The best expansion for PvP

[magnetaress]

I want to say classic only.

Strong arguments for Kunark adding a few more items and some good stuff to the game in the form of Iksars, but classic pvp.. Is legit.

Anyone can participate with little effort, everything matters in classic. Wizards will land nukes. Warriors can zone dance, the world is glorious.

[Tunabros]

I only encountered like 3 pvp events ever so my opinion is probably invalid

but probably velious

imagine fighting through the epic halls of ToV

how cool would that be??

[Knuckle]

I want to say classic only.

Strong arguments for Kunark adding a few more items and some good stuff to the game in the form of Iksars, but classic pvp.. Is legit.

Anyone can participate with little effort, everything matters in classic. Wizards will land nukes. Warriors can zone dance, the world is glorious.

I think Kunark was great for PVP honestly, a bit more spread out, but the dungeon hotspots were always the same: Guk - Sebilis - Chardok - Droga. Spell farm zones: Skyfire - Burning Wood. Not to mention anywhere people had to camp an epic spawn. I think classic probably did force more PVP due to funneling high level players, but otherwise I'd say Kunark was more "Exciting" in the flexibility of spells and added lures, epics, and DISCs cranked the "your not getting out alive" factor up, especially since running to a zoneout in Kunark dungeons was typically more difficult. I get a hardon remembering ganking crypt on the old rogueroo.

Included Guk because people still farmed FBSS's all the time.

[Jimjam]

Faydwer

[Gustoo]

Vanilla is definitely the best. Everyone is capping out at like barely over 100 magic resist means casters still have a chance.

Base stats mean a whole lot more so ogres are extra strong in vanilla era because no one is capping out anything. I think this is a - but its worth noting.

Kunark second best
Velious third best

Will not evaluate post Velious expansions.

One of worst things about kunark is that it makes the human monk second class citizen. It used to be cool that a monk had to be a basic human and had basically no gear at all. Kunark comes out and the get geared to the teeth and have regen and extra mitigation and freaking night vision. Pretty plz. Worst part of kunark. Poor humans.

Only bad thing about vanilla is the game is so much smaller that everyone can totally BIS max out without a zillion years of poop socking. I think this is a positive but I would hate to see too many people just quit for nothing else to do on their characters besides roll alts and max them out too.

A vanilla server should have legacy items in place always or removed completely so that it isn't dumb. Lustrous russet is up for debate. Rubicite obviously stays in. Manastone is up for debate.

I don't think theres any perfect set up thats why you gotta enjoy each era while it lasts.

[magnetaress]

I think Kunark was great for PVP honestly, a bit more spread out, but the dungeon hotspots were always the same: Guk - Sebilis - Chardok - Droga. Spell farm zones: Skyfire - Burning Wood. Not to mention anywhere people had to camp an epic spawn. I think classic probably did force more PVP due to funneling high level players, but otherwise I'd say Kunark was more "Exciting" in the flexibility of spells and added lures, epics, and DISCs cranked the "your not getting out alive" factor up, especially since running to a zoneout in Kunark dungeons was typically more difficult. I get a hardon remembering ganking crypt on the old rogueroo.

Included Guk because people still farmed FBSS's all the time.
ya
Vanilla is definitely the best. Everyone is capping out at like barely over 100 magic resist means casters still have a chance.

Base stats mean a whole lot more so ogres are extra strong in vanilla era because no one is capping out anything. I think this is a - but its worth noting.

Kunark second best
Velious third best

Will not evaluate post Velious expansions.

One of worst things about kunark is that it makes the human monk second class citizen. It used to be cool that a monk had to be a basic human and had basically no gear at all. Kunark comes out and the get geared to the teeth and have regen and extra mitigation and freaking night vision. Pretty plz. Worst part of kunark. Poor humans.

Only bad thing about vanilla is the game is so much smaller that everyone can totally BIS max out without a zillion years of poop socking. I think this is a positive but I would hate to see too many people just quit for nothing else to do on their characters besides roll alts and max them out too.

A vanilla server should have legacy items in place always or removed completely so that it isn't dumb. Lustrous russet is up for debate. Rubicite obviously stays in. Manastone is up for debate.

