I am the warrior

[Barantor]

I'm strongly considering warrior to start. I was a paladin for most of my play in live in the past and being a tank really speaks to me more than any magic.

That said, any tips on how I should go about gearing up once green goes live? I've been researching the wiki, but every time I find something it seems like it wasn't around in classic :P

I don't necessarily need your big strats, just some good thoughts on how to go about it.

Should I just be one of the knights instead?

[Wenai]

There was a post on the Tanks forum about gearing a warrior that I provided a small amount of mis-information about: https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=334292

Fine Plate was available at Blue's launch, which is why I suggested it. However it was apparently added later than the Vanilla Classic Timeline. However, other than that there is hopefully some useful information in my post over there

[Danth]

If you want to play a Warrior, do so. There's nothing wrong with it. Gearing the three tank types in a launch-era setting is virtually identical other than weapon choice. Shadow Knights have the weakest overall weapon selection of the three tank classes. Paladins and Warriors both have numerous good options. The biggest difference will be the relative experience penalties and leveling rates. Warriors level much more quickly than Paladins or Shadow Knights and aren't shunned by some groups the way the hybrids sometimes are.

You'd wear patchwork/leather at low levels, up to 10ish. Ringmail or banded in the teens, up into the low 20's where you'd want to replace it with Bronze bought off all those mages/necros who rocketed up and are farming sol-B trash by the time you get into the 20's. Bronze can take you at least into the 30's where you start looking either for rubicite or mix-and-match upgrades (azure sleeves, enameled black chestplate, crested helm, etc etc) although tank types who're focused on leveling quickly quite often wear at least some bronze pieces all the way to 50. Expect to most likely be rather multi-colored at 50 prior to the addition of the planes.

Danth

[Barantor]

Are there any 'must have' items while leveling though? Something to set goals for? I'm not going to rush I don't think but I do want to find groups.

[Wenai]

Are there any 'must have' items while leveling though? Something to set goals for? I'm not going to rush I don't think but I do want to find groups.

My opinion is: Bronze Armor and weapons to hold aggro. The easiest to acquire are probably going to be Obsidian Daggers and Gnoll Hide Lariats.

[Cen]

Polished Granite Tomahawk is pretty nice early on and can be got around level 15-20 in a group

[Barantor]

Polished Granite Tomahawk is pretty nice early on and can be got around level 15-20 in a group

Is dual wielding the go to for warriors then? I went 2handed on my pally.

I was looking at stuff like the black alloy bastard sword from runnyeye.

[Deliverator]

Yes DW is best for warriors. Gives you more chances to proc your threat weapons.

[AbstractVision]

Dex gear and proc weapons.

https://wiki.project1999.com/Gnoll_Hide_Lariat
and
https://wiki.project1999.com/Polished_Granite_Tomahawk

Probably the best you can hope for, for a long time.


For a list of early magical weapons in general check out this list.
http://www.eqclassic.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=947&sid=bdef869a8dd12305726f8e78d5a89a48&start=0

[Danth]

I was looking at stuff like the black alloy bastard sword from runnyeye.

Don't look too closely at that one. It's post-classic and won't exist on "green" until after Velious opens. The one you'll have access to is blackened iron, which is 20/47--still level appropriate for the 20's and into the 30's, but not something you'll really want to push to 50 with. Most Paladins from mid levels onward will salivate over either the Ghoulbane or the Man-o-war prior to endgame weaponry.

Danth

[AbstractVision]

If I was a paladin I would salivate over one weapon.

https://wiki.project1999.com/Shining_Star_of_Light

[Vexenu]

I wouldn't worry too much about trying to acquire proc weapons before Yaks. There will be no shortage of casters to root everything you're fighting while leveling on Green. Just use the best ratio weapons you can find.

