What I Will Be Working On Eventually: Lyriana (71 Fae Dirge, EQ2) and various alts

I haven't been on EQ2 recently, but it's the last stop on my Labor Day tour of in-game goals anyway.


Insert random old EQ2 screenshot here.

Lyriana is level 71 and in no hurry to make it the rest of the way to level 80. Though EQ2 has substantial amounts of solo content, that is not necessarily the game's primary demographic. The Kunark expansion, which moved the level cap from 70 to 80 primarily via solo questing, was not entirely appreciated by veterans of the group game. My guess is that the expansion that raises the level cap in February will contain a solo leveling path of some sort, but will not contain as much original solo content. I want to be sure that I save anything that I don't need to get to level 80 for the trek to 90.

Beyond routine questing, I'm not sure what Lyriana's immediate goals will be. She is already level 80 in her crafting profession. Unless they're changing the way this works, she cannot use mounts without forfeiting her racial slowfall and gliding abilities, so there's no point in grinding for mounts. There are some misc rep grinds, including the tradeskill epic questline, but I'm not necessarily in the market for grinding for gear - if I wanted to be doing that, I could be doing it in WoW. There's also the epic weapon questline, but I don't know whether I'd be likely to be able to complete it.

I guess the fact that I DON'T know what I'd be doing with Lyriana may be part of why I haven't moved so quickly to finish her leveling process.

The Army of Alts
Instead, I've been working on alts. Kreejak is sitting at 31 Warden/46 Tailor, and will probably work on the TSO tradeskill quests when he hits 50 tailoring. He is, unfortunately, going to be hit relatively hard by the racial trait revamp; he loses an attack I use on a regular basis, and got stuck with the healer/tank trait packages (would be a plus except I play him as solo melee DPS). Also, I am somewhat dependent on my guildies for spell upgrades, and, while they're very cooperative in that regard, I prefer a bit more self-sufficiency when I can manage it.

I'm also planning a large array of potential alts, which I've discussed previously. These guys are relevant because they would allow me to stagger my tradeskilling and adventuring. Between Lyriana and Kreejak, I have armor and jewelry covered both for the Ratonga Bruiser/Monk+Alchemist and the mystery race Wizard+Sage (perhaps Kerra or Half Elf for racial tracking skills?). The Monk would, in turn, be able to supply the post-expansion Barbarian Pally+Armorer with spells.

Having a larger stable of alts would make it easier for me to adventure when I'm in the mood for adventure and craft when I'm in the mood for crafting, without as much concern about one getting ahead of the other. It also seems that the longtime EQ2 players who don't raid have similarly large stables of alts, so perhaps they're onto something.

Overall, I'm probably going to get back to EQ2 in October and stay there until the LOTRO expansion is ready. From the way the calendar is playing out, it doesn't look like I'm going to be bored anytime in the next six months.