(N)EverQuest Scrolls

44 Malaria (LoY quest)
52 Bond of the Wild (LoY quest)

54 Spirit of Snow (Luclin drop)
56 Spirit of Flame (Luclin drop)

61 Infusion of Spirit – ethereal parchment turn-in
61 Talisman of Shadoo (Shaman Kunark spell trade-in reward)
.63 Talisman of Jasinth (Kunark drop)
65 Acumen (Kunark drop)

12 parchment/rune turn-ins, 61-65 (to Primalist Saosith)

.61 Healing of Sorsha
.61 Scorpion Venom

.62 Spiritual Vigor
.62 Spirit of Arag

63 Arag’s Celerity
63 Spirit of Rellic
63 Frost Spear

64 Spiritual Dominion
64 Spirit of Sorsha

65 Sha’s Revenge
65 Ferocity

All races for a class get the same equipment, delivered in 3 backpacks on your cursor.

Necromancer
Earring: int5 reagent cons I (x2) Batskull Earrings
Mask: ac3 int3 Sheer Bone Mask
Necklace: wis3 int3 Black Iron Medallion
Cloak: ac5 hp10 mana10 dr-10 pr-10 Festering Cloak
Ring: int2 (x2) Silver Rose Engagement Ring
Mantle: ac2 Raw Silk
Belt: Ac2 int4 hp8 Braided Cinch Cord
Helm: Ac2 wi3 int3 reagent cons II Savants Cap
Tunic: ac 10 int6 agi2 mana10 cr10 mr5 Crystalline Robes
Sleeves: ac6 int4 hp15 enhancement haste I Gatorscale Sleeves
Bracer: ac2 int3 wis3 affliction eff I (x2) Polished Bone Bracers
Gloves: ac6 int3 str3 dex3 mana3 Shadowbound Gloves
Leggings: ac12 dex5 hp15 Silversilk Leggings
Boots: ac3 Raw Silk
Secondary: dex5 int10 hp10 dr25 Stein of Moggok
Range: Piercing 3/30 int3 mana15 Dagger of Marnek
Primary: 1HB 9/33 cha-9 Staff of Writhing (less proc)

Druid
Earring: wis3 (x2) Jasper Golden Earrings
Mask: ac3 mr5 pr5 Split Paw Mask
Necklace: wis3 int3 Black Iron Medallion
Cloak: ac7 wis2 int2 fr10 Kunzar Cloak
Ring: wis2 (x2) Silver Jasper Ring
Mantle: ac4 wis5 enhancement haste I Braided Ivy Cords
Belt: Ac5 wis3 agi3 hp10 Crystalline Belt
Helm: Ac2 wi3 int3 reagent cons II Savants Cap
Tunic: ac12 dex9 agi9 sta9 Brown Chitin Protector
Sleeves: str3 wis3 mana preservation I Platinum Armband
Bracer: ac2 int3 wis3 affliction eff I (x2) Polished Bone Bracers
Gloves: ac4 dex3 wis2 Split Paw Hide Gloves
Leggings: ac7 wis4 hp15 Gatorscale Leggings
Boots: ac3 Patchwork Boots
Secondary: wis10 mana10 mana pres I Testament of Vanear
Range: pr2 Split Paw Eye
Primary: 1HB 7/22 wis3 str3 Velium Etched Stone Mace

Enchanter
Earring: int5 reagent cons I (x2) Batskull Earrings
Mask: ac3 int3 Sheer Bone Mask
Necklace: ac2 cha5pr5 Split Paw Necklace
Cloak: ac7 wis2 int2 fr10 Kunzar Cloak
Ring: int2 (x2) Silver Rose Engagement Ring
Mantle: ac2 Raw Silk
Belt: Ac2 int4 hp8 Braided Cinch Cord
Helm: Ac2 wi3 int3 reagent cons II Savants Cap
Tunic: ac8 cha5 int6 cr10 Blackened Crystalline Robes
Sleeves: ac6 int4 hp15 enhancement haste I Gatorscale Sleeves
Bracer: ac2 int3 wis3 affliction eff I (x2) Polished Bone Bracers
Gloves: ac6 str3 cha3 agi3 mana3 Incandescent Gloves
Leggings: ac5 dex5 cha5 reagent conservation I Drakehide Leggings
Boots: ac3 Raw Silk
Secondary: sta10 cha15 Crude Stein
Range: Piercing 6/38 wis3 int3 Ceremonial Sarnak Dagger
Primary: dex5 int10 hp10 dr25 Stein of Moggok

