The Beastlords' Den

Everquest 1 => Multi-Boxing Discussions => Topic started by: dragonmike1969 on June 09, 2004, 09:14:35 AM

Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: dragonmike1969 on June 09, 2004, 09:14:35 AM
What will be the best class to first get up to level 60 range via PL'ing as best I can with my 62 Beastlord? I want a class that I can use to then Power Level quickly other toons on a 3rd account that can 2 box with my Beastlord should I choose to not 3 box. I have spent wayyyyyyy too much time already leveling toons over the years the hard way by grinding out levels over hours of soloing or grouping. I am looking for the fast track now.

Bards / Druids / Mages ????

Take note I have never power leveled anything before but I am a student of the game and the world for over 3 years. Thanks
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: Hereki on June 09, 2004, 10:17:42 AM
The two best PLing classes are druid and cleric.  That's a convenient blanket statement - other classes have their uses, but those are the two most people will find the most useful.

Druid - heals, hp buff, strength buff, damage shield, and snare.

Cleric - heals, hp buff, damage shield (better than druid but single mob) and snare.  Also have atone.

Shamans have good attribute buffs and slow (but so do beastlords), and can make DS potions.  Necros, SKs, monks, enchanters can kill down and mem wipe.  These are all useful.

PL using a DS up to about level 40 - this works for all classes, including casters.  Use old world and Kunark zones (low hp, low hitting mobs) with improved ZEMs.  Then group with them and kill greens very rapidly.

Bards and necros (etc) are good once they have reached 42+ so they can group for experience, but aren't as useful at lower levels; at 42+ you are almost as effective.
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: Coprolith on June 09, 2004, 01:01:54 PM
Druid beats cleric by far, especially if the toon to be PL'ed is a pet class. The druid can put 53 pts of DS and 55pts of regen on himself, the toon to be PL'ed can send in his pet and only has to do 1 pt of damage to get the full xp. And Spirit of wood is the ultimate PL AA skill. This also works to a lesser extent if the toon to be PL'ed doesnt have a pet, but then the druid will have to cast some spells (like his high-agro debuff line) to keep the mobs on him

As an added bonus, druid+bst is prolly the most versatile 2box combo, tho if you're planning to add a third box later on there are other combinations without a dr00d that'll get you the same versatility

/hugs
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: Hereki on June 09, 2004, 03:02:23 PM
I never self DS when PLing; that is cheating your PLee out of defense skills.

Cleric DS is 35 points, btw, and I don't need to mention healing ability :).  

With respect, I'd agree that druids have the edge, but it is a small advantage only.  Generally, I prefer druid to PL up to about 20, and cleric for beyond that, simply because of the different nature of the DS.

I should point out that I have access to both a 65 cleric and a 56 druid.
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: Saranya on June 09, 2004, 04:31:35 PM
The highest druid damage shield castable on newbies is the level 49 spell, Shield of Thorns (24 pts damage to all mobs that hit the PLee--PLee has to make sure to tag each mob for at least 1 pt of damage or the corpse will poof).  Druids also can cast ac/hp buff, heals, regen, strength, camo, lev, SoW, enduring breath, succor, port, and can snare, root, harmony and track the mobs.

The highest cleric reverse damage shield is the level 65 spell, Mark of the Righteous (34 pts damage to the mob its cast on each time the mob hits the PLee--PLee also has to do damage to the mob or the corpse will poof).  The only other cleric reverse damage shield is the level 54 spell, Mark of Retribution (15 pts damage to the mob its cast on each time the mob hits the PLee).  Clerics can also cast ac/hp buffs (costs a peridot each cast for Temperance, gem varies per version of Symbol cast), heals, pacify, atone, root, and rez.

Personally, I prefer a druid.  Probably because the druid was my first main.  I currently have a 65 beastlord main, 65 druid former main, and 65 cleric alt.
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: Coprolith on June 09, 2004, 05:44:30 PM
QuoteI never self DS when PLing; that is cheating your PLee out of defense skills

Nah, just duel the dr00ds baby bear while its still blue, or any other pet class for that matter. Give the pet a shield to cut its dps in half and you can pretty much just hit auto-attack and leave your comp unattended.

PLer-DSing is a lot more efficient then PLee-DSing for levels ~20-43

/hugs
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: Hereki on June 09, 2004, 08:21:32 PM
It takes a little longer to DS the PLee, certainly.  But it also takes a lot longer to raise defense dueling a pet - especially when it is the druids level 30ish pet, which isn't possible to duel for defense skillups for long.  Umm.... how about dueling you with one of your pets instead?

There's a degree of preference involved, but for > 20, a druid isn't any better than a cleric - who can also use the "self" DS technique, of course, using stuns for aggro, and has the advantage of atone.
Title: Ok so call me Stupid but.......
Post by: dragonmike1969 on June 10, 2004, 05:24:44 AM
Could someone please write a detailed step by step process of using a higher level toon to power level a lower one quickly and efficiently. In fact I will give my scenario of how I know I will be doing it and then you all please offer the strategy fill ins.

