Soloing as a Paladin Post-20

[Stas]

<DIV>Hello fellow Paladins <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> I come to you seeking knowledge mainly on if soloing from Level 20 and beyond is viable. I know not many retailer's have made it past level 25 or so, but do any former beta testers know if this is possible? As soon as I hit 20, I found it very hard to find anything I could consistently solo and gain experience worth taking the time (something that at very least would give me a quarter of a blue tick per kill). I am not seeking the answer on *what* to kill, just reassurance that there are spots that can give me what I seek (though pointers are always welcome <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> ).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Antonica seems pretty dried up, and the Thundering Steppes, from what I've seen, are a bit too tough still for me to take alone. Not being able to do my 20s armor quest yet doesnt help much either, as I could certainly use some more AC. Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I've been searching for a few days to no avail.</DIV>

[Shimmer]

<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#cc99ff>I was hoping someone would answer this too <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> ... Im really interesting in making a Pally but I want to know their Solo Viability <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#cc99ff></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#cc99ff>I play in groups alot with my guild but also love to just go explore and solo on my own <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> .... So... Im hoping someone who is over 20 can let us know <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> or someone from Beta who got higher.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#cc99ff></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#cc99ff>From the spells/abilities lists it would seem that Pally's might actually be very very good solo combat, but its hard to know for sure without someone experienced letting us know <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#cc99ff></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#cc99ff>Please let us know... if you know what you think of the Pally's solo abilities are like post 20 <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></FONT></DIV>

[hawnz]

<DIV>eq2 is not a soloing game.  it's been stated as thus since the beginning.  you are wasting your time if you're trying to solo post-20.  </DIV>

[a orc pa]

<DIV> Hawnz,  you couldn't be more wrong.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>  Check out any of EQ2's official pages/guides, and they all state that you can solo or group. Now, granted it may be slow going while trying to solo at higher levels, but you are not required to be grouped to see movement in your experience bar.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>  Show me an official statement from Sony saying EQ2 was not meant for solo....</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> Check <A href="http://eq2players.station.sony.com/en/classes/playguide.vm?classId=8" target=_blank>http://eq2players.station.sony.com/en/classes/playguide.vm?classId=8</A> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> - OP</DIV><p>Message Edited by a orc pawn on <span class=date_text>11-22-2004</span> <span class=time_text>02:04 PM</span>

[Khael-]

Go for the Steppes. Take beetles, snakes, antelopes etc, and get kill quests for each. Should carry you well into the early twenties. I did some large crab at west shores (lvl 26) at level 22, but too much downtime to be viable exp yet. I'd take them on to get up to 27 or so, then move on. Not sure where to after that.EDIT: This is assuming you have the gear and skills to handle yellow con mobs.<p>Message Edited by Khael- on <span class=date_text>11-22-2004</span> <span class=time_text>03:06 PM</span>

[HeraklesMolt]

<DIV>You can definitely solo as a paladin post 20.  The secret is HOs and your own buffs.  Another important issue is to make sure you constantly upgrade your apprentice and adept skills.  This is the most critical.  As far as armor goes, you will earn it as you need it.  The whole camping of items thing has been removed from EQ, which is amazingly nice.  The first time I discovered HOs was level 10 crusader quest.  In this quest you are quickly taught that the only way you are going to pass this is if you get the constant HO chains going.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Around the 20 level I was hunting in the Northeast corner of Antonica.  There are some great bears out there in the range of 20-21.  You might even want to hit these up until 22.  They spawn so fast, eventhough they are blue, you can wipe them out quick enough to get exp.  You can also kill crabs, but these seemed somewhat slower to me.  When I hit 22, I hunted snakes, birds, antelope, and crabs in Thundering Steeps.  I can take all these out no problem.  At 23, crabs are mostly white to me now.  I will probably smash these until I hit 24.  After this, it seems like it progresses to centaurs, but most of them appear to be group mobs.  I will have to do some more looking.  There are some skellies that are solo mobs, but getting into the areas have been very difficult due to the fire giants.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>From what I have seen, Paladins are the class that appears to have the most going for it.  The horses are incredible, post 20 armor looks great, and soloing is quite powerful.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Another thing to consider when soloing is your ward shield.  I can't think of the name right now.  If you get this as an adept 1, you have it made.  The thing probably eats up 400 hps of damage I would be taking.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Herak</DIV> <DIV>23 Paladin on Unrest</DIV> <DIV>Warriors of Virtue</DIV>

[hawnz]

