Druid Leveling and Item Hunting Guide by Mefdinkins

Mefdinkins 1-50 Druid Solo Guide (Under Development):

Introduction – After relying on a lot of great information from other guides and the forums I wanted to try to compile some information for druids. I’ve played many MMO’s and all different types of characters (wizards, druids, rogues, assassins, archers) but for some reason the original EQ druid is my all-time favorite.

Goal of this Guide - My goal is to give new druids suggestions on places to level a first character. This guide will aim to provide solid XP, while bringing you to areas where you can find a good item upgrade, or you can work on your epic quest. If you follow this guide you can slowly upgrade your gear through drops and make decent platinum to fill in the rest of your slots. If you’re super twinked and don’t need to worry about platinum or items then there are probably better XP options and you can ignore those suggestions. If you aren’t interested in starting the epic quest until later then there may be better XP options for you and you can ignore those sections. This guide is meant to start a dialogue and I hope that many characters will contribute so new players, or players looking for a bit of advice will find it helpful.

Druid XP Techniques - druids have many ways to get XP, unlike a warrior who typically only has the option of grouping, druids can group for experience, Root/Rot, Charm/Kite, DD/Kite, and Quad. Each technique has its strengths and weaknesses.

• Grouping - Grouping is a great way to have fun with other characters. It allows you to meet other players and bring valuable skills from other classes that supplement your own. I think it is important for new players to gain levels through both solo and group experience because it can be a little overwhelming jumping into a level 50+ dungeon having never contributed to a group before. This guide will focus on solo XP though… so be sure to check the wiki, your guild or /who all ‘your current level’ to see where other characters are for group XP opportunities.

• Root/Rot - Druids have a good line of root spells, like Grasping Roots and have strong and mana efficient damage over time spells, like Breath of Ro. This technique involves rooting a mob in place and casting your damage over time spells on it.
  • Pros - 1) Can be very mana efficient, damage over time spells like Breath of Ro have a great damage per mana ratio (1030 damage for 225 mana). Additionally, once you cast your spells you can sit down to regenerate mana while the mob slowly dies. 2) At 45+ Elder Spiritist's Vambraces can add ~370 damage for free on every rooted mob. 3) Great for dungeons, so you can take advantage of higher XP modifiers per single kill. Dungeons are typically not spread out enough to allow for easy kiting, but root/rot requires minimal space. 4) Great for unwanted adds and dealing w/ random mobs. If you’re attacked at 20% mana you can usually root a mob and then cast your most efficient DOT on it while medding up and take it out without running out of mana.
  • Cons - 1) Considered not as efficient XPwise as quadding or charm kiting. 2) At lower levels root doesn't last long enough and casting/recasting makes it less mana efficient. Dots do less damage on mobs that are chasing you.
• Charm - Druids have a powerful charm animal line of spells, Befriend Animal. This technique involves charming an animal and having it fight a similar level mob. Once both mobs are low, you can invis or hide yourself and finish off both mobs to get solid XP.
  • Pros - 1) Can be very mana/time efficient, considered to be the best possible XP for many. 2) Should try to learn eventually because it is almost mandatory to solo levels 57-60.
  • Cons - 1) Can take a while to get used to, especially learning how to invis yourself and when to. 2) Criticized by some as 'not having enough downtime' since you have to constantly pull and play attentively (instead of having downtime like quadding) to med up. 3) Only works on animals (who typically don't have the best drops) and in some levels there may not be a good area/place to do it.
• Quadding - Druids have a powerful area of effect direct damage spell line, Lightning Strike. This technique involves snaring a group of four mobs and then casting your AEDD on them all while staying out of melee range allowing you to kill four mobs in one kite
  • Pros - 1) This can be very mana efficient, some consider it the best XP available. 2) At level 46 when the Luminescent Staff proc becomes available to you you have a right click AEDD for 187 that can essentially allow you to power level yourself from 46-49 (or even higher) while expending minimal mana for Ensnare or zero mana when coupled with Elder Spiritist's Gauntlets.
  • Cons - 1) This technique is not available until higher level, first AEDD comes at 34 2) This technique is considered to have a lot of downtime. You will generally expend most or all of your mana to get the four kills, but then you will need to med to full before you pull again. Some see this as a pro depending on your playstyle (as a student I liked doing a little work when I would med to full so it was great for me). 3) Somewhat gear dependent, sometimes it requires a larger mana pool than available. It is important to be aware of your mana pool and the HP pool of mobs.
• DD Kite - Druids have strong direct damage spells, starting with Burst of Flame. This technique involves snaring a single mob and then casting your direct damage spells on it while staying out of melee range.
  • Pros - 1) This is a great technique for the lower levels and can be done as soon as you pick up Spirit of Wolf at level 14. 2) At lower levels it can be the most mana efficient way to gain XP. If you account for the damage per mana of your spells, the costs of casting roots, etc. 3) This technique is fast and allows you to burn a mob down quickly (for instance at level 55 your DD does 688 instantly, compared to a DOT ticking for 1030 over 60 seconds). 4) This technique is very safe, if something does not go as planned (resists, SOW wearing off, aggro) you're only dealing with one pulled mob instead of having 4 or 2 on you when something goes awry while quadding or charm kiting.
  • Cons - This technique burns a lot of mana and is generally seen as not as efficient once you master and have available the other techniques (root/rot, quad, and charmkiting).
• Dislaimer - As I begin this guide it will be based on my observations and the lessons I’ve learned from leveling a druid in classic and now here on P1999. I have scoured the forums and spoken in game with many great druids and asked for their thoughts on this as well. However, this list is not exhaustive and everyone’s in game experience is different. This guide may not be helpful to you. Please use this information as you see fit, feel free to explore the world and try to find better/faster/more efficient ways to gain XP! If you let me know of your experience leveling I would gladly update this guide and add it.