- Joined
- Sep 12, 2004
- RedCents
- 123¢
Ok, I've been grouping with some new guildies once a week and repeatedly I'm hearing "I did not know that existed..." in response to what I thought were really basic things... but hey, we've all had that moment where we see something new or learn about something in EQ that was a surprise to us. I thought I'd take some time and share some of the most basic / super helpful / don't miss stuff in one place. Nothing here is an exploit or anything, just EQ stuff maybe not everyone knows about:
Primary and Secondary Anchor Packages -- Note there are two different packages! Both do the same thing, let you put an "Anchor" in your guildhall or house, and then an unlimited use clicky will teleport you to that anchor when needed (once an hour or so, 8 second casting time.)
You can get the primary through the DB Store, but you can get both of them (primary and the secondary one) through the loyalty merchant in PoK (216 crowns).
DB store will also sell you: Endless food and drink generators (fresh cookie dispenser, spiced iced tea dispenser, warm milk dispenser, etc.), expensive big bags (don't get less than the Journeyman's pocketed rucksack... but there are better options - more on that later), xp potions (1 free to start, then they cost. They don't even pretend they're not drug dealers =)), delivery vouchers (bazaar goods delivered into your inventory where ever you are in the game, worth getting a few for emergency needs), and consumable pok port items (Maelin's Escape) which is not worth it - just get the drunkard's stein which is way better.
Vicious Rabbit - Back to the loyalty merchant, while you're there, pick up the vicious rabbit for a "free" (216 crowns) summonable pet to sick on things and make your mage happy. Get the Cloth Cap during the anniversary period too, it all adds up.
Pick up some Tokens of Resurrection as well, they stack to 5 and cost 86 crowns each. With mercenaries and the like rezzing isn't the worry it once was, but once in a blue moon your escaped rogue or FD'd char who lived through that wipe being able to rez the cleric will be a huge time saver.
Urthon's Ultimate Unattuner makes any special item with an AA Ability ( Form of Defense, Prismatic Ward, Might of Stone, etc. - the ones that unlock the AAs up to a certain level) usable by your whole group instead of just one character. Each character can attune it - use it - unattune it and hand it on. One good chase loot item can become an upgrade for your entire guild if you trust them =) (432 Crowns.)
If you own a house plot - a Bag of Chronobines is 18 crowns and will give you a 100 chronobines, which will pay for your house plot for like, a year. Not like we're hurting for plat and that's a big deal but ...why not? There's a bunch of old currencies in there for cheap which can help if you want to buy older expansion items. Occasionally they're worth it. You can reset old Factions w/potions you buy there too. And there are some portal potions for old zones. A rune of healing is not that useful these days, but it does allow you to leave a marker at any spot for a minute - which can be more useful than the minor healing aura it creates. Crystallized luck is just 250 crowns instead of spending overseer currency if you want. (With crowns having a max, if you're not spending it you're losing it so again, why not?)
I guess the first part of this post is really just "Take a look at the loyalty merchant, some of that stuff is actually useful, very rarely the db store too"
Twincast III spell - the result of a level 85 raid drop (Raid Task: Showdown at the Crystal Core ) it's easy to get, but when you're about to finish ask in General if anyone needs it then invite 54 people - because why not? Magicians, Druids, Enchanters, Wizards... it's unlocked for them with the completion and is a nice spell to have.
Sympathetic Proc items - if you're unfamiliar with these, they're augments you add to your weapon - and then when you cast a damaging spell, sometimes they add an extra 'proc' to your spell damage, increasing your dps. This could be a whole post comparing which ones are best and talking about how to get them, but a couple very quick and easy examples (and great place to start) are Elegant Gem and Exotic Gem -- take your guild portal to Ethernere Tainted West Karana (stormstone of the west) and Requisitioner Rhies is pretty close to where you zone in. He sells those two gems for about 1056 marks of valor each. They go in slots 4 or 8, so if you have a raid weapon you can put both on it, if you have a regular weapon you'll start with one probably.
