20 to 70...is it just me?

[Op]

Or is this really long and boring? Maybe I'm missing something, but I keep hearing about how you fly through these levels, and on my first trek from 1-70 a while back this part took forever and included a couple month-long breaks. I've looked at the solo timeline and all that, and I loved when I could actually get a group, but for questing it seems I am just doing it wrong. Now I'm trying to completely re-level a new class to get me back into the game and re-teach me everything I have forgotten, but I don't want it to take forever.I'm not saying it's bad to level slow, but I just keep hearing how you fly through those levels. I guess nobody said how fast flying actually is though <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> When I did it there was no TD to do 1-20 in, but playing around there makes those levels easy and quick. Back when I did it, it was BB from 20-30, then EL/Zek til 40ish, then...I forgot the rest. Is that still the way to go? The solo timeline sure helps a little by telling you the available zones, but it doesn't tell you which quests makes you run around the map 5 times for a little xp.Even if it's slow, man this game is a nice change from that crap blizzard put out.

[LordPazuzu]

Butcherblock from 20-35, Steamfont from 35-50. Supplement any slow areas with a few trips to Splitpaw post 30. Hit Sinking Sands in the high 40's til low 50s, then hit Lesser Faydark.  From 60-70 you have a mix of KoS and Loping Plains, though the 60-70 is going to be pretty tedious in areas. You'll probably want to start trying Kylong Plains at about level 65, depending on your class.

[Serpicos]

50-60 are the hard levels to get through, once you hit 60 your golden.

[Kellin]

Actually, the "fly through" levels are 1-20.  Not sure who's saying you can fly through 20-70.  50-70 is actually quite slow.I wouldn't recommend RoK before level 70.  Not because you can't do it earlier, but rather that there aren't enough quests there to get you more than about 10 levels and 40 AA.  You go too early and you'll probably find yourself struggling to get those last levels and AA.If you're looking for groups, watch level chat channels.  1-9 is quite active on my server, and I see people LFG and LFM for all tiers in there.  Ruins of Varsoon in Thundering Steppes and Nektropos Castle in Nektulos Forest are both popular dungeons for upper 20s to upper 30s, and putting together groups there doesn't seem very difficult.  TS and Nek Forest both have tons of solo quests, as well, and the zones are geared to 18-30.Butcherblock is okay, but the one character I tried leveling there didn't find enough quests.  This was before RoK launch, though, so I'm sure they've added more.Enchanted Lands, Zek at high 20s - low 30s, Steamfont at mid 30s...there's lots of places to go.  Ask in chat on your server as well to get an idea of where everyone else will be.

[Derrick]

I dont know but I had a troub at max lvl and then KOS came out and I had quit right after that... gave my account away...I JUST came back about a week ago and am playing a dirge now... lvl 1 - 22 in Neriak starting zone....SUPER AWESOME FAST.. .the layout was nice... the zone was well spreadout but not too far appart....NOW at lvl 22 I went to Nek Froest... wow... SUCKS... I am at the commonlands camp trying to do these quest.. wow.. blue and green quest send you all the way to the edges of the map for little to no exp.. AND those blue/green quest that send you to the edge of the map... require to you run through LOTS of yellow/OJ mobs ... granted.. you dont have to kill them but they all wander SO close to the road you are constantly in agro of something that will kill you quickly...I dunno I guess I got spolied by the new starting area... it was definately a well setup zone... maybe its different after NEk forest but it took me less than a week to make 5 plat and get lvl 22 in the starting area/Neriak town... then I go to nek forest and Ive only got liek 3 levels in the last 5 or 6 days. (i know I could level FAST if I just grinded on mobs.. im sure I could get a level(out of 2x exp) in a hour or so just killing mobs, but, I am looking for more than a grind fest AND you miss out on the AA exp).I just think the quests for the 20s range make you do too much for too little... its MUCH more efficient to just grind it out..but then you miss out on AA exp which.. i hear is whats most important anyways...

[Finora]

<p>Try hitting Butcherblock instead of Nektulos if you think it's too drawn out, or Thundering Steppes.</p><p>I've not had any issues with leveling personally in those zones. I was leveling fast enough I turned off combat xp actually with several of my alts.</p>

[Derrick]

I see... butcherblock is a newer one it appears so I assume that the quest/leveling will be a bit better... it says thiers a connector from nek forest.. where is it in nek if you dont mind me asking.

