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m (Miscellaneous Details for p1999)
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* NPC perma procs can't proc unless damage is done to the player.
 
* NPC perma procs can't proc unless damage is done to the player.
 
* Vox and Nagafen will banish players over level 52.
 
* Vox and Nagafen will banish players over level 52.
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* NPCs/pets can equip items in all slots.
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* NPCs/pets can swap weapons if the new weapon has a lesser delay.
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* The player attack delay floor is 5 delay.
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* Archery has no damage bonuses.
  
 
== Corpse Decay Time ==
 
== Corpse Decay Time ==

Revision as of 03:24, 25 July 2011

This page is intended for a more technical discussion of the game mechanics. For instance, equations governing combat, how STA translates into HP, how the con color system scales with level. It is important that this information applies to p1999 mechanics, as opposed to Live mechanics, post-Velious mechanics, or EQEmu mechanics. Each topic can have a list of reference links which may or may not apply. There should be consensus that the information is valid for p1999 before it is copied into this page.

Contents

Miscellaneous Details for p1999

These are verified to be true on Project 1999. These are largely changes that were announced during patches.

  • Crippling blows have chance to stun.
  • If a mob is moving (fear/flee don't count) when the damage from a dot is applied, it will take 66% of the damage that it would have normally taken.
  • Rogues can critical hit, deadly strike, and assassinate on throwing attacks.
  • All classes that can exceed 200 Bind Wound can bind to 70%.
  • Can only assassinate humanoid targets.
  • Level 56+ NPCs are immune to stuns.
  • Taunt does not work on mobs above 50.
  • Monk weight limit reduced to 14 for all levels.
  • Blinded mobs will attack anything in melee range before fleeing.
  • NPC's will regain 25% HP after gating.
  • The /target command requires line of sight (except corpses).
  • Pets do not automatically dual wield at any level (must be given two weapons).
  • Druid charm CHA equivalence identical to necromancers (further details?).
  • Lifetaps will only resist when outside the level limit (which is? 6 levels?).
  • Bash damage absorbed by a rune, can still stun you.
  • Regular runes absorb spell damage.
  • NPC perma procs can't proc unless damage is done to the player.
  • Vox and Nagafen will banish players over level 52.
  • NPCs/pets can equip items in all slots.
  • NPCs/pets can swap weapons if the new weapon has a lesser delay.
  • The player attack delay floor is 5 delay.
  • Archery has no damage bonuses.

Corpse Decay Time

A player corpse resulting from a normal death will decay exactly 7 days after it was created, regardless of the player being online or offline during that time.

A normal player corpse can be resurrected only within the first 3 hours after death. This timer only ticks if the player (or any player on account?) is online.

A player corpse resulting from a duel can only be resurrected within the first 8 minutes (or 7?) after death.

A normal NPC corpse with items on it will decay after approximately six minutes (always?).

A high level NPC corpse (over level 50?) will not decay until 30 minutes after death.

An empty corpse will decay within a few seconds.

Faction System and Levels

Note: The numerical values for changing between different con levels has always been debated (e.g. scowling is -1000 or below). These values on p1999 are likely the same as for stock EQEmu but this is unconfirmed. The following information is based off early experiments and direct data from live. Similar to experience numbers, in the very early days of live the direct faction numbers were sent to the client.

Note: The amount of numerical faction raised/lowered for killing any specific mob or completing any specific quest is unknown on p1999. Many of these values are likely similar to stock EQEmu, but significant adjustments have certainly been made.

1. Faction in Everquest

The faction system is the relation ship between YOU, the player character, and the AI controlled creatures of Norrath.

The word faction has two common meanings:

  1. Faction: noun. An associated group of NPCs, Identified by thier faction number and a faction description. An example of this would 'Faction 232', or 'ClawsofVeeshan'.
  2. Faction: noun. The relative relationship between you and any given creature as given by the /con command in game. An example of this would be 'Lord Nagafen scowls at you, ready to attack'.

For the sake of clarity, I will use CONSIDER whenever I mean faction(2) and FACTION whenever I mean faction(1) in this document.

