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Level
1
In a word, Skeletons. Yes, Skeletons. At level one you
hunt Skeletons. Got it? . Remember, a skeleton with
a weapon supersedes any other option of enemy at this
point, so if you see a dead guy waving an axe, go hurt
him. Especially cracked staff's they sell for 1 plat
to a vendor. Purchase your remaining first level spells
whenever possible. My advice: buy them all. Some will
say that you should only purchase certain ones, but
the truth of the matter is that there is enough money
available through a little hard work to have them all.
The most important spell you'll acquire is Snare, however,
so if you are short on money early on, for whatever
reason, make sure you get it at least. From this point
on, I'm going to take it for granted that you did whatever
was necessary to purchase the line of spells available
at each spell level before throwing yourself back into
the fray. Keep in mind there is no loss if you die.
actually up to lvl 10 there is a gain. You return to
your bind point at full mana and full health. So if
your low on mana and the run back from your bind point
isn't too far it's sometimes a good idea to kill yourself
to reduce the med time.
Level
2-4
At these levels you also need to get into the habit
of practicing 2 things: Forage (if you have it), and
consider. No, consider is not a skill, but you need
to make a habit of con'ing everything before you even
think about attacking it. You'll see why in a moment.
Set Forage a hot key and keep it in use all the time.
This makes a world of difference later. By level 2,
3, or 4, orc pawns (or gnoll pups, whichever may be
the case) will be blue to you, so kill them. Make sure
to con them ahead of time; all orcs are not created
equal. Also be sure to find them alone. Nothing worse
than pulling an orc pawn only to have his buddy the
oracle come running to his aid. Also, keep abreast of
quests for this level there are at least two or three
you can accomplish in your spare time for fair experience
and items/money and newbie armor. If your in Gfay you'll
be trying to collect as many cinnamon sticks and morning
dews as possible foraging. These sell well in the bazaar
and will help you buy your gear. Spiderling silks are
also good money so kill any mobs you see that drops
them.
Level 5-6
At level five you get spells, buy them. At this point
you can hunt (read: SOLO) orc centurions. The best way
to go about this is to head to the orc lift and go straight
down the path to orc hill. When the huts are in sight,
camoflage yourself and go up the hill. At the top of the
hill, turn right ninety degrees and head down the slope.
You'll see two sets of huts on the ground below. Go past
them a few feet, stop, turn around, camp. Harmony whichever
orcs you don't want to pull (usually the ones that are
higher than you: red or yellow) and then snare the one
you want. If he gets close and you need to get away, root
him and back off, then nuke. By this method you can make
it up to level 7 rather easily.
Level 7-8
Level 7 and 8 are not mechanically, or technically, hell
levels. But you might think they are anyway. I died a
great many times at 7, and you will probably die at least
once or twice. The problem arises when you discover how
massive your down time is (since you don't have meditate
yet) and how little experience these orcs are bringing
now. Here's where dying and returning with full health
and mana really pay off, no down time. Ok on to CB (just
head past the two camping huts to the path and turn; you
should be able to see the torches at the entrance). Walk
past the entrance a little bit, then turn left and walk
to the edge of the river running along the side. Across
the river is a pair of orcs. One should be green, and
the other is probably blue. Snare him, then nuke him until
he dies. The effect is very similar to kiting, which is
how you'll spend a great many hours once you hit 14, so
get used to it. It's a wonderful feeling, watching the
poor centurion truck his heavy tail all the way down to
the bridge to get across while you nuke him. Once done,
Camo again, sit down, and wait for the next spawn. This
will get you to eight at least, wherein you should go
practice in meditation (one point) to get it started.
The orc will eventually go green, at which point you should
more or less wander around near the entrance of CB (either
inside or out) and kill orcs until you hit level nine.
You may also want to begin dealing in "orc belts" and
"lego pads." These are essentially just quest items in
Kaladim, but there's usually a good market for them in
the Greater Faydark, so if you happen to get any, sell
them for around 5 plat a piece and consider going back
for more. Some people will tell you to work on getting
a high AC, but considering that once you hit 14 you won't
be taking damage much more except in emergency, I would
suggest that you look for stat boosting items. not necessarily
wisdom, but anything that seems like a bargain. 10, all
of my attributes were green except for Charisma, and it
makes a considerable difference.
Level 9
Spells, yay. At level nine, it's time to begin travelling.
Granted, you could hang around the orc hill looking for
the occasional blue to spawn, or you could go into CB
and try to solo without starting a train ... or if you're
really desperate, you could even group. Best bet, though,
head to Butcherblock Mountains. Facing the CB entrance,
turn left and follow the wall until the next zone. That's
BB. At this point, run around a bit and familiarize yourself
with the area, so you'll know how to get back to zoneline
if you get desperate. Giant scarabs, dwarf skeletons,
and goblins make for good experience here. Just make sure
to con and watch for buddies. You've been practicing Forage,
haven't you?
Level 10-11
Interesting thing happened to me at these levels. I grouped.
Yes, it's a terrifying thought for a druid, but it wasn't
bad at the time. If you do happen to group with another
person or two, the best options are the chessboard (ask
for directions) or the bandit camp. If you have three
you have the option of going to the Lesser Faydark and
camping the Nybright sisters. Really not worth the travelling
though. I spent a good deal of time in these levels with
a partner. He was a dwarf cleric, and by means of fear
and cleric buffs, camping became much easier. I recommend
getting a partner and camping the bandits next to the
altar in BB (approx -634, -651). Harmony them all and
then pull one at a time. After they've all been killed
once, they'll spawn in the order you slaughtered them,
so you shouldn't have to harmony again.
Level 12-13
Same routine, just do it by yourself. Just make sure you
pull far enough from the camp that if another one spawns
during the fight, he/she won't come and help. You can
take them apart one at a time, but two bandits on you
can make things very difficult. Believe it or not, they
will get you to 14; it just takes a great deal of patience.
Level 14
I suggest at this point that you prepare a speech for
the people of the Greater Faydark and Butcherblock Mountains,
for level fourteen is without doubt one of the finest
hours of a druid's life. You had not begun to live until
now. That's right, you have them now. SoW and Bind, the
pedestals upon which your future career will hinge.Head
to the POK book in greater Fay and then take the book
to Freeport. You have the option from there of going to
the Desert of Ro or the Commons. I chose West Commons
on account of the bears, but Ro leads to Oasis, which
is an excellent hunting ground if you have a keen eye
for lurking killers (such as Sand Giants). Wherever you
go, practice kiting. Snare the mob, nuke or DoT, then
switch (if you nuked, DoT; if you DoT'ed, nuke). When
it gets close, turn and run, turn back and continue until
it's dead. Best method is to make a general circle around
where you started. If you involve a large area you'll
start a train or at least get yourself killed by whatever
you cross. Once you have the hang of it, your options
expand dramatically. I chose to go to Qeynos.
Level 14-19
Head over to NK and hunt pincer beetles at around level
16 or 17. They'll be blue or even high green most of the
time, but they rarely make contact during melee, so they're
excellent to practice combat skills. Make sure you're
relatively proficient in both 1 hand blunt and 1 hand
slashing. You may not need both all the time, but the
druid epic weapon is a scimitar, and the best selection
of mid level weapons available are blunt. You can also
experiment with charming griffawns at these levels, but
it becomes very frustrating when your pet turns on you,
you're out of mana, and the guards go chasing after a
snake just when you need them. Also, Forage should be
raising now. By 17, it should be in the mid 60's or higher
at the very least. |
