Before I get started...

[Golaniel]

My people!!! I've scanned the landscape of MMORPGs over the last 10 years for a new "Everquest" but all I ever see is cookie cutter remakes of the new style of MMORPG that plays more like a 1+ player rather than a true multiplayer game. I had actually pretty much lost hope in MMORPGs, figuring I must be in an extreme minority of folks who actually LIKED Everquest because it was HARD and REQUIRED grouping...where a single trash mob could take down a group if everyone didnt know what they were doing! Then I found you guys, and my excitement for the genre has been rekindled.

I'm working on acquiring a copy of Titanium so I can join you all soon and re-experience the land of Norrath as I did back in the early 2000s. Needless to say, I'm stoked.

As I get back rolling, I would appreciate all of your help with the following (admitted wall) of questions!

- My true love is tanking...was a Warrior in EQ1, and again in EQ2. I honestly can't see myself being anything else. However, is being a *Human* warrior going to hinder me over being a Barbarian/Ogre/Troll warrior due to the reduced stats (especially strength)? If so, is it worth reconsidering Barb in favor of Human (I won't go Ogre/Troll)?

- What are the grouping prospects for a Human Warrior? If I remember right, blues will be killing me solo after lvl 10-15, so I'm really curious how hard it will be for me to find groups in all of the level tiers. I'm a casual player, so I'll likely not be able to stick with the same group of folks for long periods of time (they will out-level me) so I will either need to find PuGs or guild groups.

- Does the pre-endgame content get played a lot? I'm talking low level dungeons like Befallen and stuff. One of the saddest things about EQ2 is that it has so, so, so much beautiful content that absolutely no one plays b/c expansion gear has made those places absolutely worthless to go to unless you want to beat the area for the sake of beating it. I like loot just like the next guy, but I really, really would like to experience a lot of the lower level content in the game even if it is "just because". I'm hoping to not have the EQ2 experience where you basically need to PL til the end game in order to be able to do anything with anybody.

- How's the tradeskilling saturation? Are any of the tradeskills profitable, or are they either too saturated and/or the items are not worth using b/c the gear table is too saturated? Back in the day I mastered every single tradeskill (except Alchemy, not available to me as a Human Warrior) but my true love is smithing, and I'd be thrilled to be able to spam EC for Banded and Fine Plate sales :)

- Do any of the low lvl tradeskill mats from loot drops sell (i.e. is it profitable to farm as low level)? Example items I can think of would be HQ bear/cat pelts, Greater Lightstones, Spider Silks, etc.

- EQ to me is fun for the people. Do people use voice chat at all? If so, is it baked into the game, or are people using things like Vent servers? I can type as well as the next guy, but honestly I have a whole lot more fun being able to really talk with people.

- Is there a recommended UI mod for tanking? Back in the day I pretty much just used the standard UI, but if there's a good tanking mod I definitely want to install it.

- Are there in-game maps (don't think those existed until well after Velious)? If not, are there 3rd party map integrations, or are those disallowed (I'm totally fine either way)?

- How's the population on Friday and Saturday nights? That's generally my only time to play.

- Does armor still come in 3 sizes, fitting only certain races? I actually really like that.

- Is Kithicor still certain death at night for anyone below lvl 35 (unless of course you run around the edges of the zone boundaries, everyone knows that)?

- Does the lvl 25 Griffon (damn him!!) still ravage East Commonlands in his reign of terror over n00bs?

[Swizzl]

Hello Golaniel and welcome to the server! I will try to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge!

Q: My true love is tanking...was a Warrior in EQ1, and again in EQ2. I honestly can't see myself being anything else. However, is being a *Human* warrior going to hinder me over being a Barbarian/Ogre/Troll warrior due to the reduced stats (especially strength)? If so, is it worth reconsidering Barb in favor of Human (I won't go Ogre/Troll)?
A: It will be harder for you from the start being a human due to the big stat difference but by the time you get to the higher levels and start getting better gear and hitting your ability score caps it wont make too much of a difference in normal 6man groups. I cant speak for Main Tanking in raids as I have not participated in any end game raiding. I can say that i do main a cleric and my guilds main tank is a lvl 60 half-elf warrior and he doesnt seem to have any trouble taking hits in Kael Arena.