Important things to realize about faction:

  • Each AI controlled creature belongs to one and only one faction.
  • The consider changes that occur when you kill a creature or do a quest have NOTHING to do with the faction of the creature killed or the quest giver. While often they are often similar, that similarity is simply a statement of consistency in Verant's world.

2. How Consider Works

When you /con a creature, the Everquest server generates a number that is your relative ranking of like and dislike from that creature's faction. This number is composed of:

  • A modifier for your god
  • A modifier for your race
  • A modifier for your class
  • A modifier for your own faction changing efforts
  • A modifier that is spell based
  • A modifier that is NPC specific
  • A zone modifier

The sum of these modifiers is your consider number. What is output by the client is one of nine messages, depending on the consider number (unconfirmed numbers on p99):

  • Below -801, scowls at you, ready to attack
  • -800 to -501, views you threateningly
  • -500 to -101, scowls at you dubiously
  • -100 to -1, is apprehensive
  • 0 to 99, is indifferent
  • 100 to 499, is amiable
  • 500 to 699, kindly considers you
  • 700 to 1099, views you warmly
  • 1100 and up, you are an ally

All player characters on blue servers have a base consider of 0.

Consider USED to be capped at +2000 and -2000. It was changed at some point to handle larger values. There MAY still be specific caps associated with certain factions, but I have not found any current evidence that this is true.

How do the modifers work?

  • The GOD modifer is fixed for each faction. Worshipers of each god have fixed plus or minus consider for each faction.
  • The RACE modifier is fixed for each faction. Each race has a fixed plus or minus consider for each faction.
  • The CLASS is fixed for each faction. Each CLASS has a fixed plus or minus for each faction.
  • The PERSONAL modifier is set at your character creation for each faction, and is changed as a result of your in-game actions. For example, if I do the Kerran Key quest in qeynos I get about +30 to my personal Steel Warrior consider.
  • The SPELL based modifier raises the consider number a set amount per spell. For example, Collaboration adds 300.
  • The NPC modifer overrides other considerations. For example, Gypsies have a set faction based on RACE and CLASS, and GOD that cannot be changed by spells.
  • The ZONE modifier is a set amount that is added to certain personal consider values upon entering a zone. In almost all cases, the ZM is zero. This information on ZM is based on two bits of sketchy information. First, a vague statement from Verant that a consider ZM causes the 'You swipe at a %t. A %t dies' messages that appear when you zone. Second, one example, that of the Kromrif, who are on the same faction, yet con exactly 100 different for me in two different zones.

Here is an example:

I have a personal modifer of 2697 with WolvesoftheNorth. Since I am a dark elf, I lose 200, since I worship Innoruuk I lose 300, but since I am an enchanter I gain 100. My total faction is 2697-200-300+100, or 2297, making me an ally.

3. The effect of Spells on Consider

  • (a) Invisible, camoflauge, sneak, hide, and invisible to undead set your consider to 0 for NPCs who don't see through them.
  • (b) The faction-changing enchanter spells have these effects:
    • Alliance: +100 consider
    • Benevolence: +200 consider
    • Collaboration: +300 consider

Only one instance of these spells can be alive at any time, and all three spells overwrite each other.

  • (c) Illusions affect your faction as if you actually changed to the race of the illusion. This makes the server recalculate your consider at a new value while you have the illusion on. The amount recalulated for illusions is based on the NPC faction vs that race, not on the illusion iself. That means that different illusions will produce different consider results on NPCs with different faction. This is a hard concept, so here is an example with two barbarian NPCS who are on different faction in the same zone:
Me Maula FishCatcher Maula's fisherman buddy
Human 1487 1307
Werewolf 1387 807
Dark Elf 787 707
Troll 1287 1207
Ogre 987 1207
  • (d) Memory blur does not change faction. It just wipes the Hate List.

(4) Where do consider changes come from?

  • (a) Killing creatures. Usually killing a creature produces one or more +considers and one or more -considers. The amount gotten from killing varies, and I have seen values from +1 to +250 and -1 to -200. Typical kill values are +/- 1 to 5.
  • (b) Doing quests. Each quest step usually changes consider values for several factions. Typical numbers are +/-1 and +/-5. A few quests produce consider changes in the +/- hundreds.
  • (c) Specials. Some special game items (like hailing that genii in Sol B) can change consider. I don't have any large list of these, and would be happy to learn about them.

