[EQ] Cheaters Nostalgia; EQ1's Greatest Exploits/Rumors.

[Dandai]

Originally Posted by Pren

As a monk, Sol A was an entirely different game. You could stay there from like 27 to 43 or so, solo, assassinating bosses, farming mobs, and making a shitload of money. I bought a FBSS and tink bag in my 30s.

Best dungeon experience ever, even if it was pretty deadly. BUT FUCK YOU GOBLINS AND CLOCKWORKS HEALING THROUGH THE WALLS, FUUUUCKKKK YOOOOUUUU.

I played a magician as my main from '99 to '03. A lot of my best friends in EQ were people I met in Sol A that were looking for a group and bugging me to let them join while I solo'd. I remember every 20 or 30 minutes going from Sol A to the Sol B window room bugging this enchanter for a clarity. This was some time in '99 and I was coming down the long path from Sol A to her camp and I hurriedly typed "LOOK OUT THERE'S ONE COMING!" because I assumed that she had her nose in her spellbook, meditating. She simply replied "I know." I asked her how she could see through her spell book and she told me that after 35 you didn't have to look at your spell book to meditate any more. I was in awe of her uberness. This bitch not only didn't have to stare at spells to regen mana, but she made me so much better at soloing by giving me a mana regen buff. To this day I can make my soul smile by thinking about that beautiful sentence, "A cool breeze slips through your mind."

Anyway I'd have to vote for Sol A being the best dungeon, but I'm perhaps biased as well. Sol A is easily where I spent the vast majority of my time during vanilla, power leveling myself soloing and later power leveling my other characters with my magician. Despite the fact that they were annoying immune to fire, they didn't resist my fire DS. And yes, fuck those goblins healing through walls. I remember having to skip entire sections because the room on the other side of where I was fighting popped 3 shamans. I think I moved on to the gnomes/clockworks eventually to keep this from happening.

Edit: I forgot to agree with how deadly it was soloing there. I can't recall how many countless times I died to one of the goblins running away and my earth pet not rooting or being resisted. I almost always camped spots that I could get to Sol B pretty quickly. I would camp from the entrance to the foreman's room (I think that was his name - he dropped a tunic that all the druids wanted) or from the path to sol b window room to the gates that led to the deeper part of sol a that way I could make a quick sprint if I got too many or I had a runner that pulled too many. I loved that mechanic later when I was power leveling - I'd intentionally let one run for auto pulling.

[Pren]

Sol A/B was also such a unique dungeon because you could actually use the lava tunnels to get around as short cuts, escape routes, and zoning. Sol B actually had tunnels you could swim through and a secret underlava room under the Royals area.

Two zones, with like 4 zone lines connecting them, including the ability to zone across IN FUCKING LAVA, was really amazing.

[Dandai]

Originally Posted by Pren

Sol A/B was also such a unique dungeon because you could actually use the lava tunnels to get around as short cuts, escape routes, and zoning. Sol B actually had tunnels you could swim through and a secret underlava room under the Royals area.

Two zones, with like 4 zone lines connecting them, including the ability to zone across IN FUCKING LAVA, was really amazing.

I only entered the zone once (during one of my "Hey I'll resub and zone into places I haven't been since I stopped playing last time"), but I'm pretty sure the ONLY way to get to Sol C was through lava.

[Arcarsenal]

Remember this guy?

Illia's Everquest Bestiary: Mob: Tazgar

Walk up to this guy, hail him and you can fuck up your faction and never fix it! Haha, eq was so hardcore.

[Goliath]

God I remember that. I did it like three times because I was 13 and I was curious/pissed/tired. I petitioned and the GM's didn't do anything. Bastards. I eventually came back and killed the mob for revenge.

And what about telling Sirran the Lunatic to "go away." Got a good laugh tricking people to do that, it never got old.

[Dinthug]

I practically lived in Sol A and B for over a year. Used to Plevel in the window room/upper window room and go farm Sol A. Used to farm Runed Lava Pendants, GCBs, Golden Efretti Boots, Mithril armor, etc. Bought a lot of equipment off selling those things. RLP was a few other decent pieces of equipment from sol A and it was one of the best necklaces an int based character could have at lower/middle levels, sometimes even higher levels and no one ever camped it. Once I had strong enough alts there were better places to make money especially when Kunark/SoV came out, but I made an absolute fortune for a low level character camping those RLPs

[Heavens_Myst]

farmed gnomish enviro suits, molten cloaks, cgs, etc in sol a on rallos for resists bros

[Goliath]

I lived in Permafrost. My friend mentioned we needed to learn SolB because eventually we'd be raiding Nagafen (we were level 35ish at the time). Well I figured the same would be true for Permafrost, so I made my way there at 39. I taught myself the entire zone, front to back, without any internet aid. I learned every single spawn, the common drops and the rare. I learned how to kill King at 39, which was extremely difficult. I believe he was 45. I made so much money from Permafrost that by 44, my druid was better equipped then 90% of the druids on Veeshan, including all the raiding ones (this was Kunark era, so could buy gear better than Planear).