Magician
Earring: ac3 int7 cr5 Hoop of Magi’Kot
Earring: int3 extended affliction I Gold Ear Stud
Mask: ac3 int3 Sheer Bone Mask
Necklace: wis3 int3 Black Iron Medallion
Cloak: ac2 Cloth
Ring: int2 (x2) Silver Rose Engagement Ring
Mantle: ac2 Raw Silk
Belt: Ac2 int4 hp8 Braided Cinch Cord
Helm: Ac5 int5 fr5 cr5 Elemental Binder
Tunic: ac9 wis5 int5 mana25 Oracle Robe
Sleeves: ac6 int4 hp15 enhancement haste I Gatorscale Sleeves
Bracer: ac2 int3 wis3 affliction eff I (x2) Polished Bone Bracers
Gloves: ac3 Raw Silk
Leggings: ac4 Raw Silk
Boots: ac2 Cloth
Secondary: dex5 int10 hp10 dr25 Stein of Moggok
Range: pr2 Split Paw Eye
Primary: 1HB 6/25 str3 int2 Shovel of Ponz
Ammo: ac3 (no rent)

Cleric
Earring: wis3 (x2) Jasper Golden Earrings
Mask: str7 wis7 Platinum Ruby Veil
Necklace: wis3 int3 Black Iron Medallion
Cloak: ac7 wis2 int2 fr10 Kunzar Cloak
Ring: wis6 (x2) Platinum Jasper Ring
Mantle: ac9 wis7 Adamantite Epaulets
Belt: Ac5 wis3 agi3 hp10 Crystalline Belt
Helm: Ac3 dex3 wis6 agi2 hp7 Othmir Fur Cap
Tunic: ac13 wis4 agi4 Bloodstained Tunic
Sleeves: ac21 Donal’s Vambraces of Mourning (no effect)
Bracer: ac9 wis5 (x2) Bracers of the Reverent
Gloves: ac4 dex3 wis2 Split Paw Hide Gloves
Leggings: ac13 int5 pr5 (sol ro)
Boots: ac11 dr6 (sol ro)
Secondary: ac10 wis9 Charred Guardian Shield
Range: pr2 Split Paw Eye
Primary: 1HB 7/22 wis3 str3 Velium Etched Stone Mace

Beastlord
Earring: ac3 str3 hp15 (x2) Orc Fang Earring
Mask: ac5 cha5 wis5 Acrylia Studded Mask
Necklace: ac5 str3 sta3 agi3 Orc Fang Necklace
Cloak: ac10 str4 sta4 cr6 Spider Fur Cloak
Ring: ac1 agi2 (x2) Recondite Insignia Ring
Mantle: ac7 agi6 fr5 Drolvarg Mantle
Belt: Ac10 dex5 agi4 hp40 Spider Fur Belt?
Helm: Ac6 str9 agi5 Helm of Rile
Tunic: ac14 hp10 mr10 Sarnak Emblazoned Tabard
Sleeves: ac5 str3 pr5 Gnome Skin Sleeves
Bracer: ac4 hp7 Ghulam Bracer
Gloves: ac10 str3 dex3 hp10 Iksar Scaled Gloves
Leggings: ac8 wis3 Soiled Breechclout
Boots: ac5 hp10 Ghulam Boots
Primary: H2H 9/27 ac3 str3 wis3 hp25 mana25 mr3 Polished Steel Ulak
Secondary: H2H 9/27 ac3 str3 wis3 hp25 mana25 mr3 Polished Steel Ulak
Range: ac8 dex4 sta3 hp25 Goranga Idol

Shaman
Earring: wis3 (x2) Jasper Golden Earrings
Mask: ac6 cha6 wis5 cr3 Arctic Wyvern Mask
Necklace: wis3 int3 Black Iron Medallion
Cloak: ac7 wis2 int2 fr10 Kunzar Cloak
Ring: wis2 (x2) Silver Jasper Ring
Mantle: ac5 wis3 int3 Lizardscale Mantle
Belt: Ac5 wis3 agi3 hp10 Crystalline Belt
Helm: Ac5 wis3 Iksar Skull Helm
Tunic: ac13 wis4 agi4 Bloodstained Tunic
Sleeves: ac10 agi5 Totemic Vambraces
Bracer: ac4 wis5 affliction efficiency II Chipped Bone Bracer
Bracer: ac2 int3 wis3 affliction eff I Polished Bone Bracer
Gloves: ac4 dex3 wis2 Split Paw Hide Gloves
Leggings: ac7 wis4 hp15 Gatorscale Leggings
Boots: ac10 str5 Totemic Boots
Primary: Piercing 10/28 sta3 wis6 cr10 Spine Chill Spear (no effect)
Secondary: ac10 wis9 Charred Guardian Shield
Range: pr2 Split Paw Eye

