Progression questions from a warrior

[Ransurian]

As a new EQ player, I'm not really completely sure what's going on as far as gear progression, recommended zones, and group looting is concerned. Ideally, as a tank, I would admittedly prefer not to be a liability or a useless third wheel in my groups, or feel that I'm taking advantage of more geared players by grouping with them. Moreover, I certainly don't want to feel clueless, or that I'm being taken advantage of by groups that tend to skew loot in one person's favor -- (http://wiki.project1999.com/Ninja%27s_Guide_to_Looting is the reference in question, here).

http://wiki.project1999.com/Sakuragi's_Warrior_Guide seems helpful enough. For the 1-20 bracket, which is of course what I'm currently focusing on, I've noticed some recommended items that, per the guide, are "cheaply acquired" -- Sword of Skyfire, Platinum Fire Wedding Rings, et cetera.

However, the Project 1999 wiki's pricing data (assuming it means anything) would have it that these items are, in fact, considerably expensive. Two of the aforementioned rings alone would cost approximately 500 platinum, which seems fairly mind-boggling from my perspective as a level 6 warrior. Tack on a full set of bronze and one of the listed weapons, and... eugh. I just can't see myself acquiring money on those scales in the foreseeable future. Is there a more effective way of earning money than grinding bone chips ad nauseum, or should I simply forget about attempting to gear myself until later levels? If the latter is true, what would be my odds of being accepted into groups with virtually no gear?

I'm also curious as to whether any nearby dungeons exist that roughly correspond to my level. I'm currently at Kaladim, since I'm a Dwarf. At the moment, it feels as though soloing is starting to become very inefficient -- most of the monsters in Butcherblock appear to be either significantly too high or too low-level to net me a reliable experience stream. As I understand it, EQ is a fairly group-oriented game, so my assumption is that I'm going to have to start thinking about grouping up either now or very soon.

I'd like to add that Sakuragi's guide has a disclaimer that mentions that "things have changed for the better," and that "...it brings a lot of midlevel weapons which fill the gap between the Sarnak Warhammer/RMoY tier and the Epic/VP/BotBDE tier as well as some very good yet also easy to acquire armor." What armor is this disclaimer referring to, and at what level bracket can I start acquiring some of it?

Thanks for any helpful responses. Despite warnings that warriors are a difficult starter class, I feel that being vindicated in the end during Velious content is worth the effort required to level up.

[Pane_AK]

Find some people to duo with. A healer would be ideal. Also collect scarab carapices and look up the quest for armor they can be turned into. They look cool and are good starter items. When you get to about lvl 13 you can head to unrest. Enough time there and you could loot a full set of bronze armor.

Maybe look up crushbone. It's a very close dungeon that you can start fighting in at your level. A few pieces of loot there also that are relatively easy to come by.

[Naethyn]

1-4 steamfont mobs by druid rings
4-8 steamfont kobolds
8-12 east steamfont drakes
12-20 lavastorm by najena zoneline
20-28 hermit in sk
28-35 pirates in fv

Buy a jarsath trident for 50p. A green jade broadsword for 100p. Then try to buy golden fire wedding rings 100p each. At 40 buy yak clubs 200p each.

[heartbrand]

join red

join empire

ntov loot in 2 weeks

[Vorkon]

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

I'd like to add that Sakuragi's guide has a disclaimer that mentions that "things have changed for the better," and that "...it brings a lot of midlevel weapons which fill the gap between the Sarnak Warhammer/RMoY tier and the Epic/VP/BotBDE tier as well as some very good yet also easy to acquire armor." What armor is this disclaimer referring to, and at what level bracket can I start acquiring some of it?

Sakuragi's guide was written during the Kunark era and before Velious was released here. Kunark was brutal due to the fact here was little mid level gear around, you basically went from crafted to indo/cobalt.

The easiest to pick up is the http://wiki.project1999.com/Crustacean_Shell_Armor which runs 200-500 a piece, is loaded with str and sta, decent ac. Great for twinking on a budget.

You can get a set of that while you level and when you hit around 50, move to kael sit at plate cycle for 2-3 days and pick up a set of http://wiki.project1999.com/Warrior_...n_Armor_Quests quest pieces to get you a decent all around set.

[thufir]

My ogre warrior stumbled his way to 13 with a vendor long sword and shield and some rawhide armor. His first upgrade was a polished granite tomahawk that just happened to drop in zone while he was moving through Highpass to get to the commons from Blackburrow.

Where you are, going to Crushbone should prove efficacious. Tanks tend to be in high demand while leveling because few people are playing them. You should be able to get groups there. If you find Crushbone belts, those sell for 2-3p apiece and somebody in the area is almost always buying them; that will help your gearing problem (although you're right that you won't be able to afford the rings for awhile).

From there you can go to Unrest, or the commons in Antonica (deathfist slashed belts sell for 5p apiece, and drop from the orc camps in the commons). In your mid teens you can check out Oasis or Upper Guk, or even Highpass. Some Upper Guk camps, and Highpass, have loot drops that will help you close the gap to getting decent equipment (at the orc camp in Highpass, the shralok pack sells for 200-250p, and the divine aura idols go for about 500p).

TL;DR: don't worry, you will find groups, just play and have a good time =)

[Menemas]

What is the name of your warrior? I have some old pieces I need to get out of my bank.

[Raev]

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

Two of the aforementioned rings alone would cost approximately 500 platinum, which seems fairly mind-boggling from my perspective as a level 6 warrior.

Its really not that hard to get some platinum at low levels. The Sisters at Lesser Faydark drop bronze every time. Or get some mage to summon you some WR backpacks and duel corpse them when you log. You can make quite a decent amount by saving fine steel and ringmail/bronze from Unrest. Those aren't things you can do at level 6, of course, but by 20-25 its a reasonable goal.

What armor is this disclaimer referring to, and at what level bracket can I start acquiring some of it?

It's more actually referring to weapons, specifically Frostbringer, Infestation, and so on. Weapons will be your limiting factor in groups more than armor, because without weapons you won't be tanking anyway. But Coldain armor is far more accessible than Cobalt was in Kunark.

[dasdraco]

I think I still have a jarsath trident on my tunne mule you can have. I likely also have some bronze you can have that i was about to vendor. I will probably be around later on tonight. Shoot me a tell.

Prester, camillus, riirolat

[Ransurian]

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

What is the name of your warrior? I have some old pieces I need to get out of my bank.

Drakefall. I'd be very appreciative of the help! [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]