I remember my auctions across Kunark zones, people were astounded at all the Permafrost rares I had for sell. Mammoth Hide Cloak(s) always got a bunch of amazed shouts, yes gentlemen, I have multiple. Everything in that zone sold well, except for the mace that was a common instead of Runed Circlet. Could even sell the Archeologist's Pack well to monks, as well as the other monk armor that dropped there with low weight, bracers/boots, etc.

I could handle every single named cycle with their 22 minute respawns. Sometimes I'd be late a mob or two, but I could do it well by 44. The most exciting thing was when alchemist popped two times in a row and dropped Mammoth Hide Cloak two times in a row. It's amazing to think back on the stats and how it was an absolute amazing cloak, sold for 2-3k all the time. I eventually bound myself inside Permafrost, and as a druid could teleport anywhere else. I'd gate whenever I was done for the day, lfg, or otherwise and track what was up. Gating to see alchemist up with Mammoth Hide Cloak was extremely exciting.

But damned if that zone was addicting. It's like gambling. You think if you log out now, an alchemist will spawn or priest will spawn and drop rare. You could lose your mind after a long session in Perma, because mobs could completely skip cycles, and they could do it multiple times. You'd wonder if 20 mins passed by, or an hour. I don't know if it was more fun to camp every named in Perma, or to just be lazy and do Alchemist while reading Lord of the Rings in between spawn cycles.

Edit: Years later, I remembered there were high level bears in the pits of Permafrost (which I painfully found out when I was first learning the zone). I used charm to solo there for some of the best experience in the game. For some time it was mostly unknown about, but eventually others found out, and it was nerfed.

[Dandai]

I avoided Permafrost like the plague. I went there a few times to see if it would be better than the solusek dungeons because I was a mage and fire was my biggest nuke, but god damn it was so far away from civilization. Nobody went to Halas and FP/EC is where our server conducted business. Without the ability to quickly get back to where I was peddling my wares I thought it was silly to go that far away.

By the time Velious came out I got smart and made a druid box to port my ass around... I farmed the hell out of CC for that Crystalline Robe. I swear I got five or six on the first day Velious launched. Sold my first few for 800-1k plat. When everyone realized how common it was I couldn't give them away

[Dalate]

having to go through areas that were way higher level then you to get to great grinding XP was the shit...

I remember my 2nd or third day ever playing. Some guy was ooc'ing "adventure group" and we ran from kelethin to unrest...Dragon Cualdron was fun stuff with the high lvl goblins and skele's but once you got to unrest it was pure $.

Even when velious opened. Running from Ice Clad to Thurgadin was the fkin shit.

Now adays everything is right next to each other and increases lvl accordingly..how boring.

[Linus]

Originally Posted by Goliath

I Years later, I remembered there were high level bears in the pits of Permafrost (which I painfully found out when I was first learning the zone). I used charm to solo there for some of the best experience in the game. For some time it was mostly unknown about, but eventually others found out, and it was nerfed.

I think every 'new' game should have this: take a out-of-the-way, hard-to-go-to area, and purposefully put in some way for some class to make massive xp. Push it live, with the plan to nerf it once more than a few people find out about it. Continue to do that every few weeks based on geography and class distribution.

It would be very interesting to see how long the 'secret xp spots' would last these days... although I can't imagine with the dumbing down of current MMOs that the concept of just staying in one spot and grinding, even for massive XP, is going to come back.

[gn0me]

Druids were built to farm. I remember doing the Permafrost named circuit as mentioned above. Made a ton of money from selling Mammoth Cloaks and shit.

The best farming though had to be early to mid Kunark. Remember Necklace of Superiority? Wow... that fucker sold for a lot back in the day. It had some serious value with the +5 to every stat or whatever it was. Easy to get too. Same with that named goblin that dropped the Circlet of Shadow and Idol of Thorned. The idol was very rare but at the time was regarded as the best melee ranged item and you could almost name your price for it.

I remember destroying so many Circlets because they were lore and very common... had one on all my alts and probably sold one daily for 2-5k in NFP. If I had I only known at the time they'd get nerfed, increasing their value to 100k+. Pre-nerf, insta click invis, CoS was an absolute must have for any SK worth their weight... probably still is haha.

[Goliath]

Yes, but there's no way you could have solo farmed Necklace of Superiority solo in Kunark. You had to have a full group and pray to god you won it, but man was that thing golden. I can't even remember how much it went for, 25k? 75k? I can't remember, I know Hiero Cloak was 75k at one point on Veeshan. I remember being able to buy one early Kunark because of above said Perma farming. Good stuff.

[Twobit Whore]

NoS originally dropped off something way too easy. Can't remember exactly what, but it wasn't long before they moved it.

[Szlia]

The Kly in the Crypt of Dalnir.