EverQuest 2 Expansions Question

[Devirka]

OK i am giving EQ2 another try now, and was wondering what EQ2 expansions offered for me, a totaly low level character?

I read the list of features on the website but its rather hard to know what is actually accesible to me and what isnt.

[junior]

The first expansion, Desert of Flames, doesn't really have much for lower level characters. There's the arena, which will allow you to use a champion in PvP (since your own character would be too low level to realistically be competitive), but that's it.

Kingdom of Sky is another matter, though. The second expansion has the new Advancement points system that allows you to spend points on abilities to improve your character. You earn those for things like exploration, killing named monsters, and similar tasks, so they don't supplant regular experience generation like EQ1's AA exp did. And you can start spending the points at level 20, so you don't have to wait until you're a high level character.

[Breandan]

There's also some gameplay things you get from the expansions, like voice-overs for your own character's emotes and such with Desert of Flames. Those are fun, though it's up to you to decide if that is a selling point or not :D

[Shinma]

Also, it should be noted that a level 20 character earns AA points MUCH more slowly than a character in the 50's and 60's.

[Devirka]

I wanted to ask about Betrayal, has this quest changed at all? i found a guide that was posted way back in 2004 so i am not sure if it is still valid. I read things that made me think you can betray at any level now, is this so?

I made an oress shadowknight hoping to betray and have a good Ogres Paladin :)

[dragonrok]

The betrayal quest has been updated and can done pretty much solo now. While not 100% complete or up to date, this site has the best overall quest information: http://eq2.ogaming.com/.

The Splitpaw Saga has a lot of sub-30's action and the extension is completely scalable to the level of the individual or groups playing in it.

Bloodline Chronicles does not scale and shouldn't be attempted until the 30's, but has many days of gameplay and an interesting story. Both or worth the cheap investment to DL.

Desert of Flames doesn't offer much beyond the gameplay already noted until you're in the mid 40's.

Kingdom of Sky doesn't offer much beyond game play and a house pet for anyone under 60. 50's can raid in it.

[Shinma]

AFAIK, You still have to betray before 17 as of right now. I know they are planning on allowing the betrayal at any level eventually, but I dont think its implemented, yet.

[Zapp Branigan]

So how does betraying work ingame now that you pick your final class at creation? Say I wanted to be a froglok bruiser, but when creating a froglok its not an option, the closest thing is monk. Where as before I would have been a fighter, picked brawler at level 10, then betrayed and picked bruiser at level 20.

[junior]

When you Betray, you switch your class. So Devirka's shadowknight will automatically become a paladin. I've also heard that you have the option to change classes if your class is one of the ones that available in both cities. So, for instance, a wizard who decided to betray could switch to a warlock if they chose. But they wouldn't be forced to.

But I haven't confirmed that myself.

[Almeric]

Betrayal is basically the same as it was before, except that the named mobs you need to kill are soloable. But yes, still has to be done before 17. When you get residence in your new city, you'll flip the to your counterpart class, so a Bruiser would become a Monk, but all your skills will revert to Apprentice I. There's no official ETA on the release of the new, faction-based betrayal system that can be done at any level.

As for expansion content, here's my views:
1) Bloodline Chronicles - There's some neat stuff in there for your 30s and low 40s, but there's SO much other stuff to do at those levels that I wouldn't call it a requirement. Each class can get one extra ability/spell after winning a bunch of quests, but I dunno how life-changing they are for each class.

2) Splitpaw Saga - I'm a big fan. From level 20-50, everything in the adventure pack scales except for one epic raid ("Bloody Acts of War"). There's good equipment and toys to be found inside, and if you're really hardcore about abusing Splitpaw, you can cut your levelling time from 20-50 by 18% (winning Harclave once per level, granting 18% per completion).

3) Desert of Flames - Pretty much nothing to offer anyone under level 45 except for the Arena. The Arena Champions (where you get to play as monsters you collect) are a lot of fun IMO; way more fun than PVP as PCs. But without being higher level, there's also very few Champions you can collect...so there's that. On the whole, I wouldn't recommend this as an early purchase.

4) Kingdom of Sky - Those Achievement Points (APs) are really damn nice. The rest of the expansion won't be useful until about 55, but oh, those sweet, sweet APs. The nice thing about them is that, unlike EQ1 AAs, you don't have to sacrifice normal exp to gain AP exp. Naturally, you can live without the APs, as we all did since launch, but they can make life more interesting and if you wind up playing long-term, you might regret not getting in on the APs as early as possible. Note: you have to be level 20 to start gaining AP exp.

