Chett Darkforest
Where to hunt and What to do at each Level
Chett_Darkforest@hotmail.com
https://www.angelfire.com/realm/eqdarkforest
https://www.angelfire.com/realm/eqdarkforest
Chett_Darkforest@hotmail.com
First off make your ranger.
Lvls 1-5 Getting first armor and What not to sell
Hunt in the newbie gardens, kill bats, rats, skellys, and such. Be sure to con things before you attack em! Sell everything you kill to the merchants, except for batwings, skeleton bones, and quest items. Quest items (like: orc pawn hatchets, pixie dusts,...ect), should be turned in for experience. The stacks of batwings and skeleton bones can be sold to other players for a plat a stack [and then used to buy leather armor], or you can use them to change your faction if needed. I would advise against selling the Skelly bones. Instead, I strongly advise that you give the skeleton bones to
Gunlok Jure
an NPC dwarf in the paladin's guild in North Kaladim who will reward you with some much needed patchwork armor YAY, and some rusty weapons [sell em]. You will need this faction (and will save hours earning it), with Kaladim's cleric/paladin guild later should you descide to earn your etched Ivy boots. While the batwings can be given (4 at a time), to Niola Impholder in the Magicians Guild in Felwithe to raise faction with Alrik Farsight [an NPC involved with the ranger epic]. Remember to distribute skill points into Kick at lvl 5. And finally, if your a human, I would strongly suggest getting a port to Gfay, so that your elven language skill increases, and as you kill orcs you will raise faction with Faydark Champions which will help you to earn your trueshot longbow.
Lvls 6-9 Earning Money for Your First Gear and Food/Drink
At this lvl I would advise Killing the orcs at the orc hill (just outside of Kelethin). Make sure that you have other group members since you will need them to fight the orcs. Since you will no longer be provided with bread and water anymore I would suggest selling everything that the orcs drop (with the exception of orc belts), to the merchants. Orc belts (AKA Crushbone Belts), can either be taken to South Kaladim and given to Canloe Nusbeck in the warrior's guild for fast experience, or they can be sold for a plat apiece. You should mostly have a full set of patchwork/leather combination armor at this point in the game from turning in the skelly bones, so use the money you earn to buy your food/drink and supplies: a compass, backpack, light source, a collapsible Fishing pole [buy from Gnome with Tinkering skill], a bow from another player, a shield or a 2h slash. Speaking of 2hs, I perfered to use the axe of the iron back (a 2hs), untill I reached lvl 17, when I earned Dual weild. Furthermore you should start saving some plats to buy pieces of banded armor to replace your leather/patchwork. Banded armor is the next step up from leather and should be bought from other players, a fair price for banded armor is one plat per AC. [for example] if a bracer is 6AC, you should pay 6 plats. Replace all of your leather and patchwork with banded as you can afford it, except for your cloak. Instead of buying a banded cloak, travel to the Surefall Glades around lvl 12 and earn a Cloak of the Jagged Pine (see below). When you reach lvl 9, you should locate points into each of the five skills that allow you to cast magic, Divination, Evocation, Adjuration...ect. Then begin to buy your first spells snare, minor healing, skin like wood...ect.
Lvl 9-11 Getting a stack of Micro Servers, and other parts for Trueshot
Right well then, now that you have your first set of spells [which probably fizz a lot since your not too good at casting], I would advise heading over to the Steamfont Mts, picking up some young adventerous Gnomes and proceed to kill some Rogue ClockWorks. The Rogue Clockworks should give you exp at in this lvl. But specifically your hunting them for a NO DROP item called a micro server. You will want to save a stack of these Micro Servers, because they will be used later in the game as a Quest item to make your Trueshot longbow, and buy earning them now you will save hours of killing them later when they don't give your ranger any exp. [Every two microservers = 1 trueshot attempt]. Also by hunting the Rogue Clockworks with the gnomes there is the potential that you will increase your ability to understand their native language. Other places you might want to adventure to that should provide exp at this lvl are Crushbone (lots of Quests YAY!), Northern Desert of Ro, and The Commonlands.
