EQ F2P- Returning Players & Current Content

There are many misconceptions on how EXP bonuses add up. The most common being the the term "double exp". In truth, the bonuses do not provide "double exp" past the first one.

-Base Level EXP: 100%
-Test Server Bonus: 100%
-Ceremonial Elixir of Scholarship 100% or Lesson of the Devoted 100% or Enchanter level 76 Aura 5, 7, 9%: These bonuses do not stack with one another
-Holiday Bonuses: 100%
-Other Bonuses: AA Expense Bonuses depending upon how many total AA's a character currently has. The grandfathered in 'Recruit a Friend' accounts receive 100% and 300% respectively. Zone Experience Modifiers (variable), Grouping with real players (+20% per player), Hot Zones (15-25%).
Example:If a mob gives "100 exp points", the character will receive those 100 exp which accounts for 100% normal exp gain. Now if you apply bonus of the Test server and Lesson of the Devoted, they will receive 100+100+100=300 exp. The misconception is that the 2nd bonus doubles the other, which it does not (Example Incorrect: 100+200+600 /=/ 900%)

Best Case Scenario:Base (100%), Recruit a friend (300%), Test Server (100%), Exp Pot (100%), Holiday (100%), Hot Zone (25%), Full Group of real players (100%)= approximately +825%.

1.Level 1-25:If you are on Test server, be sure to use /testbuff- Sure the levels and starter items are nice, but the real reason to do it is for the skill increases. Otherwise you will be fizzling your spells to frustration. The amount of time and headaches testbuffing saves is invaluable. If you are not, kill noob mobs in Crescent Reach and Blightfire till level 20-25.

2.Level 25-40:Blightfire Moors, Moonwhisker Rats- They are not social mobs, so you can control the pace. Your tank merc will be able to handle 3 at a time. If you pull more than 3, your merc will panic and run, so keep it to 3 agro'd at all times for maximum exp gain. GREAT exp per kill all the way till level 40. You can do levels 25-40 in under an hour here.


3.Level 40-70:The Hole, drop down into the pit from Paineel. At this point, your lone tank merc will need healing to stay alive. Recommend you 2-box for this reason. AFK killing the 2 gargoyles and the Construct roamers at the secret door near the drop down point is a popular thing to do. This will be a difficult zone at 40, but it is doable with mercs. Once you get into 50+, you can move up the tunnels to the castle area. It is full of ghosts and gargoyles on the walls, that makes the grind to 65+ very easy. It is also a great zone to stop at AA, because the mobs have low HP's yet give huge exp.


4.Level 70-75:Loping Plains- Worgs, Gators, WereOrcs. Do theReducing the Threattask from NPC Tyrinam to get bonus EXP for mobs are you are already grinding.
evel 75-80:[/b]Ocean Green Hills (hotzone January '14)- Hunt Bears, Wolfs, and other animals in the areas of the map noted below. The animals should be targeted, because they are easier than other mobs in the zone, yet give equal exp. If this comes out of the hot zone rotation, a better zone might be found for the level range.
evel 80-90:[/b]House of Thule- Immediately upon zoning in, you see a few NPCs with available kill quests. Ruppoc Rockjumper will give you kill quests for Snakes, Dogs, Skeletons, Bone Crafters, Haunts, Terror Guards, Cubes, and Bone Golems. Gather up all the quests, stay outside the house and park your party on the outer wall. The kill quests give 10+ AA's upon turn in and you can grind them out fast. This is a very popular spot and it should be easy to get groups going. The Grounds is the next zone over and a current hot zone (January '14) if you get bored. It is a solid zone for level 85-92 or so.

1.Getting Started:It is my assumption that your are on Test server with a 100% base exp bonus. Also you have access to EXP pots for all of this. Sure, it is not required, but having a backpack full of EXP pots will essentially cut down your time spent PL'ing by half and if you are going to go to the effort, do it right. On Test server, it is simple to just copy over new characters from FV with pots and gear. So arrange ahead of time.

It is recommended that you have a minimum of two accounts that have existing characters that can be used to power level new characters from level 1 to 95+. We will call them account 'A' and account 'B'. The sole purpose is to have the tools in place to level characters ASAP in the most efficient way possible. In any other scenario it would seem completely convoluted and wasteful to have the same character class on the same account, but it will make sense when you realize the goal.