<DIV>you <STRONG><EM>can</EM></STRONG> solo.  but being able to do something and having it be worthwhile are two different things.  i <STRONG><EM>could</EM></STRONG> buy a house on a wal-mart salary, but it would be a lot smarter to get a better paying job.  my advice is to learn your buffs and HOs, as people here have stated.  your self rune spell (demonstration of faith) is your life and death.  make sure you have your highest possible scroll level in that.  don't waste all your power mashing every abilty you have.  you want to focus on constantly triggering sky cleave every time your HO is available.  hit your HO button, immediately use one of your sword attacks (i rotate between faithful swing since it also heals you a bit, and righteous blow), and that will trigger your sky cleave.  immediately hit one of your taunt skills (taunt or inflame).  by then, your HO button should almost be ready again.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>fighting solo flagged mobs is a waste of time.  you will get a ton more xp fighting green con group flagged mobs than even orange con solo flagged mobs.</DIV>

[Khael-]

Try to stay away from Righeous Blow and use Righteous Anger instead. Blow uses far too much power to be a viable offensive measure other than as a third option Slash trigger. Just check the numbers if you don't believe me <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Jedd]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Khael- wrote:<BR>Try to stay away from Righeous Blow and use Righteous Anger instead. Blow uses far too much power to be a viable offensive measure other than as a third option Slash trigger. Just check the numbers if you don't believe me <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <P>I learned a couple levels ago (20 now) to start using my arts/spells according to their power cost and things have been going pretty smooth now. A paladin is a kind of mini-power company and no power=death when you get an add (even a blue can kill you if you run out of power). As far as soloing I plan to solo as far as it will take me (3 groups so far) and I am in TS now doing the affor-mentioned yellow beetles, hawks ect for the loot mostly now as I don't really care about xp now that I made 20 (turned the xp bar off) but I do enjoy fighting green groups so I will have to check that out in TS. </P> <P>I haven't looked for quests yet and those kill quests mentioned sound interesting as soon as I figure out who gives them out. I never intended on playing EQ (just did because I was burnt out by wow and I got a last week invite for the eq2 beta) and I never intended on being a paladin  as I got into it by accident (thought I couldn't pick beserker in qeynos) but I really like it so far. Thanks for the info.</P> <P> </P>

[Dakbu]

<DIV>BTW Herakles, our adept 1 ward eats up 222hp, not 400.  But I still dont solo without it, and it is a great buffer in groups when the mob scores a couple of painful hits in a row and your HP bar is looking mighty slim while waiting for that cleric heal.</DIV>

[BoomJa]

<blockquote><hr>HeraklesMolten wrote:<DIV>You can definitely solo as a paladin post 20. The secret is HOs and your own buffs. Another important issue is to make sure you constantly upgrade your apprentice and adept skills. This is the most critical. As far as armor goes, you will earn it as you need it. The whole camping of items thing has been removed from EQ, which is amazingly nice. The first time I discovered HOs was level 10 crusader quest. In this quest you are quickly taught that the only way you are going to pass this is if you get the constant HO chains going.</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>Around the 20 level I was hunting in the Northeast corner of Antonica. There are some great bears out there in the range of 20-21. You might even want to hit these up until 22. They spawn so fast, eventhough they are blue, you can wipe them out quick enough to get exp. You can also kill crabs, but these seemed somewhat slower to me. When I hit 22, I hunted snakes, birds, antelope, and crabs in Thundering Steeps. I can take all these out no problem. At 23, crabs are mostly white to me now. I will probably smash these until I hit 24. After this, it seems like it progresses to centaurs, but most of them appear to be group mobs. I will have to do some more looking. There are some skellies that are solo mobs, but getting into the areas have been very difficult due to the fire giants.</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>From what I have seen, Paladins are the class that appears to have the most going for it. The horses are incredible, post 20 armor looks great, and soloing is quite powerful.</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>Another thing to consider when soloing is your ward shield. I can't think of the name right now. If you get this as an adept 1, you have it made. The thing probably eats up 400 hps of damage I would be taking.</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>Herak</DIV><DIV>23 Paladin on Unrest</DIV><DIV>Warriors of Virtue</DIV><hr></blockquote>Straight on good advice up there folks. Read it! I added some hunting spots to my guide, but if you have good spots please send them to me. PM is A-OK by me. Here are the Thunderous Steppes spots I added last. Grouped 16-22: The Undead off the path from the Antonica zonelineGrouped 16-22: The Scarecrows off the path from the Antonica zoneline.Grouped 16-24: The Scarecrows and Undead in the fields to the right of the path coming in from Antonica. These are slightly harder than the mobs to the left of the path. Grouped 16-24: The gnolls found in the craters near the Antonica zoneline.Grouped 16-25: The centaurs found all over the zone. These are not aggressive which is nice. Solo 19-23: The beetles found off the path to the docks and the bridgeSolo 19-24: The hawks found off the path to the docks and the bridge.Solo 19-23: The snakes found off the path to the docks and the bridge.Solo 19-24: The antelopes found off the path to the docks and the bridge. There are quests for the solo mobs, given by two different NPCs in the zone that you can run concurrently. Each quest rewards you approximately 2 silver. Happy Hunting!

