Cleric vs Wisps

[jojober]

Hi hi :) still a new player to the server here, and after a few character switches, I've decided to main my little gnome cleric. I read somewhere about making good money around level 12-14 on the wisp island between Qeynos and Erudin. Would a non-twinked cleric be able to survive these and kill at a decent enough rate? I want to make some money to gear myself up to start the grind to being a good cleric! :) If these aren't a good option for a cleric, where might one suggest farming at low levels? I dont mind putting in the work, just need to know a direction! Thanks in advance

Jojober

[jojober]

I could do that. I figured wisps would be better since I don't have to rely on other players for that. With bonechips I have to find a buyer. With wisps its guaranteed money. But that would be good exp too I bet! :)

[ko37qtl]

I've found wisps (just barely) manageable on my untwinked dark elf cleric starting at level 9 with a lot of blasting and my summoned magic hammer. Adds would be very bad news at that level and I think even now at 11, without a zone line they could be rough. I'd suggest a lot of caution but as long as you can keep them from adding, you should be fine.

[Swish]

If you're a dark elf (or a rebel), there's a static wisp spawn in Nektulos...right on the wall near the smaller halfling area (nearer to the EC zone). If you're semi-afk its a good spot to sit and camp... with 1 more wisp that roams nearby.

[Groo]

Hi hi :) still a new player to the server here, and after a few character switches, I've decided to main my little gnome cleric. I read somewhere about making good money around level 12-14 on the wisp island between Qeynos and Erudin. Would a non-twinked cleric be able to survive these and kill at a decent enough rate? I want to make some money to gear myself up to start the grind to being a good cleric! :) If these aren't a good option for a cleric, where might one suggest farming at low levels? I dont mind putting in the work, just need to know a direction! Thanks in advance

Jojober

I advised someone to hunt wisps in another thread. But as a new DE cleric on P99, I spent those levels in WC groups camped at dervs and orcs, or in Befallen. I didn't make much money, but if I wanted to farm wisp island then I could easily do so after quickly passing through those levels. Instead, I killed zombies and mummies in my solo/downtime and found someone who wanted to give me a few hundred plat for the stacks of skins. But ultimately, my enchanter alt became the main for a little while, and I used him to make money and obtain better gear for the cleric.

I don't recommend trying to farm for plat as a low level cleric. You don't even need that much money to get some halfway decent lowbie gear. A lowbie group that needs a healer isn't going to pass on you, or boot you because you're still wearing leather. IMO, the best thing you can do right now is to find reliable people to level up with, who will try their best to avoid getting you killed, and who are generous with sharing loot. Find a guild or build and maintain a /friends list of people to play with so that you're not constantly LFG or soloing. Your true friends in EQ will take care of you and ensure that your gear is getting upgraded along with theirs.

[ko37qtl]

I advised someone to hunt wisps in another thread. But as a new DE cleric on P99, I spent those levels in WC groups camped at dervs and orcs, or in Befallen. I didn't make much money, but if I wanted to farm wisp island then I could easily do so after quickly passing through those levels. Instead, I killed zombies and mummies in my solo/downtime and found someone who wanted to give me a few hundred plat for the stacks of skins. But ultimately, my enchanter alt became the main for a little while, and I used him to make money and obtain better gear for the cleric.

I don't recommend trying to farm for plat as a low level cleric. You don't even need that much money to get some halfway decent lowbie gear. A lowbie group that needs a healer isn't going to pass on you, or boot you because you're still wearing leather. IMO, the best thing you can do right now is to find reliable people to level up with, who will try their best to avoid getting you killed, and who are generous with sharing loot. Find a guild or build and maintain a /friends list of people to play with so that you're not constantly LFG or soloing. Your true friends in EQ will take care of you and ensure that your gear is getting upgraded along with theirs.

