moving while I do this and when done fast enough and timed right you can start recasting the charm song while you still have the pet and it will land almost right after it drops. Using this method the target always has 3 dots and a snare on him and your pet is only loose for like half a second every few tics.

I personally prefer snare on the Seafuries to Selos on myself. I can often get a sow from somebody (no j-boots yet) but it isn't even really necessary. I do fine without any sort of run boost. I just have better control of the situation without Selo's and don't have to deal with constantly being out of range.

[maestrom]

I personally prefer snare on the Seafuries to Selos on myself.


Place you drum on the floor and leave. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. You shame bards everywhere.

[guineapig]

Place you drum on the floor and leave. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. You shame bards everywhere.

Do you have any idea how fast you run with the Naggy drum?

Why do you think bards go for J-boots, it's the same reason they go for the peggy cloak. It means you open up a song slot for more utility. Sure, I tend to leave Selo's memmed for emergency purposes but I'm not trying to run away from the mobs, I'm trying to kill them. :p

Oh and one last thing, snared mobs get hit MUCH more often by my charmed pets than a pet that's running at full speed. Have you ever tried fear kiting without using snare? It's the same thing. Sorry, but the way I mention is much more efficient for multiple reasons. The only time you ever need to be singing Selo's on Seafury island is when you are racing mage pets for the next spawn.

[Messianic]

Place you keyboard on the floor and leave. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. You shame internet forum trolls everywhere.

[Teseer]

So I can't stand SK anymore. I've killed more Aviaks and Centaurs then I care to think about.

Yesterday I went to OOT and decided to try the Specters on the island.
Was a nice combination of difficulty and fear, but I managed to get the 4 of them down to around 55%-65%. I was pretty happy considering I just got hit once (and the terrain BLOWS there!) but then I sudden dropped from 88%->22%.
I look...no reports of me being hit, Specters aren't anywhere near me...yada yada.

Then I get it. "YOU HAVE BEEN DISCONNECTED" and I listen to myself die in the background.

So needless to say, I'm looking for a group of 4+ mobs that are at least 30 to level wif :D

My first idea was Ferrott (the lizards outside of CT) but I thought I rant through there and they were green. Does anyone know what level those are?
Or even better, Allas mentions all the mobs in CT as 60+, but I think I remember them raising the level later, what level are they now? I could go fink around in there a bit ;)

[guineapig]

So needless to say, I'm looking for a group of 4+ mobs that are at least 30 to level wif :D

My first idea was Ferrott (the lizards outside of CT) but I thought I rant through there and they were green. Does anyone know what level those are?
Or even better, Allas mentions all the mobs in CT as 60+, but I think I remember them raising the level later, what level are they now? I could go fink around in there a bit ;)


yeah you are looking at the revamped CT and feerot mobs. use this:

http://www.archive.org/web/web.php

or better yet this: http://www.thesilversandbox.net/p1999/main.php

Somebody already did all the work for you. Mobs with levels by zone (under the resources drop down on the right). :D

[Teseer]

I'm tearing a bit :)

Thanks!

Someone linked that to me FOREVER ago but I didn't remember what medium they sent it by to find the link again, hehe.

[Messianic]

I'm tearing a bit :)

Thanks!

Someone linked that to me FOREVER ago but I didn't remember what medium they sent it by to find the link again, hehe.

Dude, if you're not 50 before Kunark, you'll have PLENTY of zones to play around with swarm kiting in...Some seriously awesome outdoor leveling zones in Kunark.

[Teseer]

Yeah, I just want to get 32, then I'm slowing down. Just gotta get me some mana song :D

Oh, but "Mobs with levels by zone" wasn't on the list. Do you mean the "Bestiary by zone"? I got that from:
http://eqc.wikidot.com/useful-links

[Nytch]

woah another sullon zek player? i was a nobody paladin in tides of wrath for the longest time. don't tell me you were in hate/ruin... atleast i think the other guild was ruin, my memory is hazy.

Who was your Paladin I was in ToW too.

[Mcbard]

Where is a decent spot to exp at 19? I've been trying gnolls in EK but they are always camped by somebody else. I tried kiting some other stuff in EK but I just don't think I'm fast enough with Selos + drum, because I am getting hit whenever I attempt to get a little bit closer and apply my dots. Sometimes I get hit, stunned and interrupted and don't even get my dot applied and lose 40% of my hp which really kills the kite because I then have to run around for 5 mins with selos/hymn up to get my hp back or risk the same thing happening again and dying. I've grouped the last few levels in HHP but there isn't always a group there, and I'm too low for HHK. Where should I go, what should I be killing? Thanks! :)

[Teseer]

Ohhh, I got the perfect spot for ya. Stay in EK, got to the Zoneline to Gorge of King Xorbb.