[Devirka]

I hear there is AP from exploration on this thread. If i was not to take the expancion until i was level 50... would i miss on exploration AP since i already explored the areas before i got the expancion?

[Griffinhart]

I hear there is AP from exploration on this thread. If i was not to take the expancion until i was level 50... would i miss on exploration AP since i already explored the areas before i got the expancion?

They reset most of the discovery EXP spots. Antonica and Commonlands didn't give me updates after the expansion was released, but TS, Nek, Zek, EL, and the rest of the 20+ zones did.

Things that give AP exp are:

Collection Quests
Killing any exp giving named for the first time.
Completing most blue or higher conned quest
Discovery EXP.
Looting better than Treasured items (I'm not positive on this one)
Gaining a level 60+
Once you are 70, all exp goes to AP exp.

[Shinma]

I hear there is AP from exploration on this thread. If i was not to take the expancion until i was level 50... would i miss on exploration AP since i already explored the areas before i got the expancion?

Yes you would "miss out" on the exploration AP xp. But, its not something you have to worry too much about, there are TONS of explore points in DOF and KOS, and the AP xp equalizes as you gain. That is to say, if you do many more collection quests, the amount of AP xp you get would be less and less the more you do them and nothing else.

[Devirka]

Question: i just realized that up to now i have not had to go after my ghost corpse or noticed any xp loss or xp debt... did they changed this or did they gave a grace period until a specific level where you are except to these penalties?

[Klavias]

1) Bloodline Chronicles - There's some neat stuff in there for your 30s and low 40s, but there's SO much other stuff to do at those levels that I wouldn't call it a requirement. Each class can get one extra ability/spell after winning a bunch of quests, but I dunno how life-changing they are for each class.

2) Splitpaw Saga - I'm a big fan. From level 20-50, everything in the adventure pack scales except for one epic raid ("Bloody Acts of War"). There's good equipment and toys to be found inside, and if you're really hardcore about abusing Splitpaw, you can cut your levelling time from 20-50 by 18% (winning Harclave once per level, granting 18% per completion).

do either of these have solo content? i'm at level 40 and i'm at a kind of a slump level. everfrost and lavastorm are too big, i'm mostly out of meaningful quests in fearott or rivervale that arn't heroic.

And I highly recomend Kingom of Sky I got the little kingdom of sky+basic eq (thats the only way it sells in stores) and started earning Acheivement points at 20. Completing quests gives pretty good APxp, so if you are one to do quests (like i am) it'll reward you. I'm up to 9 AP so far at level 40. It seems to me as though getting apxp at 20 is a huge boost.

[Jennivere]

The Splitpaw Saga does have some some solo content and the content only scales up to about level 50. The Bloodline Chronicles does up to a point but at level 40 most of it is trivialized for you as it does not scale. The last few quests in Bloodline Chronicles you may need help on though. One of the Bloodline quests rewards a neat charm that turns you into a Vampire. :D

[Nulien]

They have changed death penalties a little, Devirka... you no longer leave a spirit shard at any level, and xp debt is much smaller, at least at low levels... I don't know how it is for higher level characters though.

[junior]

There's also no more group exp debt because one member of the party died. Only the person who died gets the debt.

[Devirka]

Another question (i should had called this "Returning to EQ2 Questions"), there are sites that keep track of how much stuff sells in the AH of WoW, i see the EQ2 interface is modifiable, so is there any website that uses this feature to track bazaar prices?

Im having a hard time figuring what is a good deal and where im loosing on by listing items too low if the item i have for sale is not already listed.

[Lrbearclaw]

All I know to do is what I did. Check prices any time you enter your house. Other than that I don't think so.... But I'm a newbie still. :P

[Almeric]

In my experience from EQ1, those kinds of websites are only useful if you're selling something not commonly available on the open market.

Most of the time, odds are you won't have the only item on the market. If you want your item to sell quickly, you'll have to undercut the current lowest price, but just make sure you aren't cutting so low that you're asking less than what a local merchant would pay. (also make sure to test your local merchants and figure out which ones offer high prices than others)

If you are selling sometime that no one else has for sale, you can probably charge more. You'll get a feel for the market as you get a feel for what items are better than others. Find a +9 Int robe that can be worn in the low-30s? That's worth a LOT of money (I have and would charge at least 30g for that). Find a Cracked Barbarian Bone collectable item and no one else has one for sale? You could probably get at least 20g for it, maybe more if you're patient.

People pay crazy money for the rarer collectables. I made 30g the other day for a Red Nektulos Pine Needle; 1 of 6 from a collection where all 6 are hard to come by.

