Current state of the Low-Mid game.

[Tinedor]

Hey folks, new to p1999 here.

Just a quick question I have before I make a character. How is the low-mid level population on p1999 these days? I'd like to play either a Rogue, Wizard or Enchanter and while the Enchanter and Wizard can solo to an extent, the Rogue would basically require a group for the whole trip to 60. The issue would be if im going to be the only one in these low level zones or if the only people in these zones are mages/necros soloing, the Rogue is pretty much out and for the most part the Enchanter as well, I'm not too fond of charm soloing as it's very dangerous and ive been away from the game for a looong time.

[Slave]

It seems stronger than ever to be honest... I mean I generally like to be the harbinger of doom all, but yeah I just walked into North Ro yesterday and there were 20 fricking people there around level 12.

Additionally, Wizards and Enchanters are two of the very strongest soloers at most levels that matter.

[pickled_heretic]

enchanters got hella nerfed for soloing with the pet exp nerf. it's still doable but even more dangerous than before now that you have to break charm every time.

for my part i am glad that i am done leveling except for my last few levels in skyfire because it's not going to be fun soloing as an enchanter anymore. on the plus side, once you hit 16 it will be easy to get groups because you get methodone which is the gateway drug to fullblown crack.

if i started a new character now with the intent to solo, i would much prefer the wizard over the enchanter, quad kiting is still unnerfed and you can earn a plat here and there with ports if you need to increase your mana pool with items. on the other hand, you will not be desireable for exp groups (until 56!) and your play style in groups will be very un-dynamic and stale (stand up, nuke, sit down. etc)

[Softcore PK]

I hear it's pretty much unplayable unless you're max level already, OP. you should just start on the pvp server so everyone will be starting out at the same time for easy exp groups.....

(kidding! but really come play pvp instead! :P)

[knottyb0y]

10-20 seems pretty beefy.

There seems to be a good mix of twinks and new characters (both of which are good). Lots of groups in oasis, NRO, EC, WC. I guess it's about where you play. I am sure GFAY and Crushbone get nice and busy as well.

[Nirgon]

There's always people in the mid level zones esp oasis. Make an enchanter for fun/play at your own pace/get groups.

[Nagash]

First of all, welcome on P99, it's a nice a cosy place that I hope you will call home for a while :)

Back to your point: if you stick to the main zones (LOIO, OT, DL), you shouldn't have any problem finding a group.
Push comes to shove, you will always find a necro in your level range soloing somewhere. Just propose him your companionship. As a necro, I can tell you that the best duos I've made were with a rogue. That improved the whole gaming experience tremendously: you got someone to speak to, and they improve the speed of killing dramatically. This last point is even more true now with the necessity to outdamage the pet whilst conserving some mana. I rank this duo as one of the best, if not the best for leveling (better than a monk + shaman in my opinion).

Hope you have a good time.

Nagash/Petitpas

[Vardamur]

10-20 seems pretty beefy.

There seems to be a good mix of twinks and new characters (both of which are good). Lots of groups in oasis, NRO, EC, WC. I guess it's about where you play. I am sure GFAY and Crushbone get nice and busy as well.

As a newb (returning from Classic) player, GFay and Crushbone are definitely happening for groupage.

[Softcore PK]

To be honest, the blue server seems to slow down LOTS past level 20. And by that I mean there are not many people to exp with. 1-20 there are tons of groups all over but beyond that it's pretty sparse.

You really might want to consider the pvp server :/

[Nirgon]

Chanter can solo well when there's no groups, fun to play. I never really had the worst problem finding a group, but you know how it goes in EQ, sometimes there isn't one but when there is you can crush a ton of xp.

[Vondra]

The thing with chanter soloing is even if you don't go out of your way to kill your charmed pet first for full exp, you'll still get 75% doing the standard method of Killing your target with your pet at low hps (for 50% exp) then breaking charm and killing your pet (for 100% exp).

Considering how good the exp is for charm soloing, that isn't the end of the world.

[pickled_heretic]

The thing with chanter soloing is even if you don't go out of your way to kill your charmed pet first for full exp, you'll still get 75% doing the standard method of Killing your target with your pet at low hps (for 50% exp) then breaking charm and killing your pet (for 100% exp).

