Making a Necro

[nocookiesforme]

Hi again all. I'm about to make a Necro, and he'll be the first evil char I've ever played. Being evil, I kinda like the idea of being able to level killing NPCs that are off-limits for neutral/good chars because of faction hits. Accordingly, I have some questions about what to expect faction-wise with the different races I'm considering.

My first choice was a DE Necro, 'cause I know exactly where I'd stand with him. I'd be welcome in the somewhat centrally located Neriak, and able to buy my spells there; I'd also be welcome in the Ogre and Troll cities, right? If I killed bards or guards somewhere like Misty Thicket, where else would I be welcome? Could I go to Freeport if I killed a bunch of Orcs? Would I ever want to?

My next choice was either a Gnome or an Erudite. My understanding is that Gnomes are a "good" race. Accordingly, where would I be welcome as a Gnome Necro? Would I be able to buy my spells anywhere other than the Gnome city? Would I be able to go to Neriak? I assume they'd just try to eat me in Oggok or Grobb. And would I be welcome in Freeport/Qeynos, or only in the hidden parts? What if I killed Bards/Guards?

As an Erudite Necro, how hard is it to get off the Island without a port? Would I be KOS in Erud? And once on the main continent, would I be able to walk into Qeynos or Freeport without getting 1-shotted by a guard? Or would I again be relegated to the Sewers? How would Bard/Guard killing factor in here? And how hard is life really for a toon who's relegated to the Sewers? Lastly, would I be welcome in any evil cities?

The reason I was considering a Gnome or Erudite at all is mostly that I feel like DE Necros are a dime-a-dozen, and I'd like to feel at least a tiny bit original ;). I know there's a TON of questions up there and they're not particularly well organized, but I'm at work right now (on a Saturday, please kill me) so I don't really have time to try to format this better. Thank you in advance for your help, guys!

[vageta31]

Fully embrace evil, play an Iksar Necro and be hated by all. They're superior to the other necros and if you chose CT as your deity you can still use Ogre vendors in Feerrott which comes in handy if you're killing the specs. I assume RP is not an issue or else you'd have just chosen a race and be done with it. Since you're looking for advice I will say it again. Go Iksar and if anyone tells you otherwise they're doing you a big disservice.

[druziil]

I think a low race/class combo would be Human Necro.

[nocookiesforme]

I think a low race/class combo would be Human Necro.

I'm sure that's true, haha, but it doesn't particularly appeal to me. As for an iksar, the XP Penalty scares me. I don't have all that much time to play... would the regen bonus make up for the additional experience needed, time-wise? Also, would I be able to buy Necro spells / research ingredients anywhere other than Cabillis? I'm more concerned about that and banking than much else, vendor-wise. And while I think I might actually enjoy grinding faction if I had more time to play, I'd rather avoid it since I don't.

Thanks again!

[vageta31]

I'm sure that's true, haha, but it doesn't particularly appeal to me. As for an iksar, the XP Penalty scares me. I don't have all that much time to play... would the regen bonus make up for the additional experience needed, time-wise? Also, would I be able to buy Necro spells / research ingredients anywhere other than Cabillis? I'm more concerned about that and banking than much else, vendor-wise. And while I think I might actually enjoy grinding faction if I had more time to play, I'd rather avoid it since I don't.

Thanks again!

The regen definitely makes up for the exp penalty, which in reality isn't all that bad. Your downtime will be far less so you'll be killing more mobs to make up for it. So in the end you will have to kill more mobs to gain levels than the other races, but you'll still do it in shorter time.

Faction wise you're screwed basically. Banking and training won't be easy, but then how much does it matter? Unless you're twinked you'll be spending all your money on spells until your 20's to 30's anyways. With my ikky necro I basically just destroyed all copper and when my silver got too heavy, I simply went to a vendor and bought food/water to eat the silver away.

If you just want the best faction than I think human is your best bet, but if you're willing to play an evil guy to kill guards and such then faction shouldn't be of a concern anyways. Just deal with the minor inconvencience to gain the major convenience of killing whoever it is you want without worry. Being evil will set you free.

[Sickle]

Be whatever race you wanna be. To be honest with life tap I don't see the regen bonus being that great to make you have to choose a iksar. If going for a monk its a no brainer...but as a necro being able to lifetap whenever you are low on HP. I just dont see that as being a much bigger drawing point over the 20% xp penalty.

[vageta31]

Be whatever race you wanna be. To be honest with life tap I don't see the regen bonus being that great to make you have to choose a iksar. If going for a monk its a no brainer...but as a necro being able to lifetap whenever you are low on HP. I just dont see that as being a much bigger drawing point over the 20% xp penalty.

Because lifetaps aren't mana efficient and the iksar regen balances out the hp loss on the lich line. So basically for an iksar you have fulltime clarity at no hp cost, whereas non iksar will constantly lose hps and be forced to lifetap and burn more mana.

