I am going to reactivate my station pass and pick up Everquest again. I am pretty sure that I am going to start a Paladin either from scratch (or I think I might have one on Firona Vie server). I know that it should be insanely easy to get to 51, even if I am starting with zero funds, all I need to do is get a Temp from a cleric, a DS from a druid/mage, and hit up noting but undead zones, and I probably will not die, and could do it in a matter of hours. That being said I have a few questions.
1) Do I really need to stop at 55/59 and farm like 100 AA's just for the defensive ones (CA,CS,CD), to keep from getting raped by the higher level stuff?
-I know that I will need them, and I know the higher level stuff was designed after everyone should have had those AA's back in the day.
2) I know that the AA's were revamped, and the wiki still has the old school set up. What level can I start buying Slay Undead? I love the grinding on undead. I used to play a rogue and hated it that I could not use my abilities when soloing until the mob was running away, and I had to chase it down.
3) I am not even sure that I would need a merc until 50+. I have been reading on the Sony EQ forums that most people do not even use the cleric mercs at lower levels, not really sure when this tops out. I will pick up the Tank merc asap, so that way I do not pay a grip for him. What level would it be expected that I should switch to the cleric? and The mercs do not level right, they just take their share of group xp?
4) Is the defiant gear still viable up to like 65? I remember when I was playing a year or two ago that it was dirt cheap couple plat to maybe 1,000 per.
5) Lastly, does anyone recommend a server with a fairly high population or family type guilds? This is if i do not choose FV. I read on the sony forums that the devs are trying to figure out how to get people to play on FV and I do not want a dead server. I am not looking for free hand outs either, I just want to group at higher levels.