Upgrade this! NO OMENS GEAR ALLOWED

[Haass]

Yes, this could probably be in a different forum, but come on..this is me we're talking about here. It's likely to end up here anyway.

Okay, so, been back in EQ for a couple months now, mostly from the allure of obtaining 8khp unbuffed. It has come to my attention that AC is once again, MASSIVELY important in the game again, and required to progress. I look back thru GoD upgrade threads, and thru OOW "max warrior" profiles and I see one distinguishing factor in all of them. Sure they've got some nice HP, but they have absolute crap in the AC department.

Now, when I quit EQ, we had a different group setup, and basically I was sitting at around 8khp and 1400ac buffed every nite. Things were difficult, but doable. Now that I'm back, with some gear modifications, I sit right around 8300 or so with the buffs I choose to use, and 1650 ac. The difference is astonishing, flat out ridiculous. I'm talking about before I quit, needing a CH before the slow on a Kriger in BoT, to tanking one to death without a heal at all. It's very clear to me that an extra thousand or 2 HP isn't going to make nearly as much difference as more AC. Nowhere is this more clear as surfing the web, with high end people touting near 3k ac unbuffed.

So, here's the task. I've created a new magelo, which is essentially me, with Sturdiness maxed out, AC augs maxed out, and the 2 pieces of doze loot that I'm missing. It also has all of the upgrades that I can basically see as reasonable in the future (finishing up Kizraks, etc). Find me some ugprades. The upgrades must be single groupable, or tradable (reasonable). 6hp = 1ac. ... which means I won't be shifting to all this new OOW fucking garbage with 100hp and 16ac. Caveats --

No Loyalist shield. Fuck SoE, fuck their camps. I don't want them, I don't need them.
No AoW helm. I wore a SSB for too long, I'm not going back to it.
No Crystalline Acid bracer. Things are fucking stupid rare on CT, impossible to find. I'd wear one in a heartbeat, but there's just no chance of getting one.

Also, the upgrade has to be "Worth it." meaning that I'm not going to ugprade for less than 20hp, or 5ac.

I honestly think I'm at the end of the line here, this is as good as a non raider gets. You can pack on all the HP in the world, and it's not gonna mean shit if you can't take a punch. My clerics don't have a 9k mana pool to be chaining Supernal light all goddamned day, this needs to be efficient, and HP isn't efficient anymore.

Here's the magelo -- have fun with it. Prove me wrong. I'm more than willing to work for my shit, but it doesn't look like there's anything worth working for left.

Non Raider

Edit : I know about bracer of the heartstriker. That should be in there too.

[Moruk]

You will see giant AC improvements if you work towards the tier 1 oow armor quests. So far I think only gloves, bp, and arms have been discovered, so your magelo will probably end up being a 'work in progress' and you can put those pieces in there as they appear in magelo database. The arms are something like 46 ac and the gloves are something like 45 ac.

The very last part of your post you said 'I know about bracer of the heartstriker. That should be in there too'. Jhiru and the tier 1 armor pieces arent even on the same page for the difficulty to obtain (not counting legs and bp pieces). So if a heartstriker bracer is obtainable and fits the criteria for your magelo, then the oow tier1 armor definitely does. The named mobs that you have to kill are typically no different than a normal mob standing next to them. I have the arms no-drop piece, and am at kindly, but my router died so I cant pump out the last bit of faction.

[Haass]

Meh, another 10ac in a couple of slots (cuz lets face it, they're not gonna hand out BP/legs to anyone without a raid), is only gonna net another 75ac modified at best. This is still not even close to acceptable when tanks are gonna be over 3000 in a few months.

SOE -- pay attention. Nice job correcting the HP gap, now can we fix the AC one please?

[unclebong]

Would you concider XTC to be doable by your group? If so throw in a Hategiver. I noticed you have ToV quest gear, are any of the NToV mobs doable by your group? Another might be the earring from the Guardian of the Seal. Along with the magnetic stuff, Royal Attendant tends to better AC wise than Ornate.

I think you're right Haass, the HP gap has been fixed for the most part. AC is all that is left worth raiding for it seems like. Fine by me cause I really enjoy raiding and there needs to be something (imo) gearwise to make raiding worth the effort. Im not talking about EP's and Time, more like NToV & Ssra.

In the aug department:
- 50 AC from LDoN
- 30 AC from the 2 Ferubi augs
- 10 AC from Ruined City
- 20 AC from MPG

I didnt look at all your augs, but it looked like you had the LDoN 10AC augs already, but there is still another 60AC to be gotten augment wise from drops (i think there is another gay droppable AC aug thats like 4 AC or something too).