Marks of Valor are currency from that expansion's missions and you probably have a ton of them, especially if you've ever done the Gribble Missions. If you don't - well - doing Gribbles to get the Blood Drinker's Coating item to get a free extra Vampiric Aura / lifetap proc for your melee (or hell casters who like to beat on things) is completely worth it. Then go back to buy the gems too!
Then - get some Restless Focus potions - adds *another* sympathetic proc as a buff, each expansion has it's own versions of these buff potions. Some pretty big damage additions on the more recent ones (12k for tov... not sure for the ToL yet). Crystal Mana Tonics are good too - Mana preservation in a bottle, 6% discount on spell costs. If you're running out of mana regularly, it can make a big difference. Edit: I recently learned Crystal Mana Tonics block the campfire buffs from fellowship campfires, if you use both - always go for the campfire buff, it's better.
More useful potions:
Planar Overdose - feign death in a bottle. Usable by any class. Consumable but stacks to 20 and... just having an oh-shit option can be a life saver.
Cloudy Potions - cheap instant cast consumable invis potions buyable at most poison merchants, where only rogues - who don't need them - get to see them and know they exist. There are filter of unlife awareness potions as well for Invis to undead.
Philter of major translocation - stackable gate to bind potions, 10 second casting time, but useful.
Scorpion's Agony / Spider's Bite - poisons anyone can use (not just rogues), free extra damage / aggro to anyone who melees.
Double Invis for Everyone! - if you get regular Invis and Invis-to-undead cast on you, you're extra hidden and invis to both- but you can't have both on your casters since casting breaks invis, right? Luckily there's a trick =) If you're actively casting when the invis (of either type) lands, you're allowed to finish your spell without breaking the invis - So - if your invis caster and invis-to-undead casters in the group start casting at the same time, you can usually get both buffs on both of them and everybody can be Double Invis =) Really helps for exploring.
/chatfontsize 5 - I actually like /chatfontsize 4, but to each their own, just knowing you can change it is helpful.
BAGS - ok, I mentioned earlier if you're hurting for bag space you can buy bags off the db store. Better options? There are a few:
a) Clean out a few zones of named - it's fun, goes pretty quick in the old expansions - and most hunter achievements (not for a single zone, but for any collection of zones) reward you with a big bag. Are they all awesome? No, but check the rewards for a few and pick out where you like to hunt and it can really help.
b) Tailored Transcendent Backpacks (20 slots) -- if you're running around with 10 slot bags or toolboxes or the like, easy to get 20 slot bags is a nice easy upgrade. Usually on sale in the baz in the form of Unexpanded Tailored Transcendent Backpacks, you might pass them by (seeing as they seem to be 12 slot bags) - but buy Abu-Kar's Arcane Solution in pok from the Tailoring Merchant (2650plat ish) and combine them in any loom for a no fail increase to 20 slots and they're not as big as bags get... but they're not bad. If you want ~32-44 slot bags, you'll need to hunt stuff, though another usually buyable / cheap option is the extraplanar trade satchel - which is 32slots, but only for tradeskill stuff (still, it can help!)
This seems obvious but - Remember you can upgrade the bags in your bank slots too! I've seem people who love their 40+ slot bags... and still have 8 slotters in the bank. Or no bags there at all!
