Best way to spend money?

[Brutal_X]

Recently, I’ve thought about starting a shaman up on the green server. I think I’m pretty set on the choice of a troll and I have roughly 2,000 platinum to spend to start him out with some decent gear.

What would be the best way to allocate this money and get the most bang for my buck? I figure banded and 55 hp rings are a good start, but I wasn’t sure about much after that.

[Wallicker]

I’d buy weight reduction bags, all your spells, 55ac/hp rings, and ebonwarspear or sharkbone hammer? Then see what ya have left.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

HP rings and the best ratio weapon you can get. That is the best way to level 1-40, when you can slow tank and melee a mob down. For green it looks like gatorsmash maul is about the best ratio weapon you can buy. For the rest, probably banded armor and HP earrings.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

level 1-20 weapon should be something like gloomwater harpoon. Damage cap wont make gatorsmash useful intil level 20

[Sizar]

Do not waste your money on weight reduction bags, your a troll with high starting str and str buffs. Get them when you have plat to burn

[DeathsSilkyMist]

Do not waste your money on weight reduction bags, your a troll with high starting str and str buffs. Get them when you have plat to burn

Agreed. No reason to rush buying WR bags on a troll shaman.

[Scoojitsu]

Definitely HP rings. Banded can't hurt and doesn't cost much either.
I used a bloodforge hammer. But there is probably better.
Depending on where you level you make the plat for new spells automatically. But if not set some aside for spells.

Don't think you really need much else to level a shaman. Have fun and enjoy the swamp! :)

[Jimjam]

For the heaviest items you can always use a spirit pouch as long as you take the heavy items out of it before you log.

[Exard3k]

For the heaviest items you can always use a spirit pouch as long as you take the heavy items out of it before you log.

You'd be surprised how most shamans don't even buy the spell. I'm asking for summoned bags all the time and shamans mostly don't have the spell.

But I agree, get hand-made backpacks to get the slots and put the heavy stuff into spirit pouches.

The Gatorsmash Maul is awesome if you are meleeing.

[BlackBellamy]

Spend 2000p on ls/gls and do NK gypsy turn in. With the money you get from quest, buy more ls/gls.

Whatever level that gets you, then send your naked ass out there and go play.

That head start will be worth more than any twinked gear that you're just going to replace anyway because 2k gear for shaman is crap.

Leave yourself 100 plat for a set of banded and some fine steel sticker.

[loramin]

Spend 2000p on ls/gls and do NK gypsy turn in. With the money you get from quest, buy more ls/gls.

Whatever level that gets you, then send your naked ass out there and go play.

That head start will be worth more than any twinked gear that you're just going to replace anyway because 2k gear for shaman is crap.

Leave yourself 100 plat for a set of banded and some fine steel sticker.

I like this, except ... where are you buying mass lightstones? :) It seems to me the time it would take to track down sellers would be greater than the time spent just earning levels.

In general I'd agree with everyone else: two wedding rings and a decent weapon. (Maybe a suit of banded if you can find it, but again I'd wonder at the time required to do that, and I don't think you'd notice huge differences vs. wearing tattered leather or whatever else you pick up as you level.) Save any leftover for spells.

And for all your future shopping needs (also there's some good ideas for starting weapons there) ... http://wiki.project1999.com/Equipping%20a%20Shaman

[Brutal_X]

I ended up buying a few stat pieces along with 55 hp rings and banded. Used what I had left over to buy the 9/33 spear from splitpaw and a charred guardian shield. Doing very well with the set so far!

Appreciate the tips everyone. Planning to quest most of whatever else I need in the future and save up for needed spells/items coming up in Kunark.

[kjs86z]

Save for torpor.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

Save for torpor.

I think this will be an exercise in futility for a long time on green. Every shaman will want Torpor, and it is a fairly rare drop. It will take a while for extra copies to go for sale. Extra copies will certainly be banked by guilds, and sold between friends. When extra copies do finally go on sale, they will probably be 200k+ each, if we are going by blue's old market.

