Same old question, slightly different-- lvl or AA

I am a lvl 60 warrior, with only 4 AA currently (run3 and regen1).
I have about 2800hp unbuffed (relic of the "max str" creation guides of yore) and almost 1150ac, but not great gear.

Im staring at the long grind to lvl 65, and the long grind thru the defensive AA list, and wondering which road to take.

Any suggestions? do i get those Arch AA at lvl 60, where im getting 3-4%aa per kill? do i do 50-50 Exp/AA and get to lvl 65 while earning AA too? Or should i just power thru to 65, and be a weak tank for a couple of weeks in tier 3?

Most of these threads say get to lvl 65, that levels outstrip AA. But most of the posters already had some defensive AA at 60, or earned some by 61 or 62. I have none, and wondering if AA will make the difference in getting me to 65, or if not having any AA will get me kicked from groups.

Thanks for the advice

[Bulbog]

I'd AA(nd3) and work on your gear some more before stepping into tier2/3 xp zones, I mean you have a lot of simple upgrades you can make to boost your hp up a good amount. I'd make a post in the bunker if I were you but I mean just looking over your gear I see a lot of like 200pp upgrades that would fit well. First off look for +hp/sta items in the slots you're lacking. For example, I'd get rid of that jagged band and get another velium fire wedding ring asap, that's 65raw hp right there. Another cheap one is getting crystal spider eyes or grimling contraption(if you have the money, goes for 4-5k on my server) to replace your current mask, that's another 35hp there.

Put your neck in a bag of resist gear and I'd suggest looking for something like a clattering bone necklace(6sta 30hp) or like a ribbon choker(45hp). If you can I'd sell/trade that bracelet of quickness for something with more beneficial stats like the bracelet of fortitude(15sta). I'd use your GSoT all the time if I were you vs the dual wield setup, more of a dps setup there atm. I'd also bag your runed bone fork in the resist gear bag and swap it out with something cheap like goranga idol(5sta 25hp) or something with utility/stats like darkwood bow of suffering (6sta 30hp I think).

I mean when I was around 59-60 nearing going into tier 2 I held for a while and just raided with my guild and farmed highkeep working on my gear. I could give you more advice on gear upgrades, just need to know your money/guild situation, but for now I'd just AA/farm/raid work on a little upgrades then hit up tier 2.

[Redhenna]

I am firmly in the levels > aa's camp, but in this case, I am going to modify it some. You have outleveled your gear, plain and simple. You need to stop leveling, let your gear catch up or you are going to be in for some frustrating times. Buldog has some great suggestions for some easy upgrades that will put you over the top, and is right about posting in the bunker asking for upgrade suggestions. I did that in my late 50's, got some wonderfull advice, and cheaply made myself a lot better prepared. Think about exping some in old world zones with plat drops, and sellables(and more fun) while you work gear, and maybe go ahead and work a bit on aa's while letting your gear catch up. Veksar, Droga, Chardok, Seb are all good places to exp, and when the group is done, have a nice handfull of cash to help finance the upgrades you need.

Once you start exping in tier 2, levels are going to fly by. A little work now to get ready for those zones will make make the process a lot more enjoyable.

[Kendolekk]

Redhenna hit it. Levels > AA. However, in order to get those levels, you are going to NEED those AA. It can be really rough for a tank with par to sub-par gear (I know, I was one of them). What you would be best to do, is AA until atleast ND3. Stay 60. This way, you can still XP in places like PoD/PoN and get decent AA XP. I'd say you need a good 6k buffed HP to really stand up in PoV. That's what I did it with anyways. I stayed at 60 until ND3 and AET, then went to PoV and grinded the levels.

[Trondir]

Toss that jagged band and the sarnak mask NOW and get something with sta / hp in face and a 2nd jewelery ring in finger2

[Thorbadin]

I'm tired of seeing these threads.

I didn't read any of this but the answer is LEVEL, LEVEL, AND MORE LEVEL. It's always level first, it was always level first, and it will always be level first.

Is that clear?

Thorbadin
Triton

[Terrorus]

Originally posted by MillohEQ
Any suggestions? do i get those Arch AA at lvl 60, where im getting 3-4%aa per kill? do i do 50-50 Exp/AA and get to lvl 65 while earning AA too? Or should i just power thru to 65, and be a weak tank for a couple of weeks in tier 3?

65 = Better mitigation / more hp / successful taunt / Better avoidance / easier to find groups.


I have no proof that avoidance and mitigation is increased but from what i remember there was a difference. I'm sure some peeps here have some hard data stating if thats true or not.

[Sulvar]

And put your shadowheart in your mainhand instead of the spiked velium mallet. 11/17 >>>>>>>10/20

[Kailyn]

Not enough of an accent on AC IMHO. I would say you want atleast 1200 AC unbuffed at 60th..assuming you XP in PoP zones--then again you aren't near max AC for the older world either.

And generally I found the trip to 65 easier than the trip though 59th (pre nerf).

[kiztent]

The question you have to ask is this:

Do you want to be stuck in tier 2 of PoP for exp, unable to get a group because your gear is terrible?

Do you want to have more zones open to exp with your friends and work on your gear?

Certainly if you are in Triton, level is everything. Equally certainly, there are times when level isn't the most important thing. I've just run up from 55 to 60 and I don't see the game being more fun. Still have the same friends I group with, still make my money in places other than exp groups, still don't have any interest in the time commitment to raid full time for no drop upgrades.

I'm 60 now, I plan on staying 60 for a long time. Why? Because I don't want to be stuck in PoV and PoS as the only places with blue mobs and I don't want to raid full time to get flagged. Maybe getting 65 will give me better spells, better mitigation, better tanking, better everything but less fun. I play for fun. And having been in a raiding guild and knowing what that means, I'm not going to be a slave to mandatory raid times and losing all my relaxation time (I have a job and EQ isn't it) to 'advance' in EQ.

