Been playing EQ for a couple years now, on and off. Ive played a Mage most of my RPG life, and pretty much ALL of my EQ life. More recently I have become interested in different classes, and one that really peaked my interest was a druid.

I really dont know much about druids, so maybe you guys can point me in the right direction. Maybe some links will help. Im looking for a few things:

- How/where to start off? Any Newbie tips/Suggestions?
- What stats will help out the most?
- Which to work on - Slashing or Blunt?
- Things that I will need to work on? (Gameplay styles - kiting for example)
- Where to level? (maybe a link or some quick ideas for each tier?)

That pretty much covers what I was wondering for now. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

I actually just took druid to 60 and used to be a mage. Friends helped me level but when I was on my own here are a few spots. Tutorial is nice or newbie area....I chose Tunare because of the armor and quests seem more abundant and u do get to imbue certain things....Of course I like the wood elves.

Put in wis and sta .....some might say strenght but later in game HP's really matter because like the mage w/o them you can't cast.

I have 3300hps raw at lvl 61 and 4700 mana buffed which isn't great but not bad for non raiding (think family guild) druid.

I like grouping alot (PC is good from 13-23) There are nice links on eqdruid.com also that break it into hunting strategies that helped me alot. I leveled old world until 46 then went PON with friend (this not recommended on your own) and old world is almost a crawl for exp after 55.

I have 1hb but druid epic is 1hs. I would set a forage key macro and tie it to your walking. (search in here for directions or the other site)

Try and max your stats out if possible....I have nice AC compared to my other caster friends who have been around for log time because I did get someone to help me while mobs beat on me.

Hope this helps,

Cibby 61 druid on Nameless

- How/where to start off? Any Newbie tips/Suggestions?
- What stats will help out the most?
- Which to work on - Slashing or Blunt?
- Things that I will need to work on? (Gameplay styles - kiting for example)
- Where to level? (maybe a link or some quick ideas for each tier?)


Low levels, you can probably do most of the same stuff you did on your mage.

Wisdom will boost your mana early which is good, stamina will give you hp to keep ya alive.

Druids have a lot of solo and group tools. Druids are a very skill-based class, especially when it comes to healing, knowing when to be doing what, and soloing.
Soloing skills: Kiting, Quad-kiting (starts in the 30s), Root-rot, Porcupining (for the brave druid that can take a couple hits)
Grouping: Debuffing (later levels), Healing, dpsing, knowing when to evac

Until you hit a level you can root-rot OT (I think around 30, it's been a while), try to get groups in areas populated with players. Learning group skills early will help immensly at the end-game where grouping takes precedence over most everything else. You might be called on to main heal stuff, you'll figure out your limits and tolerance for that job fairly quickly.

id-30s when you get Lightning Strike (I think that's the targetted AE for the 30s), head to Dawnshroud Peaks and try out quad-kiting zelniaks. Mid 40s, you'll get an upgrade that makes quadding Wyverns in Cobalt Scar a good option, In the 50s you'll get the first really nice charm and you can start charm-kiting, or pet tanking stuff like Nightstalkers in PoN. Mid 60s you'll start to see the group game pick up and solo spots fall into decline, but 63-65 and a few AAs, PoS frogs are charmable and very nice exp. Once the group game picks up, there's a lot of options. At this point you'll know your limits pretty well and hopefully be comfortable in any situation you get put in.

If there's one thing that you should do above and beyond the normal level grind as a druid, is strive to push your limits. You can charm-kill nightstalkers in PoN no problem? Try pulling the entire camp at once and CC while killing. Join groups as a healer in content you aren't sure you can do. There's tons of little things you can do, and you'll find em as you progress. The best druid is the one that knows everything he/she can do and can perform flawlessly every time. I doubt there's a druid out there who can do that, but how will you know your limits if you don't push yourself? How will you hold up to pressure if you've never felt it before?

y first main was a mage, I gave it up cause I wanted to be able to self-heal. I started a druid and have never seriously looked at another class since. Even today, years later I still find things to challenge myself with and the job never gets old. I hope you get the same enjoyment out of trying a druid as most of the people on this forum do.

Solo leveling for any class (you'll need to have some money for this to work):

Create a shaman. Level the shaman to 25 then skill up on alchemy to around 200. Then use the shaman to make potions.

ake the following potions at appropriate levels: distillate of skinspikes, distillate of regeneration. There are some +stat potions as well, but they are optional.
(Level I potions work for level 1 char, level II for level 5, etc. )

Buy the following potions from POK merchants: distillate of alacrity (haste), distillate of celestial healing (HOT). Also note that there are different levels for the potions.

Now create your char (No need to twink him), get some potions and start killing. Stick to DB mobs.

Once hit level 5, you have an option to use shroud form to become a warrior. Shrouded low-levels are better killing machines than unshrouded forms. Warning: no skill-ups for shrouded form.

When you get higher, the potions become more expensive. You can shroud down to level 45 and use the following: level V regen, level V celestial healing, level VI alacrity, level VI skinspikes. This seems to me the most economic combo. Level 45 shroud kills faster, so it's about the same exp rate as using a level 60 shroud. Of course it's not fast exp for some classes, but this is a general strategy for any class soloing!

Do not forget to train your skills. Suggest playing your real char instead of shrouded forms every 5 levels for a while to get your skills up. You'll also be familiar with the class' abilities.

If you have difficulty getting those 50+ spells, then consider:

Stay shrouded at level 45 and keep on killing DB mobs till you hit a higher level. This will allow you to skip some expensive spells -- and you'll always be able to solo when shroud down to 45. Think about the savings on the level 50-65 spells!

I would not recommend that plan as a person who shrouds (or uses all/mostly MMs) to level will not be anywhere near as proficient at being a druid as a person who spends their time on their character playing their class working their skills and learning. For many of us, shrouds and MMs were not available to help level and we had no choice but to be a druid. If you find yourself constantly shrouding to be a warrior, maybe you should just go make a warrior.