round three questionsFollow

Round three. Just so you guys know, I have a ton of questions and I do research them and try to find out the answers myself, but there are these others that I just can't get info on so here is where I come to find out the elusive stuff. These 4 questions have popped up for me (feel free to respond to all/some/none, of course):

1. Containers: Working on tailoring and was tailoring containers trying to keep my character as light as possible. I was looking at the stats for tailored pristine backpack and tailored pack and they are the same except the backpack weighs 5 and the pack 4 so was going with the pack because I thought, why not it weighs 1 less and is otherwise the same; then noticed another difference, the backpack is container:CLOSED while the pack is container:OPEN (may have that reversed but the thought is the same) but I can find no info on what this difference actually means. What do OPEN/CLOSED mean in relation to containers?

Also, quick side question: try to keep my weight around 40/120 just so I can move fast when necessary. Was wondering, does weight have any cumulative effect? Do I move a bit slower the more weight? Or does everything move the same speed until becoming encumbered? If I keep gathering while encumbered, will I eventually not be able to move? What is the effect of being encumbered?

2. Info: Was doing work in the Bixie slavefarms and ended up with a tome called "The Bixie Evolution" (or, something very close to that- there was another book with it called something similar, but was a magic item): this other book is tagged as a quest item but when I search it on the site it says "quest unknown"- which caused me to wonder- where does the info for the game come from? Does Sony make an EQ book that lists everything in the game? Or is all of the info on the game coming only from players who have figured it out? Half and half? Apparently there is stuff in the game no one knows about (this tome for example)- just wondering how much has been revealed by the designers, how much has been discovered, how much still hidden? <- not looking for exact ratios here, just some mpossible musings based on the info that is available.

3. Invisibility: When I cast invisibility, my name appears in parenthesis; is this how it appears to other players, or does my character actually vanish from their screen? Also, never really worried about it, but my merc, she will also be considered invisible if I am? Or can the NPCs still see the merc if I am invisible?

4. Spells: Two spells I really enjoy (for some odd reason) but both seem a little lame and was wondering if there was some "better way" in using them: the spell Yonder and the Call/Sword of Xuzl. Yonder I like because it is so fast, and back in the olden times of yore (level 20s) it saved my life a bunch of times (while a bunch of times it merely teleported me from the right claw of the enemy, to the left claw /you have been slain!) but I have always kept it in my memorized spells because I just never know when I'll need to try to bail real fast. I was wondering if there were a trick to using this spell that I may not be aware of? Does the spell become better the more I advance in the spell class (alteration maybe?); sometimes I try to face my character in a certain direction with an object in the distance to see if I can "guide" the Yonder spell with my eyes and sometimes it seems to work, but I'm not sure if I'm just noticing a kind of, random proximity that seems to match what I may be trying to do.

The Xuzl spells- I just love the idea of calling the swords but damn if those things aren't weak. I picked this spell up at level 60 thinking "This is going to be cool" but then was really disappointed when I sent the sword out the first time and it just, dead. It seems a good spell for maybe, 20-30 level character but this is a level 60 spell I thought it would be a little cooler. It's easier for me to just lightning bolt whatever it is I'm sending the sword after. I even picked up the Xuzl AA because I thought surely this has to be better- and it is better, but just, still weak. I say to myself there must be a use for this spell type that I'm just not picking up on. I love the idea of the spell but what is it really good for? And should I continue putting AA into the ability as I go up in levels?

Thanks all.

2.The Bixie Evolution Do you see the "This item is a result of a quest" link to the right? That takes you to the quest page. If you dont see it...something borked.

1.Ask away. This community likes and wants to help.

Again my misunderstanding of the terms, I was thinking a quest-tagged item was one used in a quest. The tome was one of two which I got for completing a quest that made a complete Tome of the Bixie Evolution (along with a magical tome of bixie). Then I was like, okay, I have made the tome- now what do I do with it? This is where the proverbial path just up and ended. No one knows what it's for. Are there items in this game that are just, red herrings or something? Something with no real purpose but to act as a kind of "foil" for the "real" quest items (if you follow what I am meaning). Is there any way in an EQ database to search out the "unknowns"?

Not sure either way. Since see invis gear is pretty much everywhere, it hasn't been an issue in awhile. Never even occurred to me that they might have just made it so PCs are always visible to other PCs. I know it used to not be that way. I remember the targeting ring being a huge deal because it meant you could target PCs (especially group members) and see where they were. Nothing quite like a group of invis people trying to go somewhere and half the group can't see anyone.