Your First Trip to Freeport
If you are visiting Freeport (FP) for the first time take many small lanterns with you, and when you reach FP head to Westfreeport (WFP) and find the Hogcallers inn. Upstairs on the second floor of the inn find an NPC called Jyle Windshot. Give the small lanterns to Jyle and he will give you some Treant wood pieces, as well as an occassional Treant heart. Save a stack of these treant woodpieces, because they are going to be later used to make your trueshot longbow. Also one treant heart should be kept and put in the bank, because the treant heart is a quest item that will be used later to enchant your trueshot longbow into the Raincaller. Now while your still in WFP head to the gate, go just outside the city and find an NPC called Ping Fuzzlecutter. Buy ten Formula 5000's, from Ping and put a stack of these with the treant heart in the bank. These formula 5000's along with the treant heart will be used later in the game to complete your Rain caller Quest. Finally I should mention that if you descide to take the ship back to Faydwer remember to always buy some Kiola Nuts every time you cross the OOT from FP to BB, at Sister Isle (the island the ship stops at when on its way from Freeport to Butcherblock). These Kiola Nuts are to be given to Tumpy Irontoe in Kaladim for some Tumpy Tonics, which are to be given to Trantor Everhot also in Kaladim for some Dwarven Wire [for the trueshot]. [every 4 nuts = 2 Dwarven wire = 1 Trueshot Attempt]
Lvl 12-15 Time to start your Dungeon Experience
Or if you really want to earn some fast exp I would advise that you get a full group and hit some dungeons which always provide an exp bonus to ever kill. Some low lvl dungeons are: Befallen and Blackburrows. If you opt for the latter dungeon you can also earn some quest armor (see Quest Armor Below), while your in the process of earning fast exp. Befallen is a spooky undead dungeon, in which fast but dangerous experience can be earned (Befallen Dungeon gives a 13% exp bonus). I strongly advise that you bring/drag a paladin into Befallen with you if you can. It wasn't untill I visited Befallen at lvl 12 that I came to realize just how very valuable a paladin is to a party when fighting against the undead. I promise that you will not regret having the paladin with you when they save your life by healing you, and you will grin inspite of yourself as you watch the paladin cast powerful spells which mercilessly eradicate the Undead.
Armor Quest
Also at this lvl you could travel to the Qeynos hills, you will need to get a port to Surefall glades, and then head south to get a bind at the Qeynos gates. Once this has been accomplished there are two quests I would look into. Head back to the Surefall Glade, and talk to
Larsk Juton
who will give you the quest to kill an NPC gnoll named Gnasher Furrgutt. This gnoll occasionally appears in Qeynos Hills and is around level 10 or so. Kill him and take his head. Give Gnashers head to Larsk and he will give you exp, some cash, and most importantly the Blackburrow Brewers Quest. Furthermore, sometimes when you kill Gnasher Furrgutt, he will drop a note (he is not always carrying the note), from the bartender at Fish's Ale which you can turn in to Qeynos authorities for more exp. First, give the note to Larsk Juton (the same person you give Gnasher's head to). After (and only after), you have shown the note to Larsk Juton take the note to Qeynos find Captain Tillian in the Arena. Give Captain Tillian the note and you will receive more experience. The Captain will summon an Executioner, who will proceed to Fish's Ale to kill the unwise bartender. You can follow the executioner to watch the fun, or you can proceed on with the next quest the Blackburrows Brewers.
Once you have completed the quest of turning in Gnasher's head to Larsk Juton, he will sometimes say that he requires your services to assist in the extermination of the gnoll brewers. If you accept the quest, Larsk will ask you to go to Blackburrow and kill the gnoll brewers, and bring him back three Blackburrow Casks, as proof of their demise. These casks are found on gnoll NPC's named "Gnoll Master Brewers" and
A gnoll Brewer
which are a rare spawns at the end of the bottom bridge by the barrels in Blackburrow. Unite with a group of young Barbarians (who are almost always hunting in this zone) and head into the Blackburrow Dungeon. If you have a full party the dungeon will earn you faster exp with a 5% exp bonus to every kill, and while your in the dungeon camp the named gnolls, unill you have three casts and then return to the Surefall glades and give them to Larsk, who will reward you with the Cloak of Jaggedpine.
