Upgrading at 19? or wait til 20?

[Pnaxx]

<DIV>Im fixin to br reborn....from Crusader to Paladin!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My question is....at 19th lvl, should i upgrade right now in armour or wait til i hit 20? Is there new armour i can get at 20 that i dont have access to now?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>1. wut armor is reccommended fer 20th lvl?</DIV> <DIV>2. wut skills and spells are the most useful and which should i do away with?</DIV> <DIV>3. i have a gnoll quest i need to do now, do i need to go out with groups fer this quest or can it be done solo?</DIV> <DIV>4. if i doit with a group, will i get credit for all the kills and will that be sufficient to finish that part of the quest fer Palaadin?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>sorry its a bunch of questions, but i dont want to upgrade my armor at 19 if i should wait til 20. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>thnx in advance.</DIV> <DIV>Pnaxx</DIV>

[Collitini]

<DIV>It all depends on the cash you have on hand.  Waiting until 20 means you can begin to use heavy armor, which means more AC per piece.  HOWEVER, from what I've seen, it's also much more expensive than the medium armor....so you need to balance utility with cost.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Another thing to be aware of is that, at lvl 20, you can begin the Armor Quests with Ian (near the "cache" where you went on your Crusader quest) to get some pieces for free...those are all heavy armor pieces.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Personally, if your stuff is all blue or higher, I'd wait til 20.  It's going to give you the most options.  If you're 19, and wearing green armor, I'd check the AC value to whatever you can find on the marketplace, and possibly replace them.</DIV>

[flabajaba22]

<DIV>As for armor, wait.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>When you hit 20, you will be able to use heavy armor.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I reccommend looking at player made armor.  It has the same AC or more than store bought, and it may have stat bonuses as well.</DIV>

[Telnu]

<OL> <LI>At 20th you will want to start doing your Armor Quests.  Don't upgrade your Armor at 19 as you can only wear Medium Armor, at 20 you can start wearing Heavy (which your AQs will provide to you)</LI> <LI>Certain skills that you receive actually end up being upgrades to past skills (ie. Charge > Kick, Inflame > Taunt etc. etc.)  Asking what skills are useful and which you should do away with... probably won't get you much information.  At 23 I pretty much have a use for all of my skills at one point or another (which is why I maintain three hotkey bars)</LI> <LI>Either.</LI> <LI>Yes and Yes.</LI></OL>

[Telnu]

<P>Bleh double post.</P><p>Message Edited by Telnutz on <span class=date_text>02-03-2005</span> <span class=time_text>09:47 AM</span>

[SunT]

<DIV>I agree wait for level 20 and get heavy.  Major improvement.  But there are some really nice medium and even light pieces that are on the broker from time to time.  Also, don't worry about the color fo the armor, my stormsheild was green when I went to Briarwood and kicked azz on all stats of all orange shields till the day I upgraded it.  Stats > Color.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Dragoon and Gem Studded items are usually wearable with an 80 (16) or 90 (1<img src="/smilies/b2eb59423fbf5fa39342041237025880.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> skill and have amazing stats for that level.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Stormshield is a 90 (1<img src="/smilies/b2eb59423fbf5fa39342041237025880.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> and is the BEST shield money can buy up till 28.  Very good investment, 270 ish AC plus great stats.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The primary tiers for upgrade are on the x4, x6, x8, and x0.  They corespond with the next tier craftables as Crude, Shaped, Forged/fashioned and Pristine. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So each level time you ding a level you should browse the broker for new items.  x6 to x8 and x0 to x4 will show you the most dramatic changes in stats.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>When you ding 24 you should look for a set of Crude Feyiron Armor and buy Crude Velium or Opal jewelry.  Very nice stats.  And the single biggest upgrade to stats so far for me.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Platfing]

