Grim's Portfolio of Newbie questions

[GrimSloth]

Hey there. So I realized that down the line, I'm gonna have quite a few questions about the game. So instead of making a new thread for each question, having just one, bundled with everything on my mind would be better (plus less spam). The OP sadly cannot be edited after some time has passed, so I'll try to format things as best I can. So without further ado:

Question [1]

What's up with regeneration in this game?

Something which has bothered me since day 1, was how awkward regeneration is(both HP and MP). For some reason it spikes up and down. Sometimes less often, sometimes quite often.

Initially I thought it was zone modifiers. Then I thought there was a hidden bleed/hurt mechanic. Then maybe the hunger mechanic, but I'm always packing food and water and it gets automatically consumed from what I've experienced so far, so it can't be that too.

Question [2]

Chance to hit

Is this only based on level? Is there any way to improve it? I made an alt Shadow Knight whom I'm enjoying quite a lot. However I can't dare battle anything which is yellow, because the vast majority of my attacks miss.

Question [3]

Lull line of spells

Ok, this one is pretty dumb, but I'd like to be certain about it. I saw a lot of Enchanters on youtube still rocking the starting level Lull spell. Likewise, I'm sticking just to it and haven't picked up its follow up upgrade. The question is, what's the difference between the different lines of Lull like spells(apart from duration). Is it hit chance?

Question [4]

Modding

Is editing textures allowed? I normally wouldn't ask this for an MMO, however in the Duxa installer, several texture alterations are present, and those seem to be a-ok. Now I know this is a sensitive topic, but making a change like this would be local only. I don't want to initiate anything yet in case it's strictly forbidden and has a steaming ban hammer on the side.

[Vivitron]

Originally Posted by GrimSloth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Question [1]

What's up with regeneration in this game?[/B][/CENTER]

Something which has bothered me since day 1, was how awkward regeneration is(both HP and MP). For some reason it spikes up and down. Sometimes less often, sometimes quite often.

Initially I thought it was zone modifiers. Then I thought there was a hidden bleed/hurt mechanic. Then maybe the hunger mechanic, but I'm always packing food and water and it gets automatically consumed from what I've experienced so far, so it can't be that too.

Nothing hidden like zone modifiers, just the buffs/race/level/meditation skill stuff that you would expect. If you watch close you can see some small nonsense bounces in hp and mana because of client/server mismatch and syncing.

Question [3]

Lull line of spells

Ok, this one is pretty dumb, but I'd like to be certain about it. I saw a lot of Enchanters on youtube still rocking the starting level Lull spell. Likewise, I'm sticking just to it and haven't picked up its follow up upgrade. The question is, what's the difference between the different lines of Lull like spells(apart from duration). Is it hit chance?

They have the same hit chance. Unless the newer version of a spell has a different resist modifier (which should be reflected in the wiki), all the spells from the same line should resist the same.

In addition to duration the higher spells reduce the aggro range more, cost more mana, and have a longer cast and recast. To save mana you use the lowest one that has the necessary effect. For example you might pacify a wanderer that you expect to wander back into the area where you fight but lull the rest of the mobs you are splitting. If the mobs you are splitting are close to each other you might have to use calm instead of lull.

N.B. High charisma reduces crit lull failures (aggro from a failed lull-line spell) a ton.

[GrimSloth]

Originally Posted by Vivitron [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

If you watch close you can see some small nonsense bounces in hp and mana because of client/server mismatch and syncing.

Alright, so I guess that's the culprit

Originally Posted by Vivitron [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

They have the same hit chance. Unless the newer version of a spell has a different resist modifier (which should be reflected in the wiki), all the spells from the same line should resist the same.

In addition to duration the higher spells reduce the aggro range more, cost more mana, and have a longer cast and recast. To save mana you use the lowest one that has the necessary effect. For example you might pacify a wanderer that you expect to wander back into the area where you fight but lull the rest of the mobs you are splitting. If the mobs you are splitting are close to each other you might have to use calm instead of lull.

N.B. High charisma reduces crit lull failures (aggro from a failed lull-line spell) a ton.

Thank you for the clarification!

[Balimon]

Originally Posted by GrimSloth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Question [2]

Chance to hit

Is this only based on level? Is there any way to improve it? I made an alt Shadow Knight whom I'm enjoying quite a lot. However I can't dare battle anything which is yellow, because the vast majority of my attacks miss.

Strength, weapon skill, and attack rating.

[Stonewallx39]

Question [2]

Chance to hit

Is this only based on level? Is there any way to improve it? I made an alt Shadow Knight whom I'm enjoying quite a lot. However I can't dare battle anything which is yellow, because the vast majority of my attacks miss.


It’s been said before but it’s important to state again, level is the most important statistic in Everquest. It has significant modifiers on hit chance (both offensive and defensive) and spell effectiveness. Of course other statistics affect this as well but a couple levels difference is huge for your ability to handle an area or get squashed.

This is however a mechanic that makes leveling in eq few really significant and you will certain feel more powerful as you gain ground (and completely insignificant when you move to a new higher level area).

[GrimSloth]

Originally Posted by Balimon [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Strength, weapon skill, and attack rating.

Doesn't Strength only affect damage dealt? Weapon skill is level bound isn't it? The only mention of Attack Rating I saw from the wiki, is on Grim Aura and that only affects damage dealt.

So basically, there is no modifier which can be found on items that can affect hit chance. Alright, case closed on that one too.

Question [5]

Skill Points

From what I'm seeing so far, skills level up themselves so on what am I supposed to spend my skill points on? Trade skills?

[Sabin76]

Many skills will only level up themselves if you already have a point in them, which means that you need to spend at least one training session in those skills. Most people save the rest for tradeskills, I'd wager (as you said). Usually a lot cheaper than buying the mats and not even getting the skill up.

[GrimSloth]

Originally Posted by Sabin76 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Many skills will only level up themselves if you already have a point in them, which means that you need to spend at least one training session in those skills. Most people save the rest for tradeskills, I'd wager (as you said). Usually a lot cheaper than buying the mats and not even getting the skill up.

Nice, marking this one off the list too

[Benanov]

Originally Posted by GrimSloth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Question [1]

What's up with regeneration in this game?

The client presumes later-in-the-timeline increased HP and Mana regen values and acts accordingly (this would cut down network traffic - remember this game was designed to be played over a 28.8 modem). The server sends the correct value a few seconds later.

[Tethler]

Originally Posted by GrimSloth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Doesn't Strength only affect damage dealt? Weapon skill is level bound isn't it? The only mention of Attack Rating I saw from the wiki, is on Grim Aura and that only affects damage dealt.

So basically, there is no modifier which can be found on items that can affect hit chance. Alright, case closed on that one too.

I'm pretty sure Attack Rating value goes into the hit calculation. Since strength increases attack rating, it also increases hit chance. Attack rating value is based on Offense skill, Strength, and the skill of your equipped weapon (1hs, 2hb, etc). Increasing any/all of those will increase hit chance.

Hit chance is also reduced based on your target's defensive skills, so a yellow mob will have higher defense than a blue, so you'll miss a lot more.

A lot of people in the thread mentioned that level is a big factor, which is true. I am, however, unsure of the underlying mechanics of that. Is it actually being 1 level higher that will make a difference, or is it the associated skill caps that come with being 1 level higher? I'm not quite sure. It may be both.