Creation Guide
Starting Out - The Basics
Statistics
Terminology and Chat Terms
Welcome to Everquest Online Adventures (EQOA). The following is a
quick guide to the basics of EQOA for those who are just starting out or those who are thinking
of playing a different character type. It may not answer all of your questions but will answer
the majority of the questions that are commonly asked by new players. Additional information
is listed in all of the pages for the individual classes and races so be sure to check them out, too.
To begin, you must create a character by choosing a class and race for them.
Your class is essentially your 'job' and is divided into 4 different types (arch-types): Tank, Healer (Priest),
Melee, and Caster. Do you want to be the one that can take lots of damage and not have too much else
to worry about? Do you want to be able to heal? Do you want to be in a support roll? Depending on
how you want to play will narrow down your choices. So lets talk about the different arch-types
and what each will do in the game.
Tanks
Tanks are the first arch-type we will talk about. Tanks, as the name
implies, are the heavily armored players designed to take damage. As a tank, you are there to take
the damage and keep the other members of your party from taking it. Tanks are able to wear the heaviest
of the armors in the game to help them with this job. One thing to note, though, tanks are not big damage
dealers. You have attacks that do damage but you will never be any where close to the damage of a
melee or caster class character. To play a tank you must remember that the Taunt ability is your main
tool (it increases your agro and makes the enemy attack you and not another) so use it often. You will learn quick the
importance of taunt and just how much you must use it. The more damage your group does to an enemy,
the more you'll need to taunt. Tanks are also the group member that goes into a camp and pulls an
enemy to your group for them to kill. Learning how to pull is the 2nd most important thing you will
need to learn. If you taunt too soon, you will get more than one creature attacking you. Body pulling (when
you walk up close to the mob so they start attacking you due to proximity) and then taunting after you are
near your group, is a difficult skill for some to learn. Learning how to pull and keeping the agro (with taunt)
will give you a good reputation and get you invited to a group more often. Nobody wants to die and they
won't if you do your job.
Each tank class has its own strengths and weaknesses, too (see the related
links for specific information). Warriors can do the most damage of all the tank classes at lower levels
while Shadowknights can do the most at higher levels. Paladins can heal themselves making it so they can solo, if
need be. Shadowknights can drain an enemy's life but not til higher levels and not to the same degree as a
paladins heal. The important thing to remember is that you will rarely solo anything past level 10 or so but
being able to regain life can be a life saver if the groups healer dies. If you taunt and pull well, that
won't happen, though.
Healers
Healers are the ones that keep your group alive. If the tank does his job,
the healer has an easy job since they only have to heal the tank. Which class you choose depends on
what you want to do. Healers are also a buffing class so which you choose depends a lot on the buffs you
want to have. Clerics and Druids can buff Armor Class (AC) and Hit Points (HP) where as Shamans
can buff statistics. AC buffs help mainly the tank though it can save a direct damage (DD) if
they happen to get hit due to the HP increase. Shaman buffs are more beneficial to the DDs
in the group since it boosts their damage output. Clerics also can wear the same heavy armor as a
tank, they get undead damage spells, and they have the best rez (bringing a character back from the dead)
in the game. Druids and Shamans get Spirit of the Wolf (SoW) which lets you run faster but you will
be constantly harassed from people who want it.
The main thing a healer needs to do is heal. Mainly this will be the
tank, but you must keep alert in case someone else needs help. Casters, for example, can't take
damage therefore quick reflexes can be the difference between life and death for them. Another important
thing to remember is that healing and buffing draws a large amount of agro. Learning to time your
heals to keep your group alive along with only healing what is needed (don't use your biggest heal all
the time) is the difference between being a good or bad healer. Telling your tank to stop pulling for a
moment so you can rebuff the group is common and is better than the alternative, buffing and getting agro
which often results in YOUR death. Also, if you don't want to die, learn not to run when you do get
agro. A tanks taunt spell is very short range so if you are too far away, he can't save you.