(5) Various topics

  • (a) Monsters who do not see you because you are behind them, etc, simply don't see you. Your consider remains the same.
  • (b) Charisma has no effect on consider.
  • (c) Factions cross continents, zone, etc. RingofScale in Permafrost is the same as RingOfScale in Kunark.
  • (d) Factions are not interrelated. Losing consider with ServantsofMistmoore does not change my MayongMistmoore consider.

Consider Color Scalings with Level

?

Hitpoints Calculation from STA and Level

The conversion of STA to pure HP scales with level, and also depends on class.

For example (unconfirmed exactly), only at level ~50:

  • warrior - 4.5hp from 1 STA
  • paly/sk - 3.8hp from 1 STA
  • cleric - 2.5hp from 1 STA
  • INT casters - 2hp from 1 STA

Weapon Proc Rates

Proc rates are computed on a procs per minute basis. I believe this is the same number for the vast majority of weapons, but some weapons have a higher adjusted procs per minute rate, and some such (with big procs) are adjusted downwards. The game translates the weapons targeted procs per minute and applies it to your weapon. If you are swinging 100 times a minute with your main hand, and the targeted procs per minute is 5, then the game essentially makes this computation:

  • 5 procs divided by 100 swings = chance to proc per swing
  • 5 / 100 = 0.05 or 1 in twenty chance.

Now if your haste wears off, and you're only swinging 50 times per minute, the game actually will up your chance to proc per swing

  • 5 / 50 = 0.10 or 1 in 10 chance to proc per swing

This is confusing to some people but it's definitely true.

Melee Combat and Damage

Note: Melee damage (specifically, damage bonuses) are undergoing a revamp with the launch of Kunark.

Weapon Damage / Efficiency

Weapon damage can be figured by using this formula:

Average_Slash = (2 * Weapon_Base) + Bonus_Modifier + STR Modifier

Damage Cap

Damage cap = (dmg * 2) where dmg is the weapon's stated damage.

  • levels 1-9 - damage cap is 20
  • levels 10-19 - damage cap is 40
  • 20+ - lifted, can do 2x weapon damage or more based on class

The dmg*2 formula is true until lvl 28 where you get 1 bonus damage every 3 levels to your main hand attack. So at level 50 you get 8 extra bonus damage:

  • main hand = (dmg*2)+8
  • off hand = dmg*2

That's why a fast weapon can perform as good as a slower weapon with better ratio. For example, a dragon spined claw (10/21) only outdamages a revultant whip (5/14) by about 10% or maybe a bit more (that's my personal parse). For off hand, you need the best possible ratio (no damage bonus).

Role of STR

As for str, you will notice more effects at later level. It does increase my max damage when I go from 180 (unbuffed) to about 250 (shaman buff). In the end, my main hand 10/21 has a max damage of about 45, so from the formula:

  • (2*10)+8 = 28

I have an extra 17 damage, I would think that it is all coming from str bonus at my level? Not sure.

The other effect of str is that it raises your ATK (about 1 ATK for 1 str) and the more ATK you have, the more likely you will get high hits.

Role of STR on other emulated servers

The source code for EQ Emulator calculates max damage based on Weapon Damage, STR, Weapon Skill, Class, and Player Level. This algorithm may have been changed on P99, but here it is for reference:

  • [Max Damage] = ([Mod] x [Weapon Damage]) + [Main Hand Bonus] (rounded down)
  • [Weapon Damage] is the damage listed on the weapon.
  • [Main hand bonus] is always 0 for non-melee characters, and weapons wielded in the off-hand.
  • [Main hand bonus] for one handed weapons is: ([Player Level] - 25) / 3 (rounded down)
  • [Mod] is calculated as: ([Weapon Skill] + [STR] -75) / 100
  • If [Mod] is less than 2, then 2 is used instead.
  • If [Player Level] is less than 10, then [Max Damage] is capped at 20.
  • If [Player Level] is less than 20, then [Max Damage] is capped at 40.

