35 Druid - need suggestions

[beev]

I played p99 about 2 years ago and got a Druid to 35. Now I'm back and completely rusty trying to get back up to speed.

Any other players have tips/suggestions on a few things like:

Charming in Overthere - what spells should I have mem'd? Should I only be using my charmed animal against other animals or sic them on cacti and those birds? I feel I'm not efficient as I burn through a whole mana bar on those two mobs.

What user interface should I get? Never actually used a different one than comes stock.
Do most people use a 3rd party map utility these days?
Doe anyone suggest using the spell timer utilities based on log files so you know if ensnare or charm breaks?

Money - should I try to just port for donations from Overthere or are hill giants in rathe a viable option for both money and exp? If I do fight hill giants, should I be kiting or root rotting?

Thank you in advance for your help!

[Daldaen]

1 - Nuke
2 - Heal
3 - Charm
4 - Snare
5 - Root
6 - Gate
7 - SoW
8 - Lower level charm

You can charm and kill whatever, though sticking with just rhinos/cats is easier.

Your main strategy will be:

Charm a mob
Send it on BadMob
Use Invis or Hide to break charm when pet is under 10% HP
Kill old pet with a single nuke

**If the "BadMob" is low on HP such that 1 nuke kills it, nuke it**

If not, charm a new mob and have it fight BadMob again.

Interface - use the default, its all you need on this server
Map - Some do, it isn't necessary, just have a 2nd monitor with EQAtlas up is sufficient if you understand /locs
Logs - Pseudo useless as a druid, only useful for roots (since charm is random based and ensnare is 15min duration) and even then roots are random breaks too
Money - Either of your suggestions work, Hill Giants you have to root rot at 34, at higher levels (46/49) with Lumi Staff or 49 AE Nuke you can quad them.

[beev]

Thank you! What would the lower level charm be for?

[Daldaen]

For you to test out. The 24 charm is 50 mana less and casts 1 second faster.

It only charms up to 33 though, so mobs that are blue to you, use the lower level charm. I think some of the rhinos and tigress are 30-33~. It is mainly a means of saving mana.

But if you find yourself in a situation where it is resisting cause the mobs you are trying to charm are too high of level for that lower level charm, don't bother anymore. Some camps there are specific mob types you can use a lower level charm on every time and save yourself mana. Its just a matter of getting to know the camp.