Wednesday Night: 2/15/06: 10pm EST

[Venkman]

Per that other thread, looks like  Mi_Tes, Cheddar, Haemish, Sauced, Sky, and myself.

Meet where?
Let's meet at the Griffon Tower outside of South Qeynos at 10pm. Stragglers can meet us at the main BB entrance, hopefully being of higher level to avoid or steamroll whatever stands in their way.

Meet why?
I would like to discuss objectives beforehand. Like here hopefully :)

I'm thinking Blackburrow because even those without some of the quests within can still get so much XP by the time they come out, they'll have the levels necessary to get the quests. We can get there no problem with Group stealth. We'll probably travel un-mentored so the higher levels can decimate whatever happens to aggro along the way (not much except some Gnoll groups).

If we have too many people for one group, we'll split into two groups depending on level ranges and mentoring and so on and still try for Blackburrow. As far as I know, the front few areas can be done as early as a good groups of low teens while deeper in require higher levels.

Meet again?
Hopefully we can swing this as a once-a-week thing. We can adjust time and day accordingly. If we can more people we can also make two different times for more convenience for specific people, still keeping it once-a-week, just having two options for folks.

No DKP. No Lewt-whoring. Yes suggestions and insights and knowledge and experience. Yes fun. Those joining are volunteering, and if this isn't fun, they won't be volunteering often :)

[Cheddar]

In case anyone wants incentive= I just sold a master book from BB for 85 gold.

[Velorath]

That mostly reminds me that I just don't quite get the economy in EQ2.

[Xilren's Twin]

Dumb question, but I assume you must have purchased the Adventure pack for this to work? :)

Xilren

[Alkiera]

Dumb question, but I assume you must have purchased the Adventure pack for this to work? :)

Xilren

Blackburrow is a normal dungeon, not an AP zone.

Alkiera

[addryc]

I transferred over one of my toons, a level 16 ranger, to Oasis last night - I may try and pop on at around that time to say hi - been a while since I gamed with some of ya'll!

Of course, with the great inter-server chat feature, I could just spam tells in your general direction! :)

[HaemishM]

What level range is BB? I'm only level 13. I'm also a Freeportian, so can I even group with Qeynos folks? I've not gotten past the Commonlands, how far of a run is it to BB?

[UD_Delt]

What level range is BB? I'm only level 13. I'm also a Freeportian, so can I even group with Qeynos folks? I've not gotten past the Commonlands, how far of a run is it to BB?

You should be fine to group there at 13 if you are careful and manage your aggro. You might not be the most useful person around but you'll get exp like crazy.

To get there Commonlands -> Nek -> Steppers -> Antonica -> BB. It would take about 10-15 minutes if you knew where you were going. Probably a half hour if you are figuring it out without maps. The run through Nek is probably the most dangerous part as there's lots of aggro and it can be hard to see sometimes. The run through Steppes is completely safe if you stick to the right road. Antonica should also be fairly easy to get through as well.

[HaemishM]

As a Freeportian, am I KOS to the Qeynos guards?

[Nebu]

I could bring my 25 brigand and mentor down... if you want another class, I'll get it ready by next week.  What classes do you guys have?

[Nebu]

As a Freeportian, am I KOS to the Qeynos guards?

Yes, you should be.

[UD_Delt]

As a Freeportian, am I KOS to the Qeynos guards?

Yes, you should be.

I'm not sure if they've changed this yet or not. Used to be the guards would just banish you from town rather than fightl you. This is a proposed change that instead of banishing you the guards will try to kill you and you can now fight back.

You shouldn't really run into any KOS guards though on the run over to BB.

[Sky]

I plan on bringing Caviglia, to wrap up his quests. Mentoring was fixxored, yes? He's still 27th (wizard).

I could bring my 15th level Guardian if we desperately need a tank.

[Venkman]

Haemish, you'll be at least Threatening to the Qeynos Guards, but this won't affect you. There's no guards by the Qeynos Griffon Tower. But you bring up a point I completely forgot:

People coming from Freeport shouldn't have to waste their time running well past Blackburrow just to get to an arbitrary meet point :)

I need a volunteer. Someone. Anyone who can help Haemish and others get from Freeport to BB. This would ideally include that uber group stealth.

Also, with Haemish at 13, if he's the lowest, we may end up being able to use myself as the Bridge. At 18, Heamish should get full XP if he groups with me. If everyone else shows up and is higher, they can mentor to me.

