*** If you are starting a Iksar PLZ Read ***

[Grobb 1999]

DO NOT TRY TO GRIND YOUR FIRST 10-15 LVL'S on Antonica/Faydwer If this is your first character on the server.

Do not listen to any nonsense that you read or hear that says to "get to "X zone"' (So/No Ro's/Oasis/insert non-kunark zone here)

You are (Iksar) KOS everywhere, with a few merchants who will sell to you at horrible prices. There are no GM's to buy skills/spells and your going to just make those first 15'ish lvls that are rough for every class extremely hard.

You can hit FoB+Kurns Tower (ya I know, I hate those zones too) and be lvl 15-17 in -half- the time it takes you to mess around in EC/South-North Ro/Oasis/any elf zone.

/had to post this after seeing another iksar monk trying to make by in EC.
//somebody save a persons afternoon and sticky this

[Swish]

Iksars should never want to leave Kunark before level 20. Best starting area in the game, and more than likely you've got skills you need to train which is difficult outside of Cabilis :p

[ko37qtl]

Money has always been my motivation for leaving Kunark as an iksar. I need to at least visit where the money is.

[Swish]

I might be wrong, but Kunark mobs drop the most coin? Slow/steady versus getting very little and having to sit at the Nybright camp for bronze weapons (that you'd need to sell at the Steamfont druid rings each time) to make up for it.

A lot of non-iksars make the trip to Field of Bone and bind in the Kaesora ruins, its a good spot :)

[Auchae]

Kunark is where the money is. Kill giants at the fort in WW as soon as you can for the vendor weaps and the chance at forest loops, and then do it all again once they green out in the FM giant fort.

[Kutsumo]

Yeah Kunark coin really isn't that bad. Spider silk and bone chips in FoB/Kurns, then tasty giant loot and forest loops if you follow the WW > FM path. LOIO also has some great loot.

[Pipip]

Having returned to the game just a couple of weeks ago, here is my recent (Warning: long but true) ordeal traveling to the old world as an iksar monk at level 8, attracted by thoughts of money and gear:

1. I farm up a ton of bone chips and spider silks and decide it’s time to get some monk weapons

2. A passing druid offers to port a few of us to WC. I grab all of my stuff. He casts some buffs on us and away we go

3. Everyone just thanks the guy and runs off. I think to myself that this is kind of rude, so I tip the guy, knowing I will soon be selling stuff anyway. Oh, wait, trading with someone breaks invis. Oh, my, the NPCs at the druid ring don’t like me. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

4. I’m back in Cabilis, only now everything I own is on another continent. Panic time. One of my traveling companions manages to get a kindly cleric from EC. He drags my corpse to a safer spot

5. I get my rez, grab my stuff, and head to the EC tunnel, which I only vaguely remember how to get to. I’m running with no SoW and no invis, which is kind of scary now that I’m aware of the consequences

6. The EC tunnel is great. My bone chips and in particular my massive pile of spider silks go quickly. Ooh, I now own a Wu’s Quivering Staff. This was a great idea!

7. I could really use some 1H Blunts. Those Trance Sticks would go great with my staff. What’s that? People pay up to 35 plat for a drop from level 4 bears? Sign me up!

8. I mow down every bear in the zone in seconds with my new staff. Ooh, a High Quality Bear Skin! My dream of a pair of Trance Sticks seems like it will soon be a reality. What’s that noise? I grab the loot from my fallen lowbie mob. That really sounds like flapping in the background. A vague memory of over a decade past stirs… Bam! Dead by a griffon. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

9. I’m naked in Kunark and all of my worldly possessions are again on another continent. I find another non-anonymous cleric eventually, who locates my corpse, drags it to the tunnel and gives me a rez. I’m now becoming vaguely uneasy of the world outside the EC tunnel

10. I ask in /ooc how I get back to Kunark. Someone describes what sounds like a complicated combination of dodging mobs, boat trips, swimming, and more dodging mobs. The thought of dying at sea doesn’t sit well with me. I rule boats out of my immediate future

11. I get a brilliant idea! I’ll shove my stuff in the bank, eat another death, and wind up at my bind point, where I can just make a short walk to the local bank. I ask in /ooc where an iksar can sell and bank. This is met with some laughter. Some kindly soul tells me that selling to a vendor is possible, but banking is rather more difficult. It requires a combination of invisibility, dodging guards, and camera angles. Remembering my last ordeal with invis, I decide this will likely not end well for me and that I am now trapped in the old world

12. But hey, I can sell in this zone? Might as well lighten my load, and inch my way closer to those trance sticks. I decide that the safest place to sell must obviously be closest to Freeport. After all, it’s a noob area, right? I go near the Freeport zone line, go into a hut, and try to sell. The merchant tells me to get lost. So I decide to try the opposite hut. Oh my, there’s a guild master in here. She doesn’t like me. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

13. I’m level 7 again, yay! Separated from all possessions and now on another continent, I have become better at Cleric Locating (3). I get my rez

14. I’m now terrified of going anywhere outside the EC tunnel. I don’t know if I’ll ever leave the tunnel. Those trance sticks will have to wait until I’m a higher level. I see a druid announce that she’s porting people all over. Hey, I got here from a druid, why not just go home with a druid? I tell her that I want to go home, so she tells me the nearest place is Dreadlands. It sounds ominous. I vaguely remember the zone, it’s been over a decade since I was last there. I take the port. She casts levitate and invis on me, and wishes me luck. Only she doesn’t say “Good Luck!” like most people. She says “good luck…” which I take as an ominous portent, but it prompts me to caution. She ports out and I’m now alone, except for an afk druid sitting at the ring.

15. I look up a map of the Dreadlands and plan my route home. I’m looking for Frontier Mountains. At this point, a habit that I’ve developed as an iksar kicks in – I forage for food. It’s a great tool for the cheap. Only I didn’t realize, forage breaks invis. I’m really not good with invis. I ask the afk druid for an invis, but I get no reply.

16. I make my way to the exit tunnel completely exposed and sure that I’m going to die. I remember the comment from the guy who told me how to bank in Freeport, and I’m hugging walls and using camera angles to peek ahead. There’s a yeti there that won’t let me past, but camera work has saved me. I head back out of the tunnel.

17. There’s something that looks like an iksar city on the other side of this clearing. I decide to head there and wait for players. I narrowly miss a skeleton that doesn’t like me. The city isn’t safe

18. I head back to the druid ring. Afk druid is still not responding to my invis requests. Another group ports in. While I explain my situation, the group is already running away, and the druid gates out. I didn’t get the explanation out in time. I decide to make a macro button asking for an invis. I also take the time to level up my Sense Heading skill, since I have nothing better to do

19. Time passes. My sense heading skill is now 120. You could drop me into a dark cave blindfolded and I can tell you which direction I’m facing

20. The original druid comes back with more passengers. I quickly ask for an invis. She seems surprised to see me. I get my invis and I now know to do NOTHING but move. I thank her and tell her I want to tip but it will break my invis. She says she wouldn’t take it anyway. My noobness can apparently be sensed from a mile away. I head out, slip past the yeti in the tunnel, and look for the next zone.