[Seidhkona]

<cite>Derrick wrote:</cite><blockquote>I see... butcherblock is a newer one it appears so I assume that the quest/leveling will be a bit better... it says thiers a connector from nek forest.. where is it in nek if you dont mind me asking.</blockquote>Go to the docks. At the end of the dock, a boat comes by every few minutes headed to Butcherblock.Once in BBM, there are a few quests you can pick up at the docks, but head west towards the Greater Faydark gate -- that's where you will find the starting quests for the zone.

[GrunEQ]

<span style="font-size: small;font-family: comic sans ms,sand;">Take the boat at Nek dock to BBM.</span>

[Derrick]

<cite>Finora@Everfrost wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>I've not had any issues with leveling personally in those zones. I was leveling fast enough I turned off combat xp actually with several of my alts.</p></blockquote>Ok so here is my next question... OVERALL is it better to get to like... 26 and then lock my adventure exp... and do ALL the quest for Nek, BBM and TS go get a much AA as I can(since after you grey the quests out you have to mentor to get them to con to you again so you could get AA for them).Or are thier repeatable quests at lvl 80 that you can do over and over to continue to get AA exp???Is it worth it?? or should you try to get to lvl 80 faster or try to lock exp and do EVERY quest for that lvl group?

[Seidhkona]

<cite>Derrick wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite></cite>Ok so here is my next question... OVERALL is it better to get to like... 26 and then lock my adventure exp... and do ALL the quest for Nek, BBM and TS go get a much AA as I can(since after you grey the quests out you have to mentor to get them to con to you again so you could get AA for them).Or are thier repeatable quests at lvl 80 that you can do over and over to continue to get AA exp???Is it worth it?? or should you try to get to lvl 80 faster or try to lock exp and do EVERY quest for that lvl group?</blockquote>Unless you are playing PVP there is no Achievement-related reason to lock XP. There are more than 5,000 quests in EQ2, plus I dunno how many named creatures. And when you turn 80, all adventure XP is applied to Achievement if you are not already maxed out there as well.In PVE, there's really only two reasons why you might ever lock combat XP. One is because you want to savor all the quests while they still con green or better to you. The other might be to let a friend catch up to you in level.In PVP, on the other hand, having the abilities you get through Achievements can be a matter of life and death. Besides which, you want time to harvest and save up for the best equipment. There, level-locking is something you want to do at 20 I believe... Master Spyderbite will have a better opinion about that.

[Zagats]

<cite>Sigrdrifa@Lucan DLere wrote:</cite><blockquote>In PVE, there's really only two reasons why you might ever lock combat XP. One is because you want to savor all the quests while they still con green or better to you. The other might be to let a friend catch up to you in level.</blockquote><p>3rd reason: So you have a mentor toon for those lower level master farm runs !</p>

[Sphiriah]

<cite>Zellakrysta wrote:</cite><blockquote>50-60 are the hard levels to get through, once you hit 60 your golden.</blockquote>I must disagree.50-60 is extremely easy with the lfay and TT quests. 60-70 is where there is a problem. There's about four quests total in this level range.

[Seidhkona]

