EZ Server

Hi Everyone

Thought I'd try and consolidate all the information available on the forums on the Ring of the Ages (RoA) quest.  I've found that there seems to be bits of information all over the place and not particularly useful when you're looking for info in a hurry.  Thanks to all who took the time to reply to people's posts and provide the basis of what I'm laying down here.

What is the RoA?
This is the reward given for The Prestige Quest, which begins in Surefall Glade (just outside the room with the Buff and Teleport bots).  If you hail the quest giver in Surefall she will give you a detailed account of how the quest works.  In a nutshell - you hail her (once you're level 70), get a ring (with no stats) that you'll give back to to receive a ring with stats (See below for a list of the stats on the Rank 1 ring).  Apon returning the ring to her you will be immediately delevelled to level 1 and will need to work your way back to level 70 before you can hand your ring in again to get the next rank.  Before you submit the ring you also need to remember to unequip all items and ensure that you're AA points are turned off.

What stats are on the ring?
The Rank 1 ring has minimal stats on it.  They are as follows:

RoA Rank 1
AC = 1
Skill Mod: Baking 99%
Effect: Ethereal Rune (must equip)
Recast delay 15 sec
Str, Dex, Sta, Cha, Wis, Int, Agi = +1
HP = 100
Mana = 100
 SV Fire, Cold, Disease, Magic, Poison = +1
Shielding +1%
Stun Resist =+1%


RoA Rank 50
AC = 200
Skill Mod: Baking 99%
Effect: Ethereal Rune (must equip)
Recast delay 15 sec
Str, Dex, Sta, Cha, Wis, Int, Agi = +50
HP = 10,000
Mana = 10,000
 SV Fire, Cold, Disease, Magic, Poison = +50
Regen = +500
Shielding +6%
Avoidance = +50
Stun Resist =+50%
Required lvl = 65


RoA Rank 100
AC = 300
Skill Mod: Baking 99%
Effect: Unknown Spell (must equip)  10k Rune
Recast delay 20 sec
Str, Dex, Sta, Cha, Wis, Int, Agi = +100
HP = 25,000
Mana = 10,000
Endurance = 10,000
 SV Fire, Cold, Disease, Magic, Poison = +100
Regen = +500
Shielding +10%
Avoidance = +100
Stun Resist = +100%
Dot shielding = +100%
Haste =150%
Required lvl = 70

Notes:
Levelling the ring from Ranks 51 – 100 will be done without the ring equipped (due to the lvl requirement placed on the ring at level 50).

Levelling from 51 – 100 occurs in the standard fashion with the following exclusions:

59 – 60  You will need to hand in a Master Baking Trophy + RoA Rank 59 to receive the Rank 60 Ring.

69 – 70  You will need to hand in a Master Brewing Trophy + RoA Rank 69 to receive the Rank 70 Ring

79 – 80  You will need to hand in a Master Tailoring Trophy + RoA Rank 79 to receive the Rank 80 Ring

89 – 90  You will need to hand in a Master Blacksmithing Trophy + RoA Rank 89 to receive the Rank 90 Ring

99 – 100  You will need to hand in a Master Jewelcrafting Trophy + RoA Rank 99 to receive the Rank 100 Ring

*** See http://www.eqtraders.com/articles/news_page.php  (http://www.eqtraders.com/articles/news_page.php) for detailed information on how to get those items.  You may want to get two of each item as you go to get your flag to get into the Crafter's Guild on the server.

RoA Basic Tool Kit
Before you commence this quest, there are some things you’ll need to have as a basic starting point (especially if you are planning to do the levels as quickly as possible).  Minimum tools are as follows:
- 1.0 epic (2 if you can duel wield)
- Noobie lvl1. Charm (To help teleport yourself)
- Druid Lvl 70 with 3.0 and Druid Regen Spell (From PoD)
- Shammy lvl 70 with 3.0 (clicky adds 10k hps)
- Any lvl 70 character that can mass pull in an exp zone to PL you from 47 to 70 (probably holding a 2.5 epic or better)
- Membership in either Fighters or Casters Guild.

