Question - Is level 80 the start of the new he11 levels? (1 Viewer)

[Trigun]

For the past several weeks i've been using a 100 Heroic SK, Shaman, Mage to help get my other toons up in levels. I've gotten just about all of them i was interested in right now to 80-82, but it seems that not only is XP slow, but no matter where i take my 'alts', even with the Heroic toons, killing is slow and difficult. I've tried The Grounds, Oceangreen (easy kills but xp is crap) and a few other zones designated for 75-90ish. My group can consist of the 3 heroics, 80 bard, 81 ranger, and 80 mage(or rogue or another ranger or wizard or beastlord or zerker) did i screw myself with the classes i chose for the heroics? should i re-roll the shammy or the mage into another 100 toon to help with the leveling? I can't really figure out how to improve my grind considering i've got 3 toons much higher than the mobs i need to kill. I'm not at the point where i'm frustrated, i'm just trying to figure out how to improve on my current situation. Not sure if this helps but i do play on test so i've got the AA's and such going on.

Thanks in advance for any insights/thoughts/criticism!

Edit: i do like the grounds and would like to explore there more but the lower level toons and agro are not my friend. not sure how many times my bard has been pretty much 1 shotted in the grounds after going down the first set of steps. If it isn't the stupid wasp/bugs, it's the drunken dude mobs.

 

[Silverspaceman]

That's what I would consider the start. EXP really slows down in the late 70s. By 80 (SOD/UF era), mobs are hitting like trucks and there's no more fighting reds/yellows without effort. I specifically recall hitting the 70s and bouncing all over the place in TSS/SOD/UF zones trying to figure out what I was supposed to do because of the change in time-XP model and how hard mobs were hitting my poor, defiant-geared SHD. Once I was able to break into HOT T1 gear, it was basically the start of the modern era for me and it's been a 5-level formula on repeat ever since (T1 group gear, new spells, updates to KA ini, T2/T3/TS for my tank sub).

I'm betting you can find some kind, high-level in general to help you knock out a couple named mobs to get your tank geared up to progress from where you are. Your group really needs a PC tank, though. Your 100 SHD can group with your 80s characters (there's a formula for the split, but from lvl 60, you can group with anyone up to +30 levels).

 

[Trigun]

Once I was able to break into HOT T1 gear, it was basically the start of the modern era for me and it's been a 5-level repeat ever since.

I'm betting you can find some kind, high-level in general to help you knock out a couple named mobs to get your tank geared up to progress from where you are. Your group really needs a PC tank, though. Your 100 SHD can group with your 80s characters (there's a formula for the split, but from lvl 60, you can group with anyone up to +30 levels).

Thanks @Silverspaceman . My Shadowknight, 100 Heroic, i do main it when i have my 'alts' grouped. Maybe i need to spend the time to get the SK out of the heroic gear it came with and then do the grouping with the other toons. I do switch to other toons during some fights if kissassist or cwtn plugin isnt meeting the need at the moment, but i do allow the alts to be run by them for the most part. I did also get the alts out of defiant and into better gear i was able to find on the bazaar which did improve AC a bit and HPs/Mana by quite a bit.

Guess i'll keep plugging away but keep checking this thread for any additional insights or suggestions. Really glad i came back to EQ and happier that i found this forum and RG in general..

 

[fanga]

Thanks @Silverspaceman . My Shadowknight, 100 Heroic, i do main it when i have my 'alts' grouped. Maybe i need to spend the time to get the SK out of the heroic gear it came with and then do the grouping with the other toons. I do switch to other toons during some fights if kissassist or cwtn plugin isnt meeting the need at the moment, but i do allow the alts to be run by them for the most part. I did also get the alts out of defiant and into better gear i was able to find on the bazaar which did improve AC a bit and HPs/Mana by quite a bit.

Guess i'll keep plugging away but keep checking this thread for any additional insights or suggestions. Really glad i came back to EQ and happier that i found this forum and RG in general..

Go for Castaway armor from TDS, you can often find pieces for fairly cheap in the bazaar and or it can be dropped from level 100 named mobs in Katta Deluge or Tempest Temple.

 

[naamloseeen]

Thanks @Silverspaceman . My Shadowknight, 100 Heroic, i do main it when i have my 'alts' grouped. Maybe i need to spend the time to get the SK out of the heroic gear it came with and then do the grouping with the other toons. I do switch to other toons during some fights if kissassist or cwtn plugin isnt meeting the need at the moment, but i do allow the alts to be run by them for the most part. I did also get the alts out of defiant and into better gear i was able to find on the bazaar which did improve AC a bit and HPs/Mana by quite a bit.

Guess i'll keep plugging away but keep checking this thread for any additional insights or suggestions. Really glad i came back to EQ and happier that i found this forum and RG in general..

Focus on your tanks gear above all others. If I recall, I think the new heroic gear is pretty sub-standard, so definitely get him in better stuff. You can get the SK and Shaman their 2.0s as well (they can be solo'd at your level).