Tradeskill - some hate them, some love them, there are many approaches - my only quick trick / item to mention is the Geerlok Hypermodeulating Tool. Takes a very patient Tinkerer to make one of these but they're pretty beautiful when you get one. One item that gives a 5% (15 skill point max) bonus to any tradeskill, just pop it in the respective tradeskill container and combine it to get it to be what you want. Ex: I'm making the new tradeskill armor and need a tailoring bonus - I combine the tool in a loom, now it gives 5% to tailoring. Oops - need a smithing item? Pop it in the forge and now it's a smithing bonus. Super convenient. There are tradeskill trophies, other tradeskill items with bigger bonuses, quests and all sorts more to get into on this subject, but the tool is buyable (bazaar if you're lucky), most people don't know it exists, and it's just... nice. Just for fun, Dihydrous Oxide Glaciator makes unlimited free ice, and Meteorological Rockets let you change the weather. Are either of those important? No, but tradeskills don't have to be all about armor =)
/claim -- check it to see what you've gotten over the years. Full heal potions. Adventure / exp potions. Mounts. Illusions. <shrug> it's worth looking, don't forget it's there. Recently there's been stuff to increase your keyring slots sometimes, better to use that stuff than pay for upgrades.
Fellowship Campfires - make a fellowship (pok has a person to talk about them on find) - get a teleport item and buy some Campfire Materials while you're there (1000plat each). Now you can drop a campfire whenever you're with 2 other characters in the fellowship that will help with some pretty significant boosts -- 20% to healing and damage, 36% to melee attack speed, 10% cheaper spells, faster casting, increased duration, 50% increase in crit chance, 10% increase in double attack, more hp, more mana, regen, etc etc etc etc... it goes on and on. Empowered Fellowship is a big deal and worth the plat for any good grind session.
Journeyman's Compass - want a permanent 6% increase in speed without having to kill anything? Start visiting zones, when you complete a set (all of Faydwer, or whatever) - you'll get an achievement and start your journey as an explorer. Complete a couple sets and you get a couple percent increase in speed. Visit (almost) every zone in the game, and you get a permanent 6% boost to movement speed. It's never a bad thing to have, and it's a nice excuse to see old zones and revisit old memories.
Force eating - I think most people know this now, but if you have stat food you want to keep and not eat, just remember to force eat some other regular food on a regular basis. As long as you stay full, the stat food will never get eaten. You can buy fresh fish and water flasks by the thousand for almost nothing, so chomp and guzzle away.
Mages can summon Gate clickies. Bulwark of Many Portals are 3 charge items. If you ask nice they'll often bury you in food and drink too, their cauldrons of summoning are cool.
-----------
Enough for now, if I think of more I'll edit this - and if you have cool tips / tricks to add - please share!
Have fun!
Primary and Secondary Anchor Packages -- Note there are two different packages! Both do the same thing, let you put an "Anchor" in your guildhall or house, and then an unlimited use clicky will teleport you to that anchor when needed (once an hour or so, 8 second casting time.)
You can get the primary through the DB Store, but you can get both of them (primary and the secondary one) through the loyalty merchant in PoK (216 crowns).
DB store will also sell you: Endless food and drink generators (fresh cookie dispenser, spiced iced tea dispenser, warm milk dispenser, etc.), expensive big bags (don't get less than the Journeyman's pocketed rucksack... but there are better options - more on that later), xp potions (1 free to start, then they cost. They don't even pretend they're not drug dealers =)), delivery vouchers (bazaar goods delivered into your inventory where ever you are in the game, worth getting a few for emergency needs), and consumable pok port items (Maelin's Escape) which is not worth it - just get the drunkard's stein which is way better.
Vicious Rabbit - Back to the loyalty merchant, while you're there, pick up the vicious rabbit for a "free" (216 crowns) summonable pet to sick on things and make your mage happy. Get the Cloth Cap during the anniversary period too, it all adds up.
Pick up some Tokens of Resurrection as well, they stack to 5 and cost 86 crowns each. With mercenaries and the like rezzing isn't the worry it once was, but once in a blue moon your escaped rogue or FD'd char who lived through that wipe being able to rez the cleric will be a huge time saver.
Urthon's Ultimate Unattuner makes any special item with an AA Ability ( Form of Defense, Prismatic Ward, Might of Stone, etc. - the ones that unlock the AAs up to a certain level) usable by your whole group instead of just one character. Each character can attune it - use it - unattune it and hand it on. One good chase loot item can become an upgrade for your entire guild if you trust them =) (432 Crowns.)
