Revision as of 18:28, 7 October 2013

Intro

So you got the game loaded on your computer. Emulator software downloaded. Now you're looking at the character select screen and wondering, "What race should I pick? What class should I play?" For those who haven't played EverQuest before (or even for those who haven't played in years), starting off can be rather daunting. Without much to guide a new player, the game itself can quickly become overwhelming and unforgiving. A few quick pointers can save a lot of time and a lot of frustration. This server as of the updating of this guide is set to the first expansion of EverQuest only, Kunark. Velious is planned to be released by 2014 and then no more expansions will be released. With that, the focus of this guide will be as if Velious has already been released or as if you are preparing for Velious.

What class should I pick?

In order to decide what class/race combination you should pick, you should decide what exactly are your goals in EverQuest and what you want to accomplish when playing. This ranks classes from best to worst based on various categories. Going through these categories should help you determine what class you would like to play.

I want to get a little money relatively quickly

Druid or Wizard. Once you hit your thirties you can teleport people around Norrath for money. Depending on your luck finding people to teleport and getting payment, this can typically net you a few hundred platinum an hour (sometimes more, sometimes less). Not chump change, but not as much money as can be made by farming. Druids are better for making money because they can also power level, and power leveling rates are much better (one or two thousand platinum an hour). Druids are excellent power levelers for low level characters, not so much for higher level characters. Note that getting to your 30s where you can port other people will take many hours of gameplay, especially if you are new, so if you do not actually enjoy playing these classes, you should probably not make one just for porting money.

I want to be able to solo and not have to rely on a group/raid and/or my time is limited in Real Life

Bard > Enchanter > Necromancer > Druid > Magician > Wizard > Shaman > Cleric

The above list is in terms of how fast you gain EXP an hour. Bards are far and away the best at solo EXPing because they can take down entire zones at once, starting at level 2. Enchanters, Necromancers, and Druids are all excellent soloers because of their ability to charm and their crowd control and mana regeneration (except for Druid, until much later) abilities. Magicians are strong soloers because of their strong pets, and Wizards and Druids both have the ability to quad kite starting in their late 20s or early 30s. Shamans are pretty weak soloers initially but become one of the strongest solo farming classes in the game at 60, and Clerics are slow but reliable soloers using undead nukes with lulls and roots for crowd control.

I want to explore everything and travel quickly

Druid > Wizard > Bard > Shaman

Druids and Wizards are the only classes capable of teleporting themselves (and others) to many locations across Norrath. Bards have the best run speed in the game with their run speed songs, and Shamans get Spirit of Wolf. Note that it is easy to find ports on this server, and all classes are capable of getting Journeyman's Boots], so this is not necessarily a good reason to make a character.

I want to be able to get groups and level quickly

Enchanter > Cleric > Warrior/Shadowknight/Paladin > Rogue > Monk > Shaman > Bard

The "holy trinity" of standard dungeon groups in EverQuest (and most MMORPGs) is tank/healer/DPS, and tanks and healers are especially in high demand. Warriors, Shadowknights, and Paladins are the standard tanks in EverQuest.

Warriors are better tanks in raids due to their disciplines, but in standard EXP groups, Shadowknights and Paladins are more effective due to their much better aggro generation abilities; they are also better for new players due to less reliance on having good equipment to be effective.

Clerics are by far the best healers in the game, and they later get the ability to resurrect their allies, restoring lost EXP from death. For this they are well-loved in groups.

Enchanters are possibly the most important class in a standard EXP group even though they are not so much part of the holy trinity, and they are in especially high demand because they are uniquely suited to fulfilling their role (except for bards, which can perform many of the same tasks, but carry a large EXP penalty and are often soloing anyway). Enchanters have excellent capability to crowd control, meaning they can guarantee that your group is fighting only one monster at a time, which greatly increases efficiency. They can also provide mana regeneration to the casters in the group, melee haste to the melee DPS, and they have some weak slows they can use to decrease enemy DPS. Finally, they can charm enemy monsters to provide a great boost in DPS.

Rogues and monks dominate DPS in EXP groups. Rogues are better DPS and have a small EXP bonus, but monks have additional utility in the form of pulling with Feign Death.

Shamans are weaker than clerics as healers but still useful in that regard, and also provide an array of very useful buffs to the group. They also have excellent slows they can use in later levels to severely reduce the DPS done by the enemy.

Bards can fulfill much the same role as an enchanter, as well as potentially being a good puller and tank, so they are certainly very useful for groups.

