BONZZ'S LEVELING AND PROGRESSION GUIDE
The Basics!
Once you create a character, you begin you never ending quest (thus "everquest") to progress and advance that character. There are so many things that come into play with this as you gain levels -- to include epics, zone access, skills, abilities and much more. It is very, very hard to keep up with and/or when you should work on what.
This guide is written from a Paladin's point of view and may not be the best choice for other classes, but it may still be a good reference.
If you have input or feedback to add to this listing, please let me know!
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When I first created this page, the idea was to create a level-by-level guide.
However, with all the changes made to EQ (quests, easier XP, better equipment at lower levels, better buffs at lower levels, etc.), it became clear this was no longer a viable or reasonable way to present such a guide.
This is because, literally, a person can take a Level 1 toon and have it to high levels in just a single day.
However, such power leveling, in my opinion, is not the best way to "develop" a character. Sure, such a character can be "twinked" after the fact, but they are still not well developed. You will find your character lacking in many areas.
For a truly accomplished and capable character, it does need to be "brought" along properly... or you will have to go back and work on what you failed to do, to start with.
Sony made some huge blunders, but they are done now (defiant armor, opening zones, EQ2...) and there is no going back.
As a result... I have changed this page to one of general guidelines in developing a truly accomplished character. So, instead, I present to you a categorized chart of "general" things to do, as you develop a "real" toon.
It is my opinion that the true satisfaction, adventure and enjoyment of this game comes from the true accomplishment and feats. If you want to just kill stuff, power level to maximum level and twink a toon, you can and will get bored fast and quick. The game will easily become "uninteresting" as you neglected and "by-passed" most of the content and adventures that make up a huge portion of the game!
You are better off playing a mindless "shootem up" than playing Everquest.
Everquest is a an "ever" lasting "quest" that seems to have no end. It can and will provide years and years of never ending adventures, if you play it properly.
I know many people who spend loads of money on every shiny new game that comes along and are forever "trying" yet another new game, never finding one that holds their interest for too terribly long.
Play EQ like it should be played, and you will save a ton of cash, as it will provide variety and can perpetually hold your interest forever.
It just takes a bit of patience. You will not get stuff done in one day, one week or one month. It's an ever-lasting journey.
Here's how I sometimes express it. The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy is one incredible epic. This because of the trials, tribulations and adventure the characters experience. It leaves us wanting more after the third movie.
You simply can't short cut that kind of enjoyment.
Too many players want to jump in EQ and to be instantly "ubah." All the adventure is lost that way. They want to take the Lord of the Rings, be handed the ring, jump on a griffon, fly on over the lava pit and then simply drop the ring in the lava.
Fast, easy and.... incredibly boring! All the character development, adventure and intrigue is gone that way.
Does that make sense of my point?
So if you want to play with the "big boys," be among the "elite," become a "legend" and make it into the hall of fame.... the fast-track-readers-digest-version-crib-notes is not the way to get there.
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ALTERNATE ADVANCEMENT (AA): Alternative Advancement was originally created to give players something to spend XP on.
In the past, once you reached maximum level, XP was irrelevant.
So rather than add Levels, they added "benefits" and "abilities" that you could "buy" with Alternative Advancement, which you earned via XP.
Originally, AA could not be earned until Level 51. These days, however, some AA can actually be "earned" or "gained" at Level 1. You still have to be Level 51, however, to earn AA by way of XP.
None the less, I do not recommend even thinking about AA until after Level 51... and even then, I strongly suggest you only consider truly practical AA.
What I mean by "truly" practical AA is not AA that gives you more HP, more Mana, better regen and so forth. Those increases are, more often than not, negligible. Face it... how much benefit is there to 1 HP of regen every six seconds?
What I mean is AA that is actually useful.
Origin, so you can gate. Holy Steed so you can have a fast Mount and get around faster. Run Speed so you can out run MOB's easier. Enduring Breath so you can breath underwater and in airless zones. See Invisible, so you can see invisible MOB's, rather than walk right into them.
Getting my drift?
