Soloing Downtime

[Novoselic]

I'm trying to solo at EK on my 18 druid but without C or even a breeze my downtime is ridiculous. I charm a mob and throw a dot but after 2 or 3 mobs i end up oom and having to sit for 20 mins afk to get fm. Am I soloing wrong or is this just how it is?

[Diogene]

Do you get both pets low hp's and break charm and just finish them off with root / rot? If you do so, you should't be oom after 3/4 kills, unless frquent unwanted charm breaks

[Tecmos Deception]

Charming is rough at low levels. Charm breaks, snare, root, even a tiny dot... these things all eat a relatively large amount of mana. And since the level range of things that you get solid XP for is so small, you end up fighting stuff that is basically too high level to charm very effectively.

It gets much, much better as you get more levels.

For now though, my guess is you need to stop exaggerating (20 minutes? it doesn't take a 50+ wizard that long to med to full after a quad) and/or focus on the little things you can do to improve mana useage/regen. Are you ALWAYS sitting down as soon as you can and for as long as you can to get med ticks? Do you waste mana on things like snare or root when you could just make use of wide-open spaces and SoW to avoid getting hit instead? Are you letting the mobs get as low as possible (under 10% at least) before breaking charm to finish them off? Are you keeping yourself buffed with stuff that's unnecessary (if you're outdoors, you basically only need sow and that's it). When you DO need to use a root, are you using the lowest level one? Are you sometimes fighting against even or yellow cons who resist a lot more and have more HP to whittle down?

Stuff like that really can add up over the course of a couple-hour-long solo session.

[thebutthat]

Just train mobs you can charm to that roaming guard over there. Charm before he kills, when he walks away, use your low mana nuke and repeat.

[Mzy12345]

I charmed hounds here at that lvl and didn't seem to experience the mana issues you were having but I did have the luxury of a Gob Gazughi to get them very low. The hounds do have a pretty good range in level so there are times when the pets don't match up well at all. If one is still 40% or higher when you break charm I think you are better off recharming. Also, snare them mid fight since the duration is not that long. That way when you break charm they start running and you can use the lowest mama spell you can to finish them off without them moving and worrying about adds.

Also, when you ding 19 I bound at the bridge and would port back to WC and stalk enchanters to get Clarity. It makes a huge difference at that level. I'm sure someone will mention from an efficiency standpoint the mana for a port to WC then Gating isn't efficient but with Clarity and Full Mana I could kill 12-15 hounds without having to med. Then when I ported back I could just afk and med up so it depends on how you want to play.

[branamil]

I'm trying to solo at EK on my 18 druid but without C or even a breeze my downtime is ridiculous. I charm a mob and throw a dot but after 2 or 3 mobs i end up oom and having to sit for 20 mins afk to get fm. Am I soloing wrong or is this just how it is?

Yeah thats just how soloing is. They make soloing very punishing for most classes. That's the game strongly hinting you need a duo buddy or a group.

[indiscriminate_hater]

Just train mobs you can charm to that roaming guard over there. Charm before he kills, when he walks away, use your low mana nuke and repeat.

A+ advice. Always let mobs do work for you

[Renault]

I didn't find it efficient to charm until a little higher. For 18 I was still soloing with tree form + DS.

[Lhancelot]

on my lowbies that are punishing to solo on, casters/priests particularly you will find buffs from higher lvls extremely helpful.

I would suggest binding at your hunting spot which should be close to EC tunnel. Then run to the tunnel, look for shamans, chanters, druids and politely ask for buffs. Druids can give regen and even POTG if they are 60, shamans give regen and nice hp buffs, chanters give clarity and haste if you meleeing.

Charm is not efficient in low lvls, the charm breaks a ton and the mana used is huge for your mana pool unless you have a ton of nice mana gears on.

Not until early 20s does charm seem to get more efficient.

Druid dots are not the best either, but soloing you have little else to work with until you can quad which you should definitely strive for as a druid if you soloing.

Anyway, if you get buffs at tunnel, then gate to your hunting spot, you lose little time on the buffs you just got.

The mana regen is a huge help and so are any regen buffs etc.

With high lvl buffs on, you can probably throw DS on yourself (thorns) and melee if you have a half decent weapon on. Throw one dot on mob, and then just melee with thorns. If you got a higher lvl regen on, it will help immensely. If you regen mana fast, use a nuke or more dots on mobs.