[Klavias]

in my experiance things that are used to twink generaly garner the fastest, most relyable cash. For some reason the pocket book of the twinker seems limitless enough to pay 90g for a steel imbued BP which will be outleveled in a week. :)

[Furrykitty]

I've still only got EQII with no expansions. I recently re-activated the account after retiring my 70 beast/66 cleric 2-box from EQ1. I haven't had a lot of time to check as yet(posting from work) but can I direct download the other expansions from Sony's website a la EQ1 or do I have to order them and wait for them to come in? Thanks. :)

[BorusWintersong]

You can buy and download if I recall right. I personally love having the boxes taking space on my room, so I have never bought them that way, so I cant put my neck on a chopper, but I really think you do can download buy.

[Griffinhart]

You can buy the expansions via digital download, yes. Just make sure that you set your patcher options to also patch the expansions and you'll have access when you upgrade your accounts. The biggest difference is that you won't get the in game item that the retail expansion gives. For DoF it was a monkey for your house, for KoS it was a carniverous house plant.

[Melroc]

It's pretty much what Junior said, I'd not buy either untill you are sure you enjoy EQ2( alot has changed).

[Devirka]

Question: Im about to go into betrayal, im level 16. I still have not used my lvl 14 MasterII thing, should i wait until i betray to use it or should i use it now and will get a sort of respec once i become a paladin?

Additionaly i been receiving new versions of spells i already had. If i will get new versions of old spells constantly, why would i bother to take them all to Master or Adept III?

[Shinma]

Yes you should take it now, because when you move over, all of your skills will be converted to the new class, and should be at the same level you had them.

As for your second question, its not quite as important to upgrade your skills to Master or AD3 at your current level, as you will outgrow them quickly. Its going to be something you will want to look into as your leveling progress slows though.

[Devirka]

But how do I know what skill becomes another one? I would hate to invest on a good SK skill that becomes the waekest of the paladin skills.

And are the skills I can get to Master 2 permanent? I mean I only get 4 choices, are these never going to turn obsolete?

[Shinma]

For the most part, the skills are very similar for your counter part class. Master IIs are permanent, unless you have respec stone. You will get 4 more Master II choices in 10 levels, 4 more 10 levels after that, etc etc. Yes the older Master IIs become obsolete.

You might not have to replace and old Master II that often though, as its immediate replacement may not be as good as the original. (Due to the very high quality of the original)

[Devirka]

Respec stone?

[Shinma]

Some people with older accounts (wether they've been actively subscribed or not) have a /claim reward availiable that will allow them to repick every racial trait, master II spell, and monster master strike (eg:Golem strike or skeletion strike). This is a stone called a reforming stone, or as most players call it, a "respec" stone since it allows you to respec your abilities. If you dont have one yet, I believe you get one for free when your account age reaches 365 days. Each expansion you buy (DoF and KoS) will add 90 days each to your account age.

[Devirka]

Hmm my account is actually rather old, this is one per character created or one ever? Does the characte has to be old two?

There is no sort of hard quest/trail to gain the priviledge to respec if you have not been on that long?

[Nulien]

I believe the veteran rewards can be claimed for no more than 3 characters, and no more than 1 of each reward for each of them. And it doesn't matter how old the character is, just the age of your account is what matters.

And as far as I know, there's no quest or anything like that for respecs.

[Almeric]

Account age only accrues if you were paying for your account. If you cancelled for a long time and came back, you won't have so many prizes waiting.

[Furrykitty]

Account age only accrues if you were paying for your account. If you cancelled for a long time and came back, you won't have so many prizes waiting.

Incorrect. I last logged my account in May 2005 then cancelled it. I started the billing again recently and logged in to a HUGE list of rewards AND with "the Loyal" suffix available. My account also states it is over 400 days old though I spent about 300 of them not paying. The rewards were there.

[Devirka]

OK, i saw a merchant that had a flying carpet available for just 30 silver, yet the NPC didnt let me buy it. Do i need the expancion to be able to buy them?

Also, do these things actually fly? Can i go vertical with them?

While on horse or carpet do i get agro as i normaly do?

[xfranc]

Devrika,

Im not sure a Merchant would sell a carpet for 30s, however most of these items require Status Points to purchase, SPs are earned through completing writs, heritage quests and killing some named epic monsters.

When using a carpet - they basically hover above the ground, you cannot go vertical unfortunately.

A horser or carpet will still allow you to get normal aggro and you can fight as normal, it just means you might be able to escape faster.

And, regarding respec. I think most chars have a respec stored on the account, use /respec to use if you have one.