Here Is How the Accounts will be Referred to and the Character Requirements
-Account 'A': Shaman minimum level 63 ('Swift like Wind' 60% haste), level 81+ recommended for better buffs.
-Account 'B':NOTE, these are precise levels that cannot be exceeded, due to grouping restrictions. Once the levels are obtained, make sure these characters are on 100% AA exp, so they stop leveling: Druid level 60. Ranger level 73, rank 8 Headshot. Ranger level 90, rank 19 Headshot. Berserker level 100, rank 3 Decapitation.
-Account 'C': The account being power leveled
Notes on Levels, Buffs, and Zone Requirements:EQ has a number of balance (Anti-Power leveling) mechanics in place. Here are the important factors:
Buffs:
-At level 1 you can receive a buff spell that goes up to level 50
-At level 45 you can receive a level 60 buff spell (aego/kei)
-At level 55 you can receive a buff up to level 65 (virtue, fo7, c5)
-At level 61 you can receive any buff currently available
Level spread for Grouping:
-General Rules:Take your current level and multiply it by 1.5 and that is the highest level character that you can group with, as long as the total level spread does not exceed 30 levels.
-Important Levels:Level 45 can group with a 60. Level 55 can group with a 82. Level 60 can group with a 90. Level 70 can group with a 100.
Relevant Zone Level Requirements to this Guide:
-Crypt of Decay:Level 55 required.
-Plane of Time:Level 62 required (pass thru zone to get to SoD expansion zones).
Leveling Up:
2.Level 1-40:45 minutes
Where:Blightfire Moors
Who:Account 'A'- Shaman to buff/haste the Tank merc of 'C'. Account 'B'-Druid for casting damage shield on merc of 'C'.
How:Account 'C' should not be grouped with anyone other than their Tank Merc, set it to "Main Tank" role designation. Accounts 'A' & 'B' can be grouped together for convenience.
Strategy:On Test server, use /testbuff to jump from level 1-25. If not on Test, then kill mobs at the zonelines of Crescent Reach/Blightfire to get to level 25. Moonwhisker Rats are not social mobs, so you can control the pace. Your tank merc will be able to handle 3 at a time. If you pull more than 3, your merc will panic and run, so keep it to 3 agro'd at all times for maximum exp gain and send Shaman's wolf pet in on mobs less than 50% HP to finish them off quickly and still send the exp to Account 'C'. GREAT exp per kill all the way till level 40. You can do levels 25-40 in under an hour here.

3.Level 40-55:2 Hours
Where:The Hole
Who:Account 'A'- Shaman to buff/haste the level 60 Tank merc of Account 'B'-Druid. Account 'C' should suspend their merc for now (suggest you switch to cleric merc at this point) and group up with Account 'B' and the Druid's Merc. Account 'A' should buff/haste the Merc and heal from outside of the group.
Strategy:After dropping in to the Hole, fight your way up the path towards the castle area. A level 60 Merc with haste and damage shield will mow through mobs very quickly and the castle will provide an unlimited supply of Ghosts and Gargoyles to grind through. Once level 55 is reached, teleport the entire group out to Plane of Knowledge. On to the next zone.

4.Level 55-62:1 Hour
Where:Crypt of Decay (level 55 required to zone in)
Who:Account 'A'- Shaman to buff/haste and heal from outside the group. Account 'C' should suspend their merc for now and group up with Account 'B' and the level 73 Ranger along with the Ranger's Tank Merc.
Strategy:This zone is densely packed with mobs susceptible to Headshot. Pop the level 73 Tank Merc, set his role to Main Tank, and start picking off the Puslings and the Bubonian Rats located in the map below. Your Shaman outside of the group should buff the Ranger and his Merc with Haste. The Merc will require occasional healing as well. On the Ranger, remember to create an /autofire button. You won't need to use 'Vinelash Cascade' or any other Headshot tricks at this level, your Merc can tank 6-7 at time while you pick them off in rapid succession. Clear the corridors of Puslings, then swing up to the Rats. By the time you clear the Rats, the Puslings will be back up. Occasionally, you will get a Named Pusling (Greater Foul Pusling) or Rat (Bubonian Warlord/Great Mystic) which your merc will have to grind down, because they cannot be headshot. Grind it out to level 62, which will come very quickly.

5.Level 62-70:1.5 hours
Where:Field of Scale
Who:Account 'A'- Shaman to buff/haste and heal from outside the group. Account 'C' should suspend their merc for now and group up with Account 'B' and the level 90 Ranger.
Strategy:This will be the most challenging part of the power leveling curve. Even at level 90, Field of Scale can be a challenge for a Headshot Ranger... but as they say, high risk, high reward. If you are looking for less of a challenge, a slower and more steady pace, I suggest you take the group to the Plane of Fire and headshot the C2 camp from 60-70. But, if your level 90 Ranger is up to the task and you are comfortable with general Headshot tactics, then continue on to Field of Scale. Check outthis pagefor what to do.