If you want Torpor on green, it would be wiser to farm it yourself, or preemptively acquire some items of high value to trade for it.

[BlackBellamy]

I like this, except ... where are you buying mass lightstones? :) It seems to me the time it would take to track down sellers would be greater than the time spent just earning levels.

In general I'd agree with everyone else: two wedding rings and a decent weapon. (Maybe a suit of banded if you can find it, but again I'd wonder at the time required to do that, and I don't think you'd notice huge differences vs. wearing tattered leather or whatever else you pick up as you level.) Save any leftover for spells.

And for all your future shopping needs (also there's some good ideas for starting weapons there) ... http://wiki.project1999.com/Equipping%20a%20Shaman

I collect GLS on my main from various sellers before I start my alts. I agree if you're just starting out this is not optimal because these take a little while to accumulate. But if you're planning ahead and in no hurry they're a great boost, especially since you buy them for 15 and get 9 back so they're only like 6p in the end.

I usually level them to 12 using GLS and then up to 20-21 using gobbo ears and then I set them free. I would go higher with GLS because it's much much cheaper but the gobbo ears are a much easier turn in click-wise and stuff and I have the plat.

[loramin]

I collect GLS on my main from various sellers before I start my alts. I agree if you're just starting out this is not optimal because these take a little while to accumulate. But if you're planning ahead and in no hurry they're a great boost, especially since you buy them for 15 and get 9 back so they're only like 6p in the end.

I usually level them to 12 using GLS and then up to 20-21 using gobbo ears and then I set them free. I would go higher with GLS because it's much much cheaper but the gobbo ears are a much easier turn in click-wise and stuff and I have the plat.

/nod That makes sense if you're the type to plan an alt in advance, hang out in zones where the stones drop, and pick them up in small batches. Personally I never have that patience: when I want to start an alt I spend a day or two in the tunnel and then I'm off :)

BTW, on that note I would strongly encourage you to try the Brazier of Elemental Summoning on your next alt. On Blue it's fairly cheap (probably around the same cost as an equivalent number of stones?)

It likely won't get you to 12, only 10 or 11, but with a single item (maybe two if you want to break up your "self-PLing" sessions) you can get all those levels by actually playing (and feeling like a god as you murder level 1 mobs with much higher pet :)), instead of turning in endless stones over and over.

[Ghost of Starman]

I think this will be an exercise in futility for a long time on green. Every shaman will want Torpor, and it is a fairly rare drop. It will take a while for extra copies to go for sale. Extra copies will certainly be banked by guilds, and sold between friends. When extra copies do finally go on sale, they will probably be 200k+ each, if we are going by blue's old market.

If you want Torpor on green, it would be wiser to farm it yourself, or preemptively acquire some items of high value to trade for it.

This is the biggest thing the big "betas over, go green" proponents don't get; your chances of getting Torp / getting warder loot etc. are almost non-existent unless you're incredibly lucky or the neckiest of neckbeards. The quantity available of ST/VP Keys and Torp drops will be greatly exceeded by the demand.

[Zipity]

Level an ench to 60 and easily solo cliff golems with store bought spells until torp drops

[DeathsSilkyMist]

Level an ench to 60 and easily solo cliff golems with store bought spells until torp drops

The problem isn't the ease of killing cliff golems. The problem is getting the camp lol.

[Zipity]

The problem isn't the ease of killing cliff golems. The problem is getting the camp lol.

I guess this is true only two golems and probably will be camped by groups early on.
What all drops torpor in Kunark? Gwurms, seb prot camp, Seb Emp, 2 Cliff golems? Are there more than those 5 camps besides raid mobs?

[Ghost of Starman]

I guess this is true only two golems and probably will be camped by groups early on.
What all drops torpor in Kunark? Gwurms, seb prot camp, Seb Emp, 2 Cliff golems? Are there more than those 5 camps besides raid mobs?

If by early on you mean for the existence of the server then yeah. Even when Velious drops Torpor is hugely important, the sever will get to the end of its lifecycle with a big percentage of level 60 shaman not having torp, especially those not in the Riot equivalent (Seal Team? I don't play on the server).