If you own a house plot - a Bag of Chronobines is 18 crowns and will give you a 100 chronobines, which will pay for your house plot for like, a year. Not like we're hurting for plat and that's a big deal but ...why not? There's a bunch of old currencies in there for cheap which can help if you want to buy older expansion items. Occasionally they're worth it. You can reset old Factions w/potions you buy there too. And there are some portal potions for old zones. A rune of healing is not that useful these days, but it does allow you to leave a marker at any spot for a minute - which can be more useful than the minor healing aura it creates. Crystallized luck is just 250 crowns instead of spending overseer currency if you want. (With crowns having a max, if you're not spending it you're losing it so again, why not?)
I guess the first part of this post is really just "Take a look at the loyalty merchant, some of that stuff is actually useful, very rarely the db store too"
Twincast III spell - the result of a level 85 raid drop (Raid Task: Showdown at the Crystal Core ) it's easy to get, but when you're about to finish ask in General if anyone needs it then invite 54 people - because why not? Magicians, Druids, Enchanters, Wizards... it's unlocked for them with the completion and is a nice spell to have.
Sympathetic Proc items - if you're unfamiliar with these, they're augments you add to your weapon - and then when you cast a damaging spell, sometimes they add an extra 'proc' to your spell damage, increasing your dps. This could be a whole post comparing which ones are best and talking about how to get them, but a couple very quick and easy examples (and great place to start) are Elegant Gem and Exotic Gem -- take your guild portal to Ethernere Tainted West Karana (stormstone of the west) and Requisitioner Rhies is pretty close to where you zone in. He sells those two gems for about 1056 marks of valor each. They go in slots 4 or 8, so if you have a raid weapon you can put both on it, if you have a regular weapon you'll start with one probably.
Marks of Valor are currency from that expansion's missions and you probably have a ton of them, especially if you've ever done the Gribble Missions. If you don't - well - doing Gribbles to get the Blood Drinker's Coating item to get a free extra Vampiric Aura / lifetap proc for your melee (or hell casters who like to beat on things) is completely worth it. Then go back to buy the gems too!
Then - get some Restless Focus potions - adds *another* sympathetic proc as a buff, each expansion has it's own versions of these buff potions. Some pretty big damage additions on the more recent ones (12k for tov... not sure for the ToL yet). Crystal Mana Tonics are good too - Mana preservation in a bottle, 6% discount on spell costs. If you're running out of mana regularly, it can make a big difference. Edit: I recently learned Crystal Mana Tonics block the campfire buffs from fellowship campfires, if you use both - always go for the campfire buff, it's better.
More useful potions:
Planar Overdose - feign death in a bottle. Usable by any class. Consumable but stacks to 20 and... just having an oh-shit option can be a life saver.
Cloudy Potions - cheap instant cast consumable invis potions buyable at most poison merchants, where only rogues - who don't need them - get to see them and know they exist. There are filter of unlife awareness potions as well for Invis to undead.
Philter of major translocation - stackable gate to bind potions, 10 second casting time, but useful.
Scorpion's Agony / Spider's Bite - poisons anyone can use (not just rogues), free extra damage / aggro to anyone who melees.
Double Invis for Everyone! - if you get regular Invis and Invis-to-undead cast on you, you're extra hidden and invis to both- but you can't have both on your casters since casting breaks invis, right? Luckily there's a trick =) If you're actively casting when the invis (of either type) lands, you're allowed to finish your spell without breaking the invis - So - if your invis caster and invis-to-undead casters in the group start casting at the same time, you can usually get both buffs on both of them and everybody can be Double Invis =) Really helps for exploring.
/chatfontsize 5 - I actually like /chatfontsize 4, but to each their own, just knowing you can change it is helpful.
