As a new player to this game, I have to say that travel is horribly convoluted and even web resources for connection maps and travel have proven to be of very little help. There's magic carpets, flying towers, teleporters, bells, and I don't even know what else. Sometimes you travel from the a landmark in the middle of a zone, sometime you travel from a small village, sometimes you have to right click a carpet... Frankly it's the weakest part of the game from a new player perspective.

My fiance and I have been trying to learn the game, but whenever we have to change zones it's a bit like pulling teeth and I worry she's going to lose interest in the game. I don't know what the hell I'm doing, but she's used to me doing research for these things. I downloaded a map mod that has travel routes on it, but it's not very specific and generally looks like someone threw colored spaghetti on top of the Everquest map.

Now... I know this knowledge will come in time, but in the short term I need some help.

Our latest misadventure was deciding to betray Freeport for Qeynos. I know this was probably a mistake from new players but it's done now. The Freeport portion was pretty awesome as far as adventure goes.

We get teleported to Haven... stumble our way to commonlands and finally find Gil. We take the sabotage quest to West Freeport, and immediately die at spawn point (we're level 22). I did some more research, and I realize at our level the only steps we can really take to get our Qeynos faction up is sabotage commonlands and kill quests in Antonica.

Can someone please please please tell me the fastest path to travel back and forth from Gil in Commonlands to Antonica and back (with any special travel methods)? Could someone please also point me to a web resource with decent information about travel in this game? Most directions I've found are something along the lines of: "To get to Qeynos from Freeport, take go to commonlands, then generic sky city 23, then disneyland, then BAM you are in Qeynos."

That really doesn't help new players at all when the first travel point is a bell on a dock, the second is some weird obelisk in the middle of a field, the next a teleporter pad that requires a shard, and the last is a circus cannon =)

Might I suggest you consider joining a guild? Not a small inactive one and not a mahoosive one where your cries for help will go unheeded too. Talk to a few before deciding. Guilds are where you will learn the ins and outs of the game.

One route would be using the Ulteran Spires to hop from Commonlands to Antonica. It takes the spires about 3 mins to power up then they will teleport you to Tenebrous Tangle (a floating island in the sky). Once there just use the portal to go back down. You'll have a choice between Antonica and Commonlands. The Antonica spires are on a cliff just behind Windstalker Villiage.

Another option these days would be to go to the commonlands or antonica docks and wait for the boat to Kylong Plains. When it arrives sail to Kylong Plains. Once there you will see 2 docks: One for boats to Antonica and one for boats to Commonlands, just like the setup in Butcherblock Mountains. Run to the other one and you'll sail to your destination.

If you know a friendly druid (Fury or Warden level 25 or higher) they can open a portal to a druid ring in Antonica or Commonlands. If you know a sorcerer (wizard or warlock of level 25 or higher) they can teleport directly between the ulteran spires in Antonica and Commonlands.

As for that spaghetti map you found... think of it like a subway route map. Things overlap and there are stops along the way so it gets tangled. Eventually you'll learn all the routes. SMILEY

Just a couple of clarifications on what's already been stated.

Some transport requires a rt-click, as opposed to a left-click. The carpet in Sinking Sands is a prime example. Simply left-clicking will take you to the city of MajDul. Rt-clicking will give you other travel options.

Also, in order to accept a teleport from a druid, I believe you have to have traveled to the destination ring at least once and harvested a leaf from a bush within the ring.

I agree that all of the travel options can be overwhelming. Your best bet is to either join a guild wherein you can find help, or to stick to an area and slowly expand your travels. Trying to see everything in the first week will lead to confusion and frustration.

SC

Well... we're still at a point where we're trying to decide what we want to be when we grow up. We've filled up our character slots and deleted characters already. I'm not sure I want to be in a guild and constantly adding and deleting characters to the roster and looking like a alt maniac. I'm not an alt maniac, I just want to make sure I've chosen a class I enjoy. If you know a decent guild on Mistmoore please let me know =)

General chat does a good job of trying to help, but travel is so varied and eccentric in EQ2 that they just don't have enough text to explain everything. A perfect example is we asked how to get to Freeport from Gor. We were directed to take a magic carpet out of Gor to SS. We do so. We land, had no idea we could right click the carpet and choose a different destination than Maj, so we spent 30 minutes walking around a city and got killed by level 50+ thieves several times before we flew back and realized the error we'd made. (Nice AA experience at least, haha)

You left click bells to choose, you right click carpets to choose? I'm not slamming the game, I'm really enjoying myself. Travel just stinks because it's not a standardized interface or even easily recognizable to new players.

