[bcbrown]

Originally Posted by Kalman [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Genius play! How did I not think about this? Juggling items to mules was the biggest hindrance for my first run. Corpsing the gear is way faster and also will allow camping lore items without having to transfer them.

Also great RPing there. I love it! [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The druid and I were cracking up. I wished I'd taken a screenshot. I explained the challenge to him, so hopefully he shows up and chimes in with his perspective and reaction. Shout out to Poorts!

Originally Posted by Kalman [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I did that once too on my first run on purpose, when I was in Mistmoore to get an additional chance on the avenging Caitiff. But I decided to not use that tactic further purposfully, because it felt too much like an exploit (with the drawback to loose the camp [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.])

Yeah, I considered that too. I'm not going to push it too hard. But I figure if I do something like end a play session by traveling to a new zone and doing a single round of PH kills, that's not too bad. I also honestly have no clue how much time 24 hours is going to end up giving me, so it's a little hard to decide how much to budget in different zones. And I naturally prefer somewhat-shorter sessions of an hour or two to marathon sessions. I think the rule I'll try to follow is that if I only plan to stay for two rounds of pops, it's fine to end a session after entering a zone and checking if any targets are up.

Originally Posted by Kalman [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I would have never thought that a naked 60 Paladin has an edge over a naked 60 Ranger tanking the Mino Hero [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]
This is hilarious and in the true spirit of classic EverQuest [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I'm only level 57, for what that's worth. And I went into the fight completely unbuffed, just assuming it'd be as easy as the slavers. I can self-buff 25 atk, 275 hp, 63 ac, +20 damage shield, plus Chloroplast; and 2x Call of Flame plus 1x Drones of Doom takes the Hero to half health. If I started the fight with full buffs and deployed offensive spells more aggressively I think it's a different story; maybe I'll go back and check after the challenge, or maybe I'll save that for the next attempt.

A Tour of Mistmoore: After posting my writeup I later went back for an hour in Mistmoore. I've spent very little time inside the castle itself, so this was mostly time spent scouting around. Butler Syncall was up, so I swiftly and forcibly extracted his fang; he was an easier fight than the Flouting Gargoyle in the room with him. I killed the Maid Issis placeholder, then went to learn where the spa and the Cloaked Dhampyre camp are. Then I puttered around the zone, killing semi-randomly, hoping to find out what might drop ringmail. Someone in zone said it drops at Graveyard, but I wasn't able to get anything. I did manage to get a Fine Steel Rapier to go with my Minotaur Axe, but I think the Dwarven Two-Handed Axe is still better DPS. I also got a Crested Mistmoore Shield I'll probably never use, but discovered it vendors for 40+ plat! Lotta money when you're starting out with nothing, but I hung onto it for now.

Resupply: After filling up my one backpack I ran back to Kelethin to vendor and buy some backpacks. I accidentally wandered into the bard hall instead of the bag vendor, but happened to find 8 more bat wings in stock, so I've got enough levitation for a while. I sold the weapons I'd picked up and filled my inventory with backpacks. I made my way back to Mistmoore, took another look on Track for any nameds, then called it a night.

Tooth Collection: This afternoon I logged back in, hoping to finally get something good out of Mistmoore. Maid Issis was up, so I made a beeline for her and performed another impromptu dentistry operation - both the butler and the maid dropped their fangs on the first kill, which was extremely lucky. However now I'll have a dilemma if I see the Avenging Caitiff up: kill for a Crested drop, or turn in the fangs for an Electrum-Bladed Wakizashi. It probably wasn't an efficient choice to spend time on this but when I see an obscure potentially-good weapon I just can't help myself. Sadly I didn't get to make a decision - I didn't see the Caitiff up up.

Dicy fights: As I made my way back to the entrance I found a Will Sapper, who I was hoping might have a pair of Black Silk Gloves. When a Glyphed Forbidder joined the fight things got dicy until I switched targets to the Forbidder, who was healing the Will Sapper. I went outside CE to rest up, then picked a fight with the Cloaked Dhampyre PH. Another mob joined in and the fight got pretty rough again. I wonder if I was 60 if I'd have a little less social aggro?

A Small Consolation: After resting up again I went to the Caitiff spawn and got my first drop of the day: the placeholder Deathly Usher had the Black Silk Gloves. No caitiff though. After slaughtering the graveyard in a fruitless hunt for ringmail armor, I saw the Cloaked Dhampyre had spawned. Unfortunately by the time I buffed and medded up he wasn't on track any more. I sent a tell to someone else in zone to see if they'd gotten him, and he had only dropped the blood so at least it wasn't as bitter a disappointment as it could have been.

Moving On: At this point I was starting to think I needed some more armor to make these fights a bit easier and made my way to Kelethin for a full set of leather armor. Instead of returning to Mistmoore I headed towards Unrest, with a quick detour in Dagnor's to relieve Barnacle Bones of his Barnacle-Covered Pauldrons; another win for the ability to opportunistically pick up nameds on track. In Unrest I can use Wolf Form to make everything non-KOS which is extremely convenient. The only named up was Garanif, who dropped his work boots. And that's where I ended that session.