I want to be able to go afk in my groups sometimes

Wizard > Druid > Mage > Necro

These classes often have less of an active role in group play, especially wizards, who will often find themselves meditating for several minutes to regain mana for more nukes. Druids, mages, and necromancers are more active.

I don't want to have to worry about losing exp when I die

Cleric

Clerics can resurrect, regaining (with the highest-level spell) 96% of lost EXP upon death. However, most high-level groups have a cleric or at least have some other cleric present in the zone who can take care of resurrection if you die, so rolling a cleric for this reason is not necessarily the best idea. A committed player with some platinum to pay people can get a 96% resurrection whenever they die.

I want to tank but I want to do other things too like cast spells

Shadow Knight > Paladin > Bard > Ranger > Monk

SKs and Paladins are both great tanks in EXP groups, and SKs have the added bonus of being able to solo somewhat. Bards are good tanks and have a huge array of other useful abilities. Rangers and monks are both decent tanks; rangers are better at holding aggro, but monks are better at DPSing.

I want to get groups but because this is my first character; I don't have money for good gear

Enchanter > Cleric > Shadowknight/Paladin > Bard > Mage > Necromancer

People are generally happy to take a newbie with no good gear into their groups as long as that person is eager to get better at the game and learn. However, some classes have a much more noticeable difference in their performance depending on what gear they have. This doesn't mean that an ungeared warrior or rogue can't get groups, but it does mean that they need to be smarter about farming a little money at low levels and going to East Commonlands to buy some cheap gear.

I want to play this game on hard mode

Ranger

Rangers have a whopping 40% EXP penalty, which some other classes do as well, but they have the added issues of being gear-dependent and beaten out by another class in everything they can do except for tracking. They are very poor soloers unless very well-geared, and people sometimes avoid them for groups, though they can provide good pulling, DPS, and tanking (though, again, not as good as some other classes).

I want to be in high level raids in Velious

Cleric > Warrior > Rogue > Wizard

Note: There is a strong emphasis on clerics and warriors (iksar warriors preferably)

OK, I understand everything, but I want a little more info about the classes

Check out the Players:Adventure Section for guides on each class / scroll down to the bottom. You could also Go to the Classes section and select the class you want more info about.

What race should I pick?

Well ultimately that all depends on what race you like. There are not enormous functionally differences between races, especially when Velious comes (high-end Velious gear ends up maxing out many stats regardless of your starting values in those stats. The main considerations are EXP penalties, faction issues, and regeneration, though there are some other useful abilities as well. The full listing of what each race has is at Character_Races page.

Monk, Necromancer, Shadow Knight, Shaman, Warrior > Iksar is good for HP Regen and increased armor. Also has infravision. Ogre is useful for frontal stun immunity.

Clerics, Rogue, Druids > Halfling is useful for +5% exp bonus, infravision, & sneak / hide

Bard, Paladin, Ranger, Enchanter, Wiz, Mage > It doesn't really matter for these classes. Probably something with infravision is best - see the Character_Races page.

Once Velious rolls out, Iksars will no longer have the current disadvantage of missing out on high-end gear because it is plate (i.e., in Kunark, Iksar warriors, shadowknights, and shamans miss out on various high end items, but in Velious, new items are introduced which do not have this restriction).

Where should I allocate my character stats?

So by this point in the guide you should know which class and race you would like to play. Here is a basic list of each stat that you can allocate your points and what the stat does.

Main article: Statistics

Strength

Strength determines how much you can carry. It influences maximum and average damage and how quickly you learn many offensive skills. This skill is important to melee classes such as Warriors and Rogues as it directly influences how much damage you are going to be doing in close combat. Do not allocate points into this if you are a Shaman, Cleric, Druid, Magician, Necromancer, Enchanter, or Wizard.

Note to End Game Raiders: If you are a meelee class It would be recommended to put some points here especially if your race has < 90 str. Do not add a lot of points if you are a meelee class and plan to raid a lot in velious because once you have high end gear with buffs & bard songs, this stat is easily maxed at 255

Stamina

Stamina affects how many hit points you have, and how long you can hold your breath. The number of hit points gained from increasing this statistic is very minimal and should only be a major stat consideration for the tank classes (Shadowknight, Warrior, and Paladin). Other melee DPS classes may consider this stat of some importance as they are directly on the front line, even if they aren't the one being focused by monsters.

