The Land of Norrath and Level 41

Well I got Qumala (my lizardy type guy, or Iksar to those in the know) to level 41 last night, to a bit of a fanfare, and some messages of congratulations from my guildmates in Epic Courage. “So what does this signify?” I hear you ask. Well, to be honest, not a lot. Qumala is now by far my most progressed character in any MMORPG I’ve played (the next nearest was my toon in City of Heroes who reached the then dizzy heights of level 32), and I think the fact that I’ve stuck with Q for so long is the fact that I’m enjoying the game. I can feel a grind to level 42 coming, but in the end I think it will be worth it. I’ve been in this situation before. Reaching level 30 was a grind once I’d gotten as far as level 28. And it’s a tricky one to call as I don’t believe any gamer would say they enjoy the grind at all.

For anyone that has never played EQ2 let me explain where the grind comes from. Each island (or zone) within the game is set up for a specific range of levels. Zek, The Orcish Wastes (where I am at the moment) is really set up for levels 30-45, but there is a definite grouping within Zek. Level 30-35 is a doddle as there are groups that you can take solo which will progress you through this level range quite quickly. Once you hit level 35 you can start to explore slightly further afield, and providing you pick your fights carefully, you can get to 38 without too much hassle. But then things start to slow down a little. The next set of groups are level 39s and come in groups of 3 or 4, or to put them another way, would hand you your ass on a plate if you try to take them on. And this is where the problem starts as you can’t take on the lower level mobs (well you could but it’s not a very efficient way of making up the level), and you can’t progress to the next island (either Everfrost or Lavastorm) as you will be involved in another ass-plate scenario. And so the grind begins. The way I look at it though is that the extended time and number of critters you have to kill means extended amounts of loot and general richness heading my way!! Which can only be a good thing!

As my travels take me further I will recount more tales…