Solo SK 54 +

[Gurbuuk]

as KC / seb are crowed these days, and HS is not solo SK friendly, what are the spot to solo efficiently as a troll SK?

got average + stuff (planar / will of inno). thanks for help)

[fishingme]

I think there are some undead in burning woods, Com 2nd floor on the wall might be good, lower guk should work still, I've been in lguk on my 59 shaman and im still finding a decent number of dark blue that is actually giving me more XP than HS lol

[Gurbuuk]

sk cant solo toes to toes. i need to reverse kitting. BW, most undeads are LB and lot of romers. Com, impossible to reverse kitting on remparts nor seb

[fishingme]

Afraid I think you're SoL :( maybe try to find a shaman partner

[Swish]

Up to 54 I can think of places but it really thins out after that.

Can understand the frustration as a troll SK, too many scumbags won't let one into a group so the LFG time is always high :/

[Brut]

Fear kited BB dorf dock guards meself for the last couple of levels. Not fast, not profitable, reliable enough though.

[Yinikren]

Fear kite the undead foreman at the OT outpost. 6 min timer, if someone needs him for a turn him let them turn in and then kill him after. He has a boatload of HP but he's DB right to 60. I sometimes still exp off him when I need to make up a bit from getting rezzed.

[Gurbuuk]

Mmmh yep some ideas...) i used to kill BB dwarves with my nec before kunark.. undead foreman is easy to reach. asking myself is breaking arena in com is feasible... fee free to give another advices but thanks)

[Frug]

Up to 54 I can think of places but it really thins out after that.

Can understand the frustration as a troll SK, too many scumbags won't let one into a group so the LFG time is always high :/

Why the troll SK hate? They looking for warriors only?

[Gurbuuk]

68 % malus xp shared with group

[Gurbuuk]

Tried the 2 lvl 45 dwarfs guards yesterday. Was easy to solo but long repop and a whole 1% xp at 54 for maybe 6 7 kills... so at most 1 2 % an hour. its not fast but hard to die.

will try solo skell in OT now

[Brut]

Used to be happy if got half a yellow full day of grind. /burp
There's more exp guards in the vicinity, just run around a bit. Might be light blues, but betta than nothing during the downtime.

[Nogdar]

I recommend the undead house and such at CoM :)

[Clang]

54?

Guards in everfrost. Look at area 5 on the wiki map. There's 3 (one roams around a lot so more like 2). They are pretty easy for their level. You can also do ice giants up at the permafrost entrance but they often are camped.

[Gurbuuk]

Everfrost is too far away from first TP for me :) Too limited playtime to run 30 mins each time after a raid)/

Will stick to guards in BB (skel in OT has too much HP for a 54 sk (even with a brand new 41% haste belt). With a VoG on, its easier...). or maybe com (have to test it, evenn if its a long run as well..)

[Yinikren]

Another option is those three guards in NRO close to the Freeport zone. They are super close to ports, have a decently fast repop (20 mins? I would kill all 3, AFK for a few, come back and they would be up) and there is even a vendor nearby that would sell to my Troll SK.

[Gurbuuk]

have to check it but it seems they are lvl 40 only. and dunno if bonus from starters zone apply there.../

Seems the dwarf option is the best atm... (4 dwarves lvl 45 and 1 lvl 35 (LB) )

have to test Com now (far far away from civilization...)

[Gurbuuk]

tested COM being a bit PL by a friend shaman 60. really nice xp, but will be hard for solo (some LB mobs, packed goos...). will duo with a 55 shaman tommorow. this will rock!

[Iphice]

Could try the Kelethin guards. Not exactly sure what level they are but they con LB and DB to me at 60 and the ZEM is pretty good there I think.

[Plaxiglass]

I was doing Freeport guards in nro, but the timer was too long for my liking, then I decided to go to Everfrost. All the barbarian guards at the tundra were db to lvl54, the timer was good, they do tend to have more hp than their human counterparts. But I find them easier to kill, they don't resist as much as the dwarf guards, and don't have good ac.

As a DE I could then head out to Qeynos Catacombs, and sell all the fine steel 2h swords. I don't know if trolls are kos thought.

[winter888]

68 % malus xp shared with group

I dont got it, you mean your group take the exp penalty too? eg if there's a Warrior in your group , he takes the same exp per kill as you do ? or what ...


thanks for answer if possible ,i m starting a Shadow Kinght recently too...

[Yinikren]

Exp penalties are split in the group. But the most important thing is to group with people around your level, any hybrid is going to take less exp than people 3-4 levels higher in your group.

[winter888]

Exp penalties are split in the group. But the most important thing is to group with people around your level, any hybrid is going to take less exp than people 3-4 levels higher in your group.

you mean 3~4 levels higher than my current level? more confused ~.~!

let's make this simplized. what would the exp earned in this sample group: SHD(me), war, cle,wiz, mag, and we are all lvl 50 , after a kill, if war get 100%exp reward, then what would i got? 40%? or what?

