Wizardly advice

[Raavak]

Any suggestions on playing a wizard? I'm up to lvl 11 in Qeynos/Karana areas soloing. Its a new class for me. I mostly fight black and blue cons by just chain nuking while meleeing. I know I can't do that forever... And snare is a long ways away.

[Messianic]

That's pretty much how it'll work until 16 or so (when stuff starts hitting a little too hard for you to simply battlenuke it).

Even then, root nuking is still your only option. Expect Root-nuking to be the only method of soloing until 29.

You can always group, though...

[Jaxon]

Once you get Bind Affinity you can head to Unrest to nuke yard trash. There are good safe places to med in the maze and by the pool next to the gazebo.

Once the undead turn light blue, if your froglok faction is good you can take the heart spiders in Guk. Bind next to the lguk zoneline and use it to break the camp. When the spiders wear out, you'll be 19 or 20 and can either transition to a group in the zone, try to solo frogloks, or head to the Karanas to solo.

[Messianic]

Once you get Bind Affinity you can head to Unrest to nuke yard trash. There are good safe places to med in the maze and by the pool next to the gazebo.

Once the undead turn light blue, if your froglok faction is good you can take the heart spiders in Guk. Bind next to the lguk zoneline and use it to break the camp. When the spiders wear out, you'll be 19 or 20 and can either transition to a group in the zone, try to solo frogloks, or head to the Karanas to solo.

^^ This is very good advice. I strongly recommend staying Glower with the frogs until 20. I soloed heart spiders from 17-20 and I can't imagine anything being better xp or loot than that around that level. They drop good gems (sometimes worth 2-5 plat), spider silk, etc... And upper guk has a Zone experience modifier (ZEM) which makes all your kills equivalent to killing a creature of the same con 1.5x-2x outside of uguk.

[Sareil]

My suggestion would be to group as hard as you can, at least until snare. Other than that root-nuking or battlemaging are your only options, and I have found both to be less than desirable. Besides, you get to be a lazy mofo and chat up the group while everyone else is actually working, its all good in groups for a wiz.

[Raavak]

This is good stuff, all new to me.

How about equipment? Anything must-have below the Sol Temple quests become feasible?

[Rhalous]

You need to get your mana and hp up asap. I suggest making or joining a Scryer group in uguk and farming it until you get two Bracelet's of Woven Grass and a Shimmering Orb. You should be able to get in that camp at lvl 16. You can also buy an FBR (Flowing Black Robe) pretty cheap once you save up some plat. I'm not sure how much they cost now, but they can't be more than 100-200pp.

I didn't farm solo while leveling up, nor did I quad much because Sol Ro wasn't in yet, so I didn't get my Temp Flux staff until long after I was level 50, but you really need to do that quest asap. You can XP in both perma and sola for the hearts. The best place in perma for hearts is the jail.

If you send me a PM I can answer any specific questions you have. You can also msg me in game.

P.S.
I also suggest grouping at an early level. When played well, a wizard can add a lot to a group through burst DPS and ghetto crowd control like roots and stuns. Learn how to manage your aggro early and it won't be a problem later on.

[Maelstrom]

This is good stuff, all new to me.

How about equipment? Anything must-have below the Sol Temple quests become feasible?

You should be able to get an FBR and maybe some other noobie caster items such as batskull earrings for free. Keep asking around casually, maybe as offering to purchase, and if you are lucky you will be rewarded.

Whatever you do, DO NOT pay the 200p asking price for an FBR. It simply is a ripoff, and IMO this type of robe should be given to new casters free of charge.

The Staff of the Wheel is also an incredibly easy quest if you have the right tools (will need help with invis possibly).

And I also recommend grouping for some kickback xp. The workload is soft, and the xp keeps rolling in as long as your nuking consistently. Oasis would be perfect around your current level, and you can start your search for the rune of scale drops and pickup your rod in the lake while your there as well.

http://www.cold-moon.com/images/Motivators/Classes/Wizard1.jpg

[hedbonker]

Once you hit level 25 or so, be sure to get the Staff of Temperate Flux (http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=559). This will be key to soloing after you get your snare. Besides the fact that it's a debuff for your target, you can use it as a range calculator while kiting:

Snare mob(s). Run away to start your kite...

With the staff in top level inventory slot, spam click it (it's insta cast) until the mobs are in range.

Pause, nuke/rain/whatever.

Run again and repeat.

For the rod in the lake in oasis, what I did was have a druid train the gobbies out and head for the zone while I swam down and snagged the rod...