<cite>Sphiriah wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Zellakrysta wrote:</cite><blockquote>50-60 are the hard levels to get through, once you hit 60 your golden.</blockquote>I must disagree.50-60 is extremely easy with the lfay and TT quests. 60-70 is where there is a problem. There's about four quests total in this level range.</blockquote>For 60-70, there's a whole questline in <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Barren_Sky_Timeline" target="_blank">Barren Sky</a> (20 quests), then in <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Loping_Plains_Timeline" target="_blank">Loping Plains</a> (17 quests plus more heroic ones), and several quests given in <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Bonemire_Timeline" target="_blank">Bonemire</a> at the Dreadnever Crash Site (14 more quests). You just haven't FOUND the quests. At 60, you can begin the quest <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Blood_of_the_Brood" target="_blank">Blood of the Brood</a>, to get your Class Hat. It's one quest, but really it's more like a quest series, since you get to do kill stuff, kill more stuff, go to the Nest of the Great Egg, Halls of Fate, Palace of the Awakened, and Sanctum of the Scaleborn, with climbing one of the giant chains in between each thing to visit Hoo'Loh, who knows how to make your hat! There's TONS of discovery and nameds along the way. This one quest is a goldmine of XP as well.Also, have you started the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Claymore_Timeline" target="_blank">Claymore questline</a>? ZILLIONS of quests in the line (ok, more than 25, but still...), most reward VERY good loot. The last couple of steps will take a raid, but the preliminary steps are well worth doing!Then there's the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Swords_of_Destiny_Timeline" target="_blank">Sword of Destiny</a> quests... it's similar to the Claymore, but not as many subquests along the way.HINT: After Kingdom of Sky came out, there was a while before Echoes of Faydwer came out, and then another gap before Rise of Kunark came out. Those of us who've been playing happily the whole time would not still be here if there wasn't tons to do in the 60+ level range!

[Rokaab]

<cite>Derrick wrote:</cite><blockquote>Or are thier repeatable quests at lvl 80 that you can do over and over to continue to get AA exp???</blockquote>Repeatable quests will only ever give you AA xp the first time you complete them, this applies from T1 to max level.

[Ketinvik]

<cite>Derrick wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>...</p><p>since after you grey the quests out you have to mentor to get them to con to you again so you could get AA for them</p><p>...</p></blockquote>Actually, since <a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=417756" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GU45</a> grey quests grant AA.

[feldon30]

Without any level locking, I got to lvl 80 with 128 AA points and am getting AA points fast now. I still have over 50 quests that are still "green" to me.50-59 is definitely a slow spot in the game. Lesser Fay covers 50-54 and Tenebrous Tangle is a shortcut from 55-58 but 59 can be rough. Don't forget the runaround lvl 50 solo quests in The Isle of Mara. Try to get into a Mistmoore Catacombs group and do some of the soloable quests in Loping Plains (there aren't many!). Once you hit 60, it's time to group up in Kingdom of Sky instances. And don't just run Sanctum of Scaleborn over and over. That gets boring. There are so many zones you can do. Bonemire, Temple of Scale, Nest of the Great Egg, Den of the Devourer, Halls of Fate. 25-45 and 62-70 are the best group content in EQ2.

[Azekah1]

It's all boring. Come over to PvP : )

[Kellin]

<cite>Rakk@Butcherblock wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Derrick wrote:</cite><blockquote>Or are thier repeatable quests at lvl 80 that you can do over and over to continue to get AA exp???</blockquote>Repeatable quests will only ever give you AA xp the first time you complete them, this applies from T1 to max level.</blockquote><p>Very true.  You only get AA for completing a quest once.</p><p>However, at 80, all your experience is being converted into AA, so you get AA no matter what (at least as long as you're killing green con and above).</p><p>Still, you can go clean up some old gray quests.  My illu (80/139) is currently working on Ring of Fate and Peacock quests in DoF, which range from about level 47 to 60.  I've gotten as much as 4% of an AA for completing some of those.</p>

[Sphiriah]

<cite>Sigrdrifa@Lucan DLere wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Sphiriah wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Zellakrysta wrote:</cite><blockquote>50-60 are the hard levels to get through, once you hit 60 your golden.</blockquote>I must disagree.50-60 is extremely easy with the lfay and TT quests. 60-70 is where there is a problem. There's about four quests total in this level range.</blockquote>blah blah blah</blockquote>I was mainly talking about solo quests. 75% of what you linked is group+ quests.

