I was really excited to hear that Chris “Wolfy” Neal was going to be running through EverQuest Legends as part of Massively’s “Choose My Adventure” series. This is the series where a columnist plays an MMO up to a certain decision point, and then the readers choose what they do next.
Chris started a Kerran, which is cool. I like Kerrans! I also chose one! I played a gnome magician in beta, and typically played halflings in EQ classic. Kerrans are new to EverQuest Legends. EQ classic’s cat race, the Vah’Shir, were very different. They stood upright and had normal legs and feet. Kerrans are crouched over and have cat-like legs and feet.
But the problem with Kerrans is that they have no starter zone. No field of closely packed, low level, non-aggro mobs to kill while getting those crucial lower levels and learning your class. What’s worse, he chose Bard as his primary class, and Warrior for the secondary. Bard is a tough class to play. Warrior for secondary isn’t a bad choice. The combo can kind of work.
So: first off, choose a decent starting zone. My zone of choice is Steamfont, the Ak’anon newbie zone in Faydwer. It takes awhile to get to (Kerra Isle -> Toxxulia -> Erudin -> Erud’s Crossing -> Qeynos -> Freeport -> Ocean of Tears -> Butcherblock -> Greater Faydark -> Lesser Faydark -> Steamfont) but once you’re there, you have a newbie zone that will take you to level 15, get you great gear for the level, lots of non-aggro mobs that just want to be killed quickly, and easy access to Crushbone, one of the best low-level dungeons in the game with truly incredible gear.
Chris could stop in Freeport and work his way through the Commonlands and Nektulos Forest for more good leveling, culminating in Befallen, another low level dungeon with astonishingly good loot.
By this time, Chris’ bard has chosen their third class, presumably druid (for buffs, heals and ports) or wizard (for insane damage and ports) and learned about stances and invocations in order to stay alive. As a bard, this is their time to learn how to kite. Go to the aviak village (“KFC”) in South Karana, pull the entire thing, and dot them to death while running around in circles. EverQuest Legends’ “Symphonic Aura” makes this trivial, and he can still twist in more useful songs.
At level 30, I’d go to the Temple of Cazic-Thule. Lots of open space and running around Alligator Alley is just good eating with lots of lizards and alligators which are fairly easy to kill, and the Avatar of Fear and his Cazic Cenobite companion at the end for farming Ravenscale and Rubicite.
At 35, Chris will be ready for Lower Guk or the deeper parts of Sol B — Nagafen’s Lair. Either one will take him easily to 40. And then, of course, the dragons, which would be a good cap for the adventure.
So that’s my plan for a kitty bard.
Header image is MY kitty doing nasty things to Tesch Val Deval Nmak, one of the gnoll bosses in the revamped Splitpaw. I convinced a Tesch Mal warrior of the worthiness of my cause (which was to get to level 38) so had some help. My time there ended when I had to refresh my buffs and stuff repopped on my while my battle spells were down. I’d been clearing three rooms of yellows, just barely, and was trying to find a moment without spawns to do what needed to be done. My charmed pet always chooses that time to break.
I backed into a wall, got defensive, hit Origin to return home to Kerra Isle, then ported to Lavastorm and finished out the level in Sol B, killing kobold nameds. I think next time, though, I’ll just head to LGuk and do some farming. Up in guild yesterday, Stingite had put a dark elf illusion mask on his beastlord pet and now he had a dark elf following him around everywhere. Optics, not the greatest, but it sounded like fun.
Plan still is to get to level 40 and then kill the dragon.