Optional Tools for enhanced play
- Druid with v II of the Regen spell (drops in T3)
- Shammy 4.0 with Kraken (spell drop from T3 - vendor purchased for 1 Mill plat) 4.0 will add 25k HPs to the equation (3.0 adds 10k)
- lvl 70 Mage or Bard (enhanced DS -- Bard use requires some getting use to)
- Blue Diamond Armour (Crafter made - adds 25k HPs)


FAQ on the tool kit and levelling:
1.Do I need to work on getting armour from Dulak to wear while levelling?
a.   No.  You can pretty much level from 1 – 47 in 30 mins with the above basic tool kit without needing any items or equipment aside from the ring, 1.0 epic and the noobie charm.  NOTE: Using the advanced tool kit will decrease the time it takes you to level.  Players using a Bard/Shammy combo can level from 1 - 47 in about 10 mins.
2.  What do I do with the druid?
a.   Use the following buffs on the toon doing the levelling: Steeloak Skin, Spirit of Eagle, Nettleskin and the regen spell you got from T1.  

3.   Where should I go?
a.   Any zone that is primarily lvl 20 to 50 with lots of mobs (eg City of Mist, Mistmoore, Maiden's Eye and Gunthak are quite popular for RoA).  Some people use a combination of zones that also includes The Grey post lvl 41.

4.   How many mobs can I pull with those buffs on?
a.   This depends on the ring level.  The higher the stats on the ring, the easier it is to level (obviously levels 51 to 100 are the default as you can’t wear the ring while you level because your HPs will be quite low).  As a general rule, I try to pull no more than 2 mobs (that con red) on the first pull.  This will usually level me to about 9 when they die.  Second pull (now with more HPs) I’ll try to pull about 3 or 4.  By the time you’re about level 20 you should be able to pull up to 10 mobs.  By the time you’re 30 you should be able to pull about 15.

By the time the ring is at rank 10 – your first pull of reds can be up to 15 mobs.  Thus as the ring gets higher the quest becomes easier (until the level cap).

5.   How long do the buffs last?
a.   The Oakskin, SoE and Nettleshield will last long enough for you to level to 47 if you’re pulling fast.  The trick is watching the Regen.  Usually you find out it’s dropped the first time when you death pull.  I’ve found that getting into a rhythm of pulling 3 times and then redoing the regen works best.

6.   At what level does the ring become useful in the quest?
a.   I’ve found that by the time the ring is at level 5 it really starts to make a difference.  By level 10, your first pulls can be with 10 to 15 mobs at least.

7.   At what point is the ring useful in general?
a.   Again, with the added HPs and Mana, the ring is really useful from about lvl 5 onwards.

8.   Why do you recommend being a member of the FG or CG in the tool kit?  
a.   Once you’ve levelled back to 70 you’ll find that all your base melee or casting skills are less than basic (mainly because it was DS that did all the work in the lower levels – and PL that got you back to 70).  Using the trainers in either guilds to max out your stats means you’ve really lost nothing in doing the quest.

9.   Do I need to have all my AAs before starting this?
a.   No.  They are helpful only in a minor way.  At the end of the day it is about the buffs that you have on when you do the lower levels that make all the difference.

10.   What about Sharman/Bard combo?
a.   This combo has really become the method of choice on the server.  A Sharman with a 3.0 (or 4.0) will certainly make a HUGE difference to your overall HP’s and their Kraken means you hit a LOT harder.  The Bard DS is also insane but comes with a cost.  It lasts for about 16 seconds which means you need to pull, group with the bard long enough for the DS to land, then degroup (so the bard doesn't steal all the exp).  It takes a while to get the routine right but really a very fast way to do RoA.

11.   What’s the best character to use to PL from 47 to 70?
a.   Again, a lot of discussion on the forums about this.  It really comes down what your most powerful toon is that has the ability to mass kill quickly.  Personally, I like using either a War (with Anger Vs) holding a 4.0 or better or a BL (or any Pet class that can kill as it goes).  Some recommend Mages in Pofire due to the fact that their AE doesn’t aggro bosses and the use of a pet with warewolf illusion is stackable with a mage epic 2.5.

12.   How long does a typical RoA rank take with this toolkit?
a.   I can usually level from 1 to 47 in about 25 mins.  Using a 3.0 War on the back end (47 to 70) takes about 25 mins (level 59 seems to take the longest).  Total time = 50 mins.  NOTE - with the more advanced tool kit a total round trip for RoA can be about 25 mins.

Make sure you have downloaded the spellfile - I dont know why you dont see an icon for druid epic 3.0 - I do.