21. My levitate that she had originally cast on me drops, and I realize how useful it was. On the plus side, every broken piece of ground seems to give me a chance to level up my safe fall skill.

22. Wow, zone lines are hard to find in Kunark. I find what looks to lead me into another zone. It’s Burning Woods. Not exactly where I had planned, but I look up the map. Looks like Frontier Mountains should be easy to get to, southeast corner of the zone. I head out, glad for my invis.

23. THAT ZONE CONNECTION IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND. I spend the next 30 minutes or so stumbling around through ridiculous thick trees and I can find nothing. My invis drops and I’m on my own

24. I’ve learned to spam the “Target Nearest Enemy” key to make sure that I’m not in agro range of anything. Everything here can kill me horribly. I eventually find the tiny zone exit buried under some trees high on a wall

25. Frontier Mountains is also way too high for me. I dodge lots of mobs that can’t be seen over the jagged landscape. Levitate would be an awesome spell to have here. Oh yeah, I had levitate and squandered it

26. Lake of Ill Omen at last. I’m so happy that I don’t notice the Marauder slaughtering me. LOADING PLEASE WAIT. At least this time I can drag my own corpse.

27. I decide that I’ll stay in Kunark. I never did get my trance sticks, but Master Wu can take his sticks and shove them where the sun don’t shine

TL/DR version – Leaving Kunark as a young iksar pup will teach you valuable skills, but you’re basically choosing the hardest mode for a game that’s already hard. Kunark has everything you need as an iksar. And gear is overrated at low levels.

Kainor, level 8 (again) Iksar Monk

[Norathorr]

I think had you got someone to bind you up on the wall near fp entrance (clear area for respawning after death) you would have fared better. You would do great and learn to be aware of griffs. Having said this Kunark is great for iksar to level. I would do it till 17ish in kurns. Go to commons to shop. By that point you should be a little more durable and fd should be alot more reliable. I find as a melee or any low level toon traveling anywhere far and not getting a bind ends in tears.

[eqgmrdbz]

Why no one bound you is beyond crazy, i would of looked at you and told you to get a bind, or bound you myself. The game is only as hard as you want it to be, and you made it super hard.

[Swish]

Sometimes it can take shouting in West Freeport for 10 minutes or more to get a bind but people will do it... but still, Kunark is the place to be ;)

[Jimjam]

Your repeated deaths was the game's way of telling you to be in kunark.

[Sorn]

Pipip, I really enjoyed reading that!

The other day, I ran from Firiona Vie to Erudin without SoW (mostly - I got one once but wasted most of it sitting on a boat), Invis, or Levitate, visiting Dagnor's Cauldron and Unrest along the way. Didn't die, but that's because I was a level 20 high elf and have a ton of experience running cross-country through Norrath. I would not try this as an Iksar under 20, especially without a bind somewhere along the way.

In conclusion, the local newbie area is the place to be if you're a newbie and/or can't remember a lot about the game. Never get yourself into more trouble than you can drag your corpse out of. :)

[Voland]

Pipip, That was an excellent caution tale for any young Iksar!

[ko37qtl]

While all Kunark mobs drop coin, it's pretty small potatoes compared to what you can make from selling bone chips, spider/spiderling silks to players or doing turn-ins for greater lightstones. Hanging around in Kunark makes it pretty hard to fill in spells as you level up in my experience. Picking up in the 20s doesn't do any good when it impedes the progress to 20 in the first place.

[jarshale]

Having returned to the game just a couple of weeks ago, here is my recent (Warning: long but true) ordeal traveling to the old world as an iksar monk at level 8, attracted by thoughts of money and gear:

...


This post is so classic. I love it.

[Portasaurus]

Great read!

[ko37qtl]

[snipped]
15. I look up a map of the Dreadlands and plan my route home. I’m looking for Frontier Mountains. At this point, a habit that I’ve developed as an iksar kicks in – I forage for food. It’s a great tool for the cheap. Only I didn’t realize, forage breaks invis. I’m really not good with invis. I ask the afk druid for an invis, but I get no reply.
[snipped

Good story but just in case you haven't figured it out since, foraging doesn't break invis. Invis fades on its own randomly (with a short warning message) as well as being broken by fighting, trading, casting, etc., but you can forage all you like.

It's stuff like this why I don't take rides to places I haven't been on my own yet. I always go the hard way at least the first time.

[Pipip]

Ah, it's my only character with forage, and I got the "you are starting to appear" message immediately after my forage, so I guessed my forage did it. I haven't bothered with invis since then, so good to know

[blondeattk]

`Kill giants at the fort in WW as soon as you can`

thats hardly the starting game....

quite clear this thread is about lvls 1-20.

crushbone is where you make monies at low lvl.[belts/pads] banking is tricky tho for iksar...

I would not want to leave kunark before feign death skill. will just be deeply frustrating!

[Mordyth]

[QUOTE=Pipip;1886288]
She says “good luck…” which I take as an ominous portent, but it prompts me to caution.
QUOTE]

This is brilliant. Iksar leaving kunark without FD (monk and necro) if gonna find it hard.

On the other hand, I shop out of Paineel as heretic faction is pretty easy to get.

[waffel]

As an Iksar Necro, I left for the mainland @ 20. My level 20 summon was only sold in paineel, ogre town, troll town. Dumb. So I run to Overthere and get a port to SRo, run to the swamp, and ask a noob Troll for help. I need him to take my plat, buy my spell, and return it to me. He does! Yay!

But now what? I have all my level 20 spells, I'm on the mainland, might as well make this my home! So I run north, zone, run north, zone, and bind outside Freeport. I decide that I'm going to make the Karana's my home. More specificly, Lake Rathe so I can slaughter birdmen. So I run to EC tunnel, bum a SoW and make my cross country trip. Invis up, maps up on other monitor, I'm ready to go. Long story short, I bind an Arena, and kill aviaks for many levels.

But one lesson I learned during my playtime is this: sometimes (in my case, almost always) exploring for an even better exp spot isn't worth it. Either it's already camped, far away, too high, you die, etc. So, SO MANY TIMES, have I gone to a new exp place, die or find it camped and mumble to myself "I shoulda just stayed where I was..."

[radda]

i left kunark at lvl 8 and didnt return for exp till 40,

http://media.giphy.com/media/v9jyNQKNKNZKM/giphy.gif

[Swish]

i left kunark at lvl 8 and didnt return for exp till 40,

http://media.giphy.com/media/v9jyNQKNKNZKM/giphy.gif

where did you train dual wield etc?