Q:What are the grouping prospects for a Human Warrior? If I remember right, blues will be killing me solo after lvl 10-15, so I'm really curious how hard it will be for me to find groups in all of the level tiers. I'm a casual player, so I'll likely not be able to stick with the same group of folks for long periods of time (they will out-level me) so I will either need to find PuGs or guild groups.
A: The server is still very active starting from your low level noob starting areas (especially Gfay and Freeport/EC areas) all the way up to the higher level areas. The popular dungeons like Crushbone, Unrest, Mistmoore, Highkeep, upper/lower Guk, City of Mist, Karnors Castle, and Old sebilis almost always have people in them no matter what time of day it is and as always Tanks are always in high demand!

Q: Does the pre-endgame content get played a lot? I'm talking low level dungeons like Befallen and stuff. One of the saddest things about EQ2 is that it has so, so, so much beautiful content that absolutely no one plays b/c expansion gear has made those places absolutely worthless to go to unless you want to beat the area for the sake of beating it. I like loot just like the next guy, but I really, really would like to experience a lot of the lower level content in the game even if it is "just because". I'm hoping to not have the EQ2 experience where you basically need to PL til the end game in order to be able to do anything with anybody.
A: I listed most of the more popular dungeons in the answer above and you shouldn't have too much trouble finding groups in those places but if you ever want to go to the places less travel dont be afraid to start doing /who all <class> <level> and asking people if they would like to join you on an adventure!

Q: How's the tradeskilling saturation? Are any of the tradeskills profitable, or are they either too saturated and/or the items are not worth using b/c the gear table is too saturated? Back in the day I mastered every single tradeskill (except Alchemy, not available to me as a Human Warrior) but my true love is smithing, and I'd be thrilled to be able to spam EC for Banded and Fine Plate sales
A: I am not much of a tradeskiller myself but there does seem to be a decent market for that stuff.

Q: Do any of the low lvl tradeskill mats from loot drops sell (i.e. is it profitable to farm as low level)? Example items I can think of would be HQ bear/cat pelts, Greater Lightstones, Spider Silks, etc.
A: All of the examples you listed are definitely excellent ways for a new person to the server to make some early cash while they are working their way through those lower levels. Also, dont forget to save your bone chips to sell as well.

Q: EQ to me is fun for the people. Do people use voice chat at all? If so, is it baked into the game, or are people using things like Vent servers? I can type as well as the next guy, but honestly I have a whole lot more fun being able to really talk with people.
A: There is no built in Voice chat in game but most guilds have some form of voice chat whether it be Vent, Mumble, Team Speak, or my favorite Discord.

Q: Is there a recommended UI mod for tanking? Back in the day I pretty much just used the standard UI, but if there's a good tanking mod I definitely want to install it.
A: Not that i know of for tanking specifically. I use Duxa UI which seems to be a pretty popular alternate UI on this server. Check out this link if you are interested. https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28335

Q: Are there in-game maps (don't think those existed until well after Velious)? If not, are there 3rd party map integrations, or are those disallowed (I'm totally fine either way)
A: There are no in game maps but the p99 wiki has good maps that will help you get around. http://wiki.project1999.com/

Q: How's the population on Friday and Saturday nights? That's generally my only time to play.
A: Very good. 1200+ id say

Q: Does armor still come in 3 sizes, fitting only certain races? I actually really like that.
A: Yes

Q: Is Kithicor still certain death at night for anyone below lvl 35 (unless of course you run around the edges of the zone boundaries, everyone knows that)?
A: Beware Kithicor after the sun sets. It is not a friendly place!

Q: Does the lvl 25 Griffon (damn him!!) still ravage East Commonlands in his reign of terror over n00bs?
A: Most definitely!

Hope to see you in the lands of Norrath soon!

Roory Cowtipper, 54 Cleric of <Nocterma>

[Pyrion]

Welcome!

Swizzl answered the questions very nicely, i just have some additions.
Kithicor is *not* certain death if you just travel at the zone walls. But do not wander off at night!
The griffon is more like level 35.