[Griffinhart]

OK, i saw a merchant that had a flying carpet available for just 30 silver, yet the NPC didnt let me buy it. Do i need the expancion to be able to buy them?
That merchant sells some quest and heritage items to players that accidently sell them to vendors. You can only buy items from him that you have completed the quest for. It's just a nice safety net for those that accidently click sell.


Also, do these things actually fly? Can i go vertical with them?
Unfortunately, no and no. I personally feel that if you have a flying carpet it should act like safe fall, at least, but no such luck.


While on horse or carpet do i get agro as i normaly do?
Agro rules remain the same. But, you be able to out run agro mobs more easily. The carpets you see all over are quested at level 47+ and give 40% movement bonus. For comparison, SoW is about 20%

Not that you requested it, but it's worth mentioning that there are a ton of mount options.

Paly's and SK's get a mount, free, at level 20. But they are only 10%
Anyone can buy a mount from the stables but they are very expensive. They start around 8Plat and go up from there. They range in speeds from 32 to 40%

As I mentioned, Carpets are quested and give 40%

Once you have access to one of the courts in Maj'Dul (PoF) you can buy better mounts for 14+Plat. They are 40%, usually have some armor graphic and also grant some combat bonus for melee.

If you are in a guild you can get cheaper and unique horses based on the level of your guild. A 32% horse runs about 2.5 plat and a bunch of status points that way. At guild level 25 (I believe) you have access to ghostly horses. At guild level 40 you get access to the mounts with flaming eyes/hooves etc.

[Kallysti]

The carpets you see all over are quested at level 47+ and give 40% movement bonus. For comparison, SoW is about 20%
The bonuses can stack though. The movement bonus stacking is kind of odd. SoW and PF/Selo's won't stack, etc, but the J-Boots do. And nothing stacks with a mount. Bonus %'s are there in the persona window, so you can experiment somewhat.

As for mounts, they're nice to have if you don't have any kind of spells/totems to help you. Though I mostly see the horses and carpets as status symbols anyway... like buying a sports car ;) (Yeah, easy for me to say... my little trouby is a sports car, lol... go go Selo's + J-Boots)

[Almeric]

Incorrect. I last logged my account in May 2005 then cancelled it. I started the billing again recently and logged in to a HUGE list of rewards AND with "the Loyal" suffix available. My account also states it is over 400 days old though I spent about 300 of them not paying.

Hah that's funny...I totally believe you and all, but that's not how it's SUPPOSED to work, according to dev writings. Perhaps old accounts got grandfathered in because they weren't originally tracking time paid vs. time existing. Dunno, but congrats on your free prizes ;)

If you are in a guild you can get cheaper and unique horses based on the level of your guild. A 32% horse runs about 2.5 plat and a bunch of status points that way. At guild level 25 (I believe) you have access to ghostly horses. At guild level 40 you get access to the mounts with flaming eyes/hooves etc.

That 32% horse requires about 80,000 status points, btw. That may sound like a lot to newer players, but if you do a few of the easier Heritage Quests and a handful of City Tasks (aka "Writs"), you'll get there faster than it takes to earn 2 platinum!

Guild level 20 opens up the 32% horses, 25 opens 40% horses, and guild level 30 opens up the 50% spectral horses and flying carpets. The quested carpet from Desert of Flames is cheaper (free with a lot of quest work), but doesn't go as fast...and at this point, so many people have the DoF blue carpet that I think the beige GL30 carpet looks way cooler :)

The movement bonus stacking is kind of odd.
Hah to say the least! I still don't get all the combinations that work or don't work. The other day my Monk was riding around on his 32% horse and I turned on Sprint. Sprint normally is a 40% run speed boost, but since turning Sprint on made the game ignore my horse, I was suddenly running at a 45% boost because of the Monk movement achievement. I need to go try that with Jboots on and see if that stacks too!

[Devirka]

OK if flying carpets cant go vertical, what was the "revolutionary vertical movement system" noted as a feature for the first expancion?

[Shinma]

Climbable walls.

[Griffinhart]

lol, one of those marketing terms. I don't know if I would call scalable walls revolutionary.

[vochore]

as a fury with a quested carpet i can get to 88% run speed with spirit of the cheeta, carpet and sprint.
now thats fast.

[Kallysti]

Er, last I checked, mounts' bonuses don't stack with anything else. Though they do change that stuff without us noticing from time to time. Will look into it with my troubador when I get home (at work til 5pm PST /sigh)... with his carpet/selo's/jboots... er, and sprint? Didn't think that stacked with anything either. Time for some experimentation, I s'pose :P (btw, run % will be in your persona window when you look in there, for them what don't know)