[dms]

<DIV>Definitely doable post 20. You need to make sure and have all your main spells and combat abilities upgraded as high as possible. I keep Demonstration of Faith on at all times when I solo and rarely go below 100% health. Fight the green con mobs that are double arrow up group kills, you should get around 1% to 1.5% xp per kill. Use Righteous Anger often (comsumes very little power vs. the dmg it does) and throw in a few HO's and you should do well. AC seems to be extremely important in EQ2, so keep your armor upgraded...equiping items with + to power is a nice bonus. As far as weapons go, I prefer a good 2-hander for the extra dmg.    </DIV>

[Kriterian]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> BoomJack wrote:<BR><BR>.<BR>Grouped 16-25: The centaurs found all over the zone. These are not aggressive which is nice. <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV>The centaurs are faction based, meaning you get bad faction for killing them. After a few kills they become aggressive and will attack you on sight.</DIV>

[BoomJa]

<blockquote><hr>Kriterian wrote:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE><HR>BoomJack wrote:<BR><BR>.<BR>Grouped 16-25: The centaurs found all over the zone. These are not aggressive which is nice. <BR><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><DIV>The centaurs are faction based, meaning you get bad faction for killing them. After a few kills they become aggressive and will attack you on sight.</DIV><hr></blockquote>Great info! Thanks,Adding it to the guide.

[Thematr]

<DIV>I was in beta, made it to level 25 paladin in a short amount of time due to grouping, I wouldn't rely on my Beta knowledge anylonger, I just dinged 20 Paladin, and have noticed that for the first 20 levels the entire combat dynamics changed on me, I skipped the last week of beta so I don't know if that's when it all changed but when I was in beta it was almost impossible to solo Green ^^ monsters with paladin/crusader skills, while others in my guild did it with not much of a problem, now it's much easier to solo green ^^ as a crusader/paladin, I think in retail paladins have gotten a sizeable boost in their abilities compared to other classes. I haven't grouped but a few times in retail since at below 20 levels, a group of "experienced" players is difficult to find and the few times I tried grouping it was death/death/death/neardeath etc. and I could ding faster soloing with my beta experience. My guess is that once people become experienced in the post 20 levels groups will out perform soloing by a greater margin, as there is only so much you can do soloing, so few variables of your stats/eq/combat art levels/luck/tactics compared with a well oiled machine group of 6 experienced players can make a big difference. And the added danger of soloing, but the higher cash rewards for yourself and doing it whenever you want are those benefits. So I'd say it is viable and will be viable to do, but slower than if you get into an uber group, but faster than waiting around all day for a group that quickly falls apart or doesn't work well together, I think you could compete as a soloer against a random group invite of average skilled players, but probably not with a guild group of HC players, just my thought.</DIV>

[Memna]

<DIV>I'm a 31 Paladin on AB, and I can solo extremely well because of my high AC, damage dealing, and also self healing. :smileyhappy:</DIV>

[Malad]

<DIV>My key to soloing is my heal not my ward.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I do not bother with HOs usually and just beat them down while healing as needed.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>While I kill slower this way I find it is more power friendly and generally can go from fight to fight.</DIV>

[Maxim]

Ho's are deffinately a key. At 15 I was taking on 20's and could win but could die too, it really depended on the situation. Some people say they are a waste of power, but its really not that bad. Stay away from Righteous blow and you're power will last longer. A good hitting HO will outdamage our specials. My HO's hit for 50 to 65 at least. The ward, as mentioned before, is also very valuable. I've been taking on the beetles, crabs and such in the steppes since 18 solo.