[apolyon]

-Loyalist shield is the best one you will find this side of time. Saying no to that is just plain ridiculous unless you have haste on your back (which you don't). 30ac tradeoff for about 40-50hps ... most warriors would agree this is worth it.
-AoW helm is the best helm before raex. At 21 more ac and 40 more hps it would be silly of you to say no to this one as well.
-Though i'm not sure how easy/hard Seru would be for your small group, he is doable by 6-man teams and trivial these days with more. He has 3 upgrades: earing necklace (move your charm to wrist) breatplate all with nice hp/ac upgrades.
-15ac augs out of Ferubi (2 of them) plus a few others

Gear alone you could add over 60 raw ac (over 100 visible), but for some reason you don't want option a or b. Add in augs and you could technically add btw 110-150 raw ac total. I agree, though, there is a serious lack of ac gear for the non-raider. Upgrades are hard but there are a few out there. Level 70 also raises the defense cap to 270 which adds a fair amount, and the new aa's are very very nice.

I know you don't want you here me talk ... feel free to ignore.

[Spaztic]

I understand what your saying. I don't raid, will never raid.. and I want 2k unbuffed ac, but its just not available right now.

Not trying to sound like an ass, but what do you care anyways? Aren't you gone with WoW?

[unclebong]

oh yea, dont forget about the extra 5 levels of defensive skill ups you get by going to level 70 and the easier time you'll have against the same mobs that chew you up at level 65.

[Brutul]

Hehe, are you looking for gear? or trying to make some kind of petition to SOE about gear balance? Cause if you're trying to prove a point about non-raider AC, leaving out the AoW hat becuase you don't like the graphic isn't gonna make your argument very convincing.

Personally, I loved the SSB look. I'm wearing a no-graphic elemental hat now and I swear I can't fight half as well without horns.

For an upgrade, Warclasp Earring from MPG is an upgrade for your tear of the rainmaker, unless of course you still don't have OoW and all No Drop OoW stuff is out along with the other restrictions.

[Haass]

Hehe, are you looking for gear? or trying to make some kind of petition to SOE about gear balance? Cause if you're trying to prove a point about non-raider AC, leaving out the AoW hat becuase you don't like the graphic isn't gonna make your argument very convincing.

Both That's why it's in the outhouse.

Leaving out 2 slots doesn't change a thing. The AoW helm and the Loyalist shield aren't worth playing this game for. I'm not camping that vampire in a green zone, and there's no way for me to drop the AoW, and I got way better things to spend money on than a 250k helm.

If I can't upgrade the rest of the slots, then there's no point anyway.

For an upgrade, Warclasp Earring from MPG is an upgrade for your tear of the rainmaker, unless of course you still don't have OoW and all No Drop OoW stuff is out along with the other restrictions.

I don't have OOW..but one piece of gear isn't worth buying it for. Everything else I've seen coming out of there is either tradable (hence obtainable without owning it) or just complete ass on AC. If that holds true for the vast majority of the gear in said expansion, then I know not to waste my time buying it.

Edit -- that ended up being more harsh than I wanted. If it ends up that this whole thread gets filled up with 40hp upgrades, then I know that there is a future for me in this game. If it fizzles out, and everyone says "Ya, you pretty much need a Zek helm and a Loyalist shield" then I know where to go with my money again.

[Moruk]

Originally Posted by Haass

I don't have OOW..but one piece of gear isn't worth buying it for.

Doh, I missed that part. Scratch the tier 1 oow quest armor post, my mistake.

[unclebong]

with out OoW, you're pretty much screwed Haass

[Slammer]

Was this posted for a good laugh ?

[Partha]

The LDoN armors have better AC than your hat. Tak one is AC 39, EF one is 35, plus you get the extra aug slots. Not much, and you lose a few HP, though.

[Haass]

Originally Posted by Partha

The LDoN armors have better AC than your hat. Tak one is AC 39, EF one is 35, plus you get the extra aug slots. Not much, and you lose a few HP, though.

Yeah, but LDoN is such a drag. I could get 40hp augments for all slots too, but we all know where that would lead....the room with the padded walls.

with out OoW, you're pretty much screwed Haass

I don't think so...I think I'd be screwed with OOW.

All of the OOW loot I've seen is just asstastic AC, in exchange for a few HP. Is it not?

Why would I drop my Doze pauldrons for a 16ac 140hp mantle? Why would I drop my doze neck for a 120hp neck with 17ac? This is the loot I see from 1 groupable areas of OOW, and it's not compelling me to purchase said expansion.

[Bruenorg]

Marsinger gem for your range slot...10 more AC and nice stats. I have my UI setup so its easy to swap in my bow whenever I need to use it.