So at low levels, [Max Damage] is always twice the listed weapon damage. In the example above, a level 50 melee character using a 10 damage weapon, with 200 weapon skill and 250 strength, max damage would be calculated as:

  • [Mod] = (200 + 250 - 75) / 100 = 3.75
  • [Main Hand Bonus] = (50 - 25) / 3 = 8
  • [Max Damage] = (3.75 x 10) + 8 = 45

Note that increased damage from strength is applied to both main hand and off hand weapons, and is a multiplier. The level based [Main Hand Bonus] is a flat number that is only added to the main hand weapon and is not affected by strength.

Two-Handed Weapons

Note that the above (live) table is likely incorrect for p1999. The 2H damage bonus was made "classic" (unknown details, ref).

Dual Wield / Double Attack Chance

(% Chance to Double Attack Per Hit) = (Double Attack Skill Level) / ("MaxSkill"*1.05)

The value of "MaxSkill" may be ~400 (unconfirmed). That would mean at 200 double attack skill half of your hits would trigger a double attack.

For triple attacks, the same check is done using half your double attack skill level.

And for dual wield checks?

Backstab Damage Calculations

At level 51, your offense skill is 215, and your backstab skill is 203.

Backstab uses a weapon damage multiplier of: 2 + (Skill * 0.02).

((Offense + (Str up to 200) + (str over 200 / 5)) * WepDmg * Mult) / 100

((215 + 200 + (55 / 5)) * 13 * (2 + (203 * 0.02))) / 100 = 335.6028

If you had, for example, 200 strength:

((215 + 200) * 13 * (2 + (203 * 0.02))) / 100 = 326.93700

Under 200 starts to hurt even more since over 200 has diminishing returns. 150:

((215 + 150) * 13 * (2 + (203 * 0.02))) / 100 = 287.54700

At level 60, your offense skill will be 252, and backstab will be 225. With a 13 damage weapon at max strength:

((252 + 200 + (55 / 5)) * 13 * (2 + (225 * 0.02))) / 100 = 391.23500

With Ragebringer or any other 15 damage weapon:

((252 + 200 + (55 / 5)) * 15 * (2 + (225 * 0.02))) / 100 = 451.42500

Descriptive Statistics and the EQ Magic System

My Purpose (by Nenelar Valandur, High Elf Elementalist, E’ci, Nov 2000 (ref)): I’ve read many comparisons of spells on many website and many online forums. Almost exclusively the power of spells is compared based on the maximum damage they can deliver and the efficiency of mana put into those spells is compared by the ratio: Point of damage per point of mana.

These are valid measures for comparison. However, they tell a very limited story in terms of the true power and efficiency of the classes. My purpose is to offer a more complete view of casting power using different statistics than what I’ve seen proposed previously. But first let me start with what seems to be a reasonable argument using the old statistics:

What We Think We Know

Facts:

  • The level 60 wizard spell “Sunstrike” costs 450 and does 1615 maximum damage. That’s a ratio of 450:1615 or 1:3.59.
  • The level 60 magician spell “Seeking Flame of Seukor” costs 350 mana and does 1024 maximum damage. That’s a ratio of 350:1024 or 1:3.2.

Conclusion:

At level 60, the wizard is roughly 10% more mana efficient than the magician and does roughly 60% more damage.

Note: Many of you don’t care about the numbers. It’s OK to prefer to play the game without knowing the numbers behind it. You don’t have to read further than this. Go play…have fun! I find this type of research into the game fun. That’s why I do it. I also like to know as much as I can about my class. If you’re like me, read on. If not, I cannot be held responsible for the increased awareness you may obtain by reading further! This isn’t a rant about anything!

Quick Reference Glossary:

Some basic knowledge of terminology is assumed below. You’ll need to understand the following concepts:

  • Tick - the basic unit of time in EQ equal to 6 seconds of real time.
  • Casting time - the time it takes to channel mana into the spell. This is represented by the purple channeling bar that appears when you click a spell.
  • Recovery time - the time it takes you as a caster to “recover” from the task of channeling. This is represented by the grayed out spell gems after casting.
  • Recast time - certain spells have an additional time to “reset.” Only that spell gem will remain grayed out, after all others have become available.
  • DD - Direct Damage. A spell that does all its damage in a single blast is called a DD spell.
  • DOT - Damage Over Time. A spell that does a certain amount of damage every tick throughout its duration is called a DOT spell.