[Shodo]

The mobs should be fleeing when you break charm (i.e. get them under 10-15%), so if you have mana issues just snare the uncharmed one before breaking. When the mobs get far enough apart they'll stop chasing and flee, so you can just finish off with melee. Even a 50p 1hb will do the job in a few swings. Depending on how long it takes it might be better to just nuke and med, but for very low health mobs meleeing can save you a lot of mana.

[Novoselic]

Do you get both pets low hp's and break charm and just finish them off with root / rot? If you do so, you should't be oom after 3/4 kills, unless frquent unwanted charm breaks

yes i usually kill that fucker off right before hes dead and get lots of exp

Charming is rough at low levels. Charm breaks, snare, root, even a tiny dot... these things all eat a relatively large amount of mana. And since the level range of things that you get solid XP for is so small, you end up fighting stuff that is basically too high level to charm very effectively.

It gets much, much better as you get more levels.

For now though, my guess is you need to stop exaggerating (20 minutes? it doesn't take a 50+ wizard that long to med to full after a quad) and/or focus on the little things you can do to improve mana useage/regen. Are you ALWAYS sitting down as soon as you can and for as long as you can to get med ticks? Do you waste mana on things like snare or root when you could just make use of wide-open spaces and SoW to avoid getting hit instead? Are you letting the mobs get as low as possible (under 10% at least) before breaking charm to finish them off? Are you keeping yourself buffed with stuff that's unnecessary (if you're outdoors, you basically only need sow and that's it). When you DO need to use a root, are you using the lowest level one? Are you sometimes fighting against even or yellow cons who resist a lot more and have more HP to whittle down?

Stuff like that really can add up over the course of a couple-hour-long solo session.

exaggerating adds emphasis and spice to any anecdote, but in my defense it feels like 20 minutes, but yeah i pretty much am always sitting. I just root/rot or DD them with ignite which doesn't take up too much mana, but I see what you mean now I do unnecessarily waste mana on some spells. I only have the low lvl root but I'm fighting blues. basically over at EK what I do is charm a wolf, send it to kill another wolf and just dot/nuke it up then break charm and kill the other wolf. maybe I don't need to nuke as much, these are some really great tips thanks man

Just train mobs you can charm to that roaming guard over there. Charm before he kills, when he walks away, use your low mana nuke and repeat.

this too I didn't even think of that, pretty dope man thanks

[Novoselic]

Yeah thats just how soloing is. They make soloing very punishing for most classes. That's the game strongly hinting you need a duo buddy or a group.

i don't got any friends and am not a socially likable person, soloing is just better for me. i tried to force my little brother to play but he's too incompetent

on my lowbies that are punishing to solo on, casters/priests particularly you will find buffs from higher lvls extremely helpful.

I would suggest binding at your hunting spot which should be close to EC tunnel. Then run to the tunnel, look for shamans, chanters, druids and politely ask for buffs. Druids can give regen and even POTG if they are 60, shamans give regen and nice hp buffs, chanters give clarity and haste if you meleeing.

Charm is not efficient in low lvls, the charm breaks a ton and the mana used is huge for your mana pool unless you have a ton of nice mana gears on.

Not until early 20s does charm seem to get more efficient.

Druid dots are not the best either, but soloing you have little else to work with until you can quad which you should definitely strive for as a druid if you soloing.

Anyway, if you get buffs at tunnel, then gate to your hunting spot, you lose little time on the buffs you just got.

The mana regen is a huge help and so are any regen buffs etc.

With high lvl buffs on, you can probably throw DS on yourself (thorns) and melee if you have a half decent weapon on. Throw one dot on mob, and then just melee with thorns. If you got a higher lvl regen on, it will help immensely. If you regen mana fast, use a nuke or more dots on mobs.

what I do is go bum a C off someone at EC, then run to oasis and kill the leftover crocks that p1 group isn't killing.

The mobs should be fleeing when you break charm (i.e. get them under 10-15%), so if you have mana issues just snare the uncharmed one before breaking. When the mobs get far enough apart they'll stop chasing and flee, so you can just finish off with melee. Even a 50p 1hb will do the job in a few swings. Depending on how long it takes it might be better to just nuke and med, but for very low health mobs meleeing can save you a lot of mana.
i got an iksar berserker club/book of obulus that I stole from my brother and it's been helping a lot, but I usually never end up breaking charm the pet will break on its own then i got two crocs or wolves on my ass

[Lhancelot]

I usually never end up breaking charm the pet will break on its own then i got two crocs or wolves on my ass

Rule number one to charm killing, root the mob your pet is on. When charm breaks, as it does often then you only got to contend with the pet that broke charm.

