Ok, I'm currently 62. I have 1 PoP spell, Catastrophe. I have about 44 AA pts which includes SCM3, SCF3, HA1, HG1, Exodus.

I raid alot and when I get exp it's not very often and it's in groups. Basically whether I'm 62 or 65 will mostly likely not make much difference to my raiding and being 65 vs 62 will likely slow down my AA rate since I don't have any PoP spells.

I'm considering turning exp off atm at 62 and going for AA for a while. I'd like to get HA3, HG3 and MGB. That's 29 AA pts I'd like to get in 62 before I go back to leveling. During this time I can spend time actually getting my 61 and 62 level spells. I know alot of level 65 casters who have like 2 of their 61-63 level spells.

Opinions on this approach? Bad idea? Good idea?

I hit 60 and stopped for just that reason. No real reason for my to get 65 when I wont have any spells for it. And the axp is easy at 60.

From what I hear VI is patting themselves on the back for this one.

-Amneth

The AA XP is easier at 65. With 65, you get more mana, more HP, lower mob resists, and access to better AAs than HA and HG.

And fewer places to hunt?

My decision was, whichever came first:

Stay at 60 and stock up a few aa's in order to buy some meaningful pop abilities when I ding 60.

Stay at 60 until I pass the trial of exe

Stay at 60 until I banked a few pop spells.

---

So, I banked a few aa's and got a few pop spells banked, then I dinged 61 and bought FoM1. I still haven't passed that damn trial though - just not patient enough to sit for hours in line.

I'm actually considering going back to 60 though. I really enjoyed logging on over the weekend and having all of OS to myself. There was a total of 6 people there and I boxed my druid/monk until my little heart was content and my backpacks were full of gems. I made decent aa exp and it was low risk and relaxing. You just can't do that in PoP. Every group requires a slower and a better tank/healer combo than druid/monk. So duo'ing - something I really like to do in the mornings - is completely out past lvl 60. Not to mention the time it takes to even find a group whether you bring your own or not.

So, I'm not sure if it gets worse going from 62 - 65 but I imagine you have even fewer options for exp.

Scirocco, lets assume I'm not soloing at all, cause I never will again. Is the AXP still better at 65?

No time and no hurry aanymore for me and I hit 61 and went 50/50 on AA and regular and its been going pretty good. I have Fury4 and Spirit and Radiant Cure - once I get Wraith I will look at leveling a little more closely.

Even not soloing, the AA is better at 65, but this assumes the lack of a freerider.

That is, if you get into a group of all 65's killing at the rate they kill and you are 62, your AA will move the same as if you were 65.

First, at 65 you have a lot of the old pre-PoP mobs greening out. This doesn't matter, however, because the XP from those mobs is substandard. If I ever hunt in those zones now, the reason is for something other than XP, so /con doesn't really matter.

Second, the XP from a group at 65 is faster than soloing, subject to the usual provisos about competence, etc. A guildmate of mine spent about 10 hours in a PoV sweet spot, the Razorfiend caves, with a guild group of varying members this past Sunday. She got over 10 AA XP in that session.

(P.S. You can quad Razorfiends if the cave is uncamped, which it rarely is.)

My fear is that it's just a matter of time before all these great camps and groups going on in the tier 2+ planes will be swamped with the horde of players that are 60+ and also realize that all all world content is rather redundant for exp. That alone is reason for me to say lvl 60 and farm AA's until things level off IMO.

PoP zone exp >>>>>>> than all other zones.

lvl 65 >>>>>>>> than lvl 62.

Killing lvl 62+ mobs for exp >>>>>>> than killing lvl 46-50 mobs for exp.

And also the fact that lvl 63 and 64 spells are our best variety.

My advice is to level to 63 and stop there for awhile until you get alot of the AAs you want. At 63, most of the tier 1 planes are still all blue. However, once you get 64+, you really limit yourself to places where you can hunt and I can imagine it only getting worse as more and more people move to Valor or higher.

Aye, Im levelling to 63 because of guild reasons, then slowing down and going AA until there's more reason to level again.

I see no reason at all to stay under L65 unless you cannot escape the L1 tier planes. The rate of xp in a tier2+ zone in a competent group is insane. It's as good or better than the best solo xp I've been able to find.

I know you say you'll never solo again, but /shrug. I find that while I would rather not solo, when I log on I may have 15-45 minutes until I can catch up to the guild, or almost always have 15 minutes between activities or while getting a group together. I can keep myself bound somewhere so that I can pop in, get a quarter of an AA or so, and pop out.

Waste not (time), want not (AA), imho.

Like level 60 and level 50 back in their respective era's, the benefits of being level 65 are far in excess of the benefits of the preceeding 4 levels.

As before, level 65 equates to mobs resisting your spells much less frequently and significantly less aggro.

I'd say it helps with resisting mobs as well, but I have yet to resist a single spell, proc, or AE in PoP =P

I don't think some people here are factoring individual playing styles enough before advising others to go for level 65.