[BahamutDF]

Having returned to the game just a couple of weeks ago, here is my recent (Warning: long but true) ordeal traveling to the old world as an iksar monk at level 8, attracted by thoughts of money and gear:

1. I farm up a ton of bone chips and spider silks and decide it’s time to get some monk weapons

2. A passing druid offers to port a few of us to WC. I grab all of my stuff. He casts some buffs on us and away we go

3. Everyone just thanks the guy and runs off. I think to myself that this is kind of rude, so I tip the guy, knowing I will soon be selling stuff anyway. Oh, wait, trading with someone breaks invis. Oh, my, the NPCs at the druid ring don’t like me. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

4. I’m back in Cabilis, only now everything I own is on another continent. Panic time. One of my traveling companions manages to get a kindly cleric from EC. He drags my corpse to a safer spot

5. I get my rez, grab my stuff, and head to the EC tunnel, which I only vaguely remember how to get to. I’m running with no SoW and no invis, which is kind of scary now that I’m aware of the consequences

6. The EC tunnel is great. My bone chips and in particular my massive pile of spider silks go quickly. Ooh, I now own a Wu’s Quivering Staff. This was a great idea!

7. I could really use some 1H Blunts. Those Trance Sticks would go great with my staff. What’s that? People pay up to 35 plat for a drop from level 4 bears? Sign me up!

8. I mow down every bear in the zone in seconds with my new staff. Ooh, a High Quality Bear Skin! My dream of a pair of Trance Sticks seems like it will soon be a reality. What’s that noise? I grab the loot from my fallen lowbie mob. That really sounds like flapping in the background. A vague memory of over a decade past stirs… Bam! Dead by a griffon. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

9. I’m naked in Kunark and all of my worldly possessions are again on another continent. I find another non-anonymous cleric eventually, who locates my corpse, drags it to the tunnel and gives me a rez. I’m now becoming vaguely uneasy of the world outside the EC tunnel

10. I ask in /ooc how I get back to Kunark. Someone describes what sounds like a complicated combination of dodging mobs, boat trips, swimming, and more dodging mobs. The thought of dying at sea doesn’t sit well with me. I rule boats out of my immediate future

11. I get a brilliant idea! I’ll shove my stuff in the bank, eat another death, and wind up at my bind point, where I can just make a short walk to the local bank. I ask in /ooc where an iksar can sell and bank. This is met with some laughter. Some kindly soul tells me that selling to a vendor is possible, but banking is rather more difficult. It requires a combination of invisibility, dodging guards, and camera angles. Remembering my last ordeal with invis, I decide this will likely not end well for me and that I am now trapped in the old world

12. But hey, I can sell in this zone? Might as well lighten my load, and inch my way closer to those trance sticks. I decide that the safest place to sell must obviously be closest to Freeport. After all, it’s a noob area, right? I go near the Freeport zone line, go into a hut, and try to sell. The merchant tells me to get lost. So I decide to try the opposite hut. Oh my, there’s a guild master in here. She doesn’t like me. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

13. I’m level 7 again, yay! Separated from all possessions and now on another continent, I have become better at Cleric Locating (3). I get my rez

14. I’m now terrified of going anywhere outside the EC tunnel. I don’t know if I’ll ever leave the tunnel. Those trance sticks will have to wait until I’m a higher level. I see a druid announce that she’s porting people all over. Hey, I got here from a druid, why not just go home with a druid? I tell her that I want to go home, so she tells me the nearest place is Dreadlands. It sounds ominous. I vaguely remember the zone, it’s been over a decade since I was last there. I take the port. She casts levitate and invis on me, and wishes me luck. Only she doesn’t say “Good Luck!” like most people. She says “good luck…” which I take as an ominous portent, but it prompts me to caution. She ports out and I’m now alone, except for an afk druid sitting at the ring.

15. I look up a map of the Dreadlands and plan my route home. I’m looking for Frontier Mountains. At this point, a habit that I’ve developed as an iksar kicks in – I forage for food. It’s a great tool for the cheap. Only I didn’t realize, forage breaks invis. I’m really not good with invis. I ask the afk druid for an invis, but I get no reply.

16. I make my way to the exit tunnel completely exposed and sure that I’m going to die. I remember the comment from the guy who told me how to bank in Freeport, and I’m hugging walls and using camera angles to peek ahead. There’s a yeti there that won’t let me past, but camera work has saved me. I head back out of the tunnel.

17. There’s something that looks like an iksar city on the other side of this clearing. I decide to head there and wait for players. I narrowly miss a skeleton that doesn’t like me. The city isn’t safe

18. I head back to the druid ring. Afk druid is still not responding to my invis requests. Another group ports in. While I explain my situation, the group is already running away, and the druid gates out. I didn’t get the explanation out in time. I decide to make a macro button asking for an invis. I also take the time to level up my Sense Heading skill, since I have nothing better to do

19. Time passes. My sense heading skill is now 120. You could drop me into a dark cave blindfolded and I can tell you which direction I’m facing

20. The original druid comes back with more passengers. I quickly ask for an invis. She seems surprised to see me. I get my invis and I now know to do NOTHING but move. I thank her and tell her I want to tip but it will break my invis. She says she wouldn’t take it anyway. My noobness can apparently be sensed from a mile away. I head out, slip past the yeti in the tunnel, and look for the next zone.

21. My levitate that she had originally cast on me drops, and I realize how useful it was. On the plus side, every broken piece of ground seems to give me a chance to level up my safe fall skill.

22. Wow, zone lines are hard to find in Kunark. I find what looks to lead me into another zone. It’s Burning Woods. Not exactly where I had planned, but I look up the map. Looks like Frontier Mountains should be easy to get to, southeast corner of the zone. I head out, glad for my invis.

23. THAT ZONE CONNECTION IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND. I spend the next 30 minutes or so stumbling around through ridiculous thick trees and I can find nothing. My invis drops and I’m on my own

24. I’ve learned to spam the “Target Nearest Enemy” key to make sure that I’m not in agro range of anything. Everything here can kill me horribly. I eventually find the tiny zone exit buried under some trees high on a wall

25. Frontier Mountains is also way too high for me. I dodge lots of mobs that can’t be seen over the jagged landscape. Levitate would be an awesome spell to have here. Oh yeah, I had levitate and squandered it

26. Lake of Ill Omen at last. I’m so happy that I don’t notice the Marauder slaughtering me. LOADING PLEASE WAIT. At least this time I can drag my own corpse.

27. I decide that I’ll stay in Kunark. I never did get my trance sticks, but Master Wu can take his sticks and shove them where the sun don’t shine

TL/DR version – Leaving Kunark as a young iksar pup will teach you valuable skills, but you’re basically choosing the hardest mode for a game that’s already hard. Kunark has everything you need as an iksar. And gear is overrated at low levels.

Kainor, level 8 (again) Iksar Monk

God I love EQ. Almost irrationally so.

[Clark]

EC/Nro/Oasis is best for 3-18. Anyone saying otherwise is a noob.

Nothing better than tunnel buffs man.

[Portasaurus]

Nothing better than tunnel buffs man.