[Barantor]

Don't look too closely at that one. It's post-classic and won't exist on "green" until after Velious opens. The one you'll have access to is blackened iron, which is 20/47--still level appropriate for the 20's and into the 30's, but not something you'll really want to push to 50 with. Most Paladins from mid levels onward will salivate over either the Ghoulbane or the Man-o-war prior to endgame weaponry.

Danth

That makes me wonder, was Ghoulbane available as a drop in classic or was it just the quest?

Thanks for all the tips, now I just have to figure out what race. Might go barbarian, but I did love my dwarf paladin before making a gnome one once those hit so maybe dwarf!

[Danth]

That makes me wonder, was Ghoulbane available as a drop in classic or was it just the quest?

Thanks for all the tips, now I just have to figure out what race. Might go barbarian, but I did love my dwarf paladin before making a gnome one once those hit so maybe dwarf!

The drop off shin lord is the classic way of getting it. Quest was velious era. I got mine at level 27 when P99 first opened and it took me all the way to 50.

Danth

[Soothsayer]

https://wiki.project1999.com/Axe_of_the_Slayers

This weapon is quite excellent for warriors and should hold you over until you can start finding some solid proc weapons. The ratio makes holding aggro significantly less of a headache since you aren't constantly worried about getting procs. As a bonus, you'll do much more damage, which is good for various reasons.

I speak from a fair bit of personal experience when I say that I've always been a firm believer of ratio over proc for early to mid level warriors.

[Soothsayer]

Dex gear and proc weapons.

https://wiki.project1999.com/Gnoll_Hide_Lariat
and
https://wiki.project1999.com/Polished_Granite_Tomahawk

Probably the best you can hope for, for a long time.


For a list of early magical weapons in general check out this list.
http://www.eqclassic.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=947&sid=bdef869a8dd12305726f8e78d5a89a48&start=0

Heh, good luck holding aggro consistently as a warrior with those feeble ratios.

[Barantor]

https://wiki.project1999.com/Axe_of_the_Slayers

This weapon is quite excellent for warriors and should hold you over until you can start finding some solid proc weapons. The ratio makes holding aggro significantly less of a headache since you aren't constantly worried about getting procs. As a bonus, you'll do much more damage, which is good for various reasons.

I speak from a fair bit of personal experience when I say that I've always been a firm believer of ratio over proc for early to mid level warriors.

Wouldn't it be beneficial to dual wield then if you could get good ratios and possibly some better stat bonuses?

[Soothsayer]

Wouldn't it be beneficial to dual wield then if you could get good ratios and possibly some better stat bonuses?

Well, that really depends on two main factors. The first and arguably most important factor to consider is the dual wield skill level of the warrior in question. At lower levels, dual wield isn't terribly useful because the offhand rarely swings compared to the main hand, leading to weak hate output. The second factor is the ratio of the dual-wielded weapons in question.

A rough back-of-the-envelope way of estimating how much threat you'll generate with a dual wield setup is to calculate the estimated ratio of your offhand weapon after taking into account your dual wield chance, and then add that on top of your main hand ratio.

https://wiki.project1999.com/Game_Mechanics#Dual_Wield_.2F_Double_Attack_Chance

So, for example, if my offhand weapon has a ratio of 0.5 and my double attack skill is 200 (meaning roughly half of my double attack "checks" would result in a swing), the "real" ratio of my offhand weapon would be roughly 0.25. Add the ratio of your main hand weapon on top of this and you'll get a rough estimate of how much raw hate you'll be generating with a dual wield setup. This is far from an exact science, but it can give you a rough idea of what your performance will look like.

You'll quickly discover that most dual wield setups in the new green server feature weapons with feeble ratios, and most of them won't be able to match or surpass a solid two-hander like the one linked above. Because of this, you'll be heavily reliant on classes that can root if you want to tank.

tl;dr - Ratio > proc and 2H > Dual Wield in most cases, at least until Ykesha starts to become a thing and your dual wield skill actually starts becoming useful around your late 30s / early 40s. Your damage will be substantially higher, your threat will be much smoother, and your groups will appreciate you much more and will be less likely to think "man, I wish I had a SK tanking right now" in the back of their minds.