If you love tanking, consider a knight (paladin/SK) as it is much much easier to get aggro on a knight. For high end raids a warrior is needed though, so choose your preferences.

[Golaniel]

Thanks a bunch guys! Pretty sure I'll stick with warrior then. Wonder though if I should reconsider human, and go Barbarian instead for boosted stats?

Do one of the stats affect tradeskill skill-ups? Maybe that would be a downside of Barb vs Human?

[MavstabYoudead]

put your points in dex. any of the races are going to be capped with buffs in velious raid gear, so i'd play what you like. certain races (ogres, trolls) are going to have an advantage starting out with their stats + racial abilities, but also drawbacks like being fat in dungeons and getting you killed.

[Pyrion]

If you want to be human for cosmetic reasons, consider half elf, they look really nice :).

The main race advantages are stats (ogre, troll), size (smaller races), sneak (halfling), hide (halfling, dark elf), frontal stun immunity (ogre) and my personal favourite regeneration (troll, iksar). Iksar gets some added AC as well. If stats or abilities are not so important for you, just go human.

Evil races (especially iksar) do have a disadvantage in their choices of available vendors, but in my view that disadvantage is easily overcome.

[Pyrion]

I forgot about gnomes. A tinkering warrior maybe interesting if you are into tradeskills.

The cultural tradeskill armor for gnomes is very special:
http://wiki.project1999.com/Clockwork_Watchman_Armor
There even is a 40% haste item there, the vambraces. Needs batteries to recharge though... should be funny :)

[Golaniel]

put your points in dex.

Will DEX help with Tradeskill skill-ups?

[Golaniel]

If you want to be human for cosmetic reasons, consider half elf, they look really nice :).

Yes, I want human for cosmetic reasons, but I'm not fundamentally opposed to Half Elf and Barbarian since they are pretty close to human-looking. Between HE and Barb, is either one clearly better?

My intended play style is likely going to be:
- Nearly no solo level grinding except for first few levels.
- Grouping up for pretty much anything that groups do, even if it's bad exp. This means I need somewhat quick access to groups - cant sit LFG for 1-2 hours each night.
- Sporadic/sparse login activity. This coupled with the previous point means I will probably never be able to tank high-end raids, as much as I'd love to.
- Want to make sure I'm not discriminated against for group tanking and occasional low level raid tanking simply on account of my race (noting that I wont have access to twink gear either).
- Will likely focus very heavily on tradeskills. Quite possible that I will master them all, as I did back in 2001 :).

[Sorn]

Will DEX help with Tradeskill skill-ups?

Not certain, I think maybe just with fletching and poison-making. Hard to tell.

Cultural tradeskill items are pretty popular now. Dwarven plate especially has some good stats. There are others getting up and running for the other cultural stuff, though. Right now blacksmithing and tailoring (Velious tailoring) are the most popular, with jewelcraft as a steady runner up.

There are also mobs along the zone wall in Kithicor, so it's not too safe running along there at night either.

BTW, Cracked Staff Artisans is a tradeskill guild, currently recruiting! We get way too into it for most people, but you might enjoy that :)

[Swizzl]

Will DEX help with Tradeskill skill-ups?

The main reason you want to put points into DEX is because the best way for a warrior to get and keep agro on the mobs you are fighting is with weapons that proc damage and other debuffs like blind, poison dots, snare etc etc. The higher your DEX is the more you will proc with those weapons so the easier time you will have keeping agro off the shamans and enchanters that are debuffing your mobs hehe. From what i have heard it is harder for a warrior to cap DEX then it is to cap STR or STA so that is why a lot of people recommend putting most of your starting points into DEX.

Like i said before i dont do much tradeskilling at all but i thought i had heard that DEX helps with the actual combine and whether or not you fail or succeed in making the item and your primary stats like STR, WIS, INT help with whether or not you get a skill up. I could be totally wrong about this though.

Roory Cowtipper, 54 Cleric of <Nocterma>

[Daywolf]

Will DEX help with Tradeskill skill-ups?
Generally for success. Then you often have another stat involved in the skill-up upon success (e.g. int). Depends on the tradeskill. So like jewel crafting should work as having dex for combine success, but int to count for any possible skill-up on combine success. You can probably find a formula at the eqemu site, I've never directly looked at it. Of course may not be exact to here, but should show the general formula which was likely rudimentarily copied to p99 early on from PEQ files.