[Maelstrom]

Once you hit level 25 or so, be sure to get the Staff of Temperate Flux (http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=559). This will be key to soloing after you get your snare. Besides the fact that it's a debuff for your target, you can use it as a range calculator while kiting:

Snare mob(s). Run away to start your kite...

With the staff in top level inventory slot, spam click it (it's insta cast) until the mobs are in range.

Pause, nuke/rain/whatever.

Run again and repeat.

For the rod in the lake in oasis, what I did was have a druid train the gobbies out and head for the zone while I swam down and snagged the rod...

holy smokes Hedbonker! I remember you on torv :D
I remember joining RI shortly before y'all started Thermo.
Good to see another torvonnite up in here.

Don't remember me? I was Zetal, first vah shir war with lightsabers ^_^

[Rasterburn]

Get a SoW buff. Run... nuke... run... nuke. Full-speed kiting. Takes some practice, but it works fine so long as you can stay ahead of the mobs. I've even quad kited that way, when I was feeling especially brave.

[hedbonker]

holy smokes Hedbonker! I remember you on torv :D
I remember joining RI shortly before y'all started Thermo.
Good to see another torvonnite up in here.

Don't remember me? I was Zetal, first vah shir war with lightsabers ^_^

Hey you! Of course I remember you! Yeah I was sick of trying to get people to show up for non-mandatory raiding with RI - That was why I started Therm with JaneJett. When I proposed mandatory raiding to the guild the backlash was so overwhelming that I just handed leadership off to one of the officers that wanted to keep it casual and let JJ talk me into making Therm. Was good times!

[Maelstrom]

Hey you! Of course I remember you! Yeah I was sick of trying to get people to show up for non-mandatory raiding with RI - That was why I started Therm with JaneJett. When I proposed mandatory raiding to the guild the backlash was so overwhelming that I just handed leadership off to one of the officers that wanted to keep it casual and let JJ talk me into making Therm. Was good times!

I need to get over to the old torv boards and let folks know about this server, as I'm sure some would love re-living the classic era...if anyone still reads those boards, that is.

Sorry for thread hijack..../wizard on

[hedbonker]

I think the board there is dead...

[Sareil]

Get a SoW buff. Run... nuke... run... nuke. Full-speed kiting. Takes some practice, but it works fine so long as you can stay ahead of the mobs. I've even quad kited that way, when I was feeling especially brave.

Full speed kiting gets pretty intense, especially if youre quadding.

One thing everyone here can agree on is the Staff of Temp Flux is a key piece of equipment. Along with the range finding as mentioned, it is how you pull when youre quadding, plus the debuff is nice.

Another thing I dont think has been mentioned is youll definitely want to grab the JBoots. I got incredibly tired of begging SoWs or having those SoW pots eat up my inventory space. Jboots are fantastic, but they can be a pain to get.

Oh, and learn when to run away from a kite. I know it sucks when you spent all that time killing him, but if youre at 10m and 50%hp, unless he is JUST about to die its probably better you run away and keep the 10% death penalty.

[Rasterburn]

One thing everyone here can agree on is the Staff of Temp Flux is a key piece of equipment. Along with the range finding as mentioned, it is how you pull when youre quadding, plus the debuff is nice.

Another thing I dont think has been mentioned is youll definitely want to grab the JBoots.


Absolutely mandatory pieces of equipment for a wizzy.

And I should mention that you can do both quests at the same time. If I remember correctly, one of the drops you need for the Staff of Temp Flux is a lambent stone. Well it just so happens that the sand giants in SRo drop lambent stones regularly. And SRo also happens to be one of the places where you can camp the AC for JBoots. So it's nice that you can knock off two drops for two quests at the same time there.

One additional use for the Temp Flux staff is kind of unorthodox, but I've used it a few times in the past. You can rapidly spam it on a mob for when you want to pull aggro off of someone else in your party. I know it sounds weird for me to be saying that a wizzy would be -trying- to pull aggro in a group, but it's situational. For example, I remember a few occasions when the MT died and the mob switched aggro to the cleric. So to get him off the cleric, I started spamming the Temp Flux debuff until my wiz got bumped up pretty high on the hate list. The mob disengaged from the cleric and came at my wiz... at which point she just started shadow stepping and so forth until the cleric could recover and rezz the MT. Or in solo situations, it's a great way to keep people from stealing your pulls (***cough druids in CS cough***). Same trick: just spam the Temp Flux staff and you'll generate so much hate that nobody will be able to grab your mobs. Like I say, it's situational... but it's an additional option.

[Raavak]

At lvl 25 is the Karanas the best bet for soloing? I've played around in dungeons but they are difficult to solo effectively that I've seen. Even gobs in OOT are too hard to break.

