How bad is the xp penalty as SK?

ivcho · #1 08-15-2014, 10:23 AM

Hi all,

First post and before I go into my question I have to say this project 1999 thing is truly amazing. I have some of my best life memories from my late teens playing classic EQ and now I'm basically reliving them and it's incredible.

Ok, so my question is this. I used to back in the day mostly play a Dark Elf Shadow Knight and was completely ignorant that an XP penalty actually existed, so I suppose I never really noticed anything wrong. Now that I know it exists I'm reluctant to make the same character again as I fear the penalty would be awful.

How bad is it truly for those of you that have played hybrids or penalized races? Is this penalty in place to essentially offset the benefits a certain race or class provides and therefore ultimately you end up leveling at the same rate and don't really notice? Or is it truly a grueling process to level up a hybrid or a penalized race?

Thanks for your thoughts [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Duncon · #2 08-15-2014, 10:34 AM

The hybrid penalty is not so bad. At least in the levels I have played. Other things will impact your leveling rate more than the penalty. You will notice bigger changes in xp rate between a decent group and a bad one, or getting in a sweet spot and not so sweet spot, than with or without a hybrid penalty.

I don’t think you should avoid playing a character you are interested in just because of penalty.

Stormlight · #3 08-15-2014, 10:36 AM

I'm not certain why a harsh penalty on knights exists, but for me, it comes down to this: if I'm enjoying my time, the exp penalty doesn't matter. Keep in mind, I haven't played one to 60. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

fishingme · #4 08-15-2014, 10:38 AM

I can tell you that ranger penalty is terrible. Partnered with a cleric yesterday in unrest and every 1-2 orange I got, he got a level.

Stormlight · #5 08-15-2014, 10:41 AM

http://wiki.project1999.com/Game_Mec...perience_Works

Quote:

So, final thought...
Group with good players. An equal level group with multiple hybrids generally takes no more than 16% more kills to gain a level that a similarly leveled group that has no hydrids. Good groups kill at least 16% faster than bad groups. So, group with good players regardless of class.

ivcho · #6 08-15-2014, 10:50 AM

Hehe yes, but imagine grouping with great players without a penalty!

So, basically what I'm getting is that the penalty is actually pretty bad and the benefits you get from playing a hybrid or penalized race aren't nearly enough to offset it, which is what I was afraid of!

Back to playing my halfling rogue I suppose [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Stormlight · #7 08-15-2014, 10:53 AM

See that sad face? That's why you should play something you enjoy, regardless of exp. Unless your goal is to get to 60 as fast as possible, of course.

Evedas · #8 08-15-2014, 10:54 AM

From my experience, time flies when you're grouping with a good group. This is my first time playing the game, and I picked Iksar Shadowknight with 68% penalty, but ever since level 7-8 I started grouping and it only took 3 days to get to 14.

ivcho · #9 08-15-2014, 11:08 AM

I shouldn't have put a sadface really.. the halfling guy is pretty fun, but I do miss my SK, just not as much after having read your comments. I like feeling like I'm getting the best possible deal always lol so I wouldn't feel content knowing I'm spending 40% more time on something without getting anything in return really.

And yea I get that time flies when you're in a group and you level quickly, but you would be even higher level and still had a lot of fun if you weren't a hybrid hehe.

My point and what my question was getting at was whether the penalty existed because you actually get a lot of benefits in return making your grind much faster and more efficient and penalty therefore got offset, which doesn't seem to be the case at all from what I hear.

Fiyero · #10 08-15-2014, 11:21 AM

The penalty can be pretty harsh. 40% for all hybrids. Iksar/Troll SKs have it the worst, since they add racial penalty making their total 68%. And yeah, I'd say it's noticeable with not much in return right now.

If the penalty bothers you, maybe stick to your rogue for now and wait until Velious to play SK when hybrid penalties are removed.