(N)EverQuest Scrolls

Thread mining from SOE forums.   (continue reading…)

From a thread on the SOE forums,  Druids: Charming and Quadding.

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A level 65 druid can use gear from Time; although you can enter at 62 without a flag (or at level 1 if you use the Herald of Druzzil Ro in PoK), 65 is required to equip items. At this stage in the game, standard Defiant gear (Elaborate for 65), Trio jewellery and level 65 required SoF drops will cover most slots. (continue reading…)

I need to start to plan upgrades for my druid’s AAs. He’s 62, and has been for a while, and may well stay 62 for a while longer. Unless I decide to drag him along to Time (or CoA) raids, in which case he’ll get the necessary levelling. (continue reading…)

a goblin brawler
a sabretooth cat
greater scalebone
a Sarnak youth
a goblin skirmisher
greater skeleton
a Sarnak courier

PH names may not be capitalised as here on track, will have to check. Sometimes a common mob can spawn as the PH; use track to check this. I have seen Iksar brigands and marauders, Sarnak flunkies, sabertooth tigress in the cycle – none of the other mobs, including goblins, so far. The mobs listed above, if they appear, will always be part of a courier cycle, however.

Spawn points are in the area between the windmill and the lake. There are several courier cycles in the area; the ones to the west, closer to the Sarnak fort, are reported not to drop the ring. Two cycles exist between the windmill and the goblin ruins at the lake, one mostly north of the ruins, and one all south of it onto the hill next to the windmill. So far I have only taken a ring from the north of the two cycles.

The best strategy seems to be to look for goblin brawlers and skirmishers first, then greater skeletons/scalebones and sabretooth cats. Sarnak youths (and the occasional flunkie) will be attacked and killed by goblins – as will the courier, if you don’t watch out. Finally chase down the iksars in that valley. Mobs will spawn on the hills to the west, and out the stream to the north, but seem to roam in towards the valley. The exact spawn points seem random, but the northern mobs all spawn at or north of the line of pillars, and the southern spawns are all south of this.

The courier drops… Goblin Gazughi ring, instant clicky invis to animals, essential tool for charm classes.

A very nice spot to practice charming for enchanters, druids and shamans is at the kodiak caves in Great Divide. Bloodmaw, a named kodiak, is your pet, and a remarkably safe one. He is a level 20 undercon with 32k hit points, and will be green at the time you charm him. The other kodiaks seem to range from about level 30 to 37.

I take the Plane of Knowledge stone to GD, cast levitation on myself (or air elemental form for an enchanter), and invis, then run more or less due south west to reach the kodiak caves. The cave you want is the middle of the three all on the same level. Head in (still invis), and straight across the cross roads; Bloodmaw is along with a gnome captive in a room at the back. Take a look around the cave while you are here. A few kodiaks spawn along the main passage and wander around and out, and there are caves to the left and right with several spawns in.

I use a ceramic band, and don’t bother with KEI; I rarely need a break for mana reasons without KEI. If you don’t have a ceramic band, mem a low level damage spell to use to pull.

When you are settled in, charm your pet. For an enchanter, always tash it first, before charm. There’s no need to do anything else. Haste or shielding won’t make much difference to your kill rate. A couple of things you should know about Bloodmaw: he seems to have a very slow regen rate; this may be just a function of his large hit points pool. If he dies, he won’t respawn for several hours (he is usually back up the next day). He is also a quest NPC. If someone comes in to do the quest, I ask them to wait for my current pull to complete, then let them go ahead. Unfortunately, he despawns after the quest hand in. One thing worth remembering is that a level 39+ cleric can heal Bloodmaw; it will take several casts of complete heal while you have him charmed. As a cleric can’t invis, you will need to bribe and fetch your helper.

When I am settled, I head back to the crossroads looking for a kodiak; at first, most will be very red to you. I pull with my ceramic band or low level spell (low MR, so resists are rare, even with the reds). One thing to watch is that kodiaks WILL get stuck in the walls unless you are very careful about guiding them through the tunnels. This means that you WILL take a few hits. If they get stuck, they will pop on you after a few minutes and take a big chunk out of you, usually while you are fighting another kodiak. With limited running around space, this is bad. When they are engaged, root the mob. If you are an enchanter, tash and slow the mob; if you have a druid, snare it; if a shaman, slow it. Keep the mob rooted whenever it breaks. Don’t snare the mob on the pull; they are naturally slow, and they seem to get stuck in the walls a lot more when snared. Snare also generates a lot more aggro, which can mean that you have to kite around Bloodmaw’s chamber for a minute while he builds up aggro.