I wasn't sure from you said, but the best XP is always going to be grouped, so make sure you have all 6 of them grouped up.

did i screw myself with the classes i chose for the heroics?

Your class lineup is fine. The Shaman might struggle with healing for a few more levels (if doing level appropriate stuff), but by 105 they will be just fine as a solo healer. SK/SHM/MAG is a good start. Make sure you keep the upcoming bard for CC, then fill with whatever other dps classes you like.

At level 100, killing shouldn't be slow in the zones you mentioned. The three level 100 toons should be destroying places like the grounds.

Are you sure your automations are working right? If so, just focus on the tank gear and it'll sort itself out.

 

[Redmonkey]

Thanks @Silverspaceman . My Shadowknight, 100 Heroic, i do main it when i have my 'alts' grouped. Maybe i need to spend the time to get the SK out of the heroic gear it came with and then do the grouping with the other toons. I do switch to other toons during some fights if kissassist or cwtn plugin isnt meeting the need at the moment, but i do allow the alts to be run by them for the most part. I did also get the alts out of defiant and into better gear i was able to find on the bazaar which did improve AC a bit and HPs/Mana by quite a bit.

Guess i'll keep plugging away but keep checking this thread for any additional insights or suggestions. Really glad i came back to EQ and happier that i found this forum and RG in general..

That is really really bad gear for a level 100 SK, sorry but it is - if it were me I would do this:

Go to Tainted West Karana with them as a group and get some Marla HA and bang those out over and over. The Bixie ones can be easy also. Although the HA is based on average group level the 80's might struggle but the SK should be able to carry it with a good merc healer (paid account of course). Other people say the ones given by Gribble in Dead Hills are easier but its just a matter of play style.

If your lucky one or both of the bonus HA given by Teek in POK will be those and he can port you there. Also these do not give much exp during the task, its all at the end.

The point of this is to level up your 80's (so put the exp on the SK to AA to keep him at 100 till the others catch up you can use them for tradeskill aa or others that are not auto granted) and to farm Marks of Valor. Marks of Valor are the reward coin. Most of the armor you buy in baz or drop off mobs will require a reagent (15k average) and a box (10k) average. So it gets expensive - this is true for most every armor combine. I did a write up here of how you can use those marks of valor for free armor - only need to buy the box to combine them one time;

Tip - - Level 100 armor

Players are always talking about using TBM and remnants to get good armor but I wanted to post this guide in case others were not aware of another easy way to get level 100 armor. Some of the armor guides can be very confusing as to what to combine where and how to get everything. Even after...

www.redguides.com

The other thing is all the NPC around the camp near Marla sell level 80 and up armor, jewelry, merc armor etc to help out fit your group.

Good Hunting!

 

[Trigun]

That is really really bad gear for a level 100 SK, sorry but it is - if it were me I would do this:

Go to Tainted West Karana with them as a group and get some Marla HA and bang those out over and over. The Bixie ones can be easy also. Although the HA is based on average group level the 80's might struggle but the SK should be able to carry it with a good merc healer (paid account of course). Other people say the ones given by Gribble in Dead Hills are easier but its just a matter of play style.

If your lucky one or both of the bonus HA given by Teek in POK will be those and he can port you there. Also these do not give much exp during the task, its all at the end.

The point of this is to level up your 80's (so put the exp on the SK to AA to keep him at 100 till the others catch up you can use them for tradeskill aa or others that are not auto granted) and to farm Marks of Valor. Marks of Valor are the reward coin. Most of the armor you buy in baz or drop off mobs will require a reagent (15k average) and a box (10k) average. So it gets expensive - this is true for most every armor combine. I did a write up here of how you can use those marks of valor for free armor - only need to buy the box to combine them one time;

Tip - - Level 100 armor

Players are always talking about using TBM and remnants to get good armor but I wanted to post this guide in case others were not aware of another easy way to get level 100 armor. Some of the armor guides can be very confusing as to what to combine where and how to get everything. Even after...

www.redguides.com

The other thing is all the NPC around the camp near Marla sell level 80 and up armor, jewelry, merc armor etc to help out fit your group.

Good Hunting!

Thanks for the suggestion of doing the Marla HA -- unfortunately i got my butt handed to me due to an overpull (3 water mephits). 2 were hard enough on my initial pull, but 3 was waaaaay too much for my group. I'll try again with a different group makeup (maybe chanter or druid to see if harmony or pacify-i think that's the chanter one - will work). My first pull of 2 mephits resulted in an almost wipe right out the gate. If i didn't have my biggest tap in the works on the unconscious hit, it would have been a wipe right out the gate.

Edit: not one to give into failure, so i tried again. This time i brought 3 Heroic toons, 2 alts and one of the healer mercs from a heroic toon. This was a bit easier, i could survive a pull of 2 mephits, but was still fairly close. Learned that my shaman cannot keep up with the healing needed just yet, so the healer merc and shaman combined kept me alive. Still taking it slow right now, as i'm doing the HA as i type this, but making better progress for sure.