[Acillatem]

If yer lookin to solo - I found SK to be a great place 20-30. Plus you can alwayz /ooc for a duo partner (NEC/MAG are awesome as a duo), and just go to town.

Plus there are usually aviak/centaur groups u can join - and occasionally people heading to Paw.

The fact u can bind yourself at EC tunnel for buff refreshes (Clarity/SoW), and then port to NK And BAM yer right back in SK....it's great. At 29 it makes it easy to start your own Paw groups since u can port to NK.

[Messianic]

At lvl 25 is the Karanas the best bet for soloing? I've played around in dungeons but they are difficult to solo effectively that I've seen. Even gobs in OOT are too hard to break.

Research Column of Lightning. Run to Everfrost, bind near the perma entrance. Quad Mammoths using full-speed kiting. Get sow from EC by porting to Nro, and gate back to continue grinding.

Enjoy the awesome xp.

I was able to do this from 26-29. It's probably the best xp (and money, since the mammoths drop tusks that sell for 10pp, although they weigh a ton) you'll find.

Only backlash is that it's dangerous. Buy HP gear if you haven't already. Because of Column of Lightning's longer cast time, you have to be absolutely perfect in execution of a full-speed quad or you'll get whacked. I had around +200hp through my gear and a very high AC for a caster of my level as a buffer, and only died once because I got stubborn. I had a chance to port out, but I tried to pull off a miracle.

Plus, you're close to perma and can communicate with some of the farmers there in case a wizard heart drops.

[Raavak]

Tried full speed quading in SK at aviaks last night. Wow, what a rush! Keys were keeping Leatherskin up and SoW on. A friend helped me get Staff of Transdescence, so I used it to range the pack.

Question, where do I quad kite in Classic up to 50? I'd like to avoid doing guards if possible.

[Acillatem]

There's really not a lot of options for quad kiting on Classic once u get higher in level.

Hill giants in RM, Seafuries in OOT, Spectres in OOT/Oasis/Feerrot.

Think that's about it - I may be missing something but I don't think so.

[Haish]

Dwarfs in BB, if you have an eb item you can quad the underwater goblins =) and some groups of guards

[Messianic]

Hint for full-speed quadding - be ready to jump as soon as the spell lands. You can usually move a split second before the spell is actually done casting and still get it off without getting slammed.

As I said before, I also had near 200 hp in +HP gear when I full-speed quadded, so that can also be very helpful.

[Raavak]

Are the XXX Spiral of Al'Kabor good for quad kiting? I just got 29 and contemplating my new spells.

[Brut]

I recall the general wizard strategy being:

1) Find group
2) Open /gems
4) Cast a nuke on a mob.
5) Wait 3mins medding.
6) Repeat steps 4-5.
7) Ding 50.
8) Port guild to Hate/Sky.
9) Repeat steps 1-5.

[Omica]

Are the XXX Spiral of Al'Kabor good for quad kiting? I just got 29 and contemplating my new spells.

Column of Lightning is the one you want to use right now. There's a lot of good info here on how to quad, and some bad as well. Personally I get sow and self-buff as much as possible. I pull with Staff of Temperate Flux - instant click, can't beat it. Aggro 4 mobs total. Run in a circle until they are packed, and in a straight line while jumping to gain some distance. Check range with staff, and AoE snare when in range. Nuke. Win. If you get resists on the first snare, it gets a little complicated.

[Messianic]

Are the XXX Spiral of Al'Kabor good for quad kiting? I just got 29 and contemplating my new spells.

Not at all. Here's what you need to determine the spells to use for quadding:

1) Mana cost per current AoE
2) Damage per current AoE
3) Total Mana - i.e. how many AoE's can you cast, and therefore how much damage can you deal to each mob in your quad?

#3 sets your limitations, factoring in resists, etc. #'s 1 and 2 decide the ratio of the AoE you're using.

The ratio for most of the Al'Kabor type spells (with the exception of the 49 spell, which isn't all that great anyhow) are absolutely horrible. You'll use column of lightning until 34, when you can research circle of force.

[Messianic]

If you get resists on the first snare, it gets a little complicated.

For that situation, just snare the mob(s) that resisted, run around the mobs and get them in a close bunch again, and re-snare. It takes a lot of mana to cast bonds three times, but it's worth doing it that way as opposed to trying to be twinkletoes, gating, or being mana-stingy (I know this from many hours in Cobalt Scar). Yes, casting bonds three times is annoying. However, if you have even average gear, your quad should only take about 80-90% of your mana at most.