<DIV>1. I bought a full set of Pristine Crafted Carbonite Vanguard at level 20.  I also upgraded all my jewelry - either to Pristine Agate or Gold.  Your AC will go up by a huge magnitude with those upgrades.  At level 24, and prior to this new patch that changed  (err screwed up) the AC numbers, I had 1360 AC which was higher than most had my level.  20 is the first level that you can wear that stuff at pristine, and it will last you a long time (even to level 30 if you wish).  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>You can also start doing the AQ quests at 20 if you want (and most do it seems), but I am going to play devil's advocate here and list some arguments against it:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>a. Some of the quest parts are a pain to get a group for (especially if you missed the level 20-25 "bubble" that is now diminishing as the game ages).  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>b. The AC on the quest armor are not that much greater on the gear over Carbonite (ok the BP is a little better, but at the minimum level you can wear it your only a few levels away from Feyiron and honestly I didn't want to ruin my faction with the centaurs and make it a real pain to harvest in TS). </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>c. The gear is wearable at different levels - 20 for one piece, 21 for another, .... up to 25 (I think) for the BP.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>2. Use your ward spell a bunch.  I use it no matter if solo or grouped (to save the healer's mana).  And use both of your taunts (AE and the other one at your level) like a mofo if grouped.  Sorry for not listing the names of the spells/abilities - it's been awhile since I was pre-20 and I forgot the names.  Pull with Rightous Anger - it builds up hate more than just smacking the mob.  Of course run HOs constantly if your soloing and use a 2 hander that does great damage.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>3 & 4. Well, your talking about the Paladin quest right?  Do it solo - it's so silly easy.  HINT - just engage the mobs that you KNOW that you can beat.  Do not get agro from the harder ones (run Forest run!).  Oh - and break open the gate.  That's all you need to know - just do it and you will see.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'm going to make another post about how to get a kick-[Removed for Content] sword Berik, Sword of Thunder.  I personally use one now, and I have helped another person get one as well.  Read about it in this forum.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Fenra Fairheart (Butcherblock)     </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Flet]

<DIV>Here's my advice to someone who's name isn't Platfinger and thereby probably rich. 8-) No offense, but there was no way in the world I could afford a full set of prisine carb at lvl 20. The AQs were a great way to get really good gear for your level, meet a bunch of people at your level who you can group with for a long time, and have the experience of doing these quests that are really a rite of passage.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Some tips, if you have some cash, buy some gear in reverse order of the AQs. You won't get (or be able to equip) the chest slot for a few levels anyway, so upgrade your chest now and your added AC will help you get the other pieces.</DIV> <DIV>I think the Legs are the second to last piece in the AQ set (or shoulders?), so if you still have cash, upgrade that slot too. You can always sell the pieces you buy when you finish the AQs.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I wore my AQ gear all the way to 30. The prisitne forged carb really is not any better in total (AC and resists compared) so why spend all that money when you can get the stuff for free and get XP at the same time?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The gloves and arms AQs will be done quickly so I wouldn't bother buying them.</DIV> <DIV>Also do the Spindlecog helm quest - it's a great helm for not too much trouble. Then buy a good waist slot. I have not seen any good waist quests.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So...bottom line, my suggestion is to not upgrade until level 20 and then only upgrade selected items while you do your AQs. Unless you are seriously rich and just want to buy everything. But that's not a reality all of us have.</DIV>

[SanJ]

<DIV>Unless you have volumes of coin, wait until you ding 20 primarily because it's the "big" jump into a new and final armor category.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>level 10-19 = medium armor</DIV> <DIV>level 20-50 = heavy armor (vanguard and/or plate)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Player crafted armor by tier is listed as tier 3/20-29 carbonite, tier 4/30-39 feyiron, tier 5/40-49 fulginate.  I enjoy buying goods from my fellow artisans so I personally select a complete set when available of the vanguard line.  I like the look of vanguard for a paladin, but once again this is a personal choice as you may choose from an array of options such as player crafts, loot drops, npc purchases in city proper (bad idea most of the time as they contain now stat modifiers or resistances).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>EQ2 has provided a nice means for "earning" your own set of tier 3 armor.  Visit the npc named "Ian" in Qeynos Harbor and begin a series of 6 quests that will provide very nice armor except for a helmet.  This armor is labeled as "hearth forged" if you want to examine what's available from the quests on the broker (sneak peek to what you'll receive).  Wearing the entire set requires a level 24 paladin to equip the chest slot, but nice XP is earned along the way that will more then prepare your toon for the final equip.  My personal decision was to purchase a complete set of pristine forged carbonite vanguard @ 20, but if coin does not permit, start your AC quest immediately.  You'll have a difficult time with several groups considering you as a MT if your AC is very poor.  Although I purchased my armor, I still enjoyed working on the quests for the XP and adventure and highly recommend it to everyone.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Another poster on this thread mentioned the concept of early tier upgrades at levels x4, x6, x8, x0.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Even if you purchase a complete set of pristine forged carbonite vanguard (good for levels 20-29), you may get a head start at the next tier armor in varying qualities as you level.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Example:  </DIV> <DIV>24 paladin = crude feyiron (all feyiron is tier 4)</DIV> <DIV>26 paladin = shaped feyiron</DIV> <DIV>28 paladin = forged feyiron</DIV> <DIV>30 paladin = pristine feyiron</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I upgraded to forged feyiron at level 28 because I could afford the move at that time, but my carbonite was still conning yellow or orange to me.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>This same example holds true with jewelry items (right side inventory window armor).  Jewelry is the key to additional AC, nice stat modifiers like STR and WIS bonuses and most importantly new resist levels to poisons, heat, disease, metal, cold, etc.  I see way too many players with yellow and orange con armor (left side window) and gray con jewelry (right side window).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Don't let the names crude or shaped mislead you!  A crude item (say opaline or velium in tier 4) is always better then a pristine item (say agate or gold in tier 3).  The AC will be the same, but the stat modifiers will typically be higher and the resistances much higher!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Don't forget about your shield for MT (main taink) purposes.  I have another thread on the this board that shows most kite shields in-game that can make a ton of difference each level.  The list is sorted by minimum skill to equip.  As soon as I ding 30, I'll be wearing a pristine oak kite shield that offers 508 AC towards the end of my tier (a personal lucky rare harvest)!  You can find high value shields as both loot drops and player crafted goods.  Woodworkers (artisan profession) makes our shields--not weaponsmiths or armorsmiths.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I recommend against purchasing NPC armor in city proper at higher levels primarily because the items fail to offer any stat bonuses beyond a basic AC increase.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>If you are interested in quests for paladin equipment, consider BoomJack's Paladin Guide @ <A href="http://eq2.tentonhammer.com" target=_blank>http://eq2.tentonhammer.com</A> this site absolutely rocks!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Good luck!</DIV> <DIV>Kalen</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Platfing]