Note for End game Raiders: Do not add a lot of points if you are a meelee class and plan to raid a lot in velious because once you have high end gear with buffs & bard songs, this stat is easily maxed at 255. If you are a caster and plan to raid a lot in velious you may want to try to up this close to 100 as you do not easily max stamina as a caster with high end velious gear. HP is very important to absorbing boss AE's and not die.

Agility

Agility affects how quickly you can learn some defensive skills, how difficult it is to hit you as well as how much damage you take when you are hit. The true effect of Agility is often debated. Reducing incoming damage is useful to every class as you will get hit at some point in your journey. However, it doesn't seem to make a noticeable difference, and there are quite a few Agility increasing items in the game. The best case to be made for adding points to Agility is for a tanking class that is under 75 points, as it is a popular theory that a penalty exists for characters below that number.

Note for End game Raiders: This stat can be very important for tanks to add at the character select screen because this stat is harder to max out than strength and stamina and can add value to tanking end game bosses.

Dexterity

Dexterity affects how quickly you learn weapon skills, and how often weapons will do their special effects. For Bards it also effects their chance of missing notes (fizzling) their spells. Typically Bards are the only class to add points here. The excpetion is for tanking classes again, as the same "below 75" penalty is believed to exist here as well. Do not allocate points into this if you are a Shaman, Cleric, Druid, Magician, Necromancer, Enchanter, or Wizard.

Note for End game Raiders: This stat can be important for meelee to add at the character select screen because this stat is harder to max out than strength and stamina and can add some value to tanking end game bosses.

Wisdom

Wisdom affects the amount of mana the priest classes have, including rangers and paladins. It also affects how quickly you can learn most skills given that your Wisdom is higher than your Intelligence. Wisdom is only of primary importance to the Wisdom casters. You should only allocate points here if you are a Shaman, Cleric, or Druid.

Note for End game Casters: This stat is very easy to max at end game and I wouldn't recommend points here unless your race is < 90 with it

Intelligence

Intelligence directly affects how quickly you can learn most skills if it is higher than your Wisdom. It affects the amount of mana for Bards and all Intelligence casters, as well as Shadow Knights. This stat is the most important for primary casters, moderate importance for Shadow Knights, and of almost no importance to Bards. You should only allocate points here if you are a Magician, Necromancer, Enchanter, or Wizard.

Note for End game Casters: This stat is very easy to max at end game and I wouldn't recommend points here unless your race is < 90 with it

Charisma

This affects amount you will be paid for goods by NPC merchants, and how much you will pay. It also affects the saving throw on certain Bard and Enchanter spells (charms in particular). For Bards, Charisma is much more important than for other classes as it improves their songs' resistance chance and fizzle chance. Because of these factors only Bards and Enchanters should consider this a truely important stat and you should not add points to this stat unless you are one of these classes.

Overall Recommendations for selection Overall you really want to balance out your character for the important stats. Here is what I would recommend for classes if you plan to play end game everquest.

Druid, Shaman, Cleric -> Up stamina and wisdom - whichever is lower pump it up to equal the other

Magician, Wizard, Necromancer -> Up stamina and intelligence - whichever is lower pump it up to equal the other

Warrior, SK, Paladin, Ranger -> Up Strength, Agility, Dexterity, and Stamina - whichever is lower pump it up to equal the others

Enchanter - > Charisma, Stamina, Intelligence -whichever is lower pump it up to equal the others

Bard - > Charisma, Stamina, Dexterity -whichever is lower pump it up to equal the others

Starting in your Hometown

After your initial character is made, you'll load into your home city next to the Priest of Discord. First off, each player starts with a few necessary items: food/drink, a training weapon, a note to their guildmaster, a Tome of Order and Discord, and a few spells if they're a casting class. The tome is used in a quest to become PVP enabled, but on a PVE server this will only hinder your progression. Destroy it.

The next step should be to find your guildmaster. Read the note given to you, take down the name, and find the NPC in question. Hand him/her the note to receive a training tunic/robe, a small amount of experience, and positive faction towards your guild. Lastly, scribe any spells in your inventory into your spellbook (ctrl-b or use the EQ menu) and memorize (left-click) the spells onto your spell bar.