[Theja]

<DIV>At 29, I have no problem soloing double green arrows. Once buffed, during the fight I only use wards, charge and I trigger the HO with Oath Strike(our 175+ damage nuke).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Using a 2 hander, not a shield.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Jokalaylau</DIV> <DIV>29 Paladin</DIV> <DIV>Oasis</DIV>

[Rowdi]

<DIV>Having a blast soloing..been doing it now up to 24. Green double up arrows or groups of non arrows or pairs of single arrows as long as the mobs are roughly 4 lvls below you. The xp is  nice. Solo mobs I'm still working on yellows with little trouble so those groupless times haven't been wasted.</DIV>

[Jedd]

<DIV>Only problem I find about soloing is that I am fast growing tired with cycling my HO over and over and I am starting to see it in my sleep.:smileysurprised:</DIV>

[VISIO]

<DIV>I have a blast soloing. My secret is being equal level provisioner to my xp level.  I chain pulled yellow skeletons in TS from 25 to 27.  If you get the right food you hardly ever have to heal.  Now I am able to solo the three green Cenetaurs along the roads at level 27 and single Centaurs by the Sabrtooth Camp.  These give good xp and drops...Falcorn on Mistmoore.....</DIV>

[VISIO]

<DIV>I have a blast soloing. My secret is being equal level provisioner to my xp level.  I chain pulled yellow skeletons in TS from 25 to 27.  If you get the right food you hardly ever have to heal.  Now I am able to solo the three green Cenetaurs along the roads at level 27 and single Centaurs by the Sabrtooth Camp.  These give good xp and drops...Falcorn on Mistmoore.....</DIV>

[Gilasil]

Level 20 seems to be in a difficult position -- a bit too high for most of Antonica and a bit too low for most of Thundering Steppes. However, there are things in TS which are soloable. The solo antelopes, snakes, beetles and (I think) crabs at least. Probably other things. Most of these will be yellow but you should be able to handle them one on one (I could anyway). Also, there are still some mobs in Anotnica which give experience at level 20.Don't forget the occasional group of two downarrow mobs marked as solo. Counts as two mobs for the kill x quests but still soloable. Also kind of fun after a long string of one on one encounters. I wish they had more of them.I found HOs pretty optional. Seemed like the additional damage from a solo on average just cancelled out the lost round of having to use an inflame instead of something which does damage (if I'm soloing I don't need to taunt it so that inflame is otherwise a wasted round). And that's if I do everyone perfectly every time so the HO always goes off. The big advantage in my mind of using HO's while soloing is the taunt uses a lot less power then a damaging move.In my mind the most important thing is to have good equipment and know how to fight. If you're a level 20 paladin your paladin 2-hander is an excellent soloing weapon for your level so you just need get some good armor. You can do AQ1 and 2 fairly easily with pickup groups for the parts you can't solo. You might want to buy a chest piece or some legs to tide you over until you get to those armor quests. Besides, you probably don't want to look like a crusader when you can look like a paladin.So as far as I'm concerned, and if you're not doing a lot of quests (most of the good ones seem to require groups at some point) it is indeed possible to solo post 20 (at least up to 24 where I am now). However, at some levels such as 20 it's a bit tricky and you'll want to do your homework and make sure you're well equipped before heading out to solo at those levels.P.S. And don't forget your trusty mount! Makes it a lot easier to get out of bad situations.

[Valhakar]

<DIV>Paladins were MADE for soloing.  You could say we are the "new druid".  The trick it to hunt blue mobs or Green up arrow groups.  Throw in quest stacking and you are leveling up very quickly.  I pretty much soloed from 0-16 execept where a quest called for it.  Having played EQ1 since the Beta I was less worried about working on my grouping skills and more focused on working on my class expertise.  Once I did start grouping, I was usually schooling others as to what the paladin abilities are.  <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV>

[Charinida]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Kriterian wrote:<BR><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> BoomJack wrote:<BR><BR>.<BR>Grouped 16-25: The centaurs found all over the zone. These are not aggressive which is nice. <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV>The centaurs are faction based, meaning you get bad faction for killing them. After a few kills they become aggressive and will attack you on sight.</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV>As a DE Wizard (and soon to have a Betrayal DE Crusader) ...  Those Centaurs are already "Threatening" and aggro...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Keep in mind your race as well...  What might not aggro you, might aggro your friend/groupmates...  :smileysurprised:  Especially when you find out one of your groupmates is a certified KOS Centaur killer...</DIV>

[Renn]

