At what level can one start to take on Freeport Militia Guards for experience?

[Lordgordon]

A ranger wont be able to solo geos in WL period.

[Loadsamoney]

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

A ranger wont be able to solo geos in WL period.

Even at 60? What about grouping for them?

[Gozuk]

At 60 they definitely can but they certainly are way tougher than the ones down in CC

[loramin]

The thing you have to consider is that there are generic mobs, and mobs that certain classes are good against. Soloing clerics really need to focus on undead for instance: it's not that they can't kill normal stuff with their smite (they can), but it's just faster/more efficient for them to focus on undead, because they literally get more damage per mana spent against undead.

Similarly root/rotters focus on mobs that don't summon. Bards focus on open outdoor areas with lots of mobs they can grab. Druids focus on animals so they can charm them, and rangers focus on animals so that they can fear them.

It's not that, as a Ranger, you can't kill non-animals, it's just that it's usually slower and less efficient to kill anything else. You might want to do so anyways, like killing geonids for cash or killing frost giants for faction. Heck, the frost giants in Iceclad (near the Eastern Wastes zone line) hit so weakly (compared to animals of the same level) that I literally just got my Ranger his last three levels, up to 45, on them (although he had a fungi; YMMV). I also killed some wolves there (and did the GD bears for a bit) using fear kiting, but I found that because those giants hit so weakly I could kill them just as fast (and not have to chase them all over the place) ... or if not quite as fast, then close enough that it was worth killing them anyways since I wanted faction.

But my point is, unless you have exceptional mobs (eg. the especially weak frost giants in Iceclad) or you're going for plat/faction instead of XP, you want to go for mobs that take advantage of your class's unique features, simply because you'll get XP faster that way. For Rangers, that means focusing on animals, because you can fight animals without taking damage (via fear kiting), and you can't fight non-animals without taking damage. And of course, damage = downtime = time not spent leveling.

[Loadsamoney]

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

The thing you have to consider is that there are generic mobs, and mobs that certain classes are good against. Soloing clerics really need to focus on undead for instance: it's not that they can't kill normal stuff with their smite (they can), but it's just faster/more efficient for them to focus on undead, because they literally get more damage per mana spent against undead.

Similarly root/rotters focus on mobs that don't summon. Bards focus on open outdoor areas with lots of mobs they can grab. Druids focus on animals so they can charm them, and rangers focus on animals so that they can fear them.

It's not that, as a Ranger, you can't kill non-animals, it's just that it's usually slower and less efficient to kill anything else. You might want to do so anyways, like killing geonids for cash or killing frost giants for faction. Heck, the frost giants in Iceclad (near the Eastern Wastes zone line) hit so weakly (compared to animals of the same level) that I literally just got my Ranger his last three levels, up to 45, on them (although he had a fungi; YMMV). I also killed some wolves there (and did the GD bears for a bit) using fear kiting, but I found that because those giants hit so weakly I could kill them just as fast (and not have to chase them all over the place) ... or if not quite as fast, then close enough that it was worth killing them anyways since I wanted faction.

But my point is, unless you have exceptional mobs (eg. the especially weak frost giants in Iceclad) or you're going for plat/faction instead of XP, you want to go for mobs that take advantage of your class's unique features, simply because you'll get XP faster that way. For Rangers, that means focusing on animals, because you can fight animals without taking damage (via fear kiting), and you can't fight non-animals without taking damage. And of course, damage = downtime = time not spent leveling.

So if I were to fearkite animals throughout my 50s, which ones are actually profitable to do? I need to save up 100k by level 60 to MQ my Epic. And come 49 I'm moving to Kael to bowrot some giants for armor pieces.

[Lordgordon]

You will not be able to solo giants that drop quest armor period.

[loramin]

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

So if I were to fearkite animals throughout my 50s, which ones are actually profitable to do? I need to save up 100k by level 60 to MQ my Epic. And come 49 I'm moving to Kael to bowrot some giants for armor pieces.

Honestly, camps in EverQuest tend to be either good for XP, or good for plat, but not both. There's a reason why I originally created two separate guides (see my sig) for the two things: the two lists are almost completely separate.

But that's not 100% true. Like I said, I just got my Ranger to 45, so I'm the wrong person to ask about the best Ranger-specific 46+ spots, but just in general I think you have two options to make plat while also getting XP as a ranger: solo and track or group.

There are multiple "cycles" in the game, where you kill mob A, and one of mobs B through M appears. You kill that and another mob from A-M appears. Most of those mobs are worthless (except for XP), but there's usually one or more on the cycle (eg. mob F) that drops something cool. Rangers are uniquely suited to get these items, because their superior track makes finding mobs on the cycle easier (plus they have SoW, Camo, Harmony, etc. which makes it easier for them to run through areas and get the mob they want without picking up fifty others).

At your level I think you could do the Frontier Mountain cycle, but as I recall the loot on it is kinda garbage (especially in P99's overly inflated economy). The real money cycle is Trakanon's Teeth, where you can get an Ikky BP (and some less valuable stuff too I think), but you'll need to be somewhere in your 50s to do that. There's also a Skyfire cycle, but A) I'm not sure if Rangers can do it, B) if they can it's definitely higher level, and C) you just get Kunark spells that aren't worth a whole lot.

To be clear, doing cycles will be slower XP than just fear kiting random animals. But at least it will be a way to work on plat and XP at the same time.

On the flip side, you can just group. Again, the good groups are going to be in places that are a little too high for you right now, like KC and Sebilis. But once you get into your 50s camps like CE in Sebilis open up, and you can win 20k+ items at such camps if you're lucky (heck, you even have a shot at a 80k+ Torpor dropping at CE in particular ... not a good chance, but a chance, and if you do the camp enough eventually you'll win something valuable).

My advice would be to focus on XP until your mid-50s, and then make TT/Seb your home. Do the TT cycles when you're soloing, and try to get groups in Seb when you're not. Both will give you XP and (potentially) plat too.

But really a very viable alternative option would be to just focus on XP until 60, and only then work on plat. It will be much easier to get good groups (or do cycles successfully) at 60 than at earlier levels, and for casters I pretty much always recommend this. Melee characters need gear upgrades more though, so while it still might be a good plan for them, I understand wanting to mix-in some plat earning too.

But more accomplished Rangers might have better ideas. I know that some Rangers just get a bunch of weight reduction bags and go on a killing spree in Droga or lower level goblin dungeons like Nurga, Permafrost, or Sol B. Apparently the Fine Steel and HQ ore piles up fast and that leads to decent plat earning, but I've never done it so I don't know how much you can realistically expect to make (especially in your 40s).

[Loadsamoney]

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

You will not be able to solo giants that drop quest armor period.

Um...I was told the entrance Giants on WL side can drop armor pieces, and they only have like 2k HP. As do the Adjudants.

[bigjeff100]

What about farming Haze Panthers in WL??

[Loadsamoney]

Originally Posted by bigjeff100 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

What about farming Haze Panthers in WL??

When do those green out?