Comin back from a nice break.

[Skrub]

Hiyas folks. I just started back about two weeks ago or something and lovin being back. I have a few questions though that I'd like to throw at you guys and see if I can't get some feed back. I'd have put the question in it's respective forum section but they are all sort of all over the place, so I figured general was the best place.

I'm currently soloing without merc in AG, east wing. Getting a little over 30% aa per kill with 1k+ aa count at the moment. Just invested into the Theft of Essence aa tonight though and found myself a little dissapointed that I didn't get it earlier, lol. it's just packed full of awesomeness and I think I'm going to fight my way back into the west wing where there's all those elementals and see how things work out for me there. I'm hoping to get an even better aa rate than what I've been getting so far. Has anyone found the elementals there a nice fun place to kill things? After about 700+ aa's in the east wing AG, I'm getting a little sleepy every time I log on, lol. I've tried Katta and it put me to sleep quicker. I think I did Splitpaw also and didn't find that very entertaining. Just sort of itching for a new place to hang my hat and hoping with some feedback, might find some place fun to go. I am tempted in doing the Hand aug quest as some have suggested in other posts in the 71 - 80 forums. That seems like a pretty big undertaking though.

Here's my magelo. Please take a look and let me know if there is anything really good that I'm missing. Like the pet fortitude buff aa and the Theft of Essence that I totally didn't get till late in the aa count. I do plan on getting the last rank of Servant of Ro for my level and Turn Summoned also. I don't have problems with aggro so not sure about the silent casting stuff. I do plan on getting the CA/CS line but not really sure in this stage of the game what level of it I should go up to. I know before I quit 2 years ago, CA/CS up through PoP was the standard minimum. Is that still the standard today?

Also, last topic for discussion... really, hehe. I was thinking of boxing a toon with my mage. I currently have a 68 Ranger and a 71 Beastlord. Which one do you guys think would be better? I was sort of looking for a lazy box where I didn't really have to do anything except switch to, throw a couple macros, then forget about it till next mob in camp. Both classes bring snare, one slows, while another tracks... among other things good. I also have a bard around level 80 I think but I usually group him with my warrior.

Anyways, thanks for any input you guys can give. I really appreciate it. =)

[Skrub]

Yeah, re-reading my post and it seems a little long. Here it is without the pleasantries and other stuff...

Where is a good place to aa, then level (solo without merc) (Not Katta or Splitpaw)?

Are there any aa that I'm missing? magelo

CA/CS to what level?

68 Ranger box or 71 bst box? Or open to other suggestions... maybe.

[Miphon]

Skrub,

What's your mid to long term goals for the character, ie just lokoing to have solo fun, group fun or get into high end raiding?

Also, when did you last quit playing? I note with interest you have an EM6 aug, my jaw dropped when I saw. That air pet must be an absolute beast for a 76.

Haven't had much direct experience with those two classes you're deciding on but everything I read says rangers are DPS machines with their headshot ability.

[Skrub]

After testing out the elemental/golem spot in AG (where the lava flows and falls from the ceiling), I am soooo mad that I didn't get Theft of Essence earlier. It makes it so I'm chain pulling 5 - 6 mobs before I have to sit and med since my pet is usually in good shape as far as hp once the mob is dead. I think I'll have to get clarity pots now since I'm pulling more consistently now. Before, in the front/east wing, it was a non-issue since I was sitting/medding while my pet healed up on his own for 20 - 50 seconds between each pull.

My AA rate has gone up amazingly well. I'm getting about 6 AA per 35 minutes. Nothing really timed, just know that I get about 6 just a little after my pet's aura goes away.

Is 6 aa every 35 minutes pretty good or should I be shooting for something better? Either way, I think AG elementals is an awesome place to play in. It feels like I'm getting good aa and there is still the element of danger with the lava, pathers, etc.

Oh and... Yes! I'm really liking these 32k nukes I get every once in a while with my nukes. I am also soloing without merc red nameds. That's pretty saweet in my book. hehe

[Skrub]

Hiyas Miphon,

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, for now, he's just my solo guy. I group with him when I get a little bored of soloing. I might try him out in raiding once I get him up in level and some more aa too. But for now, he's my sit back, relax and have some fun toon, hehe. I've always wanted to just level a toon at a relaxed pace, get all of his valuable aa's before moving up in level, so Skrub is the one I picked to do that. The problem where I burnt out too quickly in the past was that I always raced to the top level to get into a raiding guild (which is what I like doing most), then burn some aa's. So, with that style, I would always be playing catch up... especially when an expansion came out and I was looking at tons of new and existing aa's AND more levels. And I'm the type of guy that almost kills himself trying to keep up to a certain level out of sheer guilt of being so behind to the rest of my guildies. So... that's why I'm doing what I'm doing with Skrub.

I took my last break about 2 years ago I think, I was playing my then main, Warrior and raiding with him. That's how I got the EM6 aug, hehe. It was maybe two weeks after Underfoot came out that I quit.

lol, ya. I love my yellow con pet. He is such a beast. :p He rips through some really fun stuff.

Thanks again for the reply and I look forward to any advice.

[Skrub]

Also, I should probably note that... any AA tree I've gone up so far is maxed for my level or expansion for the mages account. Except for Turn Summoned, which I think I will close out/finish up tonight with an 8/8. I didn't get Underfoot for this account and am really kicking myself for not doing so, because I'm really eyeing the last ranks of SCM, SCR, and Quick Damage AA'S. I think... at least the SCM and Quick Damage will really boost my AA rate once I am able to get them. Oh well, gotta wait till I have the money to buy them... or maybe f2p will open those aa lines up. That would be pretty nice.

[bluejaye]

all accounts will get up to house of thule expansion when ftp goes live.

[Miphon]

Your pet focus can't really be beat for your level but some of your other foci are weak. Get some new sleeves post haste. Find some Glowing Othni or Glowing Athlai armwraps in the bazaar to hand in and that will bump you up to 35% fire focus. Can you Get Fire Core AA yet? You can get a new hat to bump up your magic focus also if you're going to keep focusing on elemental mobs.

Have you done any SoD progression for this toon?

[Skrub]

Awesome. I'll get the sleeves and hat asap. Yes, the Fire Core's first level is 71, so I'll be able to get those up until wherever. No SoD progression yet. Not sure if it's worth it yet as most of the drops from FoS + are all req. level 80 I think. Should I be working on SoD stuff?

Thanks for all the great help!

That's just awesome bluejaye. I guess I'll just have to wait till f2p then for those expansions to open up. It'll be real nice to get SCM and Quick Damage complete, hehe.

[Miphon]

Finishing SoD themes or at least one is required to get upgraded journeyman mercs.

I'm almost complete with the Oceangreen theme using my 76 mage and for some of it, druid alt who is now 76 also.

I happen to think that doing varied level appropriate content is infinitely more interesting than parking yourself in one zone just to crank out AAs. You'll still get decent xp and pick up some gear along the way. T1 is wearable at 76, T3/4 are 80 required and T5 is 85 required.

As usual, Allakhazam has good info on armor sets and progression. Check out the wiki. If you're going to stick to 76 for a long while, might be worth pursuing some SoF progression.

http://everquest.allakhazam.com/wiki/