Up to 30 now, and when I play solo its very hit or miss. Solo con mobs up to yellow are no problem at all, a bit of a joke even.But green group ^^ mobs are another story. Fights with them are always long. And they either consist of "You parry.." "You block.." "You parry.." "You riposte.." or OW OW OW OW "I'm out of power from healing myself!" I can usually take them, but about 25% of the time of they time they just get in a lucky string of special attacks that absolutely destroy your hit point bar. Not to mention I killed 3 green con ^^ group mobs earlier, and got just under 1%. Soloing at this level is hardly worth the grind, solo mobs don't even give a fraction of that exp either.Oh, I figured I should add in my basics for comparison. I'm working at 1900 AC (with shield) and wielding a feyiron flail, which is the best one handed I can find for this level. My resists (applicable only on a few mobs) are generally in the 500-800 range. I've tried it with my 2 hander (Pristine forged steel greatsword, white con to me) and I just get chewed up too fast with the loss of several hundred AC and the ability to block. All useful spells are Adept 1, except Blessed Aid, Faithful Zeal, Oath Strike, Omen of Battle and Blinding Light which are all Adept 3.<p>Message Edited by Rennyn on <span class=date_text>12-21-2004</span> <span class=time_text>08:52 PM</span>

[gachamann]

Thundering Steppes, Thundering Steppes, and oh yeah, Thundering Steppes is also good <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />You're speaking of just soloing, I assume. From 20-23 you can kill antelope, snakes, birds and beetles. Very boring mobs, but good quantity of them without worrying about higher lvl aggros between Antonica and Nek zone-ins.24+ I went to the area with tons of skellies, the chopped down forest with the craters of skellies next to it (near Ruins of Varsoon's zone-in). White, yellow, orange and red ones aplenty. I'm near maxed on AC so I soloed orange whenever I could, but it still took a while. But there's plenty there and you'll never worry about running out of pulls, just be careful to pull back up top so you don't get adds. This will work great until about 26.At that point I joined Giant groups and went into Ruins of Varsoon, as well as Nek. Don't solo much now and I'm close to 27. You should have plenty to solo up until that point, however.<p>Message Edited by gachamann on <span class=date_text>12-24-2004</span> <span class=time_text>07:37 AM</span>

[HeraklesMolt]

<DIV>I am still soloing at level 35 when I am unable to find pick up groups.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>At level 30 to 32 there are plenty of crabs on EL.</DIV> <DIV>At level 32 I fought some EL crabs and saw briarpaw cubs.  And some orcs on Zek.</DIV> <DIV>At level 33 I fought the rats on the NW corner of the EL isle.</DIV> <DIV>At level 34 I fought the nymphs on the NE corner of the EL isle.  These conned orange, but they are casters, which allows us to take the hits.  Just make sure to bash/charge/divine vengance to interupt their spells.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Level 35 I grouped in Runnyeye and probably got 50% exp in collections quests.  When I solo in tier 4 I just gather/forest/mine/trap during my down time.  I make enough money selling this stuff to complete collection quests by buying bones and shards.</DIV> <DIV>Level 36 I think there are some solo big guys on NE corner of EL.  I have also noticed some solo orcs near the Deathfist Citadel.  If I am out this far, I would probably rather have a group though.</DIV>

[SythRavenha]

<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">I found an absolutely sweet  way to XP at 20 and 21.  I just happened to be trying to get more drops, and I learned long ago that outside of named mobs, the best drops in the game were from linked mobs.  Forget about those silly ^^ green group mobs.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">Run out to Ardent Needle and clear the gnoll camps that spawn 4-5 at a time.  You get 1-2% per group, and get a chest out of about every 3rd or 4th mob.  They pretty much go grey at 22, but move a little further east and there are more.  I used to hunt the group green ^^ and blue ^ mobs, but chest were more liked 1 in 15 to 20 kills.  I might have just been unlucky, but I really don't think that is the case.   </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">Solo type mobs are ok.  Less than 1% per yellow solo mob with no arrows, and the basic drops.  Once in a blue moon you might get a really nice item, though you likely won't be able to use it right away.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">One thing I should mention .. I have never in my life seen a single Paladin Adept drop either solo or group.  But heck, I was getting about 4-5 other adept books per night off those gnolls and selling them or giving to guildmates.  Now I have the cash to buy some Paladin Adept books, if I could only find anything on the brokers other than Inflame, I would be competely shocked.</FONT></DIV>

I've soloed all the way to 20 using my paladin. And its just common sense on what you fight to constantly see your xp bar keep moving forward. Also I can see the money flowing in alot more now that I am in Thundering Steppes. The loot is twice as good. Those area of effect spells are what get me in trouble. They aggro unwanted mobs and sometimes, Guards- ouch! Snakes, crabs, beetles are what I'm fighting now in TS and fulfilling quests.But the xp has been slow and steady. No hurry. Buy FORGED equipment, you get added stats with that kind of equipment. Dont waste your money on anything else. Go to a broker and type in 'forged ' and watch all the forged items come up. The horse is great, only 14 silver and it helpe me run away from trouble as you can fight while mounted.