These AA's are actually have practical every day uses, as opposed to being negligibly beneficial in an innate way. These AA not only can help you travel about easier, they can reduce, eliminate your reliance on items (re: seeing invis, breathing underwater...) and save you coin (no more potions needed).
Once you reach maximum game level, only then do I recommend focusing on AA and buying the "more beneficial" AA over the "trash AA".
Example, mitigation AA's reduce the damage you take in melee. That is "more beneficial" than that 1 HP of Regen every six seconds ("trash AA").
Of course, which AA you focus on first has a lot to do with your class. Example, a caster is more interested in magic related AA while a melee is more interested in the mitigation AA while a DPS class may be more interested in the AA that deals with DPS.
My recommendation: No more than 30% of XP into AA until you reach maximum level. After than, nor more than 90% XP into AA, in order to maintain that "death buffer" (so you don't loose a level when you die). First buy practical AA, then beneficial AA, then worry about the trash AA.
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ARMOR: Your character is able to wear all sorts of armor.
Basically, you need to wear something in every armor slot you have. No matter how bad that armor may seem, it is certainly better than no armor at all. Armor is the number one way that you will increase the stats/abilities of your character.
Of course, your character type will play a large role in what you look for in armor stats, but no matter what class you are, armor is essential.
Not only does armor add to your stats, but it can also add to your abilities, resists and more. Some armor grants you innate abilities when worn (like enduring breath) or when activated (right clicked to activate the effect by way of a mana free "cast" spell).
Acquiring armor is the tricky part.
With the "defiant" armor added to the game in 2008, what armor to go after in the "lower" levels is all most a no-brainer, now. Defiant armor will probably serve you well until about Level 60 or 70.
After that, raid dropped armor, camped armor and quested armor will often be of far more benefit.
However, this is not to say that certain dropped, camped or quested armor is not better or beneficial to have at lower levels, because some of it is.
In acquiring armor, some research can go a long way towards saving time, coin and effort.
Look up armor for your class. Pay attention to level restrictions. Give some consideration to the No Trade status (this means you will have to acquire it personally) and Attuned status (it will become No Trade after you put it on, meaning you are stuck with it and can't resell it). Pay attention to what classes or races can actually use the item (if your race and class is not listed, you can't use it, anyway). Some armor may even have deity restrictions.
Consider where or how the armor is acquired, as you may not have access to the related the zones, the necessary skill levels to craft it or be of a level to successfully venture into areas where it drops, access or no access.
Make yourself a list of what armor you want and then pursue it. If you happen to get upgrades along the way, do so. If you happen to get better armor along the way, even better. It is better, however, to pursue a certain item than to constantly try for minor upgrades or upgrade by happenstance.
Example... your Guild is raiding Anguish. An Earring of Dark Conflict Drops and you want it. So you put in for it and get it. Later in that same raid, Hanvar's Hoop drops. A much better earring for a melee type. Now you have no chance at it, most likely. With a little advance research into Anguish and what drops there, you would have known in advance what earring to go after (focus on).
The same goes for zones that you "adventure" in outside of raids, as well. In short, people don't like "greediness" in other players who want every minor upgrade item that comes about. It is better to plan what you want in certain zones. This way, you are not perceived as greedy and may even be perceived as more deserving fir all your "helpfulness" and that you "never" put in for items (because you know what you want).
My recommendation: Research what is available to you in the zones that you frequent and pursue them accordingly. Otherwise, acquire the best armor you can when the opportunity arises. However, pre-level 65-ish, Defiant armor may be the easiest and most beneficial route to pursue, upgrading to the next tier of Defiant armor (there are different types of Defiant armor, with increasing stats and minimum Level requirements), as you increase in Levels. After Level 65-ish, quested, camped, crafted (cultural) and raid armor should be given serious considerations.
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BAGS: Bags are extremely essential.
They are "containers." There are many variations on a theme with containers (boxes, bags, combine devices...), but they are all items that can only fit in an "inventory" slot and other items can be placed inside them.
By "inventory" slot, I mean the spaces where bags will go, when you put them on your character.