Considering how good the exp is for charm soloing, that isn't the end of the world.

the normal way is to park your old pet and kill him with a new charmed pet. using enchanter nukes to last hit really sucks. even doing this is much slower than how we were able to do it before.

the exp was good but also it was the most dangerous and expensive way to solo. takes you 15k of gear (gg ring, jboots) to do this somewhat safely outdoors plus having to use peridots (10p each) to rune yourself between mobs if you are indoors.

it's still fun to do for farming named mobs but it sucks for actual exp. thank god for skyfire lol

[Makar]

what they all say is true. Even gona find groups in blackburrow. But my experience has shown the freeport area to have more people around it, than the qeynos area.

[kris28tx]

From what I see playing both a WE 12 rogue in CB and a DE 8 necro around EC. My necro has never seen a group play times being 8am cst to around 2am cst. My rogue has now been in 2 groups over the 2 weeks I have had her.

You will see lots of twinks and lots of players soloing or being power leveled but as for grouping, that will be a bit rough. Hang in there and you will eventually get 1 though

[Tinedor]

That's mainly what I was afraid of. When the majority of the low level population is twinks and powerlevelees I doubt any of them will want some scrub rogue packing around newbie Daggers or an Enchanter with npc cloth. Of course I could just be pessimistic and all, but as a pessimist you're either always right or pleasantly surprised. :)

[kris28tx]

When I /ooc 8 necro lfg I have had a few people asking if I am a twink and when told no, only 2 weeks into p99 they tell me nvm they need people that will kill quick lol..it is what it is..
As for the rogue, man as a non twink rogue in CB, sololing light blues and dark greens lol..if this is the route you will take I suggest then to go to EC and Nek forest and kill bears for their HQ pelts and sell them in EC until you can afford to some what twink yourself if you are serious and want to level asap

[Bazia]

Okay so people are not really answering your full question.

5-20 lots of folks, easy to find groups. After 20 it gets really tough, sometimes there is a group or MAYBE 2 in LOIO if you're lucky.

MM can sometimes have a group going but people power level/solo there a lot and it can be very inconsistent.

I have multiple 20+ toons but none are over 40 because I usually get frustrated because the population 25-35 that are willing to group is just not very good.

Also people will usually quit groups quickly if there aren't multiple twinks with very fast pulls and efficient killing.

Not to be a doomsayer but people leveling twinks are very impatient these days when it comes to group efficiency. Which is an issue because there isn't very many groups to start with.

Hope I didn't burst your bubble :(

[Nirgon]

People leveling should be putting up lfg and dropping anon imo.

[Kabilos]

I started about a month ago and I have had absolutely no problems finding groups, sure there are some slow nights here and there but I can tell you I picked up multiple rogues while grinding in groups over other classes because they are just brutal damage.

Play what you want and all it takes is 1 good group to get your name out there and they'll be having you back more and more.

[Vondra]

That's mainly what I was afraid of. When the majority of the low level population is twinks and powerlevelees I doubt any of them will want some scrub rogue packing around newbie Daggers or an Enchanter with npc cloth. Of course I could just be pessimistic and all, but as a pessimist you're either always right or pleasantly surprised. :)

Having leveled up through several characters now I can't think of one instance in a group where someone was rejected because of their gear.

[Bazia]

I started about a month ago and I have had absolutely no problems finding groups, sure there are some slow nights here and there but I can tell you I picked up multiple rogues while grinding in groups over other classes because they are just brutal damage.

Play what you want and all it takes is 1 good group to get your name out there and they'll be having you back more and more.

You are a lucky individual and playing a very in-demand class for leveling as there are few healers 20-35 based on my experience, a lot of groups were commonly waiting for a DRU or SHM to show up LFG and many times one never did.

As far as DPS goes, there are boatloads of uber geared twinks (ROGs/MNKs/WARs).

I'm not saying you won't find groups and have fun, I'm just saying you might want to reroll to a priest class that has some soloing ability (SHM/DRU) or a pet class (ENC/MAG/NEC).

If you want to play DPS you're probably going to have to be very patient.

This is the reality of a very, very, top heavy server.

[Nirgon]

^ there's some wisdom there. Get your shm/druid/cleric carried by all the uber kunark geared twinks = profit.

[Flunklesnarkin]

Idk i found grouping a lot easier here .... even than it was on the progression server... but then again just about everybody there just 6 boxed alts up lol..

[Bazia]

Idk i found grouping a lot easier here .... even than it was on the progression server... but then again just about everybody there just 6 boxed alts up lol..

On Fippy:

Exp is super fast and there was a ton of exp boost weekend/weeks.

Plus everyone hacks with MQ/SEQ. Anyone who cared at all about classic EQ left after about a month.