As said, the summoned swords should really not be thought of as pets, but as a form of DoT (damage over time). Cast it at a mob that's engaged in combat with someone else (like a merc tank), and it'll do damage. The spell summoned ones are very questionable though, since for the same mana you could have just nuked the mob. Only use them on mobs with more HPs, since the longer the mob lives the more likely you'll actually get enough damage done to justify the cost of the spell. The AA is "free" (no mana at least), so by all means drop it when in a tough fight to help reduce the time it takes to kill the mob. An good trick to use (with either) is when fighting multiple mobs (assuming no chanter of course) to target it at one of the mobs the tank *isn't* fighting. That way you can nuke the other mob, and it'll have twice as much time (or three times, or whatever) to do damage. More damage is better.

The shadowstep line works in a very specific way:

1. Direction is random.

2. Distance is always the range of the spell (so yonder goes farther than shadowstep). Except for rule 3.

3. Even though you're teleporting from one point to the other, the route you travel goes along the ground. Not in a straight level path. Your travel will stop as soon as you hit *any* obstacle, no matter how small. This means one pixel of height increase will cause you to stop.


So first it picks a random direction to go. Then it traces a path in a straight line in that direction, starting at the current height of the floor you are standing on. As it traces the path, it checks the height of the floor. If the height changes in a negative direction (down) it reduces the "current height" of your path. If the next spot is higher than that current height, it stops the path trace. Then it moves your character to the spot it traced to. So you will not go over dips in the ground. You'll go down the dip, then stop as soon as the ground starts to go upwards. Similarly, walls will always block you. If you cast the spell over and over, you will eventually end out in a pit and not go anywhere no matter how many times you continue to cast the spell. Note, that water doesn't block this. So if there's a lake nearby, and you cast it over and over, you will end out in the bottom of the lake.


Lots of confusion about these kinds of spells, but once you understand that it traces a path along the ground and not in a direct horizontal direction (ie: staying at your starting height until you hit something), and that it stops as soon as it encounters a ground height increase along the way, it makes complete sense. I'll also point out that later spells (which are directional) still work the same way. You can choose which direction to go (the direction you're facing), but the same "trace the ground" rules apply. I tested this recently with the "leap of faith" AA with my Pally, and confirmed the same behavior.

That's how I thought it was, just hadn't checked for a long time to be sure, as I meant to say in-group all were now visible I thought. I wasn't sure about out of group since it's no time before you get gear to See Invis. Thank Lucky.

Yther Orre.

Edited, Jul 30th 2013 11:03pm by Yther

Yeah and the swords have to hit to do damage so their DoT isn't as effective as the garden variety DoT spell which is going to do the damage consistently. They just seem very weak for the mana cost, level of spell, and so forth. Still cool thematic-wise and I'll still put my AA into the ability - just have to figure out if they've got some singularly effective way to be used; some peripheral function in which the spell shines, as it were.



Oh okay, yes that's good information to know, thanks for that. I noticed that the spell had an apparent attraction to bodies of water. I also noticed that if I were inside and faced the doorway, I would travel the route to the outside. See I was also thinking that both the direction and the distance were randomly chosen in the area of the spells effect (thus "explaining" why I could use the spell and appear only a few feet from where I started)- but not true at all, and this spell is always going to try to move me to the furthest range possible. This information definitely completely changes the proverbial game as far as the spell is concerned. So by noting the environment I'm in, I should be able to determine a general "perimeter" for where I'll end up- if I'm standing in a pit, then the pit is the perimeter; if I'm standing on a flat surface extending to spell range, then my perimeter of appearance will be somewhere along a circle traced around me at spell range; if I am standing on the side of a grade, then this spell is only going to cause me to move down (possibly sideways?) but never up the grade.



I'd love to have a Yonder that made me go in the direction I'm facing. As long as it's got the same casting time. That would be for me a perfect spell. Does it exist for the Wizard? I should think it does.

You answered your question with my post. No one can see anyone invis if they don't have an SI buff and aren't in your group.

Everquest isn't a PVP game anymore. The PVP server is riddled with hackers and cheaters and no one on the Blue servers really goes red, since there isn't a population to fight (other red players I mean, once your PVPflagged via the Priest of Discord, its permanent) with and you'd be stuck soloing.


There is always Arena fighting (sections of cities and a Gladiatoresque style zone that allows PVP fighting)

Edited, Aug 1st 2013 4:43pm by LuckyPoseidon

I have occasionally flagged a character red on a regular server (last time was all my Trakanon server alts). Aside from my brother, I have seen one mage (about 7 years ago and he was level 55) play red. At times I have seen flagged level 1's in baz, but they aren't being played.

Other players ask you why your name is red and then are confounded that you went playerkiller. Lots of fun :) ...as long as you never need others buffs.

Also, if you are red-flagged an go anon/role (one or both of these I forget)... you name shows as pink. This causes even more questions.

Edit: and when you are flagged red you do collateral damage to your red-flagged group mates. This made for interesting gameplay with my brother as we could roleplay "Oh so this is how it is going to be" (after tagging each other with an AoE or misclicked attack). Not very productive, but entertaining in the moment.



Edited, Aug 1st 2013 7:55pm by snailish