P99 EC tunnel is like the Woodstock of Everquest. Much free love and good feels combined with a pinch of unscrupulous activities.

[Clark]

P99 EC tunnel is like the Woodstock of Everquest. Much free love and good feels combined with a pinch of unscrupulous activities.

:)

[webrunner5]

Sometimes it can take shouting in West Freeport for 10 minutes or more to get a bind but people will do it... but still, Kunark is the place to be ;)

Yeah but Kunark mobs also have a lot more Hit Points and also hit a lot harder than Classic zones. So yeah better loot, but a lot harder to get it lol. :eek:

[ko37qtl]

My iksar shaman had things to sell and left for EC at 9th. I'm both stingy and a bit stubborn, so I did the WW>OT>TD>Oasis>NRO>EC route. I decided to hang around a bit and got a bind so I could hunt while I sold. I treated the path of Sgt. Slate like a busy freeway and looked both ways no matter what and I haven't had any guard trouble.

The only faction-based death I have enountered thus far is trying to sell at the druid rings in WC. I was fully aware that the druids standing nearby hated me but thought I could sidle up close enough to the merchant to sell and not set them off. I know better now. The end was merciless but quick.

I had collected a number of greater lightstones when I wasn't doing orc camps, so I decided to make the run the long way out to North Karana since without an invis, I'd get smashed to a pulp by either halflings or Highpass guards. It turned out to be such a (long) cakewalk that I did it again and stayed for a few levels when I could bind myself (I had already returned to Kunark to buy spells at 14 and to level to 15 to train in dodge). The money was excellent and will cover my spells at least to 19. I'm 16 now and inclined to faction group a bit in Highpass if I can get a group but if it proves too difficult, I may just head home.

[Swish]

Oasis gypsies are another selling option if you need one ^^

[natx808]

great post really enjoyed reading it:D

[ko37qtl]

Oasis gypsies are another selling option if you need one ^^

I was using them while I was in the area. Unfortunately, they don't have anything to do with lightstones and the dark elves in SRO won't do it if you're apprehensive.

[Grobb 1999]

EC/Nro/Oasis is best for 3-18. Anyone saying otherwise is a noob.

Nothing better than tunnel buffs man.

Every single newbie dungeon is better then EC/Nro/Oasis. At 11-15 killing beetles solo in Unrest you can count the time in minutes between lvls

[Swish]

Not sure if its a quirky ZEM, but Steamfont outside the minotaur cave killing harpies etc is a great/fast spot at 11-15.

[Jimjam]

Every single newbie dungeon is better then EC/Nro/Oasis. At 11-15 killing beetles solo in Unrest you can count the time in minutes between lvlsSome can't survive the early levels without being twinked/buff to hell.

;)

Just kidding, of course it helps them fly by if you want to 'skip' that period.

[Krule]

Having returned to the game just a couple of weeks ago, here is my recent (Warning: long but true) ordeal traveling to the old world as an iksar monk at level 8, attracted by thoughts of money and gear:

1. I farm up a ton of bone chips and spider silks and decide it’s time to get some monk weapons

2. A passing druid offers to port a few of us to WC. I grab all of my stuff. He casts some buffs on us and away we go

3. Everyone just thanks the guy and runs off. I think to myself that this is kind of rude, so I tip the guy, knowing I will soon be selling stuff anyway. Oh, wait, trading with someone breaks invis. Oh, my, the NPCs at the druid ring don’t like me. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

4. I’m back in Cabilis, only now everything I own is on another continent. Panic time. One of my traveling companions manages to get a kindly cleric from EC. He drags my corpse to a safer spot

5. I get my rez, grab my stuff, and head to the EC tunnel, which I only vaguely remember how to get to. I’m running with no SoW and no invis, which is kind of scary now that I’m aware of the consequences

6. The EC tunnel is great. My bone chips and in particular my massive pile of spider silks go quickly. Ooh, I now own a Wu’s Quivering Staff. This was a great idea!

7. I could really use some 1H Blunts. Those Trance Sticks would go great with my staff. What’s that? People pay up to 35 plat for a drop from level 4 bears? Sign me up!

8. I mow down every bear in the zone in seconds with my new staff. Ooh, a High Quality Bear Skin! My dream of a pair of Trance Sticks seems like it will soon be a reality. What’s that noise? I grab the loot from my fallen lowbie mob. That really sounds like flapping in the background. A vague memory of over a decade past stirs… Bam! Dead by a griffon. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

9. I’m naked in Kunark and all of my worldly possessions are again on another continent. I find another non-anonymous cleric eventually, who locates my corpse, drags it to the tunnel and gives me a rez. I’m now becoming vaguely uneasy of the world outside the EC tunnel

10. I ask in /ooc how I get back to Kunark. Someone describes what sounds like a complicated combination of dodging mobs, boat trips, swimming, and more dodging mobs. The thought of dying at sea doesn’t sit well with me. I rule boats out of my immediate future

11. I get a brilliant idea! I’ll shove my stuff in the bank, eat another death, and wind up at my bind point, where I can just make a short walk to the local bank. I ask in /ooc where an iksar can sell and bank. This is met with some laughter. Some kindly soul tells me that selling to a vendor is possible, but banking is rather more difficult. It requires a combination of invisibility, dodging guards, and camera angles. Remembering my last ordeal with invis, I decide this will likely not end well for me and that I am now trapped in the old world

12. But hey, I can sell in this zone? Might as well lighten my load, and inch my way closer to those trance sticks. I decide that the safest place to sell must obviously be closest to Freeport. After all, it’s a noob area, right? I go near the Freeport zone line, go into a hut, and try to sell. The merchant tells me to get lost. So I decide to try the opposite hut. Oh my, there’s a guild master in here. She doesn’t like me. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

13. I’m level 7 again, yay! Separated from all possessions and now on another continent, I have become better at Cleric Locating (3). I get my rez

14. I’m now terrified of going anywhere outside the EC tunnel. I don’t know if I’ll ever leave the tunnel. Those trance sticks will have to wait until I’m a higher level. I see a druid announce that she’s porting people all over. Hey, I got here from a druid, why not just go home with a druid? I tell her that I want to go home, so she tells me the nearest place is Dreadlands. It sounds ominous. I vaguely remember the zone, it’s been over a decade since I was last there. I take the port. She casts levitate and invis on me, and wishes me luck. Only she doesn’t say “Good Luck!” like most people. She says “good luck…” which I take as an ominous portent, but it prompts me to caution. She ports out and I’m now alone, except for an afk druid sitting at the ring.

15. I look up a map of the Dreadlands and plan my route home. I’m looking for Frontier Mountains. At this point, a habit that I’ve developed as an iksar kicks in – I forage for food. It’s a great tool for the cheap. Only I didn’t realize, forage breaks invis. I’m really not good with invis. I ask the afk druid for an invis, but I get no reply.

