The short of it is that you get more damage for strength increases on all weapons except dagger.
Dagger gets it bonus on Coord.
Unarmed gets 2 bonuses, one for the strength and one for skill.
So in your case, yes you will, but only because your increasing strength to increase skill levels.
Also, when are you people on and who should i be messaging to get into the allegiance?
Not only do you have to take into account the skill/20 part, but UA's only get +1 damage per 12.5 strength rather than the +1/8.5 strength other meleers get
So every 8.5 strength your going to get an extra point of damage on your mace.
Contact "Vendal Thornheart" sometime after 8pm EST tonight, and I can get you into the allegiance... or one of the other guys here when they have time. Ideally, you should be under someone other than me (because I already have two under me).
Try Davjack if he's on as well, or Kristopf if you can find them online. They don't have vassals yet.
citizen059hello my name is citizenI'm from the InternetRegistered Userregular
edited December 2008
Xbow does come off as pretty sad, especially when the test shows the lowly atlatl being superior in terms of damage.
That said, AC is about running the build you want, optimal or not. If you want to be a spear-toting alchemal chef of doom, then by God go for it!
Skill credit cost also plays a factor though. I mean, if you look at an Aluvian spec dagger and the fact that it does about 2/3rds the damage of sword, yet only costs 1/4 the amount of credits, that's one hell of a deal. A savings of 12 skill credits is HUGE in terms of "finishing" your build earlier, or adding more versatility.
I always loved the upfront power of x-bow, if it was a one shot kill x-bow is king. Its those pesky mobs that need more than 2-3 shots that make x-bow start taking the back seat from just how slow the thing is to load. Before the expansion that brought level cap to 275 it was even feasable to make a 10,10,100,10,100,100 spec x-bow life creature toon and just vuln and one shot kill everything in sight. Course it didn't hurt that you never needed melee d with the right buffs in those days
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citizen059hello my name is citizenI'm from the InternetRegistered Userregular
edited December 2008
Case in point re: skill costs.
If you're willing to sacrifice some damage output by being a spec Aluvian dagger, you can go the standard 3 school route and have all the basics fairly quickly.
Level 1
Spec: Dagger, Melee D
Trained: Item, Mana C, Healing, Arcane
You need 20 more skill points to pick up creature and life, and you'll have those by level 32...which, as we've seen, is very, very easy to get to.
Alternatively, you could go for an item-only "vagabond" style build.
So, for example, by level 20 you could have:
Spec: Dagger, Melee d
Trained: Item, Mana C, Healing, Arcane, Lockpick, Cooking, Alchemy
In both cases you've only spent 24 of the 64 max skill points toward specialization, so using the temple of enlightenment later on you can boost yourself in any number of skills by specializing them...40 points to work with.
If you really want a "versatile" character, Dagger is the quick way to get there, so long as you're okay with the lower damage output.
edit: another crazy dagger build....3 School Master of Defense
Complete by level 120
At creation, spec: Dagger, Melee D, Missile D, Magic D
Keep the leftovers and pick up healing after exiting the academy.
By L120 you have the specs mentioned above, along with Life, Creature, Item, and Mana C trained.
Would it even be viable? Who knows! Who cares? That's the fun of AC.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
I always loved the upfront power of x-bow, if it was a one shot kill x-bow is king. Its those pesky mobs that need more than 2-3 shots that make x-bow start taking the back seat from just how slow the thing is to load. Before the expansion that brought level cap to 275 it was even feasable to make a 10,10,100,10,100,100 spec x-bow life creature toon and just vuln and one shot kill everything in sight. Course it didn't hurt that you never needed melee d with the right buffs in those days
Yea, but you also have to worry about the burden. I mean, shit... crossbows are heavy, quarrels are damn] heavy, and as a ranged character, starting strength is low. If crossbow were closer to (i.e. even with) Atlatl damage, it might be nicer.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy crossbow. It just annoys me that it's the red-headed stepchild of weapons, even at the 6(12) skill credit cost.
Oh I know. I will never care about magic, though. Item for transportation, and self-buffing far along, and that's it. Honestly? Buffing annoys me. ;-) My crossbow guy started:
Spec: Crossbow, Melee D
Trained: Arcane Lore, Item, Healing
I've trained Alchemy and Fletching, and plan to pick up Lockpick at 26. Then Cooking at 40. After that, I have on idea.. I'd probably start specializing things I've already trained (particularly Item, Healing, and Arcane Lore).
Note that I picked up Alchemy to make oils for weapons, and eventually grenades. I'd rather use grenades than Life any day of the week. :P
I tried a Crossbow character once, and the slow ass loading animation got me killed more times then I care to think about. So I deleted that dude. And then Turbine sped the animation up quite a bit.
I was all about crossbow for about 6 months until I actually made a bow character. The animation speeds while going into combat mode and loading more ammuntion are soooo much quicker its not even funny.
And as far as the 10 strength and a xbow are concerned, yah it was painful, but this was long before rends and missile defense adjustments to the mobs. So you only needed one xbow and with your life specked and fully viable you really were killing everything in one shot.
Its a perfect example of templates that became totally watereddown/ineffective/undesirable with changes to the game.
I remember when dagger was the be all end all of melee weapons simply because you did more damage doing short quick stabs for 1 point of damage because it stacked up faster than a sword swinging at full speed. Thankfully some things did change for the better .
My highest character on the server right now is 20.... i doubt there's going to be much for me lol.
I have chronic rerollitis. The most fun I have with this game is playing with character calculators and figure out builds.
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citizen059hello my name is citizenI'm from the InternetRegistered Userregular
edited December 2008
My favorite thing is when they upgrade old quest weapons.
My axeman on MT has this:
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
I was all about crossbow for about 6 months until I actually made a bow character. The animation speeds while going into combat mode and loading more ammuntion are soooo much quicker its not even funny.
And as far as the 10 strength and a xbow are concerned, yah it was painful, but this was long before rends and missile defense adjustments to the mobs. So you only needed one xbow and with your life specked and fully viable you really were killing everything in one shot.
Its a perfect example of templates that became totally watereddown/ineffective/undesirable with changes to the game.
I remember when dagger was the be all end all of melee weapons simply because you did more damage doing short quick stabs for 1 point of damage because it stacked up faster than a sword swinging at full speed. Thankfully some things did change for the better .
Dagger was the be-all-end-all because of Gertarh's Dagger. 8-9 damage? Yes please.
I was a part of the dagger reroll craze. Imagine dozens of dagger characters in the same dungeon at the same time, all trying to out-compete each other. Pretty hilarious in retrospect.
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citizen059hello my name is citizenI'm from the InternetRegistered Userregular
edited December 2008
So I got to participate in the live event on MT for about 10 seconds before I got 1-shotted by a giant tentacle with a life spell.
I don't know if more is on the way tonight, but it's obviously way above my level. I'll get a couple screenshots up later.
Oh, and I dunno how it went on other servers, but on MT, it was all over within 5 minutes. I'm not kidding. Someone got a pack tentacle monster, one billion XP, and a title.
I was all about crossbow for about 6 months until I actually made a bow character. The animation speeds while going into combat mode and loading more ammuntion are soooo much quicker its not even funny.
And as far as the 10 strength and a xbow are concerned, yah it was painful, but this was long before rends and missile defense adjustments to the mobs. So you only needed one xbow and with your life specked and fully viable you really were killing everything in one shot.
Its a perfect example of templates that became totally watereddown/ineffective/undesirable with changes to the game.
I remember when dagger was the be all end all of melee weapons simply because you did more damage doing short quick stabs for 1 point of damage because it stacked up faster than a sword swinging at full speed. Thankfully some things did change for the better .
Dagger was the be-all-end-all because of Gertarh's Dagger. 8-9 damage? Yes please.
Then they removed the mob that drops it and gave Daggers Bandit Hilts things really got out of hand for awhile after that.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
I was all about crossbow for about 6 months until I actually made a bow character. The animation speeds while going into combat mode and loading more ammuntion are soooo much quicker its not even funny.
And as far as the 10 strength and a xbow are concerned, yah it was painful, but this was long before rends and missile defense adjustments to the mobs. So you only needed one xbow and with your life specked and fully viable you really were killing everything in one shot.
Its a perfect example of templates that became totally watereddown/ineffective/undesirable with changes to the game.
I remember when dagger was the be all end all of melee weapons simply because you did more damage doing short quick stabs for 1 point of damage because it stacked up faster than a sword swinging at full speed. Thankfully some things did change for the better .
Dagger was the be-all-end-all because of Gertarh's Dagger. 8-9 damage? Yes please.
Then they removed the mob that drops it and gave Daggers Bandit Hilts things really got out of hand for awhile after that.
Bandit hilts didn't come around until a few months later. I remember buying a few bags full of Gertarh's Daggers, and selling them slowly. Even after bandit hilts, they were worth a ton of money. :P
Though, I am finding it annoying that I can't seem to find any new gear for my character as everything either has requirements that are too high or be for another race.
Any suggests for a level 17 archer? I have the society yumi and the basic chain mail gear you get from the start.
Though, I am finding it annoying that I can't seem to find any new gear for my character as everything either has requirements that are too high or be for another race.
Any suggests for a level 17 archer? I have the society yumi and the basic chain mail gear you get from the start.
There really isn't much that I can remember at that level. You are stuck wearing a lot of junk. If the bot you use can buff your armor, wearing a Robe with a hood is as good as anything else at that level. Unless they changed Imp and Bane a lot. But at 20+ there is http://www.thejackcat.com/AC/Hobbies/Quests/OlthoiArmor.htm
Which is kind of a fun place to hunt as well.
edit: Have you guys collected the Towels that are available from Mud and Water Golems? While they aren't great items, they are a pretty nice tribute to Douglas Adams. (They were added within weeks of him passing away.)
That olthoi armor is hideously heavy. I prefer to just jump around in the explorer gear from the gold letters. http://www.thejackcat.com/AC/Hobbies/Quests/Exploration.htm
Yes its ugly.
But I prefer just playing vs botting up for the most part.
Level 1
Spec: Dagger, Melee D
Trained: Item, Mana C, Healing, Arcane
You need 20 more skill points to pick up creature and life, and you'll have those by level 32...which, as we've seen, is very, very easy to get to.
Alternatively, you could go for an item-only "vagabond" style build.
So, for example, by level 20 you could have:
Spec: Dagger, Melee d
Trained: Item, Mana C, Healing, Arcane, Lockpick, Cooking, Alchemy
I made this character for fun. Going to level up doing the old content, and without using any buff bots/outside help. Send Davjack a /tell if you want to join up.
Level 6, I just went into the Shoushi Shreth hive to do a starter quest. Remember how some of the Drudge Prowlers jump down from above? And do you see how, in my template above, I started with 10 endurance? I portaled into the dungeon, saw a shadow coming down from above. And then.
Level 1
Spec: Dagger, Melee D
Trained: Item, Mana C, Healing, Arcane
You need 20 more skill points to pick up creature and life, and you'll have those by level 32...which, as we've seen, is very, very easy to get to.
Alternatively, you could go for an item-only "vagabond" style build.
So, for example, by level 20 you could have:
Spec: Dagger, Melee d
Trained: Item, Mana C, Healing, Arcane, Lockpick, Cooking, Alchemy
I made this character for fun. Going to level up doing the old content, and without using any buff bots/outside help. Send Davjack a /tell if you want to join up.
Level 6, I just went into the Shoushi Shreth hive to do a starter quest. Remember how some of the Drudge Prowlers jump down from above? And do you see how, in my template above, I started with 10 endurance? I portaled into the dungeon, saw a shadow coming down from above. And then.
You have been killed by the impact.
Hell yeah.
That...that's so epic.
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citizen059hello my name is citizenI'm from the InternetRegistered Userregular
I always loved the upfront power of x-bow, if it was a one shot kill x-bow is king. Its those pesky mobs that need more than 2-3 shots that make x-bow start taking the back seat from just how slow the thing is to load. Before the expansion that brought level cap to 275 it was even feasable to make a 10,10,100,10,100,100 spec x-bow life creature toon and just vuln and one shot kill everything in sight. Course it didn't hurt that you never needed melee d with the right buffs in those days
Yea, but you also have to worry about the burden. I mean, shit... crossbows are heavy, quarrels are damn] heavy, and as a ranged character, starting strength is low. If crossbow were closer to (i.e. even with) Atlatl damage, it might be nicer.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy crossbow. It just annoys me that it's the red-headed stepchild of weapons, even at the 6(12) skill credit cost.
Oh I know. I will never care about magic, though. Item for transportation, and self-buffing far along, and that's it. Honestly? Buffing annoys me. ;-) My crossbow guy started:
Spec: Crossbow, Melee D
Trained: Arcane Lore, Item, Healing
I've trained Alchemy and Fletching, and plan to pick up Lockpick at 26. Then Cooking at 40. After that, I have on idea.. I'd probably start specializing things I've already trained (particularly Item, Healing, and Arcane Lore).
Note that I picked up Alchemy to make oils for weapons, and eventually grenades. I'd rather use grenades than Life any day of the week. :P
If you're not taking Mana C in there anywhere (I was an item-only axeman without mana C for a long time) then you'll want one of these:
Ooh, that's a nice casting item! I might not have taken life magic if I knew I could get that. Being able to life buff yourself is useful... but when you start out with 10 focus and 10 self (as a melee character), it's painful to get life high enough to actually cast good spells. As it stands, the skill calculator says it's impossible for me to get to 300 life magic with 10 focus and 10 self to start, so casting VII's are out the window... but it's something like 500 million XP to get to the point where I can cast VI's even.
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citizen059hello my name is citizenI'm from the InternetRegistered Userregular
Ooh, that's a nice casting item! I might not have taken life magic if I knew I could get that. Being able to life buff yourself is useful... but when you start out with 10 focus and 10 self (as a melee character), it's painful to get life high enough to actually cast good spells. As it stands, the skill calculator says it's impossible for me to get to 300 life magic with 10 focus and 10 self to start, so casting VII's are out the window... but it's something like 500 million XP to get to the point where I can cast VI's even.
The primary reason to go as a 3-School melee/ranged character is to be self-sufficient later on down the road. It's good not to have to rely on buff bots when you're away from the mansion/marketplace/town for a lengthy period of time.
Characters that start 10/10 focus/self in order to boost their primary skills early can, if needed, go back later and revise those stats.
The temples of enlightenment & forgetfulness, in addition to letting you spec/train/untrain skills, can also be used to shift attribute points around. So if you want to take, say, 50 out of endurance and shift it over to focus, you can.
Ooh, good point. I'll have to do that. I think both my endurance and quickness were both more than they actually needed to be (I think I gave myself 50/50 on each if I'm not mistaken... though I can't honestly remember =( )
I want to very much, I just am having problems finding time to log on. =(
I did have enough XP items on me to level myself up to 12 though, so I *can* join you (and want to! The Dagger of Tikola was an awesome quest if I remember correctly)... I just need to be on at the same time as you. As it is, I've got another 3 hours of work before I can even think about playing today. =(
As a 10/10 melee character it is possible to buff yourself with 7s, you just have to buff yourself with 6s first. My first character that actually had any magics (bendery) was a 10/10 dagger character who could fully buff herself in all 3 schools with level 7s by level 125
Wait... you have to have a credit card to play the trial?
.... Yeah that doesn't work for me. I'd rather just reup my account
Ohhh, that's an interesting idea. You have a good point! I like the way you think Beckham. I hadn't thought of doing that. Brilliant!
Now to get the whatever hundred million/billion XP I need to get them as close to 300 as I can. Though I guess if I do VI's first, I only need to get it up to like 265 or something like that so I can hit 300 with the VI buff.
Ohhh, that's an interesting idea. You have a good point! I like the way you think Beckham. I hadn't thought of doing that. Brilliant!
Now to get the whatever hundred million/billion XP I need to get them as close to 300 as I can. Though I guess if I do VI's first, I only need to get it up to like 265 or something like that so I can hit 300 with the VI buff.
Remember that every 3 points in to Self/focus raise all your magics 1 point
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citizen059hello my name is citizenI'm from the InternetRegistered Userregular
Posts
http://acvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Guidebooks.Detail&id=23&category_select_id=1
The short of it is that you get more damage for strength increases on all weapons except dagger.
Dagger gets it bonus on Coord.
Unarmed gets 2 bonuses, one for the strength and one for skill.
So in your case, yes you will, but only because your increasing strength to increase skill levels.
Also, when are you people on and who should i be messaging to get into the allegiance?
Not only do you have to take into account the skill/20 part, but UA's only get +1 damage per 12.5 strength rather than the +1/8.5 strength other meleers get
So every 8.5 strength your going to get an extra point of damage on your mace.
Contact "Vendal Thornheart" sometime after 8pm EST tonight, and I can get you into the allegiance... or one of the other guys here when they have time. Ideally, you should be under someone other than me (because I already have two under me).
Try Davjack if he's on as well, or Kristopf if you can find them online. They don't have vassals yet.
http://www.snowangel.net/asheron/melee_faq.html
Pretty much the whole pie about melee right there.
I hadn't realized how shitty xbow was nowadays.
Makes me want to start over as a swordie.
That said, AC is about running the build you want, optimal or not. If you want to be a spear-toting alchemal chef of doom, then by God go for it!
Skill credit cost also plays a factor though. I mean, if you look at an Aluvian spec dagger and the fact that it does about 2/3rds the damage of sword, yet only costs 1/4 the amount of credits, that's one hell of a deal. A savings of 12 skill credits is HUGE in terms of "finishing" your build earlier, or adding more versatility.
If you're willing to sacrifice some damage output by being a spec Aluvian dagger, you can go the standard 3 school route and have all the basics fairly quickly.
Level 1
Spec: Dagger, Melee D
Trained: Item, Mana C, Healing, Arcane
You need 20 more skill points to pick up creature and life, and you'll have those by level 32...which, as we've seen, is very, very easy to get to.
Alternatively, you could go for an item-only "vagabond" style build.
So, for example, by level 20 you could have:
Spec: Dagger, Melee d
Trained: Item, Mana C, Healing, Arcane, Lockpick, Cooking, Alchemy
In both cases you've only spent 24 of the 64 max skill points toward specialization, so using the temple of enlightenment later on you can boost yourself in any number of skills by specializing them...40 points to work with.
If you really want a "versatile" character, Dagger is the quick way to get there, so long as you're okay with the lower damage output.
edit: another crazy dagger build....3 School Master of Defense
Complete by level 120
At creation, spec: Dagger, Melee D, Missile D, Magic D
Keep the leftovers and pick up healing after exiting the academy.
By L120 you have the specs mentioned above, along with Life, Creature, Item, and Mana C trained.
Would it even be viable? Who knows! Who cares? That's the fun of AC.
Yea, but you also have to worry about the burden. I mean, shit... crossbows are heavy, quarrels are damn] heavy, and as a ranged character, starting strength is low. If crossbow were closer to (i.e. even with) Atlatl damage, it might be nicer.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy crossbow. It just annoys me that it's the red-headed stepchild of weapons, even at the 6(12) skill credit cost.
Oh I know. I will never care about magic, though. Item for transportation, and self-buffing far along, and that's it. Honestly? Buffing annoys me. ;-) My crossbow guy started:
Spec: Crossbow, Melee D
Trained: Arcane Lore, Item, Healing
I've trained Alchemy and Fletching, and plan to pick up Lockpick at 26. Then Cooking at 40. After that, I have on idea.. I'd probably start specializing things I've already trained (particularly Item, Healing, and Arcane Lore).
Note that I picked up Alchemy to make oils for weapons, and eventually grenades. I'd rather use grenades than Life any day of the week. :P
http://forums.ac.turbine.com/showthread.php?p=438683#post438683
12/12/08 Events Tonight!
Starting sometime after 7pm EST, new events will be taking place across all worlds. Make sure you are on around tonight to be part of all the fun!
__________________
Andy "Frelorn" Cataldo
AC Community Relations
Turbine, Inc
Have a question or comment?
turbinesupportexperience@turbine.com
Wish I could join in... we're working on packing so we can leave for a funeral tomorrow.
Enjoy the fun.
And as far as the 10 strength and a xbow are concerned, yah it was painful, but this was long before rends and missile defense adjustments to the mobs. So you only needed one xbow and with your life specked and fully viable you really were killing everything in one shot.
Its a perfect example of templates that became totally watereddown/ineffective/undesirable with changes to the game.
I remember when dagger was the be all end all of melee weapons simply because you did more damage doing short quick stabs for 1 point of damage because it stacked up faster than a sword swinging at full speed. Thankfully some things did change for the better
I have chronic rerollitis. The most fun I have with this game is playing with character calculators and figure out builds.
My axeman on MT has this:
Dagger was the be-all-end-all because of Gertarh's Dagger. 8-9 damage? Yes please.
I don't know if more is on the way tonight, but it's obviously way above my level. I'll get a couple screenshots up later.
Oh, and I dunno how it went on other servers, but on MT, it was all over within 5 minutes. I'm not kidding. Someone got a pack tentacle monster, one billion XP, and a title.
Then they removed the mob that drops it and gave Daggers Bandit Hilts things really got out of hand for awhile after that.
Bandit hilts didn't come around until a few months later. I remember buying a few bags full of Gertarh's Daggers, and selling them slowly. Even after bandit hilts, they were worth a ton of money. :P
Though, I am finding it annoying that I can't seem to find any new gear for my character as everything either has requirements that are too high or be for another race.
Any suggests for a level 17 archer? I have the society yumi and the basic chain mail gear you get from the start.
There really isn't much that I can remember at that level. You are stuck wearing a lot of junk. If the bot you use can buff your armor, wearing a Robe with a hood is as good as anything else at that level. Unless they changed Imp and Bane a lot. But at 20+ there is http://www.thejackcat.com/AC/Hobbies/Quests/OlthoiArmor.htm
Which is kind of a fun place to hunt as well.
edit: Have you guys collected the Towels that are available from Mud and Water Golems? While they aren't great items, they are a pretty nice tribute to Douglas Adams. (They were added within weeks of him passing away.)
http://www.thejackcat.com/AC/Hobbies/Quests/Exploration.htm
Yes its ugly.
But I prefer just playing vs botting up for the most part.
I made this character for fun. Going to level up doing the old content, and without using any buff bots/outside help. Send Davjack a /tell if you want to join up.
Level 6, I just went into the Shoushi Shreth hive to do a starter quest. Remember how some of the Drudge Prowlers jump down from above? And do you see how, in my template above, I started with 10 endurance? I portaled into the dungeon, saw a shadow coming down from above. And then.
You have been killed by the impact.
Hell yeah.
Also, that's a hilarious way to die littwentythree
That...that's so epic.
If you're not taking Mana C in there anywhere (I was an item-only axeman without mana C for a long time) then you'll want one of these:
http://www.thejackcat.com/AC/Hobbies/Quests/Stein.htm
Casting Stein
A magical beer stein that can be used to focus magic.
Use this item to cast its spell.
Value: 2000
Burden: 50
Bonus: +7% to Mana Conversion
Spells: Stamina to Mana Self IV
Spellcraft: 200
Mana: x/1000
Mana Cost: 75
Difficulty: 50
Free Stam2Mana without the need for life magic. And it makes for a very stylish casting device!
The primary reason to go as a 3-School melee/ranged character is to be self-sufficient later on down the road. It's good not to have to rely on buff bots when you're away from the mansion/marketplace/town for a lengthy period of time.
Characters that start 10/10 focus/self in order to boost their primary skills early can, if needed, go back later and revise those stats.
The temples of enlightenment & forgetfulness, in addition to letting you spec/train/untrain skills, can also be used to shift attribute points around. So if you want to take, say, 50 out of endurance and shift it over to focus, you can.
Someone should join me on my insane no buff bots no outside help journey.
I did have enough XP items on me to level myself up to 12 though, so I *can* join you (and want to! The Dagger of Tikola was an awesome quest if I remember correctly)... I just need to be on at the same time as you. As it is, I've got another 3 hours of work before I can even think about playing today. =(
Wait... you have to have a credit card to play the trial?
.... Yeah that doesn't work for me. I'd rather just reup my account
Now to get the whatever hundred million/billion XP I need to get them as close to 300 as I can.
Remember that every 3 points in to Self/focus raise all your magics 1 point
http://www.strikefast.net/skillcalc/
They show you the most cost-efficient way (in terms of spending XP to raise skills/attribs) to reach a certain level of a skill.