As for selling tradeskill items, just depends on what it is and how much you want to make from it. Trades like jewel crafting can take a ton of time to make back the investment, but for like smithing it's not too hard. It was easier to sell tradeskill stuff on live, but it's not flat out broken here like in most games. Not a get rich quick thing ...by far. Good you like it, so do I, start early and gear yourself as you go. Gotta luv that cultural armor. Cultural weapons suck though, no bonus, early version better fit for newbies yet requiring vets to make. Well, EQ tradeskills were never the best anyway, but still better than most.

Oh as for blacksmithing, it could very well be dex+str. I'm not sure though. But I had really good success buffing my str up and fairly good dex. Obviously you want human warrior for that as best possible choice, thanks to the big multi-cultural trade skill list humans have in the elf simulator hehe.

[Golaniel]

Obviously you want human warrior for that as best possible choice, thanks to the big multi-cultural trade skill list humans have in the elf simulator hehe.

Say wha? Is this just a joke that is lost on me?

[Daywolf]

Say wha? Is this just a joke that is lost on me?
Don't know what you mean. http://wiki.project1999.com/Cultural_Tradeskills:_Human
Why would that insane list be a joke of some sort? Can't do anything like that in an elf cultural forge hehe that's for sure. Humans are OP on their cultural forge.

Anyway you mentioned rolling human, I figured that was the reason why, which is a big reason why as a tradeskiller. But I guess not.
Lucks

[Pyrion]

Notice that all those cultural things work with half elves as well.

[Golaniel]

Woh...I totally forgot that things like Imbued Field Plate could only be created by Humans??

I crafted myself (very very painstakingly) a full set of Imbued Field Plate way back when...

As a side note...really sucked that I had chosen Mith Marr as my deity, because my Imbued Field Plate had all WIS/INT :(. Talk about terrible for a Warrior. Then add to that the fact that Mith Marr imbue is a Diamond, the most expensive imbue stone if I remember correctly. I was really a glutton for punishment, but I loved Blacksmithing so much that I STILL created my full set and wore it. Definitely going Rallos Zek this time around!

Surprised that the Imbued Field Plate stuff even has trivial values on them...thought that those never went trivial but maybe that was before the skill cap was 250?

Is it still possible to craft the "Master" hammer or whatever it was, that gave a boost in smithing skill but was super high level to create itself?

Lastly, does p99 still limit you to only going beyond 200 with only one tradeskill (if I remember correct from classic)?

[Golaniel]

Notice that all those cultural things work with half elves as well.

The items can be *worn* by Half Elves, but can they be crafted by Half Elves?

http://wiki.project1999.com/Cultural_Tradeskills:_Half_Elf says Half Elves can't craft nuffin' cultural :(

[Daywolf]

The items can be *worn* by Half Elves, but can they be crafted by Half Elves?

http://wiki.project1999.com/Cultural_Tradeskills:_Half_Elf says Half Elves can't craft nuffin' cultural :(
Only humans can use the human cultural forges. That list I linked is only for the human cultural forge. In other words, you can either buy the armor or roll a human to make it :D
See? OP! Hehe. But the human can just be a lowbie mule to do it.
And yeah, only 1 trade can raise above 200.

[Naethyn]

Human warrior is the best decision I've made on p99. Put all of your points into Stamina. Sell Leather Padding to make money. Buy a Jarsath Triden and Green Jade Broadsword to start out. At 40 upgrade with 2 yak clubs. At 50 get 2 Blood Points and a Truncheon of Doom. Bind Wound is huge. Large races get slam, but at 55 warriors get stunning kicks and kick becomes far superior due to high skill cap. Go for all +HP gear and a haste item.

[Sorn]

Is it still possible to craft the "Master" hammer or whatever it was, that gave a boost in smithing skill but was super high level to create itself?

Lastly, does p99 still limit you to only going beyond 200 with only one tradeskill (if I remember correct from classic)?