PS- Thanks for the description Omni. We took the spire on our first trip through. You think that's the best way back and forth then?

What's best is whatever works best for you. SMILEY I frequently used the spires when I had alts on both sides. Waiting for the boat takes about as long so whatever is closest to you is what I'd take. Bear in mind the spires in higher tier zones go to different islands. I believe the Antonica to Commonlands link is unique. Also make sure you read what Stormcinder added above... there are some very good points there. And whenever you find a new druid ring, remember to grab a leaf! You never know when a druid portal might be handy later on.

A common mechanic in the game is to left click an item to activate something's default function (which for the bells is a menu, for the carpet in SS is Maj Dul, as you found out). Many things give you a menu when you right click them. In fact, I often right click something first so I can see what it'll do before I activate it. You never know what you might trigger, after all. SMILEY

Something to file away for future reference when you become Qeynos citizens: Once your betrayal is complete you will have the option to use the Sinking Sands Carpets to hop to Butcherblock Mountains. Evil aligned characters get the option to go to Gorowyn/Timorous Deep instead.

As long as you are an Exile, you are bound to Haven. While at first this appears to suck hehe, when you think about it, it is quite handy. In Haven, you have an exit right into TS. While not the safest place to be in TS, it is not a long run to Antonica. Have you done the griffon eggs quest there yet, so you can use the griffon towers to speed up travel within Thundering Steppes?

The other exit from Haven is into Nek Forest. Nek Forest is a horrible zone admittedly. Invisible walls, unclimbable hills that appear to be climbable, aggro mobs all over. However, it does connect to both the Commonlands and to Darklight Woods. DLW has a clickable carpet to get you to Sinking Sands, at the Wanderlust Fair. Just watch out for the roaming guards. Nek Forest also has a griffon eggs quest for its towers.

Keep in mind that the game has been out for 4 years, and that most things like this were added a little at a time. You're overwhelmed by it all because you are new. Give it some time to get the hang of it.

I right click everything the first time, too, and items I know have menus (and I want the menu) I almost always right-click (when I don't, I usually regret it). I actually didn't realise you can left-click the bells to get the menu because I always right-click them *laugh*.

Another handy thing, other than the blue and yellow griffons (the ones to/from Tim Deep and in Tim Deep), you can jump off any of the "aerial" travel (griffons, carpets, sokokar, and horses.. though they're not aerial..., etc). That can help if you need to go someplace that is between two stations (like getting to the Nek Forest spires when you're in your 50s to go up to Barren Sky) or if you choose the wrong destination (I've been known to mis-click more than a few times on the Sinking Sands carpet).

As was said, we had all these travel options added over the span of nearly 4 years. We've gotten used to them gradually, not all at one go. We've also had a few changes along the way, too (originally you couldn't jump off griffons and they were the only aerial travel at the time).

Oh we can all control it mate.... yeah right SMILEY

My name is Holymoly......and I'm an altoholic.

Seriously.....find a guild with some folks you can have a good relationship with....really you're missing out on so much of the game until you do. Good luck.

Yep, get yourself a guild. As you've noticed, there is lots and lots of info that you have to get up to speed on, and it helps to have people who like you to help. I know I always try to be extra helpful to folks I know are new to the game, and it is easiest if those folks can't /gu chat w/ a quick questions.

And as far as being worried about being thought of as an alt-addict, unless you are in a guild that is trying to grow (power-lvl) certain classes, most guilds won't fuss about alt-itis unless you have accepted a bit of twinking only to abandon the character. I'd rather let my new guildie start a few toons, find the right one & be happy, then get stuck in a toon that just isn't right. First guy will stay around for a while, second guy will drop the game 'cause it's not fun.'