Getting into EverQuest II’s recent Kingdom of Sky expansion isn’t difficult. In fact, with all the new features and perks, it’s pretty addicting. Even those who don’t particularly like questing are finding themselves gaining a new appreciation for them as they really boost alternative achievement experience.
And therein lies the biggest addition to EQII with the release of Kingdom of Sky. So what is alternative advancement and why bother with it? The new line of advancements are different than regular experience and they allow players more hands-on control over their character’s development.
Players are given several lines of advancements to choose from. They can max out one line and move on to another, or choose to spend their points all over the board. Mystics, for example, can boost wisdom, agility and other primary stats by buying different AA lines with their points. As the points add up, special bonuses become available. One line for the mystic offers critical heals, while another gives them uber buff ability.
The danger here is that right now there is a cap that limits the number of total points a player can get. So, the smart ones are opting to max out their favorite line and then move onto another. I've been told the cap's at 50 points, but I haven't reached it to confirm one way or another.
That said, how does one get this new experience? It’s simple – questing, questing and more questing. Throw in some discovery experience and named kills and collection quests and you can be well on your way to some serious AA dingage.
Here are some of the best ideas I’ve seen for boosting AA experience potential:
Get every quest possible and finish them. If you’re Kingdom of Sky level, seek out Jabber Longwind at the zone entry and start his and Grumglub’s series of quests. These are repeatable for a while and give pretty good cash, too. Also, check out the frogs at the bottom of the waterfall for more repeatable quests. Watch out for that drop though! Aim for the water in the pond or you won’t survive it.
Visit old zones. Locations such as Everfrost, Lavastorm and even the docks in the Thundering Steps will give you “discovery experience” all over again.
Do those collection quests. There are some that give serious AA experience and really neat rewards as well. The level 70 ones rock.
Kill named mobs. As long as it’s your first kill under the new AA system, you should get credit. This normally counts for individual mobs, heroics and group times 2s, 3s, and 4s. Also, the status points now attached to some mobs are incredible.
The Kingdom of Sky so far has been a nice follow up for EQII’s impressive Pillars of Flame expansion. Although not as politically charged, KoS has some really neat zones, great quests and tons and tons of mobs.
I’ve been promising this more in-depth look for some time now, and I apologize for the delay. Seems I’ve been playing too much, which I suppose is the best endorsement I could possibly give the expansion!
Related:
EQII Expansion Is Looking Good: Partial Review
EQ II Streamlining Servers
EQII Map Mod Is Incredible
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