I'd like to play an outlander ranger or bard but the idea of not being able to use the services of Alduk, or buy identify scrolls in Galadon stops me from doing so. So my questions are:

1) Is it ok for an Outlander to barter for scrolls found in a Galadon's shop?

2) If not, is there another place where an Outlander can barter identify scrolls?

3) If no identify scrolls are available to Outlanders, is there a mob (like alduk) that will accept barter command to identify an item?

Thank you for your help.

Use their item search. Lore is still useful in game when I can't remember specifics and I don't have time to pause the game to look something up, but when you have a minute or two and you're safe, click over to their website.

I don't understand why people here don't like to mention it:
- Knowing what items are and what they do helps newbies catch up to the vets
- Knowing offhand if something is better than another piece of equipment just by looking in someone's corpse is going to lessen the looting
- EVERY SINGLE MMO OUT THERE HAS AN ITEM COMPENDIUM that you can find online. I'm fine with keeping secrets secret, but knowing the general stats of the common items is useful.

1> you barter for anything from a protected city, or use a healer from one, you will not be pleased with the results. try "where protector" to see if you are within a protected city. Also, do not use a healer in ANY city.

2> I am sure there has to be a place to find or barter for an identify scroll without breaking outlander RP, other good options would be lore or perhaps ask an outlander to identify it for you...

3> Alduk is the only mob to my knowledge that will identify an item for you.


Hope this helps.

Balta

Re #1: Not really, no.

Re #2: Probably. Cities are definitely out, however you might get away with bartering in HTOS. (You can try searching the forums. I think Lyristeon weighed in on this once.)

Re #3: Not that I know of.

Consider too that as a bard lore is pretty reliable.

And lore is not reliable enough for me.

It's damn near like having identify. It starts at 100% too.

My previous post should have read "ranger lore is a poor substitute"

The ONLY thing it cannot do, as far as I am aware, is accurately report the average damage of a weapon. And improved compare will enable you to do that with some degree of usefulness.

Lore won't always tell you the correct spell in an item, but use it several times and you'll easily notice that the correct spell comes up more often than any single alternative does.

If your lore is high enough percentage, just lore the item multiple times (10 or so). The correct dice and average pops up more often than any of the false ones and can thus be identified as the correct one.

But trust me when I say I don't like that as a substitute either.

I agree, lore is a poor subtitue.

Which is far more accurate and reliable than lore, especially with identifying spells.

So I would not worry about it. You'll get the correct info almost every time, and if you think something is off, do it three times. You will get the correct info 2 out of 3 times.

I dont see the skill in their list... is it a song?

Not a song.
And they don't start with it listed (sort of like improved compare/consider) but you'll get it at rank 36. There might be an obs xp requirement, but I will say on all my bards I always get it at 36 and it goes up just like lore from obs xp and use. Kind of a nice skill and far more reliable than lore in my experience.

You are right about observation requirement:

OBSERVATION 'OBSERVATION XP' 'OBSERVATION SKILLS' (2107)

***EDIT MOST OF HELPFILE***

The list of Observation skills: improved compare, sharpen sight, improved consider, appraise, careful vision, attune, legendary awareness.

See also: EXPERIENCE, DISCUSS

I've had every skill on that list from observation exp except appraise. There may be a class bonus related to bards for it, or it is related to lore somehow.

Tac

Maybe because bards get lore at 100% they can get appraise.

Just because it is on that list does not mean all classes can get it. Anyway, point being bards get appraise at 30 with requisitie obs xp, where as most all other classes do not seem to get it ever.

Of course, it makes sense for bards to have it, they are travellers, they hear tales, so they are more familiar with things. From an RP standpoint.

Which means it was paladin or ranger, since I don't play bards. Having a lore prereq makes sense though. Could be that exactly.

I hero'ed a svirf ranger. Svirf get 100% in lore and I never got appraise.