Iksar = Lich line on at all times with no negatives. Lifetap is only needed if you actually take damage during a fight meaning you not only have more mana from the constant lich, but you also don't need to burn any for lifetap unless it's an emergency.

Yes he should play what race he likes, but if that was his ultimate answer then he'd not have posted asking for advice. Unless you've actually played an iksar necro it's kind of hard to understand how great they really are. The 20% exp bonus is a non issue. Think of it this way, you'll level faster anyways and have more plat due to the extra mobs you will have to kill.

[Bubbles]

As a non-twink, Human and Erudite have the big bonus of being able to wear the Flayed Skin Armor out of Karnors, which is generally high in AC and hps, has solid stats, and can be gotten fairly cheaply in EC/BeggingOutsideOfKarnors.

Erudite gives you the best of all worlds if you are going for a non-traditional gameplay.

Starting Zone in the Boondocks? check.
Incredible Starting Stats? check.
Solid Kunark Armor nobody else wants? check.
Will i look unlike all the inkies, gnomes, and lizards? check.

Really the only items you're going to need besides the flayed skin is going to be a pair of 5ac/55hp rings, which will run you about 450pp. Send me a /tell in game i'll hook you up with the money for that,

Happy Hunting. :)

[wickedirish]

I agree with Bubbles; Erudites are my personal favorite for necros. They have great starting stats, some awesome newbie quests with sweet rewards, and are, in my opinion, the most interesting kind of evil. They aren't outright hated everywhere and you can get around fairly well, but they are hated enough by specific groups to keep you on your toes. And there aren't that many of them.

If you do go Iksar, the XP penalty isn't really that bad, Necro's lvl up so fast soloing that you probably won't really notice it. I believe it's only 20% or so compared to 40% for hybrids.

Faction is fairly easy to change, too. After a couple hours in BB my Human SK of Innoruk went from dubious in Halas to amiable.

[phobus]

I'm playing an Erudite Necromancer. No regrets with my choice at all. Here's what I've found, as far as faction:

You won't start off KOS in Erudin. You'll be dubious to at least the guards and most merchants. Maybe you'll be KOS to the Paladins or Clerics, but I've never bothered to check, and I've never had a problem traveling through the city to the docks.

You won't be KOS to most of Qeynos, with the exception of the caster guild. There are a few wandering NPCs on this faction that make it dangerous to wander around South Qeynos without invis. Some people seem to have good luck in avoiding them, but my personal experience involved dying before I saw my aggressor. I stuck to the sewers since then.

You won't be KOS to most of Freeport. I'm KOS to the Warrior guild in the West (easily avoided), and various mobs in the tavern at the docks in the East (also easily avoided). I'm not sure if you start off KOS to the North Freeport guards, since by the time I got to the city I'd already killed enough bards to ruin that particular faction. However, it should be noted that even if you're KOS to the guards, you can still use the bank. Just run invis into the back of the bank, stand in the corner furthest from the guard, and you'll be fine. Don't attempt to use the merchant.

You'll be tolerated by some of the dark elves, although the Necromancer guild will be KOS. I can use the bank and merchants in Neriak after doing some faction work, but I haven't found an easy way to bring up faction with the Necromancer/SK guild.

Curiously, I was adored in Halas and Rivervale, although that hasn't stopped me from hunting both races extensively.

The biggest problem, in my opinion, with the Erudite Necromancer is that you're generally evil enough to be hated by at least some residents in the good cities, yet you're too human to be welcomed in the "evil" cities like Neriak, Grobb, and Oggok. I'm KOS to at least some factions in each of those cities. But faction isn't all that important to a Necromancer, and I can always find a vendor when I need to.

So, make whatever character you like! If you do end up as Erudite, make sure you get this (http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=24) before you leave the island.

[Autotune]

As a non-twink, Human and Erudite have the big bonus of being able to wear the Flayed Skin Armor out of Karnors, which is generally high in AC and hps, has solid stats, and can be gotten fairly cheaply in EC/BeggingOutsideOfKarnors.

Erudite gives you the best of all worlds if you are going for a non-traditional gameplay.

Starting Zone in the Boondocks? check.
Incredible Starting Stats? check.
Solid Kunark Armor nobody else wants? check.
Will i look unlike all the inkies, gnomes, and lizards? check.

Really the only items you're going to need besides the flayed skin is going to be a pair of 5ac/55hp rings, which will run you about 450pp. Send me a /tell in game i'll hook you up with the money for that,

Happy Hunting. :)

GO Erudite
BE like Stealin
GET Awesome shoulders for Eru/Nec (as good or better than sky shoulders)
SKY-
http://zam.zamimg.com/images/f/7/f7b97e095cf48180dee3abe1324db430.png
Eru/Nec -quested
http://zam.zamimg.com/images/e/1/e126094ba2a69ca7f54f08ff6aa4e9e0.png
and do what Quoted person says.