Hmm, lemme do this...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v42/Teseer/ekarana.jpg

Here. Just get ALL the gorge hounds here at once (theres usually from 20-30 of em), kill em all, get a soda, do it again. They respawn VERY fast and are VERY easy to kite.

Word of warning though, careful of the Evil Eyes wandering around. They're easy as hell to see, so no worries there.

[Tokum-6n0m3]

I heard of the bugs with the Alliance Benevolence Enchy line spells and heard they have been fixed, as far as I can tell tho the bard line is still broken? Am I just doing something wrong? I get no faction change whatsoever when singing it.......and yes I target the mob who's faction I want to change..

[tcepma]

I am stuck at level 5, and really not sure what to do. I'm too crappy to solo things head on, and the exp is way too slow to do that anyway, and I'm also too crappy at AE kiting with the level 2 spell. Most level 5 zones are too crowded to realistically try to AE, especially since I die frequently doing this. Does anyone know where a level 5 should AE kite? It seems like the only viable solo option because melee is so ridiculously slow.

[Messianic]

I am stuck at level 5, and really not sure what to do. I'm too crappy to solo things head on, and the exp is way too slow to do that anyway, and I'm also too crappy at AE kiting with the level 2 spell. Most level 5 zones are too crowded to realistically try to AE, especially since I die frequently doing this. Does anyone know where a level 5 should AE kite? It seems like the only viable solo option because melee is so ridiculously slow.

You can always group, but my bard did 5-7 or so in greater fay. I'd pull all of orc hill (don't do this if there's a group) back to close to the guards, Ae kite them to death, rinse/repeat. I was close to my bind point if I happened to die.

You'll die a few times with it - especially since the level 2 aoe doesn't have the effect range that the level 18 dot has... Be ready for it :)

[nichomachean]

Bandit sisters south of PoD lift are another good option for kiting. There are 3 of them, and on a faction that's basically useless, with no wanderers.

[tcepma]

Good ideas, I'll try those places out, thanks.

[kazroth]

I started a Bard myself, I was doing some reading and read about this /melody command designed to save Bard wrists worldwide. Is this implemented in game? If so, how do you use it?

[Paumad]

newp, carpal tunnel for you :p

[nichomachean]

I started a Bard myself, I was doing some reading and read about this /melody command designed to save Bard wrists worldwide. Is this implemented in game? If so, how do you use it?

Melody was implemented in GoD, I believe, and thus is not active on this server. Best you can do it single tap cast macros, or kite macros, which I wouldn't recommend using in a group.

[kazroth]

Dear god, could the server developers find it in their heart to implement this command? Lol!! It works in game to some extent after a bit of testing, but it appears to only start the first song in the queue.

[Flunklesnarkin]

When / If i get around to bard i wouldn't want to be button mashing.


I'd tie 3 songs to one button.

/cast 1
/pause 50
(5 seconds or however long it takes to cast spell and reach cool down.. can play with that to maximize efficiency)
/cast 2
/pause 50
/cast 3

limited to 3 songs on eq using the built in macros

so guess you'd have to button mash a second key.. but that would be a lot better than carpal tunnel imo.

[nichomachean]

Only problem with macros in group situation is if you get an "Oh shit!" moment that requires you to change songs immediately.

[Flunklesnarkin]

yah would have to keep that in mind and probably have a couple of different macro keys

like label one key haste / atk set


or another mana / regen set

[Hmotzart]

WARNING
DO NOT USE MACROS IN GROUP!

Reason being is a pause macro will lock you into all the pause in that single macro.

So if you have
/cast1
/pause 50
/cast2
/pause 50
/cast 3

You will not be able to start another song for 10 seconds and if you have to stop to mezz you have to wait 20 PLUS seconds and 20 seconds can kill a caster that has aggro. Reason 20 seconds plus is because of the interrupt global cooldown and song cast aswell. Also if you miss a note on your first song you got to wait for the restof the macro to work its magic and not just be able to restart the song that missed a note.

The best macros are the single tap macros for bards.