Another tid bit of information is to not do your ring runs in custom zones (except PoFire) as pulling more than 10 mobs can get you banned.

ROA 50 has 100% haste.

Also, when the mobs are beating your guy with the damage shield, they only need to get below 50% for you to get exp. So, let them get below 50, then AOE kill them...use earth shiver with a Druid, for example. Cuts the time in half.

Can the "toolkit" described above be used at level 1? I.e. 55 ds.

I use a Shaman and Bard in the 'toolkit'. The Shaman 3.0 buffs for 10k on the RoA'er. then camps. You move fast enough to not need them again until you next RoA level. You then zone RoA'er and 3.0 Bard to Maiden's eye. You group up, let the songs pulse 1 round, disband and run like hell. Keep the bard on follow on the RoA'er. With the first couple mobs you are level 10 to 15ish, then you just run around and gather up a mass of mobs, rejoin the bard in group and when all songs hit, you disband and stop. All the train comes in and bam, you are level 40+ (I am usually 47 with the train size I pull on the second try). Then you are done. move to Fire and have your elite guy PL up your level 47+ up to 70.

Word to the wise on Maiden's: Do the bats/skelly area first when gathering, then braing them all over to the Goranga area. Reason for that is, there are some Goranga that can snare you, so you might as well have a mass amount of mobs following you that you can kill off of the damage shield if you are going to be slow.

Remember, when you level, you gain all hit points back, so when you are getting beat on, if you level fast enough, you beat the hp loss. =)

10 to 15 mins for leveling 1-47
20 - 25 mins for leveling 47-70

So, basically about a 30 minute run if you are good. I remember hearing about someone hitting a 23 minute mark on 1 to 70, but I don't remember who that was, nor could I verify it.

wait a second, if a DS kills them without you doing damage to it you get xp still? I thought you had to at least peg it once.

Speaking of pegging it once, anyone know of any weapons that proc an AoE at a lower level than 35? That'd be sweet.

If you  can level 1 rank of ROA per 30min, you could max ROA in a little over two days.

You dont have to peg it

For those who don't have a 3.0 druid in their hip pocket and/or don't like to be asking for help and buffs all the time, it IS possible to do this by yourself.  It may not be the most advisable way, but I know there are people out there who like to do what they can on their own. 

I've done 34 levels of ROA on my warrior.  I was basically pl'ed all the way through one of those, got varying amounts of help at the higher levels on maybe 3 others and did the other 30 levels with zero outside help or alts.

If you're a melee who's stubborn enough to try, here are my suggestions: If at all possible, finish your FG quest.  You can do all of that by yourself except for the LDoN drops and you can usually pay someone or get someone to bring you along to do those. 

If not (or in addition) get a fungi tunic.  Easy camp and not over-camped.  It will help at low levels.  Get as many of the passive aa's as you can.  The majority of those still work at level 1 (the activated ones do not).  They will help. Get a ds clicky.  There is a cloak that drops from the bosses in Dulak.  It's not a lot of ds but it's something.  If you have enough regen and some ds, then you can kill a lot of mobs at low to mid-levels, which is the key to doing it quickly. 

Level up a shaman and make DS potions.  The potions and the clicky ds will get you through to level 36 when you finally start getting some ds from the buff bot.  It obviously gets gradually easier as you go along, but completely solo, I can do 1 to 53 in under an hour (sometimes considerably under depending on how many people are in the zones I want).  Getting from there to 60 is always a pain.  Even if you can get pl'ed from 47 on, it is still very doable to do 1 to 47 all by yourself.

Does this mean that  DS damage counts towards the person with the DS on?

On live server I used a technique(for power leveling) where I would DS my high level druid and get my lower level characters to AoE the mobs that were killing themselves on the druids DS. It was very efficient but I'm thinking it might not work here. Am I correct in my assumption?

Edit: Thanks for the guide!

I know you can get exp for a mob which kills itself on your ds, even if you never hit it, so yes - I'm pretty sure ds damage count counts toward the person with ds on.

I believe the dmg from the dmg shield is attributed to the person it is on. I havent done formal testing but I came to that conclusion a few times when mobs agroed my druid when I was lvling ROA in a primitive fashion.

Yes, the ds on the person ROAing counts. You don't have yo even hit the mob.  So, let them beat on the ROA dude until they bare below 50, then AE kill with a higher level guy.  Bam...tons of exp in half the time.