[Mikkachu]

Yes, if your grouping, 60-70 is one of the best areas of the games.  There are a ton of dungeons and group instances to do, and some of them are very very VERY nicely designed.  If your a grouper, once you hit the 70+, you'll likely very much miss those days.If your a soloer or duoer, on the other hand...I headed in to TT around 59 or so, which is late- many head there around 55.  I did all the quests there (including doing most of the repetables till they didn't give them to me anymore), and finished all non-heroic quests in the Lesser Fay (including the Fae Court ones, which evil's can't do).  I then duoed through all Barren Sky quests, and then the far majority of the Loping Planes and Bonemire (we didn't do heritage quests, nor the league timeline).In the end, I had to do three instances and spend a level and a half in PoA, as well as hanging around doing green/gray quests in the Pillars for a half a level or so, and I still went to Kunark just after dinging 69.  I use Fluffy, and I kept checking quests in zone... couldn't find any doable.There's still plenty of mobs to kill, obviously.  But for quests, you'll run out of them.  I strongly recommend milking the preceeding expansion- DoF- for all it's worth before heading to KoS.  DoF has quite a few long quest series... the Peacock club and the Ashen Disciplies/Order timeline can take you in to your low 60's, which'll make the KoS quests last longer.

[Seidhkona]

<cite>Sphiriah wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Sigrdrifa@Lucan DLere wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite></cite>For 60-70, there's a whole questline in <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Barren_Sky_Timeline" target="_blank">Barren Sky</a> (20 quests), then in <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Loping_Plains_Timeline" target="_blank">Loping Plains</a> (17 quests plus more heroic ones), and several quests given in <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Bonemire_Timeline" target="_blank">Bonemire</a> at the Dreadnever Crash Site (14 more quests). You just haven't FOUND the quests.</blockquote>I was mainly talking about solo quests. 75% of what you linked is group+ quests.</blockquote>Once again, you are incorrect. The questlines for <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Barren_Sky_Timeline" target="_blank">Barren Sky</a>, <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Loping_Plains_Timeline" target="_blank">Loping Plains</a>, and <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Bonemire_Timeline" target="_blank">Bonemire</a> are solo. There's group content there too - the big questlines for the Class Hat, Claymore, and Sword of Destiny.The Barren Sky quests in particular are very good for AA and can be easily soloed if you can invis -- if you can't invis, buy you some Totems of the Chameleon or Totem of the Jaguar and try them!

[Derrick]

<cite>Sulan@Lucan DLere wrote:</cite><blockquote>Butcherblock from 20-35, Steamfont from 35-50. Supplement any slow areas with a few trips to Splitpaw post 30. Hit Sinking Sands in the high 40's til low 50s, then hit Lesser Faydark. From 60-70 you have a mix of KoS and Loping Plains, though the 60-70 is going to be pretty tedious in areas. You'll probably want to start trying Kylong Plains at about level 65, depending on your class.</blockquote>Thank you for suggesting Butcher Block... I got more done here in a hour then I did in 2 days in nek forest... This zone reminds more of the Neriak starting zone and less of Nek forest. Nek had be cover the 3/4 of the zone in the first few quests and I got almost no exp/aa/rewards for it. In 2 hours in BBM i got 2 levels and 2 aa levels... usually the newer zones are better than the originals in the organization.... So I should stay in BBM until 35?? And then go to Steamfront(where is that I have not been there.. is that a new zone as well??)

[Sassinak]

<cite>Derrick wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite></cite>Thank you for suggesting Butcher Block... I got more done here in a hour then I did in 2 days in nek forest... This zone reminds more of the Neriak starting zone and less of Nek forest. Nek had be cover the 3/4 of the zone in the first few quests and I got almost no exp/aa/rewards for it. In 2 hours in BBM i got 2 levels and 2 aa levels... usually the newer zones are better than the originals in the organization.... So I should stay in BBM until 35?? And then go to Steamfront(where is that I have not been there.. is that a new zone as well??)</blockquote>You'll find that your levels don't quite "keep up" with the BBM quests on their own, so at some point you'll need an alternate source of quests in the mid- to late-20's.  At this point, go back to Nek Forest and do continue those quest series that you just dropped, which will now be blue (or even green) and will go much faster because of it. When in Nek Forest, focus on the two main quest lines - the Militia quest line starting at Commonlands entrance, and the Bruhn/Torq quest line starting at the beach path.  These are the newer quest lines added to Nek Forest, and they involve less running around than the older quests.