I don't think theres any perfect set up thats why you gotta enjoy each era while it lasts.
--- minus's are important too

than again i don't think a high elf paladin with only 90 str is horribly gimped in classic where people have at most 3k hp and jousting is always key to a melee players strength more than anything else, ogres are not going to have 255 str unless buffed in classic/vanilla either, especially if using resists or +HP, I always used yaulp on my half elf paladin. I had a baton of faith that hit pretty hard in pvp. On my ranger in vanilla, I was able to duel a troll warrior and SK in my 20's in unrest. So all seemed fair and fine to me.

+kunark adds some nice stuff for knights and kinda was the best balanced place in EQ for me, overall, Lures for wizards are a big +
-Iksars did wreck human monks, but what can ya do
-the spread of players, and that the planes/planar stuff became sorta secondary to epics and people started playing their class 'for the epic' not the class.

I think fast paced quick fights and danger is what makes EQ pvp more fun, and when fights take upwards of 10 minutes or are just plain unwinnable its not as fun. So any expansion were wizards, druids, necros, can all blast people, even if thats just an alt, is a good expansion for me.

It takes upwards of years to get 'god gear' in velious and yet stuff like a primal bow can wreck someone even in god gear, but someone who started two months ago, is just going to quit unless they make friends, and don't mind losing, being a decoy in a bigger fight.

-----

i know it's straying into custom territory but stuff like DE masks should probably not be in either on a vanilla pvp server, make ogres pay for being fat, gives people a better reason to twink a dark elf war.

agree + rubicite -lusterous, can't judge manastones, but prior to fungi and wizard epics, they aren't as good as ppl make them out, are really just a druid/cleric raid item.

[Gustoo]

I think most of us (at this point) agree that despite being really cool (no pun intended) velious is a little much for EQ PVP because the depth of that gear gap. It just takes so much time to collect all of the stupid All/All +10 all stats items that these high dragons start to drop.

But then again if its seasonal and we get a new server ever 3 or 4 years I am kinda good with running the classic timeline, whoever is on top in velious era gets there short era of glory and eventually the red99 recycle server will have a ton of BIS velious guys to kill eachother and it will be deep pvp in the halls of vallhalla with maximum gear.

[magnetaress]

I think most of us (at this point) agree that despite being really cool (no pun intended) velious is a little much for EQ PVP because the depth of that gear gap. It just takes so much time to collect all of the stupid All/All +10 all stats items that these high dragons start to drop.

But then again if its seasonal and we get a new server ever 3 or 4 years I am kinda good with running the classic timeline, whoever is on top in velious era gets there short era of glory and eventually the red99 recycle server will have a ton of BIS velious guys to kill eachother and it will be deep pvp in the halls of vallhalla with maximum gear.

Praying for this. I want to see it again. Maybe I'm chasing the dragon too, but this is one of the (minor) many reasons I'm using to motivate staying alive through 21. Even if it's just over pixels.

In +vanilla mages are a pretty decent class.

[crossplay]

Vanilla
Kunark
Velious
Planes of Power
Luclin

[Gustoo]

Ugh on rallos zek mages were insanely difficult. With zero magic resist that earth pet just destroys and you are perma rooted just getting exploded on all day.

Back in the good old bad old days, the mage could sick his pet on you, and the guards wouldn't do anything even if you were sitting there resting up. Then if you attacked the pet, the guards would kill you. It didn't feel like justice.

But yeah they are really solid zone death patrol in vanilla. If you have a buddy with a mage to sit on the other side of the zone line you're even better off.

[Tassador]

It has to be classic. Especially during its appropriate timeline. Kunark was fun the first year was dreadfully painful to play until velious think most sane people took breaks and quit. Velious was not really ever about the individual pvp anymore and the group pvp just sucked ass. I think it can all be enjoyed in an appropriate time line setting that provides different tiers of gameplay style from neckbeard to causal to weekend warrior.

[Ret.SaxonAlex]

I love Velious on pve. Its a bummer to hear that people don't like it in pvp. I really think building player made cities in Velious might fix things. Then guilds might have an easier time building up forces.

