Advice on +mana gear for Druid quading

[nephritus]

Hello :)

Im "relatively" green on p99.

So i just got my druid to 34 recently and have my first AEDD lightning spell. I would like to teach myself how to quad. However, im concerned that my mana pool of 1190ish might not be enough. Since ive never done this kind of kiting before i may be over looking some gear aspect i don't know about. Please feel free to enlighten me.

suggestions on mana+ gear and or quading in general?

[Lhancelot]

Firstly, if you have limited resources consider rerolling if you picked half elf as your starting race. Half elves start with 15 less wisdom than the next lowest being humans. Might not sound like much, but it is for a long time, especially if you won't be raiding much.

I know people say race choice is purely for aesthetics, but with certain classes some races do have substantial advantages/disadvantages. Just something to consider.

Basically the common advice given is to try to reach 200 wisdom. Once you have 200 wisdom, aim for raw mana items as you reach a diminishing return point with wisdom once you are over 200.

Buy cheap wisdom items, paw of opolla, charred guardian shield, golem tear ring, othmir fur cap, etc.

When it comes to quadding, not only do you worry about your mana pool, you also pick mobs that have lower hps, and you try to keep mobs with the same run speed. This is pretty obvious, but figure I mention it.

Example, Don't grab two beetles and two humanoids, the beetles will run much slower and mess up your quad. :p

Don't quad casting mobs.

[Auchae]

Well i can make a couple of suggestions off the top of my head if youre missing some of these cheap pieces.. Moonstone rings are 30 mana each. Not sure how that compares to the wis ring at that level but may be negligible. The black sapphire jewlecrafted earrings are 35 mana each. Black sapphire necklace is 55 or 65 mana depending on the amount of plat you want to spend on something like that. Platinum Tiara from Lguk is 50 mana. Obulus death shroud has 3 wis and 25 mana from sebilis. Withered leather armor pieces have mana and wisdom on them i believe. That drops in the hole. Hope that helps a little. Can also check the wiki for gear references. Its quick and easy. A luminescent staff really makes quadding efficient though so once that is useable you should snag one.

[Gumbo]

Some can say I'm wrong but you shouldn't worry about quadding until you reach your mid 40's... I would suggest level 46 so you can get the Luminescent Staff and use the Lightning Strike spell that comes with it.

[nephritus]

i guess knowing a few things about the char might be helpfull.

hese a halfling druid and i used the recommend point allocation on the wiki [25 to Wisdom, 5 to Stamina] if i recall.

CURRENT WIS =160

my current rings 2x Plat Jasp Rings, +6wis
my current earrings 2x earring of magic reflect 1ac, 5SV mag

Arms, neck and legs could use replacement. drake hide sleeves, splitpaw neck, and carrion bettle legs.

Think i recall reading something i read tonight about 1point of wis being 6 points of mana at like lvl30 or something like that. So replacing the rings 12wis = apprrox 72 mana with two rings = to +60 mana might not be the best. I can see what you mean Auchae and ill look up some of those drops you mentioned. I searched the jewelry craft section by stat earlier to see whats out there and most of the above 35+mana stuffs are pretty spendy...for my budget atm.

looks like i should be replacing earrings and body gear that has no WIS with gear that has WIS? cause at my lvl or the levels im approaching WIS is more benefit then +mana until i reach 200 WIS. At least thats my takeaway atm. If im missing the mark, please sit the weeee halfling down and and share a pickle or two.

Lhance thank you for your tips on choosing the right mobs, had not considered that i need two mobs of very similar running speeds...seems critical

[Lhancelot]

Cone of the Mystics is cheap, giant scale mail arms if you can use or platinum armband both give 3wisdom, gator scale legs, othmir fur caps have 6 wis, forest loops you could farm for ears, block cutter gloves, or split paw gloves are cheap wis gloves, bone chipped bracelets have 5 wisdom you might be able to farm them, for face buy the 7 wis/7str jewelcrafted veil it's fairly cheap, burynai boots are ultra cheap for wisdom, braided ivy cords for shoulders is 5 wis, and amulet of blade turning is 6 wis for neck... Some things I can think of off the top of my head that are cheap.