Bard
Earring: ac3 str3 hp15 (x2) Orc Fang Earring
Mask: ac4 cha13 mr7 Mask of Deception/Guide of the Deceiver? (no effect)
Necklace: ac5 str3 sta3 agi3 Orc Fang Necklace
Cloak: ac8 dex5 Lizardscale Cloak
Ring: ac5 str3 (x2) Jagged Band
Mantle: ac6 str3 mr10 Bloodstained Mantle
Belt: Ac3 str2 sta2 Purity Belt
Helm: Ac13 cha3 int5 Lambent
Tunic: ac20 sta5 cha1 hp25 Lambent
Sleeves: ac11 cha1 dr2 cr2 mr2 pr2 Lambent
Bracer: ac9 str4 cha1 (x2) Lambent
Gloves: ac12 dex5 cha1 Lambent
Leggings: ac13 agi5 cha1 Lambent
Boots: ac21 Singing Steel (no effect)
Primary: 1HS 11/23 cha10 int5 Symphonic Sabre
Secondary: drum
Range: ac8 dex4 sta3 hp25 Goranga Idol

Rogue
Earring: ac3 str3 hp15 (x2) Orc Fang Earring
Mask: ac4 cha13 mr7 Mask of Deception/Guide of the Deceiver? (no effect)
Necklace: dex7 agi7
Cloak: ac8 dex5 Lizardscale Cloak
Ring: ac5 str3 (x2) Jagged Band
Mantle: ac6 str3 mr10 Bloodstained Mantle
Belt: Ac10 dex5 agi5 hp40
Helm: Ac5 str4 dex9
Tunic: ac18 str10 mana20 pr5
Sleeves: ac11 agi3 hp10 cr5 mr3
Bracer: ac1 dex3 agi9 burning affliction II (x2) Serpentine Bracer
Gloves: ac10 str3 dex3 hp10
Leggings: ac12 sta5 dr5 Ravenscale?
Boots: ac10 dex2 cha5 dr2 pr2 Ravenscale?
Primary: Piercing 10/22 str3 pr10 Crystalline Spider Fang?
Secondary: 1HS 12/25 str5 sta5 Centi Shortsword
Range: ac8 dex4 sta3 hp25 Goranga Idol
Ammo: 4/26 Range60 Shuriken

Warrior
Earring: ac3 str3 hp15 (x2) Orc Fang Earring
Mask: ac3 dex7 cha-9 Grotesque Mask
Necklace: ac5 str3 sta3 agi3 Orc Fang Necklace
Cloak: ac10 str4 sta4 cr6 Spider Fur Cloak
Ring: ac5 str3 (x2) Jagged Band
Mantle: ac6 str3 mr10 Bloodstained Mantle
Belt: Ac10 Straw Spun Belt
Helm: Ac13 hp35 mr10 Skull-shaped Barbute
Tunic: ac22 sta5 hp25 Crafted Breastplate
Sleeves: ac12 str1 dr2 pr2 Crafted Vambraces
Bracer: ac10 dex2 int2 (x2) Crafted Bracer
Gloves: ac12 str5 Crafted Gauntlets
Leggings: ac14 str1 fr2 cr2 Crafted Greaves
Boots: ac12 agi5 Crafted Boots
Primary: 1HS 12/25 str8 sta8 Centi Shortsword
Secondary: 1HS 14/27 str5 sta5 Centi Longsword
Range: 8/51 range100 Longbow
Ammo: Arrow

Paladin
Earring: ac3 str3 hp15 (x2) Orc Fang Earring
Mask: ac3 mr5 pr5 Split Paw Mask
Necklace: ac5 str3 sta3 agi3 Orc Fang Necklace
Cloak: ac7 Banded ?
Ring: ac5 str3 (x2) Jagged Band
Mantle: ac6 str3 mr10 Bloodstained Mantle
Belt: Ac8
Helm: Ac13 hp35 mr10 Skull-shaped Barbute
Tunic: ac20 str2 fr10 Netherbian Chitin
Sleeves: ac7 dex2
Bracer: ac1 dex3 agi9 burning affliction II (x2) Serpentine Bracer
Gloves: ac10 dex5 mana50 Dark Mail Gauntlets
Leggings: ac10
Boots: ac10 str6 dex-2 sta12 cha-5
Primary: 1HS 15/34
Secondary: ac12 str9 Cracked Darkwood Shield
Range: 8/51 range100 Longbow
Ammo: Arrow

If you keep accumulating large quantities of foraged items, this is what you can do with them. These are recipes that use mainly common foraged items and only cheap purchased ones.

