The practice of power leveling (a much higher leveled character helping a lower leveled one advance quickly with the use of heals, controlled pulls, breeze/clarity, and/or powerful buffs) is a frequent occurrence in EverQuest. In certain circumstances, as in the case of secondary character, this can be a good way to quickly get a weak adventurer out of newbie lands and into the real zones or to group with friends. However, there is definitely a down side to power leveling. This down side may not be obvious to people and especially not to the first time player and, hence, this editorial.

1. Inferior statistical skills.

If the object of power leveling is to get a character to higher levels very quickly, the most efficient way is for the character to fight critters of yellow or red /cons. Since you have no fear of death thanks to the buffs and heals being provided, you can fight things that at your current level that you normally couldn't handle even in group let alone solo. Besides, the xp is MUCH better. The problem, though, is that the efficiency in gaining levels reduces your time spent in gaining skills. At five trainings per level, you will not be able to keep all your essential skills maximized. It is possible to keep one weapon skill maxed with training, perhaps even two as you will be gaining some skill from actual combat. However, by fighting fewer MoBs, you won't get as many chances to cast that spell, swing that axe, taunt that mob, sing that song, and therefore have fewer chances to learn the related skills. Also, there is NO training for attack and defense. Therefore power leveling equals fewer combats equals less chance to improve your skills.

2. Inferior tactical skills

If a player is being backed by a more powerful character and just killing as fast as they can, they are not going to learn what it is going to be like when that uber character is not around. Without that high symbol, how many hits can you take from a mob? How much damage do you do without your buffs? How many mobs can you drop in a row without clarity to reduce down time? Exclusive power leveling will give one no true concept of what their character can and, more importantly, can NOT do. There is also the concept of escape. Can you reach a zone 300 yards away at half a bubble of health withOUT a SoW on you? Do you know? Rapid power leveling will not answer these questions for you.

3. Inferior group skills

Again, in the name of efficiency, power leveling is normally done solo. This means you do not have a group (duh). But learning to interact with a group is a vital skill for adventuring in EverQuest. Advancing in a normal group setting teaches such things as having a group attack one of three monsters so it drops faster instead of everyone taking one themselves. It teaches to always use /assist when grouped with an enchanter so the mesmerizes are not broken or practice your taunt skill to pull mobs of your healer. It teaches combat casters NOT to run like a chicken with its head cut off when they overcast and a critter aggros on them. It teaches a healer to watch their party's health bars like a hawk and how effective their healing actually is. There is no way to learn these skills except in a group and power leveling usually does not happen in a group setting.

4. Inferior equipment

This is less of a concern because power leveling is usually accompanied by twinking. However, it does happen that a bored uber-character decides to be generous with their time and power level a newbie, new to the game as well as that character. In that case the brand new level whatever character faces the world with more hit points, more mana, more (potential) abilities than ever before--with cloth armor and maybe the plat for 4 or 5 spells. What good is it to have access to those 20th level spells if you can not possibly buy them? Or, alternately, what good is it if you have dual wield, double attack, kick, and bash if your AC is so low that a low blue can take you out with three swipes? Regular advancement generally means more monsters and (therefore) more loot.

In every aspect of a character, power leveling has the potential to produce high-level characters that are not capable of playing near the limits of their abilities. For other people in a group, this can be frustrating at best and very dangerous to their characters at worst. But also for the power-leveled characters themselves, how much fun is it to play a character that is obviously not pulling their own weight or that people avoid because of their lack of ability beyond their level?

Being on an older server I come across obviously power leveled characters regularly. Have all of us not seen at least once the fighter type that has incredible weaponry and armor and yet is consistently out damaged by a magician/necro's inferior pet, the healer that needs /groupsay shouts to get healings done before people start dying, or the caster that casts DDs (or even AoEs) like a chain gun and then runs away from the party with every monster on them? Is it fun for you? Do you think its especially fun for them? And in the end, why are we playing this game in the first place?

Sometimes power leveling is perfectly safe. But even for experienced players, just because you have a level 60 warrior (or whatever they are called at that level) out there, does that automatically mean you are immediately qualified to play a mid/high level wizard? Or vice versa?

For all these reasons I would ask those of you in guilds with someone's significant other joining the game for the first time, those of you who see struggling new characters in newbie lands getting beaten up by decaying skeletons, or whatever other circumstances leads to power leveling, think before you spend hours of your time getting them up the ranks quickly. Would you want to group with them in a dangerous zone afterwards?

Salenie Silkweaver

Herald of Clan Battle Axe

High Elf Magician

Erollisi Marr server