I have a 61 Beastlord and a 56 Necro available and existing on my account already. I have decided the first toon I was going to make on the new second account would be a Druid. Mostly for versatility issues and ports and power leveling skills to be had immediately. So how do I use the two toons I have available to properly get this druid up to say level 50 in a few days of say 6 hours a day? As for skills I want to keep the power leveled toons in a respectable range but also know that having multiple accounts I can duel or find more economical ways to raise their skills later on, so that is not a big priority so much as getting the levels.

My next character to be leveled will be a cleric and then a mage. I am still up in the air as to whether I will start a third account and try 3 boxing on my one computer or just two box and pull up the accounts as i need them to accomadate my beastlord. In the end i want to have a small army that can give me a wide range of options depending on the scenario and zone and whether I am leveling or going after loot. I know that toons can be leveled in a matter of days if the right classes and tools are available. I just do not know how to do that.

I am looking at actually buying a couple of more computers and 3 boxing the right way in the next 6 months but till then i need to learn how to refine my skills. Any help is greatly appreciated. i am sure that if I can get the info to make this first one happen I can then in the future have a good headstart on how to refine the process for other toons. Thanks.
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: Coprolith on June 10, 2004, 10:32:31 AM
QuoteCould someone please write a detailed step by step process of using a higher level toon to power level a lower one quickly and efficiently

Let's not shall we. Its really not that hard to do. If people can't figure it out for themselves they simply aren't experienced enough and they shouldnt be encouraged to PL. There are enough players around who don't know how to play their class as it is. Writing down a Guide to Powerleveling here will do more damage then good.

/hugs
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: Kashmiir Battlekat on June 10, 2004, 05:30:27 PM
Step 1: Log in all accounts
Step 2: Pull mob with higher level character.
Step 3: Engage combat on plevel character.
Step 4: Heal pleveled character.

You figure out the inbetween stuff. Not too tough really.

Rinse/Repeat

--hehe
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: Mindlet on June 11, 2004, 12:09:24 AM
I PLed my bst in the low 20s in grimling while trying to get a medal. Obviously at that level I can't really take hits from the mobs so I had the druid DS tank them and I meleed them till I got 1 hit. I had no problem maxxing out my defense skill fast once I went back to tanking myself. Also its simple to keep aggro on the druid if they have the 0 damage root spell. Just root the mob next to the druid and back off the PLee. This spell can be needed if the mobs runs because it will stop dying on the DS.
Title: heh
Post by: MajinFro on June 11, 2004, 12:53:27 AM
If I'm not mistaken the problem with the cleric reverse ds is the fact it has to be cast on mob and not the player.

But with a druid ds and a temp from pok a player can run around grab 10 mobs hit all of them once and get something similar to mass bard kite experience.  Granted this gets alot less effective the higher level you get due to aggro from the healer and length of the ass kicking you take.  I would imagine by 25 you would have to cut it back to 3-4 mobs and at 30 you would have to cut back to 2 imo. Of course there are things you can do the generate extra aggro to out aggro the healer but if your boxing it it's probably just easier to do 2 at time.
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: dragonmike1969 on June 11, 2004, 06:39:00 AM
Thanks guys for the replies that's the kind of stuff I was wanting to know.
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: Hereki on June 11, 2004, 07:18:24 AM
That's why druids are better for low levels PLing, and clerics better for high (the difference in DS plus the beating they can take).  

If you always pull multiples, it is usually only the last one you pull that needs snaring or rooting (if the mobs are social).

With melee classes, it is only the offense skill that matters much, as defense is easy to raise.  Defense skill is important to keep up for casters.
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: Axxe on June 19, 2004, 12:50:54 AM
Quote from: HerekiI never self DS when PLing; that is cheating your PLee out of defense skills.

Having PL'd just about every class there is (including zerker) to atelast level 55, I laugh at this everytime I see someone mention such.

While its possible that you will level faster than your abilities prior to like level 25 when going the druid ds + potion route, by the time your in your 40s, your defensive skills (and weapons/offensive and everything else, except for maybe double attack, and backstab, if you were doing a rogue) will have all caught up to being maxed (provided you have a brain and actually change weapons every now and then when your pl'ing).  

Now unless it makes a big difference that your missing 5 points of defense form level 22 when your 23, then in the big picture of things it doesn't matter to use ds from level 1.  The only thing you will notice if you use this method, is that when you are say, levels 6-10ish, your offensive skills will be behind your level and you will miss a lot.  Guess what though, it doesn't mean ANYTHING by the time your in your 40s.

The point is, at the levels that your skills are behind, your still gonna be being PL'd anyway, so who cares?  By the time you start using the toon 'for real' (asumming this is after level 50, atleast) - then your skills are going to be fine even if you used the ds+potion method even from level 1.

