by Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle Updates by: Tony "RadarX" Jones

As much fun as it would be for spectators, battling naked in EverQuest II
isn't really an option so at some point we all have to gear up our characters.
One of the greatest benefits and downfalls of veteran games is that there are a
lot of armor options and not much guidance as to what your class should wear.
Sure you can check the tags on every chest piece in game to see what class it's
labeled for, but just because you can wear it, doesn't mean you should.

Do you have armor advice that has never failed you? Be sure to stop by our
forums to share!

Armor Decisions Leaving You in Tiers?

You'll hear veteran players describe "tiers" of armor... tier 1, T1 all the way up to tier
10 or T10. It's simply an unofficial way to describe a level range in which armor or jewelry is best equipped, or adventuring zones attempted, etc. The player-made tier system isn't very confusing if you're one of those people who (unlike me) can easily understand why the 1800s were considered the 19th century. What I mean by this: tier 1 refers to levels 1 through 9, tier 2 is level 10-19, and so on.

Describing Armor by Level Range

Tiers are the unofficial way to describe the suitability of a piece of armor level-wise.
class-wise, armor's adequacy for you is described in terms of material. While there's exceptions to every rule (e.g. - most fighters can wear plate, but monks are stuck with cloth or leather armor), I've tried to break down the armor types by class. As a rule of thumb, always go with the best armor you can wear unless great stats justify a lesser choice.

Describing Armor by Type or Class

A final way of describing armor is by its rarity. Confusingly termed "tiers" by EQ2 devs since launch (there used to be 9 "tiers" that described rarity, believe it or not), the following adjectives are used in-game to describe how easy it is to find or craft armor and other equipment:

Rarity will help you decide what kind of armor you will want for the type of
adventuring that you do. In general, Fabled and Mythical gear is only available
to raiding players so the average person shouldn't feel like they need to be
decked out in Fabled gear. Legendary is suitable for group orientated players
while soloers will likely use a combo of quested Legendary, dropped or quested
Treasured, and purchased Mastercrafted gear. Always wear the best armor you can
obtain or afford and adventuring will go a lot smoother for you.

Enemy of the Stats

Stats are your master in EQ2. No matter how great your mitigation or
avoidance is, if your stats don't reflect what you wish to achieve in game you
are pretty much dead in the water. Stats have changed over the years, and while
theories on stat stacking come and go, there are some very obvious rules that
nearly everyone will want to follow.

What's your primary attribute? You can get a
detailed
explanation of the revamped stats system here. These primary attributes
determine how much damage you deal and secondary stats will add to how much you
can avoid or mitigate. In a choice between the two you'll want to focus on your
damage first and mitigation/avoidance second. There really aren't many instances
when doing less damage is a good thing.

It's important to pay attention to stats when you're choosing armor.
Itemization in game has not been completed to reflect the latest changes to
stats so keep in mind that just because it says it is usable by your class, if
the stats of the piece don't mirror the primary stats above for your class, it
will still be a poor choice. Never wear armor without stats unless you are left
with no other options. Once you've gotten past the early levels though, you
should have enough armor options that wearing sub-par equipment

Refuse... Resist!

So far we've only been talking about absorbing and avoiding physical damage. In fact, there's many different types of damage in the game besides physical (or "base") damage:

Being able to resist all these types of damage would be nice, but it is also
unrealistic. Since it is unlikely you will always be able to determine what type
of damage your targets will do, and switch up gear to combat against it, it's
better to rely on potions and the like rather than trying to gear to suit a
specific resist. This isn't as true for raiders however, and it is often handy
to have items on hand that will boost your resist against a specific kind of
damage since epic mobs tend to be brutally heavy on one type.

Learning to Adore Adornments

Adornments are little items that can be added to your armor and weapon pieces
to make them even better. These add stats and attributes above and beyond what
you can get with non-adorned armor alone. You can make an okay piece of armor
good or make a great piece even better! The great thing is you are in control of
what's being added so you can build your stats to suit your own needs.

Once attached to an item, an adornment cannot be separated again however, you
can replace the adornment as often as you'd like if you find something better.
You can generally find these on the broker as they are mostly player crafted and
they come in tiers of rarity much like armor does. You may choose between
Treasured, Legendary, and Fabled adornments which determines the level of
benefit you will receive from your adornment.

Obtaining the Dream

Getting great armor is a lot of work but it is also part of the enjoyable
progression of the game. If you've ever worked your butt off trying to complete
a difficult quest or spent time camping a named for a rare drop then you know
how rewarding it can be to finally get the single most magical piece of gear
you've been working for. Gear comes from various places and often each tier or
expansion will have a new and unique way in which to earn good armor.