I also thought it would be cool to make an way for an iksar only faction, that some how get dark elf converted clerics and enchanters through a quest. And have a lock capability outside Sebelis, and maintain the need for Sebelis farmed item, (wont leak details, pretty obvious though.) So its cowboys vs indians in kunark trying to raid. As an American not sure if I can say, cowboys vs indians but sometimes they are good movies.

[Vexenu]

I think Kunark was probably the most balanced PvP era overall. Casters are extremely strong in Classic, with Warriors and SKs being the only melee classes that can even begin to compete in that era. Rogues and Monks have laughable itemization in this era, Rangers have a single decent 2H, Paladins are ok but still Paladins. Meanwhile Druids, Necros and Wizards are arguably at their peak with their extremely strong level 49 spell lines. And resists and HP are low enough in this era that even Mages and Shaman are respectable killers.

Meanwhile in Velious the tables turn. High end itemization by then becomes so ridiculous than melees are essentially unkillable 1v1 by any caster of equivalent skill. Even if casters can land spells against 200+ MR/FR/CR, they don't count for much against characters filled with +100 HP gear in every slot. And whenever you stop to cast you're getting double tapped by massive dmg 2Hers.

In Kunark there was a good balance. Melees received a big boost, but casters got a good boost as well, just not as big. Every melee that could use them had access to decent 2H weapons for jousting. Resist gear was more fleshed out, so melees weren't at risk of being rooted and snared as much. Kunark itself has a nice mix of big outdoor zones and tight dungeons, so every class can find a niche spot to excel in PvP. Wiz, Nec and Dru all get pretty good 50+ spells with Wiz being the best off with the Lure nukes. Mages suffer most but the diehards are rewarded with the Epic pet (which is absurdly brutal in PvP assuming no enemy Bard to charm poof it). Shaman get the Black Fur Boots which are better than their epic itself for PvP. Overall it just seemed like Kunark was the era in which every class brought something decent to great to the table in PvP. Maybe not in every situation, but in Kunark each class had the itemization/spells available to be competitive in its own niche.

[Gustoo]

Ya but in vanilla ice comet is super OP so that’s the best expansion ;p

[JayDee]

I think Kunark was probably the most balanced PvP era overall. Casters are extremely strong in Classic, with Warriors and SKs being the only melee classes that can even begin to compete in that era. Rogues and Monks have laughable itemization in this era, Rangers have a single decent 2H, Paladins are ok but still Paladins. Meanwhile Druids, Necros and Wizards are arguably at their peak with their extremely strong level 49 spell lines. And resists and HP are low enough in this era that even Mages and Shaman are respectable killers.

Meanwhile in Velious the tables turn. High end itemization by then becomes so ridiculous than melees are essentially unkillable 1v1 by any caster of equivalent skill. Even if casters can land spells against 200+ MR/FR/CR, they don't count for much against characters filled with +100 HP gear in every slot. And whenever you stop to cast you're getting double tapped by massive dmg 2Hers.

In Kunark there was a good balance. Melees received a big boost, but casters got a good boost as well, just not as big. Every melee that could use them had access to decent 2H weapons for jousting. Resist gear was more fleshed out, so melees weren't at risk of being rooted and snared as much. Kunark itself has a nice mix of big outdoor zones and tight dungeons, so every class can find a niche spot to excel in PvP. Wiz, Nec and Dru all get pretty good 50+ spells with Wiz being the best off with the Lure nukes. Mages suffer most but the diehards are rewarded with the Epic pet (which is absurdly brutal in PvP assuming no enemy Bard to charm poof it). Shaman get the Black Fur Boots which are better than their epic itself for PvP. Overall it just seemed like Kunark was the era in which every class brought something decent to great to the table in PvP. Maybe not in every situation, but in Kunark each class had the itemization/spells available to be competitive in its own niche.


Imagine how bad it was on live without to adjusted resists. You could not land movement impairing spells on anyone post 100 MR.

Along with the things you pointed out, I would also say Kunark is the perfect size. Assuming a population of 300-1,000, it is small enough to be densely populated and big enough to find things to do outside of pvp.

[Old_PVP]

I think Kunark was probably the most balanced PvP era overall. Casters are extremely strong in Classic, with Warriors and SKs being the only melee classes that can even begin to compete in that era. Rogues and Monks have laughable itemization in this era, Rangers have a single decent 2H, Paladins are ok but still Paladins. Meanwhile Druids, Necros and Wizards are arguably at their peak with their extremely strong level 49 spell lines. And resists and HP are low enough in this era that even Mages and Shaman are respectable killers.