[HaemishM]

I'm an assassin, so I have stealth. Unless there's a whole bunch of stuff in Nek Forest that sees through stealth, I should be ok. I got to the entrance and that first little griffon tower in Nek today at lunch.

[Cheddar]

I'm an assassin, so I have stealth. Unless there's a whole bunch of stuff in Nek Forest that sees through stealth, I should be ok. I got to the entrance and that first little griffon tower in Nek today at lunch.

Just get a ticket to TS from East Freeport.  Its only 60 silver, and will half the travel time. 

On a side note I will not be on in time to play with you guys tonight; had some family call out of the blue.  Damn RL getting in the way of my virtual life!

[HaemishM]

TS?

I think I'm going to have to ask you to back up and not use acronyms since I have no fucking clue what that is. I just found my damn trainer last night.

[Cheddar]

TS?

I think I'm going to have to ask you to back up and not use acronyms since I have no fucking clue what that is. I just found my damn trainer last night.

TS = Thundering Steppes.  From there you can run to Antonica.   Basically you buy a ticket for 60S from the harbormaster in East Freeport (you can get money from the guild bank if you need it) and then go ring the bell that says "Sail to Sea" or some such shit.

[HaemishM]

Meh, I like the exploring part of trying to get through zones that will probably one hit me.

[Venkman]

FYI, hitting the boat to Thundering Steppes and running through Antonica to BB is probably on the order of a 20 minute run. Bring snacks :)

[Sky]

"Only" 60sp shows the disparity we have in this guild. I had 5gp by the time I was lvl 27 ;) And I don't spend a lot of money on anything.

Did they raise food prices on npc vendors? Buying my last stack of 20 food/drink in TS almost broke me, and it's just 30 minute stuff.

I've been poor in every mmo ever made, I just don't have the knack for making money. Which isn't surprising given my very non-capitalist rl ways.

[Nebu]

"Only" 60sp shows the disparity we have in this guild. I had 5gp by the time I was lvl 27 ;) And I don't spend a lot of money on anything.

I'm with you Sky.  I think that Ched just knows more ways to make money.  I don't sell much on my merchant and tend to buy things I need as soon as I see them being helpful.  My warden and Inquisitor are like level 35 or so and neither has more than 20gp.  The first time Ched told me to buy a ticket for "just 60sp" I thought "damn, that's a good chunk of what I have!"

Grouping (even in a duo) seems to help.  Killing named heroics also is a great way to make cash.  The loot from large boxes can often be worth 5-50gp.  There is also a pretty easy (though time consuming) quest in Nek that pays about 10gp between the 2 steps and should be doable with your level 27.

[Sky]

Yeah, I guess I need to break down and start reading spoiler sites to find quests at some point. I always hated that about EQ, and EQ2 had been much better about it, I'm pretty high in the guild's quest standings without consulting one thus far.

Killing named heroics also is a great way to make cash.  The loot from large boxes can often be worth 5-50gp.

Heh. ^^^ mobs tend to chew me up, even when green. And if I do find good loot, I tend to give it away to someone who needs it, or to an alt, maybe sell it on a vendor because I don't mess with the market crap (enough demands on my time between adventuring, crafting, and travelling...and crafting usually ends with me getting frustrated with the timesink and saying 'screw it').

Tonight is the first in a long while I have all evening to play. Since it's my girl's late night, she's agreed it makes a good "gaming night" (even if she doesn't understand the concept of needing many unbroken hours to play something, heh). So I'll pretty much be available most wednesdays going forward.

[Nebu]

Yeah, I guess I need to break down and start reading spoiler sites to find quests at some point. I always hated that about EQ, and EQ2 had been much better about it, I'm pretty high in the guild's quest standings without consulting one thus far.

In all honesty, I haven't had to resort to those sites.  I've found some quests purely by accident (or word of mouth).  Some turn out to be pretty profitable.  The green heroic named mobs should be doable with a Master I main nuke and some adept level extra abilities.  Just wait until the mobs get to the green/gray border. 

I also saw you posting about the lack of a good robe.  There's a guy at the base of the ramp heading up to N'Mar (he's on the left side) that gives a quest.  Completing his initial quest is a bit rough, but gives you access to the instance next to him.  After killing some easy mobs in the instance (the last one is a level 29 quest) he gives you a piece of chest armor which is a caster robe.  It's almost as nice as the armor quest bp and is much easier to get to.