Tiers 1 and 2 - Starting from the beginning, the best way to equip
your character is through questing. Since early levels tend to go by fairly
quickly don't waste coin or time trying to hunt down perfect pieces and instead
just use what you have access to.

Tiers 3 and 4 - This is where you start paying a bit more attention.
The level 20
armor quests, while a little outdated, can get you by through that entire
tier. This is a good time to utilized Mastercrafted armor as there are quit a
few good sets of crafted armor at around level 40. You can also find quested
sets in Zek, and the Echoes of Faydwer zones and dungeons.

Tiers 5 and 6 - This is when armoring starts getting good. There are
sets that drop in the dungeons of these tiers that you'll want to keep an eye
out for. You'll also find a decent solo gear set in Sinking Sands from the
beetleherder found in the pass.

Tier 7 - This tier has a lot of sets that drop in dungeons, some you
can get the whole set from a single dungeon (through multiple runs), but the
best sets are divided up amongst the Echoes of Faydwer dungeons. These sets not
only have great stats but they also afford bonuses when you acquire multiple
pieces. Each zone will drop a class piece. Which class it will drop for is random and depends on which classes are in your group. These are the zones that will drop them, and which piece you will find:

Gloves - King Caertex in Kaladim
Legs - Sage V'Ncenzi in Mistmoore Castle
Forearms - Count Valdoon Kel'Novar in Crypt of Valdoon
Feet - Blight from Obelisk of Blight
Shoulders - Head Butler Z'ral in Mistmoore Catacombs
Head - Priest of Fear in Estate of Unrest
Chest - Garanel Rucksif, in Estate of Unrest

Also this tier, raiders will want to earn their shard sets:

So you've made it to the high end raiding areas. These zones have a chance to drop armor blanks specifically designed for each class. The only complete list I could find was thanks to the wonderful EQ2 Traders site, so I've done my best to replicate it here. You will take this blank, and the stones listed to

Keortor Talyse in Solusek's Eye.

Tier 8 - Along with the typical dungeon drops and questing rewards
(which are pretty good in the Shadow Odyssey zones) shard armor ends up
being the star of this tier. Whether you are a solo player, a steady dungeon
runner, or a raider, there is a shard set that you can earn and if you happen to
be the determined type, you can earn a full set of Fabled gear without ever
having to set foot in a raid zone.  You'll find quests and zones that award
shards in the Shadow Odyssey zones, the Commonlands, and Lavastorm.

Tier 9 - With shards being a big hit amongst players, the Sentinel's
Fate expansion introduced something very similar called Mark of Manor. You earn
these in the same way you earn shards in Tier 8, via quests and dungeon finds
and purchase the armor from specified NPCs. More details can be found regarding
the shard armor, quests, and NPC locations in a separate
Tier
8 and Tier 9 guide. Tier 9 also has a lot for more casual players. You can
gain faction and utilize faction merchants that will sell moderately useful
armor items and many of the quests award Treasured and Legendary pieces that
have decent stats. These make good interim pieces while you earn those marks to
obtain better items at level 90.

Battleground Fans

For those who enjoy a little bit of player on player action there is some
good news for you as well. As of GU56, Battlegrounds will be available from
level 30 so players will be able to earn tokens through Battleground gameplay to
purchase armor. In addition, you can find crafted Battleground armor (check the
broker!) that gives PvP bonuses for the wearer. There will be sets of armor for
each tier so, if you want, you can gear this way every tier and all armor earned
through the Battlegrounds is usable outside the Battlegrounds as well.

Repair Soon and Repair Often

It's extremely important to keep your equipment in good repair. You can do so by visiting a mender; there are many located throughout the world, but you can stop by the Armor shop in the northwest portion of East Freeport, a building in the northeast part of Qeynos harbor, or Nektulos Forest / Thundering Steppes docks to find your friendly neighborhood armorer. You don't want to get resurrected naked because your armor's worn to pieces, now do you? Also, while expensive, a good repair kit can save the day in a long raid, but currently armor repair kits will only restore your armor to 40% so don't use them until you really need to.

Examining Your Way to Better Armor

If nothing else, take some time and go to a heavily trafficked area (like Qeynos Harbor or East Freeport) and do some people watching. Find adventurers that play your class and right click -> examine them to see what they're wearing. They won't know you're checking them out; we'll make an equipment voyeur out of you yet! Also, watch the channels for your level, and be sure to check out the EverQuest II Forums.

Even if they're much higher in level than you, it'll give you a pretty good idea what to work toward in the future.

Once again , let's hear your questions, suggestions, insights, and whatnot: post in our forums and let's discuss! Share what you know or want to know for everyone to enjoy!