[wandor]

Just because you have subpar gear does not mean that AA > level. It is easy to say just get AA to get a quick increase in power, but even in your situation, that statement is not as true as you would think. The amount of exp it will take you to ding 65 would be roughly the same as if you where to get 20-23aa. Sounds pretty impressive, but it's really not when you break it down. Here is where you would end up with if you did 23aa now -

2aa would go to regen2/3.
12aa to ND3 (283hp)
5aa to AET
2aa to CS1
2aa to CA1

While that would certainly make you a better tank, it is also roughly the equivalent gain in power that you would get from leveling to 65. If you where to level to 65 you would end up with:

2hp/tick more regen than you have now
216hp from leveling (according to magelo)
better taunt button - more mobs blue
better damage mitigation - mobs are lower level
better damage avoidance - mobs are lower level
better resist rate against spells - mobs are lower level
lower agro radius
more DPS due to higher damage bonus

People used to have a valid concern about leveling to fast for PoP if you didn't have the means to get flags.

I don't want to be stuck in PoV and PoS as the only places with blue mobs and I don't want to raid full time to get flagged.

Before they changed the flag rules and exp mob levels this was a valid concern. However it's not anymore. Once you hit 55, tier 2 is open to you with no flags. Once you hit 62, most of tier 3 is also open to you. Of course you would need better gear to hunt there, but the option is still there. Also, keep in mind that SOE changed the level range of mobs that give exp. Everything in the old world doesn't turn green at 61 any more. You can still get exp at 65 in quite a few old world zone, and every PoP tier 1 zone. Staying at 60 just doesn't make any sense because you are no longer cut off from any zones that you might like to hunt in at 60. This is particularly true for casters because PoP spells >>>> than level 60 spells.

The key to your situation is WHERE you level, not getting more AA. Not only would you be a mana sponge in PoP zones, but you would be missing out on a lot of gear upgrades that will go a long way to helping you out. There are also some very inexpensive upgrades you could get that would help a ton. Right off the bat, I would spend a couple hundred PP in the bazaar and pick up a Goranga Idol, a Black Sapphire Electrum Earring and a 2nd Velium Fire ring for a 128hp upgrade. Also stock up on some Halas meat pies and some Grobb Liquidised meat, neither is very expensive these days and you can use the 30hp/11sta addition.

Then I would hunt in the following zones until you get the upgraded items from those zones:

Droga - camp the King/Seer until you get a Copper hammer and a Sword of the Bloodsworn. Great agro and way better stats than what you have now. This might take you 2-3 nights of camping but the exp is pretty good.

Veksar - spend a lot of time here. Get the following:

Boots of the Kunzar Wanderer (A Plagued Slave drops)
Dark Bracer of Writhing (An Iksar Highborn)
Eyepatch of Warding (A Massive Golem or An Iksar Behemoth)
Kylong Darkmail Gauntlets (random drop)
Mantle of Ill Omen (Luminary Salox)
Mithril Spiked Collar (A Kylong Crusader)
Moss Covered Cloak (Trooper Muruk)
Soulscream Belt (A Rotting Shopkeeper)

You should be able to level to 65 in the time it takes you to get each of these items. None of the mobs are particularly hard or rare and none of the drops are all that uncommon. You might have to recruit some friends to help out since Veksar is not a good LFG zone, but the exp is pretty good and the zone is a lot of fun.

I am not sure how your money situation stands, but each of the Veksar drops is tradeable so you might be able to purchase some of them. Only the haste belt is expensive, everything else is relatively cheap since most of it is pretty common to get if you hunt there often.

Once you finish leveling to 65 and gearing up a little, you will be in a much better position to hunt in PoP. At 65 with the upgrades listed your magelo would look like this - http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=778802. Pretty respectable with 3833hp/1093ac. Even at this point, there are quite a few upgrades you could get that would be huge improvements over the gear you have now. You can always post in the Bunker to get some more upgrade ideas then.

[wandor]

Well, I messed up, and it only makes the arguement get getting 65 stronger.

2aa would go to regen2/3.
12aa to ND3 (283hp)
5aa to AET
2aa to CS1
2aa to CA1

Apparently I can't add, that would be 27aa to get those skills. You would actually only get run3, regen3, ND3, and AET. Just for kicks I made a magelo with the same upgrades I listed and swapped exp so you are 60+23aa - http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=778883 . You actually end up with more HP this way, but you are still only level 60. Not only are you more likely to get a group at 65, but you would not be able to go in to BoT (ornate drops) or any other tier 3 zone.

The only person who ever made a logical and valid arguement for staying at 60 and doing AA was Haass, and with the flag and exp mob level range changes even he has jumped on the 65 bandwagon.

After reading thru some of the responses in the bunker and here, and doing a bit of investigation on allakhazam's (skyshrine quests), magelo, and the Bazaar on Tunare (my server), I put together this alternate profile for what gear upgrades i can do relatively easily with my guild and money situation.

Thanks for the advice, and if anything else looks weak please respond again!

[Bulbog]

Moving in the right direction, get another 6/65hp ring and look for a high hp/sta item for your glove slot such as myrmidon's gaunts(SS) or play around with the bazaar search looking for sta/hp glove items with decent AC on them.

[Trondir]

Originally posted by Kailyn
Not enough of an accent on AC IMHO. I would say you want atleast 1200 AC unbuffed at 60th..assuming you XP in PoP zones--then again you aren't near max AC for the older world either.

And generally I found the trip to 65 easier than the trip though 59th (pre nerf).

I do fine with my magelo really .)