Baking

Muffin (8) dough, fruit, muffin tin
Rabbit Stew (68) rabbit, water, pot
Vegetable soup (68) vegetables, sauces, water, pot
Apricot Marmalade (99) 3 frosting, fruit
Chocolate Marr Cherries (128) 3 Marr cherries, winter chocolate (catnip!)
Berry Pie (142) dough, berries, pie tin
Fruit Pie (142) dough, fruit, pie tin
Hot Cross Buns (142) dough, fruit, frosting, muffin tin
Vegetable Pie (142) vegetables, dough, pie tin
Shellcrackers Seaside Salad (180) arctic mussels, small clams, arctic king crab, cobalt abalone, arctic scallops, cobalt rock crab, vegetables, snapper oil
Lucky Cabbage (182) wild cabbage, blessed dust of Karana – mixing bowl
Ohabah Truffles (202) dark chocolate creme(cream, frosting, brown algae, eucalyptus/mixing bowl), mushroom, frosting

Brewing

Flask of Water (21) 4 pods of water, bottle
Fruit/Berry Juice (21-35) 2 fruit/berries, water
Stormguard Root Beer (31) 2 roots, spices, yeast, water, bottle
Khalish (31) fruit, vegetables, water, bottle
White Wine (82) fruit, grapes, wine yeast, bottle
Red Wine (95) berries, grapes, wine yeast, bottle
Vegetable Oil (102) vegetables, water
Brandy (122) vegetabes, 2 red wine, spices, shotglass
[zone] Essence (122-186) ??, water – eg fishing grubs, etc
Vodka (135) vegetables, 2 short beer, water, bottle
Emerald Orange Schnapps (148) steamfont springwater, 2 emerald oranges, wine yeast, bottle
Faydwer Schnapps (148) steamfont springwater, 2 sylvan berries, wine yeast, bottle
Ginesh (168) vegetables, water, short beer, shotglass

Necromancers – Heretic Drahur
Shadowknight – Reaver Nidlil
Wizard – Channeler Olaemos
Enchanter – Illusionist Jerup
Bard – Minstrel Eoweril
Cleric – Vicar Ceraen
Shaman – Mystic Abomin
Druid – Wanderer Astobin
Magician – Elementalist Somat
Ranger – Pathfinder Viliken
Paladin – Cavalier Waut
Beastlord – Primalist Saosith

Hollowshade Moor is one of the most entertaining zones in the game – provided you aren’t attempting to gain experience there. It’s a zone that I have cursed many a time in the past, but that’s changed now that the war script is fixed. As it now is, it serves several purposes: as an experience and quest zone for young Vah Shir (14-30); a source for high level smithing components; probably the most exciting mid-level raid zone; and a zone for 49+ people to solo farm interesting drops (many of which are no drop). The two reasons I used to curse this zone were: all the mobs are undercons, with a distinct lack of experience modifier; and the war script was badly broken, with no way to reset the zone to any reasonable status.

Allakhazam’s Hollowshade Moor Quest. Check here for details of the drops – the list of mobs is rather incomplete.

A number of decent mid range weapons can be found here: a +5 wis 1HB, a 2HB with dot/debuff proc, several piercers, and an average 1HS. There are two haste items; several items with +2 to +5 wis, various levels of int, skill modifiers of +3% for piering, and +3% and +4% med, and an FT(I) item.

The west side of the zone is an open field with rockhoppers and rhinobeetles, roughly level 10-14. These drop pelts, and various items for the vah shir quests. Across the south end of the zone is a lake with turtles and fish, also with quest drops, and various ground spawns on the island for these quests. South of the lake on the west side, below the entrance to Paludal Caverns, is another area with a slightly higher density of hoppers and beetles – good to hunt in if you need their drops. As well as the common mobs, a named hopper, Dirtchomp, and a named beetle, Gorehorn, can spawn. These are roughly level 25. It is possible that they can be spawned by killing the “aggressive green” beetles and rockhoppers (ie the ones that will aggro even when green cons).

There are three camps: a village on the south wall, occupied by grimlings; a cave to the east, occupied by sonic wolves; and a cave in the NW, occupied by owlbears – as well as a vah shir outpost near the entrance to Shar Vahl in the NW. All of these four points can be occupied at various times and different combinations by the three factions (owlbears, sonic wolves and grimlings). The war is started by players, and continues until one faction holds all three camps, at which point it will take over the outpost. When a named mob in the outpost is killed, the zone resets back to its normal state.

Each camp has one static point at which a named mob can spawn; the north cave has two of these (one in each of the two ‘end’ caverns). In addition, there are several named mobs that can spawn outside the camps and will wander about their faction areas. Drops are best from the named mob of each group in their home camp, from which ever occupies the north caves, and from the final named mobs that spawns in the outpost. The drops required for smithing are commonest from whichever of the owlbears or wolves holds the southern village – shrieking and wailing substances (wolves and bears), for shadowscream armor. I should point out that the owlbear smithing drops are also available in Paludal; I am not sure about the wolf ones.

