Solo Artist Challenge

[Triangle]

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

Oooohh, this is fun.

I swear I'm not going to narrate my every kill, but breaking into HS north, making 56 in the process, learning what paths where, finding a safe spot to log out, finding The Spectre Sepulcher up and killing him easily... it's damn fun! [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I especially get a kick out of how much I hate HTs when I'm here with a normal group, but on a chanter? I'm glad to see mobs that HT. 1) I can steal their mana, and 2) they speed up the killing.

It's cool that you narrate them and provide SS's. Encounters are tougher when you are lower level, and its cool that you are starting this prior to 60.

Soon I might start trying for legend but its hard to find the motivation especially when some of these mobs are rare spawns that involve keeping 5-6 mobs clear in the hopes of seeing them pop.

[Tecmos Deception]

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

It's cool that you narrate them and provide SS's. Encounters are tougher when you are lower level, and its cool that you are starting this prior to 60.

Soon I might start trying for legend but its hard to find the motivation especially when some of these mobs are rare spawns that involve keeping 5-6 mobs clear in the hopes of seeing them pop.

I'm glad I'm not boring you, haha.

And I can see how it would get frustrating to work on this stuff eventually. For me at the moment, this is SUCH a welcome change of pace from grinding solo charm xp that I'm absolutely loving it. Crawling my way through a dungeon and seeing a new corner of the game that I've never seen before every step of the way while earning xp, potentially getting some loot, AND getting to check things off on this challenge? Wins all around.

Of course I've had exceptional luck with nameds so far in my SAC work... lol.

[Tecmos Deception]

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

[S] the froglok king [48 paladin, Ruins of Old Guk]

Not sure if I should bother with stories and pictures for the stuff I'm doing, since it's just the warmup... but I had enough fun with my first solo artist kill that I have to share!

Getting down into the froggie king's area was easy, of course. Nothing sees invis on the way down except that water elemental, so I got down to the back of king room by the teleporter back to Innothule. I wasn't sure how well my charms would hold on these mobs, if I'd get lull resists, etc., so I just bound right next to the teleporter and figured I'd just run out through the 'porter any time anything went wrong, and then I could gate back when I was pretty sure the one pather wasn't going to be in the back by the portal.

Turned out stuff doesn't resist and charm holds well at 55 down here. Better safe than sorry I guess!

King wasn't up when I arrived, so I just lulled the 5 mobs in his room and the pather and started picking off mobs with charm and letting them die then dashing out. Yeah. I'm a scared-y-cat on my first solo artist kill. Things cleared out easily like this, and when the first bok knight spawned beside the throne next time around I petted him, buffed him up, killed the next bok night, then camped in the hallway leading INTO the king room waiting for the next pop on throne. Luckily, it was the king. Mez, tash, slow, send pet... back off into hallway (I figured the mobs on the ledges would repop during fight, didn't want to have to deal with them too if I didn't really have to), root, cripple. This brings me to the first screenshot: http://s18.postimage.org/bpwr4devd/EQ000027.png

I had a pet break somewhere in here, but he didn't get through rune let alone berserker str, and after a stun+mez+recharm he was back on king. I stole some mana and stuck a dot on king: http://s11.postimage.org/e17l0i4gj/EQ000028.png

Pet broke again at like 40% or so, got him charmed up again and learned that king will dispel and stun. Lost my rune and BS cause I hadn't paid attention to any junk buffs. I wasn't sure if king would lay on hands or not, but I didn't want to find out, so I memmed a third stun and just chainstunned him from 30% on down to make sure he wouldn't draw the fight out any more... although with ToT and an 80% health pet and such it wouldn't have been a problem if he'd healed up anyways: http://s16.postimage.org/b072pdhdh/EQ000029.png

Loot: http://s12.postimage.org/lp5yyyryl/EQ000030.png


Weeeeee!! =D

[Splorf22]

Wow that is a serious cha build you have going there Tecmos. Less than 1k hp with buffs! Its safe to say someone is not taking my gearing advice [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] I'd be really curious though to see a test of 255 vs 200 CHA to see whether that makes sense or not. Unfortunately that's likely to be a long and obnoxious test.

Anyway nice job! The next big step up is summoning mobs; I'd guess you could start working on disciple rank at 57-58 or so. If you want say hi in game some time and we can exchange tips.

[Tecmos Deception]

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

[S] Baron Yosig [55 Warrior, Sebilis Crypt]

I logged out in crypt last night, and when I got on this morning the place was empty and Yosig was up.

I wasn't sure what level the dar knight pather was, so I decided to use the skeletal hierophant as a pet to clear out the ICG more easily and then smoke Yosig. I was pretty devil-may-care, since Yosig is just a warrior and 51s seem to hold charm quite nicely anyways. And the fight played out as I had hoped. It's amazing how much stronger a level 51 pet is than a 48 or 49. They just seem to hit so much more often when fighting a 54-55, even though they don't hit much harder.

