EverQuest II Guide to Leveling PvE

EverQuest II Guide to Leveling PvE by Amana

Seen some people asking where do I go to level at X, what’s the best place to quest at X, etc… .  Here’s a little something I cooked up to answer your questions. (Note: For new players L&L; stands for Lore and Legend.  An update to EQ2 made it so Mastery Strikes follow your L&L; line.  This allows for nearly 26+ creatures you have mastery abilities against.) (I’ll be making some updates to this guide shortly with some new info I got)

Qeynosian/good aligned

Just like your evil Freeportian counter parts your best bet is to stay on the island.  You will want to work your way up to atleast level 10-11 making sure to do all the quests.  AAs are precious when you get to level 10 and you will want to earn as much as possible.  When you reach level 10-11 having done all the quests you’ll want to head off the island towards Qeynos.

First Stops: When you reach Qeynos you will want to head to the little minor villages setup in qeynos for the varying races.  Nettlesville Hovile, Starcrest Commune, Willowood, Castleview Hamlet, Baubbleshire and Graystone Yard for their AA/XP discoveries.  The discoveries are usually located in the center of each little village with some noticeable and not noticeable.

Being level 10-11 there are a couple of places you can head to earn some nice AA/XP.  The Caves is a great zone and has some minor quests that will offer up some AA/XP.  Best part about this zone is it is littered with gnolls that will drop the language starter quest.  This quest is easy requiring only 5 totems and will net you a good chunk of AA xp if you are at or past level 10.

I recommend staying in The Caves zone till you are atleast level 12.  After that you can hit up the small scarecrow field near the North Qeynos gate area.  While here I recommend talking to the farmer so you can get a nice item and not just xp for killing the scarecrows.  You can work your way up to level 13-14 possibly level 15 if you really work the scarecrow/beetle spawns.

My next spot is a rarely ventured spot which dishes out alot of great xp.  If you head North *I think* of the scarecrow field you will find the beetle fields which has level 13-16 mobs.  You can XP all the way to level 18 if you roam around killing all the beetles.

After hitting level 18-19 I recommend going to the scarecrow field.  This field is located just passed the Griffon Tower that is near the door to the Thundering Steppes.  For the good aligned folk I recommend hitting the Gnoll Slayer keep near the Griffon Tower.  In a box on the left side is the Gnoll L&L; which is an easy quest netting you great XP/AA.

Reaching level 20-21 you will want to venture out to the Thundering Steppes.  Most of the quests are in Thundermist Village, however you can net some nice xp working your way to level 25.  To do this you can choose from 1 of three crucial areas.

1st: The zombies near the griffon Tower at the beginning of the zone are great xp.  If you get a friend with you it can be light working netting great XP.  There is a danger here because a semi-named can spawn which will create problems for some.

2nd: Near the Thundering Steppes docks is a beach littered with Zombies and Crabs.  I always took my level 20 character here getting atleast 4-6 levels depending how I played my class.  Best part about this area is there’s little danger of super mobs.  You just have to watch out for some medium to hard difficulty level 24 crabs.

3rd: If you follow the road as if your going to Thundermist Village you will near a crater that has alot of gnolls around it.  This is my 2nd favorite area to level because it can get difficult.  With the right class this area can be a cake walk netting you a heck of alot of XP.

One thing you will want to do is head to Thundermist Village and in one of the mini Houses is a clickable bed.  Searching through the bed you will find a book that will give you the Lore and Legend quest for the Centuars.  Best part is you can rebuild your faction after killing the centuars by killing the gnolls.  For the more Adventerous if you head North-East (I Think) of Thundermist village you’ll find a gnoll encampent.  Searching one of the blankets on the ground you’ll find the Giant L&L.;

The Giant L&L; and Centaur L&L; will help you net a decent amount of AA/XP.  If you get up to level 27-30 and grab a good group head into the Ruins of Varsoon.  Start heading to the back of the zone and towards the book of Life.  In here you will find one of the most useful L&L; books the Golemn L&L.;

Once you hit level 29-30 you will want to head to Zek, The Orcish Waste.  If your not level 30 just xp on the brush fiends in the water till you level.  Once done head over and grab the quest from the Troll cook along with the quest from the elf.  This will net you more xp and AA long with the exploration you’ll do.

Zek will be your best bet from level 30-34 possibly level 35.  As a side note when you get free time you will want to head to the commonlands.  Find the Outpost of the Overlord and sneak in if you can to the central building.  On the wall to the left (looking out the doorway) is a clickable shield that will give you the orc L&L.;  Then when you are in Zek you can polish that off quickly netting some much needed AA/XP.