[Auchae]

160 wis is not too bad. I think my untwink 29 ench sits at around 160 int and charisma buffed so were right around the same gear level it appears. On that note, do you do much charming for exp? Druid is pretty effective in outdoors as a charmer and you can simply use your fastest invis spell to break charm and kill pet for full exp if you cant afford the gobby ring. I dont have a gobby ring so i just use taper enchantment and can solo permafrost with little to no issue once i get rolling. Charming until you can afford and click a lumi staff is most likely the best route.

[fugazi]

A good spot at that level are the pirates in Firiona Vie. You will need to gather them up first, but they are rogues and as such got lower max hp. They can also drop fine steel. At 35 you could move to splitpaw gnolls, because of the scroll quest, but they are usually perma camped.

[elwing]

A good spot at that level are the pirates in Firiona Vie. You will need to gather them up first, but they are rogues and as such got lower max hp. They can also drop fine steel. At 35 you could move to splitpaw gnolls, because of the scroll quest, but they are usually perma camped.

better not let them catchup with you, 4 rogue on your back seems a pretty decent way to die in 3 seconds...

[Lunababy]

+mana is better than +wis. I wouldn't recommend quadding as a druid until you can use lumi staff. just charm animals in OT until 46

[Movember]

+mana is better than +wis. I wouldn't recommend quadding as a druid until you can use lumi staff. just charm animals in OT until 46

This - quad kiting just isn't worth it IMO until you get to higher levels. Low mana pool + ineffective spells. Lumi staff is immediate god-mode though.

[Lhancelot]

This - quad kiting just isn't worth it IMO until you get to higher levels. Low mana pool + ineffective spells. Lumi staff is immediate god-mode though.

I recall quadding on my old druid before having a lumi staff, and it was great. Anytime you are using one spell to hit 4 mobs, that's pretty efficient damage-wise.

Lumi staff is convenient, but by the time you get to 50+, it's really quite weak and takes tons of time to use it if you plan to burn down entire quads with it.

More or less, I think it's just useful to finish off mobs when you want to try to save some mana.

Quadding really becomes less of a soloing strategy 53+ because there simply aint a lot of mobs available to quad.

Hence why so many people do bear pits, or end up grouping in KC and other dungeons just to grind the XP to 60.

Problem is, most groups prefer a cleric healing, or a shaman in group with a cleric, not a druid.

My point is, I would suggest quadding while you can do it, because the higher lvl you get, the less mobs there are that you can quad.

Other point is, lumi staff seems great till the mobs you are quadding appear tickled by it, and it takes 15-20 clicks of it. Sure, it's mana-free and that is awesome, but it's a very slow process if you use a lumi staff alone for higher level mobs.

[Ravager]

You should be able to quad pirates in FV with your current mana pool, it'll be tight and a resist might make things difficult, but you can make it easier on yourself by binding on the cliffs, then porting back to WC to get a clarity in EC or sometimes there is an enchanter to get a clarity from in FV. But FV is definitely the place to quad, plenty of mobs to choose from and a good level spread to quad to 42ish. Each level you get will deepen your mana pool substantially, so in a few levels it'll become a lot easier.

[fadetree]

I quadded from 34 or so until 55ish. Lumi staff was ok, not god mode. It helped finish off quads I couldn't quite get down with my mana pool.

[Lhancelot]

I quadded from 34 or so until 55ish. Lumi staff was ok, not god mode. It helped finish off quads I couldn't quite get down with my mana pool.

That's my recollection of my druid when I leveled him too. Years ago mind you. All of this, "Lumi Staff is god mode" is pure hyperbole tbh.