[greenspectre]

Am going to have to fight for Torpor myself, but just so I'm clear- it only drops off 60+ mobs in Kunark? So like, jugs and reets wouldn't drop it?

[DeathsSilkyMist]

Am going to have to fight for Torpor myself, but just so I'm clear- it only drops off 60+ mobs in Kunark? So like, jugs and reets wouldn't drop it?

It drops off of level 57+ mobs in Kunark zones. Cliff Golems are level 58, and Juggs are level 57. There just aren't a lot of level 57+ mobs in Kunark, which is why there aren't a lot of camps for Torpor. If you sort for mobs by level in Seblis, you can see how few mobs are level 57+. Even King is only level 56, which is why he doesn't drop Torpor. You can do the same thing in the other Kunark zones and see how few mobs are above level 56. I also do not think mobs like guild leaders in Cabilis drop anything. So this further limits which mobs can drop it, since not all level 57+ mobs drop spells.

On top of that, Torpor is one of the rarest (if not the rarest) level 60 spells in the game to drop. So you have few camps (most of which require a group), and a low drop rate on top of that.

[greenspectre]

So soloing Cliff Golems, which is basically impossible without Torpor anyways, is a shot in the dark vs a very difficult mob, while doing something like Juggs is still pretty rare, but safer, and you'd better be in a guild group or you're /rand'ing over 100k. Ugh.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

So soloing Cliff Golems, which is basically impossible without Torpor anyways, is a shot in the dark vs a very difficult mob, while doing something like Juggs is still pretty rare, but safer, and you'd better be in a guild group or you're /rand'ing over 100k. Ugh.

It has been a while since I have not had Torpor, but if memory serves a level 60 Shaman without Torpor can solo Cliff Golems, it is just much harder. You may need Malo, Pox, Bane, Spirit of the Howler, and Fungi Tunic to do it, which will be difficult enough to obtain on Green. As others have said, if you want to solo Cliff Golems cheaply, you need to be an Enchanter or Necro, so you can use Undead Foreman as a pet.

However, I am pretty sure Cliff Golems will be perma-camped anyway for most of Green's life cycle, especially before Velious comes out. You probably won't get a lot of opportunities to solo them, even if you are able.

[Danth]

For an idea of the Torpor drop rate off cliff golems, the wife and I have fought many hundreds of those over the years. We've seen Torpor drop exactly once, and that was in 2014 (remember Kunark came out on P99 in 2011). Getting a Torpor off those is more akin to a very rare boon rather than something that should be considered reliable. The wife already had Torpor before we even bothered doing them at all; they're not pushovers in weak Kunark-era equipment.


Danth

[Zipity]

It has been a while since I have not had Torpor, but if memory serves a level 60 Shaman without Torpor can solo Cliff Golems, it is just much harder. You may need Malo, Pox, Bane, Spirit of the Howler, and Fungi Tunic to do it, which will be difficult enough to obtain on Green. As others have said, if you want to solo Cliff Golems cheaply, you need to be an Enchanter or Necro, so you can use Undead Foreman as a pet.

However, I am pretty sure Cliff Golems will be perma-camped anyway for most of Green's life cycle, especially before Velious comes out. You probably won't get a lot of opportunities to solo them, even if you are able.

Enchanter just charms the beefy gargoyle, tash golem > rapture > try to land slow before it fades > send pet > go sit outside leash range Incase of pet break(skyfire zoneline a good one) > loot.

[7thGate]

If by early on you mean for the existence of the server then yeah. Even when Velious drops Torpor is hugely important, the sever will get to the end of its lifecycle with a big percentage of level 60 shaman not having torp, especially those not in the Riot equivalent (Seal Team? I don't play on the server).

Harla Dar adds another Torp source in Velious. ALS got most of our Torpors from her. Its possible we were lucky though since its small sample size (I believe there were 3 total, IIRC, and 2/21 on kills I've been there for). We tried in the first place because Magelo has her Torp drop rate at 18%, which is very likely too high/out of era, but was a clue she might be worth killing for it.