1) No, we don't have tradeskill trophies here.

2) Correct. Only one tradeskill can go beyond 200.

[trite]

[QUOTE=Swizzl;2211099]Hello Golaniel and welcome to the server! I will try to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge!

Q: My true love is tanking...was a Warrior in EQ1, and again in EQ2. I honestly can't see myself being anything else. However, is being a *Human* warrior going to hinder me over being a Barbarian/Ogre/Troll warrior due to the reduced stats (especially strength)? If so, is it worth reconsidering Barb in favor of Human (I won't go Ogre/Troll)?
A: It will be harder for you from the start being a human due to the big stat difference but by the time you get to the higher levels and start getting better gear and hitting your ability score caps it wont make too much of a difference in normal 6man groups. I cant speak for Main Tanking in raids as I have not participated in any end game raiding. I can say that i do main a cleric and my guilds main tank is a lvl 60 half-elf warrior and he doesnt seem to have any trouble taking hits in Kael Arena.

Ok so the real answer to this question is that ogre warriors have immunity to frontal stun, the 3 large races get bash (potential to interrupt a caster). You don't care about strength as much as stamina and dexterity at the end game...what race you chose at the high end won't be a deal breaker as far as if you can actually tank..none of the raid encounters are so demanding of a tank that you won't be able to handle them once you get the right gear...RESEARCH HOW TO SPEND YOUR STARTING POINTS...as a human it will be all in on stamina probably and as a barbarian it might be some amount into dex after stamina.... .though I don't know of any active gnome or dark elf warriors raiding at the end game...dark elf is the absolute worst


Q: Does the pre-endgame content get played a lot? I'm talking low level dungeons like Befallen and stuff. One of the saddest things about EQ2 is that it has so, so, so much beautiful content that absolutely no one plays b/c expansion gear has made those places absolutely worthless to go to unless you want to beat the area for the sake of beating it. I like loot just like the next guy, but I really, really would like to experience a lot of the lower level content in the game even if it is "just because". I'm hoping to not have the EQ2 experience where you basically need to PL til the end game in order to be able to do anything with anybody.
A: I listed most of the more popular dungeons in the answer above and you shouldn't have too much trouble finding groups in those places but if you ever want to go to the places less travel dont be afraid to start doing /who all <class> <level> and asking people if they would like to join you on an adventure!

So about deprecated content... this was the original reason why the server staff made a conscious decision to stop at Velious. Because in their minds Luclin was the point in the game where a lot of original content started becoming completely deprecated...though every expansion did its part in chipping away.

Q: How's the tradeskilling saturation? Are any of the tradeskills profitable, or are they either too saturated and/or the items are not worth using b/c the gear table is too saturated? Back in the day I mastered every single tradeskill (except Alchemy, not available to me as a Human Warrior) but my true love is smithing, and I'd be thrilled to be able to spam EC for Banded and Fine Plate sales
A: I am not much of a tradeskiller myself but there does seem to be a decent market for that stuff.

There is already a Human warrior cornering the market in fashion quest human cultural armor haha

[Golaniel]

Human warrior is the best decision I've made on p99.

Care to explain? You just like the combo, or specifically "Human" was a good combo with Warrior?

[Golaniel]

There is already a Human warrior cornering the market in fashion quest human cultural armor haha

Are you the one cornering the market? :)

I'm probably going to go down the road of Human cultural (if I end up as human)...I'm not sure I can help myself.

[Xaanka]

Answering what I can. I play on the PVP server, so I can't comment on questions specific to the PVE server. Never played on there.

- My true love is tanking...was a Warrior in EQ1, and again in EQ2. I honestly can't see myself being anything else. However, is being a *Human* warrior going to hinder me over being a Barbarian/Ogre/Troll warrior due to the reduced stats (especially strength)? If so, is it worth reconsidering Barb in favor of Human (I won't go Ogre/Troll)?

Race makes almost no difference in the end game. You can expect to cap all stats as any race with velious gear. Play whatever you think looks the coolest, race suggestions for pretty much anything but necro/shaman are irrelevant post-kunark. Humans get the coolest custom helms fyi.