It's good to quad early on, take advantage of the fact you can quad as early as possible.

[Ravager]

Lumi staff with snare bracer with wolf bracer with levi cloak is pretty damn effective, you can quad non-stop and never use any mana. It's slow quadding though, but still faster than medding, just depends if you want to spend all of your time kiting mobs or if you want to kite, then go do your laundry and come back and kite again.

[Lhancelot]

Lumi staff with snare bracer with wolf bracer with levi cloak is pretty damn effective, you can quad non-stop and never use any mana. It's slow quadding though, but still faster than medding, just depends if you want to spend all of your time kiting mobs or if you want to kite, then go do your laundry and come back and kite again.

If I have a bowl of pudding, I would rather eat it with a normal sized spoon, not a spoon that's the size of a safety pin.

That's about how it is with a lumi staff, if you use it for full quads.

Sure it works, but I personally couldn't be bothered to use it non-stop to avoid medding, especially on the higher lvl mobs.

[Ravager]

If I have a bowl of pudding, I would rather eat it with a normal sized spoon, not a spoon that's the size of a safety pin.

That's about how it is with a lumi staff, if you use it for full quads.

Sure it works, but I personally couldn't be bothered to use it non-stop to avoid medding, especially on the higher lvl mobs.
It takes about 5 or 6 minutes to quad level 40 mobs with a lumi staff (23x cast 176dd at 10 seconds per cast on a 4k hp mob is about 4 minutes, add a couple minutes for snaring, grouping and staying out of melee range), which are blue through 54, vs the 10-15 minutes you'll spend killing and medding back to full without it, so it's really quite a bit faster and it's basically 10 levels of never needing to med.

But do what you want, just don't tell people it's slower when math says it's really 2-3x faster.

[Lhancelot]

It takes about 5 or 6 minutes to quad level 40 mobs with a lumi staff (23x cast 176dd at 10 seconds per cast on a 4k hp mob is about 4 minutes, add a couple minutes for snaring, grouping and staying out of melee range), which are blue through 54, vs the 10-15 minutes you'll spend killing and medding back to full without it, so it's really quite a bit faster and it's basically 10 levels of never needing to med.

But do what you want, just don't tell people it's slower when math says it's really 2-3x faster.

It was a long time ago when I used it, but I just remember thinking the lumi staff was awesome when I first got it, then after about 4-5 lvls or so, when I started doing higher lvl mobs, it wasn't nearly as awesome.

Nice to have when OOM, but far too slow of a process to kill entire quads with it once you are 52-53. I just think it wears out it's usefulness pretty quickly.

It's nice to have in the bag for later levels, clickies are always nice, but it's not nearly as great later on as it is when you can first use it at lvl 46.

[fadetree]

Lets not forget it is a bit harder to use...I had to be really on my game because it takes so long to cast they are really in your face when it fires. But, it's a good buy for a quadding druid, it's definitely a help.

[LenkoCambria]

I think some people are forgetting your note that you're pretty green to the game. I don't know what your funds are like, but I'm guessing you can't buy a lot of the things people have listed. If you can, go for it. But let's talk basics.

Find your choice in mob - blue, non-caster mobs, same type. I think I was quadding around the giant fort in Frontier Mountains in this range. Try out a single mob! Snare him four times quickly (to keep your mana pool in line with four other mobs), then kill the single mob with your lightning spell. Check your mana pool throughout the fight. A good rule of thumb for most fights in EQ is this - if your mana pool is consistently lower than the mob's health, you'll need to conserve more mana, because you won't finish the fight. If you can easily take down a single mob, you're in a good range for quadding.

Things to remember:

- Always start quads with a fresh SoW and 100% mana bar.
- Blue-con, non-caster, same-type mobs.
- If you find that you're cutting it close with mana, hit your mobs with lightning, run, sit/med until they get close. You can skip every third "pull" for some mana boost.
- Don't forget to take resists and fizzles into consideration!