Before heading out, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the layout of your city, mainly where your guild is in relation to the town gate, the banker(s), and any merchants close to the exit for easy selling (although be warned that some merchants are greedy merchants, and offer terrible prices compared to most other merchants!). To bolster your inventory, backpacks and other bags are usually available at a merchant in your guild or from orcs/gnolls/decaying skeletons. Always be sure to have adequate food and drink as well. Caster's will not be able to use their spells when they are thirsty as they will not regenerate mana, and melee's stamina will not replenish without food.

Where to Adventure

The best place to start off adventuring is right outside your city. Each starting zone typically has a certain area where players will meet to form groups. Greater Faydark has orc hill, Nektulos Forest has the newbie log, and the Commonlands have 2 Orc Camps. These locations are great places to meet new players and get a feel for the game.

• Nektulos Forest (Neriak) - The newbie log is located due West of the Neriak gate just beyond the large hill. Recommended for any level, this area has a wide range of mobs to pull and is a great landmark to regroup at because of its visibility and relative saftey.
• East Commons/West Freeport (Freeport) - West Freeport is packed with mobs and can often accomodate 10+ players at a time. Pick your targets and watch out for skeletons. After level 3, it's time to move on. In East Commonlands, try to stick close to the Inns since they are the location of most of the guards. You'll often find other players in these areas too, so group up. Once you reach level 5 or so, try to join an Orc camp group. It's fast, safer, and often other higher level players will pass by and buff your group.
• Greater Faydark (Felwithe/Kelethin) - For High Elves, begin close to Felwithe killing bats, skeletons, and wolves until level 3. Be sure not to attack pixies or wisps as they are higher level and result in lost faction. Afterwards, gradually move north killing orcs and the aforementioned monsters until your reach level 5. The druid circle outside Kelethin is a good location with fast respawns and a variety of monsters. Watch for Orc Centurions/Pawns who patrol near the path from Kelethin to Felwithe and appear with increasing frequency as you move farther north and approach orc hill. After reaching level 5 begin looking for Orc Hill/Crushbone groups. For Wood Elves, follow the same path except begin at the druid circle outside Kelethin's south lift.

Traveling

Safe travel will not only save you a headache, but will get you to your location quicker in the long run. A few things to note:

• In-game maps are disabled on p1999, so be sure to visit a site like EQ Atlas to make sure you know where you're going! Otherwise, detailed maps can be found for all Zones.
• Hug the walls. If a zone is unfamiliar territory to you, the walls are usually the safest route. In certain cases, the roads are viable paths to follow as well, although are usually more populated with mobs.
• Beware of Kithicor Forest.
• Make sure to get a bind at your destination. If you're traveling large distances, a few binds at various landmarks on the way can lessen the stress-load of long trips. Tips are appreciated by binders, but most will do the service for free.

Ports from druids/wizards are also available, but some form of donation is usually expected. If you do ask for a port, 1) know where you are and where you're heading, 2) be polite and don't spam the chat channel, and 3) offer a donation (either 1pp per level or 20-50pp depending on your generosity).

Quests

Quests offer a variety of benefits for both new and returning players. Experience, faction, gold, and even the odd piece of equipment; all of these can make the first few levels a little easier to handle. A few popular starting quests are:

• Bat Wings
• Crushbone Belts
• Gnoll Bounty
• Deathfist Slashed Belts
• Moonstones
• Bone Chips (Quest)
• Gnoll Fur

Armor

Equipment can be difficult to come by in Everquest. Most items of any worth come from named mobs, usually in dungeons, and almost always require a group. Upgrading your gear efficiently will involve different routes depending on your different class and role. The starting point for all classes is generally cloth (dropped off of decaying skeletons, low-level kobolds, orcs, gnolls, etc.) because of its low-cost and ease of acquisition. For Tanks and Melee classes it may be it more efficient to purchase a few leather pieces (Raw-Hide or Tattered) and fill in the rest of your empty gear slots with cloth drops. There is no point in starting with cloth gear having upgrades available that are similarly priced.

Melee

For any class in close-combat there are two options available early: banded and bronze. Both typically sell for 1pp per AC, but banded is considerably lighter. On characters with low strength, such as clerics, choosing banded over bronze can be the difference between becoming encumbered * (overweight) and staying under your weight limit.

*being encumbered causes a loss in agility, movement speed, and AC

• Banded - consists of 13 pieces for 91AC
• Bronze - consists of 13 pieces for 102AC

Banded mail is player crafted using Blacksmithing, while bronze is dropped from mobs level 20+. While a tanking (knight) class would benefit from the extra AC in bronze, melee DPS could just as easily use Banded for its lighter weight. It comes down to play-style as both are viable options for a new player.

