EQ2: Best way to use RAF to start 10 new accounts.

[Herc130]

I have looked into starting up on WoW before and never did. I like that it has a gazzillion players because that really makes a gameworld feel alive, but the character graphics I just cannot get into. I have played EQ2 when it first released, tried two boxing it and tried three boxing it, but always returned to EQ1 when a new expansion releases. Does not mean I didn't enjoy EQ2, because I did, but in EQ1 I am in a guild and I like helping the guild progress. I am at a point of deciding to pay a year in advance for 3 of my accounts in order to get veteran rewards. This will cost nearly $400 to do. Problem is, I still wonder if I would enjoy boxing EQ2 more.

I have three accounts in EQ2 now. I am pretty sure at least two of them are up to RoK. Think I have a lvl33 berserker and lvl33 templer and maybe even a lvl33...shamanlikecharacter. I think I would keep the berserker account..(.not neccessarly play the berserker) to use as the recipient for RaF and once I use RaF up fully for free, decided weahter to buy 9 new accounts with all expansion or not. But not sure exactly how all that works and best way to go about it. Not worried about keeping the other two accounts I already have as they would still need the full $39.99 purchase for the newest expansion anyway....and then I would not get 30 days of free play or RaF bonuses. Wanted to keep berserker account because that account is also tied to my EQ1 account and I plan to pay the $29 a month deal to have access to all SoE games (also have VG on it!) and I will probably still raid in EQ1 and occasionally play as a regular player to stay up on exp. and AA's, but will box in EQ2...from the ground up. So what's the best plan of attack on this?

[Frosty]

Just wondering why 10 accounts and not just 6 for a full group?

[Ishar]

probably because he was doing 10 in EQ. Similar reasons I imagine; stacking DPS classes outside of group so they can help out.

Honestly, though, Frosty is right. If your starting a new game from ground up, just level a full group. Can always add char's later. I don't think EQ2 has the same AA grind as EQ1, so having stacked DPS to make grinding faster doesn't make quite as much sense.

[Herc130]

Indeed it is because I already was already 10 boxing and have the hardware to ten box EQ and seeing how EQ2 has split classes even more then EQ, I think I will eventually go to 10 box here as well....but not now. Need to learn more. I know so little about EQ2 and class set-up and the mechanics of the game.

I started 6 characters on the Nek. server. Was planning on AB server, but names I wanted were taken there. But turns out, names I want, one or more is already taken on all servers. Wanted to name my characters: Carter (got Karter), Clinton/Klinton (got Klintun) , Reagan (got Reagon), Nixon/Nixxon (got Nixson), Kennedy and Lincoln. Didn't really work out, so gonna scrap the name plan. That's what I got in EQ1 (mostly) and made a gimp guild I named El Presidentes.

Anyway, reactivated my original EQ2 account I had since EQ2 release. Sent out invites x5 to myself and started an account off those invites. Don't start accounts and then send invites....as the accounts will not be flagged for RAF. You have to create it after the email is recieved and go off the links it provides. My understanding is 14 days of free play and I need to decide within 30 days if I continue, at which point I pay $14.99 and that will give all my RAF accounts EQ2 up the everything but the latest expansion. No free month like you'd get buying a $19.99 RoK box/download, but getting x5 30 (14??) day for my main account is the same difference I guess. And eventually I'll get around to getting the latest expansion which is currently $39.99....although I think I may be busy working lvls and AA's long enough that a newer expansion will come out before I hit the RoK ceiling anyway, so will wait on that and pay $39.99 when it includes the current newest exp and the future newest expansion. ANd coming from EQ1, I am a big believer in AA's and will keep my characters at low levels till those are maxxed out and there is not much other AA's I can use.

Choose:

Tank001- Guardian. I am reading SK's are overpowered at the moment and all fighter classes are facing changes that should really even them all out. So..nerfs in some areas...improvments in others. Some class more so then others? I don't know, but if EQ2 is like EQ1, then pure classes are usually the way to go. I'd really like an SK, for the fun choice, but I also want to be able to tank tough hitting mobs. This is still not concrete, but if I find I am still unsure about SK, Berserker or guardian, I think Guardian is the safe choice...even if they have a hard time AoE agroing.

Healer001: Templer. I think that is the purest good healer.

Healeroo2: Warden...mystic??? Not sure which is best for me. I want a reactive healer and a heal over time healer/runes/wards general movement, travel buffs.

melee001: Think I went trabadour. I am completely lost in what to pick in a scout class.

Caster001: Conjuror
Caster002: Conjuror I have 4 mages in EQ2, the pets rock. Those things are a force all bythemselves. Throw int he mage casting nukes and it is nuts. The pets stun mobs like crazy and do great DPS and with the right AA's, they tank better then some player tanks that don't know wtf they are doing. But am wondering if maybe one of these should be a wizard.

I am clueless on what classes buff what and which class complements others in buffs. But basically, I want a pure tank, two healers that work well together in heals and buffs, a class to help in travel (like ports, SoW, invis, tracking), haste/melee attack speed buffs, hitpoint buffs, AC buffs and hard hitting casters that are not gonna be too hard to keep off the agro radar.


Ran around playing a little, but haven't set-up any hotkey and kinda hard to 6 box with no hotkeys, so logged off after getting em to lvl5. Think I will be deleting all those and starting over from scratch anyway, probably back on AB where I actually have some plats?? Well, at least enough to get me started with backpacks and bank containers.

[Khatovar]

Caster001: Conjuror
Caster002: Conjuror

Don't double up DPS classes. The buffs don't stack and you end up missing some nice buffs from other classes.

Guardian is the "safe" choice. SK is less durible than the guard, but has higher DPS. SK is an offensive tank while gaurdians are defense.

Troub provide a movement speed buff, you will not be using SOW on a druid.

There's several posts around here somewhere talking about the differences in classes, just look under Noxxy, Frosty or my posts.

[Frosty]

Healeroo2: Warden...mystic???
I went with a Warden to get the benefit of the Druid ring portal spells.
Other than that, I am not the one to ask if one is better than the other. :P

As Khatovar pointed out the Bard class will provide great travel speeds for you. BUT, if you are doing RAF, you get free mounts anyway. :thumbup:

For my second DPS caster, I went with a Warlock to also get the benefit of Group portal spells.

[Herc130]

Well, seems SoE does not allow you to have more then one trial account and all 5 of my non-subscribed accounts I just started was banned. Still have 15 RAF invites and the 5 that were wasted will eventually go away and I get the invites back. Not sure if I want to petition to get the accounts unbanned, probably just make new ones and subscribe em immediately. Was thinking of starting yet 5 more new EQ2 accounts and do the RAF thing and immediately subscribe em, but then I found that Bestbuy sells The SHadow Odessy expansion for $29.99 and newegg sells it for $27.99 which is double the price of doing the trial+$14.99 for RoK, but going the TSO way from scratch gets me 30 days of free play as well....so damn near same $$ as trial and I get the latest expansion.

What I want to know is, can I send RAF emails, create an account off that email and instead of going the trial RoK game, just go ahead and start that account with TSO, get the 30 days free play from TSO + the exp bonus of RAF? I already went ahead and ordered 6 TSO boxes from newegg, well be nice to once again get actual game boxes instead of everything being a download, hate that about EQ1.

[Frosty]

Well, seems SoE does not allow you to have more then one trial account and all 5 of my non-subscribed accounts I just started was banned.
My steps below will get you through this. I'm sure they have it set up this way to keep the same person from playing a trial over and over and over.
And also to keep the gold sellers from causing problems.


This is the way I did RAF with one single email address:

1. Sign up for a new, or use your main existing account. Must be paid for before going to the next step.

2. From first account, send an invite to your email address. Log out of the administration area..you may even want to close the browser/window.

3. Check your email and follow the link.

4. Create a new account from the screen you are taken too. TIP - Watch out for your browser cookies, it kept me logged into the previous account severl times.

5. Log into new account and pay for it.

6. MAKE SURE IT SAYS YOU PAID FOR IT. And always make sure you are logged into the account you "think" you should be on. Again, the browser cookies caused me problems.

Also, make sure you only sign up by following the link in the emails otherwise your previous account won't get credit for the signup.

7. You now have invites on the new account to send, so repeat the process from step one, but this time with the account you just created.

[Herc130]

Yah, they only ban multiple trial accounts, not subscribed accounts. Still doesn't allow someone to experiment with boxing EQ2 without actually paying for subscription. I undestand it's to keep spammers from starting an endless amont of trial accounts in order to span you with.

Anyway, I ordered 6x TSO boxes from newegg at $27.99 per box. I am trying to fish for info here and at th eofficial SoE frums for best way to make use of the TSO activation key I wil be getting.

Situation #1----------I just start all new accunts with the TSO boxes. My main account gets no free time, but all ne boxes get 30 days free time.

Situation #2-----------I start trial accounts again via RAF and pay $14.99 per account. Get the RAF exp. bonus and whatevere else. Then upgrade to TSO when my boxes arrive (should be by tuesday next week, maybe wednesday a worst). I don't get 30 extra play, but will get TSO box bonuses as well as the RAF bonuses.

Situation #3------------I send RAF invites to myself when I get my TSO boxes. I use the activation codes from the boxes to immediately subscribe the new accounts. Here, I am in the dark what will happen. Will I get 14 days free play or 30? Will RAF bonuses work for this?

I would really like RAF bonuses for the 3x exp it will give to my group and te extra days of play for the account I use to invite with. I am ready to pay for situation #2 , cause that one seems to insure I will get everything, but am wondering if situation #3 does this as well?


Right now I plan to just play my one EQ2 account, which will be my guardian/berserker/SK/pally (haven't nailed it down, but probably guardian) and once I get the boxes in, upgrade my tabk account to TSO, then do the RAF thng with rest. Also....I have SoE all access with this account, how does that work considering time is suppose to be for just EQ2 account play? WOuld it be best if I gave RAF invites from an account that wasn't under the all access plan?