For some, grouping up for 'insane' exp in PoV is simply not an option yet because they don't have the time it takes to 1) organize a trial group and 2) wait in the PoJ line. On most servers, getting flagged for PoV requires a 3+ hour time committment at once; not 1 hour today, 1 hour tomorrow, 1 hour the next day.

Furthermore, there are certainly other circumstances which factor into an individual's decision to level past 61. For instance, one's guild may have other goals to meet before they're willing to focus on PoP. I know of at least three guilds who are taking advantage of several non-planar zones and older boss mobs which were permanently camped by uber guilds until the moment PoP was released. Many guilds are now, for the very first time, finally able to work towards getting their members keyed for VT, and raiding for SOL spells which were previously monopolized by uber guilds who held them for truly insane prices, and simply exploring the higher level content they've been practically denied for the past year.

For people whose playing time is primarily spent with guildies on raids and hunts, if their guild isn't hitting PoP yet, leveling to 65 will mean vastly substandard AAXP every time they log on because so many pre-PoP 'yard trash' mobs will turn green.

There is a LOT of good high-level content to experience outside of PoP, and a LOT of good high-level gear which guilds can aim for that was previously unattainable or inaccessible. It would be shortsighted to think everyone en masse will benefit by leveling to 65 with the thought that they'll be able to hunt in PoP zones for their exp... for some, that simply will not be the case for a while.

~Firemynd

Level 65 AA xp is pretty darn sweet. The only things that green out to you are the chamable mobs like ravens in PoN. PoV is full of blue mobs at 65. Lvl 65 groups just doing the dessert part of PoV can get some pretty sweet AAxp so why not go for 65. Doesnt matter that you cant get all the spells.

If you claim you are in a high raiding guild. Then you are doing them a disservice by not going for 65. Im in a high raiding end game guild. We are all going for 65. It makes a big difference in places like VT/Ssra/Seru and the new planes as far as difficulty rate. Get your 65. You wont regret it.

Level 65 is > then spells or AA points.

Mana pool, hit points, etc all much better at 65 then any AA skill or spell. AAs are also great at level 65 so it's not really a concern.

if you have access to PoV or HoH go for level 65, exp in those places is insane, an aa point an hour is very doable for me on 65 there.

it still blows my mind that people talk about "waiting in line for PoJ trials " as if thats something a sane person actually does.

under no circumstance will I log onto EQ and sit down adn do <strong>nothing whatsoever</strong> , i.e., wait on the damn exec line.

how is that fun?

people send me tells for the trials. i ask, how many in line ahead of you? if the answer is more than zero... well, good luck :) theres stuff that needs killing.. i dont have time to sit and do absolutely nothing for 4 hours.

What people tend to forget is that getting access to PoV isnt necessarily that bad other than long waits in line, but getting access to other tier 2/3 zones can be difficult. You run into the problems of guilds who got there first killing the boss mobs solely to prevent others from reaching the same plane, as well as some of the mobs you must kill arent exactly that easy - yeah they are a pushover if your guild is VT equipped/level 65. Thus, you could be limited to one high level xp zone - PoV, which is quickly becoming more and more crowded, train prone, and hard to find groups cause of the crowds (and impossible to solo cause the solo spots are camped by groups). That is why I suggest leveling to 63 isnt a bad idea - you get the benefits of higher levels, can use all your level 61-62 spells, and can still get xp in tier 1 zones if Valor is your only option as a high level plane. However, if you have access to Hall of Heroes, Crypt of Decay, and other higher up zones then go ahead and level to 65.

Aldarion Shard,

You cant sit in one place and do nothing?

We must not play the same game..because you just decribed playing EQ to me.

4 hrs waiting for Trial = 4 hours getting 2 yellows to the next level.

what is the difference really? In the end.. It is still 2am and I have 4 hours of sleep before work. No extra money in wallet.

Time-sinks = eq.

oh well.

I am stopping at 60 and getting at least 20-40 AAs.. I made a promise with myself that I needed 60th level before I got any AAs so I have never even gotten 1 percent AA.. now that I am finally 60 I am going to get some :)

Paldor, we're in the exact same boat. I did the exact same as you. I'll be hanging back with you farming AAs at 60 until I move on. I figure by then people will be selling their double/triple/quad spell turn-ins pretty cheap. Of course, my guildmates will be handing duplicates down as well ;)

First off, anywhere with multiple enchanter and mage bots passing out free buffs and focus items is a good place. Head down, ask politely, and *boom* KEI and focus items. This alone is worth 30 minutes to me.

Second, groups can and do fail. While the worst case scenario for a group 3rd in line is a ~90 minute wait, it is more likely that the group will only have to wait 15 or 20 minutes for their turn. Between buffing, discussing strategy, and deciding on a spell lineup, this time often goes by fairly quickly.

Third, the trials are exciting. There's a sense of anticipation and urgency to the events that I haven't seen in other places. Failure is a minor setback, groups often walk out alive and ready to give the trial another go.