[Vaix]

I'm new to the server as well and went through the process of trying to figure out what race I wanted my Necro to be. I wanted to be an Erudite and still sort of wish I had gone with it but I went with Gnome simply because I don't much care for the Erudite starting area past level 6 or so and the thought of making the walk to Freeport from Odus without an invis until 8 and then trying to find someone giving out Binds since I wouldn't have been able to do it myself until 12 sort of turned me off to being an Erudite.

It has been so long since I've played that I didn't even think about that Eru/Nec armor that they mentioned which makes me regret my Gnome decision a little more but I'm not so unhappy that I want to reroll and do those early levels again now that I'm 15 (yeah it isn't very high I know I just really hate 1-12).

I've gotten off topic now so I would say if you like or at least can tolerate the Erudite starting zone then I'd say go with it for all of the reasons these other people have given. If you don't like the starting area and can make it to another one that you would prefer and want a Bind message me as Zaix if you see that I'm on and I'll try to make it out to you to Bind you to wherever.

[beentheredonethat]

i have an iksar necro, took me a month to get to level 5, but i dont have much time to play.

I think if you are going to be casual start as DE or Erudite, way more mana. I run out of mana casting 2 spells as Iksar... not sure if that gets better with time.

[nocookiesforme]

Thanks for all the replies! You all made really good pitches, haha. I think I'm gonna start off with an Erudite and see how I like it - if I don't, I'll try an Iksar.

Thanks again :)

[Messianic]

The regen definitely makes up for the exp penalty, which in reality isn't all that bad. Your downtime will be far less so you'll be killing more mobs to make up for it. So in the end you will have to kill more mobs to gain levels than the other races, but you'll still do it in shorter time.

Faction wise you're screwed basically. Banking and training won't be easy, but then how much does it matter? Unless you're twinked you'll be spending all your money on spells until your 20's to 30's anyways. With my ikky necro I basically just destroyed all copper and when my silver got too heavy, I simply went to a vendor and bought food/water to eat the silver away.

If you just want the best faction than I think human is your best bet, but if you're willing to play an evil guy to kill guards and such then faction shouldn't be of a concern anyways. Just deal with the minor inconvencience to gain the major convenience of killing whoever it is you want without worry. Being evil will set you free.

Because lifetaps aren't mana efficient and the iksar regen balances out the hp loss on the lich line. So basically for an iksar you have fulltime clarity at no hp cost, whereas non iksar will constantly lose hps and be forced to lifetap and burn more mana.

Iksar = Lich line on at all times with no negatives. Lifetap is only needed if you actually take damage during a fight meaning you not only have more mana from the constant lich, but you also don't need to burn any for lifetap unless it's an emergency.

Yes he should play what race he likes, but if that was his ultimate answer then he'd not have posted asking for advice. Unless you've actually played an iksar necro it's kind of hard to understand how great they really are. The 20% exp bonus is a non issue. Think of it this way, you'll level faster anyways and have more plat due to the extra mobs you will have to kill.

Iksar necros do not level faster than other necros.


Levels 8-19 - an extra 2 hp per tick, sitting = 20 hp extra per minute. Dark Pact = 2 mana for 4 hp every tick, or 0.5 mana for each hp, so 10 extra mana per minute. 10 extra mana per minute is not enough to overcome a 20% exp penalty.

Levels 20-34 - An extra 3 hp per tick, sitting = 30 hp extra per minute. Allure of Death = 4 mana for 8 hp every tick, or 0.5 mana for each hp, so 15 extra mana per minute. 15 extra mana per minute is not enough to overcome a 20% exp penalty.

Levels 34-48 - An extra 3 hp per tick, sitting = 30 hp extra, blah blah - Call of Bones = 8 mana for 16 hp, so 0.5 mana for each hp. 15 extra mana per minute. 15 extra mana per minute is not enough to overcome a 20% exp penalty.

Level 49 - extra 3 hp per tick, 30 hp extra per minute - Lich has a .625 mana-hp ratio, so approximately 19 extra mana per minute.

Level 50 - extra 4 per tick sitting regen. 40 extra hp per minute. 25 extra mana per minute. 25 extra mana per minute is not enough to overcome a 20% exp penalty.


Are you seeing my point?


Let's just jump to level 60:

Arch Lich = 35/53 mana/hp per tick, with 11 extra hp regen while sitting (7 for non-regen races, 18 for iksar). 110 hp per minute, so approximately 70 mana extra per minute, which isn't half bad - but definitely doesn't offset the iksar experience penalty (even ignoring all the lost time from 1-49), even if that same amount of mana was being given throughout your 50s - which it's not, it's a little lower.

Iksar are definitely worth it at level 60. They do not level faster than other necros. You can debate about the severity of the exp penalty, but it's clearly enough to make iksar level slower, all other things constant...