I don't even bother with that, just DS+ druid regen, pull about half the 1st floor of Citymist, bam level 30-35ish.  Then pull the 2nd half, bam level 50ish.  Takes about 15 minutes tops.  Then head to PoFire...

Last I tried CoM, I had to fight with another group for spawns. That has happened the few tiems I went there. Where when I have gone to Maiden's, it's been empty every time.

Not anymore since the server is reading this.

yeah, but Maiden's isn't the sweetest spot I have. =)

Also, if you're trying to do your RoA and don't got 3.0 drood or w/e, a shaman can also do a pretty decent job. Group with him, use the Spirit of Panther spell; it's a 400dmg dd proc (lasts 1:30 or somesuch if you got all AAs and such to increase duration), on almost every melee hit. At lvl8 or such it won't get resisted by stuff at CoM anymore, and it's decently fast killing.

Lvls 51-60 usually take the longest anyway, so yeah, some train puller is essential if you don't want to rip your eyeballs out grinding these. And I can tell you the shm doesn't really cut the mustard at that, him + CG pet can manage somehow, but it takes me about 1h30mins to do 47-70. =p

So, does shaman DS pots stack with druid ds?

 :o

I don't remember specifically vs. Druid ds, because I don't get druid buffs very often, but I haven't encountered anything that the ds pots don't stack with, including clickies and buff bot ds.

The pots give you level/2 +1 in DS and gradually increase in duration with level.

Yes

Great guide. Just a minor point: DS do not hit per tick. They damage per hit you take.

To add my 2¢, the fastest 47-70 would be a warrior with duel 3.0's and Anger Aug 5's in PoFire. The problem is it crashes the zone when too many mobs die at the same time. I prefer to use my 3.0 bard with DS and Regen on. Never crashed a zone, even with huge pulls.

For 1-47 I use my bard. Group up and let DS song hit, then ungroup. Takes a little getting used to, but with a couple hotkeys and alt-tab it goes pretty quick. Most people avoid this setup because of difficulty. But I am in high level zones than CoM, so the higher damage makes things go much faster.

How long does the bard song last on you after degrouping?

Pretty sure the fire ele illusion DS is level dependant. So it won't do 18dmg per hit on all lvls, but some crap like 2dmg at lvl10 or so, and more the higher your RoA toons level.

I dont know the exact second count - my guess is 4-6 seconds. I half ass it with a bard that only has one 3.0. I sing the higher of the two damage shields and disband the second it hits. The song will last long enough to kill all the mobs except the Mighty Golems, Dread Knights and Jade Reavers.

If you are in no rush to level to 70 in a big hurry can you do this completely solo just like starting out from scratch? If so that really is not that big a deal since leveling even a newb toon goes really fast.

You can do it any way you like.  All that matters is you get from 1-70 again.

Once you get 70, you can talk to the lady in Surefall and get a ROA. It doesn't matter if you have no gear or are full T4.  That said, doing it 100 more times without any sort of help would be coma inducing, IMO.

Oh I see, to get the top end one you have to do this 100 times? Bleh lol

I read in this guide once you reset your level you can go to FG to get your skills back up but I tried this today and you must be level 65 or 70 to enter. disappointing :(

You must be 65 to enter the hall and 70 to use the trainer, yes. Shouldn't be a problem, just do your RoA(s) and then hit up the trainer when you want to get back to doing regular stuff.

I don't remember specifically vs. Druid ds, because I don't get druid buffs very often, but I haven't encountered anything that the ds pots don't stack with, including clickies and buff bot ds.

The pots give you level/2 +1 in DS and gradually increase in duration with level.




well the shammy pots dont stick with the fire illusion or the rng DS call of earth or sumfin like that ...the 1 that shows up red and gives ac

.3 minutes so 18 seconds.

I use both DS's so thats 14 seconds of DS per group up.

Ya I was coming back to say that me previous wild guess was much less than it really was. I did some RoA this weekend and realized the songs stay on for quite a while.

Question: I have a ranger(70) and a cleric(70) that I use to buff my warrior (HP+DS) when he does ROA. I have a druid(like 40something) that I don't level up cuz it's on my main's account so i wouldn't really be able to PL it. Do the druid buffs really make that much of a difference or can I just stick to what I've been doing

The druid is pretty much for the epic regen.  Epic 3.0, plus focus of healing,plus oracle 1 is 6k hps per tick.

