How well can Enchanters solo these days??

[Nanto]

Originally Posted by Splorf22 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Don't listen to these guys. Charm soloing works great all the way to 60, and it really isn't hard (EQ in general is more about spending 5000 hours in front of the computer than developing massive skill). And no, you don't have to be next to the zone.

Side note: Unlike most casters, Enchanters are somewhat gear dependent, so to really charm solo well you need 200 charisma (easily obtainable for me at level 40+ even as a Gnome with 75 base charisma with self buffs and Rod of Insidious Glamour, Siryn Hair Hood, Crude Stein, etc) and a Goblin Gazughi Ring if you aren't a Dark Elf (more annoying, but still not more than a few thousand plat IIRC). This lets you break charm without casting invisibility and waiting for the 2.5 second recast delay during which your ex pet is beating on you.

A few tips:

Know the locations of the mobs, especially the pathing ones. If you get jumped by mob #3, things can get ugly.

Always use Rune. If you are cheap, you can put Berserker in a spell slot above it.

Always root the target your pet is fighting. Especially at 49+, Paralyzing Earth lasts forever. This way the only time you are in serious danger is when root and charm break at the same time.

Always charm the caster mobs. This is critical because Wizards and Shamans can nuke you while rooted (bad). Fighting two casters at once is very dangerous and not recommended.

This goes double for summoning mobs - fighting two at once is a recipe for disaster. You can however kill one by charming it and having it fight weaker mobs. The key here is to stand right behind it, so that when charm breaks you are already in melee range. Otherwise it will summon you, and since it is facing mob #2, that places you right between the two.

Charm mobs near the dark blue floor. You will get fewer resists, longer charm durations, and shorter fights due to less mob HP. Especially at 40+ the HP increase is ridiculous; it's something like L40: 2500 HP, L45: 5000 HP, L50: 10000 HP. So charm has to last 4 times as long on a 50/50 fight vs a 40/40 fight.

Set up your UI correctly. Make a hotkey for color flux (I generally did stun/L4 mez since color flux has a casting time of 1.5 seconds compared to 2.5 for mez) with three /cast X lines, which will basically allow you to ignore fizzles. Add an audio trigger for 'Your X spell has worn off', and after a while hitting stun will just become a reflex as soon as charm breaks. With a little practice you should get very good at recharming.

Never use DoT spells (I usually prefer the L1 nuke due to the silly 'you must damage the mob for full XP' rule). If your pet is losing, the best strategy is to back it off at <5% health, mez thing 2, break charm, nuke the former pet, and go look for another pet to finish off thing 2 (memblur if you can't find anything).

The only time I really died was when I either was tired after a long session of grinding or when I took chances. But I still recommend a lot of grouping, and casting clarity on every cleric you see . . . .

Where would you solo nowadays from 58-60... Chardok? Karnor?

[Splorf22]

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

Where would you solo nowadays from 58-60... Chardok? Karnor?

At L58 you are high enough level to do both. Karnor's is easier as the mobs are lower level, but Chardok has caster mobs to manatap - I had literally 0 downtime there. Of course the caster mobs also make things more dangerous. Also some of the Myrmidons and Aruspices summon, which definitely adds to the difficulty level. There is nothing quite so obnoxious as getting 'Your target has resisted the Allure spell'. From a pure XP'ing viewpoint though, I preferred AoE groups in Skyfire. The XP rate was about the same, but it was a hell of a lot less work.

But, why would you want to? I ended up deleting my character like 2 weeks after I got level 60. Raiding Hate and Fear aren't too bad for an enchanter, but in Sky you are total buffbot. And forget about Dragons - if you want to do the real endgame content you a) must join a powerguild like TR and b) be on call and ready to log in at all times. And again, you'll basically just be buffbotting. From what I understand Velious is more of the same, since giants and dragons are all immune to stun and therefore mez. Really the only thing you can do at L60 is farm gear for an alt or two. Which I did, but in the end I decided I had basically beaten the game anyway [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[greatdane]

I leveled an enchanter to 52 almost exclusively through charm-kiting, I'd have done it to 60 if I had cared to keep playing the character. I did like ten levels in the Cazic-Thule sewers, wearing pretty modest gear, so you don't even have to be extremely safe to do it. It's definitely harder now without the bugged whirl and troll illusion, but it's perfectly doable. You'll want to have 200 charisma, more than that is nice but not necessary, and you'll want to wear HP gear in every slot you can find. If you can't afford charisma gear, make that your top priority after 5/55 rings. Most of the gear is dirt cheap by now, and you can quest for some of it yourself in your mid-30s or so. Things like Rod of Insidious Glamour and Incandescent Mask that used to go for 1k each can now be bought for a few hundred if you're patient, and the rest of the set is stuff like JC bracelets and drake-hide leggings that you can get for pocket change. This is what you'll want to aim for:

Neck: I know there's a new one in Kunark but I can't remember the name, so go for the JC one or that gypsy medallion
Head: Siryn Hair Hood, should be under 1k, maybe under 500 now
Face: Incandescent Mask, used to be upwards of 1k but probably also 500ish by now, can quest it fairly early if you get someone to kill the Mistmoore mob for you
Earrings: Opalline Earrings from Unrest (should be like 50-100 each, you can just camp them in your 20s)

Rings: 5/55 ones, don't wear charisma rings in the one slot you can get great HP in for little money
Wrists: Those JC ones, they should be like 75 each or something
Arms: Nothing really, you could get Gatorscale if you care, or even Azure Sleeves
Hands: Nothing affordable, just wear whatever you have at hand (hehe)

Shoulders: Nothing much, there's that HP/mana cape from LGuk but it's not that cheap
Chest: Noble's Robe
Back: Not much to be had on a budget, don't spend on +int if you're poor, goal would be Hooded Black Cloak for 3k or so
Waist: Again nothing, maybe Braided Cinch Cord down the line
Legs: Drake-hide Leggings, should be like a couple hundred at most
Feet: Nothing much except maybe Kobold-hide Boots

Primary: Rod of Insidious Glamour, 500-1kish, can quest it in your 30s
Secondary: A Crude Stein, loot it in Oggok whenever someone is camping the guards
Ranged: Nothing worthwhile

All those little +10 HP from things like Gatorscale Sleeves, Braided Cinch Cord and Kobold-hide Boots add up nicely, but charisma gear is by far more important and it's the only thing you really need. When you have 200 charisma, you're ready to charm-kite. Notes:

- Make liberal use of your level 4 mez. It's great, costs almost no mana, and is conveniently short. You should always have this memorized, and you should use it whenever you might otherwise take some damage. When charming a mob, for instance, I'd first mez it, then tash, then charm.

- Don't fuck around with stupid things like hasting your pet and/or slowing its target. Your goal is to have your pet kill its target while retaining as little HP as possible so that you can break charm and kill it afterwards. Trying to make a pet last more than one kill is dangerous, not only because there's a higher risk of charm breaking at a bad time when you keep it that long but because a charm break on a hasted mob is bad news.

- Target mob should be rooted at all times, and you should be far enough from both that you can quickly mez your pet if charm breaks, before it reaches you.

- Always keep Gate memorized and don't be afraid to gate if the situation looks likely to turn bad. Don't hestitate to do it or it'll usually be too late. You're better off gating 10 times when it wasn't necessary two of those times than you are dying three times. Also keep your best AoE stun (the color spray line) and use it whenever a mob gets up to you.

- Keep your rune up at all times. When you get higher level and your runes start costing peridots, just keep using the one that costs a bloodstone or jasper or whatever it is. It'll do the job most of the time, you should get any situation under control after one or two rounds of melee.

- Your spells generate huge aggro. All of them. Don't expect your charmed pet to hold aggro unless you don't cast anything in the target mob. It should always be rooted anyway, but still keep it in mind. Also, when your charm breaks, all the aggro your pet had generated is transferred to you. Never try to get your pet to take aggro, always just root the target mob.

- Avoid caster mobs if at all possible. You're super frail and they'll wreck you if things don't go perfectly. If you have to deal with a caster, charm it and then try to make sure it's almost dead when it kills the target, then break charm and instantly mez it. If one nuke won't kill it, walk right up to it, then nuke it, immediately stun it with your color spray variant, then mez, then nuke again. You do not want to risk getting a big fat poison dot on you or letting the mob heal itself so you have to nuke it several times. You'll get mana back much faster than you can regen HP, so don't be afraid to spend a little extra to prevent damage.

- If you have to wait for anything while you have a charmed pet, try to have it guard somewhere fairly far away from you if possible. That'll let you mez and re-charm it without getting hit in case it breaks. Sitting right next to your charmed pet should only happen in small spaces or unsafe places where it can't be avoided.

- Remember to keep troll illusion up at all times. It used to be bugged and hugely overpowered, providing like +5 regen. It only gives +1 now, but it's still worthwhile, you take forever to get HP back and every little bit helps.