The Descriptive Statistics

Mana to Damage Multiplier (MDM)

The power of a class to convert mana into damage is different for each spell and generally increases with player level. MDM is the multiplier (a constant) that solves the equation: ManaCost * MDM = MaximumSpellDamage for a given spell. Or, restated: MDM = MaximumSpellDamage / ManaCost. Low level spells usually have a MDM of less than 1 since they cost more mana than they do in damage, whereas high level spells are always above 1. This is not really different than the ratio expressed the old way. Its value will not become apparent until a later analysis is published.

Example:

  • Seeking Flame of Seukor (Magician, 59) has a mana cost of 320 and does 1024 max damage. MDM is therefore 1024 damage / 320 mana = 3.2
  • Sunstrike (Wizard, 60) has a mana cost of 450 and does 1615 max damage. MDM is therefore 1615 damage / 450 mana = 3.59

In this example, the Wizard spell is indeed roughly 10% more mana efficient than the Magician spell.

Damage Per Tick (DPT)

The power of a class to deliver damage within a given period of time also changes as players grow in experience. This measure is important as it scales the speed with which a caster can deliver damage. Most DD spells have a recovery time of 2.5 seconds (time before any spell may be cast) and some spells have a recast waiting period. By adding the time to cast the spell and the greater of the time to recover or time to recast, a total time invested for a spell can be obtained. This number should be used for comparison’s sake only since DD spells do not actually deliver damage per tick. This statistic will be used later to compare spells, for now I simply describe it here. Its value will not become apparent until a later analysis is published.

Example:

  • Seeking Flame of Seukor (Magician, 59) has a casting time of 7 seconds and a recover of 2.5 seconds. Total time invested in casting this spell is therefore 9.5 seconds. The spell does 1024 max damage in a single instant of time during that 9.5 seconds. (7 seconds of channeling, bang! 1024 damage, 2.5 seconds of recovery) 9.5 seconds is 1.58 ticks. 1024 damage / 1.58 ticks = 647 damage per tick.
  • Sunstrike (Wizard, 60) has a casting time of 7 seconds and a recover of 2.5 seconds. Total time invested in casting this spell is therefore also 9.5 seconds. 1615 damage / 1.58 ticks = 1020 damage per tick

In this example, the Wizard spell delivers 57.6% more damage per tick than the Magician (while both have mana to cast).

Full Mana Damage (FMD)

The power of a casting class to deliver damage is further defined by the total mana available to that caster. All things being equal, more mana means more damage. While DPT measures the speed with which damage is delivered, FMD seeks to quantify the total damage a caster could do with a full bar of mana. For any given spell, this calculation is: FMD = (TotalManaAvailable / SpellManaCost) * SpellMaxDamage.

The first part of this calculation requires that the quantity of mana when full be known. This is unfortunately, one of the mysteries of EQ. I am using the approximate formula: ((Intelligence / 5) + 2) * LevelofCaster to estimate the mana available to a caster. While this formula is likely not the exact formula used in the game, it is a close approximate. Further, since this analysis uses the same formula for all classes compared, it does not bias any class. (Note: The druid is a priest class and uses Wisdom instead of Intelligence for mana, but the formula is the same). For the purposes of this analysis, a constant number of 200 for Intelligence or Wisdom is used. Therefore, total mana available is: (200/5) + 2 * Level = 42 * Level.

Example:

  • A level 1 caster would have 42 mana. A level 60 caster would have 60 * 42 = 2520 mana.
  • If the level 60 wizard were to cast Sunstrike (mana cost 450, 1615 damage), the calculation would be: FMD = (2520 / 450) * 1615 = 9044.
  • If a level 60 magician were to cast Seeking Flame of Seukor (mana cost 320, 1024 damage), the calculation would be: FMD = (2520 / 320) * 1024 = 7930.

In this example, the Wizard does 1,114 more damage with full mana than the Magician at level 60 (when both have equal mana available to cast).

