The Magician's Tower

Hello! I recently came back to EQ, for good this time! I resubbed a few days ago and have a few friends playing with me. I've pretty much been PL'd from 70 to 85 but wanted to ask a few things here to start learning things for myself I have all the expansions.

1. I only have 400 AA so I would like to grind AA somewhere at 85. If noone else is on ( I am an early riser on the weekends) where do you suggest I do this with or without a Merc (Healer Merc?). Also if anyone knows of a real good (and long) list of AA priorities, I would appreciate it!

2. Gear. I am at a loss...I'm pretty much wearing all the Elegant Defiant gear, and have a "Chipped Shards of Dread" for Pet Focus. My understanding is that's good til 90. Other than that, any help with soloable gear (not stuff that takes all the tricks in the book yet...still learning)

3. Loaded spells and rotations at 85. Also, what spells should I ignore?

4. I have 3 accounts. my main (Mage), a 24/7 Trader account, and a third which I want to use to level buffbots, any suggestions on a good toon to raise as well to duo with the mage?

I have been doing a ton of reading, this site has been the most useful. I thank all of you in advance for any help you can give me in relearning my class and the game as a whole!

Welcome!

I would try to get http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item ... tem=100918 off the Bazaar. Other than that there are a ton of great leveling options listed here on the site.

thank you very much for the item knowledge!

Unfortuneately, being PL'd to 85 you missed the boat on a boatload of AAs. For me the best time to stop and rake in about 1000 AAs was 75 to 78. I did this in the the old Brine of Brexus camp in Katta with a bard box. Also Infected Paw. Mobs have low hp's, your pet (buffed, armored air pet) is a beast vs. the mobs. You go through them like a lawnmower.

At 85, however, it would be tough to have the same kill rate. You could always get a group in HoT courtyards, decent xp. Mobs have a bajillion hitpoints in HoT expansion, and trash takes a small group about 1-2 mins to kill. Gone are the days of 20 second kills. You'll need at least 700 AAs to be up to par. Maybe 1000 in House of Thule. Ditch the merc unless you need a healer in a group, they'll take a share of xp.
Other expansions provide solo/molo options, but pinpointing a densely mob-populated kill zone is tough these days. You want to look for an area with level 70+ mobs. Ashengate is a hotzone and won't be too bad once you get your pet AAs up to a decent level. My best advince is avoid the newer, higher level expansions for now. They seem to be geared for players with 2k+ AAs. Hit the old stuff and remenis.

Plentiful of cheap gear in bazaar now, just search for your level and mana items. If all else fails there's Terror Infused for ~950 hp/mana. Get the best arms and head possible for the focus.

I can't say enough good things about a bard enhancing your mage. It's like playing EQ on steroids.

If u haven't seen this recent thread, it should help.

http://www.eqmagetower.com/forums/viewt ... =24&t=3841

I posted this for another member a while back in a similar aa spot as yourself.

This is more or less listed by level. With having 600+ aa I'm sure you have started to buy some of these. If i missed any, someones bound to throw it out there in another post.

Pet Defensive:
Elemental Agility
Elemental Durability
Companion's Durability
Companion's Agility
Sturdy Companion
Fortify Companion
Host in the Shell
Divine Companion Aura
Aegis of Kildrukaun

Pet Offensive
Companion's Alacrity
Companion's Fury
Elemental Alacrity
Elemental Fury
Frenzied Burnout
Extended Burnout
Virulent Talon

Personal DPS
Spell Casting Fury
Destructive Fury
Fury of Magic
Casting Subtley
Silent Casting
Twincast
Acanum Line
Heart of Flames - Level 1 only
Fire Core
Fundamental of Intellect: First Spire
Improved Twincast

Personal Defense
Companion of Necessity
Summon Companion
Drape of Shadows
Combat Agility/Stability

And by no means is this all that you should get but just a starting point.