Kedge Keep Xp

[Azoor]

I went to Kedge last night as a lvl 34 shaman with a 34 Enchanter as my duo partner. We cleared about 6 mobs and noticed the xp seemed rather slow (about 1.25 blues from 6 mobs). We decided to head to LGuk and after clearing 6 mobs I had gotten a little over 2 blues. On the Wiki, Shin Knights are listed as lvl 31 while Lancer Swordfish are listed as lvl 28 - 32.

It seems that the xp in Lguk got better than the xp in Kedge at some point. I know that there is another thread (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=278395&highlight=kedge) questioning a potential ZEM change in Kedge, but has anyone else noticed a recent change to Kedge xp (within the last 3-4 months)?

[Kesselring]

It seems like a recent patch changed just how good the exp was in kedge, because I remember it being the top banana for leveling to 60 other than chardok AE.

[a4chet]

I can't find it, but I seemed to recall Kedge getting an XP boost at some point on Live. When I played classic, no one went there either.

[Baler]

The wiki ZEM list was edited august 2017 changing the guessed p99 kedge keep ZEM from 150-200 to the EQMAC value of 100. (granted the wiki isn't always accurate)

There may be a case that it has been changed. Because I too have read and heard how amazing kedge keep exp is on p99. I don't see anything in the patch notes refering to a change. So it could have happened behind the scenes OR may show up on a patch note list to come. If there is a case.

[Azoor]

It would be nice to know if this was an intended change or if it will be changed back. I was under the impression that the xp in Kedge was always better than the xp in Lguk due to the difficulty of the zone. This doesn't seem to currently be the case.

[Azoor]

"The right mobs"? We are talking about ZEM here which would be an xp modifier based on the ZONE, not the mobs. If Kedge has a higher ZEM than Lguk, killing a lvl 31 mob in Kedge should result in more xp than killing a lvl 31 mob in Lguk.

This has nothing to do with "the right mobs".

[Jimjam]

"The right mobs"? We are talking about ZEM here which would be an xp modifier based on the ZONE, not the mobs. If Kedge has a higher ZEM than Lguk, killing a lvl 31 mob in Kedge should result in more xp than killing a lvl 31 mob in Lguk.

This has nothing to do with "the right mobs".

Well, there is the mob difficulty/kill time vs xp yielded coefficient.

I think the point is, the higher level mobs in Kedge are relatively low on hp compared to their counterparts in other dungeons, so over the course of a session more xp is gathered as more mobs can be killed, even if the xp per mob might be on par or lower than elsewhere...


The other consideration is that the levels given for mobs on the wiki might be wrong.

[HippoNipple]

Well, there is the mob difficulty/kill time vs xp yielded coefficient.

I think the point is, the higher level mobs in Kedge are relatively low on hp compared to their counterparts in other dungeons, so over the course of a session more xp is gathered as more mobs can be killed, even if the xp per mob might be on par or lower than elsewhere...


The other consideration is that the levels given for mobs on the wiki might be wrong.

The thread is about ZEM, not how difficult mobs are. There are obviously different factors in exp gain but this thread is specifically about ZEM.

[snyder43]

I PLed a friend in Kedge from 27-51 several months ago and the EXP was amazing. I went back to Kedge about a week ago to PL a level 30 by killing blues, yellows, and reds, and the EXP was moving so slowly that we left, went to Upper Guk, and finished the PLing session there by killing only blues... The EXP moved MUCH faster.

IMO, Kedge has been nerfed. It's too bad since it is a zone that saw such little traffic anyway, that it is hard to imagine why anyone would go there anymore, with the exception of getting an Epic piece.

[Azoor]

As Hippo noted, this is indeed about ZEM. If I spend 4 hours killing 6 mobs in 1 zone and 9 hours killing 6 mobs in another zone, but the ZEM and mob level are equal I will get equal xp from both zones regardless of time.

In Kedge, I used to get more xp for 6 mobs than I did from 6 mobs in Lguk. How long it takes to kill these 6 mobs is irrelevant to my original point (being that it seems that the ZEM was lowered in Kedge).

[port9001]

It would be nice if the ZEM values were public knowledge. I don't see the utility in keeping them a secret. It would be beneficial if people knew of alternative XP hotspots, maybe they would leave the tired old spots in MM, HK, KC, etc.

[Snagglepuss]

A few nights ago, I duo'd at the mermaid camp with a cleric (I am an enchanter, and we are both in our low 50s). I have to say that I wasn't that impressed with the exp based on what I read on old forum posts. We were clearing all the mermaids at the bottom, near Estrella. The gem drops were not as good as I had read either. Kedge used to be a super exp zone early on this server's time line, but it got nerfed years ago. I would be surprised if something has changed since then, but maybe the ZEM got altered again. HS entrance duo is way better exp per kill at that level.

Totally anecdotal, but just my two copper pieces.

[Azoor]

Thanks for that! I am really curious if it would be possible to get confirmation that changes were made to the zone, and if so, why? There doesn't seem to be any timeline I can find from old forum posts that would suggest that a Kedge nerf should happen during velious.

[loramin]

It would be nice if the ZEM values were public knowledge. I don't see the utility in keeping them a secret. It would be beneficial if people knew of alternative XP hotspots, maybe they would leave the tired old spots in MM, HK, KC, etc.

I think the idea is "players on live didn't know what the ZEMs were (unless they cheated and used ShowEQ), so the players here shouldn't either."

The funny thing is, ZEMs are just another "classic mechanics vs. classic environment" situation, and in almost every other instance where those two conflict the devs side with the classic mechanics. This is why (for instance) purchasing a multi-quested epic is the norm here (for some classes at least), even though nobody remembers that on live. Since the mechanic was technically there on live, it doesn't matter that the live environment didn't have epic MQ sales, because the devs only care about classic mechanics ...

... except when it comes to ZEMs, where they just throw classic-ness out the window (for a good chunk of zones at least). Now don't get me wrong, I agree that players on live didn't know the ZEMs ... but players on live didn't know about tons of other things too, and that hasn't stopped (for instance) every raid guild on the server from using Midnight Mallets.

It seems to me for Project 1999 to be truly classic it should have classic ZEMs. And if it's not going to be classic, let's at least make it cool not-classic, and give un-used zones like Dalnir and Kedge huge XP bonuses.

[skarlorn]

It seems to me for Project 1999 to be truly classic it should have classic ZEMs. And if it's not going to be classic, let's at least make it cool not-classic, and give un-used zones like Dalnir and Kedge huge XP bonuses.

kedge used to have a huge xp bonus when I was leveling. Did it get nerfed?

But ya I would support making a big boost on dungeons that are underused like Cazic-Thule, Paw, etc.

DIVERSIFY.

[Azoor]

I dont mind not knowing the ZEM for each zone, but the point is, 3 months ago xp seemed to be much higher in Kedge than it is now and it would be nice to know if a change has been made and why. Most zones you can get a relative feel for the ZEM if you stay there long enough, and having been in Kedge quite a bit with quite a few toons, it definitely feels much slower recently.

[fan D]

the lancer swordfish on level 2 look alot like the deepfin sharks on floor 3