Hitting level 33-34 you can venture out to The Enchanted Lands.  There are a couple of quests you can do here for some AA and XP, but nothing really major upfront.  However towards the back is a goblin that will give you a Heritage quest for the Sewn Evil Eye Bag which is a great help.  The quest is fast, but you will need some friends to tackle the more difficult parts.

A great xp spot if you get into a group is Runnyeye.  This zone has great nameds for AA and the mobs give a considerable amount of XP. You can level up from level 35 all the way to 42.  Once you hit level 42 things start to become a bit more complicated.

At level 40-42 your best bet is to head to The Ferrott and try to score Cazic-Thule (CT) groups.  This zone will give ya AA and XP till you hit level 47-48.  After 47-48 xp starts to slow down and you may want to search for other areas to explore.  The Sinking Sands area is decent having alot of quests that will give you AA and XP.  In the Sinking Sands you can probably manage to get to level 51-52.  Best place to do this is to hit the back area and try to get a Living Tombs Group.

At level 52-55 I recommend hitting the Shimmering Citadel killing the skeletons in the main area.  You can also venture upwards and kill the Djinn, but they are a bit tough if you’re not the right class.  If you do go after the Djinn I recommend hitting the Ashen Order camp in the Pillar of Flames.  It is here that you will find 2 Lore and Legends books one of them being the Djinn L&L.;

Level 54-55 things pick-up and you’ll be able to handle the Tenebrous Tangle zone.  Tenebrous Tangle (TT) will progress several people from 54-55 all the way to 62 with the quests, exploration and possible named encounters.  From 62-65 The Sanctum of the Scaleborn (SoS) is your best bet.  After 65 you can head to The Baren Sky doing the quests there.  You can also head to Palace of The Awakend (PoA) for level 65-68.

Level 68-70 is harsher to earn XP with but there are 2 great spots.  The Bonemire is a great spot with a great group of quest lines.  The Most memorable ones are Grizzfazzle and the Heritage Quest (HQ) The Wondrous Inventions of a Crazed Gnome.  After that you can head to the Loping Plains following the quests/quest lines there.

Level 70-73: This is a hard push, but the best thing to do is the Kylong Plains quest line.  There are 2 secret quests here if you know where to look.  In the Lake just North of Dreg’s Landing is a Dracnid body and next to it is a corpse.  On this corpse is a quest starter that will next you 3-5 extra quests.  These extra quests mean more xp/aa plus more faction with Teren’s Gasp.  There is another secret quest if you follow the river upwards that feeds the lake.  It is a body near one of the mountains and you will earn a bit of coin plus some xp/aa for it.

When you are level 72-73 you can head out into Fens of Nathsar for that quest line.

Level 73-75: Fens of Nathsar is a harsh area and it can be hard to find what you are looking for.  You will want to start the Riliss quest line completing that to be neutral with the Riliss guards.  Once you complete that quest head up the left slope near the Fens-Kunzar jungle tunnel.  It is difficult to avoid the Bathezid guards, but it is doable if you have invisi.  Along the path is a quest giver who will give you a simple quest awarding some nice faction with Bathezid’s Watch.

Doing all of these quests should net you atleast 1 level or near 80% xp.  After that I recommend proceeding to Omen’s Call which you can find if you follow the shore line.  Here you can find a small series of quests that will net you about 10-15% xp possibly more.  Heading to Riliss is a bit hard, but if you follow the trail near Omen’s Call you will make it there with little to no difficulties.

I recommend doing some of the quests in Riliss that don’t interfer with kill Bathezid Watch mobs.  However you can kill them if you want max faction with Riliss.  Once you have done most of the quests in Riliss you can head down the path leading to the Bone Graveyard Area with the Belly Whumpers *sp*.  The BellyWhumpers will give some decent quests along with a decent amount of coin.

With the BellyWhumpers, Riliss quests, Span Quests and Bathezid quests you can net 1 level and 50% xp to 2 levels all things considered.  It was around level 75-76 that I headed to Kunzar Jungle doing the quests in there.

Level 75-77: Out of all of the areas in RoK this is the harshest one since you really need faction with alot of people.  City of Jinsk, Tabernacle of Pain, Synot Reed, Outer Sebilis, Hidden Plunderers Camp and Iksar Villagers to name a few.