[Ienumerable]

<p>Although I dont have a toon in those levels I can say from experience that slowing my progress down makes a difference.</p><p>Namely my level 25 scout is getting to the point that they only quests he can actually complete are either green or gray becuase I havent been paying attention to all the other details like AA and equiptment.</p><p>While my other two level 14's can quest levels higher then his solo fairly easily.</p><p>So with that I HOPE" that when i get to the lev 20+ area i will be a serious force.</p>

[Vhivi]

<p>I hear you, Number <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  I think I had 20 or so AA's before I decided to check into what I could spend them on and I'm pretty sure I spent them "wrong".  C'est la guerre!</p><p>My problem is finding places to gather crafting materials.  Thundering Steppes and earlier were easy to find.  Now all the good ore is surrounded by stuff I can't kill.</p>

[ke'la]

<cite>Kellin@Permafrost wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Rakk@Butcherblock wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Derrick wrote:</cite><blockquote>Or are thier repeatable quests at lvl 80 that you can do over and over to continue to get AA exp???</blockquote>Repeatable quests will only ever give you AA xp the first time you complete them, this applies from T1 to max level.</blockquote><p>Very true. You only get AA for completing a quest once.</p><p>However, at 80, all your experience is being converted into AA, so you get AA no matter what (at least as long as you're killing green con and above).</p><p>Still, you can go clean up some old gray quests. My illu (80/139) is currently working on Ring of Fate and Peacock quests in DoF, which range from about level 47 to 60. I've gotten as much as 4% of an AA for completing some of those.</p></blockquote>I got a full aa point from doing Missing Mask and Goulsbane the other day, HQs give TONS of AAxp.

[Oh]

<cite>Sigrdrifa@Lucan DLere wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Sphiriah wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Zellakrysta wrote:</cite><blockquote>50-60 are the hard levels to get through, once you hit 60 your golden.</blockquote>I must disagree.50-60 is extremely easy with the lfay and TT quests. 60-70 is where there is a problem. There's about four quests total in this level range.</blockquote>For 60-70, there's a whole questline in <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Barren_Sky_Timeline" target="_blank">Barren Sky</a> (20 quests), then in <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Loping_Plains_Timeline" target="_blank">Loping Plains</a> (17 quests plus more heroic ones), and several quests given in <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Bonemire_Timeline" target="_blank">Bonemire</a> at the Dreadnever Crash Site (14 more quests). You just haven't FOUND the quests. At 60, you can begin the quest <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Blood_of_the_Brood" target="_blank">Blood of the Brood</a>, to get your Class Hat. It's one quest, but really it's more like a quest series, since you get to do kill stuff, kill more stuff, go to the Nest of the Great Egg, Halls of Fate, Palace of the Awakened, and Sanctum of the Scaleborn, with climbing one of the giant chains in between each thing to visit Hoo'Loh, who knows how to make your hat! There's TONS of discovery and nameds along the way. This one quest is a goldmine of XP as well.Also, have you started the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Claymore_Timeline" target="_blank">Claymore questline</a>? ZILLIONS of quests in the line (ok, more than 25, but still...), most reward VERY good loot. The last couple of steps will take a raid, but the preliminary steps are well worth doing!Then there's the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Swords_of_Destiny_Timeline" target="_blank">Sword of Destiny</a> quests... it's similar to the Claymore, but not as many subquests along the way.HINT: After Kingdom of Sky came out, there was a while before Echoes of Faydwer came out, and then another gap before Rise of Kunark came out. Those of us who've been playing happily the whole time would not still be here if there wasn't tons to do in the 60+ level range!</blockquote>Actually I have to agree with a previous poster and disagree with you. THe 60-70 range is really lacking, it definatly could use a beef up on quests. DOne barren of the sky, done loping plains, done bonemire. I need to do the chain quests cause i just ran out. NOW to qualify this I mean more soloable quests, heroics are nice but not when you can't get a group going. >.<

[Illmarr]

60-70 may need more, but nothing said previously is incorrect

[feldon30]

I know it's an unpopular opinion these days, since everyone seems to want to play EQ2 all by themselves with absolutely no interaction with anyone else, but if you are trying to race through the 60-70 content by playing solo, you are missing the point.