You should absolutely go into the Bazaar, and fill up your bank slots with Trader Satchels, ASAP.
As for the slots on your character, you do not want Trader Satchels, as they are heavy and bulky. Nor will they go into the shared bank slots, because they are No Trade.
What you want are bags that have 10 giant slots and a "weight reduction" as high as possible (100% preferably).
By "giant," I mean the bag has slots inside it that are big enough to hold even the largest of items.
Items have a general size "rating." So an item that has a "size rating" of Large, will not fit inside even a 10-Slot bag if the slots are "Small" slots. It can only fit into a bag that has Large or Giant slots.
So, get giant slot bags and this is never an issue.
Weight has lot to do with how fast you can move (weight can "encumber" you... weight you down... to the point that you actually cannot move!), how much damage you take when you "fall" a short distance (the damage can be significant and even deadly) and plays a role in your fighting ability (strength, especially).
So.. in short, you want to be weighed down as little as possible.
10-giant-slot 100% weight reduction bags (they make items inside them weightless) are not as rare and hard to get as you may think. They can be quested, they can be purchased from NPC's, they can be cast up by certain casters and they can even be crafted by players. In any case, you want up to seven 100% 10-Slot bags on your character.
The eighth slot you want to either keep open or have a "junk" bag in.
This is because many quests often include a "container" of some type or you will find that you often need that inventory slot for one thing or another. This way, you can sell or destroy that "junk"bag, when necessary.
Lastly, the more bag space you have, the more useful stuff you can carry about (different weapons, potions, clickies...) and the more room you have to carry looted items to use later or to sell for profit.
My recommendation: Acquire and buy whatever bags you can, initially, but strive to get all 10-slots, giant sized slots and all 100% weight reduction as you progress. I have list of 100% bags here.
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BATTLE SKILLS: Battle skills are the skills your character has that help with defense or offense in battles.
Some skills are not available to you until higher levels. Once you attain that level, you can use your training points to "buy" them... or activate them.
However, some you will soon learn on your own anyway, when in battle.
Anyway, such skills do "increase" as you level up. They also "max" out at certain points as well.
Such skills include dodge, offense, defense, bash, kick, piercing and so forth.
For greater details on such skills, click here or here.
Basically, generally speaking, each time your character goes up a level, so does the "cap" (maximum rating you can have for said skill) for most such skills, by five more skill levels.
These skills can then be increased by simply using them.
Using them normally happens automatically (such as Dodge) or by what you equip (such as a one-hand slash weapon) while in battle.
So, every new level, make an effort to increase each skill five more levels. I say make an effort, because XP at lower levels, XP is way too easy at lower levels and you will very likely level up before you manage to get the various skills up for each resulting increase. None the less, work on them! After all, you don't want to be Level 80 with Level 40 battle skills!
Normally, without considerations to game-caps, skill maximums are five times your current level.
My recommendation: Work on each battle skill after each level increase, to try and keep them as close to maximum as possible.
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BUFFS: Buffs are magical effects cast on you by other players, or even your own magically cast buffs.
They type of buffs you want are sometimes decided by class or preference (more HP or more AC? More DPS or more HP?), as some buffs do not "stack" with other buffs (you can't have them both at the same time), some buffs are "too powerful" for your level (they are level restricted) and you may prefer the longer duration buffs, even if the shorter duration buff is better (use the 1-hour good buff or the 3-hour somewhat lesser buff?).
Anyway, you want to keep the best buffs possible on you at all times, but this will be limited to availability of the players types to cast them on you.
Also, the number of buffs you can have on you at one time is also limited. Fortunately, you can increase this number with levels, AA and progression.
My recommendation: Keep the best buffs you can get up at all times. Work on levels to increase available buff slots. Buy the extra buff slots via AA early on. Complete progression for extra buff slots as well (DoN).
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CHARACTER ABILITIES: Your character has certain other "abilities" that are not related to magic or battle.
Most such abilities are universal... but some are restricted by class, race or even deity.