Full Mana Ticks (FMT)

In the above example, the total damage capacity with full mana was calculated. However, the ability of a casting class to deliver this damage is dependent on the time each spell cast requires. The sum of all the casting time required to “chain cast” a full bar of mana can be expressed in ticks to compare the time efficiency of casting classes. The formula looks like this: FMT = (TotalManaAvailable / SpellManaCost) * SpellTimeInvestment. Recall from the DPT example, that there are three components to consider in SpellTimeInvestment: Casting time, recovery time and recast time. Most spells have only a recovery time. For such spells, casting time and recovery time can be added together to calculate the total time invested in a single cast of that spell. However, if a spell has a recast time greater than the recovery time, that time is added to casting time instead of the recovery time.

Example:

  • The spell Suntrike requires 7 seconds to channel and 2.5 seconds of recovery. The time to burn a full bar of mana on this spell at level 60 is therefore: (2520 / 450) * 9.5 = 53 seconds = 8.83 ticks.
  • The spell Seeking Flame of Seukor also requires 7 seconds to channel and 2.5 seconds of recovery. The time to burn a full bar of mana on this spell at level 60 is therefore: (2520 / 350) * 9.5 = 74 = 12.33 ticks.

In this example, the wizard not only does more damage, the wizard does it 3.5 ticks (21 seconds faster)!

What We Thought We Knew:

  • At level 60, the wizard is roughly 10% more mana efficient and does roughly 60% more damage than a level 60 magician.

What We Now Know:

  • At level 60, a wizard is roughly 10% more mana efficient, 39% more time efficient, delivers about 14% more damage per bar of mana, and delivers 57% more damage in the same amount of time as a level 60 magician.

Note: We haven’t accounted for the magician’s pet, the wizard’s pet, or the wizard’s inherently lower resists. Those will all be discussed later.

Conclusion

The current statistics used to describe and compare spells tell only a partial story. Like most partial truths, these statistics lead us to make seemingly logical conclusions that are in fact incomplete at best, or at worst totally false. The new statistics above make enable better comparisons within the magic system of EQ.

Group Level Requirement for Experience

If the level difference within a group is too great the lower level member will not get experience. The criterion is:

Lowest Level * 1.5 (Round down) or Highest Level * 0.667 (Round up)

Generic Examples

  • Level 20 can group up to a 30 (20 * 1.5 = 30)
  • Level 30 can group down to a 20 (30 * 0.667 = 20)

Rounding Examples

  • Level 33 can group up to a 49 (33 * 1.5 = 49.5)
  • Level 50 can group down to a 34 (50 * 0.67 = 33.34)

Zone Experience Modifiers

See Recommended Levels and ZEM List.

Race/Class Experience Penalties

By Race:

  • Troll -20%
  • Iksar -20%
  • Ogre -15%
  • Barbarian -5%
  • Halfling +5%

By Class:

  • Paladin / Shadowknight / Ranger / Bard -40%
  • Monk -20%
  • Wizard / Magician / Enchanter / Necromancer -10%
  • Rogue +9%
  • Warrior +10%

Exp penalties are multiplied not added, so a troll sk would be (1.4 x 1.2 = 1.68 or 68% penalty).

Experience Requirement by Level

The formula for the amount of total (cumulative) experience at the end of a level is as follows. Note this is not the same as the experience needed to complete each level:

Total XP to complete a level = L^3 * C * R * H

Where:

  • C = Class Multiplier
  • R = Race Multiplier
  • H = Hell Multiplier (based on level)
Level Multipler
1-29 1.0
30-34 1.1
35-39 1.2
40-44 1.3
45-50 1.4
51 1.5
52 1.6
53 1.7
54 1.9*
55 2.0
56 2.1
57 2.2
58 2.3
59 2.5*
60 2.6

* - Double "hell" level

For instance, for a class mod of 100 and race mod of 10 (base values), the following table applies:

Level Class Mod Race Mod Level/Hell Mod Total XP at end of level Total XP needed to complete level
50 100 10 1.4 175,000,000 10,291,400
51 100 10 1.5 198,976,500 23,976,500
52 100 10 1.6 224,972,800 25,996,300
53 100 10 1.7 253,090,900 28,118,100
54 100 10 1.9 299,181,600 46,090,700
55 100 10 2 332,750,000 33,568,400
56 100 10 2.1 368,793,600 36,043,600
57 100 10 2.2 407,424,600 38,631,000
58 100 10 2.3 448,757,600 41,333,000
59 100 10 2.5 513,447,500 64,689,900
60 100 10 2.6 561,600,000 48,152,500