While there's no question that a cleric will level faster in a group (even most poor ones) in or out of a dungeon, being able to afford spells and have adequate gear (I have a low standard here) is compelling to me. I will concede that it's more effective to level quickly and backfill later but it bothers me. My experience thus far mirrors my experience on Live, which is to say that casters get the loot shaft most of the time in pickups. Occasional generosity/pity does happen, but to reliably make good money, I've always had to be with friends or solo.

In short, your advice is excellent in a practical sense but may not suit the nuts out there like me ;)

[Groo]

Ok, I don't think you're a nut. I hear what you're saying. I have a couple of suggestions, still assuming we're talking about starting out on P99 as a new cleric with no high-level friends or alts to support you:

1) Join a guild. Find out who is interested in starting up a new alt, and group with them. Simply ask them for spell money and see if they will lend you some money to get gear, as well. It's in their best interest to take care of you, because you're keeping them alive in combat and contributing to their enjoyment of the game. Chances are, someone in guild chat or forums will take the opportunity to clear some nice stuff out of their bank by donating or discounting it to you, instead of throwing it away to an NPC vendor or leaving it on a neglected alt.

2) Start a regular hunting group and level up together. Try to schedule play periods. Set group priorities. Let them know how much your next line of spells will cost. Find out how much the other casters in group need for their spells. Find out how much it will cost to upgrade armor for the melees. Sit back and let them loot so they can get that lowbie magic weapon on sale in EC, and some banded.

Now it's your turn. You need 17 pp to buy that new bronze breastplate. Someone in Nektulos was selling some cheap +wis jewelry. Ok, let's go kill stuff in befallen until we have enough to get it for you. And while we're at it, grab a new cloak for our necro. Obviously, this will take a lot more work, but in the long run it will be much more rewarding and fun than simply having someone donate nice gear, or begging for plat.

3) You will not raise money on your own as a new cleric. Just accept this fact and move on. I got a little frustrated around level 30 with charm breaking and mezz being resisted (looking back, this might have been a temporary bug) and started playing my druid. I'd already twinked my then-teenage cleric with nice lowbie gear with my chanter while still in his 20's. But I made thousands on my druid by porting, and selling stuff in EC and GFay. When I started really playing my cleric again, people kept asking who my alt was, assuming that I had a higher level character to supply her with, but my druid was only in the low 30's, and eventually surpassed in level by the cleric.

[ko37qtl]

Ok, I don't think you're a nut. I hear what you're saying. I have a couple of suggestions, still assuming we're talking about starting out on P99 as a new cleric with no high-level friends or alts to support you:

1) Join a guild. Find out who is interested in starting up a new alt, and group with them. Simply ask them for spell money and see if they will lend you some money to get gear, as well. It's in their best interest to take care of you, because you're keeping them alive in combat and contributing to their enjoyment of the game. Chances are, someone in guild chat or forums will take the opportunity to clear some nice stuff out of their bank by donating or discounting it to you, instead of throwing it away to an NPC vendor or leaving it on a neglected alt.

2) Start a regular hunting group and level up together. Try to schedule play periods. Set group priorities. Let them know how much your next line of spells will cost. Find out how much the other casters in group need for their spells. Find out how much it will cost to upgrade armor for the melees. Sit back and let them loot so they can get that lowbie magic weapon on sale in EC, and some banded.

Now it's your turn. You need 17 pp to buy that new bronze breastplate. Someone in Nektulos was selling some cheap +wis jewelry. Ok, let's go kill stuff in befallen until we have enough to get it for you. And while we're at it, grab a new cloak for our necro. Obviously, this will take a lot more work, but in the long run it will be much more rewarding and fun than simply having someone donate nice gear, or begging for plat.

3) You will not raise money on your own as a new cleric. Just accept this fact and move on. I got a little frustrated around level 30 with charm breaking and mezz being resisted (looking back, this might have been a temporary bug) and started playing my druid. I'd already twinked my then-teenage cleric with nice lowbie gear with my chanter while still in his 20's. But I made thousands on my druid by porting, and selling stuff in EC and GFay. When I started really playing my cleric again, people kept asking who my alt was, assuming that I had a higher level character to supply her with, but my druid was only in the low 30's, and eventually surpassed in level by the cleric.