Such "abilities" include tradeskills (alchemy, poisonmaking, tinkering...), unique abilities (hide, sneak, track...) and restricted abilities based on race or deities (such as only halflings can make leatherfoot haversacks, only tunare worshippers can make certain arrows, only certain deity-worshipping casters can magically "imbue" certain gems...) and similar.
In any case, all characters get the ability to swim, beg and alcohol tolerance, for example. At one time, sense heading was an ability, but it is now granted to everyone at maximum level.
For more on such abilities, click here.
Anyway, generally speaking, as your character levels up, you also earn five more "levels" to the "cap" (the maximum rating you can have for a said ability) on each ability. You then have to work on said abilities to actually maximize them.
This simply means using them... such as jumping in the water and swimming to increase your swimming skill.
These skills are not without benefit. Example, the better you can swim, the faster you can swim.
Normally, without considerations to game-caps, ability maximums are five times your current level.
My recommendation: Work on each ability after each level increase, to try and keep them as close to maximum as possible.
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CHARACTER RESISTS: Character resists are the ratings you see when you look at your characters inventory.
They include fire, cold, disease, poison, magic and... to a lesser extent... corruption.
For more on such stats, click here.
The base for these stats are established when you create your character.
After that, they can only be artificially enhanced.
Actually, corruption was added much later in the game and is not as important as the other resists (it is also very hard to increase beyond the base 15).
While you can increase the level and game "caps" (maximum rating they can have) with progression and AA, they otherwise remain the same, forever.
This is where armor, weapons, items and other equipment... as well as "buffs" (magical effects cast on you) play a huge role.
It is such items and buffs that truly give you the increased resists, making the stats on the armor/weapons/etc. that you choose to equip/wield/wear, highly essential.
My recommendation: Choose armor/weapons/items wisely, complete the MPG trials and after you reach the point of buying "trash" AA, buy the AA's. Also, seek to keep the best buffs available on you, at all times.
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CHARACTER STATS: Character resists are the ratings you see when you look at your characters inventory.
They include strength, agility, dexterity, charisma, stamina, wisdom and intelligence.
They play a direct role into mana, hit points, endurance and the like.
Some stats are relative only to certain types of characters.
Example, Wisdom and Intelligence are essential to characters that gain their mana pool (magic power) from either wisdom or intelligence... but they are not very important at all to a Warrior, a non-caster.
For more on such stats, click here.
The base for these stats are established when you create your character.
After that, they can only be artificially enhanced.
While you can increase the level and game "caps" (maximum rating they can have) with progression and AA, they otherwise remain the same, forever.
This is where armor, weapons, items and other equipment... as well as "buffs" (magical effects cast on you) play a huge role.
It is such items and buffs that truly give you the increased stats, making the stats on the armor/weapons/etc. that you choose to equip/wield/wear, highly essential.
My recommendation: Choose armor/weapons/items wisely with strong considerations to "Heroic" stats (they allow "over" cap increases), complete the DoN Progression and after you reach the point of buying "trash" AA, buy the AA's. Also, seek to keep the best buffs available on you, at all times.
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"CLICKIES": "Clickies" is a term players use for items that you can right click (with your mouse) and activate or cast a spell with.
Such "spells" then provide a buff, an item, and effect, a familiar and other such things.
The best "clicky" items are the ones that never run out of "charges" (a limited number of times you can use it), but this doesn't mean that ones that have limited uses or are used up after a single use, should be avoided.
Clicky items can provide you with benefits that, otherwise, your character would not have access to. Once you acquire a clicky item, you should carry it with you at all times, so that you have it when you need it. They can also provide a level of self-reliance, rather than having to impose on other players.
In fact, most "clicky" items are easy to use from the "potion belt" in-game feature.
The most common type of clicky item is normally not even thought of as a clicky item. They are normally called "pots" instead... short for "potions."
There are many potions that provide many, many effects. From a heal over time, to haste, to mana regeneration, to levitation, to gate, to invisibility and so on. These type of clickies, or pots, provide you with a level of independence and self reliance, allowing you do cast desired effects you would, otherwise, need to lean on other players for. Invisibility and Levitation and Gating ability can be essential!
