Armor, Gear, Equipment, whatever you want to call, it’s very important in Aard. It’s your main source for stats, resists and the right stuff can make leveling/remorting a lot easier.
EQSEARCH & Open Clan Shops
The eqsearch command is probably how we all started looking for equipment (help eqsearch if you aren’t familiar). This is great for your first mort or 2 but beyond that you should start to broaden your search. Most of the eqsearch gear is from open clan shops and all of this can be enchanted in some fashion. Depending on your primary class you may want to source your open clan equipment from different vendors. Some give strong INT for spellcasters, others might be STR/DEX for fighters, what you choose depends on your primary class and what type of kit you are looking for. There are many sites that list clan EQ, I like Gaardian’s:
Enchanting
Enchanting adds WIS, LUCK, HR/DR, and sometimes other stats of you get a lucky resonate. The Aardwolf WIKI has a great write-up for more details:
Kits/Sets
Common levels for sets are 1, 41, 91, 131, 171, 201. There are others in between but the increase in stats isn’t much. Eventually you will want all enchanted sets. Typically they start at 1TP for the level 1 and end up around 4TP for the 171. Ask for these on clan talk or barter. The 201 or SH kits are different because there a lot of alternatives to open clan eq. You’ll need less and less open clan SH gear as you acquire goal, bonusloot and Aard eq.
Goal EQ
Some goals will give EQ as a reward and it can be some great stuff. Don’t ignore the portal rewards either, but that’s for another guide. Some of the goal eq I use is:
Lemdagor (lvl101 wrists)
DarkLight (lvl121 waist)
Masq (lvl131 eyes)
Imagi (lvl151 ring)
The Winterlands (lvl161 wrist)
Cougarian (lvl161 neck)
Ooku (lvl201 waist)
Hades2 (lvl201 light)
Kiksaadi (lvl201 light)
Crynn (lvl201 eyes)
Umari (various, I got lvl201 legs)
… OK you get the point, some great goal eq, there’s even more besides this, check out the goals section and look for reward listings at the end of each guide.
Bonusloot EQ
This is similar to weapons but much more variable. You can’t rely on the quality of the bonusloot alone (for example, Gleaming vs. Burnished) since the enhancements are wildly variable. The (Gleaming) version could have rolled all the bonuses into HP/Mana/Moves, while the (Burnished) version might have rolled high hr/dr or extra stats. You are looking for extra stats primarily, high hr/dr is good too.
Aard EQ
Aard equipment is typically the best in slot for every level, depending on the rest of your kit of course. The level 1 set should be the first thing you spend QP on and you can wear most of it through level 200. As a T3R7 I only have a level 1 set and a level 200 set. I haven’t seen a need to fill in with other level stuff. Keep looking for bonusloot or goal equipment and spend those QPs on a few wishes.
How to manage it all?
There is at least one plugin, DINV, that will help you select equipment based on stat priorities and primary class. I relate this to eqsearch in that its OK for the first couple morts but I would really encourage folks to stop at every kit and look at their stats. As a pwar you may have a lot of great str/dex eq, but if your str/dex is maxed, then that extra is wasted. The easiest way to check this is by using the ‘stats’ command and look at the Totals to see what your overage is. Once you’re more than +10 overmax, it’s time to start shifting eq. By using an open clan eq website, you can quickly see what bonuses other items give and whether or not they’re enchantable. Once you’re happy with a kit and you’re not super overmax in any one stat, I like to use DINV for it’s SNAPSHOT feature. This allows you to take a snapshot of what you’re wearing and name it (for example, ranger41, ranger91, etc). Once you have snapshots you simply tell it to wear the next snapshot and it shifts everything for you. This gives me peace of mind that it’s the right equipment and it’s been optimized how I want it. Here’s where to get DINV:
https://github.com/Aardurel/aard-plugins
Finally, ask for help if you need it. Clan talk is a great resource and most of us know a little something about EQ. Specific questions that include level, slot, primary class and desired stat(s) will get you the best answers.