[Spyder73]

Soloing sucks, get a partner so you don't have to break charms until you're going to kill the pet

[Novoselic]

Rule number one to charm killing, root the mob your pet is on. When charm breaks, as it does often then you only got to contend with the pet that broke charm.

i only got the lvl 5 root and that shit wears off after like 15-45 secs

[shuklak]

One of the only reasons I never solo'd in classic EQ is that it's just so boring. There's definitely downtime and you probably get better exp, but even "meh" groups are funner.

But really, the lower levels can be tough there might be someone you can group with like a monk or something coming up and that would be my best advice. I've seen a number of posts on the forum looking for such partners/groups. Coming back from 2011 I can see that this server has a robust lower end from blackburrow to 40s where I am now.

[Lhancelot]

i only got the lvl 5 root and that shit wears off after like 15-45 secs

It's all you got bro, you use what you can and what you got.

If you don't keep a mob rooted when charm breaks you will have two mobs up your ass and it's impossible to manage that smoothly as a lowbie druid.

[Nashlyenin]

Use panic animal, its 10 mana, and make sure things are snared. Ideally you get both pet and mob below 10% and break charm and finish off with nukes. As a druid I always tried to charm a lower lvl mob to the one I'm fighting because once my pet gets below 10% i would just fear the mob. If your pet happens to be stronger make it sit early on so the mob your fighting gets a good cushion, then just fear in the end to let pet get it below 10%. These 2 tactics will help you save mana while also helping you control the fight better.

If you are a Tunare worshiper get the root clicky necklace, I basically only used that for root till I got to Kedge. Always used panic animal to create some space to recharm. Also if you're fighting two similar mobs, the fear will make both mobs go into flee mode when they are low hp, and since they're snared theyll just sit there and you can finish off with melee instead of wasting mana on nukes.

[SDWV]

At level 19 get your North Karana port spell and start doing the South Karana to North Karana bread quest. Is it boring? Yes. But you will average 5-6% per turn in and you can usually do 3 turn-ins before medding back to full. It takes about 2-3 minutes per cycle too. Just bind at the centaur, get the bread, then port to North Karana and hoof it to the turn it.

If you happen upon an enchanter, get a clarity and you can repeat this cycle non-stop with no rest. Like I said, it is boring so chatting in guild makes it go quicker. But for the experience and simplicity, it is hard to beat.

[applesauce25r624]

At level 19 get your North Karana port spell and start doing the South Karana to North Karana bread quest. Is it boring? Yes. But you will average 5-6% per turn in and you can usually do 3 turn-ins before medding back to full. It takes about 2-3 minutes per cycle too. Just bind at the centaur, get the bread, then port to North Karana and hoof it to the turn it.

If you happen upon an enchanter, get a clarity and you can repeat this cycle non-stop with no rest. Like I said, it is boring so chatting in guild makes it go quicker. But for the experience and simplicity, it is hard to beat.

whoa

what is the name of this bread quest?

[SDWV]

http://wiki.project1999.com/Bread_Shipment_Quests

It is a tranquil quest. It starts at the centaur huts with Jarlen Meadowgreen. You give him 2gp and he gives you a bag. You then take the bag to Innkeep James just northwest of the gypsy camp. Upon turn-in you get 1-3pp.

[Jimjam]

That isn't a quest, that is just like an actual job.

[articnv]

when chamrign u shoudlnt be dotign up the other mob, th goal fo chamrign si lettign the mosb kill each other, what u cna do is cahrm a mob buff it up when it gets a mob low send it on another taget rinse repeat till yoru buffed is lwo then break and go kill 6 to 7 m,obs at once ;p. This only works on mobs that flee :)

[fadetree]

PWI?

[Lunababy]

make sure you're using the lowest level charm possible on your target mobs. the newer ranks only grant you higher maximum level targets at the expense of higher mana cost.

*and since you should only ever be casting spells on blues or lower, you'll usually have a higher rank that you won't be needing to use

[SDWV]

That isn't a quest, that is just like an actual job.

Hah! Everquest is a job.

[Tetsuo]

I recommend watching Netflix or something while you med to pass the time when soloing...just don't forget that you have a character logged in while watching Netflix...

Even more so in Kedge

[Nibblewitz]

Downtime... in a video game...