You will want to start with the City of Jinsk and do the quests from the female iksar near the right towards the village.  Once you get enough faction to where they arn’t KoS to you head in and do some of the other quests.  Up the path to the left just before City of Jinsk is a Sarnak quest giver that will issue a minor quest.  After completing that quest you can head up and talk to the Rebels to earn some faction with them.  It is near Lake Dispair *sp* that you can earn atleast 1-2k faction with the Iksar Villagers.  The quest requires you to kill 5 leeches and 5 fish which is pretty easy.

After this you will want to head down the path towards the Tabernacle of Pain.  There’s an iksar near the Sokokar post that will give a simple search and destroy mission.  After this you will be rewarded with some xp and faction towards the Tabernacle inhabitants.  This is a great place because you can earn some titles for yourself that you can proudly display.  It gets a bit difficult when you reach the bronze and copper levels of the quests.

Heading down the river you can get quests from Dalniers Wheel *sp* earning some faction with them.  Quests arn’t overly difficult except for a few.  Once you have done most of the quests heard I recommend hitting the little froglok near the skeletons to do your Synod Reet Faction.  After several quests you will have to head inside sebiliss to complete the others.  Sadly the hardest people to get faction with is Outer Sebiliss.  If you have a friend that has already done the quest from the librarian/lore person in that zone I recommend having them share that quest with you.

Once you collect all the pages invisi into Outer Sebiliss to turn in the quest.  This will net you atleast 1-2k faction with the residents which makes it 10x easier to get to Sebiliss.  I would say around level 76-77 you will want to head up stream from City of Jinsk to the hidden plunderer’s camp.  There is an iksar there that will issue you a standard faction search and destroy quest.

The hidden plunderers camp offers alot of quests that deal with the City of Mist so I recommend this as a group effort.  Another quest involved with City of Mist is Trial of the Bronze Shackle *Maybe copper*.  The plunderer camp can net you atleast 10-15% xp plus a hefty amount of coin if you do all of the quests.

Around level 77-78 you can head out of the Kunzar Jungle and head to the Jarsath Wastes to finish things up.

Level 77-80: Jarsath Waste is your best bet for leveling beyond level 77 up to 80.  The sarnak up front will give you an easy faction quest to do.  After that you gain entry to the cave they are hold up in.  A hard quest to get is the faction quest from the dark elf.  However if someone has already done it *Heads or Tails* group with them then have them share it with you.

After killing all the dracurion hoplites sprint past the guards then find the Lieutant for your update.  He’ll give you a minor faction boost so you are no longer KoS with the guards.  You absolutely need faction with the Legion of Danak because the shipyard has a merchant with fabled gear you can get.

I also recommend doing the quest from the Dark Elf on the little stone near the tombs for Eternal night and Maiden’s chamber zones.  She does turn on you, but the reward is really nice especially for tanks.  If you are hurting for more quests you can head into the wooded area past Veneril’s Crown to the Sklekross *sp* camp.  Here you can do another quest line for the iksar scorpions.

A final quest line can be found near the ocean from a Ya-Lei inside Chelsith.  Chelsith is a difficult zone, but has alot of great xp and AA for first timers.

For people that are level 79 and have done almost every single quest I can only recommend doing Crypt of Agony, Eternal Night zone, Maiden’s Chamber *if you can*, and Chelsith.  Crypt of Agony is a truely great zone and even at level 79 you can earn atleast 7-15% xp in there.  Eternal Night is another great zone netting atleast 10-15% xp.  Saddly it is hard to say anything about maiden’s chamber because it is a truely difficult zone.  I would steer clear of this zone unless you really need XP.  Chelsith is on the top of the list netting atleast 20% xp, but you need a solid group for this zone because all mobs are level 82+.

Freeportian/Evil Aligned

You guys basically have the same route as the Qeynosian Folk after level 20.  However there is a slight deviation from this.

You will want to attain atleast level 10-11 in the Overlord’s Outpost refugee island doing all the quests.  After hitting level 10-11 you can head to the orc infested zone for some fun.  Just like The Caves for Qeynosian folk it has a decent amount of quests to net you some AA and XP.  A big bonus is you can do the orc language quest netting a good sum of AA xp and regular XP.

With that done and you being around level 13-14 you can head out to the Commonlands.  Now what you can do if you are bold enough is use the teleporter in the Commonlands as a jump point.  Head up to Tenebrous Tangle then use the portal to hop down to Antonica.  After that you can follow the “Good Aligned” guide as you wish.