Cloak of Jaggedpine
LORE ITEM, MAGIC ITEM, NO DROP,
AC: +6 Dex: +3 Weight: 1.5
Lvl 15-17 Learning to Solo
Upon reaching lvl 15, you should have a full set of banded armor (this armor will suffice untill your upper 20's). Once you have bought a full set of banded, all of your lvl 15 spells, and have earned your Cloak of the Jaggedpine, you will want to start saving your money so that you can buy the gems that you will need to complete the Etched Ivy Armor Quests. Once you have the the spell root you are now going to be able to solo! Once you have the root spell memorized and equiped you can now start a new tactic, called kiting. Heres the tactic for soloing 1) Snare the mob, 2) Root it, 3) cast a DOT on the mob, 4) Load it full of arrows 5)Step in to mele when it reaches low health. By using this new tactic your ranger can now solo for a bit durring those times when you are unable to find a group. I should mention however that this tactic works best in open outdoor areas. I would also advise that you only attempt this tactic with mobs that con blue to you. When you reach lvl 30 and get the spell SOW, then you can try to use this tactic on mobs that con yellow or higher to you. Upon reaching lvl 17 Allocate some skill points into Dual Weild and find yourself two weapons. Some places that are easy to pick up a group when hunting at this lvl are the Oasis of Mar, and The Everfrost. But for fast exp you will probably want to stay in the dungeons like Befallen or the Warrens.
Lvls 17-20 Time to start learning how to group with other classes
For Level 17 I would advise traveling to either the Highpass Hold, or Unrest. You will need a good group of commited players who know how to play their class and a full party to camp at Unrest, but the exp bonus is well worth the danger. Another bonus is that you could get A watery ring(for Ivy Armor) by hunting Goblin Tidal Lords, in the Dagnor's Cauldron zone durring downtime, or when traveling to and from Unrest. A second option would be to head to the HighPass Hold, and fight the gnolls and orcs there, here you will find that the mobs drop bronze weapons, which can be selled for usually about 2-3 plats. I would recommend using this money towards the gems you will have to buy for your Etched Ivy Armor Quest, but you could also spend some plats towards increasing your fletching skill, which will be necessary later to make your trueshot longbow. Also be sure to waste lots of mana at night when you safley can on your spell that summons the fire flies light source, because this will increase your skill, so that you can cast the spell "Stinging Swarm" later, without the spell fizzing out on you in the heat of battle.
Lvls 21-25Time for making friends and seeing new places
You could take your first trip to Kunark at this lvl, but understand this voyage will be extreemly dangerous. Take the little Shuttles from Butcher Block into the Timorous Deep and there board the Maidens Voyage. Stay on the Maidens Voyage untill you reach Fironia Vie. Fironia Vie is the only safe haven on the whole continent of Kunark for the good races, so be sure to get a bind here, and stock up on supplies before heading out into the main land. I would advise heading to the Lake of Ill Omen (LOIO), so that you can easily find a group, make some new friends, and begin to earn some experience. Try to develop your pulling skills at the Sarnak Fortress, and practice making your Hot Keys to alarm the group when you are bringing in the mob. Some other places that you might want to visit are Unrest [big exp bonus], The RunnyEye Citadel [good money and exp bonus], and the basement of HighKeep [close bind point and bank], however, becareful when exploring upstairs in HK, for there are DarkElves in the zone.
Foraged items to hang on to
Also I should metion that upon reaching lvl 20 your forage skill should be at 100 and you will begin to notice that you will sometimes forage strange items. Some of these items you need to hold onto.
Chilled Tundra Root - Foraged in Everfrost - for the Ranger Epic (used to create the hardened mixture)
Speckled Molded Mushroom - Foraged in Innothule Swamp - for the Ranger Epic(used to create the hardened mixture)
Sweetened Mudroot - Foraged in Misty Thicket - for the Ranger Epic(used to create the hardened mixture)
Ripened Heartfruit - Foraged in Greater Faydark - for the Ranger Epic (used to create the hardened mixture)
Rose of Firiona - Foraged in Firiona Vie, Kunark. The "rose of firiona" should be given to Merdan Fleetfoot in Surefall Glade, Antonica. Merdan in turn will give you a "Wood Painting" to give to a human skeleton in the Frontieer Mts. (FM).