[Yinikren]

Here's a cut and paste from a forum thread on it because it's too intricate for me to attempt to explain shorthand. The basic idea is group with people around your level, regardless of class. Let me bold it so it stands out for everyone: Race/Class combos with no penalty but who are 6 levels higher than you nerf your xp more than the hybrid who is the same level as you in most cases, especially at levels below 30. In your teens, a player 6 levels higher than you has 300 to 400% of your xp total... obviously much worse than the 140-168% of your total that a equal level hybrid has.

Credit to Dumesh.

How XP works

First, I'll describe a sample party and use a tasty pie analogy to help make the mechanics easier to understand. Then, I'll get more number and formula based for those who want the nuts and bolts. (coming soon... when I feel like updating)

Think of each mob that gets spawned in EQ as a pie, a very tasty pie.

When a PC kills a mob, he gets to eat the pie.

When players group together and kill a mob, they have to split the pie. However, through the magic of the group bonus, for each person in the group beyond the first, the pie gets a little bit bigger (2% bigger in fact) before we pull out the knife to divide the slices.

Well, how do we slice the pie? How big will each slice be?

The answer is that we measure all the pie that each player has ever eaten (his total xp). Then we cut the slices in proportions matching those relative values. So, let's say our sample group is a simple trio of Bob the Bard, Chris the Enchanter, and Diane the Druid. Since Bob came into the world of Norrath, he's eaten 150lbs of pie. Chris has had 100lbs of pie, and Diane has also eaten 100lbs of pie. Our sample group has just killed a mob. This mobs' representative pie magically grows to be 4% larger than if a solo player killed him. Then the pie is split with 3/7 of it going to Bob, 2/7 to Chris and 2/7 to Diane. The classes of these characters makes no difference at all. The only thing that determined how big each slice of the pie would be was the net total xp that each of them had earned since character creation.

But what about xp penalties, you say?

They most certainly exist. The penalties change the amount of pie that a PC has to eat to gain each level. Human warriors have to eat 90% of the pie that Human Druids have to eat to level up. Troll Shadow Knights have to eat 68% more pie than Human Druids to level up.

The important and painfully obvious consequence of this is:

A level 30 Human Monk has 20% more total xp than a level 30 human cleric.

A level 50 Ogre Shadowknight has 60% more total xp than a level 50 dwarf cleric.

Or to look at it a different way...

A human monk with 10,000,000xp is level 20.

A halfling warrior with 10,000,000xp is level 22

A troll shadowknight with 10,000,000xp is level 18

If the three characters above where to group together, they would all get equal slices of the pie.

But, But, you didn't say anything about the penalties when you talked about how xp is split!!! why not?

When the tasty pie is cut into slices for the group, the levels of the various PCs are not consulted (not directly anyway), only the xp totals for the PCs. The game code doesn't care if Bob is a human or an elf, a bard or a monk, level 10 or level 15... the game code only cares what Bob's total xp is.

What about zone modifiers?

Zone modifiers shrink or expand the pie before the slices are cut.

What does this all mean?!?

1. Group with people who have similar xp totals to you

2. Group with people who have similar xp totals to you

3. Group with people who have similar xp totals to you

See, it was so important, I had to say it 3 times. Please note what that really means. Race/Class combos with no penalty but who are 6 levels higher than you nerf your xp more than the hybrid who is the same level as you in most cases, especially at levels below 30. In your teens, a player 6 levels higher than you has 300 to 400% of your xp total... obviously much worse than the 140-168% of your total that a equal level hybrid has.

So, final thought...

Group with good players. An equal level group with multiple hybrids generally takes no more than 16% more kills to gain a level that a similarly leveled group that has no hydrids. Good groups kill at least 16% faster than bad groups. So, group with good players regardless of class.

[winter888]

Here's a cut and paste from a forum thread on it because it's too intricate for me to attempt to explain shorthand. The basic idea is group with people around your level, regardless of class. Let me bold it so it stands out for everyone: Race/Class combos with no penalty but who are 6 levels higher than you nerf your xp more than the hybrid who is the same level as you in most cases, especially at levels below 30. In your teens, a player 6 levels higher than you has 300 to 400% of your xp total... obviously much worse than the 140-168% of your total that a equal level hybrid has.

Credit to Dumesh.

How XP works

First, I'll describe a sample party and use a tasty pie analogy to help make the mechanics easier to understand. Then, I'll get more number and formula based for those who want the nuts and bolts. (coming soon... when I feel like updating)

Think of each mob that gets spawned in EQ as a pie, a very tasty pie.

When a PC kills a mob, he gets to eat the pie.

When players group together and kill a mob, they have to split the pie. However, through the magic of the group bonus, for each person in the group beyond the first, the pie gets a little bit bigger (2% bigger in fact) before we pull out the knife to divide the slices.

Well, how do we slice the pie? How big will each slice be?

The answer is that we measure all the pie that each player has ever eaten (his total xp). Then we cut the slices in proportions matching those relative values. So, let's say our sample group is a simple trio of Bob the Bard, Chris the Enchanter, and Diane the Druid. Since Bob came into the world of Norrath, he's eaten 150lbs of pie. Chris has had 100lbs of pie, and Diane has also eaten 100lbs of pie. Our sample group has just killed a mob. This mobs' representative pie magically grows to be 4% larger than if a solo player killed him. Then the pie is split with 3/7 of it going to Bob, 2/7 to Chris and 2/7 to Diane. The classes of these characters makes no difference at all. The only thing that determined how big each slice of the pie would be was the net total xp that each of them had earned since character creation.