However if you want to do things completely different you can head to East Freeport.  From East Freeport use the carpet to head to the Sinking Sands and then head to Darklight Woods.  With the fact your Evil Aligned you can do the Darklight woods quest line netting you more XP/AA plus exploration AA/XP.

Darklight Woods can help you zip up to level 20-23 possibly getting 3-4 AA pts.  I highly recommend xping on the ancient bone skeletons.  Also Make sure you do the questline from the fair grounds that allows you access to the BoneTower.  There is a clickable bookcase in the back of BoneTower that gives you the Skeleton Lore and Legend quest.  This is a big help since alot of mobs in EQ2 are Zombie, Orc, Gnoll or Skeleton based.

For Evil Aligned people if your level 20-21 try to make it safely to Nektulos Docks.  Here I recommend just grinding XP on the crabs since they can net you atleast 1-1.5% xp.  However once you hit level 23 I recommend hitting up Thundering Steppes following the Good Aligned guide.

*Secret XP Spots*

For the bold out there I do have some good XP spots that i’m willing to share.

Near the SouthEast Griffon Tower in the Thundering Steppe is huge scorched area with Centaurs and Skeletons.  This is a perfect place to XP because of all the creatures around it.  The Centaurs usually come in groups of 2-3 mobs and on the rock atleast 4-5 mobs.  Now due to the single and group mob xp you can earn a heck of alot of xp in this little area.

For people level 33-34 if you are bold enough you can head to The Ferrott and xp grind on the mobs on the beach.  There is a mini quest on the beach that helps an NPC catalogue them.  However all that really means to you is killing the beasts.  You won’t earn a substantial amount of AA/XP, but it is enough to help you out.  Once you reach level 35-36 you can continue to the Jungle earning XP off the mobs.

Hitting level 38-39 you can head to the beach of Lavastorm and grind XP off the little fire wurmlings.  Sadly the Wurmlings don’t respawn super fast so you can be left twiddling your thumbs.  I do have to put out a warning though that there is a chance all your grinding on the Wurmlings will summon the Fire Wurm.  The Fire Wurm is a nasty level 43 ^^^ mob that can obliterate everyone.  The worst part is he spawns right near the Respawn Point of the beach zone.  This means you can get stuck there if your not careful.

Players who hit level 42-43 can grind XP off the animals in The Sinking Sands.  The lush green areas have snakes and armadillos that arn’t incredibly tough.  These little guys can help you earn atleast 2-3 levels letting you do the quest lines in SS much more easily.

My super secret spot is Gazer island for players that are level 56-57.  Try not to hit/kill the Gloompball dragon Faries since they are non KoS when you start out.  You will want to focus on the Evil Eyes and the Beholder Eyes.  These guys are level 58-60 and will net you atleast .3-5 XP.

Hitting level 59-60 I recommend the Ravasects on the Isle of the Ravesct in Tenebrous Tangle.  These guys are great xp and do have a good drop rate for treasured items.  You can in turn sell these treasured items for much needed coin or sell them on the broker to transmuters for transmuter fodder.

*Update*

I updated the 52-55 range since Tenebrous Tangle got a bit of an update/nerf.  You have to be atleast level 54-55 in order to receive quests from that zone from what I have seen.

This is a good zone for people that want a more in-dept exploration experience.  You will start out on a beach near your primary quest givers.  These quests are quite simple and progress quite rapidly for those that like to quest.  I do recommend doing the quests because it is a good source of equipment for the player that is just starting out.

You will progress from the beach area to a rocky overlook.  Quests do get tougher, but they are still soloable for those that like to solo.  After completing the quest series here you can progress to a small encampment on another rocky overlook just up the mountain side.

Now there is a “Secret” quest here that some people may have missed.  On the 2nd rocky overlook you will have to do a quest where you lure little lizards to carnivorous plants.  These plants will entagle the lizards in a filament and you will be required to harvest them.  Once you do that quest head towards the raptors past the small filament plants and look around.  You will find a very “BIG” carnivorous plant that is in the ground.

You will attack one of the raptors and run up to the “BIG” carnivorous plant which will entagle the raptor.  After that is done you will harvest the raptor and be given the “Secret” quest.  Head back to the person that gave you the lizard entaglement quest and you’ll be reward with some extra xp/aa as well as some minor coin.