16. I make my way to the exit tunnel completely exposed and sure that I’m going to die. I remember the comment from the guy who told me how to bank in Freeport, and I’m hugging walls and using camera angles to peek ahead. There’s a yeti there that won’t let me past, but camera work has saved me. I head back out of the tunnel.

17. There’s something that looks like an iksar city on the other side of this clearing. I decide to head there and wait for players. I narrowly miss a skeleton that doesn’t like me. The city isn’t safe

18. I head back to the druid ring. Afk druid is still not responding to my invis requests. Another group ports in. While I explain my situation, the group is already running away, and the druid gates out. I didn’t get the explanation out in time. I decide to make a macro button asking for an invis. I also take the time to level up my Sense Heading skill, since I have nothing better to do

19. Time passes. My sense heading skill is now 120. You could drop me into a dark cave blindfolded and I can tell you which direction I’m facing

20. The original druid comes back with more passengers. I quickly ask for an invis. She seems surprised to see me. I get my invis and I now know to do NOTHING but move. I thank her and tell her I want to tip but it will break my invis. She says she wouldn’t take it anyway. My noobness can apparently be sensed from a mile away. I head out, slip past the yeti in the tunnel, and look for the next zone.

21. My levitate that she had originally cast on me drops, and I realize how useful it was. On the plus side, every broken piece of ground seems to give me a chance to level up my safe fall skill.

22. Wow, zone lines are hard to find in Kunark. I find what looks to lead me into another zone. It’s Burning Woods. Not exactly where I had planned, but I look up the map. Looks like Frontier Mountains should be easy to get to, southeast corner of the zone. I head out, glad for my invis.

23. THAT ZONE CONNECTION IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND. I spend the next 30 minutes or so stumbling around through ridiculous thick trees and I can find nothing. My invis drops and I’m on my own

24. I’ve learned to spam the “Target Nearest Enemy” key to make sure that I’m not in agro range of anything. Everything here can kill me horribly. I eventually find the tiny zone exit buried under some trees high on a wall

25. Frontier Mountains is also way too high for me. I dodge lots of mobs that can’t be seen over the jagged landscape. Levitate would be an awesome spell to have here. Oh yeah, I had levitate and squandered it

26. Lake of Ill Omen at last. I’m so happy that I don’t notice the Marauder slaughtering me. LOADING PLEASE WAIT. At least this time I can drag my own corpse.

27. I decide that I’ll stay in Kunark. I never did get my trance sticks, but Master Wu can take his sticks and shove them where the sun don’t shine

TL/DR version – Leaving Kunark as a young iksar pup will teach you valuable skills, but you’re basically choosing the hardest mode for a game that’s already hard. Kunark has everything you need as an iksar. And gear is overrated at low levels.

Kainor, level 8 (again) Iksar Monk

This is quite possibly the most hilarious post I've ever read.

On a related note, I had the same thought as a Shaman -to possibly leave Kunark - but I thought about all the things that could go wrong. It's been a nice safe journey so far in Kunark. If your on Red hit up Rodarin, my shaman.

[slowpoke68]

This was a great post. Thanks for taking the time to write it up :)

[Bboboo]

I agree you should stay in Kunark for as long as possible. Field of Bone and Kurns tower is easily the best leveling spot in the game 1-22 imo. However that's never going to stop your average level 7 Monk wanting to venture over to the soft skins land of Antonica. So here's a few travel tips.

Getting a port to WC can be done one of two ways.

1) From West Cabilis zone into Warsliks Woods and follow the zone wall left to get to The Overthere. Once in The Overthere take the zone wall left again until you reach the opposite side of the map until you are at the Skyfire Zone Line. There is a ramp leading up to that zone and is referred to as 'SF Ramp'. There is always Druids and Wizards porting at this location, a lot of them bind themselves at this location because it is a high traffic area. This is moderately dangerous trip. I took this route on a freshly made level 1 Iksar to see if it could be done and it can. If you end up dying it wont be hard to locate your corpse.

2) This method is a little bit more dangerous. While in Field of Bone, zone up to Emerald Jungle. This is a high level zone so take caution, however mobs are a little spread out with the path you will be taking. Once in Emerald Jungle you will want to get to the bottom of the map along the zone wall. [See Map] (http://i.imgur.com/i2QsXZQ.jpg) You can take the red path on foot, or you can get a level 14+ Shaman to levitate you (levitate requires a batwing which can be found in Field of Bone off the merchants outside of Cabilis). The reason for levitate is because there is a giant fall off, fuck you, cliff in which you will die if you decide to jump off it with no levitate. The reason for heading to this location is because this is where Druids will zone in from one of their Kunark Evac Spells, Winds of the South. Also this spell can only be cast while in Kunark Dungeons. The exact zone in point is -3100, 3500, however mobs will path across this location so be up along the zone wall. A Druid can find you on track from the zone in point if you are up against the wall anyway. You can either wait for a Druid to port in or do a /who all karnor and ask if any Druids there can pick you up.

One thing I do not advise doing is sitting in Field of Bone and asking random Druids/Wizards to come get you. I don't recommend starting off on this server expecting free handouts.

One final thing you can do (but will take a small amount time) is get an Enchanter to level 4. At level 4 you will get Invisibility and Gate. Ideally make the enchanter a human or anyone that can start in Freeport. This enchanter will be your EC whore and getting said whore to Cabilis is super easy and safe. When you're in EC find a Necromancer, and get him to buff you with Dead Man Floating. Also if you can get a Spirit of Wolf cool, but not needed. From EC Tunnel make your way to North Ro, then Oasis. Head to the Oasis Docks and wait for a raft. Once you zone over into Timorous Deep, take a look at the island ahead of you then do about a 90º-125º turn to your right until you hit the zone wall, this is where Dead Man Floating comes in handy, not having to swim. Follow this zone wall all the way down to the corner of the map. You will eventually see the top of Wizard Spires sticking out of the water (http://wiki.project1999.com/images/Fireports01.jpg), head over to the Spires and go underwater, there will be a square hole that you will go into.

This is called the Firepot Room (number 13 on the Wiki Map). Clicking on any of the torches in this room will teleport you to the torches represented city. Clicking on the Cabilis Torch will take you to West Cabilis at the Lake of Ill Omen zone line. Invis up and find a nice spot to do a drop transfer. Once completed you can gate back to Freeport and sell/buy stuff for your Iksar. To give you Iksar the items you bought in the tunnel, just make the same trip back and do another ground transfer. A little work, but aside from tunnel buffs you can do this all by yourself. Also in doing this, if you get bored of the tunnel you can just log back to your Iksar and continue leveling.