More Information to Come as I find the Time
Lvls 25-30Lots of Options now open to you
I suggest that you get together a group of people at least lvl 25+ and go explore the lost Temple of Cazic Thule deep in the swampy jungles of the Feerott. Here you will find a well lighted yet good experience giving dungeon that is a BLAST! Be sure to pick up 2 pieces of hair from a hulking gorilla (the magillas in LTR of Cazic-Thule), because these will later be used to convert the Trueshot longbow into the Raincaller. This Dungeon gives very good exp and also many of the lizard men killed here will drop fine steel weapons. EDIT 3/11/02..as of this date, the Cazic-Thule has been revamped into a lvl 55+ Dungeon.
If you are lvl 28 you could earn some cash by hunting at the giant fort in the Frontieer Mts. The giants will drop loot that will be rolled for by the players within the group, this loot usually sells anywhere from 12 plats to 50 plats, and you also might get lucky and win a rare and elusive forest loop earing here. Another dungeon that you may want to explore with a full group of good people at this lvl is the Splitpaw Lair, in the Southern Plains of Karana, which gives a 13% exp bonus. Just watch out for the Gnoll Enchanters
Lvl 30-35Time to Earn your Short Sword of Morin, and Start on Your Etched Ivy Armor Quests
I believe the Etched Ivy Armor to be some of the best preplanar armor that is available for rangers due to its light weight, and the fact that most all rangers become easily encumbered. So head to Kithicor and Start Questing
Lvl 36Time for some Adventuring
Kunark
Grab your gear a few friends and set sail for the lost continent of Kunark. Shortly upon arriving at Fironia Vie the only safehaven for those of the good race on all of Kunark get a bind, and have everyone restock their supplies for it will be a long time ere you return to the saftey found with in the mighty walls of Fironia Vie. Once everyone in your party is prepared to travel the long and hard journey ahead, cross the heavily guarded bridge that connects Fironia Vie to the mainland of Kunark. Be on your upmost guard as your party travels on their expedition of Kunark, for there are many dangerous creatures to be found roaming within these wild and untamed lands.
Kunark Adventures for Rangers
Velious
You watch the icebergs pass, as the strange steampowered ship slowly chops its way through the icy waters. Breifly you reflect on how terribly cold this continent is rumored to be. You close your eyes and remember the rumors that were being told mostly in the bars in Freeport about a Frozen wasteland being discovered. It was said that Velious was a terrible land filled with Giants and Dragons, but also a land in which Great riches were reported to be found. But most of the rumors talked of the harsh winds and adventurers who never returned, or were eventually found frozen to death. You find yourself suddenly torn from your thoughts as a cold strong wind blows open your cloak before dying. Grining a tight lipped smile you conclude that at least some things said of Velious' were correct, and still the temperature continutes to drop as the ship drives on. Eventually the ship reaches a small dock and a nearby outpost of Igloos. You gather your belongings and walk down the planks eventually reaching the docks. You look out into the far distance at leaden skies which seem to boil as they approach the small outpost from the east, no doubt bringing heavy snows, and for just a second you think you see the sihoutte of a dragon in those skies. You stare eastward but see nothing and eventually assume that you were mistaken and that your imagination is running wild. You turn to watch as the Gnomes unload the ships cargo and carry these supplies towards the igloos. You take a long hard look at the empty frozen waste lands around you, before heading towards the igloos...
Velious Adventures for Rangers
Lvl 46+Head to the Plane of Fear for some New Armor
Thorny Vine Helm 14AC +9CHA +5WIS +10MANA +10svCOLD 4.5wt
Thorny Vine Breast Plate 26AC +9STR +13WIS +50HP 7.5wt
Thorny Vine Bracer 9AC +5STA +5WIS +5AGI +10MANA
Thorny Vine Gaunts 11AC +9STR +9DEX +7svFIRE 3.8wt.
Thorny Vine Greaves 14AC +5WIS +9AGI +15MANA +7svDIS 5.6wt
Thorny Vine Boots 14AC +5STR +5STA +9AGI +7svPOIS 4.9wt
Lvl 46+Head to the Plane of Sky, to complete some Quests
Lvl 49The Call of Flames Quest
...coming sooner than you might think
Ranger Spells and where to find them
Rangers are known for being skilled with all weapons, we are especially known for being the Master of the bow. And as a Master you should know everything about bows, and arrows, inclusing how to make them. Aoenla's guide to Flecthing