There are always times when you should run (if you have 3 or more hitting you then you should run unless you
have a very good tank) but don't make a habit of it. Healers can't do damage very well (except clerics vs.
undead) but if your tank doesn't need healed too much, don't forget to nuke a little since every bit
of damage does add up. Faster kills mean more XP.
Melee
Melee are the first of the Direct Damage arch-types we will talk about.
Melees are able to wear chain armor so they can take a few hits and survive, but can't wear the heavy
armor that tanks wear. Melee classes will also have more HP than most other classes, further helping
their survivability. The difference between melee and tanks, besides the armor, are the wide array
of attacks they have at their disposal. Rangers are masters of the bow and, hence, good at ranged
damage. Rogues have powerful back stabs. Bards have great attacks but also have a wide array of buffs
that can help the group, too. Melee classes are easy to play but you are always busy (especially in the
case of a bard) using their powerful attacks to help kill a mob fast. The main thing you have to worry
about (this applies to all classes but especially to casters and melees) is power management. If you use
up all your power, you can't attack. This takes practice but is something you must always watch. Once
you have it down, though, you can do a lot of damage per mob, which is what you are there for...damage.
Casters
Finally, we come to casters. They are the 2nd type of DD classes but
can be some of the most powerful characters in the game. The important thing to remember when you're
in a group is that you are a caster. That means you should always be casting. Too many casters
in the game just sit back and let their pets do damage while they stand around. If you want to get lots
of XP in a group (and get a good reputation at the same time) then cast. After all, you are there
to do damage so why not do as much as possible. The down side is that you are always busy casting.
You must manage your power carefully or risk running out fast. Also, if you are constantly casting
(referred to as chain casting) then you also cant be chatting at the same time. This is something
that happens a lot in game but if you do your job right, you can still participate in a conversation
but not be overly chatty.
Casters have probably the highest damage potential of all the arch-types.
Wizards and Alchemists do the damage directly with powerful nukes and/or potions. The other caster
classes (Enchanter, Magician, Necromancer) all get powerful pets to increase their damage output since
their nukes aren't as powerful. Which caster class you choose depends on how you want to play. Wizards
are the most group dependent of the classes. Alchemists are close behind but their ability to wear better
armor (leather) than all the other casters makes them a bit more survivable. Any of the casters with
pets can solo (with practice and skill) since the pet will act like a tank and keep the caster from
taking the damage. The deciding factor when choosing may be in the secondary abilities that each class
has. Wizards have familiars that help them with their power problems. Enchanters are also masters
of power but their abilities help the entire group. Alchemists create potions that can be traded and
sold quite easily. The main ones being invisibility (for the classes that don't have) and Alacrity
(which is like SoW that only druids and shamans have). Alchemists also have very beneficial stat buffs.
Magicians have the ability to buff and heal their pets and also get a damage shield that can add
to the damage output of the group. Necromancers have the ability to lifetap (steal an enemy's HP and add
it to theirs) and transfer their life to others which greatly adds to their survivability of
themselves and the group. All are fun to play but they are all quite different even though they are all
the same arch-type.
After you've decided on a class, the rest is fairly easy. You will
need to choose a race. When choosing a race you should first ask yourself if you want to play
an evil or good race. It makes little difference in the long run although the good races have a
slight advantage in the coaches they get. This helps since their coaches are closer to some of the
quest places and greatly cuts down on the running they must do. It's a minor thing in my opinion but
isn't to everyone. The important thing to look at when choosing a race is the racial Class Masteries
(CM's). Depending on your class, some of the racial CMs can greatly help you in your offensive or
defensive capabilities, so take a good look at them when deciding. The starting stats vary a bit
by race for the same class but this is a relatively small thing since eventually your main stats
will all be maxed anyways. Another thing that can make a difference to some are the starting quests.
Some of the races have quests that are much more difficult or time consuming than other races (for
the same class). Make sure you read the specific race pages for information on racial CMs along
with suggested point allocation.
