Hiya!
A little confused on the Exp to AA issue...hoping someone could help clear it up for me!
I read somewhere (don't remember where exactly, might have been from SOE) that the number kills needed to earn 1 AA was equivalent to the number of kills to go from lvl. 50 to 51 (or 51 to 52 maybe). This makes sense if you are currently lvl 51...but what about when you're a higher level, say level 70?

Here's an example of what I am trying to figure out:
- Say I'm level 51 and killing /con white (lvl 51) mobs.
- Say it takes me...errr...200 kills of this level to earn 1 AA (assuming all exp is going towards AA's)
- Now say that i forget about AA's and the next day I miraculously level up to the 70th level.
- But now I need more AA's, so I go kill 200 :evilgrin: of the same lvl 51 mobs (with all exp going towards AA's)...will I earn an AA?

ANY information is greatly appreciated, thanks guys! :wavey:

No.

Because a level 51 mob killed by a level 51 gives a larger % of exp than the same mob killed by a level 70. AA use roughly the same quantitative amount of exp as level 51. At level 66, I believe it changes to where it takes more exp to gain a single AA, but the content you can handle and the cons of the mobs to you yield a greater amount of exp.

Thanks for the quick reply!
And I think you answered another question that your answer brought up (did that make sense?)
So the amount of AA earned is based on lvl 51 experience....until you reach lvl 66 when it becomes based on lvl 66 experience?
The reason i'm asking...probably quite clear...is there an optimal level to really work hard on AA's? I'm lvl 59 now and if I put the % experience all the way towards AA's, it zooms right up up with each kill! I just kinda wondered if it would always be like that through lvl 70...there are tons and tons of mobs to kill in their 50's, but I'm guessing there aren't as many in the high 60's and up.

Thanks again for the reply!

It highly depends where you can unt for XP.
If you have the chance to get Fireflaged, the best time to stop normal XP and go to AA's is 67/68. Then the mobs are yellow to white and you get the full XPbonus. If The accursed Nest is open on your server and you can get groups to do nissions there lvl 70 is wonderfull as all mobs there are yello to red in there at lvl 70.

At lover lvl i didn't nuch aaxp so i can't tell you where to go at 59.

best advice ill ever give you.. GET LEVEL 70 ASAP!

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! :rolleyes:

Got to lvl 61 last night (yay!)...I'm trying Adrius! Just have trouble finding a good group sometimes, and get lonely soloing these days... :boohoo: I've done SO much soloing in the past.

Thanks again, and happy hunting!

The question of whether to level or gain aaxp really depends on your goals in EQ. Most will tell you levels >> AA. I believe this because levels increase amounts of gear/content/aa available to you and make a bigger difference than any aa.

Level to 70, then once there, you can work on AA to your heart's content.

I want to throw in one alternative to rushing to 70. If you arent in a position to get any of your 69 or 70 spells consider pausing at level 68. Our biggest jump in power comes from our new spells and if your guild isnt getting any greater or glowing runes then the drop to exp in some zones may be more of a worry to you.

Fire and earth exp drops quite a bit when you level from 68 to 70..a few other zones are affected as well. It all depends on your situation, dont automatically rush to 70. Level 70 will help your spells land a little more often, give you more mana and hp and help if for some reason you are meleeing mobs. But since the amount of exp you gain drops a lot once mobs go from yellow/ white to dark blue you may not want to lose some of your exp zones.



Sliggoth, druid/ tradeskiller of 7th hammer

And from even further down the spectrum, I never group or raid anymore:

I really feel there are AAs worth getting earlier rather than later, especially because I'm always on my own. Innate Camo, Exodus, the SCM AAs, etc, are all REALLY worth having, and I can get an AA in about 1.5 hours as it is. Zooming up levels won't let me AA any faster, combined with lack of flags/zone access, bazaar level gear, no high level spells, etc. And it will cause some of my current hunting grounds to stop giving bonus XP. So if you solo all the time, level as you feel like it, and collect some AAs along the way.

you gonna take advice from druids that arnt even 70, or a druid lvl 70 over 1280aa's and 300 all TS?

get level's they are better then aa's for sure. and once you get 70 you can get those aa's anyways.

So, because you're a hammer, all problems are nails, right?

LOL

you gonna take advice from druids that arnt even 70, or a druid lvl 70 over 1280aa's and 300 all TS?

It's all relative. Maybe not everybody can play 10 hours a day. If you can, then sure, get to 70 and then do AA's for the rest of your life. Just because you are a LvL 70 with nearly 1300aa's doesn't mean that your advice is the best for everyone.

Alwind

you gonna take advice from druids that arnt even 70, or a druid lvl 70 over 1280aa's and 300 all TS?

get level's they are better then aa's for sure. and once you get 70 you can get those aa's anyways.

Play the game the way you enjoy it.
If you are raiding and moving up thru content then hit 66+ get your spells and as you get those move forward in levels.
I've been 70th for what seems like forever...my guild has killed Fro I have one 69th and one 70th spell.
The xp areas I lost out on by moving up to 70th make me question my reasoning for advancing.
I have NOT seen the miraculous RS group invites that I was "promised" on advancement to 70th....
Spells and AA's are survivability items....they make your character's personality and develop their way of doing things.
Don't rush to 70th because of RS or anything else.....get 70th because you want it. The areas for xp at 65-68 are plentiful heck the lavaspinner lair spiders are still ok xp at 65....greenish at 70.
Think about what you want from the game and work towards that would be my best advice to anyone asking about what to do level or AA.