After completing the quest series on the second rocky overlook you will have to head to the battlements to progress.  The quests at the battlements get tougher, but are still soloable if you are patient.  Towards the end of the battlement quest you need to kill a named aviak.  He will drop an item that will give you another “Secret” quest earning you a nifty pet plus some extra coin xp and aa.

Each quest series will lead you to Gorowyn where you should be atleast level 12-14.  Here you can move on taking the carpet to Sinking Sands then to Freeport or Darklight Woods.  However I recommend staying in Gorowyn completing the quest series.  This series will lead you to a cave area where you will finish up the quest series for Gorowyn.

About 1/2 through the quests in the Cave you will be asked to study the gorillas near by and it is here where you will find the 3rd “Secret” quest.  Killing some of the Gorillas after completing quests from one of the bio-parsers you will find a leopard carcas.  This carcas will give you your secret quest and you will need to return to the bio-parser to update it.

Once the quest is updated you will need to find a stoneback that is willing to accept the leopard carcas.  You will need to head out across the bridge then up the side of the broken bridge.  Heading up the side of the broken bridge is hard, but doable.  Once done head across the vine being careful not to fall and throw the leopard carcas on the ground near the “King” stoneback.  The “King” will give you a baby stoneback as a gift and that is your cue to return to the bio-parser once more.

The Bio-Parser will take the baby stoneback studying it for a little while.  I believe it takes 10 minutes (RL) till the quest updates and you can return to her.  She will say she understands more about their culture, but as a reward for you the baby stoneback is yours.  You now have your own little monkey to run around with.

Doing all the quests in the cave will net you considerable xp and possibly 4-5 AA points or more.  Once you are done with those quests head back to Gorowyn.  If you are level 20-21 I recommend taking the carpet heading the Sinking Sands then to Darklight woods.  Here you can do some of the quests from the little Fair grounds people.

The couple of quest lines available will net you some more AA and xp helping you to level up.  I highly recommend doing the bone tower quest because it will help you gain access and let you get the Skeleton L&L; book.  The Skeleton L&L; book is again a simple and easy quest giving considerable AA/XP.

After all of the quests at the fair ground are done head back to Gorowyn then take the griffon to Butcherblock Mountains.  Here you can do a small finishing quest line for a final bit of AA/XP for yourself.  People will finish differently so it is hard to gauge where to go next.

If you finished all of that and you are level 22-23 I recommend hitting up Thundering Steppes or Nektulos Forest doing creatures on the beach.  They will net you about 1-1.5% xp per creature and you may get some nice items to sell for some coin.  However if you are level 24-25 I recommend going to Greater Faydark and getting the In Honor and In Service quest.  You can grab 2 L&Ls; from this zone and a 3rd one as mentioned in Crushbone Keep.

The Treant L&L; is in an Orc tent in the Settlement on the hill.  Treants are abundant towards the Greater Faydark to Butcherblock Mountain entrance area.  Best part is these guys are level 8-10 so you can slaughter them all till you get the update.

Your second L&L; book is in the starting area for the Fay down Echo Echo canyon.  It is in the main building from a clickable bookcase.  The goblin Lore and Legend book can be easily updated if you find the Grobins in the caves or the level 1-3 guys in the small little pond.  I recommend killing the level 1-3 guys because they respawn quite rapidly and you can grab your Auto-Updates from them.

After level 26-27 you can follow the good aligned guide to level up beyond that.  Happy leveling to all my Sarnak Brethern

Darklight Woods/Neriak / Evil Aligned

This is one of the best areas to level in if you want to get alot of xp/AA.  You can easily level from 1-20 doing all of the quests here.  Best thing to do is follow the quest lines completing all of the quests you can.  Doing this will allow you to get necessary weapons/armor and help you to familiarize yourself if you are new to EQ2.

Once you hit around level 19-20 and have gotten the skeleton L&L; book from the bone tower you can head out into the wide world of exploring.  I recommend hitting the carpet in Darklight woods at the fair grounds heading to Sinking Sands then to Freeport.  At Freeport your best bet is to run around to the minor villages getting some exploration AA and minor xp.  With that done head back to Neriak and to the docks where you get a free teleport to Nektulos Forest or The Thundering Steppes.

As said the zombies on the Thundering Steppes beach are a great source of xp.  If you time your attacks putting them into a rhythem you can take them down pretty fast.  Mastering this skill will be your hardest challenge if you’re new to EQ2.  However once you have it down you can quickly dispatch creatures gaining crucial xp in a timely manner.

After level 24-25 you can head out following the good sided guide for Qeynos.