[Topgunben]

Wanna play a really good warrior? Make a mage and let pet be the warrior. Pet will out dps an out-tank nearly all warriors.

Classic EQ hates warriors the most. You got all these sissys complaining about the potential for book screen medding, but warriors have zero advantages in the world of Norrath, like absolutely zero.

[Barantor]

Wanna play a really good warrior? Make a mage and let pet be the warrior. Pet will out dps an out-tank nearly all warriors.

Classic EQ hates warriors the most. You got all these sissys complaining about the potential for book screen medding, but warriors have zero advantages in the world of Norrath, like absolutely zero.

No thanks, if I wanted that I'd play WoW.

I'll be fine with my warrior I'm sure. Something always beats something else and I'm not angling to get server firsts or be the ultimate warrior.

[Soothsayer]

Wanna play a really good warrior? Make a mage and let pet be the warrior. Pet will out dps an out-tank nearly all warriors.

Classic EQ hates warriors the most. You got all these sissys complaining about the potential for book screen medding, but warriors have zero advantages in the world of Norrath, like absolutely zero.

I must've overlooked the mage pet raid tank meta. Didn't actually know that was a thing until just now. Thanks! :rolleyes:

Yeah, mage pets might be fine and dandy for lower level content, but warriors are one of the most powerful raid classes in the long run. They have great DPS, and they're the best overall raid tank.

[Coridan]

Tentacle Whip and polished granite Tomahawk are good, you'll definitely want a SSOY

[BlackBellamy]

Is dual wielding the go to for warriors then? I went 2handed on my pally.

I was looking at stuff like the black alloy bastard sword from runnyeye.

Look here https://wiki.project1999.com/Players:Pre_Planar_Gear scroll down to Warrior, find out where all this stuff drops, make plans to camp those dungeons.

[Benanov]

Classic EQ hates warriors the most. You got all these sissys complaining about the potential for book screen medding, but warriors have zero advantages in the world of Norrath, like absolutely zero.

Actually, "Not having to stare at the book screen" is one. I played a Rogue on Rallos for quite a while. Melees had to keep watch, as the hybrids and casters had to look at their books until 35.

I remember punching my groupmates when we needed to vacate an area.

Now this isn't PvP, but still - how do you know when you have a pop? You need someone who doesn't have their nose in a book, target tricks notwithstanding.

[Soothsayer]

Look here https://wiki.project1999.com/Players:Pre_Planar_Gear scroll down to Warrior, find out where all this stuff drops, make plans to camp those dungeons.

The crafted armor listed in that section won't even be in the game at launch. :p

[Fammaden]

how do you know when you have a pop?

Have you noticed how many people have GINA timers running for every little thing in their camps?

[Widan]

I must've overlooked the mage pet raid tank meta. Didn't actually know that was a thing until just now. Thanks! :rolleyes:


Then you must not have played many classic private servers or TLP. Pets are more than adequate for all old world raid content.

[Topgunben]

Then you must not have played many classic private servers or TLP. Pets are more than adequate for all old world raid content.

Yep, level 49 Mage's pet has 2900HP and hits for 56. On top of that, pets regen much faster than any warrior out there, can be chain summoned, dont lose EXP upon death, and cant root. They can do all of this with 0pp invested.

I will reiterate, Classic EQ hates warriors!

[dekova]

Yep, level 49 Mage's pet has 2900HP and hits for 56. On top of that, pets regen much faster than any warrior out there, can be chain summoned, dont lose EXP upon death, and cant root. They can do all of this with 0pp invested.

I will reiterate, Classic EQ hates warriors!

Maybe so, but I'd much prefer a beefy tank in the group. Warriors, Shadowknights and Paladins, you guys are always welcome in my group; with or without an xp penalty.