/stopsong
/cast1-8

This is the only macro I myself use for groups so it cuts out having go double tap no more 1 1, 2 2, 3 3, 4 4 and sometimes 5 5. (if server lag is not bad that day) All you do is hit 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

My my rythm is FIGHT> 1, 2, 3, 4, - 1, 2, 3, 4,- 1, 2, 3, 4- DOWNTIME> 5, 6, 7,- 5, 6, 7,- 5, 6, 7,, MEZZ> target mezzmob 8, target fightmob 1, 2, target mezzmob 8 target fightmob 1, 2

I also recolor the background of my cast bar to a BRIGHT color so my attention can be on other things and see cast bar out of the corner of the eye to maximize twist and get that 5th song off.

Nothing on my hotkey bar is a spell gem so there is no accidental unmem.

Barding is by far the most active job in game. If you find yourself bored of other classes and think the game is slow paced, go with bard. We do not stop working even on downtime, better bards will be twisting 3 songs.

I always pray for the group to say MANA SONG cause manasong is not a mana regen it is a small mana heal and is only really usefull if sang nonstop. (untill 55 when bards get there mana regen then a twist is in order for mana.
Mana song gives my fingers a break. YAY

[Flunklesnarkin]

wasn't necessarily saying it had to be /pause 50 just whatever is lowest to allow the next song to fire off automatically heh


but yah.. could always have stopsong macroed if you need to mez something.


you aren't prevented from casting another spell either if you have an auto macro go

you will just get the message "you can't use that command while casting" when the auto kicks in if you are casting another spell.

macros are all about personal preference though... same with hotkeys and what not.


If you can get use to the idea that you may have to every once in a while stop casting a spell to cast another I don't see the dilemma with have it all on one button.


but i do see where you are coming from .. some people like to click everything separate.. others like me like to click once then stop if i need to do something else.

I find its less clicks over all that way. and in a repetitive group once camp is broken probably won't be as much need for fast mezzes.

Could just get into your groove with an auto macro.


It would be faster / better to click one separately.. but this is more for easy mode / grindage imo.

[Hmotzart]

You can not stop a pause command your stuck until the last song starts before you can stop a pause macro with a bard.

EDIT if you have found a way please link me the commands I would love it but I have tried every macro I could find online and you cannot stop a pause command untill last song starts.

[kazroth]

Awesome post, Hmotzart, thanks.

[Flunklesnarkin]

not saying you pause the command.. im saying you start casting another song while its still running


it will still attempt to cast the song / spell because of the autofire macro.. but it will give you the message unable to cast because you are already casting mez or whatever.

[Hmotzart]

The pause will stop your new song from starting and go to the last song on the list in the macro.

[Flunklesnarkin]

The pause will stop your new song from starting and go to the last song on the list in the macro.

I don't think you have tried it.

I'm able to do three spells on a single button just fine.


what i was saying with the stopcast / stopsong was if you are in the middle of casting something.. you can stop casting..

since the autofire macro is still running you have that time inbetween the pause to cast a new spell / song... and even tho the macro is still running you will be able to.


You will be casting a new spell or song.. and the autofire macro will still attempt to cast a spell or song but it will be unable to because you forced a new spell / song to be cast.

[Hmotzart]

The macro itself works just fine.. If you read my guide you see I use macros for swarming all the time.. If you look on the bard pic post youll see my circles are perfect.. I love macros..

It is tryin to stop the macro to start a new song. the pause command that is in the macro will stop anything you try to play if you need to stop the macro before your on the last song.


if you do a macro like this..

cast 1
/pause 25
/cast2 <--- HAVE TO MEZZ RIGHT HERE
/pause25
/cast3

The second pause will stop your mezz you have to wait for the pause , last song to start, cancel it and start your mezz..


Is a HUGE waste of global cooldowns and can get people killed when needing to mezz.

[Flunklesnarkin]

so you are saying the pause acts as a stop cast and not just a wait timer?

because i've had no problem with my spells being stopped by the pause timer.


unless you are saying you are concerned that you will be unable to recast because of the spell cool down when you stop casting.

It's entirely possible to recast you just gotta be on the ball and know your timers... but like i said not everybody can use macros.. I was just tossing it out as an option on long grinds to avoid carpal tunnel lol.


if a 1 or 2 second global cool down wipes your group.. its probably a bad thing... and its not like you have to blindly fire your macros.. you can manually cast a song if you think a big pull is coming up.

[Hmotzart]

its SOO frustrating in groups .. so i just stick with single tap macros untill we can find something better.. It really does screw with grouping where you get all your songs out of wack when you need to mezz.
I am sure you can use them once a camp is broken but remember those pops will hurt you.

[Flunklesnarkin]

yah.. I wouldn't fire an auto macro if you are expecting to mez a ton on a pull


but if you are in a long grind why not.

[Nygil]

Who were you on SZ?