I've had a couple chars up to hero level since I started, and they weren't much good of course but I managed to get the hang of certain things;running, where the basic areas are and how to get around them, basic pk, etc. But I still don't know where to find the decent equipment or preps. Stuff like aura and shield potions. What kind of character would you suggest be best at exploring to find these things? To go to area explores, etc.

>What kind of character would you suggest
>be best at exploring to find these things? To go to area
>explores, etc.

Honestly? Try to build a character with connections. Maybe that means joining a cabal, since that pretty much gives you "instant" connections. Especially a goody cabal, where people are motivated to help out their cabal mates.

Or, maybe that means not "picking a side" but instead being 1) useful and 2) friends with everybody. Like a neutral herald bard, healer or transmuter. Maybe send a note to all saying, basically, "I'm available to help anybody explore, any time, and you get to keep the gear. I just want your knowledge."

Most importantly: LOG EVERYTHING. Like, every session. I don't actually practice what I preach in this respect, but I always eventually regret it. That way, if you want to know stats on some weird piece of equipment that you may or may not have identified at some time in the past, you just search through your log files and voila! There's the stats!

Try out bards. At least for me that was the class I learned the most with. My feeling it's the most balanced class for exploring. You can do good amount of solo explorations and always wellcome for groups.

Are you planning on exploring solo?

I'd recommend something different if your goal is 'check out as much as I can on my own' vs. 'be part of a team to check out the areas that pretty much need a group to explore'

...is that you make either a healer or a warrior that can tank real good, OR do damage real good. (Axes for disembowel for example.)

Or a tank that can use axes if needed.

Until you actually know how to get around the area explore places, you need a group, or someone else to show you.

Once you know them well, I'd suggest a goodie conjie perhaps, or pally. (Though goodie limits you a fair bit.)


I've learned 90% of my area knowledge from playing warriors that was either damage beasts or tanking gods. (Like, fire warrior axe + some damage legacy or arial spear + some defensive legacy.)

Though, the nice with the good tanks is that they can explore a bit solo as well.

Either of them can fetch for example an aura potion alone though once you know how to find them. Have had an assassin fetch one as early as lvl 40. :D

My playtimes tend to vary and rarely come in anything longer then two hour chunks, so I doubt I'll be joinin any hell groups. Probably more of a solo character is what I'm thinking. I realize there'll be places I won't see unless I do manage to land an actual exploring group, I'll be content just being able to be able to gather a decent amount of prep and gear knowledge with the character.

Well, there's a decent amount of stuff that isn't really solo viable for most reasonable characters but could be done in under 2 hours -- a decent chunk of the areas explore really.

That being said, keeping with the 'mostly solo' thing, I'd say that a paladin was always about the best thing for this for me. I've also had decent solo explore success with (good) conjurers, shamans, and bards. Each of those struggled with some kinds of areas that they others didn't.

Your style may be different; that's just what's worked for me.

Something else to keep in mind is that if you want to explore the underwater areas, you may want to avoid a hydrophobic race (and something like shifter, which barring a lucky draw isn't going to be well set up for both land and sea exploration).

If you want to explore without throwing your RP away, consider not making a good aligned char. It's really annoying to see a goodie mob almost drown in glowing/shining eq which you can't request or kill for.

But you're not going to be able to get everything done with one character anyway.

I'd rather have a character that can do a lot of it more easily.