One other thing to watch is where you sit in the cave. If you are on the room wall at a couple of spots, you will sometimes see an aggro message for a kodiak, which will warp on top of you sometime in the next 5 minutes. Be ready if this happens.

This camp gives extraordinary experience, with very little loot. I was getting between 2 and 6% per kill from 30 (mostly 6%) to 35 (mostly 2%) before the charm nerf; after the nerf a quick test with a level 29 shaman showed him getting around 2% per kill at 29. You will find kodiak pelts (plain ones, not suitable for the coldain ring quest), kodiak claws and kodiak bracers, all of which sell for a few platinum. A rare spawn, Icetooth, who is level 37 and a significantly tougher fight (he can take almost 10% off Bloodmaw’s hit points), also drops a pelt or some claws, which can sell in the Bazaar. I found it very boring, and had to get out into the light in Dawnshroud after a few levels. It is an easy camp for druids, as they can snare their pulls (I do this after engagement) to make breaks easier to handle. For this reason, as well as he inevitable damage you will take from a break at close quarters, my enchanter liked to partner with a druid here.

A few notes on this subject, regarding buffing.

Druid charms start at level 14, enchanter at level 12. Druids get pet buffs at 19 (Feral Spirit) and 44 (Savage Spirit). Enchanters get haste buffs from 16 upwards, which mutually overwrite, although both druid and enchanter strength and AC buffs seem to stack with the druid buff (check?).

At the level a druid gets Feral Spirit, the equivalent enchanter haste is faster (28% compared to 16%), although the druid strength and ac buffs available are still weaker. By level 24, the druid ac buff is better, and by level 34, both strength and ac are better buffed separately.

Savage Spirit is another story; it gives significantly greater haste than the same level enchanter (66% versus 47%), which enchanters can only match at level 58.

So until level 44, if the pet is going to be buffed, it is always better to get an enchanter haste. From 44 upwards, use the druid pet buff instead. Stacking an enchanter ac buff with a druid skin is always beneficial.

On the subject of other buffs, opinions vary, as always. It is pretty clear that haste, HP and AC buffs all help, to a degree. Some people say that strength buffs increase ATK, and improve the chance of maximum hits; but others say that parses show no improvement from ATK buffs. Stamina buffs don’t seem to increase HPs for pets; but dexterity buffs do increase the chance of a pet procing (this is significant for beastlords).

The buffs compared:

• Feral Spirit, level 19. 16 – 20% haste, 16 – 20 str, 7 – 14 ac.
• Savage Spirit, level 44. 64 – 70% haste, 42 – 45 str, 15 – 16 ac.

Druid strength buffs:

• Strength of Earth, level 9. str 9 – 15
• Strength of Stone, level 34. str 22 – 25
• Storm Strength, level 44. str 32 – 35
• Girdle of Karana, level 55. str 42

Druid AC buffs:

• Skin Like Wood, level 1. ac 3 – 4
• Skin Like Rock, level 14. ac 6 – 7
• Skin Like Steel, level 24. ac 9 – 10
• Skin Like Diamond, level 39. ac 13
• Skin Like Nature, level 49. ac 16
• Natureskin, level 57. ac 18 – 19
• Protection of the Cabbage, level 59. ac 24
• Protection of the Nine, level 63. ac 32

Enchanter AC buffs:

• Haze, level 4. 3 – 4
• Mist, level 12. 6 – 7
• Cloud, level 20. 9 – 10
• Obscure, level 29. 12 – 13
• Shade, level 39. 15 – 16
• Shadow, level 49. 19
• Umbra, level 57. 22

Enchanter haste buffs:

• Quickness, level 16. 28 – 30%
• Alacrity, level 24. 34 – 40%
• Augmentation, level 29. 22 – 28%
• Celerity, level 39. 47 – 50%
• Swift Like the Wind, level 49. 60%
• Aanya’s Quickening, level 53. 64%
• Augment, level 56. 43 – 47%
• Wonderous Rapidity, level 58. 70%
• etc