Early: http://postimage.org/image/5dvpf3e9b/
Earlyish: http://postimage.org/image/nhfxky8u1/
Late: http://postimage.org/image/3zupc2o1t/
Loot: http://postimage.org/image/3z8deyy9b/

Pooptastic loot. Hiero spawned the next cycle, but he popped a bit sooner than I expected he was going to (I always get confused on where is 21ish minutes and where is 26ish minutes) and got himself buffed up before I pulled him. Then the pull wasn't pretty cause my pet was still rooted outside from killing an ICG... but fortunately I had poison cure pots this time. And then he slowed my pet at ~50%, and fetter would just not wear off so that I could pull him back into a room instead of out in the open. I let my dar die and petted baron, but he broke charm as soon as I re-engaged so I just hatted. Hiero only had skyfire anyways.

[Erati]

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

I logged out in crypt last night, and when I got on this morning the place was empty and Yosig was up.

I wasn't sure what level the dar knight pather was, so I decided to use the skeletal hierophant as a pet to clear out the ICG more easily and then smoke Yosig. I was pretty devil-may-care, since Yosig is just a warrior and 51s seem to hold charm quite nicely anyways. And the fight played out as I had hoped. It's amazing how much stronger a level 51 pet is than a 48 or 49. They just seem to hit so much more often when fighting a 54-55, even though they don't hit much harder.

Early: http://postimage.org/image/5dvpf3e9b/
Earlyish: http://postimage.org/image/nhfxky8u1/
Late: http://postimage.org/image/3zupc2o1t/
Loot: http://postimage.org/image/3z8deyy9b/

Pooptastic loot. Hiero spawned the next cycle, but he popped a bit sooner than I expected he was going to (I always get confused on where is 21ish minutes and where is 26ish minutes) and got himself buffed up before I pulled him. Then the pull wasn't pretty cause my pet was still rooted outside from killing an ICG... but fortunately I had poison cure pots this time. And then he slowed my pet at ~50%, and fetter would just not wear off so that I could pull him back into a room instead of out in the open. I let my dar die and petted baron, but he broke charm as soon as I re-engaged so I just hatted. Hiero only had skyfire anyways.

Tecmos; I enjoy your detailed stories as well as the progressive screenshots you provide to show us each of the stages of these fights however I am not sure if I am alone here, but I sorta hope 1 of 2 things happen:

1. You solo/attempt to solo a mob that is widely viewed by other ENCHANTERS as near impossible to solo. A lot of your tales there are probably a few, not many, well played enchanters can also pull off but just don't bother. In fact Id almost like to have this "challenge" renamed to the Solo Enchanter Artist Challenge as it is fairly obvious that only enchanters or possibly bard/sham and maybe necros can do most of the "challenges" you find on the list. I know most of the 'art' comes from how you approach breaking these camps as solo, but once you figure out a safe way to break a room, thats it, the hard part is over. I wanna hear about soloing something that is difficult, widely renown from most high tier ENCHANTERS as impossible to kill rather than how to break X camp charming a mob and rinse repeat same tactics. Hell even as 50 druid I figured out a way to safely break the froglok king room (without simply aggro'ing entire room and rooting it) and I thought that was impressive yet that challenge doesn't really measure up to what an enchanter can accomplish solo hence the skewness of having this thread.

2. Create an alt and let us experience some low lvl challenges from a different class. #2 kind of builds off #1 where we get it, you can charm monsters and break a lot of camps, but if you want to be a true 'solo' artist lets see how you do soloing with lets say a wizard or shadow knight. Who knows. Obviously not all classes can solo that great but I for one playing a wizard on live felt really accomplished soloing some camps that some other classes would wipe the floor with. It can be your choice, though the least solo able class u select and more the success you have with it will just prove you are the ultimate "Solo Artist" as there are many different creative ways the other classes have to dabble in the 'art' of soloing.

Good luck and keep up the good work [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Tecmos Deception]

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

1. You solo/attempt to solo a mob that is widely viewed by other ENCHANTERS as near impossible to solo.

I'm sure you can see how I'm approaching the SAC. I've started at the beginning with the easiest mobs (and mind you that, as far as I can tell, I am the only person who started the SAC at level 55; I wasn't 60 until I was done with most of the disciple tier), and I'm progressing upwards. Eventually I will be working on the grandmaster monsters that only a few people on the server have solod, regardless of class.

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

A lot of your tales there are probably a few, not many, well played enchanters can also pull off but just don't bother.

Granted. But this isn't a challenge just because the individual fights against nameds can be difficult. It's a challenge because of everything getting that kill entails.