The set back to potions is that they are generally used up after one use and you have to get (buy) more.
For this reason, it is better to acquire items that have unlimited uses for similar effects, if you can... this way you never have to replenish your stash for that particular clicky effect. Example the levitation cloak from South Karana.
In fact, items also provide a wider variety of available clickies, to include familiars, food, water, beer, bait, mounts, fishing poles, buffs, weight reduction bags and so forth.
My recommendation: Buy and carry level-related potions at all times. Replace potions with unlimited use clicky items, when possible. Keep the clickies you use most often in the potion belt slots. Expand your potion belt slots (via AA) early on.
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DEITIES: Deities are the "gods" of Everquest.
Players can choose to follow a deity or not (Agnostic) upon creation of their character, but the choices are limited by way of class and race.
The deity you choose to follow does have some effect (not too much, though) on your character. To be honest, Sony didn't think out or plan this "deity" part of the game very well, at all.
Anyway, the dirty you choose can some effect on factions and factions (see elsewhere on this page), certain spells (some casters can only imbue certain gems based on their deity following) and such as that.
Otherwise, there isn't too much to worry about when it comes to deities. After all, later on, if you follow the game properly, you will have to kill all the deities anyway!
My recommendation: Don't worry too much about deities.
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DISCIPLINES (AKA DISCS): Disciplines, aka "discs," are best thought of as melee spells.
They are "abilities" that melee classes can use and they vary class-to-class, just like spells do. in fact, more often than not, they use endurance like mana, when they are used.
Most such discs have to do with DPS, mitigation and aggro.
Discs are merchant sold, quested, awarded via progression and/or made available via faction.
XP is so fast these days that many players "skip" over disciplines, because by the time they are able to require one disc, they all ready have the better and higher level disc, of the same type.
However, I have always believed in making my character all it can be.. and having every possible disc is part of that... even if I never use it, LOL!
My recommendation: Look up what disciplines your class gets and at what level. Then work on (in advance, if possible) whatever is necessary to acquire them (faction, progression...).
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EPICS:
My recommendation:
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EXPANSIONS:
My recommendation:
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FINANCES:
My recommendation:
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FOOD & WATER:
My recommendation:
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GUILDS:
My recommendation:
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KNOW YOUR CLASS:
My recommendation:
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LANGUAGES:
My recommendation:
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LEVELS: Contrary to what many may claim, Levels are more beneficial, overall, than any Alternate Advancement ability.
This is not to say that AA is not useful and beneficial.
It is just that Levels increase so many areas of your character, that they easily overshadow AA, of any type. You get more HP, more Mana, more Endurance, increase stats/caps, can get better buffs, get better spells/discs, can do more damage and on and on.
No AA can do that for you. Plain and simple.
As a note of interest, originally, the maximum level was 50.
My recommendation: 100% XP into regular XP until Level 51. After Level 51, 70% to 100% into regular XP until you reach maximum level. After that, switch to 10% XP into regular XP (to keep up the "death buffer" so you don't loose a level when you die).
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MONEY:
My recommendation:
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PLANNING:
My recommendation:
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PROGRESSIONS:
My recommendation:
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QUESTS:
My recommendation:
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RESEARCH:
My recommendation:
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RELATIONSHIPS:
My recommendation:
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SPELLS:
My recommendation:
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TRADESKILLS:
My recommendation:
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TRAINING POINTS:
My recommendation:
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WEAPONS:
My recommendation:
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WHERE TO PLAY: Obviously, as you level up, places you can go expand exponentially.
Where you go should be based on more than the "XP" value.
More important than XP, is the adventure and content and what comes with it.
Focus your adventures/grouping on the pursuit of quests, factions, items/equipment you want/need and so forth.
Try to see very zone at least once!
Granted, unless you want to "solo," going where the "groups are" is often necessary.
My recommendation:
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ZONES:
My recommendation:
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If you note any errors, misspellings, item name errors, misinformation or anything that needs addressing on this page -- PLEASE let me know! E-Mail me here (click here)!
This Page Last updated September 27, 2008