[Morlaeth]

Having returned to the game just a couple of weeks ago, here is my recent (Warning: long but true) ordeal traveling to the old world as an iksar monk at level 8, attracted by thoughts of money and gear:

1. I farm up a ton of bone chips and spider silks and decide it’s time to get some monk weapons

2. A passing druid offers to port a few of us to WC. I grab all of my stuff. He casts some buffs on us and away we go

3. Everyone just thanks the guy and runs off. I think to myself that this is kind of rude, so I tip the guy, knowing I will soon be selling stuff anyway. Oh, wait, trading with someone breaks invis. Oh, my, the NPCs at the druid ring don’t like me. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

4. I’m back in Cabilis, only now everything I own is on another continent. Panic time. One of my traveling companions manages to get a kindly cleric from EC. He drags my corpse to a safer spot

5. I get my rez, grab my stuff, and head to the EC tunnel, which I only vaguely remember how to get to. I’m running with no SoW and no invis, which is kind of scary now that I’m aware of the consequences

6. The EC tunnel is great. My bone chips and in particular my massive pile of spider silks go quickly. Ooh, I now own a Wu’s Quivering Staff. This was a great idea!

7. I could really use some 1H Blunts. Those Trance Sticks would go great with my staff. What’s that? People pay up to 35 plat for a drop from level 4 bears? Sign me up!

8. I mow down every bear in the zone in seconds with my new staff. Ooh, a High Quality Bear Skin! My dream of a pair of Trance Sticks seems like it will soon be a reality. What’s that noise? I grab the loot from my fallen lowbie mob. That really sounds like flapping in the background. A vague memory of over a decade past stirs… Bam! Dead by a griffon. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

9. I’m naked in Kunark and all of my worldly possessions are again on another continent. I find another non-anonymous cleric eventually, who locates my corpse, drags it to the tunnel and gives me a rez. I’m now becoming vaguely uneasy of the world outside the EC tunnel

10. I ask in /ooc how I get back to Kunark. Someone describes what sounds like a complicated combination of dodging mobs, boat trips, swimming, and more dodging mobs. The thought of dying at sea doesn’t sit well with me. I rule boats out of my immediate future

11. I get a brilliant idea! I’ll shove my stuff in the bank, eat another death, and wind up at my bind point, where I can just make a short walk to the local bank. I ask in /ooc where an iksar can sell and bank. This is met with some laughter. Some kindly soul tells me that selling to a vendor is possible, but banking is rather more difficult. It requires a combination of invisibility, dodging guards, and camera angles. Remembering my last ordeal with invis, I decide this will likely not end well for me and that I am now trapped in the old world

12. But hey, I can sell in this zone? Might as well lighten my load, and inch my way closer to those trance sticks. I decide that the safest place to sell must obviously be closest to Freeport. After all, it’s a noob area, right? I go near the Freeport zone line, go into a hut, and try to sell. The merchant tells me to get lost. So I decide to try the opposite hut. Oh my, there’s a guild master in here. She doesn’t like me. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

13. I’m level 7 again, yay! Separated from all possessions and now on another continent, I have become better at Cleric Locating (3). I get my rez

14. I’m now terrified of going anywhere outside the EC tunnel. I don’t know if I’ll ever leave the tunnel. Those trance sticks will have to wait until I’m a higher level. I see a druid announce that she’s porting people all over. Hey, I got here from a druid, why not just go home with a druid? I tell her that I want to go home, so she tells me the nearest place is Dreadlands. It sounds ominous. I vaguely remember the zone, it’s been over a decade since I was last there. I take the port. She casts levitate and invis on me, and wishes me luck. Only she doesn’t say “Good Luck!” like most people. She says “good luck…” which I take as an ominous portent, but it prompts me to caution. She ports out and I’m now alone, except for an afk druid sitting at the ring.

15. I look up a map of the Dreadlands and plan my route home. I’m looking for Frontier Mountains. At this point, a habit that I’ve developed as an iksar kicks in – I forage for food. It’s a great tool for the cheap. Only I didn’t realize, forage breaks invis. I’m really not good with invis. I ask the afk druid for an invis, but I get no reply.

16. I make my way to the exit tunnel completely exposed and sure that I’m going to die. I remember the comment from the guy who told me how to bank in Freeport, and I’m hugging walls and using camera angles to peek ahead. There’s a yeti there that won’t let me past, but camera work has saved me. I head back out of the tunnel.

17. There’s something that looks like an iksar city on the other side of this clearing. I decide to head there and wait for players. I narrowly miss a skeleton that doesn’t like me. The city isn’t safe

18. I head back to the druid ring. Afk druid is still not responding to my invis requests. Another group ports in. While I explain my situation, the group is already running away, and the druid gates out. I didn’t get the explanation out in time. I decide to make a macro button asking for an invis. I also take the time to level up my Sense Heading skill, since I have nothing better to do

19. Time passes. My sense heading skill is now 120. You could drop me into a dark cave blindfolded and I can tell you which direction I’m facing

20. The original druid comes back with more passengers. I quickly ask for an invis. She seems surprised to see me. I get my invis and I now know to do NOTHING but move. I thank her and tell her I want to tip but it will break my invis. She says she wouldn’t take it anyway. My noobness can apparently be sensed from a mile away. I head out, slip past the yeti in the tunnel, and look for the next zone.

21. My levitate that she had originally cast on me drops, and I realize how useful it was. On the plus side, every broken piece of ground seems to give me a chance to level up my safe fall skill.

22. Wow, zone lines are hard to find in Kunark. I find what looks to lead me into another zone. It’s Burning Woods. Not exactly where I had planned, but I look up the map. Looks like Frontier Mountains should be easy to get to, southeast corner of the zone. I head out, glad for my invis.

23. THAT ZONE CONNECTION IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND. I spend the next 30 minutes or so stumbling around through ridiculous thick trees and I can find nothing. My invis drops and I’m on my own

24. I’ve learned to spam the “Target Nearest Enemy” key to make sure that I’m not in agro range of anything. Everything here can kill me horribly. I eventually find the tiny zone exit buried under some trees high on a wall

25. Frontier Mountains is also way too high for me. I dodge lots of mobs that can’t be seen over the jagged landscape. Levitate would be an awesome spell to have here. Oh yeah, I had levitate and squandered it

26. Lake of Ill Omen at last. I’m so happy that I don’t notice the Marauder slaughtering me. LOADING PLEASE WAIT. At least this time I can drag my own corpse.

27. I decide that I’ll stay in Kunark. I never did get my trance sticks, but Master Wu can take his sticks and shove them where the sun don’t shine

TL/DR version – Leaving Kunark as a young iksar pup will teach you valuable skills, but you’re basically choosing the hardest mode for a game that’s already hard. Kunark has everything you need as an iksar. And gear is overrated at low levels.

Kainor, level 8 (again) Iksar Monk

+1

[Kutsumo]

I do constantly find myself falling into the usual min/maxing gaming style that I've gotten used to over the years. That side of me says that an Iksar should stay in Kunark until you can either afford your spells for many levels ahead or don't need to train there anymore, because efficiency.

However, I read the stories above and remember that many of my best experiences in this game were a result of being adventurous. I'll try not to discourage newbies to travel if they want to travel. What better way to learn the dangers than experiencing them?

