Mage Project – moving on from 59
by paul on Apr.25, 2007, under Mage Project
I now have 200 AAs. Everything from general/archetype/class that is desirable I have already purchased, and I have 3 AAs stored. My maximum rate of earning AAs at 59 was 1.5 AAs per lesson in the Hole, at the destroyed constructs/gargoyles camp and the spirits of the ruins camp below it. If I timed it poorly, or if there was anyone else even close to the camp, I’d end up with about 1.4 AAs; if I got it just right, I once managed to take 1.6 AAs.
The “hot zone” exp boost for the Hole lasted several days into the new hot zones. On the first night of the patch I tested out Acrylia Caverns, and everything in Outer was still light blue; the exp rate seemed as if it would match the Hole, although I still haven’t measured it precisely. The Heart of the Sky augment dropped several times, as did the pieces for the James the Watchmaker cloak quest. There were several people, all much higher farming the area, so it wasn’t possible to get a clear determination. I came back the next night grouped with my wife’s mage (62, < 50 AAs), and the level range of players was more appropriate; plus I discovered that all of the mobs in Outer were green to her. My epic can hold aggro off my wife's WoX, although if I hold back for a relatively short time WoX will hold aggro. The only other options at 59 would be Dragon Necropolis, which is a very long hike considering that I need to be shrouded to keep pet toys; Dranik's Scar is too low level for decent exp, and has annoying wanderers. Of the non-hot zones, Howling Stones is a possible, but has a scattering of greens, and I would imagine the the North wing is too low for decent exp, which I would need to traverse every time to get to the next wing. The plan now is to grind to the full 30 AAs stored, then level to 61. There are no new AAs at 60, but I will continue to pause each level from 61 to 65 to grind a full set of the better PoP AAs, as detailed in previous posts. I think that I will be using epic pet on the lowest available light blues until low level aggro starts to become a problem, then switch to Ward of Xegony. I will definitely switch pets at 66. I might consider grinding through 65 to get to 66 and the new pet (Child of Wind), before getting the pet damage AAs at 65; I am undecided as yet.