Running the War
To start the war, just kill the named mob in one of the three camps. That will trigger an invasion from the next camp counter-clockwise, which will be defeated if you don’t help the invaders; while the invasion is underway (it lasts for 6 minutes), killing any of the other nameds has no effect. Once one camp has been taken over, invasions are automatically triggered at random every 12 minutes; these are usually, but not always, unresisted. The system seems to be arranged so that all three camps won’t be taken by the same group without player intervention, so the team with two camps will always be undefended, and the team with one camp will always defend it. The zone announcement has been adjusted to be reasonably clear if the camp attacked will be defended or not. If the invasion is the one you want, you need once more to kill the defenders, if they spawn; if it isn’t, you will have to kill the attackers, which is best done as they start to leave their base. Just one attacker reaching an undefended camp will take it over. I have been told that there is some magic system to force the ‘correct’ invasion to happen; but watching the person who claimed this, the ‘wrong’ invasion happened three times in a row, so I assume this is false. I have also heard that you can aggro an attacker and pull it into the winning area, but I haven’t been able to succeed with this. Attackers from the north and east leave from the caves, but attackers from the south spawn on the sandy spur in the lake by the east wall. By waiting for the right group to set out and helping them to win, you can arrange for any combination of two groups in the three camps. The attackers are variously called grimling invaders, furious owlbears, and sonic wolf fiends. They are non-aggro, and slightly easier to kill than the general run, whereas the defenders are harder, and they summon. Grimling invaders have two types, one of which (in the yellow jerseys) is immune to changes in run speed; the other is not. Aggro them, and they will turn to you.

As soon as one group has taken all three camps, the vah shir leg it for the zone accompanied by rain and thunder, and the victors take over the outpost. The named mob that spawns is typically level 35ish (dark blue to 40, light blue to 52), and as soon as it is killed, the zone returns back to normal.

If you want the owlbears to win so that you can try for the FT 1 range item, first kill the grimling chieftain. He summons, and casts a form of snare (called Quicksand). When killed, he only uncommonly has any of his drops – but you’ll need to kill his two bodyguards to loot. These three often drop acrylia, as well as the usual grimling drops. At the back of his hut are two spiritists, who will chain heal. Once the three at the front are down, take out the spiritists. As soon as the chief drops (within 30 seconds), the owlbears set out, and five grimling defenders spawn. These summon, backstab, and use Strong Poison on you. Kill the defenders before the furious owlbears arrive, and the owlbears will take over the village. In the chieftains place will be a screechmaw, who drops an owlbear claw earring or a sinew wrapped owlbear ribcage (chest slot).

Next, you will have 18 minutes from the chieftains death, 12 minutes from the owlbears taking over the village, to get to the wolf cave in the east. If the wolves attack the owlbears, five sonic wolf fiends will set out. It is easiest to kill them as they parade outside the cave. Keep on doing this every 12 minutes until the owlbears attack. Then three sonic wolf defenders will spawn; kill these – I think they can summon as well, but it is possible that they don’t. Defenders are all perma-rooted. Then race to the outpost.

At the back of the outpost spawns Skriat’Chakku (named owlbear). I target her from the road, then run around the back and cast on her – she warps through the wall onto me, and can be safely killed without interference from the other owlbears. She is immune to changes in run speed. The commonest drop is the owlbear bone club, but both the +5 cha cap and the polished owlbear beak piercer is common. The rare drop is the eye (FT1).

To get the grimling Prince Garzemort, start by killing the sonic wolf cave packleader; for Gnarlik, start with the owlbear denmaster.

This cycle can be over in 25 minutes; at times, it has taken close to 90 minutes if the luck of the random number generator was against me. The same approach, with a different starting point, can result in each of the three groups winning. The boss wolf, Gnarlik, is a reasonably easy kill. The hardest is the grimling Prince, who is extremely magic resistant. He sometimes resists both Splurt and Bond of Death, which are generally never resisted; life taps seemed to always land. Cold nukes always landed for full (I have been told); I don’t know about fire. If left to their own, they can easily kill a level 49 pet, although they are easy solo kills at that level.

Mid Level Raid Plan
If I was intending to do this as a mid-level raid, I’d want at a minimum 2 groups of 35 – 45s, up to four groups, one with a tracker. Station a group at each of the camps, and use the fourth to track named mobs in the middle of the zone, plus track the invaders. If you have two groups, use one to kill the trigger mobs and kill defenders, and the other to intercept invaders. Start by killing the appropriate trigger mob, then have all groups commence killing all the nameds for the next 5 minutes. In the south, you only need kill the chief’s hut (2 healers, 2 bodyguards, and the named). In the north, you should be able to walk between many of the mobs without aggroing, although the entries to the two caves with nameds at the back have two guards that are likely to aggro, and the nameds are close to other mobs, and adds are likely, depending on your level. The only way to handle the east cave is to kill in to the named placeholder, and sit tight waiting for respawns. I have seen someone pull the named through the roof of the cave, but I don’t know if this is still possible. The east cave is by far the toughest to deal with. Nothing in the zone can see invis, so it may just be possible to invis a group in to kill at the named spawn point; in the east cave, I can pretty much guarantee 2 or possibly 3 adds, depending on timing.