[Big_Japan]

Having returned to the game just a couple of weeks ago, here is my recent (Warning: long but true) ordeal traveling to the old world as an iksar monk at level 8, attracted by thoughts of money and gear:

1. I farm up a ton of bone chips and spider silks and decide it’s time to get some monk weapons

2. A passing druid offers to port a few of us to WC. I grab all of my stuff. He casts some buffs on us and away we go

3. Everyone just thanks the guy and runs off. I think to myself that this is kind of rude, so I tip the guy, knowing I will soon be selling stuff anyway. Oh, wait, trading with someone breaks invis. Oh, my, the NPCs at the druid ring don’t like me. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

4. I’m back in Cabilis, only now everything I own is on another continent. Panic time. One of my traveling companions manages to get a kindly cleric from EC. He drags my corpse to a safer spot

5. I get my rez, grab my stuff, and head to the EC tunnel, which I only vaguely remember how to get to. I’m running with no SoW and no invis, which is kind of scary now that I’m aware of the consequences

6. The EC tunnel is great. My bone chips and in particular my massive pile of spider silks go quickly. Ooh, I now own a Wu’s Quivering Staff. This was a great idea!

7. I could really use some 1H Blunts. Those Trance Sticks would go great with my staff. What’s that? People pay up to 35 plat for a drop from level 4 bears? Sign me up!

8. I mow down every bear in the zone in seconds with my new staff. Ooh, a High Quality Bear Skin! My dream of a pair of Trance Sticks seems like it will soon be a reality. What’s that noise? I grab the loot from my fallen lowbie mob. That really sounds like flapping in the background. A vague memory of over a decade past stirs… Bam! Dead by a griffon. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

9. I’m naked in Kunark and all of my worldly possessions are again on another continent. I find another non-anonymous cleric eventually, who locates my corpse, drags it to the tunnel and gives me a rez. I’m now becoming vaguely uneasy of the world outside the EC tunnel

10. I ask in /ooc how I get back to Kunark. Someone describes what sounds like a complicated combination of dodging mobs, boat trips, swimming, and more dodging mobs. The thought of dying at sea doesn’t sit well with me. I rule boats out of my immediate future

11. I get a brilliant idea! I’ll shove my stuff in the bank, eat another death, and wind up at my bind point, where I can just make a short walk to the local bank. I ask in /ooc where an iksar can sell and bank. This is met with some laughter. Some kindly soul tells me that selling to a vendor is possible, but banking is rather more difficult. It requires a combination of invisibility, dodging guards, and camera angles. Remembering my last ordeal with invis, I decide this will likely not end well for me and that I am now trapped in the old world

12. But hey, I can sell in this zone? Might as well lighten my load, and inch my way closer to those trance sticks. I decide that the safest place to sell must obviously be closest to Freeport. After all, it’s a noob area, right? I go near the Freeport zone line, go into a hut, and try to sell. The merchant tells me to get lost. So I decide to try the opposite hut. Oh my, there’s a guild master in here. She doesn’t like me. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

13. I’m level 7 again, yay! Separated from all possessions and now on another continent, I have become better at Cleric Locating (3). I get my rez

14. I’m now terrified of going anywhere outside the EC tunnel. I don’t know if I’ll ever leave the tunnel. Those trance sticks will have to wait until I’m a higher level. I see a druid announce that she’s porting people all over. Hey, I got here from a druid, why not just go home with a druid? I tell her that I want to go home, so she tells me the nearest place is Dreadlands. It sounds ominous. I vaguely remember the zone, it’s been over a decade since I was last there. I take the port. She casts levitate and invis on me, and wishes me luck. Only she doesn’t say “Good Luck!” like most people. She says “good luck…” which I take as an ominous portent, but it prompts me to caution. She ports out and I’m now alone, except for an afk druid sitting at the ring.

15. I look up a map of the Dreadlands and plan my route home. I’m looking for Frontier Mountains. At this point, a habit that I’ve developed as an iksar kicks in – I forage for food. It’s a great tool for the cheap. Only I didn’t realize, forage breaks invis. I’m really not good with invis. I ask the afk druid for an invis, but I get no reply.

16. I make my way to the exit tunnel completely exposed and sure that I’m going to die. I remember the comment from the guy who told me how to bank in Freeport, and I’m hugging walls and using camera angles to peek ahead. There’s a yeti there that won’t let me past, but camera work has saved me. I head back out of the tunnel.

17. There’s something that looks like an iksar city on the other side of this clearing. I decide to head there and wait for players. I narrowly miss a skeleton that doesn’t like me. The city isn’t safe

18. I head back to the druid ring. Afk druid is still not responding to my invis requests. Another group ports in. While I explain my situation, the group is already running away, and the druid gates out. I didn’t get the explanation out in time. I decide to make a macro button asking for an invis. I also take the time to level up my Sense Heading skill, since I have nothing better to do

19. Time passes. My sense heading skill is now 120. You could drop me into a dark cave blindfolded and I can tell you which direction I’m facing

20. The original druid comes back with more passengers. I quickly ask for an invis. She seems surprised to see me. I get my invis and I now know to do NOTHING but move. I thank her and tell her I want to tip but it will break my invis. She says she wouldn’t take it anyway. My noobness can apparently be sensed from a mile away. I head out, slip past the yeti in the tunnel, and look for the next zone.

21. My levitate that she had originally cast on me drops, and I realize how useful it was. On the plus side, every broken piece of ground seems to give me a chance to level up my safe fall skill.

22. Wow, zone lines are hard to find in Kunark. I find what looks to lead me into another zone. It’s Burning Woods. Not exactly where I had planned, but I look up the map. Looks like Frontier Mountains should be easy to get to, southeast corner of the zone. I head out, glad for my invis.

23. THAT ZONE CONNECTION IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND. I spend the next 30 minutes or so stumbling around through ridiculous thick trees and I can find nothing. My invis drops and I’m on my own

24. I’ve learned to spam the “Target Nearest Enemy” key to make sure that I’m not in agro range of anything. Everything here can kill me horribly. I eventually find the tiny zone exit buried under some trees high on a wall

25. Frontier Mountains is also way too high for me. I dodge lots of mobs that can’t be seen over the jagged landscape. Levitate would be an awesome spell to have here. Oh yeah, I had levitate and squandered it

26. Lake of Ill Omen at last. I’m so happy that I don’t notice the Marauder slaughtering me. LOADING PLEASE WAIT. At least this time I can drag my own corpse.

27. I decide that I’ll stay in Kunark. I never did get my trance sticks, but Master Wu can take his sticks and shove them where the sun don’t shine

TL/DR version – Leaving Kunark as a young iksar pup will teach you valuable skills, but you’re basically choosing the hardest mode for a game that’s already hard. Kunark has everything you need as an iksar. And gear is overrated at low levels.