I quadded almost exclusively from 34-55. I never had great gear until 53+ and I never had a Lumi Staff. You'll be alright.

[Cecily]

Try out a single mob!

Pretty much this. +mana / +wis whatever. If you can drop a single mob with your current mana pool, you're good to quad.

Another tip: It doesn't matter how long you med. It matters when you med. If you can find the server tick, you can meditate while kiting and that WILL save your butt eventually. It's once every 6 seconds, there's a couple false ticks that might be displayed on UI. But if you get the timing down, you only have to sit for ~1 sec every 6.

[Griffy]

I would recommend giving the Tizmaks a try in great divide. "just avoid the casters".
You can get a good feel for it with my write up on the Wiki
http://wiki.project1999.com/Saum%27s_Guide_to_Quad_Kiting_Velious

One of the benefits I found there is if you bind at the thurg bank you can pick up lots of ports when you gate back and sell the stuff you looted from the Tizmaks. This really bank rolled my gear while I was leveling.

As far as the Lumin staff goes I have mixed feelings about it. I always used it as a finishing tool. More than once it has saved my bacon. Yet other days it never left the bag.

Happy hunting
Saum
The Quad Kiting Druid

[Sloshed]

You can quad giants and dire wolves in Iceclad and work on your TOV faction at the same time. Plenty of room just south of Eastern Waste bridge with very few roamers. The sit every 6 seconds will help tremendously if you are cutting it close.

[LenkoCambria]

But remember that Velious mobs have higher HP than their Kunark/OG equivalents.

[Swish]

I think some people are forgetting your note that you're pretty green to the game. I don't know what your funds are like, but I'm guessing you can't buy a lot of the things people have listed. If you can, go for it. But let's talk basics.

Find your choice in mob - blue, non-caster mobs, same type. I think I was quadding around the giant fort in Frontier Mountains in this range. Try out a single mob! Snare him four times quickly (to keep your mana pool in line with four other mobs), then kill the single mob with your lightning spell. Check your mana pool throughout the fight. A good rule of thumb for most fights in EQ is this - if your mana pool is consistently lower than the mob's health, you'll need to conserve more mana, because you won't finish the fight. If you can easily take down a single mob, you're in a good range for quadding.

Things to remember:

- Always start quads with a fresh SoW and 100% mana bar.
- Blue-con, non-caster, same-type mobs.
- If you find that you're cutting it close with mana, hit your mobs with lightning, run, sit/med until they get close. You can skip every third "pull" for some mana boost.
- Don't forget to take resists and fizzles into consideration!

I quadded almost exclusively from 34-55. I never had great gear until 53+ and I never had a Lumi Staff. You'll be alright.

Good post

[Wibo49]

Velium Ruby Veil - 8Wis - 400pp
Shroud of Nature - 6Wis - 600pp
Bone Amulet of Blade Turning - 6Wis (+10Mana) - 200pp
Platinum Armband - 3Wis - 100pp
Onyx Drakescale Cloak - (+35Mana) - 200pp
Mucilaginous Girdle - 6Wis - 500pp
Prayer Cloth of Tunare - 3Wis - 50pp
Chipped Bone Bracelet X2 - 10Wis - 400pp
Gatorscale Leggings - 4Wis - 400pp
Blockcutter gloves - 3Wis - 50pp
Cone of the Mystics - 5Wis (+50Mana) - 350pp

Total: 54 Wisdom increase, +95 Mana, for 3,250pp

Bonus: Frozen Orb - 3Wis (+40Mana) - 700pp

If you have a few more K to spend you can also do some +mana items in the form of BS ears/necklace. +mana usually gives a better return until lvl 35, then +wis is king. GeBs are nice, but I tried to leave out anything over 1k per single item. So for about 3-4k you can be quadding, depending on how much of this gear you already have.

