Everquest Druid Leveling Guide
Getting to Raiding Level as the Natural Priest Class of EQ
Druids are the second most powerful healing class in Evequest. They are also considered one of the easiest classes to level up, although this is prejudice left from the early days of the game when this was literally true. They are still not hard to get through the levels as they can solo well and can fill in as a group healer when necessary, and can remove their group from danger through their evacuation line of spells.
The druid's teleportation abilities are somewhat less than those of the wizard, but this nature-based spell caster gets the same line of evacuation spells that can take his group out of danger. As an added bonus, this class gets spirit of wolf, a speed boost spell that is in great demand among Everquest players. Leveling a druid in Everquest is easier than leveling many other classes, but even a druid cannot coast through the higher levels.
Druid Leveling through Grouping
Druids are a group-friendly class and they can use this to facilitate their leveling, but the druid will never be the best at any of the group roles the class can fill. Everquest players know that the supply of this class often exceeds the demand. The powerful soloing capabilities make up for this weakness.
The druid will often be expected to be the healer when he is in a group. If a cleric or shaman is available, a player might find himself filling a damage per second role. Groups also want the druid to know when to remove the group from danger which can save groups a lot of time that might be taken up by lengthy corpse runs if things go well. A druid player should understand alll the elements of aggro control. A druid player who knows how to use the snare spell wisely can keep mobs for running and reduce his need to evacuate his group for safety.
Suggested Zones for Druid Leveling
Most characters will stay near their home city for the first ten levels for the first ten levels of their career. Young druids start out in the zone of Greater Faydark, Qeynos:
- 10-20: North Ro, Southern Ro, Oasis of Marr, Crushbone, the Warrens, Estate of Unrest
- 21-30: West Karana, Highhold Pass, Highhold Keep, North Karana, Paludal Caverns, Lake of Ill Omen
- 31-40: South Karana, Eastern Wastes, Great Divide, Overthere, Rathe Mountains
- 41-50: Dreadlands, Karnor's Castle, Wakening Lands, Cobalt Scar
- 51-60: Velketor's Castle, Burning Woods, Skyfire Mountains, Cobalt Scar (otters)
- 61-70: Bastion of Thunder, Plane of Storms, Plane of Nightmare, post Planes of Power content.
Solo Tactics for Druid Leveling
Druids do not have to group to get to the highest levels, but this tactics is not recommended. Grouping is necessary to learn what is expected at the highest levels, but sometimes all classes have difficulty finding groups. When this happens a druid can solo by quad kiting, snare kiting, or using the root and dot method.
Quad kiting works a little differently for druids than it does for wizards, because druids do not get an area of effect snare, the druid must round the mobs up and snare them individually. Once the mobs have been rounded up and snared, a druid can call on his area-of-effect mobs or kill them more quickly with area off effect spells.
The root and dot method is simple. A mob is held in place by a spell called root and its upgrades, and the druid applies damage over time spells. When the root breaks, it must be reapplied. Druids can only fill in as tanks at the lowest levels of the game.
Resources:
Everquest Necromancer Soloing Guide
IGN Vault Everquest Druid Leveling Guide