[Sauced]

The yard trash in TS drops armor that sells for 20s to vendors, if you feel like making money.  Also, I know VL sells appIV fighter upgrades for 3-5g from her apartment.

[Venkman]

Sorry I had to bail an hour in. Friggin' plague or something laying up my family this whole winter, and the youngest is getting more teeth. Can't catch a break. Usually doesn't wake up at 11pm. More like 1am or so. But heck, given the winter, I'm not at all surprised she woke up during this event. 

Hope ya had fun!

We did get off to a great start. Maybe BB is too low for us? Suggestions for next week?

[Cheddar]

Sorry I had to bail an hour in. Friggin' plague or something laying up my family this whole winter, and the youngest is getting more teeth. Can't catch a break. Usually doesn't wake up at 11pm. More like 1am or so. But heck, given the winter, I'm not at all surprised she woke up during this event. 

Hope ya had fun!

We did get off to a great start. Maybe BB is too low for us? Suggestions for next week?

Lets do 9 pm EST with the raid dependent on group.  I love this idea, and ironically more people show up on weekdays.  Depending on who signs up in the thread should dictate where we go.

[Sky]

Yeah, that was a little underwhelming :P Started slow and didn't really get moving, though we functioned well enough. I'm new to grouping, so still working on aggro management, only drew aggro from the two big bosses in a bad way. My fault for my tendency to manadump, something I did even as a necro in EQ. My buddy the eqholic and I saw planes raids as exp hunts, our group always got the exp. And Xilren needs to be aware that things can come from behind and chew up his pet ;) Great to have MiTes there to take the sting out of death.

The slow start was probably unavoidable with Hammy coming from Freeport, but we could've moved a bit faster through the dungeon, too. Only cleared a couple rooms before half the group left. Though I can't complain, it left me enough time to go snag an Oracle Robe before I went to bed.

Next week I'd like to do Stormhold if we can muster the levels. I'd also like to suggest people try to get there a bit early, since we are starting so late already.

[Sauced]

Yeah, like I said last night, you should start at 9 pst, I'll try and catch up.

Sorry for the slow moving, I thought we were doing okay.  At least 2 people dinged and Darniaq got a Master I, so it wasn't totally pointless.  I'll make sure I have some macros set up for next time, I forgot to do that on this char.

Sky - details on the OR quest?

[Nebu]

I got my guardian to 12 last night and hope to be big enough to join you next wednesday.  If nothing else, it makes for a good taunt-bot/meatshield for you dps types.

[HaemishM]

Being a complete noob as to knowing where stuff is didn't help me get there last night. :) By next week, I should definitely have a few more levels. I seem to be getting one or two a night depending on play time. I didn't mind breaking up when we did, as starting at 9 pm CST is a bit late for me. I'm generally only going to get an hour or so in before needing to head off. We could try around 9 pm EST or 9:30 pm EST, which would just get the PST'ers home and would give me 1 1/2 - 2 hours of good playtime.

Next week, if we know where we're going, I'll try to be at the zone entrance the night before. That was always my mantra in EQ1 just to keep people from having to wait on me.

[Sky]

Sky - details on the OR quest?

Easy quest. Run invis straight through RoV. Open a door, examine a bolt of silk. It gives you three options, choose the Oracle option. Go to the Oracle Tower in Antonica. Enjoy Oracle Robe. Stats aren't a huge upgrade from the level 10 sorcerer robe, but it looks better.

[Sauced]

Wow.  I just have to get to 25.

[Xilren's Twin]

My buddy the eqholic and I saw planes raids as exp hunts, our group always got the exp. And Xilren needs to be aware that things can come from behind and chew up his pet ;) Great to have MiTes there to take the sting out of death.

I blame the interface and engine! 

Seriously, I tend to get the best performance in small enclosed spaces if i scroll all the way down to first person view, but doing so leave me fairly blind to what's going on behind me.  Add in playing with the sound off and before I know it I was gnoll kibble..twice :).  I need to find a happy medium for performance vs looks but oh my god the engine is like a vampire in dense areas...sucks the life right outta my box.  Im actually thinking of leaving my settings for "extreme high performance" just to get through Qeynos which makes everything look like crap.

Any settings tweaks that give the most bang for buck tradeoffs?

Xilren

Xilren

[HaemishM]

Turn shadows the fuck off, turn particle effects down to 1 per person with average or minimal effects. Cut down your max simultaneuos sounds to around 10, cut down your footstep distance to about 10, shift your flora distance down, shift your specular lighting down.