[Seidhkona]

I'll never say no to more interesting quests, but I very recently levelled a character through the T7 stuff. I did Lfay, then Tasty Baskets and other odds and ends in Tenebrous Tangle, started the Claymore line (still need to go back and do more stuff on that, but the first couple are soloable), I got a group easily to do Hoo'Loh and did it all in one day, did the Barren Sky line, about 50% of the Loping Plains stuff, a couple of Bonemire, and I was ready for Kylong Plains.It's very possible to solo all the way through T7. Heck, you can do a bunch of it grinding writs - the four-at-a-time droag writs are heavenly, and the basilisk pair aren't bad once you are 65+.

[Allyra]

I've actually found 20-50 to be a little TOO fast on Faydwer.  My Ranger has been flying through so fast, I can hardly keep up with her CAs and gears.  I'm expecting things to slow down once she hits 50, but especially in Steamfont, she's outleveling quests faster than she can complete them.  (I know, you still get AA for grey quests.)  I hate to say it, but I'd sort of like for the XP to come a bit more slowly there.

[Sassinak]

<cite>feldon30 wrote:</cite><blockquote>I know it's an unpopular opinion these days, since everyone seems to want to play EQ2 all by themselves with absolutely no interaction with anyone else, but if you are trying to race through the 60-70 content by playing solo, you are missing the point.</blockquote>It should be a choice.I used to raid and run heroic instances nonstop.  Now I have three kids age 0-3.  I can't join any group since I have to leave the computer immediately at random times.  But that doesn't mean I don't want to play EQ2.  I can still participate in the community via the broker and writs and so on.  I just have to play solo, period.  60-70 has a shortage of content.  Saying "play heroic instances" isn't acceptable.  Both options are needed.

[Rahatmattata]

Maybe you should join a group.

[Oh]

<cite>Rahatmattata wrote:</cite><blockquote>Maybe you should join a group.</blockquote><p>That is the same thought process as saying that you should join a raid just to level. I don't know if you noticed this, but this game actually allows for multiple styles of play, anywhere from raiding, to full groups, partial groups and yes even solo play. There are folks that just can't always commit to a chunk of uninterpted time to be in a group, sometimes the amount of time they are online are only for an hour or two at max. </p><p>SOO I go back to a few more quests being added to the 60-67 range I think would be a good thing. The zones for these ranges are could use a few more quests anyways. As it is now I've been sitting with full vitality on one of my chars just cause the whole thought of trying to grind out a level or two to hit KP is just sickening.</p>

[Op]

I still am missing something. You guys are saying 20-50 is all quick and stuff, but I still hit these points where everything is so spread out. For instance in the 2 newer starting areas (Gorowyn and Neriak areas) you have a small outpost where you grab a bunch of quests and go do them and turn them in, then they're all like hey go to the next outpost, it's more fluid. Then you hit 20 and you go to Nek or TS and you get 2 or 3 quests in the beginning area and these are multi-part quests so you don't even get xp for the first few parts, and they send you all over the zone finding mobs that are uncommon spawns so you gotta clear out a bunch of stuff to get them. 1-20 is like buying a puzzle at the store, all the pieces in the box fit and you can easily guide yourself until it's finished. 20-60ish seems to be more like buying 4 puzzles at the store, tossing all the pieces into 1 box, and trying to figure out what you're doing without pictures. I just can't figure out what I'm missing.

[Seidhkona]

<cite>Opti wrote:</cite><blockquote>I still am missing something. You guys are saying 20-50 is all quick and stuff, but I still hit these points where everything is so spread out. For instance in the 2 newer starting areas (Gorowyn and Neriak areas) you have a small outpost where you grab a bunch of quests and go do them and turn them in, then they're all like hey go to the next outpost, it's more fluid. Then you hit 20 and you go to Nek or TS and you get 2 or 3 quests in the beginning area and these are multi-part quests so you don't even get xp for the first few parts, and they send you all over the zone finding mobs that are uncommon spawns so you gotta clear out a bunch of stuff to get them. 1-20 is like buying a puzzle at the store, all the pieces in the box fit and you can easily guide yourself until it's finished. 20-60ish seems to be more like buying 4 puzzles at the store, tossing all the pieces into 1 box, and trying to figure out what you're doing without pictures. I just can't figure out what I'm missing.</blockquote>The quests in EQ2 are set up in the low levels to really hold your hand and are very linear. As you get out of the first tier or two, they become much more spread-out and you have to sometimes solve puzzles or search for clues.  The description on yoru screen may lack details that ARE present in your Journal - look at both places.I also recommend looking at EQ2i's excellent <a href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Solo_Timelines" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Solo Timelines</a>.  The first level of the Timeline will show you what zones cover which levels. Click a zone and you can see who teh quest givers are for that zone, and what quests they give.  Drill down into an individual quest and you can get specific locations and quest walkthroughs step-by-step.