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The following is a description of each of the character
statistics and how it will affect you.
Strength (STR)
Strength is the character's physical power. It affects
the amount of damage you can do with melee weapons (swords, maces, etc.) and is very
important for tanks and melee classes because of that. It is even more important for tanks
since it is also used as a modifier for many of their abilities, Taunt being the most
important of them.
Stamina (STA)
Stamina is the character's physical fortitude. It is used
to calculate your hit points. The formula for this is HP = LVL x ((STA/11) + HP Factor).
Agility (AGI)
Agility defines a character's quickness. This affects your
defensive ability in combat. Though it may affect your AC, no formula is known as to
how it affects it.
Dexterity (DEX)
Dexterity represents your character's hand-eye coordination.
It affects your ability to land blows more effectively in combat. Dexterity also factors into
the damage potential for ranged weapons (similar to how strength affects melee damage). Also,
most caster nukes have a DEX modifier (usually 15% but higher for wizards). It is used to determine
how often an Offensive Item proc will go off.
Wisdom (WIS)
Wisdom is the measure of a character's willpower and faith.
According to Sony, for every 7 points of wisdom, you get 1 point added to all of your resists.
There is doubt, however, to the validity of this fact. Wisdom does affect your ability to land
blows more effectively with ranged weapons (similar to how dexterity affects melee damage).
Intelligence (INT)
Intelligence represents a character's intellect and problem
solving ability. It is also to determine how often an Offensive Spell proc will go off.
The base chance goes up by 1% for every 10 points in intelligence.
Charisma (CHA)
Charisma is your character's physical beauty and charm.
It is used primarily by healers to determine how much they heal for (25% of CHA is added to
base heal amount). Charisma is also used by any of the classes that can charm.
Power
Power (or mana as its sometimes called) is the energy your
character has available to perform abilities. The amount of power you have is based upon
the 2 primary stats for your class (see the specific class page to find out what they are
for each) along with your level.
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Terminology and Chat Abbreviations
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The following are some of the more common terms and abbreviations
that you will see in EQOA. There will always be new and colorful terms that get used that aren't
here, but at least you will be familiar with most. Hopefully this will help you from having to
ask 'what does that mean' every minute.
AC Armor Class - The amount of protection given by your armor and protective spells
Add When a tank pulls an extra mob besides the one he was trying to get
AFK Away From Keyboard - When a player is not at their controller and are unable to do anything
Agro Aggressive - When a mob will attack you on sight (red faced) - Also will hear holding agro which is when the tank keeps the mob on themselves and not the group
Alt An Alternate character - not a players primary/main character
AoE Area of Effect - A spell or ability that has a radius that it affects, hitting multiple targets
Bind To use a spiritmaster to set your return point
BRB Be Right Back - usually used instead of AFK but may also be used when a character is running to a town to sell/repair
BTW By The Way
Bub or Bubble Refers to the experience/life/mana 'Bubbles'. In the case of the XP bubbles, will also see Y for Yellow bubbles and P for Pink/Red bubbles
Buff A spell/ability that enhances a character
Camp A spot in a zone where multiple creatures of the same type spawn
Chain Cast When a character casts their spells/nukes back to back in order to do the maximum amount of damage
Chain Pull When a tank pulls one mob then runs to get another mob as soon as the first begins to run (is almost dead)
Con Consider - refers to the color of the mob when you target (green, blue, white, yellow, red)
CYA See You - used instead of good bye
DD Direct Damage
Ding When a character goes up a level
DoT Damage over Time
DS Damage Shield - a spell or armor effect that damages the person who is attacking
EQ Everquest
Farm When a character/group stays in a spot and repeatedly kills the same mob (or group of mobs) in order to get rares or specific items
FYI For Your Information
GM Game Master - A Sony employee that supervises/monitors in game problems/complaints
Grind Refers to getting XP - often used to describe a group that stays together for a long period of time to get XP