-Quelm

I'd recommend 61 as a stopping point for AA's especially if you enjoy charm killing in PoN or PoD. The reason? Replenishment. Mobs in those planes can hit you multiple times for 200+, but with replenishment going a few minutes later it's as if the damage never was. Sure, Regrowth is ok, but Replenishment is where it's at as far as I'm concerned. So secure 61 and get Replenishment (unless you REALLY like your exp in Perma or ME). And who knows? Maybe you'll pick up a few 61 spells along the way.

Well, maybe the actual moment you get in their and start the trials are exciting, but the waiting is not fun.

I got up early on a saturday morning to do it with a bunch of friends. Only 2 had done it before. We made it to the last mob on the 4th wave and failed, after a 90 minute wait to get in at 8:30 AM EST. We got back in line, and were about 5th in line. Another 70 minutes later after 2 groups ahead of us had succeded and we were still 3rd in line, it was too much for us to bear. We had shopping and laundry and etc etc. The morning was mostly spent waiting and a few minutes of fighting. We decided not to wait on a second attempt. Haven't been back since. Will go again when the lines are shorter. I am not camping to go to a zone. Enough. I accept that the game has changed somewhat. Maybe I am just tired lately.

Bah this posting is just silly. I feel old and tired and I'm not sure I understand what the point is of playing right now. Half my friends go to PoV, the other half do not. Good friendships are changing over this.

Maybe next wekk I will feel energized again.

paldor...

you miss the point of my complaint... i dont mind sitting in one place (although i prefer crawling).. i mind sitting in one place and getting <strong>nothing</strong> to show for it.

no exp, no killing, no faction, no loot, not even a FS weapon to sell.. nothing.

just sitting.

THAT is why i wont be doing the exec trial for naother few months, at soonest.

i dont sit and wait and do nothing, period.

Don't we stand in line enough in real life? Why the hell should we do it in a game? VI sucks.

I had a really long reply typed out, and i deleted it all.

I am glad you have your own way of playing EQ, It is just different then how I play EQ and that was why I was confused.

Not judging you, just didnt see where you were coming from.

BTW.. I have never done these trials or waited for them.. Is this something you have to be activily keeping yourself in line for (meaning you have to have your character standing in a virtual line....) or is it something that you just OOC to put yourself on the list and then wait for them to call you?

Seems if it is OOC you wouldnt even have to be at the PC.. just log in and go watch a movie..check back every now and then to make sure you are still on the list.

both, paldor. its a physical line, and an active /ooc list. )at least on TT). if your whole group is afk you will get your spot ganked.

i wouldnt mind if i could kill stuff while i waited. but these folks are physically sitting on their arses doing nothing for *hours*.

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>BTW.. I have never done these trials or waited for them.. Is this something you have to be activily keeping yourself in line for (meaning you have to have your character standing in a virtual line....) or is it something that you just OOC to put yourself on the list and then wait for them to call you?[/quote]

On Xegony, most folks in line stay in the Tribunal Room. Someone volunteers to be the "listkeeper" and you tell or ooc to get on the list.

The thing is, even if you are 5th on the list, people leave, groups lose, other groups aren't ready, and it can be less than 20 mins before your turn comes up. On the other hand, Groups can win and no one leaves and you are looking at 2-1/2 hour wait for your attempt.

One kinda cool thing about it tho is that everyone is in the same boat and I've been happily amazed and impressed at the spirit of cooperation that's been shown by the players waiting for their turn. Say Group A's turn has arrived. To speed things up, all the other groups' buffers who are still waiting their turn, end up buffing Group A. This saves time for everyone since Group A doesn't have to take the time to buff and med. Trackers make sure that the trial is clear of old mobs for Group A. The last group confirms that they are all out. If Group A is missing a member, others will offer to step in to fill in for the missing member. Ultimately, this saves everyone's time and Groups end up with more buffs than they might otherwise have had available to them. I've even seen everyone agree to let a group go in a second time immediately if their first attempt was bugged for some reason.

One night, there were just 2 guilds there trying. Neither of us were being successful at the trial. We ended up trying mixing and matching a few players from both guilds and found a couple successful combinations, allowing both our guilds to get members flagged that alone we otherwise would not have that night.

I've also had the chance to meet lots of other players I have not previously met and it's great then to see them after the trials in Valor.

So, I guess the "wait" to attempt a trial is what you make of it. For us, it's mostly turned into a positive experience, surprisingly so.

"You run into the problems of guilds who got there first killing the boss mobs solely to prevent others from reaching the same plane"

At least on our server I don't really see this as a problem yet...unless you guys are doing this to us and we don't know about it...heheh. :)

The real issue is just having to rekill mobs to get people flagged that missed the previous event. I estimate that guilds like yours and ours will probably have to rekill the same mobs at least 3 or 4 times before we manage to get the majority flagged. And thats not counting the rekills we'll have to do later down the line for new guildies, people that have been unable to play for a bit, etc.

Its not all that bad for some mobs, where if you manage to fail, the mob is still up for others, or for you to make another try. The real bitch is the bosses/trials that poof on failure. Not only are you penalizing the group that failed, but also other groups that want to kill that boss.

Sorry to get off on a tangent.