Order to do AA's in

[Soriab]

For best EXP / AAXPbefore 62 get in PoI, after 63 BoT.

Getting to 60 and all your spells up to that is what I would do though. You will get better groups 60+.

[rorith]

PoI rocks with a good group. I've been there a couple times. It's downright dangerous with a bad group though. Fortunately my guild takes us on XP runs there every now and then. In between, I do LDoN and save up for the nice augs/armor.

[Gnarloth]

Awesome discussion - I'm in exactly that same position as Rorith having hit 51 on the weekend. I'm actually going to wait until 52 or a bit later before going for AA points though.

Seeing as XP appears to be a bit harder to get after hitting 51, I want to get my levels up first, then go back to the "faster" AA's from a slightly higher level.

Does this seem like a good idea folks? If so what level's did you start diverting XP to AA and in what ratio?

Cheers!

[Rippykin]

I've levelled up several other characters before Rippykin. This time around, I have not diverted xp to AA yet at L64. I do have 2 aa points however -- both of which I have put into Run.

For advice, I would suggest that people consider simply levelling up to 65 before doing AA. Now, that's not to say that those who are happy doing it earlier are somehow wrong. Do what you enjoy to do in EQ. But if it's advice you're looking for my advice is to shoot for 65 first.

Here's some of the reasons. Run3 and Regen3, the common pair of basic AAs are *relatively* weak utlity for a beastlord compared to other classes. For example, my mage made a point of getting Run3 at 51. And I'd do it again, as the alternative was using sow potions. Plus, it was a huge lifesaver for my mage. Regen3 also helped out a lot for healing up while soloing. Beastlords with SoW and heal spells don't get the same bang for buck.

Soloing for AA pre-65 also used to be a lot more attractive before they changed the consider range for mobs for post-60 characters. It used to be at the start of PoP that after you got past 62 it was getting pretty hard to find stuff to solo outside of PoP and that stuff was pretty hard. Then they expanded the range of what conned blue several months later. In addition there's expansions like Ykesha, the ravamp to Nurga and Droga, etc. that added viable hunting grounds for the soloing as a high level beastlord. Not great xp but it's viable to grind away at.

Based on that I'd suggest that if one is going to grind away AAs might as well grind away at L65 as L55. The aa experience should be better at L65 -- though I'm sure there's some exception to this assumption. I still think it holds true in general.

The abilities gained levelling up are impressive. From 58-62 each level represents a significant increase in power (that's just the level range that I personally focused on when the grinding got tough.) 58 - new pet (ok 58 wasn't incredibly amazing), 59 - upgraded pet haste and spiritual purity, 60 - alacrity! and sha's advantage!, 61 - Infusion of Spirit and 2k pet heal, 62 - the L60 warder!! And on top of that the greater effectiveness of being higher level. I haven't been disappointed with the other levels as well. Once out of the 50s I'm finding that gaining levels has got much easier.

Oh, and as for those 2 aa I have. This isn't an option for everyone, but here's the info for those who can pull it off. Getting flags for PoP zones allows you to get an AA point for opening up new zones. This still holds true for those zones where you can get in now based on minimum level. So, get flagged and you can score a free point. PoV/PoS via PoJ trials is relatively easy to accomplish with a group of guildmates/friends once you're 60 (lower if you've got good friends). If you know a tracker, doing the quest in PoD to get access to Crypt of Decay isn't hard and it flags an entire group of people so it's a reward for everyone. Harder on the list of flags to get (but not by much) is the flag for Tactics in PoStorms - collecting 4 different diaku symbols. This too will get you an AA point and it will key a full group of people upon completion. As an individual flag quest the Bastion of Thunder quest is doable with a couple groups of people: maybe something your guild might be interested in doing.

For details on the quests just look'em up on http://everquest.allakhazam.com

So, there's my advice. I don't expect that it would be appropriate for everyone, and when it comes to AAs I think it's important to consider your own playstyle and also what you think is fun for you. But I do think that getting to 65 and then AAing is a viable strategy.

Rippykin 64 Beastlord
Quellious

[Joowstun Willshun]

Personally I have 291 AA and I still don't have run speed 3. Why? Like the man said we have spells that give us increases to run speed. As for the buff slots running out I think you guys might be missing something and that is at 65 you may not need all those buffs. For instance I only need dex and IoF does that for me so I dont need str sta another dex buff. Another consideration for actually casting sow is sometimes you want a crap buff in that top slot while exping around dispellers so why not sow? By the time you get it dispelled you are back at your group and wacking on the mobs then you just recast it.

Ok now for what I think beasts should do AA wise.

You really need to ask yourself am I going to be a raider or just an exper and if I am an exper am I a soloer or grouper,no not the fish.


if you are going to raid get aa like this

General

Regen/run speed ( I didnt and I raid but most loves the run speed)
secondary consideration would be stats you might be lacking in or resist

After general
Paragon
MGB (Both of these are piroty 1 if you raid. No way around it.)
Get Spell casting Reinforcment after these makes PoS last longer

then work on dps with aa like

Bestial frenzy
combat fury
Frenzy of spirits ETC.ETC.

then hit up the defense

Combat stablity, agilty
Innate defence
Natural Durabilty ETC.ETC.