All good advice, but most of it is not the sort I'll be likely or inclined to follow. I wouldn't take an advance from a guild under any but the most unusual circumstances. I want to play the whole game and the challenge of adequately gearing up (again, my standards for adequacy are probably lower than most people who have access to cash) is part of the appeal.

I also like to jump around with characters quite a bit. I'm being a bit better here than I was on Live, but I enjoy alts. I don't go in much for twinking (I've relaxed a bit since Live), so higher level mains won't be of that much practical benefit. I was able to collect money as a cleric on Live, but it meant having to detour off occasionally and solo unless my friends were available and had alts of appropriate levels.

While I'm attracted to most of the typical cleric activities, I'm also interested in seeing the practical limitations of solo play. Even though I'm pretty tolerant of downtime and the occasional death, there's no way I'll have such ready access to good, cheap gear as my Live clerics were able to acquire for a relative pittance. I'm looking forward to some frustrating nights.

[Groo]

Part of the fun of the game is that you can choose to play however you want. I've already played a primarily solo cleric, back when Luclin was still fresh. I can't recall exactly why I chose that route, but it was a big mistake. Fortunately, I gave up at level 25, before wasting too much time on it. If I wanted to do something like that again, then I'd make a pure healer in a game like Skyrim, but not in EQ.

[Swish]

I've already played a primarily solo cleric, back when Luclin was still fresh. I can't recall exactly why I chose that route, but it was a big mistake. Fortunately, I gave up at level 25...

While all levels 1-60 can't be solo'd by a cleric its a viable route to 50 at least if you can suck up the first 8-9 levels.

If you play during the offpeak hours or have things going on in the background and have to be in a state of "semi-afk" its actually a good way to solo a cleric. Just pound the undead with your nukes, and do what you need to do while you med.

Guide further down the page, not a complete "you must do this"... but a few suggestions on where to solo and what to kill. You'll find when you do group and a crisis hits (extra mobs or whatever) you'll be much more alert on how to deal with it from your solo experiences. In my opinion some of the most versatile clerics in the game come from a solo background... sounds twisted I know ;)

[Groo]

While all levels 1-60 can't be solo'd by a cleric its a viable route to 50 at least if you can suck up the first 8-9 levels.

If you play during the offpeak hours or have things going on in the background and have to be in a state of "semi-afk" its actually a good way to solo a cleric. Just pound the undead with your nukes, and do what you need to do while you med.

I'm not saying it can't be done. Just that personally, I wouldn't want to do it. I don't think it's a fun way to play EQ. It's a social game, and cleric is a class that primarily supports other classes. If you're starting anew, get in groups. You will make money and get gear. If the group isn't sharing loot with you, then establish loot rules, or find a different group. Most people on p99 are very generous, so it shouldn't be a problem. With a good, full group, you will tear through so many mobs that you won't need loot order, because everyone will be encumbered with full bags. Do what successful clerics did when EQ first came out and virtually nobody had any money or high-level alts: get in good groups and stick with them.

Guide further down the page, not a complete "you must do this"... but a few suggestions on where to solo and what to kill. You'll find when you do group and a crisis hits (extra mobs or whatever) you'll be much more alert on how to deal with it from your solo experiences. In my opinion some of the most versatile clerics in the game come from a solo background... sounds twisted I know ;)

I can almost always tell the difference between those who soloed their way up, and those who grouped along the way. I see people all the time who suddenly started grouping at higher levels, and now they need a lot of assistance in figuring out how to use their skills with other's skills, or performing even more basic tasks. Grouping helps develop and sharpen your skills. People who don't need this are the rare exception, and not the rule.