Permacamped Guardian Wurms should output a decent torpor rate though I would expect, I think that's probably the highest Torp per unit time spent camp? Given the density of the server, I expect all of these camps get taken and help more or less permanently.

[Waedawen]

remember when all you ding dongs were looking at me sideways when I said "buy a weapon" when green launched?

embarrassing

[getsome]

If you are in a guild that will kill dragons you won’t have to hard a time getting torpor.

VP trash a good place to get it.

The best camp is prot and tola every 2 hours and 45 minutes. You make bank no matter what drops and can you easily buy a copy. Bonus cause you can get a botbde off reets while doing this camp.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

If you are in a guild that will kill dragons you won’t have to hard a time getting torpor.

VP trash a good place to get it.

The best camp is prot and tola every 2 hours and 45 minutes. You make bank no matter what drops and can you easily buy a copy. Bonus cause you can get a botbde off reets while doing this camp.

Again, the problem isn't "can people get money/trades for Torpor?". The problem is Torpor is one of the rarest (if not the rarest) spell drops in Kunark, and not a lot of camps drop it. Chances are it will be a while before extra copies hit the market. Friends, guilds, etc., will keep the extra copies they find and give/sell them to people they want to have Torpor first. Only when all of that settles down will you see it in East Commonlands with any regularity.

EDIT: Also, due to the low amount of camps that drop the spell, it will be harder to get into one of those groups/camps. Those camps will probably be heavily saturated with players for a while.

[getsome]

I sold the first 2-3 copies to hit the market on blue. Mostly cause myself and trystch locked down prot and tola for a while after we hit 60. I always sold to highest price. Sitting on copies or giving them away was never gonna happen in our farm crew.

You don’t need a lot of people to hold down that camp. We did it with cleric and a necro. We each made a few mill plat cause all the drops are in high demand early in kunark.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

I sold the first 2-3 copies to hit the market on blue. Mostly cause myself and trystch locked down prot and tola for a while after we hit 60. I always sold to highest price. Sitting on copies or giving them away was never gonna happen in our farm crew.

You don’t need a lot of people to hold down that camp. We did it with cleric and a necro. We each made a few mill plat cause all the drops are in high demand early in kunark.

Sure. So you are gonna sell high, which takes most people out of the market. That camp is being farm crewed by you, so other people can't farm it. And a lot of other people will not be doing what you are doing:) The fact that the camp doesn't need to be held down by a lot of people means more hording will go on, as less people who need it are getting into that camp.

[Ghost of Starman]

I don't think anyone is arguing that neckbeards with 40+ hour a week playtimes won't get Torpor, I think the argument is that anyone thats a casual raider or below that plays <20 hours a week has a slim chance of geting it in the servers lifetime.

Also, green is so much more competitive that Blue ever was, especially at this timeframe. I don't recall ever hearing about people 24/7 camping Summon Corpse to block other guilds from doing PoSky, I don't think comparing to the same period of time on Blue is necessarily a valid comparison.

[getsome]

I don't think anyone is arguing that neckbeards with 40+ hour a week playtimes won't get Torpor, I think the argument is that anyone thats a casual raider or below that plays <20 hours a week has a slim chance of geting it in the servers lifetime.

Also, green is so much more competitive that Blue ever was, especially at this timeframe. I don't recall ever hearing about people 24/7 camping Summon Corpse to block other guilds from doing PoSky, I don't think comparing to the same period of time on Blue is necessarily a valid comparison.

If you are casual player, just save up the plat for torpor. If you want it, buy it when it goes on sale.

Folks on blue did not need to camp that spell to block sky, because necros who were not lazy, already had that spell. Guilds on blue blocked advancement in sky by killing mobs in sky to prevent their advancement. A top guild on the server quit after being denied sky pixels.

Green is definitely more crowded, blue never had carebear /lists or tranix rotations.