[Op]

Yeah I used that timeline sometimes when I leveled my ex-main. It helps, but at the same time it really takes away from being "in the game" in a way. The first tiers allow you to just get lost in the story and in the world for a bit which is kinda cool, or you can skip through it after the first time and just fly through it. I'm not trying to complain about them being so spread out, in fact I loved it the first time through, I'm just trying to find out how people "fly" through these levels. But I guess that all boils down to the definition of "fly" <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Illmarr]

<cite>Opti wrote:</cite><blockquote>Yeah I used that timeline sometimes when I leveled my ex-main. It helps, but at the same time it really takes away from being "in the game" in a way. The first tiers allow you to just get lost in the story and in the world for a bit which is kinda cool, or you can skip through it after the first time and just fly through it. I'm not trying to complain about them being so spread out, in fact I loved it the first time through, I'm just trying to find out how people "fly" through these levels. But I guess that all boils down to the definition of "fly" <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></blockquote>Think of it as Sony needing a learning curve, or differing philosophies from the original management team to a newer one. In original release zones, the idea seems to have been to throw a boatload of quests at you that force you to run to explore every nook and cranny of a zone instead of being story driven. With each expansion that gradually changed and you see more and more quest hubs and linear story driven quest chains

[Araxes]

No, it's not just you.It IS really long, and very boring.Especially when you've done it about 5 or 6 times.From the people I speak with in-game, most of them can't seem to get beyond the 40's.  Why is this?  I get a number of replies, but the most common ones are: repetition in content / quest grind, lack of players and therefore a lack of readily available groups, boredom with the zones, and feeling as if from levels 40-50 are just killers in terms of old, outdated content.  (Lavastorm and Everfrost, anyone?)One can hope that with the addition of dungeons on those two zones respectively, perhaps we will also see a revamp with the upcoming expansion.  Actually -- one can hope that some of the new dungeons and zones coming out will be for level 40-69.  There are only so many times one can stand to go to Steamfont, after all.<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[monstertruck1]

50-70 actually was quite slow for me. I'm a defiler though, and since it's hard to get parties, I was forced to solo most of the times. And that was a bit slow for me.

[RedBaron]

<cite>feldon30 wrote:</cite><blockquote>I know it's an unpopular opinion these days, since everyone seems to want to play EQ2 all by themselves with absolutely no interaction with anyone else, but if you are trying to race through the 60-70 content by playing solo, you are missing the point.</blockquote><p>what point is that?</p><p>i am one on those all by myself characters, but only because i get a few hours to play now and then, within that timesacle i can never find a group, it reminds me of the eq days when my ranger wasn't wanted by groups, i used to spend hours looking for a group just to do the quests in a zone cause they were all group based, players of eq2 should eb able to level from 1 to 80 solo...</p>

[feldon30]

If you are not able to find a group from 60-70 within 15 minutes of mentioning it on the open chat, I am curious what character class you are playing? I see groups forming all the time. At least on Butcherblock, Healers, Tanks, and Bards can find a group within 10 minutes of logging in in the 60-80 range in EQ2. Illusionists and Coercers are also in demand. DPS is in the least demand only because there are so many of us.Nest of the Great Egg and Sanctum of Scaleborn are great lvl 62-65 zones. Should be able to blow through them with a good group. Nest can be run in less than 30 minutes.The Shadow Odyssey has a new 77-80 overland zone as big as Fens, and there are 5 heritage quests being added too, but it is the 20 dungeons, some of which can be played as low as 50 (some of the dungeons scale mobs and loot down) that I am most excited about. There is so little grouping at 50's right now. I'm really hoping that there will be groups lining up left and right from 50-80. Kunark was a solo-only expansion. Now we're getting back to the balance that really needs to be there for EQ2 to survive.