GTG Can be either Good to Go (ready to fight in a group) or Got to Go (has to leave a group)
IMO In My Opinion
J/K Just Kidding
K OK
Kill Steal (KS) The act of killing a creature another group has engaged so that they don't get experience. KSing is against the rules and the best way (in the least) of not getting group invites or (worse case) getting your account suspended
Kite When a caster/healer uses root and then a nuke to solo a mob, keeping it from hitting them
Lag Having a slow connection
LD Link Dead - When a player has lost their connection but the character still shows - The server will automatically remove them as an active player after receiving no signal for a period of time. Until then, they are vulnerable
LFG Looking For Group
LMAO Laugh My Ass Off
LOL Laugh Out Loud - means something was funny
LOM Low on Mana (Power)
Loot The act of stripping a corpse of their possessions - can also refer to the possessions themselves
Loot Whore A character who takes an above average amount of the loot in a group (AKA - greedy) - this doesn't apply when there is a main looter (see ML below)
LOS Line of Sight
Main A player's primary character
Mistell When you accidentally send a tell (private message) to the wrong person (may be abbreviated MT but isn't to be confused with MT (Main Tank))
ML Main Looter - the person in a group assigned to do all the looting - This person holds stacks for the tank and distributes other items to the rest of the group - This saves time in the long run
MOB Mobile Object - Any of the server controlled creatures that are attackable in game
MT Main Tank - Refers to the Primary Tank in a guild/raid situation and is the one who will keep agro even though there are other tanks there
Nerf When a spell/ability is programmed to be less affective (refers to the toy-to soften)
Ninja Loot To take an item off of a corpse and then leave the group or log off of the game
Noob A person new to the game. At higher levels referring to someone as a noob means they don't know how to play
NP No Problem
NPC Non-Player Character - A server controlled character that you can interact with
Nuke The act of unleashing a powerful direct damage spell (or refers to the spell itself)
OMG Oh My God
OMW/OTW On My/The Way
PC Player Character - a character controlled by a player or also Personal Computer (ie EQPC = everquest on a personal computer)
Pet A creature that is summoned or charmed by a character to assist in fighting
Placeholder A creature that spawns in place of another Mob - Often quest/rare mobs have placeholders that must be killed to get the correct mob to spawn
Ploob A Power Leveled Noob that is higher level but still doesn't know how to play
Pop When a mob spawns
Port Teleport - a line of spells for druids and wizards that transports the group to various locations around Tunaria - usually places that don't have coaches nearby
Power Level (PL) When a higher level character takes the damage from a mob so that a character/group can get XP from a mob they normally couldn't kill themselves
Proc Process - Used to describe a weapon or spell effect that has an effect that activates randomly (often modified by stats) while you fight
PST Please Send Tell
Pull To bring a mob to a more defensible position for a character/group to kill
PVP Player versus Player - Dueling in EQOA
Rdy Ready
Rez (Res) Resurrect - To bring a character back from death - reducing the debt received from death
RL Real Life
Roamer A mob that moves around or patrols a camp
ROFL Roll On the Floor Laughing - something was Really funny
Root A spell/ability that immobilizes a mob - root is broken whenever the mob takes damage (from attacks/pets/DoTs) or after the duration of the spell - Used for crowd control when too many mobs are pulled and the group would die if all of them continued to attack at once. Rooted mobs can still use melee attacks (if within range) and spells
SoW Spirit of the Wolf - A spell that increases run speed
Spawn When a mob comes into existence
Toon Used to describe a players character
Train When a character who is being attacked by one or more mobs purposefully runs towards another character/group trying to get the mob(s) to attack them instead - This is highly illegal and you can be banned for this.
Twink When a player has their high level character give their low level character equipment and/or money that they wouldn't normally be able to obtain
TY Thank You
WB Welcome Back
WTB Want To Buy
WTF What The F--K
WTH Want To Hire
WTS Want To Sell
WTT Want To Trade
XP Experience Points
YW You're Welcome
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