[Messianic]

I recall the general wizard strategy being:

1) Find group
2) Open /gems
4) Cast a nuke on a mob.
5) Wait 3mins medding.
6) Repeat steps 4-5.
7) Ding 50.
8) Port guild to Hate/Sky.
9) Repeat steps 1-5.

That's actually about right...I found grouping as a wizard terribly boring. The most fun I ever had was chain-stunning dangerous caster/healer mobs or root planting...

[Raavak]

1) Mana cost per current AoE
2) Damage per current AoE
3) Total Mana - i.e. how many AoE's can you cast, and therefore how much damage can you deal to each mob in your quad?


Wow, good stuff for an EQ geek like me. I guess I never thought to compute efficiency, like I did on DD's shortly after I created this char.

Where would you hunt from 29-35 or so? SK gnolls and higher centaus? Avocats are too uncommon to get steady exp off aviaks anymore.

[Omica]

Well I'll give away the best spot I know of so far. In Misty Thicket there is a wall that splits the zone in half. At the gate are 4 Assling guards with relatively low HP right there together. They drop decent coin as well as weapons/shields that sell for 10p or so a pop. This more than justifies buying SoW potions if you don't have Jboots yet, though you will need some kind of weight reduction baggage to keep it efficient. You take a faction hit, but it's just Asslings. Plus it's easy to repair from what I hear. Thanks to Pableau for setting me up there.

[Messianic]

Wow, good stuff for an EQ geek like me. I guess I never thought to compute efficiency, like I did on DD's shortly after I created this char.

Where would you hunt from 29-35 or so? SK gnolls and higher centaus? Avocats are too uncommon to get steady exp off aviaks anymore.

You can quad at the spires in SK...But those are probably heavily camped except for off-hours. Still worth the effort to try. Mammoths in EF near Perma are probably blue until 31/32ish IIRC...

Until about level 49ish, my ideas for leveling are really fuzzy, given how long ago it was that i leveled my wizard on live. Heat is only 30 atm, and I mainly use him for tradeskilling...Drolvargs outside of KC will be a lot of fun, Burning Woods, etc...

[Messianic]

Well I'll give away the best spot I know of so far. In Misty Thicket there is a wall that splits the zone in half. At the gate are 4 Assling guards with relatively low HP right there together. They drop decent coin as well as weapons/shields that sell for 10p or so a pop. This more than justifies buying SoW potions if you don't have Jboots yet, though you will need some kind of weight reduction baggage to keep it efficient. You take a faction hit, but it's just Asslings. Plus it's easy to repair from what I hear. Thanks to Pableau for setting me up there.

Lol, nice

I think its hilarious that some of the best hunting in the game is guards. You really could go from 24/25ish (the two FP guards in front of the inns in EC) straight to 50 on guards alone, and make a crapton of money doing it.

[Omica]

I had no idea /gems was even in the game on P99. My grouping experience just got significantly better.

[Acillatem]

As a wizard you've got stuns, snares, and roots to help crowd control in a group situation.

Don't be a lazy wizard.

[fuji]

I had no idea /gems was even in the game on P99. My grouping experience just got significantly better.

Gems is more boring than medding. A second monitor with a yahoo game is much more exciting.

[Raavak]

Wow, Bonds does have a learning curve. Full speed kiting actually has less thinking even though its more dangerous and time consuming.

I noticed that even though you snare a group of kited mobs (at the same time) Bonds doesn't fade at quite the same time, and busts up your 'quad'. I need to learn to count my Columns before I resnare.

[Messianic]

Wow, Bonds does have a learning curve. Full speed kiting actually has less thinking even though its more dangerous and time consuming.

I noticed that even though you snare a group of kited mobs (at the same time) Bonds doesn't fade at quite the same time, and busts up your 'quad'. I need to learn to count my Columns before I resnare.

Part of it is learning how to quad as quickly as possible. You shouldn't run *too far* while quadding - just far enough so you can recast your AoE as soon as its recovery time fades. All those "You are too far away" messages are seconds wasted...

I haven't had any trouble dropping groups of mammoths with just one bonds of force...maybe the SK gnolls take more time ;)

[Remfin]

Wow, Bonds does have a learning curve. Full speed kiting actually has less thinking even though its more dangerous and time consuming.Ya, Bonds is variable, will be so much better when we get Atol's and its fixed duration. But the AE range will probably be too big to use...

[quellren]

Gems is more boring than medding. A second monitor with a yahoo game is much more exciting.

I prefer to tab out and read the forums, but hey whatever works for you.

There was a brief time when I used an HDMI cable to my plasma TV and played like that. Then I put up another game (or even PEQ) on the laptop screen.