After those do healing AA

Healing gift
Healing Adept ETC ETC

Then go for you pet AA and after those just whatever.


Now for you Soloers out there

Run3/ regen 3
pet AA
Defensive AA
DPS AA
then what ever

I say pet AA first cause lets face it if you man med your pet and have one pet in the can while the other one is fighting your gonna be able to solo alot easier.

For the grouper ( not the fish)

Regen 3 and any other 3
Paragon
DPS AA
SCR so your buffs last longer
Defensive AA for when you need to tank
then healing AA I have saved many a chanter and cleric with a well timed 1089 crit cloro
then whatever


You may notice that is go by AA trees. I think it is VERY important to follow on AA line untill it is Finished. From archtype though PoP if you are going to do healing adept do it and advanced healing adept before you do a diffrent AA. Yes it may be tempting to go and go one level of crit heals and one level of crit DDs but i think you lose your focus like that and just spread your self to thin. Master one AA before you do the next.

Now as far as my listing goes it is ultimitly up to each and every Beast to choose what AA's he gets and win and by the time you get 500 it really dont matter what order or way you got them just that you got them. But I think the overview I laid out is pretty good and may be usefull for those still trying to decide what to do. Again the biggest thing i think people should remember is Focus on what you want to be able to do with your beast lay out a plan of AA and go for it. That plan will more than likly change based on the gear and guilds you join but it is nice to have a good overall plan of where you are headed.

Ok i am Done on this but one last thing.

FOR GODS SAKES IT AINT KITTY CRACK IT'S BEAST CRACK.

and we Trolls show our crack wherever we go

[rorith]

FOR GODS SAKES IT AINT KITTY CRACK IT'S BEAST CRACK.

*snickers* I have, and will continue to, call it Kitty Crack! It just sounds better. And after all, I'm a kitty. Besides... Who would want Troll Crack?

Also... Thanks for your post. Nice to hear from soneone who didn't get Run3. As I said though, I have now decided to get it, purely because of GoD providing more runspeed. With the potential of running at least as fast as SoW constantly, it has become worth it for me. Constant Shrew speed was /not/ worth it.

[tiggerroo]

1.  Run 1-3
2.  Regen 1-3
3.  Natural Durablity 1-2
4.  Spell Casting Reinforcement 1-2 (I got sidetracked, plus I wanted to have SD last a tad longer on raids)
5.  Paragon of Spirit
6.  Mass Group Buff (love MGB Paragon :) )
7.  Pet Discipline
8.  Planar Power 1-5
9.  Hobble of Spirits
10.  Natural Durability 3 (might have gotten this before Hobble, I can't remember anymore)
11.  Physical Enhancement
12.  Combat Agility 1-3
13.  Lightning Reflexes 1-5
14.  Innate Metab 1-3
15.  Combat Stability 1-3
16.  Beastial Frenzy 1-5
17.  Innate Defense 1-2 (working on finishing this)

[bugman]

an AA that is often overlooked is the mend companion AA + hastened mend. with max hastened mend its a 9 minute refresh for 2100 healage thats mana free, instant and you dont even have to target pet, not only is it very hand, great for saving mana soloing or saving time on raids but its biggest use is emergencies. as well healing AAs work on pet mend so right now im doing 2300 heals mana free every 9 minutes if needed. i looked over this one until very late (like 170 range) and after getting it would have got it alot sooner no matter if i was a soloer, grouper or raider its equally nice.

[Tastian]

"FOR GODS SAKES IT AINT KITTY CRACK IT'S BEAST CRACK. "

One of the few things I agreed with from your post lol.  Aren't you the same bst that never uses protective spirit disc because you aren't defensive or whatever?

Certainly you don't need every buff all the time, but again understand who we are talking to here.  Lower level bst, probably not running 280str/dex/sta without infusion/etc.  Also later on buffs can take up fewer slots, but in situations you'll use more too.  

1) Focus
2) Virtue (<3 9+symbol but hey)
3) Haste
4) Kei
5) SD
6) Fero
7) Avatar
8) SV(tunare/brells)
9) Pred

Now I'm an NDT fiend if ever there was one hehe, also you have to keep room for paragon/heal over time/wood/  Any resist buffs needed?  Any npc spells/debuffs landing?  Insta clickies? dummy buffs?

I'm not saying you are always running around at 15 buff slots clicking stuff off in time for HoT to land.  However, a big majority of bst (and people over all really) will get hurting for buff slots, especially in the 50's-60's range.  Pet peeve is fragging bard songs like selo's and dance of blade proc etc that eat slots instead of bard ones hehe.

[UnrulyKitten]

My path was a little odd compared to some, but so far here is what I have done in order:

Run 1-3
Regen 1-3
Combat Fury 1
Natural Durability 1
Mental Clarity 1
Combat Fury 2
Paragon of Spirits
Pet Hold
Ambidexterity
Physical Enhancement -- note at this point I got to Elder at about the minimum possible AA spent
Bestial Fury 1-5
Combat Agility 1-3

Looking back I would have not spent in Combat Fury 1 and 2 when I did, since the added damage turned out to be largely inconsequential. Probably would have taken Combat Agility 1-2 in those places instead and Spell Casting Reinforcement after Bestial Fury. Live and learn :wink:

Unruly