Meanwhile in Velious the tables turn. High end itemization by then becomes so ridiculous than melees are essentially unkillable 1v1 by any caster of equivalent skill. Even if casters can land spells against 200+ MR/FR/CR, they don't count for much against characters filled with +100 HP gear in every slot. And whenever you stop to cast you're getting double tapped by massive dmg 2Hers.

In Kunark there was a good balance. Melees received a big boost, but casters got a good boost as well, just not as big. Every melee that could use them had access to decent 2H weapons for jousting. Resist gear was more fleshed out, so melees weren't at risk of being rooted and snared as much. Kunark itself has a nice mix of big outdoor zones and tight dungeons, so every class can find a niche spot to excel in PvP. Wiz, Nec and Dru all get pretty good 50+ spells with Wiz being the best off with the Lure nukes. Mages suffer most but the diehards are rewarded with the Epic pet (which is absurdly brutal in PvP assuming no enemy Bard to charm poof it). Shaman get the Black Fur Boots which are better than their epic itself for PvP. Overall it just seemed like Kunark was the era in which every class brought something decent to great to the table in PvP. Maybe not in every situation, but in Kunark each class had the itemization/spells available to be competitive in its own niche.

I concur with this. I have fond memories of epic PVP battles in all 3 eras... but the Kunark era was EverQuest at it's peak glory. After Kunark, the game started going downhill. Sure, there were fun things about later expansions, but the 'magic' of EQ started to die. The game became increasingly focused on massively long raids starting with Velious. Most PVP encounters ended up being determined by gear, instead of skill & strategy.

[magnetaress]

I think Kunark was probably the most balanced PvP era overall. Casters are extremely strong in Classic, with Warriors and SKs being the only melee classes that can even begin to compete in that era. Rogues and Monks have laughable itemization in this era, Rangers have a single decent 2H, Paladins are ok but still Paladins. Meanwhile Druids, Necros and Wizards are arguably at their peak with their extremely strong level 49 spell lines. And resists and HP are low enough in this era that even Mages and Shaman are respectable killers.

Meanwhile in Velious the tables turn. High end itemization by then becomes so ridiculous than melees are essentially unkillable 1v1 by any caster of equivalent skill. Even if casters can land spells against 200+ MR/FR/CR, they don't count for much against characters filled with +100 HP gear in every slot. And whenever you stop to cast you're getting double tapped by massive dmg 2Hers.

In Kunark there was a good balance. Melees received a big boost, but casters got a good boost as well, just not as big. Every melee that could use them had access to decent 2H weapons for jousting. Resist gear was more fleshed out, so melees weren't at risk of being rooted and snared as much. Kunark itself has a nice mix of big outdoor zones and tight dungeons, so every class can find a niche spot to excel in PvP. Wiz, Nec and Dru all get pretty good 50+ spells with Wiz being the best off with the Lure nukes. Mages suffer most but the diehards are rewarded with the Epic pet (which is absurdly brutal in PvP assuming no enemy Bard to charm poof it). Shaman get the Black Fur Boots which are better than their epic itself for PvP. Overall it just seemed like Kunark was the era in which every class brought something decent to great to the table in PvP. Maybe not in every situation, but in Kunark each class had the itemization/spells available to be competitive in its own niche.

10/10 write up. Dr. Someone get this elf a Phd.

[Gustoo]

Agreed vexenu is a true scholar really bringing things to the next level with the definitive answer.

[magnetaress]

I don't mind IC being OP in pvp because wizards have to go med, so they may get me with their IC but it's their choice, I be hopefully rollin with a friend who gets them at their bind <3

Anyway life on EQ pvp isn't supposed to be EZ or immortal or about winning. https://i.imgur.com/HvB2x38.jpg

[Thulian]

nice disgusting fingers

also classic eq pvp sucks its all caster heavy and 50% druids 40% wizards and 10% shamans

[magnetaress]

Thx.

But always fun when that troll war logs in and smacks you in unrest. Just need ivu pots and to have an alt to check the zone for someone exping.