But what about xp penalties, you say?

They most certainly exist. The penalties change the amount of pie that a PC has to eat to gain each level. Human warriors have to eat 90% of the pie that Human Druids have to eat to level up. Troll Shadow Knights have to eat 68% more pie than Human Druids to level up.

The important and painfully obvious consequence of this is:

A level 30 Human Monk has 20% more total xp than a level 30 human cleric.

A level 50 Ogre Shadowknight has 60% more total xp than a level 50 dwarf cleric.

Or to look at it a different way...

A human monk with 10,000,000xp is level 20.

A halfling warrior with 10,000,000xp is level 22

A troll shadowknight with 10,000,000xp is level 18

If the three characters above where to group together, they would all get equal slices of the pie.

But, But, you didn't say anything about the penalties when you talked about how xp is split!!! why not?

When the tasty pie is cut into slices for the group, the levels of the various PCs are not consulted (not directly anyway), only the xp totals for the PCs. The game code doesn't care if Bob is a human or an elf, a bard or a monk, level 10 or level 15... the game code only cares what Bob's total xp is.

What about zone modifiers?

Zone modifiers shrink or expand the pie before the slices are cut.

What does this all mean?!?

1. Group with people who have similar xp totals to you

2. Group with people who have similar xp totals to you

3. Group with people who have similar xp totals to you

See, it was so important, I had to say it 3 times. Please note what that really means. Race/Class combos with no penalty but who are 6 levels higher than you nerf your xp more than the hybrid who is the same level as you in most cases, especially at levels below 30. In your teens, a player 6 levels higher than you has 300 to 400% of your xp total... obviously much worse than the 140-168% of your total that a equal level hybrid has.

So, final thought...

Group with good players. An equal level group with multiple hybrids generally takes no more than 16% more kills to gain a level that a similarly leveled group that has no hydrids. Good groups kill at least 16% faster than bad groups. So, group with good players regardless of class.

totally understood now! for my eq life it's the first time that someone make it cleared...

thank u! /bow

[thieros]

i did KC entrance mobs. pull at your convenience, buffs, plenty of room to fear kite. trains obviously occur but they interrupt fewer fear kites than you would expect.

[Deldanko]

i always thought in classic it was an even split? IIRC it was always awesome to be the lowest lvl in a group (for the most part). but i could be wrong... idk

[Clark]

High keep 2nd floor.

[Dunes]

Hey guys, I thought I would throw a useful link in here too:

http://rantsandflames.com/xpcalc.php

Rants and Flames has a nice XP Calculator on their website, allowing you to input party composition and levels and output the "% of the pie" consumed by each party member. It takes into account ZEM and other modifiers, so its theoretically pretty accurate.

Obviously its not something you could do easily in real time, and in all honesty, it probably wont make up your mind about joining/declining a group. It is, however, a nice tool to experiment with and may quell any arguments a person might have about a similar-level hybrid. In fact, it has a text section you can copy and paste to your party to prove it ;)

[holsteinrx7]

racial xp pen is personal and not shared with grp...

[kaev]

racial xp pen is personal and not shared with grp...

That was not true on live until the patch during Velious where class penalties were removed. Up until then all XP penalties/bonuses were shared due to the way XP was distributed. Here? Would have to see the code that does the XP calc to say for sure, but they do try to replicate classic mechanics.

Somebody recently linked an archive of the producer's letter in which the impending removal of class XP penalties was announced. Probably in a Bug forum thread, but might have been in Server Chat.

[holsteinrx7]

class exp is shared. racial is not. never heard it any differently in ten years.

[Swish]

class exp is shared. racial is not. never heard it any differently in ten years.

[kaev]

class exp is shared. racial is not. never heard it any differently in ten years.

http://everquest.allakhazam.com/editorial/011401_EQ_Producers_letter.html

In your defense, I'll note that it has been longer than 10 years. Unfortunately for the defense, the :classic: environment/experience they're trying to recreate here disappeared more than 10 years ago, making your comment irrelevant.

[Gurbuuk]

finaly tested all options : best bet is atm soloingf kc entrance and lfg for a good group in basement.

[Clark]

68 % malus xp shared with group

Lol

[Clark]

finaly tested all options : best bet is atm soloingf kc entrance and lfg for a good group in basement.

Ya I was going to suggest that. Always lots of buffs available in KC.

[mtb tripper]

Ya I was going to suggest that. Always lots of buffs available in KC.

Yeah KC is good solo at that level, always people running through with heals and buffs too. Stay LFG and get a group too

[holsteinrx7]

lvl 54 sk confirmed eq hell.

[Gurbuuk]

55+ : duo is the way

[Kastro]

Just reroll on Red as an ogre.. fly to 60 NP...

Or you can try the trash behind Karnors... Low hp mobs.. watch for spiders... would be better to duo with a lower level sham my or druid..