6.Level 70-80:2 Hours
Where:Toskirakk
Who:Account 'A'- Shaman to buff/haste from outside the group. Account 'C' should suspend their merc for now and group up with Account 'B' and the level 100 Berserker. Account 'B' will have their cleric merc suspended when pulling Recklessness swarms and out healing in the interim.
Strategy:At level 100, a Berserker can decapitate all mobs in Toskirakk in one or two rounds of combat. Given the densely packed nature of this zone, it makes it a perfect exp grindhouse. Berserkers have a discipline called Recklessness, where they will Riposte 100% of attack for about 10 seconds. This, in combination with their activated AE attacks makes pulling and killing, literally EVERY mob in the zone a possibility. It can only be done once every 25 minutes, so in the mean time, you can pop a cleric merc to go around and clean up mobs 2-3 at a time. If you get good at pulling, it is not uncommon to gain 30 AA limit, and 2-3 levels in one pull. That is the kind of power and leveling speed we are talking about here. As for pulling, my suggestion is to explore the entire zone, look for groups of mobs, avoid the slaves, but Boars, Beatles, and all Ogres are free game. The named Ogres are a pain in the ass because they summon, but are still susceptible to Decapitation. If you can pick them off prior to pulling huge waves, do so. There is an entire upper level to the zone that is rarely visited, again with major clusters of mobs. If there are groups going in the lower areas, go up top and you will find an equal number of Ogres to kill. Two hours here and level 70-80 will be complete.
7.Level 80-90+:2 Hours
Where:The Grounds
Who:Account 'A'- Shaman to buff/haste from outside the group. Account 'C' should suspend their merc for now and group up with Account 'B' and the level 100 Berserker. Account 'B' will have their cleric merc suspended when pulling Recklessness swarms and out healing in the interim.
Strategy:Making the transition from the Toskirakk to The Grounds makes sense at 80, because it is a higher level zone and also a current hot zone. The exp here is REALLY good. It is a definite step up in challenge though. Pulling Recklessness swarms will likely result in the death of your Berserker most of the time, although you will do some serious damage to a hoard of mobs in the process making it still worth it. In between Recklessness pulls, 1-2 mobs can be pulled at a time and Decapitated down. Mobs in this zone have about 2x the HP's as Toskirakk mobs and require 2 procs of Decapitation to kill off. All mobs except some names will be susceptible to Decapitation, so any area of the zone works just fine. My preference is the center area, making camp at the safe ramp where Druids and Wizzy's port in. The mob density and fast repops will make it nearly impossible to run out of things to kill. You can expect to grind through 80-90 in very quick fashion. This is also a great time to AA, because you can get upwards of 2+ AA'sper killhere. As for 90+, you can grind this all the way to 100, but it would be boring. I would suggest getting real groups and to start enjoying the game at this point.

1. Mercenary's can be hired at level 1 for free. As you level up, they take a small amount of money every 15 minutes from your inventory to "pay for their services". At level 100, they take 100pp every 15 minutes to maintain.
2. Ranks- They can be purchased as either Apprentice (DON'T buy this) or Journeyman (Buy this one). Later on further ranks of Journeyman can be unlocked in Seeds of Destruction progression. The difference in the performance of Apprentice, to Journeyman 1, to Journeyman 5 is drastic. Nobody does the unlocks for J2 - J4 because the time commitment and the ability to jump straight to the J5 unlock. See the guide below for more information.
3. Mercenary's come in a variety of classes: Warrior, Cleric, Rogue, Wizard
-Warrior:Has an Aggressive, Passive, and Assist settings to control AI behavior. Can and should be set to "main-tank" in the same manner player characters are set and it's AI will be modified to seek agro on all mobs attacking any group members. From level 1-65, the Warrior Merc should be used by all classes. At levels 75-100, it will tank single mobs and named adequately if they are properly debuffed. It will start to struggle to stay alive with multiple mobs. It has some of the agro and survivability tools of the Warrior class, but much more limited.
-Cleric:Has a Reactive, Efficient, Balanced, and Passive settings to control AI behavior. When in doubt, use Reactive (especially if J5, because mana will not be an issue). Will rez the corpses of group members with 96% rez after level 60, lower percentages prior to that. Will buff group with AC/HPs, spell haste. Can heal with a variety of heal types and will also cure group members of ailments. The most reliable and least frustrating of all Merc types.
-Rogue:Has a Passive, Assist, Burn, and Steady DPS settings to control AI behavior. Great for groups with player tanks. Use this merc over the Wizard if you have Haste in the group. Will add about 75% of the DPS of an equal leveled and adequately AA'd/geared player. Will invis itself, apply poison, and give the group some minor melee aura buffs.
-Wizard:Has a Passive, Assist, AoE, Burn, and Steady DPS settings to control AI behavior. Great for pet-heavy groups and those that lack haste. Will add about 75% of the DPS of an equal leveled and adequately AA'd/geared player.4. Only one mercenary can be used at a time, but multiple others can be "stored" in a suspended state, if the account has been upgraded with Station Cash to unlock more slots.
5. With the Call of the Forsaken expansion, mercenary's have the ability to wear "merc only" gear and gain AA abilties.

6. Unlocking Journeyman 5 Mercs: This is a must do, if you are going to play EQ at the highend.
-Level 80 Required.Most classes will need a full group or the help of a level 95+ to do the tasks with.
-These are all in Korascian Warrens which is off of Tosk from the void.
-All of the quests in the guide below must be completed, but the order does not matter.
-Minimum of 3 player characters required to request the final group mission in the series.J5 Merc Walkthrough: