Getting Around Norrath

Part 1

The purpose of this article is to provide you with the basics on how to get around the entire world of Everquest, designed for both newbie and expert alike. I'll talk about moving by foot, boat, and by spell and hopefully provide enough information that, after reading this, you'll be able to move freely around Norrath.

Land Travel

Land Travel is the most common method of getting anywhere within the game. It is also about the least desirable, since it takes quite a bit of time to get from point A to point B within the game. There are several methods by which people speed up land travel however, which I will describe.

By far the most popular method is the spell Spirit of Wolf, commonly called a SOW. This spell can be cast by shamans at level 9, by druids at level 14, and by rangers when they hit level 30, and can be cast on anyone. The higher level the caster is, the faster the spell allows you to move. This spell increases your run speed significantly (by a third to a half) and enables you to move quickly over land. Most monsters can't outrun you if you have SOW on you, although be aware that certain high-level ones can (like named Griffins and some giants), and that other creatures can snare or root you as well. Occasionally you will even find creatures that cast SOW on themselves (the ogres in WK are notorious for this) and can catch you that way. The spell lasts around 35 minutes. Shamans have the ability to make potions that can be purchased that will cast SOW on the user as well. These come in single-use, 5- and 10-shot versions.

There is an upgrade to SOW called Scale of Wolf. This can be cast by shamans at level 24 and druids at level 29, and can only be cast on people in your group. The movement rate given by this spell is much higher than SOW (around half to two-thirds increase) however the spell vanishes if you engage in melee or cast any spells. This limits its use, and many people rarely use this spell except when travelling through safe territory. This spell lasts around 45 minutes otherwise.

Druids and rangers also get the ability to cast wolf form on themselves and those in their group. Druids get this spell at level 24 for themselves and at level 39 for their group, rangers at level 49 for themselves. This allows them to move slightly faster than SOW. The downside is that they go away (like all other illusions) upon zoning.

There is a spell that is occasionally useful to move quickly in short bursts, which is the Spirit of Cheetah. Shamans and Druids both get this spell at level 24, and is self-only. This increases your run speed by double, but only lasts 48 seconds and overwrites any other speed spell you have. It is used for quick getaways exclusively.

Bards also get two songs that help people to move more quickly. The first and most common one is Selo's Accelerando, which bards get at level 5. The speed increase varies widely depending on what percussion instrument (if any) the bard is using and the level of the bard, but at higher levels is faster than SOW. The spell only effects people in the same group and within a certain distance from the bard singing the song. Selo's Song of Travel is a much more powerful version of Selo's Accelerando, and is the level 51 bard song. This song gives faster movement, invisibility, see invisibility, and levitate to all those in the bard's group.

There is an item that increases speed if you don't have the option of using one of the above called the Journeyman's Boots, or more commonly JBoots. This item is obtained through a quest only and cannot be purchased. By right-clicking on the item, the person with the item gets a speed boost that is a little slower than a SOW, but is still useful. Also, Watchman Boots have charges of SOW in them, and one of the Shaman Epic Quest boots that you get along the way, Black Fur Boots, have a SOW-like effect on them as well.

All of the above abilities to move faster are only usable in "outdoors" areas. This includes all outside zones and the ones labelled "Outdoor" in the zone description.

By using one of the above methods to move more quickly over land, travel on land is made much safer. The only other thing that you need to do is to be sure to avoid creatures that will attack you. This is intuitively obvious, but realize that even if a monster can't outrun you, they can still stun you and keep hitting you and, if they do enough damage while you're running away, you will start losing stats and become encumbered, thereby slowing you down enough that you can't outrun them at all. Keep your eyes on where you're going.

Another thing to be careful of, especially when using a way to speed up movement, is rough terrain. Moving quickly on broken ground or over mountainous terrain will result in some serious falls for you and some really serious damage. Having a spell like levitate can help out in those areas. An even better spell is the spell Dead Man Floating, which necromancers get at level 44. This lasts much longer than levitate and also adds some other nice bonuses.

Another thing that is important is knowing where you are going and what to expect. I recommend to look at the zone connection maps to figure out what zones you will be passing through to get to where you're headed, and then go to those zone guides and read about what dangers you might face, as well as to get a map and see how to get around that zone.

To Boat Travel...































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Information Gathered from | EQ Atlas|