<DIV>On Butcherblock, people are practically giving away pristine carbonite armor now.  Looking on the broker, most pieces are 50-60 S each.   Prices are only going to keep falling (that whole supply and demand thing I hated in college).  When I bought mine, it was double that price.  A month before that, I can't confirm it but I bet it was 4 or 5 times what it is now.   Other armor prices are dropping as well.  For instance, I just bought Gauntlet of Storms for 15 S last night (there were 3 other sets on the broker from 25 S to 1 G).  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Also, I know some people don't really like crafting but if you get to just level 10 scholar (when you get the durability buffs) you can make the Apprentice 4 spells/abilities for levels 1-10.  I can make all spells/abilities up to level 22, but I have not ever found any that sell as well as the ones that are 10 and under.  I believe it has to do with the fact that there are lots of shared abilites/spells at that level (for instance people that will become warriors/paladins/zerkers/whatever all need the same ones).  Think about it - would you sell more to 3% of the server population or to 10%?  Anyway - those sell for 25-40S each.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I guess what I'm saying is if you can't make enough in a day or two for a full set of carbonite, you aren't trying very hard.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Fenra Fairheart (Butcherblock)     </DIV><p>Message Edited by Platfinger on <span class=date_text>02-03-2005</span> <span class=time_text>11:14 AM</span>

[Pnaxx]

<DIV>Great InfoY'all!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>thnx alot. im really xcited to do some Armor Quests. Im also xcited to get my artisan lvl up...i think its 8 now...but want to start making major coin real soon. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Pnaxx</DIV>

[SanJ]

<DIV>I would suggest provisioner if you are just starting.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I have a friend that rolled an alt the other day and grinded out the first 12-14 levels in an evening of play.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Many things have changed since rollout including crafting society levels and resources available on the vendors.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Drink is always an item of concern to regen power quickly.  My friend is focusing on drink exclusively at the moment and made several stacks of tier 2 drink that sold extremely well for 3 gold in one night.  He was very excited with sales this early on plus most artisans have moved on to upper tier 2, tier 3 and 4-5 now.  It's a great market for him on our server right now.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Incidentally, I sold my complete set of pristine forged carbonite vanguard and the ancient kite shield to a player for 5 gold when I upgraded to feyiron and the snapper shell kite shield.  You might find the best deal from a player upgrading to something new.  I would suggest posting on the Server-Market thread regarding your desire for new equipment.  You might find someone willing to cut you a deal to clear out most of their inventory very quickly plus give them coin to purchase new stuff quickly.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The problem we run into on my server is finding a "complete" set to purchase at once.  Join the crafting channel and commission an armorsmith to build you a complete set.  A discount may be established this route as well.  Join the channel by right clicking on the chat tab and choosing "chat options."  The center column will include Qeynos/Freeport_Crafting_1 -- join it and then type /1 hello all to communicate on the channel.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I also recommend joining the Paladin channel--yes we have one by default on all servers!  It's a great way to ask fellow pallys about upgrades, loot locations, equipment ideas, etc.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks,</DIV> <DIV>Kalen</DIV>