It's not like you start at level 60, with the right gear, with the right clickies, with the knowledge of the zones, with the mob already solo pulled, etc. The challenge isn't named "most skilled enchanters list" because being a good enchanter (or shaman or whatever) is only part of the effort it takes to kill these things. I've said a number of times that an actual fight was easy, but getting to the point where I could even enter that fight was the real challenge.

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

In fact Id almost like to have this "challenge" renamed to the Solo Enchanter Artist Challenge as it is fairly obvious that only enchanters or possibly bard/sham and maybe necros can do most of the "challenges" you find on the list.

Look at the first page if you want to see what classes are capable of accomplishing what in this challenge. Ploktor broke fear solo as a druid (without clickies! jesus!). Svenn solod a sebilite protector. If certain classes excel at this particular challenge while others don't, it's just because that's how EQ is built.

Also, I'll call your attention to the fact that this is named "solo" artist challenge, but there are plenty of rules for undertaking it as a duo as well. And that involves basically every class, so long as the player is willing to put in the effort.

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

I know most of the 'art' comes from how you approach breaking these camps as solo, but once you figure out a safe way to break a room, thats it, the hard part is over.

You're wrong here. There isn't a "safe way" to do most of this challenge, because even with the perfect plan and perfect execution, it is all too easy for things to go horribly wrong: bad resists, situations that just are impossible to negotiate safely (i.e. too many pathers to pull solo), other players sniping your mobs or training, etc.

And even with the perfect plan, imperfect execution (we're all human afterall, except ploktor) is a constant, and it makes everything harder [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

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

I wanna hear about soloing something that is difficult, widely renown from most high tier ENCHANTERS as impossible to kill rather than how to break X camp charming a mob and rinse repeat same tactics.

Then make your own challenge where the solo god mode kills of this challenge are just the beginning. I'm not here because of you or anyone else except myself. I do the writeups because a surprising number of people have told me they like reading them, but even if you all hated reading my stuff, I'd still be doing all of this because it's hard and it's fun!

If you think that all of this is rinse and repeat same tactics, it might be more a product of my "short" stories than how things actually work. I tend to write about the actual individual pull and fight most of the time, but you can find me talking about doing CRs in HS west and botching fights against trash and all kinds of other things than just the same old same old lulling a room and pulling a named out. That strategy of pulling gets less effective for me soon anyway, cause the GM stuff is too dangerous to do it on.

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

Hell even as 50 druid I figured out a way to safely break the froglok king room (without simply aggro'ing entire room and rooting it) and I thought that was impressive yet that challenge doesn't really measure up to what an enchanter can accomplish solo hence the skewness of having this thread.

Very nice. But like Briscoe said, the people reading this thread aren't just looking for [S] and writing off anything else. Everyone knows that someone who clears the warmup rank as a cleric did something unique and challenging; no one would say "well sure but Tecmos did that at lower levels and in half the time" because they understand the difference in a chanter soloing those mobs and a cleric doing it.

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

Create an alt and let us experience some low lvl challenges from a different class. #2 kind of builds off #1 where we get it, you can charm monsters and break a lot of camps, but if you want to be a true 'solo' artist lets see how you do soloing with lets say a wizard or shadow knight. Who knows. Obviously not all classes can solo that great but I for one playing a wizard on live felt really accomplished soloing some camps that some other classes would wipe the floor with. It can be your choice, though the least solo able class u select and more the success you have with it will just prove you are the ultimate "Solo Artist" as there are many different creative ways the other classes have to dabble in the 'art' of soloing.

I've talked a couple times with The A-Team about how I've wanted to level a shaman or a necro to see how they tackle the SAC differently than an enchanter. However, as much as I do play, I don't have enough time to keep enjoying my enchanter AND level one of these AND then learn how to negotiate the SAC with them.

Really, though, the whole "soloing more with a weaker class says more about you as a solo artist" thing is pointless, again. I daresay that no one here is here because of what others care or think. We're all here because this is fun for us the way we're doing it. I'm quite positive that while any class can approach situations that are a challenge for it to deal with solo (rogues lol), the classes you tend to see doing the most in this thread are the ones that it is the most FUN to challenge yourself with because they are the classes with the most tools to make things work.

There's something to be said for doing more with less, but I kind of don't see how soloing a frenzied pox scarab with a level 57 wizard by tanking the room as you root the frogs and then slowly whittle down the scarab is going to be more fun or interesting, or going to say more about you as a player, than doing it with a typical, strong solo class.


I've also thought the idea of a "Group Artist Challenge" would be fun, to see what people can do with a full group, but I am not the person to come up with such a thing. You'd just need too many rules and limitations on it, because of the limited number of challenging targets compared to those for a soloer and the potential for excessively gimmicky tactics trivializing all too much of the targets that do exist.