Killing defenders will be tougher at this level, as they are permarooted and summon. If you kill the normal entry guards (bodyguards/guardians) first, you should be able to kill defenders from one end. The grimlings will be the hardest to defeat, but they don’t have wanderers pathing through the defenders area.

Keep killing the nameds until you have enough drops, then cycle through a different way. You should be able to get owlbear/sonic wolf claw earrings for everyone, and a variety of other items.

Named mobs:

Village:
grimling chieftain
Scarflank
owlbear screechmaw

East Cave:
sonic packleader/Ghowlik
owlbear fleshrender/?? (I have not seen a different named here yet)
grimling tribal leader/Grurn No Eyes

North Cave, Main position:
owlbear denmaster/Skrietat’Chu
sonic wolf/Dreadmaw Wolfkin
grimling guard/Gniktar Grimwit

North Cave, other named:
owlbear fleshrender/Skrietat’Cha
sonic wolf/Fireclaw Wolfkin
grimling guard/Gleeknot Gnitrat

Outpost:
Skriat’Chakku
Gnarlik
Prince Garzemort

Wanderer (North Central, between the two rivers):
Curfang
Gamtoine Cursmakk (not seen personally)
Skrietat’Chet
Wanderer (North Moor, outside owlbear caves):
Prince Skriatat
Warpaw Dankpelt (not seen personally)
Wiknak Grimglom (not seen personally)
Wanderers (West and South Moor)
Gorehorn
Dirtchomp

Per class, each of the spells that can be handed in to suppliers in Firiona Vie, the Overthere outpost, or Cabilis.

Beastlords/Tailoring

• Khati Shah Handwraps (triv26)
  • Shadeling silks (12 per combine) – SWT
• Young rockhopper claws (2) – SV
• Young rockhopper hides (16) – SV
• rough belt strap (triv 36)
  • MQ rockhopper hides (2) – SWT/HM
• Claws (triv approx 40)
  • Scorpion legs (4) – SV
• leather straps (triv 41+)
  • HQ rockhopper hides (2) – SWT/HM
  • Hopper tails (6) – HM
  • Glowing heart stone, glowing muckdigger – PC
  • sonic wolf molars (2), cubs and wolflings – HM
• black chitin belt
  • shadeling silk (4) – SWT
  • scorpion shell (triv 56) – SV
• bone beaded belt
  • grimling fingerbone (triv 66) – HM
• owlbear feathered leggings
  • owlbear feather – HM
  • sonic wolf pelt – HM
  • shadeling silk (4 – triv 95)) – SWT
• owlbear tunic
  • owlbear pelts (12) – HM
  • shadeling silk (24 – triv 135) – SWT
• Toughened Sinew Lashings
  • owlbear claws (2), cubs and grapplers – HM
  • owlbear tendons, cubs and grapplers – HM
  • sonic wolf tendons – HM
  • kelp salts, moor tortoise – HM
  • fish oil soaked rags, fisherman, chieftain (triv 135) – HM

Bard/Pottery

• scorpion shells (3)
• Gray Jar/Gray Clay (4 required, triv 41)
  • gray mud (8)
  • xakra bile (4)
• Bowl of the Jharin (triv 85)
  • grimling femur (4)
  • xakra bile
• Buckler and Drum
  • young rockhopper hides (4)
• Reconstructed Vase (95)
• Lute
  • owlbear feathers (7)
  • owlbear guts (8)
• Hilt Piece
  • sonic wolf jawbones (2)
• Runed Grey Jar (not essential, triv 108)
  • gray mud (2)
  • xakra bile (2)
• Xakra Runed Jar (not essential, triv 188)
  • gray mud (2)
  • xakra bile
  • xakra blood
• Fine Xakra Runed Jar (not essential, triv 188)
  • gray mud (2)
  • xakra bile
  • sonic wolf blood
• Vah Shir Figurines (10 needed, trivs 100 – 148 for stages)
  • gray mud (20)
  • xakra bile (10)
  • rockhopper blood (10)
• Ceramic Sleeves (triv 135?)
  • ashes of dark ritual, spiritists – HM
  • owlbear bile, cubs and grapplers – HM
  • sonic wolf blood
  • black silt clay, ground spawn – HM

For slightly lower level Vah Shir, the zone provides drops for their trade skill quests, and for the sonic wolf bane weapons. These depend on mobs that generally speaking only exist when the zone is in the default state, and disappear during war times. The following drops will be looked for:

Beastlords:
rockhopper tails
sonic wolf pup/wolflings molars
owlbear claws (2) for stretching dowels
owlbear (cubs/grapplers) tendons
sonic wolf tendons
grimlings (chieftain/fisherman) fish oil soaked rags
moor tortoises kelp salts
Tailoring quest (mostly beastlords):
(young rockhopper hides x 16, MQ rockhopper hides (trivial 36), scorpion shells (56) – all in the Pit/SWT)
grimling fingerbones (68)
owlbear feathers (95)
sonic wolf pelt (95)
owlbear pelts (trivial 135)

This is a programmable button pad with a D cursor control button, like a cross between a numeric keypad and a console gaming pad. It attaches using USB, and has support for MacOS X (and 9) as well as Windows. It is intended for use by the left hand. There are ten buttons as well as the cursor button and a wheel shaped throttle control. The ten buttons can be modified with three shift states – which need to be controlled from the buttons somehow.

You assign to each button press on the device either a key, a macro, or a shift state. When I say key, that means a single key press, which the key functions can be set to press and release, hold down, or repeat at various rates. This means that a combination keystroke, like Ctrl-S, or even Shift-S, needs to be assigned via a macro. The Windows version seems to accept long macros, but the MacOS X version of the software appears to limit macros to a relatively short sequence.

Manufacturer link: Belkin Nostromo

So far I have set it up to use the D pad for movement control, with a couple of common functions on the buttons; all works smoothly. I want to use it as a limited form of two boxing, so that I can control one character with it, while I actively play the other. This will clearly only work for certain classes; I wouldn’t want to try it with a melee class, for example, but would be fine with a buff class, especially cleric, and I can see it working with a mage.

My initial question for myself is: what macros do I need to create for this scenario? I can see it working with the basic ten buttons mapped to the hot keys, although more advanced controls are possible, and the cursor control mapped to movement keys is pure bonus. It might almost be feasible for controlling a melee character, now that I think about it, given that we have reasonable movement control beyond simple auto follow.

Basic controls…
Target character, stand, and…
cast buff (x n – what about self buffing?)
heal
follow (no sit after this, click jboots first)
Target character, assist and…
pet backoff/pet attack
nuke (stand/sit)
dot (stand/sit)
Others…
Toggle sit on/off
Gate
Evac (druid)

This all depends on spell order being maintained, and is highly variable between chars. Should include some /gsay to confirm targeting, etc. In a minimalist configuration, control of the sit function isn’t required, as any spell cast will leave you sitting; a raid would be different, but then it would be different for many other cases as well.

A second usage pattern would be as a supplementary control for your main character. I can see the movement control being preferred, perhaps. This is especially appealing for when running with a laptop keyboard, and being unable to access numeric keypad keys or function keys as easily as on a normal keyboard. In which case the usual hot keys would be required, plus auto attack toggle, sit toggle, and replacement for the f keys; could possibly use the throttle as a shift control between these two banks, or sacrifice the hot key that occupies my forward macro. In this configuration, I’m going to assume that the normal keyboard is accessible; so that Ctrl-S for sit toggle, Alt-3 (etc) for spell casting, etc, are accessible. So hot keys will map to buttons directly, for faster access, movement to the pad, and the throttle wheel will shift state for function keys when pushed up. The problem with this is that there are 10 buttons, but I’d want to map 10 hotkeys plus a shift function, and the throttle isn’t too reliable for this; it would be better if releasing it also recentred it. Strafing is also lost this way, unless you can use the keyboard simultaneously.

The simplest configuration is as described: map movement keys to the D pad, hot keys to the buttons, F keys to one of the shift states, and the throttle to shift. For a laptop user, the numeric keypad also covers autoattack (I shift it to numeric 0) and look up/down/centre view. I think I’d use the other shift (throttle down) to manage the view – D pad up for up, down for down, and left/right to centre. That leaves autoattack; the way to handle that is to assign it to the key that would control the hot key I use for forward movement (9 or 10), that does sense heading, foraging, tracking, and any other function I put into that macro – this hot key will be autotriggered by my D pad forward movement anyway, so reassigning the button shouldn’t be too confusing for me.

Next problem: I can do this with the Mac profile editor, but the PC profile editor doesn’t allow me to assign shift states to the throttle. I’ll check into this.

Back to 2boxing, time to work out the macros. I’m going to think of them as general purpose, but I’ll probably assign them to hot keys, rather than the E50 macros. The most immediate priority to me is controlling the mage to back up my enchanter. From the list above, I’m going to need: follow macro, send in the pet, nuke, dot, pet heal, pet buff, pet DS, and emergency (gate). Items in brackets can’t be done inside hot key social commands.