BAGS - ok, I mentioned earlier if you're hurting for bag space you can buy bags off the db store. Better options? There are a few:
a) Clean out a few zones of named - it's fun, goes pretty quick in the old expansions - and most hunter achievements (not for a single zone, but for any collection of zones) reward you with a big bag. Are they all awesome? No, but check the rewards for a few and pick out where you like to hunt and it can really help.
b) Tailored Transcendent Backpacks (20 slots) -- if you're running around with 10 slot bags or toolboxes or the like, easy to get 20 slot bags is a nice easy upgrade. Usually on sale in the baz in the form of Unexpanded Tailored Transcendent Backpacks, you might pass them by (seeing as they seem to be 12 slot bags) - but buy Abu-Kar's Arcane Solution in pok from the Tailoring Merchant (2650plat ish) and combine them in any loom for a no fail increase to 20 slots and they're not as big as bags get... but they're not bad. If you want ~32-44 slot bags, you'll need to hunt stuff, though another usually buyable / cheap option is the extraplanar trade satchel - which is 32slots, but only for tradeskill stuff (still, it can help!)
This seems obvious but - Remember you can upgrade the bags in your bank slots too! I've seem people who love their 40+ slot bags... and still have 8 slotters in the bank. Or no bags there at all!
Tradeskill - some hate them, some love them, there are many approaches - my only quick trick / item to mention is the Geerlok Hypermodeulating Tool. Takes a very patient Tinkerer to make one of these but they're pretty beautiful when you get one. One item that gives a 5% (15 skill point max) bonus to any tradeskill, just pop it in the respective tradeskill container and combine it to get it to be what you want. Ex: I'm making the new tradeskill armor and need a tailoring bonus - I combine the tool in a loom, now it gives 5% to tailoring. Oops - need a smithing item? Pop it in the forge and now it's a smithing bonus. Super convenient. There are tradeskill trophies, other tradeskill items with bigger bonuses, quests and all sorts more to get into on this subject, but the tool is buyable (bazaar if you're lucky), most people don't know it exists, and it's just... nice. Just for fun, Dihydrous Oxide Glaciator makes unlimited free ice, and Meteorological Rockets let you change the weather. Are either of those important? No, but tradeskills don't have to be all about armor =)
/claim -- check it to see what you've gotten over the years. Full heal potions. Adventure / exp potions. Mounts. Illusions. <shrug> it's worth looking, don't forget it's there. Recently there's been stuff to increase your keyring slots sometimes, better to use that stuff than pay for upgrades.
Fellowship Campfires - make a fellowship (pok has a person to talk about them on find) - get a teleport item and buy some Campfire Materials while you're there (1000plat each). Now you can drop a campfire whenever you're with 2 other characters in the fellowship that will help with some pretty significant boosts -- 20% to healing and damage, 36% to melee attack speed, 10% cheaper spells, faster casting, increased duration, 50% increase in crit chance, 10% increase in double attack, more hp, more mana, regen, etc etc etc etc... it goes on and on. Empowered Fellowship is a big deal and worth the plat for any good grind session.
Journeyman's Compass - want a permanent 6% increase in speed without having to kill anything? Start visiting zones, when you complete a set (all of Faydwer, or whatever) - you'll get an achievement and start your journey as an explorer. Complete a couple sets and you get a couple percent increase in speed. Visit (almost) every zone in the game, and you get a permanent 6% boost to movement speed. It's never a bad thing to have, and it's a nice excuse to see old zones and revisit old memories.
Force eating - I think most people know this now, but if you have stat food you want to keep and not eat, just remember to force eat some other regular food on a regular basis. As long as you stay full, the stat food will never get eaten. You can buy fresh fish and water flasks by the thousand for almost nothing, so chomp and guzzle away.
Mages can summon Gate clickies. Bulwark of Many Portals are 3 charge items. If you ask nice they'll often bury you in food and drink too, their cauldrons of summoning are cool.
-----------
Enough for now, if I think of more I'll edit this - and if you have cool tips / tricks to add - please share!
Have fun!
Last edited:
