The Tattered Notebook: A look into grouping, and a roundup of our Sentinel's Fate coverage
While Sentinel's Fate doesn't hit the digital download shelves for another week, retail players (and the many winners of retail access keys) are already enjoying the brand new lands of Odus as of this morning, thanks to today's headstart launch! The magical barrier protecting the continent has fallen, and many adventurers have already accessed the wizard spires to throw themselves into the Sundered Frontier and right into the intrigue.
But, while you're waiting to patch (or if you're an international customer, waiting for the servers to come up) we have just the thing for you -- our roundup of Sentinel's Fate coverage. Plus, this week we're taking a look at forming groups in EverQuest II, and how you can quickly and effectively put one together.
Community Forum Thread of the Week
This week, the thread that caught my eye was once again in the new player tips and tricks area. Kakaboeie of The Bazaar server wanted to know how to assemble a group in the lower levels of the game -- a very good question that covers pretty much all areas of the game. How do you assemble a group?
The community has answered to use the level specific chats in the game -- such as the level 1 to 9 channel or the 10 to 19 chat channel. While this is a great start (especially as those chats are server wide) there are a few more things to consider when putting together your group.
First of all, consider how many people in the population only stick in the 1 to 9 channel and not the higher level channels. While you can talk in the level appropriate chat, you will most likely not be reaching as many people as you could if you spoke in the 1 to 9 chat. It sounds a bit backwards, but many people are lazy and just don't want to turn on the other chats. They want to chat in the channel that's the most full and that happens to be the level 1 to 9 channel.
The second tip I have is to go to the area where you want to group and stick around it for a bit. Do some quests in the area if you're soloing, or just kill some monsters in the general area. Most likely, if you're on a decently populated server, you'll run into a few other people. Don't be afraid to ask if they would be interested in grouping up and doing a dungeon. Dungeons offer better rewards, better experience, and are generally more fun than being by yourself.
The player you're talking to is already in the area of the dungeon and most likely is carrying the quests related to that dungeon anyway. Even if they weren't thinking of grouping before, they might change their minds once they see you in person and know that you're willing to run the dungeon.
The third tip is a bit roundabout, but comes down to using EverQuest II's mentoring and chronomagic systems -- meet people you like and make some friends. Even if your friends are higher level, the game offers many ways for them to come down to your level, participate in the dungeon without throwing off your experience, and rewards the aiding player with chronomagic rewards or alternate advancement experience. In short -- it's totally beneficial for even higher level players to join up with you and kick some dungeon rear. Plus, if you get a mentor, you level faster too!
So, with all of that in mind, and a brand new land to explore and group in, let's take a look at the best of our Sentinel's Fate coverage!