Everyone who still plays probably has 3-4 max level characters/boxes.

[lethdar]

Start on project 1999 red on friday, better to be on equal footing than chasing to catch up with people 2 years ahead of you nahmean?

[Bazia]

^^^^^^^^^
This

[Tinedor]

yeaaaaaa..no.

PVP is well and good for some people, not for me. If I want to play a game against other players I'll go play counterstrike or team fortress 2. I tried PVP on Rallos Zek on Live a long time ago and got destroyed.

[Splorf22]

So I never really had trouble finding a group through 15. I can see it getting harder at mid level though, but ultimately you just have to be proactive. Even at 60 I end up messaging the hell out of people, usually to take them on some sort of death trip.

I would think that leveling up would be extremely easy relative to true classic EQ because all the melee are hell overpowered at lower levels. Even if your first char is a melee, you can be a L15 warrior with a Nathsar Greatsword easily, especially if you're polite in the tunnel, and that's basically a Mithril 2-hander without the haste.

p.s. what's your character's name heretic, because I have a guess!

[Flunklesnarkin]

I don't seem to have a problem at 15+

unrest seems packed each time i go there... i'd imagine mistmoore is the same.

[kris28tx]

I was actually in Unrest this afternoon for about 1 - 1 1/2 hour on my rogue, there was a 30 something shaman and a 50 something mage...I guess afternoon is off times?

As for begging in EC tunnel for weapons I guess I should go try that if it truly works =P
anyone have a tombcarver or locustlure or even a slow hard hitter like serrated bone dirk you can let me know!

Until then, you can't assume all new low level players will get free stuff handed to them. I guess it more depends on your role, healers and chanters/shamans or tanks will always have an easy time grouping at all time frames and all levels as they are always wanted.

So theres your answer, play a good healer or tank and not worry about grouping issues =)

[Timarian]

I joined a couple of months ago and i play UK times so there are some slow nights but most of the time I have no issue getting grou or exping.

Although I started a Mage in tandem with my Shaman and he is generating me money to kit my shammy out which has worked very well.

Game is what you make it I think, if everyone gives up then it wont help boost server numbers.

[necrosaurio]

I play at weird UK times and don't group, as my play time is bursty and I wouldn't want to inflict that on a group, but I have found plenty of groups advertising for people to play in Crushbone, LFay and Unrest.

[Tinedor]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I decided to go with the Enchanter, worst case scenario is I can't find a group and have to learn to play the class to its full potential with charm soloing.

If anyone out there has a newbie and wants to group up in the orc hill/crushbone area of Gfay let me know :)

[eqravenprince]

You can always create a Rogue and a soloable character. Play your solo character and just send tells to people in zones asking if they could use a level x Rogue. For example "/who all crushbone", then just send tells to people in your level range.

[Vondra]

You can always create a Rogue and a soloable character. Play your solo character and just send tells to people in zones asking if they could use a level x Rogue. For example "/who all crushbone", then just send tells to people in your level range.

This is a good point and quite a few people I know do this with success. Best of all, many good solo classes (necro, magician, druid etc) don't really require expensive gear investments so most of your money made with your solo character can be put towards getting some nice things for your rogue/warrior etc.

[Flunklesnarkin]

I like to do "/who all lfg X Y"

where X and Y are the min and max levels you'd be willing to group with

say /who all lfg 15 20

you can see everybody 15 to 20 lfg then send tells to people in your area... its never more than the max results.. heh.

[NenshouStar]

I like to do "/who all lfg X Y"

where X and Y are the min and max levels you'd be willing to group with

say /who all lfg 15 20

you can see everybody 15 to 20 lfg then send tells to people in your area... its never more than the max results.. heh.

This, is what i ended up having to do on my alt cleric before i took a break.
say.. a month ago? yeah well personally, it doesnt really matter which class you play. my best advice to you is to play what you like, no reason to have a second toon just to play alone U.y the charm of EQ is in the community, TRY to make friends leveling 1-25ish, its super easy to find a group regardless of class/race.
25-40 is kinda brutal, best to have a longer friends list by then :)
i would honestly say the only reason for this is because of the versatility on leveling areas at this point, not everybody is going to be in the same place anymore.
but after that, it becomes easy again. haha. also 50+ is just insane for groups.
I think its a nice balance IMO, 25-40 will be that time where you usually master your class, rough it out, explore the forbidden, take on new challenges and by the time its over, you come out on top. a real battle hardened toon. :p