[Tecmos Deception]

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

[S] a Howling Spectre [54 Monk, HS East]

Check another of the HS east nameds off my list! It wasn't special though. I got bored of south after tidying up a bit from the XP group who was in there last night so I ran into east to see if anything was up in the nook. It was just a PH, but I cleared a random bile that was up since the last server reset and snagged the bile PH also. The golem in my hallway is only 51, so he works pretty nice as a pet.

A bit too well though, because after killing the bile PH he resisted a stun and was through bedlam, a partial rune 5, and 50% of my hp before my spell gems were refreshed... so I hatted out. When I got back in after recharging though, Petros saw the howling spectre pop up on track just as I ran around the corner and saw him myself too! No weapon in his hand, but at least he is something for me to kill since it's been so long since I updated my sheet at all!

Textbook fight, very boring. Even the pull was easy cause the pathers were all perfectly positioned the instant I ran back to the named, so I just nabbed him right away and took him back to the hallway of death. Then charm didn't break at all, and go figure a quadding, hasted level 51 eats up a slowed level 54 pretty darn quick.

Loot: http://s23.postimg.org/etx62h0ez/EQ000470.png


Aww. I'd be a grandmaster if I hadn't killed the crypt excavator with cleric buffs when I saw him up last! Maybe I'll get him or the undertaker lord to pop in the next hour or two [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Tecmos Deception]

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

[S] King Tranix [52 Shadowknight, Nagafen's Lair]

Solo Legend [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]


I logged Tecmos into solb a couple hours before Tranix was due, figuring I'd snag a LDC and head into lair with it and just sock on his spawn keeping the spider fettered while I waited for him. Right next to me when I logged in though, were a FC monk and shaman who also were headed to Tranix. I proposed I solo it and they get the loot so I could avoid any drama or anything that would spoil this counting as a challenge kill, they accepted, and we sat around killing some LDCs and FGs while we waited.

Turns out LDCs have exceptional MR though. The one I had was only level 45, but he was breaking fetter early about 50% of the time even with tash. Compare that to level 50 mobs in HS which NEVER EVER break fetter early when they are tashed. So I ended up leaving the spawn to FC while I went and got an imp.

I really hate this zone though. Sonic bats pathing out of nowhere, lava beetles hiding in the lava, green aggro and see invis and OMG I HATE THIS ZONE. It took me like a half hour to get from entrance to solb to freeti, grab an imp, then get back to tranix room.

Die you bastard mobs, die: http://postimg.org/image/6mplo2xbr/


The spawn was like 5-6 minutes later than I thought it would be, and it was driving me nuts to wait for it, knowing that this was my last kill for a while: http://postimg.org/image/b5pfqhpvl/

But finally, he popped. My pet took the HT right away and then I moved in to tash, root, slow: http://postimg.org/image/cuw89osv7/

From there I took turns letting my pet get beat on while I refreshed bedlams and tanking Tranix so pet could backstab. He ended up sticking some dots on me, though, which was pretty annoying... but I didn't feel like using a cure pot and I was too fail to remember to click off grim aura when I saw a magic dot incoming: http://postimg.org/image/rz41nlenn/

Then I had a charm break and was a bit slow recognizing it as such and stunning my pet, but I did hit the imp with a stun and then fire off a boltrans while the slowed tranix was hitting/casting on me, then bedlam and back off. I decided a couple stinging wort clicks were warranted, since I was under 50% from dots and the charm break: http://postimg.org/image/mr6a32dif/

The rest of the fight proceeded normally, with me throwing bedlams/runes on myself and my pet and alternating tanking and medding.

Tranix fleeing: http://postimg.org/image/6elh1n135/
Loot: http://postimg.org/image/wbibic2st/


Solo Legend [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]



I really have NO motivation to do god-mode soloing though, except perhaps a fear break and golem kill sometime in the not-too-near future.

[Tecmos Deception]

Haha... yeah. Charisma gear was so cheap + I didn't plan on ever getting hit while leveling (I just stuck to soloing outdoors or in spacious dungeons), so I couldn't resist going all out. Charming in the back of lcy/jail/basement is starting to make me want some more survivability (screw you, dots that ignore my runes), but really if I manage to die through rune 5 and BS and 1300 hp self-buffed with the stuff I'm doing, I messed something up. I'm sure I'll feel differently once I start dealing with summoners.

I actually half-heartedly messed around with the spectral knights in KC trying to spawn a Knight of Sathir the other day, but I kept getting pathers aggroing me or I'd do something dumb and then just stun/mez/gate. I'll feel a lot better about trying this stuff once I can use AE mez point blank without hitting myself, I think.

Definitely looking forward to doing the other warmups for fun before I go back to focusing on xp.