With druid 6k regen and sham 10k hp buff, my lvl 1 toon can pull and kill a dozen lvl 60 mobs at a time. 3 pulls = lvl47+ with bard DS. Literally minutes to get to 47, then the trek to 70 in PoFire is a few more minutes. Do that 100 times (and some tradeskilling) and bam ROA100.

I was just recently playing my bard to level him back up for RoA 1. While in CoM with druid regin and DS a shaman came along and buffed me. Before with only druid buffs 3 or 4 was max I could pull was taking a while to level. After shaman 3.0 I could easily take the entire first level of CoM and never leave 100% life. Went from 22-47 in I would say about 5 mins after that lol. Way easy with shaman can't wait to try bards DS.

     Hello Ez. Just finished my RoA 100 and as i told many in tells i'd post what zones i used. Looking for a lvl 1-47 thats just like plane of fire?? Look no further then Dawnshrouds Peak. When i started going to zone around like 25 ish on the roa i could pull 3/4 of the zone and go from lvl 1-47 in one pull. At lvl 51 of the RoA i had to slow down a bit from not wearing the ring even with my shammy 3,0 and druid 3,0 buffs. Like to also state that in the time it took me to do RoA only 2 people ever even came to the zone for a short period of time. Also the higher end mobs are the ones that are white or above at lvl 40ish are in the caves. Some human Npc can be found around zone at tents can range up to lvl 60 i believe and still con light blue to lvl 70.( most will be in 30-45 range tho)

   From 47-70 tho it may not be as fast as plane of fire but i never had to wait on mobs. I would be talking about Sol Ro Tower.A handfull of people would come to zone now and then but mostly old school pop raiders looking to get a flashback i guess of their live days. I would also like to say that Solro tower mobs such as the fire elementals and fire imps drop nice starter gear for newly lvl 70 toons. This took about 15-20 mins to lvl from 47-70. Compared to plane of fire that can be done in as little as 1 pull or 2( I was using lvl 70 warrior with 2 Angry nerds V( 1 in each weapon) had him set up this way before EMU fix because just 2 wasn't causing my everquest crash like my main warrior would with four tho you could always pull less mobs i guess but who wants that AOE rampage ftw! good times very good times indeed.

         Well hope this helps any that may come to the forums and read before they start the spam in ooc. Enjoy and always remember don't train a warrior thats attacking he can't turn off aoe's! Free xp for him no mobs for you /sad face.

Cracken
~GL of Classic Composers

Newie asking a question

What's the RoA tradeskill item i need give to RoA npc?...

example..baking...

Give Master Baker Trophy or Grandmaster Baker's Spoon ??

Because ..i can't find that trophy task quest npc in West Freeport..

she is not on track list ....using FIND...also not on list.....

so i can't get those trophy...

Is it give Grandmaster Baker's Spoon is correct?...

It is the spoon.

I see . Thanks....

i hope he'll correct this....

because maybe have another newbie like me...

i'm trained baking skill to 282 right now...

i through i need reach to 300 to get that master baker trophy task...

wasted many time.... sigh..

Admittedly I have not gotten this far with my ring, but doesn't the NPC ask for a specific item?  They do for the crafter guild, there's no confusion about what is needed.

Yes - Once you have the ring at 59. You can hail the NPC and she will tell you what you need to hand her before she will advance you any further.

Could someone elaborate on how you do this? Do you cast a level 68 or 70 spell pet, cast illusion warewolf on the pet, then summon the epic 2.5 pet. If yes, is the illuison warewolf pet a normal mage spells or item or what? If no, what does he mean?

Anyone?

3.0 pet and Warewolf from Ldon.  It gives you a haste buff, then the 2.5 buff.

Thanks for the reply. Warewolf form on the mage gives the pet a stackable haste buff?

Cast it on the pet, can change their image too.  Me personally I had my pets run around as orcs :P

Ya mage pets with werewolf stack along with epic 2.5 and mage buffs. They just cannot tank worth a crap (until the enrage).

I made a hot-key...

/tar an_
/tar a_
/pet attack

and just ran around in circles spamming the hotkey....

would also like to add that having a 3.0 shaman for the ROA level 51-100 makes it ALOT faster and easier.

Just to clarify, it is the 2.0 buff that we're talking about, right? 2.5 is the pet.

Yes sorry 2.0.  I put my mage on the shelf long long ago )