[Frosty]

Still doesn't allow someone to experiment with boxing EQ2 without actually paying for subscription.
Sign up for a few different free email accounts at Yahoo, AoL, MSN etc etc. ;)




Situation #2-----------I start trial accounts again via RAF and pay $14.99 per account. Get the RAF exp. bonus and whatevere else. Then upgrade to TSO when my boxes arrive (should be by tuesday next week, maybe wednesday a worst). I don't get 30 extra play, but will get TSO box bonuses as well as the RAF bonuses.



I could be wrong, but I thought for each friend you send a RAF invite to, you get 30 days free when they pay?
Plus, you are missing out on a lot of nice stuff if you don't RAF (mounts!!!) And just in case you didn't know this about the mounts...
You can put it in the shared bank slot for your account, and any toon on the account can use it. :thumbup:

[moosejaw]

I was reading a post on the SOE forums about the trial accounts and only allowing one trial per email address. So when sending out the trials use a different email for each recruitee. Then when you subscribe that trial change the email back to your main account email address so all your messages are where you need them.

I have also noticed that SOE customer service is very responsive to community questions. If you have a question about the raf just ask them, they seem to respond very fast.

[Herc130]

Ok, saw the different vet rewards and the past items my old account has and relized I'd be throwing stuff away by starting all new accounts for my other boxes. I have three EQ2 accounts total as is (only reactivated one so far). 1 of them is linked to my primary EQ1 account and is the one that will be my main EQ2 account as well. It has the 5 year vet reward and everythig in between. The second account also has the 5 year vet reward and everything inbetween. The third account has I think the three year vet reward maybe even 4 and not sure about expansion rewards, but probably up to the expansion just before RoK.

My initial plan was to keep one old account and start 5 brand new accounts with RaF. But...5 year vet reward includes an orb of concentrated memories, which lets you reset your adventuring vitality to 0....which if you play alot, probably can be seen as bonus exp. indiffinently. RaF bonus exp. only last for 90 days I think. RaF rewards are nice, but....a clicky I can use once a week to reset my adventruing vitality to zero sounds alot better....I think...right??? What do you guys think?

Oh and I'd still get the RaF exp. bonus for all toons since I will start up three new accounts using each of my other three as the referral. It's just instead of having only one character not get the mount and the cloak, I will have three not get it. But TSO is suppose to come with a mount and cloaks I can eventually get on my own.

Not to mention, one of the vet rewards is a "Pixie on a string" !!!

[Noxxy]

Mystery Moppet ('http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Veteran_Reward') for the winza!

Turn off illusions and be shrunk 40% - and for a rat tank that's a pretty small rat ;)

[Herc130]

Yah, saw someone running around with the ragdoll illusion, absolutely want it!! Didn't realize it was a vet reward. That seals the deal. Also opens up all races for me since any race I pick (two of em anyway) can be made small, but probably still doing human guardian and gnome everything else.

[Herc130]

Got my 6 box started, still lots to do to set it all up right, but all the accounts are subscribed and updated to TSO, 3 old accounts with some really cool vet rewards and three new accounds with all the RAF stuff also linked to each of my three old accounts. Using the TSO box to upgrade a trial to subscribed gets you 30 days of free play, as the box states. I think thats a better deal then paying $14.99 for RoK, unless you plan on taking till next expansion to get caught up.

My b0x team

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9051/eq2000001y.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/my.php?image=eq2000001y.jpg)


With gnomes as robots and my tank as a ragdoll


http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9134/eq2000003t.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/my.php?image=eq2000003t.jpg)

Kinda crappy picture, maybe I take better ones later with the sun up in the back ground and a better location and then replace these with those.


Trying out Guardian, templer, warden, dirge, conjuror and illusionist. Not sure how their buffs/debuffs stack with each other, but I like the dirge and illusionis so far....although I read somewhere they pretty much fill the same role? Oh well, have only set-up 3 computers and accounts to do very basic boxing for what I am use to. Gonna set-up the other three now and then three box my brand new accounts to lvl10 where all my old accounts are and then try 6 boxing. So far, even three boxing feels more difficult then EQ1 was for me, but it's probably just because I really don't have a firm grasp on setting everything up yet.

[Noxxy]

So far, even three boxing feels more difficult then EQ1 was for me, but it's probably just because I really don't have a firm grasp on setting everything up yet.
Which parts are you finding difficult Herc? Happy to help if I can

ps: Nice graphics card

[Herc130]

Actually going very well now that I have all my X-keys set-up (bare minimum working order really) and my 4 casters (illu, conj, wardena dn templar) running off a vetra with another X-keys. However, I think it can be even easier if I had all 6 accounts running off a vetra. Would bring my button mashing down to @ 2 (repeat till dead) presses per kill probably. Just gotta decide if it's worth $339+$35 shipping to me for the 8-port (can daisy chain my current 4-port and a new 4-port for $240 with shipping...but 8-port is better future proofing in case I box more then 6...). Or I can go ISboxer, but I think I would rather keep it mostly hardware boxing.

[Noxxy]

I use the 8 port for exactly the same reason you suggested - future proofing

With it I can basically do any game which comes along without the need to worry about buying more hardware

Had to laugh at the +$35 shipping - to get the 8 port and km switch to Aust actually cost over 300USD (worked out to be a little more than the 8 port tbh)