Yesterday, after nearly a year of off-and-on grinding, questing, and frustration, my Berserker hit level 60. And for a change of pace, it was on a quest turn-in. Usually it’s on some random mob.
And for the first time ever for me, I have an alt character that’s nearly as high level as my main. The last time this happened was back in my EQ1 days when I was still a mid-30s Mage, sometime in 2002.
It’ll be interesting to see how my tier 7 experience the second time around is shaped. Before, I had my Conjuror, and I could easily tag along in a group and go hunt things, and play it casual. Or I could easily solo just about anything in my path; Conjurors are after all one of the best classes at soloing.. Now, as my Berserker, I’ll actually be forced to lead groups instead of playing casual. I’ll have a much harder time soloing things, and exploring the world.
Already I’m having a frustrating time. My experiences in Kaladim to finish the fourth Rallos Zek quest was painful. To be fair, I was fighting white and yellow-con 1-up mobs who are highly social and have a huge aggro radius. Even my Conjuror would have difficulty in a situation like that. It also didn’t help matters that my gear is still mostly Tier 6 Mastercrafted (though I have some very nice Desert of Flames Fabled on). In two levels I’ll get another significant gear upgrade. And in about 4 or 5 levels I should be adequately leveled to lead groups through the easier parts KoS.
Of course, by the time that happens, Kunark will be around, and no one will be hunting in KoS anymore if they can help it. I can’t remember the last time I saw anyone hunting in Silent City, after all (though there were a few instance runs in Flames).
So what’s in store for my Berserker?
Well for the Overrealm, we have Tenebrous Tangle, which I’ve been hunting and about exhausted quests from. Only a few repeatable quests remain, as well as several Heroic quests (not to mention a few from the Claymore series). Sanctum of the Scaleborn will likely be my heroic dungeon of choice after I reach about 65, while people remain interested. I can move on to Barren Sky at about 63 or 64 and start the solo quests there, and will be able to hunt in Bonemire around 67. Palace of the Awakened becomes an option around 66 or 67 for tanking. And I can start tanking instances around then too, and get some much needed gear upgrades. Assumingthe population holds out in this level range (which I highly doubt).
For Faydwer there’s New Tunaria right now. But I can’t recall the last time anyone actually hunted there. Loping Plains will have lots of solo content for me for a few levels yet. Mistmoore Catacombs is an option for grouping in a few levels, though it’s not a popular zone by any means. Kaladim should be feasible around 65 or so, though again groups there are rare. Castle Mistmoore will open up at 70, but I don’t see it being a popular place to hunt after Kunark comes out. And I can start doing the Faydwer instances around level 70 too, though popularity will also wane with Kunark. And then there’s Unrest, and the Shard of Fear at around 70 as well.
Gear wise, I already have my suit of Xegonite ready (the pieces I will replace anyway). I need to get more Acrylia jewelry made to fill in most of my spots. A new Buckler is a must. I got my tradable weapons covered for now, until I can get better from mob drops anyway. And of course I’m going to need about 16 or 17 spongy loam for the Adept 3s I’ll need until 70. There’s a few quests I’ll be able to start, and hopefully finish. Claymore probably won’t be an option, but Swords of Destiny might be.
I gotta say, my Berserker is better situated for tier 7 than my Conjuror was nearly a year and a half ago. It’s probably because I already know what to expect from Tier 7, and I’ve had time to plan things out. Definitely not so with my Conjuror, I had to figure things out as I went. And spell upgrades for the Conjuror were (and still are) a high priority; it took nearly the entire expansion cycle to get the Masters I have now, and I’m still missing a few minor ones. Just as well, Kunark will take care of that problem soon enough.
Course, once the expansion rolls around, I’ll probably worry about the Conjuror 100% until I hit level 80. But I’ll worry about that in 3 weeks.
Ding! Welcome to Tier 7 – Again
Tags: EverQuest II
Yesterday, after nearly a year of off-and-on grinding, questing, and frustration, my Berserker hit level 60. And for a change of pace, it was on a quest turn-in. Usually it’s on some random mob.
And for the first time ever for me, I have an alt character that’s nearly as high level as my main. The last time this happened was back in my EQ1 days when I was still a mid-30s Mage, sometime in 2002.
It’ll be interesting to see how my tier 7 experience the second time around is shaped. Before, I had my Conjuror, and I could easily tag along in a group and go hunt things, and play it casual. Or I could easily solo just about anything in my path; Conjurors are after all one of the best classes at soloing.. Now, as my Berserker, I’ll actually be forced to lead groups instead of playing casual. I’ll have a much harder time soloing things, and exploring the world.
Already I’m having a frustrating time. My experiences in Kaladim to finish the fourth Rallos Zek quest was painful. To be fair, I was fighting white and yellow-con 1-up mobs who are highly social and have a huge aggro radius. Even my Conjuror would have difficulty in a situation like that. It also didn’t help matters that my gear is still mostly Tier 6 Mastercrafted (though I have some very nice Desert of Flames Fabled on). In two levels I’ll get another significant gear upgrade. And in about 4 or 5 levels I should be adequately leveled to lead groups through the easier parts KoS.
Of course, by the time that happens, Kunark will be around, and no one will be hunting in KoS anymore if they can help it. I can’t remember the last time I saw anyone hunting in Silent City, after all (though there were a few instance runs in Flames).
So what’s in store for my Berserker?
Well for the Overrealm, we have Tenebrous Tangle, which I’ve been hunting and about exhausted quests from. Only a few repeatable quests remain, as well as several Heroic quests (not to mention a few from the Claymore series). Sanctum of the Scaleborn will likely be my heroic dungeon of choice after I reach about 65, while people remain interested. I can move on to Barren Sky at about 63 or 64 and start the solo quests there, and will be able to hunt in Bonemire around 67. Palace of the Awakened becomes an option around 66 or 67 for tanking. And I can start tanking instances around then too, and get some much needed gear upgrades. Assumingthe population holds out in this level range (which I highly doubt).
For Faydwer there’s New Tunaria right now. But I can’t recall the last time anyone actually hunted there. Loping Plains will have lots of solo content for me for a few levels yet. Mistmoore Catacombs is an option for grouping in a few levels, though it’s not a popular zone by any means. Kaladim should be feasible around 65 or so, though again groups there are rare. Castle Mistmoore will open up at 70, but I don’t see it being a popular place to hunt after Kunark comes out. And I can start doing the Faydwer instances around level 70 too, though popularity will also wane with Kunark. And then there’s Unrest, and the Shard of Fear at around 70 as well.
Gear wise, I already have my suit of Xegonite ready (the pieces I will replace anyway). I need to get more Acrylia jewelry made to fill in most of my spots. A new Buckler is a must. I got my tradable weapons covered for now, until I can get better from mob drops anyway. And of course I’m going to need about 16 or 17 spongy loam for the Adept 3s I’ll need until 70. There’s a few quests I’ll be able to start, and hopefully finish. Claymore probably won’t be an option, but Swords of Destiny might be.
I gotta say, my Berserker is better situated for tier 7 than my Conjuror was nearly a year and a half ago. It’s probably because I already know what to expect from Tier 7, and I’ve had time to plan things out. Definitely not so with my Conjuror, I had to figure things out as I went. And spell upgrades for the Conjuror were (and still are) a high priority; it took nearly the entire expansion cycle to get the Masters I have now, and I’m still missing a few minor ones. Just as well, Kunark will take care of that problem soon enough.
Course, once the expansion rolls around, I’ll probably worry about the Conjuror 100% until I hit level 80. But I’ll worry about that in 3 weeks.