Once you're lvl 60 you're gonna have a harder time capping your sta/dex/agi than your strength, consider that with starting stats. Balanced races like Human are never a bad choice for melees. Strength makes a bigger difference early on but it will be the easiest stat to cap, and once you hit that point the less strength you have the easier it is to drop points for other stats. Think about it: almost every piece of warrior gear's gonna have strength on it.

Put your starting stats in stamina (hp) or dexterity (weapon procs, aka your aggro generation) for any race not strength. You'll thank me later on.

Ogre/troll aren't the top tier warrior race in velious, just very popular because this server was stuck on kunark for years during which those races were the best.

- What are the grouping prospects for a Human Warrior? If I remember right, blues will be killing me solo after lvl 10-15, so I'm really curious how hard it will be for me to find groups in all of the level tiers. I'm a casual player, so I'll likely not be able to stick with the same group of folks for long periods of time (they will out-level me) so I will either need to find PuGs or guild groups.

Finding PuG's is easy as a warrior. I play on the lesser populated red server and have no problems finding groups when I level my tank alts. Take the initiative and form groups if you must.

- EQ to me is fun for the people. Do people use voice chat at all? If so, is it baked into the game, or are people using things like Vent servers? I can type as well as the next guy, but honestly I have a whole lot more fun being able to really talk with people.

Uncommon for 6 man group content, always used for raiding.

- Is there a recommended UI mod for tanking? Back in the day I pretty much just used the standard UI, but if there's a good tanking mod I definitely want to install it.

Not tanking specific but I recommend QQUI (can be found in the tech discussion forum on here) as it takes up a lot less of your screen to show the same info, giving you more situational awareness.

- Are there in-game maps (don't think those existed until well after Velious)? If not, are there 3rd party map integrations, or are those disallowed (I'm totally fine either way)?

Nope, and there used to be 3rd party map programs but I don't think any of them work anymore.

- Does armor still come in 3 sizes, fitting only certain races? I actually really like that.

Some armor is like this, yeah. Mostly low level stuff but it can be relevant later on (good luck finding good large race rogue boots before ntov!)

- Is Kithicor still certain death at night for anyone below lvl 35 (unless of course you run around the edges of the zone boundaries, everyone knows that)?

- Does the lvl 25 Griffon (damn him!!) still ravage East Commonlands in his reign of terror over n00bs?

yes. those kith skeletons levels are under-rated too, they'll mess you up far beyond 35 if you aren't careful.

[Golaniel]

Thanks for all of the replies...everyone...seriously. I'm simply amazed by the forum participation here!

[Golaniel]

Couple other questions:

How much is different from Classic EQ? I'm guessing things are "as close as we could get it" but is there a good resource that covers this? I'm definitely extra interested in relation to tanking and warriors, but would really like a solid overall understanding of the diffs.

I read something about shared banking slots being present but not working, and if you put an item inside them it gets lost forever. Is this true, and if so what other "bugs" need I worry about?

[Daywolf]

eh all pretty much legit, apart from the boats. The boats work here, so not classic, bro.
Worst bug is the MOB pathing/strafing bug which allows for an easier escape from chasing mobs (they have a problem hitting). Result of that there is an overabundance of bards on the server taking advantage of it to swarm kite which can be obnoxious to other players. No extra bank slots, no.

[Golaniel]

Just got my copy of Titanium on eBay for a reasonable price...can't wait for it to get here!!

[Swish]

Just got my copy of Titanium on eBay for a reasonable price...can't wait for it to get here!!

http://i.imgur.com/a4uo7WF.gif

[Golaniel]

I know there are "other ways" but until DBG says it's okay to treat Titanium as shareware I preferred to do it this way. Felt more right to me. I don't mind paying some $$ to play a game (and yes I realize DBG doesn't get any of it).

[goblinmoshpit]

I know there are "other ways" but until DBG says it's okay to treat Titanium as shareware I preferred to do it this way. Felt more right to me. I don't mind paying some $$ to play a game (and yes I realize DBG doesn't get any of it).

Kudos, man. Kudos..

You can look up my hobbit druid - Dippo when ya get online and we can adventure together =]