Time elapsed: 59 minutes last night, 1:33 today.
Gear acquired: Black Silk Gloves, Barnacle-covered Pauldrons, Dwarven Work Boots, full set of leather armor

Total time elapsed so far: 3 hours, 15 minutes. A disappointing foray into Mistmoore but now I have a better sense of the zone, the camps, and how to approach it. When I'm done in Unrest I'll have to decide if I go back for another couple rounds, or press onwards and leave that for the denouement of this adventure.

After a little more reflection I think almost the entire Mistmoore adventure was a mistake. I'd never been to several of these camps, and now I've gained valuable information. 45 minutes or so for a couple Caitiff spawns while slaughtering the graveyard for fine steel and ringmail will be my plan for the next attempt, and then I'll save the rest for towards the end when I know exactly what upgrades I still need, and have a higher baseline of gear to attempt it. I decided my next session would be dedicated to traveling all the way across the world.

A Lucky Start: Logged in to unrest, almost all relevant nameds were up. Garanif dropped a ring, knight a bloodstained tunic, bartender the apron. I knew from the Captain's Inn how much time I had, and it would be close. Just as I arrived at the BB docks the boat appeared on the horizon. I hoped to see Capt Surestout up so I could relieve him of his bracer. Sure enough, as I passed the island I saw him on track. I jumped off the boat and immediately cast Greater Wolf Form to go with my existing Levitate. I quickly tracked down the captain and it took no time at all to loot the Bracers of Erollisi. Soon five points stronger, I set my sights on outracing the boat to the last dock, #2 on the map. May Tunare wing my feet and bear me swiftly along to my destination! I counted down the distance with /loc, carefully aiming SW, passing just south of #4 on the map before straightening out due west. I saw the boat docking and managed to levitate up into it before it disembarked. The OOT gambit was a success, and I didn't have to wait for the next boat.

A Tough Decision: As I hadn't had time to vendor in BB before I caught the boat, I stopped off in a tavern to sell some weapons and replenish provisions. And of all the grubby taverns I might have stopped in, this one sold something wondrous. Another traveler passing through had left their Ykeshan War Club with the barkeep, who only wanted 100pp for it. I quickly considered my options. It's not so much more powerful than what I currently had, but it would be a clear upgrade. I didn't quite have the plat for it until I recalled a Crested Mistmoore Shield I had picked up on my first foray there. Was this a sign from Tunare? Was She gently guiding my path, and what had seemed like a failed experiment to spend so much time in Mistmoore had actually been part of a larger plan just now becoming clear? I resolved I could use it for the duration of the adventure but not count it for points.

Journey into Sand and Across the World: I knew what I had to do. I sold the shield and acquired a mighty war club. Now it was time to test my mettle against a couple sand giants in Oasis. How good was my gear at this point really? The first one was cut down quickly; the second was a little tougher but sooned joined his brother. I killed a couple asps and picked up some poison sacs and then made my way to the Barrel Barge which was just about to leave as I arrived. As soon as we zoned into TD I left the barge and ran due south to the end of the zone. Once inside the Firepots I was quickly teleported to Erudin. After a quick stop at the bank I ran south to the entrance to the Warrens and called it a night.

Time Elapsed: 1:27
Gear Acquired: Jagged Band, Thick Leather Apron, Bloodstained Tunic, Bracers of Erollisi
Total Time Elapsed: 4:43

The price of insufficient research: When researching my plans before next logging in, I realized a fatal flaw in my plans. I had hoped to travel to Stonebrunt and hunt heretics for the Swiftclaw Sash. Meanwhile I'd be foraging for a Kejekan Palm Fruit and then completing the quest Yuio's Illness to leave with a Wakizashi of the Frozen Skies. But with a 1 hour respawn timer on the heretic invaders that would be an unwise investment of time. So I pivoted, returning to Erudin and taking a boat to Qeynos

The completion of a long-planned quest: as we arrived in South Qeynos I immediately made my way to the warriors guild and got my very own shiny Hero Bracers. Now my wrist slots were finished! I then left the city and began the long run across WK. I had heard tell of a Ghoul Messenger in these parts, but found no sight nor sound nor any sign whatsoever of such a foul creature. I stopped by the Ogre Altar to consider whether any of them might have something shiny I could use. However, I found them mostly Warmly and Kindly to me, and wasn't willing to lose that faction for such a small chance of a small upgrade. I resolved to let them be and absentmindedly sat down to swap spells. I'm not sure who took offense at that, perhaps Chief Goonda's pet disliked how many head pats and ear scritches this other strange wolf was getting from the Ogre Guards. Anyway, somehow first one attacked me, and then they all set upon me and I had to flee to NK with my tail between my legs.

More Karana adventures A quick sweep of NK showed no sign of GrimFeather so I headed to South Karana and headed to the centaur village, slaughtering them mercilessly. Some time later I walked away with a Runed Oak Bow but no Thunderhoof Quiver. No matter; bow acquired. Back in NK GrimFeather was up; I knew this might be a tough fight so started off with an Immolate and a fear kite, then face-tanked the rest of the way to the pre-ordained conclusion. Back in WK the Ghoul Messenger gave up a strategic map of Kithicor, and Brenzl McMannus was willing to let me stock up on arrows as soon as I sneaked behind him. I needed to give a guildie a port and a bind, so I left things off there.

Time Elapsed: 1:37
Gear Acquired: Hero Bracers, Runed Oak Bow
Total Time Elapsed: 6:20