I successfully quadded at 34 with 1570 mana. I also failed sometimes because mobs can RNG resist like crazy. Better to have at least 1600 mana starting out, which you can achieve with the above items. If you cannot afford to push past 1600 mana, then level the slow way til 35 or 36 because you will get more mana as you level.

[NegaStoat]

I think some people are forgetting your note that you're pretty green to the game. I don't know what your funds are like, but I'm guessing you can't buy a lot of the things people have listed. If you can, go for it. But let's talk basics....

Excellent post. Also, for my old halfling druid I made a goal of farming for loot as much as I could as I leveled. So from levels 5-11 this meant orcs for belts (lesser faydark orcs drop them too for that lvl 10-11 push), lvl 12-14 Steamfont minotaurs, 14-19 lesser faydark sisters, and so forth. The items I wanted were to be the best 'bang for the buck' wisdom adders.

Edit - the poster above me listed the cheap items I was going to list.

[Castigate]

The real trick to quadding isn't a huge mana pool but knowing how to sit right at 5-6 seconds and then keep running so that you can regen mana as though you're sitting while still running around kiting.
With how the ticks work visually, (at least on my computer) your mana/hp often seems to move 2 or even 3 times during the 6 seconds and you need to figure out which one actually is the tick to sit for mana regen and that can be a bit confusing.

[Alanus]

Velium Ruby Veil - 8Wis - 400pp
Shroud of Nature - 6Wis - 600pp
Bone Amulet of Blade Turning - 6Wis (+10Mana) - 200pp
Platinum Armband - 3Wis - 100pp
Onyx Drakescale Cloak - (+35Mana) - 200pp
Mucilaginous Girdle - 6Wis - 500pp
Prayer Cloth of Tunare - 3Wis - 50pp
Chipped Bone Bracelet X2 - 10Wis - 400pp
Gatorscale Leggings - 4Wis - 400pp
Blockcutter gloves - 3Wis - 50pp
Cone of the Mystics - 5Wis (+50Mana) - 350pp

Total: 54 Wisdom increase, +95 Mana, for 3,250pp

Bonus: Frozen Orb - 3Wis (+40Mana) - 700pp

If you have a few more K to spend you can also do some +mana items in the form of BS ears/necklace. +mana usually gives a better return until lvl 35, then +wis is king. GeBs are nice, but I tried to leave out anything over 1k per single item. So for about 3-4k you can be quadding, depending on how much of this gear you already have.

I successfully quadded at 34 with 1570 mana. I also failed sometimes because mobs can RNG resist like crazy. Better to have at least 1600 mana starting out, which you can achieve with the above items. If you cannot afford to push past 1600 mana, then level the slow way til 35 or 36 because you will get more mana as you level.

This. Also would add Charred Guardian Shield for secondary... +9 wis for a few hundred plat at most.

[vumpel]

The real trick to quadding isn't a huge mana pool but knowing how to sit right at 5-6 seconds and then keep running so that you can regen mana as though you're sitting while still running around kiting.
With how the ticks work visually, (at least on my computer) your mana/hp often seems to move 2 or even 3 times during the 6 seconds and you need to figure out which one actually is the tick to sit for mana regen and that can be a bit confusing.

Yes. I started counting it, and regen timing has become pretty instinctive for me. This technique was especially important when I first started quad kiting and had barely enough mana to finish the quad. Also use this technique in early levels while melee'ing as the group healer.

The regen clock seems to fluctuate, almost on a cycle - still havent really figured it out. sometimes it APPEARS to tick right befire it actually does, and you can use that tick as a cue to sit for half a second to catch the regen.

[Kaedain]

no ones ever mentioned quadding the spectres in OOT, exp modifiers, great loot with vendor in zone, low hp , fast respawns.. power all the way through 45 easy

[Jimjam]

I've seen mention of clarity. Having PotG (protection of the glades, a high level druid buff) cast on you is also helpful. It's pretty easy to get, it's just a case of catching/meeting someone at a druid portal.