Kainor, level 8 (again) Iksar Monk

get a bind silly. the only necessary hard part is no vendor/trainer and kos guards

[Thana8088]

Having returned to the game just a couple of weeks ago, here is my recent (Warning: long but true) ordeal traveling to the old world as an iksar monk at level 8, attracted by thoughts of money and gear:

1. I farm up a ton of bone chips and spider silks and decide it’s time to get some monk weapons

2. A passing druid offers to port a few of us to WC. I grab all of my stuff. He casts some buffs on us and away we go

3. Everyone just thanks the guy and runs off. I think to myself that this is kind of rude, so I tip the guy, knowing I will soon be selling stuff anyway. Oh, wait, trading with someone breaks invis. Oh, my, the NPCs at the druid ring don’t like me. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

4. I’m back in Cabilis, only now everything I own is on another continent. Panic time. One of my traveling companions manages to get a kindly cleric from EC. He drags my corpse to a safer spot

5. I get my rez, grab my stuff, and head to the EC tunnel, which I only vaguely remember how to get to. I’m running with no SoW and no invis, which is kind of scary now that I’m aware of the consequences

6. The EC tunnel is great. My bone chips and in particular my massive pile of spider silks go quickly. Ooh, I now own a Wu’s Quivering Staff. This was a great idea!

7. I could really use some 1H Blunts. Those Trance Sticks would go great with my staff. What’s that? People pay up to 35 plat for a drop from level 4 bears? Sign me up!

8. I mow down every bear in the zone in seconds with my new staff. Ooh, a High Quality Bear Skin! My dream of a pair of Trance Sticks seems like it will soon be a reality. What’s that noise? I grab the loot from my fallen lowbie mob. That really sounds like flapping in the background. A vague memory of over a decade past stirs… Bam! Dead by a griffon. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

9. I’m naked in Kunark and all of my worldly possessions are again on another continent. I find another non-anonymous cleric eventually, who locates my corpse, drags it to the tunnel and gives me a rez. I’m now becoming vaguely uneasy of the world outside the EC tunnel

10. I ask in /ooc how I get back to Kunark. Someone describes what sounds like a complicated combination of dodging mobs, boat trips, swimming, and more dodging mobs. The thought of dying at sea doesn’t sit well with me. I rule boats out of my immediate future

11. I get a brilliant idea! I’ll shove my stuff in the bank, eat another death, and wind up at my bind point, where I can just make a short walk to the local bank. I ask in /ooc where an iksar can sell and bank. This is met with some laughter. Some kindly soul tells me that selling to a vendor is possible, but banking is rather more difficult. It requires a combination of invisibility, dodging guards, and camera angles. Remembering my last ordeal with invis, I decide this will likely not end well for me and that I am now trapped in the old world

12. But hey, I can sell in this zone? Might as well lighten my load, and inch my way closer to those trance sticks. I decide that the safest place to sell must obviously be closest to Freeport. After all, it’s a noob area, right? I go near the Freeport zone line, go into a hut, and try to sell. The merchant tells me to get lost. So I decide to try the opposite hut. Oh my, there’s a guild master in here. She doesn’t like me. LOADING, PLEASE WAIT

13. I’m level 7 again, yay! Separated from all possessions and now on another continent, I have become better at Cleric Locating (3). I get my rez

14. I’m now terrified of going anywhere outside the EC tunnel. I don’t know if I’ll ever leave the tunnel. Those trance sticks will have to wait until I’m a higher level. I see a druid announce that she’s porting people all over. Hey, I got here from a druid, why not just go home with a druid? I tell her that I want to go home, so she tells me the nearest place is Dreadlands. It sounds ominous. I vaguely remember the zone, it’s been over a decade since I was last there. I take the port. She casts levitate and invis on me, and wishes me luck. Only she doesn’t say “Good Luck!” like most people. She says “good luck…” which I take as an ominous portent, but it prompts me to caution. She ports out and I’m now alone, except for an afk druid sitting at the ring.

15. I look up a map of the Dreadlands and plan my route home. I’m looking for Frontier Mountains. At this point, a habit that I’ve developed as an iksar kicks in – I forage for food. It’s a great tool for the cheap. Only I didn’t realize, forage breaks invis. I’m really not good with invis. I ask the afk druid for an invis, but I get no reply.

16. I make my way to the exit tunnel completely exposed and sure that I’m going to die. I remember the comment from the guy who told me how to bank in Freeport, and I’m hugging walls and using camera angles to peek ahead. There’s a yeti there that won’t let me past, but camera work has saved me. I head back out of the tunnel.

17. There’s something that looks like an iksar city on the other side of this clearing. I decide to head there and wait for players. I narrowly miss a skeleton that doesn’t like me. The city isn’t safe

18. I head back to the druid ring. Afk druid is still not responding to my invis requests. Another group ports in. While I explain my situation, the group is already running away, and the druid gates out. I didn’t get the explanation out in time. I decide to make a macro button asking for an invis. I also take the time to level up my Sense Heading skill, since I have nothing better to do

19. Time passes. My sense heading skill is now 120. You could drop me into a dark cave blindfolded and I can tell you which direction I’m facing

20. The original druid comes back with more passengers. I quickly ask for an invis. She seems surprised to see me. I get my invis and I now know to do NOTHING but move. I thank her and tell her I want to tip but it will break my invis. She says she wouldn’t take it anyway. My noobness can apparently be sensed from a mile away. I head out, slip past the yeti in the tunnel, and look for the next zone.

21. My levitate that she had originally cast on me drops, and I realize how useful it was. On the plus side, every broken piece of ground seems to give me a chance to level up my safe fall skill.

22. Wow, zone lines are hard to find in Kunark. I find what looks to lead me into another zone. It’s Burning Woods. Not exactly where I had planned, but I look up the map. Looks like Frontier Mountains should be easy to get to, southeast corner of the zone. I head out, glad for my invis.

23. THAT ZONE CONNECTION IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND. I spend the next 30 minutes or so stumbling around through ridiculous thick trees and I can find nothing. My invis drops and I’m on my own

24. I’ve learned to spam the “Target Nearest Enemy” key to make sure that I’m not in agro range of anything. Everything here can kill me horribly. I eventually find the tiny zone exit buried under some trees high on a wall

25. Frontier Mountains is also way too high for me. I dodge lots of mobs that can’t be seen over the jagged landscape. Levitate would be an awesome spell to have here. Oh yeah, I had levitate and squandered it

26. Lake of Ill Omen at last. I’m so happy that I don’t notice the Marauder slaughtering me. LOADING PLEASE WAIT. At least this time I can drag my own corpse.

27. I decide that I’ll stay in Kunark. I never did get my trance sticks, but Master Wu can take his sticks and shove them where the sun don’t shine

TL/DR version – Leaving Kunark as a young iksar pup will teach you valuable skills, but you’re basically choosing the hardest mode for a game that’s already hard. Kunark has everything you need as an iksar. And gear is overrated at low levels.

Kainor, level 8 (again) Iksar Monk


This is brilliant! :)

When can we expect another installment??

/tunes in