I think I will do better taking advice from a druid that has played the way I intend to play.

I am not guilded, though I will probably eventually join a guild, but I doubt I will do much as far as raiding goes for quite some time. I'm currently level 58 with zero AAs, and plan to start working on some when I reach 59 (I know, I really should get to 60, but I'm impatient, and I only plan to get a few key skills before going ahead to 60). I don't play an extreme amount of time, and have mostly bazaar gear. I mostly solo because 1) I don't enjoy sitting lfg for hours on end, and 2) I have had a LOT of bad experiences with pick up groups. I would much prefer to get advice from a druid that has been in my position, and has my same play style. No offense, but a raiding druid really knows very little about the play style of a casual druid, and can't really begin to understand how the limitations of a casual play style can affect you.

I also used to believe 100% that levels were >>>>> than AA, and that was very true when the level cap was 60, but now, I'm not so sure. For one thing, most people that are leveling from 65 to 70, or that have been 70 for a while almost certainly had at least SOME AAs before OoW was released. What about someone like me, who is still under 60, and has NO AAs? I tend to think that if I just leveled to 70 any groups I might get would probably expect me to have certain AAs, and the fact is that a level 70 with those certain AAs is a LOT more powerful than a level 70 without ANY AAs.

I still believe that in general, levels are more important than AAs, but I also believe it's a huge mistake to level to 70 or even 65 without getting some very important AA skills first.

Play how you want to. It's your $15 a month, make it count. But if you're looking to do the really challenging new content I'd recommend 70 then AAs. Otherwise go at your own pace and have fun... it's a game!

people chant 'level over aa' as if it is some kind of immutable rule of the universe.

I agree with those that say it depends on how you play. I got 70 some aa's before pushing on to 60 because I like old world zones. The higher the level, the more your hunting spots are restricted to pop and later. Now granted, the aa's do come faster at 63 than 59 but I wouldnt change my decision one bit.

Plus, I am a much better druid at 60 for it: instant evac, innate camo, dire charm (yes, I love it), healing adept, spell casting fury -- not only do I survive more easily soloing difficult content, but I am much more valuable to a group.

I agree you don't need to lvl to 70 asap. You can have fun getting AAs while lower levels. And now with MMs you don't really need lvl 70 at all :p

Those who say Level >>> AA are all the ones who were at the level cap and had plenty of AA's before they were allowed to level to 65, and then again to 70.

I guarantee if you ask them, none of them were even 61 with zero AA's, let alone 66 or 70.

I was 60 and had 3 AA's when PoP was released and the level cap raised to 65. I got to 62 relatively quickly, but between not getting any spec parchments yet, and not wanting to lose my prime XP spot in PoN, I stayed there for quite a while. Since my return this fall, I levelled like crazy (well, 50/50% for AA/XP, that's as high as I ever go), to 66, but now I've found I can't get groups any higher than that, because the high level groups looking for another want people with more healing AA's/better gear/etc. So I'll stay here for a while again.

Tat

Those who say Level >>> AA are all the ones who were at the level cap and had plenty of AA's before they were allowed to level to 65, and then again to 70.

I guarantee if you ask them, none of them were even 61 with zero AA's, let alone 66 or 70.

I was 60 and had 3 AA's when PoP was released and the level cap raised to 65. I got to 62 relatively quickly, but between not getting any spec parchments yet, and not wanting to lose my prime XP spot in PoN, I stayed there for quite a while. Since my return this fall, I levelled like crazy (well, 50/50% for AA/XP, that's as high as I ever go), to 66, but now I've found I can't get groups any higher than that, because the high level groups looking for another want people with more healing AA's/better gear/etc. So I'll stay here for a while again.

Tat


Good point and i agree wholeheartedly

This has been a very interesting thread; when I first asked the question, I thought there would be a failry well agreed-upon answer!
In any case, thought I'd share my expierence.
I took the advice to get to lvl 70 asap, then work on AA's, the idea being that levels are better than AA's, and I'm glad I did, hit 70 a few nights ago! :smile:
I've only got around 30 AA's at the moment, but they will come in time.
I'd always sort of felt this rush or pressure to level for some reason, not really sure why... It's a great feeling now: I feel like I can sit back and relax some, I can go explore random zones I've never seen (I've only been playing EQ for around 4 months or so!). I spent an hour or two yesterday just porting to random places and running around like a lunatic exploring zones...killing mobs, foraging, buffing lower level players, and even killed that guy and his pet who are KoS in wolf form in Everfrost(was a revenge thing you see :evilgrin: )
It was such a great time, I even had a guildie join me for a while and I taxi'd people around (he thinks I'm nuts now!), can't remember the last time I had so much fun! :wiggle:

I don't have the best gear around, I'm missing quite a few 60-70 spells, I'm missing tons of AA's (well, just about all of them really...), I'm still 2 kills away from my 1.5 epic; but it doesn't bother me in the least, I'll get them eventually and don't feel any rush.

My advice is simple: if you're kinda new to EQ like I am and have never gotten a character to 70 before: do it! AA's can wait.

Sorry to ramble, I'm still kind of excited though!