Having reread and thought about that statment more, I have seen some people ds themselves and let their PLee beat on the mob.  Even if you do it this way, can't see why it'd matter if you ds yourself or not.  Your PLee isn't getting hit, and thus isn't getting defense skillups anyway.
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: Hereki on June 19, 2004, 07:53:54 AM
You seem to have misunderstood what you quoted.  Try reading it again, because what you have written seems to agree with it.
Title: My own observations PLing a Bst
Post by: Pussinbootz on June 21, 2004, 03:07:38 PM
I have been PLing a Bst with a 65 Druid.
I did Warrens, then Stonebrunt and now TOFS.
I pull with the druid, snaring two or three mobs, Hand of Ro on all of them and let them beat away on my DS. I try to get as many Red, Yellow or Whites when I pull and I believe I have reached a good balance of max exp vs risk of death. ( Not that it doesn't happen!)
I then run my Bst behind the group, and attack from the "Rogue" position.
I am now 41 and have done 16 levels in a week.

Weapon Skills:
I switch weapons to get all skills up, yet I only have H2H to about 170, 1HB to 150, 2HB is 82 and Piercing is only 68. I have been using SoD, SoS, CHoS, Bamboo Bo (8/20 2HB) and some 12/24 piercing.

Other Skills:
Offence and Defence are about 200, Block is around 150, Kick is 166.

Casting Skills:
These skills suck. Alt is 115, Conj is 65, Abj is 56, Div is 51 and Evo is 53.

I have started to cast Evo and Conj on every mob and Alt twice per mob, but i get a lot of fizzles still.

I have yet to try the "sit in Pok and cast on pet" thingy, I just want to get into the 50s then worry about that.
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: danaconda on June 21, 2004, 04:17:04 PM
Just wanted to be sure what I read was correct. Can you use a pet to get skill-ups? And if so, will it work in any zone by just /dueling, or must I use an Arena type area with PvP?
I hope I can use the /duel way.....I have a lvl 53 necro so I can summon up just about any level pet that I need to use to max my melee skills.

Thanks in advance!
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: Hereki on June 21, 2004, 07:28:45 PM
You can get melee skill ups from a pet, yes.  It should be dark blue at least.  You can duel anywhere.

Skill ups appear to be a lot slower than fighting mobs, but that might be just an impression.  If you use pet hold, then you can afk skill up offense and weapon skill - although the pet will shift around as you hit it, so this isn't dependable.
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: Liga on June 22, 2004, 02:21:06 AM
You cannot do the pet thing to get skill ups in PoK.  It needs to be a zone where you kill things.  Ive had to take a stone to some other place to do this.  Its how I got my cleric's 2hb up :).
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: danaconda on June 22, 2004, 01:15:53 PM
Ok thanks alot. I'm sure that my cleric can keep up the heals on the pet while my beast uses rusty weapons for skill-ups.

My 3 person group is going to be NEC/CLE/BST.....just gotta PL the beast to 36 so that he can group with cleric and they can both catch up to my necro (54). Once my beast turns 36 I can group all three then go on a slaughtering spree with my necro in Katta. With backstabbing pet, I kill the lower lvl guards near entrance to TM in about 20 seconds each. I've done it before.....GREAT exp all the way to 47 or so. Gets boring fast though.
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: Dakat on June 23, 2004, 08:37:42 AM
Wanted to post here last night, but got busy here at work, so I am posting now.

Any class really, can powerlevel a new and upcoming player, regardless of the PLee or PLer.  Some classes are better capable of doing it.

PLing a pet class is easy somewhat.  From last I remember, pets do not get a spell check when higher end players buff them.  A level 9 beastlords pet can be buffed with Virtue, Speed of Vallon, IoS and all the usual buffs that a high end player would get.

Doing so though, using the pet to tank instead of the PLee, your skills will be below par and it will hurt you later on.

The same goes for using a class with a damage shield, running out and getting mobs then coming back and letting mobs hit the PLer.  The PLee skills such as defense, dodge, block or similar will suffer. Also, using this technique, mobs that are green to the PLer will flee at around 40% life. Making it that much tougher for the PLee to finish off the mob.

A cleric has the single target ds, enchanter can ds the plee for 11pt, druid can ds the plee for 24pts, and a mage can ds for 25pts.  So of those 3, a druid would be better since they can also heal the PLee and cast regen and sow.  

Have the druid buff str, regen, ds, sow. Then the PLee run out and grab mobs. The PLee will be able to see which mobs are of adequate level. Pulling the mobs to the druid. The druid then can snare the mobs (better to get mobs that don't flee at low life) and keep an eye on the PLee's life.  In most instances, the regen that the druid puts on the PLee negates a lot of the damage done, which means less heals needed.

That's all I wanted to mention for now....
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: Xarilok on June 26, 2004, 11:26:05 PM
One advantage to the cleric route is the nature of the DS.

I find it much better to pull red mobs to the PLee, then have them swing/cast till the hit them for at least 1 damage, THEN cast the DS.

Cleric DS once per mob = hella lot less mana than druid DS cast once per mob (and clicked off before next one, to ensure no mobs "poof" before 1 point of damage is done).

With a druid, you can't pull mobs that are really red cons, since they often kill themselves before 1 point of damage is done.  Cleric DS is far more efficient in this fashion.
Title: With at least 2 accounts what is the best PL'ing class?
Post by: Hereki on June 27, 2004, 07:45:06 AM
Red cons don't give noticeably more exp than white or yellow mobs, but are much harder to hit or land spells on.