For a young Monk, since patchwork is rather heavy, either raw silk or cured silk are viable until Wu's Fighting Gear.

• Raw Silk - consists of 13 pieces for 37AC
• Cured Silk - consists of 13 pieces for 50AC
• Mesh - consists of 13 pieces for 50AC

Both raw and cured silk are created by tailors. A common way to purchase either is to collect enough spider silk for the tailor to create a set and offer a tip to the player as well. Mesh is not commonly sold by players, but is also a viable option. Commonly dropped in Upper Guk.

Casters

Armor for casters can be more troublesome to obtain. Any plat earned is likely needed for new spells and should be your priority. With the economy the way it is, many lower end intelligence/wisdom items tend to be sold to NPC merchants rather than other players due to their relatively low value. The most viable option is to stick with cloth and keep an eye out for jewelers selling their wares. A pair of +2 rings and/or a bracelet can be purchased for under 15pp and will likely last into your 20s until more equipment is available to you. Low-level clerics may consider purchasing strength jewelry to facilitate wearing plate armor if they are low on strength.

Fortunately, caster classes are much less reliant on gear to be successful than melee classes are. A naked necromancer is nearly as effective as a fully geared one! Don't stress out about trying to get all the fancy gear on your new character; you'll be much better served by picking up all of your useful spells and saving platinum until you are 40+.

Weapons

For the first few levels there isn't much available as an upgrade to your starter weapon. Depending on your style of play, it's not always a necessity either. However, your role in a group will require certain changes in tactics. Knowing which weapons to use in each situation is vital.

Knights

Low delay weapons are what to look for if you're going into a group as a tank. Short swords, daggers, and shortened spears tend to have lower delays than long swords, bastard swords, etc. Before the mid teens (when most melee classes get dual wield), a decent shield is also something to look into. Each city will have a shield merchant with a variety of options available, but each Warrior's Guild will have a general merchant and a basic shield to sell as well.

Early on, if you find yourself with a bit of extra plat, there are a few lower end tanking weapons that may be available. Weapons like Gnoll Hide Lariat or Tentacle Whip are usually sold by players for 20-50pp and will vastly improve your tanking ability.

Melee

As a melee, your main focus obviously will be to deal out damage. Depending on your class abilities (rogues, for example, can only use 1-handed weapons), high damage/high delay weapons should be what to look for, but personal style plays a small part too. As DPS, two-handed weapons allow easier aggro-management for the tank in your group and will provide a steady amount of DPS as well. For hybrids (Rangers, Paladins, Shadow Knights) too, this allows the chance to time spell-casting in between swings for better overall DPS.

Again, there isn't much available to a young melee right away, but there are a few options. Often, in certain zones, other players will set up camp killing city guards (Freeport is common, as is Oggok). If you're comfortable, politely ask one of the players if you can loot one of the Fine Steel or Bronze weapons the guards carry. If the player says no, just say thank you and be on your way. It's not a necessity to upgrade your weapon early, so don't stress over this. There are also a few quests that will reward you with a minorly upgraded weapon, as well, with the right supplies, Blacksmiths can sharpen rusty weapons and make a weapon slightly quicker. Lastly, if you find yourself with extra platinum pieces, a few lower priced weapons may be available to you through other players.

Casters

Again, as a caster, most of your platinum will be needed for new spells so upgrading your weapon is not always a necessity. However, if you find yourself melee-ing often to take down the last bit of a mob's health, it may be a decent idea to follow the above advice and find higher level players at a city guard camp and politely ask to loot a Fine Steel Dagger/Staff. Cleric gain the ability to summon their own weapons at a low level. This is a good way for a young cleric to save money.

Platinum

A keen eye can make obtaining platinum in the early levels a lot easier. Most of what drops off of low level mobs can be sold to NPCs, but a few items are sought after by even high level players so its important to know which items to keep and which to leave.

• Bone chips - these are used by Necromancers of all levels to summon their pets. The price usually ranges from 2-5pp per stack, but in bulk can fetch quite a bit more to the right player.
• High Quality pelts - The most commonly bought HQ pelt is from bears, since they're used to make weight reduction backpacks (usually 20pp per pelt), but both cat and wolf pelts of high quality (5pp per pelt) sell to tailors as well, although less often.
• Spider/spiderling silk - Spider and spiderling silk sell for 10-20pp a stack. Both are used in tailoring.