exp penalties

[rcasale42]

Hi, my friend and I started two new characters, and he is a paladin. We are noticing that from the exp penalty I reached level 2 before him, and I am likely the reach level 3 before him as well. If we keep playing together am I eventually going to get too far ahead of him, and have to wait for him to catch up? Its annoying that we make the time to play together but he is still going to be behind me in levels.

Is there a way for us to level at the same rate? From what I understand about exp mechanics, if we were both the same level and had the same amount of progress into the level, he would actually have more exp points because he is a hybrid. This means he will be getting a larger share of group exp (but needs more to level) and I will be getting less exp (but need less to level). Would this cause us to level at roughly the same rate?

[SwordNboard]

If you are grouped the exp should be divided in a way that will keep you guys on par.

[Cribanox]

Yes, basically he should be taking more exp from you, than you from him. Because it takes longer for him to level, he shares some of that penalty with whoever he groups with.

Example, it takes Johnny the Paladin 40 exp to hit level 2. At the same time, it takes Bob the Cleric 30 experience to hit level 2. If you group together, you'll be getting less experience from the monster, but it takes him more experience to get there, so it kind of evens out.

[Ferok]

How_Experience_Works (http://wiki.project1999.org/Game_Mechanics#How_Experience_Works)

Based on my understanding of this article, experience should be divided based on how much experience each player has earned. In this way, grouping with a class with an experience penalty is exactly the same as grouping with someone of a higher level.

So, given that two level 10.00's are grouping together, one is a paladin (40%) and one is a cleric (0%); the paladin has already accrued 40% more experience. Therefore, he will take a 40% larger share of the experience. In this way, those two players will stay the same level basically ad infinitum.

However, in the case of two players starting out at level 1, both players will have equal experience. If they continue to group together, in the case above, the cleric will pull ahead by a few levels. Of course, the quadratic nature of experience requirement growth means that the cleric's leveling will slow down to match that of the Paladins, after they have gained a level or two advantage. They will still each earn an equal share of experience, because they have an equal amount of experience.

You can quickly solve this issue by un-grouping and getting the penaltied class to an equal point in level/%xp, at which point he'll have 40% (or whatever) more experience. At that point, grouping together should mean leveling at the same speed.

[webrunner5]

It is "suppose" to work out sort of even. But it does not in reality. By the time as a Cleric gets to like level 30, the Paladin will probably be level 24. There is a reason there is like 10 SK's and Paladins playing. Do a Warrior. No penality.

[Nogdar]

No penalty; yeah, and no spells either. Just a kick button to press every 8 or so seconds for months of gaming. Warriors are for die hard EQ players only imo :p

Want a good tip? Don't worry about exp penalites stuff. Play whatever race and class looks FUN to you and your friend. Much of EQ's fun is in leveling anyways, IMO. And whatever you pick it'll take ages. So you better like it. If war sounds fun to you, go for it. If paladin sounds more fun, go for it.