Archived from groups: alt.games.everquest (
More info?)
Don Woods <don-ns@iCynic.com> wrote in
news:7wpsxxubdi.fsf@ca.icynic.com:
> Tracey <rbrancher2@aol.com> writes:
>> > Which class has the best tracking ability at lower levels?
>>
>> Having played a ranger and a druid to the high 50's (ranger) and low
>> 50's (druid), I can unequivocally say the ranger has the best
>> tracking ability.
(Druid tracking suxxors
.)
>
> Druid tracking is a helluvalot more useful than no tracking at all,
> as I can say from playing both ways. But I agree that rangers win
> hands down.
>
> I did once create a ranger just to check whether they had different
> level caps or tracking range, and found only three differences between
> ranger track and druid track: (1) Rangers can get it at a lower
> level. I forget what level my druid had to get before learning Track,
> but I think rangers get it at level 1. (2) Rangers have a higher
> class cap. At low levels, both are limited to skill (5 x Level) + 5,
> once they can learn the skill at all. But druids can never get past
> 125, whereas rangers at level 25 and higher can continue to raise the
> skill to 200 or maybe more. The level of the skill matters because,
> as you say, it determines how far away things can get and still be in
> your range. (3) Rangers can sort their list in a lot more ways.
> That's the one that makes rangers win hands down, though the higher
> maximum range is important too if you're willing to get to level 39 or
> wherever your skill finally caps out.
>
>> From what I remember (it's been a long time since I was a low level
>> ranger), your tracking is always reliable. The only thing that
>> changes as you get higher in tracking skill is the distance at which
>> you can track. So, if I have it correct, a tracking skill of 100 is
>> as reliable as a tracking skill of 200, it's just the skill of 200
>> lets you track mobs that are further away.
>
> Exactly. The maximum range is (10 x Skill) + 50, ignoring the Z axis.
> (I ran some tests once.
I think that if a mob or PC is in range
> when you open or refresh the Track window, it'll stay on your list for
> a while even if it moves out of range, but I'm not entirely sure about
> that.
>
>> As a ranger, you have the option of sorting your tracking list.
>> (Can't remember if this is true at skill level 1 or not though.) When
>> you hit your Tracking button, you will see a window that has a list
>> of the mobs within your tracking distance. You can sort them by the
>> latest mobs to spawn <Normal> or by how close they are to you
>> <Distance> and maybe a third one but I have used it so rarely that I
>> can't remember what it is or even if there is a third one.
>
> I don't recall now, but I think it's alphabetical? So if you're just
> looking for a particular mob you can look it up? Both that and
> distance are really nice compared to the "normal" list sorted by how
> long it's been in the zone. Sure, that does have its uses as well
> when clearing placeholders and such, but if I was going to be stuck
> with just one form of the list, I think I'd rather have either of the
> other two as my "required" choice.
>
>> What you will see (depending on the way you choose to sort your list)
>> is a list of mobs names sorted by either distance from you or by how
>> long ago they spawned. No locations. When you highlight a mob and hit
>> the Track button, you will start getting messages. Gorenair is
>> straight ahead. Gorenaire is ahead and to the left. Gorenaire is
>> behind you. Gorenair is RIGHT HE...Loading, please wait. <Sorry, not
>> that last one.>
>
> Hehe. I *have* occasionally had that reaction to the sequence "X is
> ahead of you. X is to the left. X is behind you." If it never has a
> chance to say "X is ahead and to the left", it often means I did run
> by very close to it. And sometimes I *have* then turned around and
> found it in my face!
>
>> >Where in DL would you recommend that I park this tracker?
>>
>> I would think that even a level 1 ranger could track Gorenaire from
>> the druid spires, but I don't *really* know. When my 59 ranger has
>> gotten ported in in the past, she's always been able to find him on
>> track if he's up. OTOH, when my 51 druid ports in, she has to run
>> closer to the tunnel to see if she's up and sometimes even then she
>> can't see him/her because Gore has wandered too far out of her
>> tracking range.
>
> If your druid can't do it from the spires, then neither can a ranger
> until at least PC level 25 (skill 130), because the druid's range at
> 125 isn't any worse than a ranger with skill 125. On the other hand,
> I've had occasion to track things in DL, so I measured the zone and
> found my druid could check the whole zone by running east-west twice,
> going along about 1/4 of the way away from the north and south walls.
> And the druid can get there faster, so that makes up for the extra
> running.
>
I vaguely recall that druids can purchase an AA to raise their cap, not
at all certain about that. There was also a bug for a while, and I know
druids with tracking at 200, if not higher.
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