In an ideal world, I’d use something like the following, with a few recasts added in there against fizzles. However, the social macros are restricted to 5 lines, so most of these would have to be trimmed. All of the spell casting macros will also need a pause inserted after the casts, to allow time for the spell cast to complete; and remember that socials are not interruptable, you have to allow them to complete. One way to allow for this would be to remove the final ‘/sit on’, and use a separate key for this – and manually allow for the casting time, which also means that fizzles can be handled by a simple extra tap of the cast button.

Follow
/sit off
(click jboots)
/target X (or F2)
/follow

Pet Attack this will double as a pet backoff if I have myself targeted first
/target X (or F2)
/assist
/gsay targeted %t
/pet back off
/pet attack

Cast Pet Buff (can be adjusted according to the spell to cast)
/sit off
/pet target
/cast n
/sit on

Cast Attack (can be adjusted according to the spell to cast)
/sit off
/pet target
/assist
/gsay targeted %t
/cast n
/sit on

The best way to set this up will be in combination with EQWatcher, so that I can hear when buffs are wearing off; I’ll leave self buffs to direct keyboard control. Extending this to a cleric required a couple more functions: cleric buffs, different heals, nuke/stun and possibly spell swapping, which is definitely more advanced, and I think I’ll skip for now. Thinking about it, the general assist and cast technique should work for the cleric, only instead of assist pet, it should be self target and assist. So the new pattern is:

Cast Spell (can be adjusted according to the spell to cast)
/sit off
/target X (always my character name)
/assist
/gsay targeted %t
/cast n
/sit on

This pattern will work for any spell, attack or buff. Other spells can fit into the general pattern, such as gate or evac. All that is required is to adjust the gsay command to inform the group of actions. They will even work outside of a duo, when both characters are grouped with other people. If that is going to be the case, then we can’t use F2 for targeting group members, as that could be any group member in that slot.

A few notes on this subject, regarding buffing.

Druid charms start at level 14, enchanter at level 12. Druids get pet buffs at 19 (Feral Spirit) and 44 (Savage Spirit). Enchanters get haste buffs from 16 upwards, which mutually overwrite, although both druid and enchanter strength and AC buffs seem to stack with the druid buff (check?).

At the level a druid gets Feral Spirit, the equivalent enchanter haste is faster (28% compared to 16%), although the druid strength and ac buffs available are still weaker. By level 24, the druid ac buff is better, and by level 34, both strength and ac are better buffed separately.

Savage Spirit is another story; it gives significantly greater haste than the same level enchanter (66% versus 47%), which enchanters can only match at level 58.

So until level 44, if the pet is going to be buffed, it is always better to get an enchanter haste. From 44 upwards, use the druid pet buff instead. Stacking an enchanter ac buff with a druid skin is always beneficial.

On the subject of other buffs, opinions vary, as always. It is pretty clear that haste, HP and AC buffs all help, to a degree. Some people say that strength buffs increase ATK, and improve the chance of maximum hits; but others say that parses show no improvement from ATK buffs. Stamina buffs don’t seem to increase HPs for pets; but dexterity buffs do increase the chance of a pet procing (this is significant for beastlords).

The buffs compared:

• Feral Spirit, level 19. 16 – 20% haste, 16 – 20 str, 7 – 14 ac.
• Savage Spirit, level 44. 64 – 70% haste, 42 – 45 str, 15 – 16 ac.

Druid strength buffs:

• Strength of Earth, level 9. str 9 – 15
• Strength of Stone, level 34. str 22 – 25
• Storm Strength, level 44. str 32 – 35
• Girdle of Karana, level 55. str 42

Druid AC buffs:

• Skin Like Wood, level 1. ac 3 – 4
• Skin Like Rock, level 14. ac 6 – 7
• Skin Like Steel, level 24. ac 9 – 10
• Skin Like Diamond, level 39. ac 13
• Skin Like Nature, level 49. ac 16
• Natureskin, level 57. ac 18 – 19
• Protection of the Cabbage, level 59. ac 24
• Protection of the Nine, level 63. ac 32

Enchanter AC buffs:

• Haze, level 4. 3 – 4
• Mist, level 12. 6 – 7
• Cloud, level 20. 9 – 10
• Obscure, level 29. 12 – 13
• Shade, level 39. 15 – 16
• Shadow, level 49. 19
• Umbra, level 57. 22

Enchanter haste buffs:

• Quickness, level 16. 28 – 30%
• Alacrity, level 24. 34 – 40%
• Augmentation, level 29. 22 – 28%
• Celerity, level 39. 47 – 50%
• Swift Like the Wind, level 49. 60%
• Aanya’s Quickening, level 53. 64%
• Augment, level 56. 43 – 47%
• Wonderous Rapidity, level 58. 70%
• etc