The formula for the amount of XP earned for soloing a dark blue or higher mob is as follows:

XP = L^2 * C

Where:

  • L = Level of mob being soloed. (If the mob is light blue or green, the xp earned will be 50%, 25% or 0% of the stated value.)
  • C = The Zone Experience Modifier (ZEM) with base 75. In most outdoor zones it is 75, in most dungeons it is 80, in some newbie zones it is 100.

Note: The maximum XP that can be earned from a single mob is approximately 11% of the XP required to complete the level. (This is my experience as well on p1999, please someone confirm).

How Experience Works

Draft 1.0 by Dumesh Uhl'Belk (ref)

First, I'll describe a sample party and use a tasty pie analogy to help make the mechanics easier to understand. Then, I'll get more number and formula based for those who want the nuts and bolts. (coming soon... when I feel like updating)

Think of each mob that gets spawned in EQ as a pie, a very tasty pie. When a PC kills a mob, he gets to eat the pie. When players group together and kill a mob, they have to split the pie. However, through the magic of the group bonus, for each person in the group beyond the first, the pie gets a little bit bigger (2% bigger in fact) before we pull out the knife to divide the slices.

Well, how do we slice the pie? How big will each slice be?

The answer is that we measure all the pie that each player has ever eaten (his total xp). Then we cut the slices in proportions matching those relative values. So, let's say our sample group is a simple trio of Bob the Bard, Chris the Enchanter, and Diane the Druid. Since Bob came into the world of Norrath, he's eaten 150lbs of pie. Chris has had 100lbs of pie, and Diane has also eaten 100lbs of pie. Our sample group has just killed a mob. This mobs' representative pie magically grows to be 4% larger than if a solo player killed him. Then the pie is split with 3/7 of it going to Bob, 2/7 to Chris and 2/7 to Diane. The classes of these characters makes no difference at all. The only thing that determined how big each slice of the pie would be was the net total xp that each of them had earned since character creation.

But what about xp penalties, you say?

They most certainly exist. The penalties change the amount of pie that a PC has to eat to gain each level. Human warriors have to eat 90% of the pie that Human Druids have to eat to level up. Troll Shadow Knights have to eat 68% more pie than Human Druids to level up.

The important and painfully obvious consequence of this is:

  • A level 30 Human Monk has 20% more total xp than a level 30 human cleric.
  • A level 50 Ogre Shadowknight has 60% more total xp than a level 50 dwarf cleric.

Or to look at it a different way...

  • A human monk with 10,000,000xp is level 20.
  • A halfling warrior with 10,000,000xp is level 22
  • A troll shadowknight with 10,000,000xp is level 18

If the three characters above where to group together, they would all get equal slices of the pie.

But, But, you didn't say anything about the penalties when you talked about how xp is split!!! why not?

When the tasty pie is cut into slices for the group, the levels of the various PCs are not consulted (not directly anyway), only the xp totals for the PCs. The game code doesn't care if Bob is a human or an elf, a bard or a monk, level 10 or level 15... the game code only cares what Bob's total xp is.

What about zone modifiers?

Zone modifiers shrink or expand the pie before the slices are cut.

What does this all mean?!?

  1. Group with people who have similar xp totals to you
  2. Group with people who have similar xp totals to you
  3. Group with people who have similar xp totals to you

See, it was so important, I had to say it 3 times. Please note what that really means. Race/Class combos with no penalty but who are 6 levels higher than you nerf your xp more than the hybrid who is the same level as you in most cases, especially at levels below 30. In your teens, a player 6 levels higher than you has 300 to 400% of your xp total... obviously much worse than the 140-168% of your total that a equal level hybrid has.

So, final thought...

Group with good players. An equal level group with multiple hybrids generally takes no more than 16% more kills to gain a level that a similarly leveled group that has no hydrids. Good groups kill at least 16% faster than bad groups. So, group with good players regardless of class.