Approaching T8: Have questions re: instances & getting decent gear

[ExtremeFaji]

<p>I'm currently Level 64 and leveling fairly quickly in LF and then Loping Plains. I would describe myself as a mediocre player at this point. In groups I use basic commensense: save power for heals and defense in challenging battles, open up more DPS in less challenging ones etc. After I reach 70 and xp slows down, I would like to start spending more time in groups to run instances where I can eventually get some decent gear to allow me to experience some endgame content. I'm hoping to avoid some of the more common mishaps that inexperienced players make in these situations. </p><p>Are there any big-time Do's & Don'ts you can share with me that will help me not look like a total rookie when I start grouping in some of the challenging T8 zones? Are there any specific instances I should keep an ear out for groups in that are good to learn some of the ropes without being too difficult? Any zones/instances that are good for Templar gear? Any must-have AA setups that I should be prepared for?</p><p>Thanks in advance for any tips you can share!</p>

[Brindle]

<p>Tip: Stand at max heal range when in full healer mode.  Don't get hit with an aoe if you don't need to.</p><p>Tip: Learn your "oh crap" spells inside and out.  No one notices the healer when things are smoothe, they do notice when you save the day.</p>

[Lord Hackenslash]

<p>Dont be afraid to ask questions when in an instance you havent been to before. Many people will assume you are an alt and know everything. Any good group will point out the things you need to know to get through a zone and if they give you hell then move on it's thier loss. Everyone was new once and remind them that they had to learn the zone once too.</p>

[Giliad]

<p>AA lines, Cleric- Steadfast to prevent interrupts, Shield ally; Holy shield (prevents AOE): Macro /target self /use ability Holy shield</p><p>Templar-Blessings and Mana Cure</p><p>TSO-MAX HP and PP; Sacrifice is great too</p>

[Tenchisama]

<p>places to go for gear</p><p>Maidens Chamber - Drusella drops Gift to the Queen arguably one of our best wrist/ring slot items for healing</p><p>Veksar the Invasion - the sample instance - has good shield, earring, wrist healer drops and is easy to do</p><p>Runneyeye 2 - collection quest reward for Ankexfen healer earring - arguably one of our best items also, Healer cloak, Bergo's baubles set</p><p>TSO - I think it was in Anathema there is a healer cloak that rivals RE2 cloak except no group heal proc - otherwise it has superb resists and is much easier to get than the RE2 cloak</p><p>Chardok - collection quest - awesome belt with pond wash proc</p><p>PR raids - our best neck and good boots drop here</p><p>Thuuga Ring quest - long drawn out series of quests in KP but the reward is an awesome +75 heal amount ring that I am still having a hard time replacing</p><p>Fabled/Mythical Epic of course</p><p>there is a lot more out there but hopefully that helps (re your original topic of instances and getting gear)</p><p>=P</p>

[Enoa]

<p>Best aa specs:</p><p>INT, STA, AGI    Blessing Smite Wraths.   Would keep 70 in cleric tree... can take some out of EOF tree to put into TSO tree when it opens up for you.  STR line nice for solo'ing up though.    Mana cure is almost worthless</p><p>I almost always melee.   haven't max ranged since mayong. </p><p>Important gear:</p><p>Once you have SA (AGI) spec it is key you get a good shield and adorn your wrists with the % parry wrists when you get a decent wrist peice ASAP.</p><p>I would argue the best neck is actually the Mastercrafted 2% parry neck... but PR neck is close second <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>Shields to get: </p><p>Shield of rainbow hues</p><p>Guard of Drekilus</p><p>If you start raiding the best shield atm is in Shard of Hate.</p><p>Claymore reward is great item still though a pita to obtain these days.  </p><p>Thuuga ring is absolute bunk.  but quest is good aa.</p><p>Gift of queen is nice ... i hope it doesn't take you 85 runs to get it like it did for me.</p><p>RE2 blue shiney collection and chardok collection pieces are a must have.</p><p>Yeb-soth guardian is great hammer and probably better than fabled epic though dps sucks with it.</p><p>The TSO shard shoulders are absolute must have.</p><p>Though Overloaded heals is broken atm... when they fix it they will be nice items though perhaps not quite so overpowerd as before.    There is an earring (ROK), wrist (ROK), pants (ROK), cloak (ROK), charm (TSO), Shield (TSO) that i am aware of that are worth collecting and putting in bank till they fix it.  dont need all of them of course. </p>

[SpineDoc]

<p>You won't run out of xp at 70.  You can solo in ROK and TSO all the way to 80 and still have plenty of quests left over.</p><p>I concur with SA and especially with the Guard of Drelikus, I use both and love em.</p>

[Tenchisama]

<p>get a respec mirror and play with AA to suit your gear/playstyle</p><p>SA is popular</p><p>so is steadfast</p><p>I myself use neither and do just fine - have not had any complaints in grouping or raiding</p><p>=P</p>

[ExtremeFaji]

<p>Thanks for all the info! I'm level 72 now and deep into Kunark solo quests. I got the AA mirror and have a solo and general group spec. I put some AA's into some of the cures though and even the two I put 5/5 in (trauma and arcane) don't seem to work as described. Seems like I'm curing just as often as before. Anyone know if those are broken?</p>

[Tenchisama]

<p>if its the AA I am thinking of</p><p>it puts a heal proc on the person you cure that is a reactive heal so if they get hit after you cure then it fires</p><p>it does not reduce the amount of curing you need to do</p>

[Misbelief]

<p>Yeah it's the heal proc when you cure, which imo isn't a big upgrade from what I've seen.</p><p>I went Blessings and Smite Wrath and seem to enjoy it more.</p><p>If you've gone worked your SA line don't forget to get some T8 parry drink / food but.</p>