Categorized | EQ2, Gaming, MMOG

Questing Saturday

Posted on 20 November 2004

My journal today is to do with that most important aspect of MMORPG’s; questing!

With the wife having left for the day on a quest of her own (to see if she can get into the new Apple shop in Oxford Street) I hunkered down for some serious Everquesting!

My Warrior is now level 13 and looking quite good. I have completed 59 quests which put me in the top 750 questers on Highkeep server, but the question is where to go from here?

In Everquest 2 the best experience is to be found by questing. As is the best items. I have been hunting and met people the same level as myself who have earned a pittance compared to me and have the most flimsy and cardboard of armors because they have spent the entire time hunting for no reason. Without a quest, hunting is nothing and with one hunting is the best way to get your level up and gain some special and unique items.

My first of the day involved the running around of Antonica seeing the sites. Sounds dull? Well firstly, Antonica is huge. Roughly the equivalent of 5 EQ one zones and filled to the brim with all sorts of monsters and adventures. It has beaches, forests, woods, hills, citadels, towers, passes, rives and everything you could want with plenty of space for everyone. In fact it is so big you can take a nice griffin ride across it. Well, the quest was found when I was on a quest to kills gnolls in Antonican heartlands. After 40 gnolls one dropped a book and I won the roll. It was the journal of the famous Bootstrutter, who if you know EQ1 was the chap who gave out the Journeyman boots. In is he described all the major landmarks of the zone and reading the book opened a quest to see them for myself.

This is the MMO version of the “stealth mission”. There is much in the zone that is death on a stick for me. The problem became one of how to approach the areas needed without getting munched, chopped or blown up. The quest took me all over. To the far edge and the entrance to Stormhold and the far north where I found the grave of Lady Webspinner (which netted me a mini ding). Thence to the south and the islands of the cost and the towers and castles in between. On the journey I came across gnolls (of course – they have invaded the zone), bears and wolves of all types, treants (giant walking angry trees), bandits (who are tougher than vindaloo’ed mutton) and Witches (I stayed away from them!). Finally I had all the locations spelled out, but how to get back. One of the best things about EQ2 is that warriors also get spells of some description. I have already mentioned “Call to Arms” and “Toughness”. Along with these I get “Call of Qeynos”, which teleports me back to my hometown. I hadn’t thrown it before so I was interested in seeing what it did. It was clear that it took a good 30 seconds to proc, so not something to use in an emergency!

After getting back I turned in the book to the librarian and got Bootstrutters 10 slot backpack for a reward plus some silver. Very very nice indeed!

Next on my list was the retrieval of another book from a tree in the newbie beetles area (which looks like a farm) in Antonica again, which was given to me by the head of the elves in Elddar Grove. However, this one didn’t go so well to plan. On arrival to the tree it all went wrong. Firstly three upper yellow bandits spawned. Yikes! Time to run! Secondly, my computer started its lunchtime virus check and slowed down to a slideshow. And what a slideshow it was, entitled “The Brutal Murder of Yagyu”. Cursing Sophos’s name I logged and killed the virus killer. On my return I picked up my spirit shard and took a moment to think of a plan. It came to me immediately, help needed! Shouting across the zone got me a shaman and a druid willing to take on the enemy. Nervously I returned to the tree. The bandits spawned again and battle was joined. But this time it was they in trouble. With the shaman healing me, the druid nuking and myself holding all the agro (I now have 4 agro holding spells) we made light if long work of the bastards. Thanking my friends I returned to the quest giver, dinged 14 and received the very nice Amulet of Warding. The story behind the quest then got interesting.

The bandits apparently are in league with Ratoga scum under the city and could I investigate their Scee? Sure, I said. Venturing again into The Down Below (see previous posts) I found the Scee, which is a zone within a zone, and entered. Joining a group by the gates we started attacking our way in. Unfortunately the servers were coming down and the quest has to wait a little longer. However, one interesting thing was the weapon the other warrior had.