Starting your journey in EverQuest Legends (EQL) can feel overwhelming, especially during the first few levels when every decision affects your early progression speed. From choosing the right starting class combination to setting up your UI, managing loot filters, and completing beginner quests efficiently, there are several ways to make levels 1-10 smoother. This guide covers the most important things to do immediately after creating your character, helping new players level faster and avoid common early-game mistakes. The content is from BrutallStatic’s YouTube channel.
Reset Your Loot Filters Before Starting
If you participated in the pre-order beta, the first thing you should do before creating your launch character is reset your existing loot filters. Navigate to your EQL installation folder: EQL Folder → User Data → LF Files. These files contain your saved loot filters, including your character and server information. Delete these files to remove your previous loot settings.
Why Reset Loot Filters?
During beta, many experienced players may have configured filters to automatically sell low-level materials such as Cloth, Raw-hide, early equipment, and basic crafting materials. However, these items are valuable during the first 10 levels. Early gear upgrades can significantly improve your survival and leveling speed, so you do not want useful equipment automatically sold to vendors.
Best Starting Class Choice for Fast Leveling
For quickly progressing from level 1 to 10, class selection plays an important role. A popular early-game combination is:
Monk + Mage
Mage is extremely powerful during the early levels because:
- The level 5 nuke provides strong burst damage.
- The level 6 summoned pet is actually stronger than its level suggests.
However, some players may prefer:
Beastlord
The Beastlord pet is also a strong option because:
- It does not require reagents.
- You can summon it whenever you have enough mana.
Mage pets are powerful, but they require Malachite reagents, which means you need to purchase supplies regularly. The best choice depends on your preferred playstyle, but Mage remains one of the fastest options for early progression.
Managing early-game expenses can be challenging, especially when you need to constantly purchase reagents, spells, and other supplies. For players who want to spend more time exploring EQL instead of farming currency, buying EverQuest Legends Platinum from a trusted source like MmoGah can help you prepare faster and focus on leveling, quests, and adventures.
First Steps After Logging In
After entering the game for the first time, avoid spending too much time adjusting settings immediately. Complete a few important beginner tasks first.
Complete the Old Doug Letter Quest
Your first destination should be Old Doug. You will find a letter in your inventory. Turn it in to Doug to receive around 4% experience immediately. After completing the letter turn-in:
- Visit Meek’s Depot.
- Talk to Dougina.
- Purchase the free package for Old Doug.
- Take the package to Doug later.
This quest chain provides easy early rewards and experience.
Farm Beginner Skeletons for Free Gear
After speaking with Dougina, leave Meek’s Depot and climb the nearby stairs. You will find a small graveyard containing 2 Fragile Pet Skeletons and 3 Rambunctious Pet Skeletons. Kill all five enemies.
Use the Advanced Loot System
After defeating the skeletons, open the Advanced Loot window. You can loot the skulls and configure automatic loot settings. Right-click an NPC name in the loot window to access options such as Auto Loot, Merge, Store and Sell. For new players, enabling Auto Loot is recommended to save time.
Get Free Boots from Old Doug
After collecting skeleton skulls, trade 1 Rambunctious Skull and 1 Fragile Skull to Old Dead Doug. You will receive a pair of beginner boots. Repeat the process to obtain multiple pairs. These boots can be equipped in feet slot and any slot. The any slot system allows many items to provide their stats even if they are not traditional equipment pieces.
Summon Daggers for Early Weapons
While waiting for skeletons to respawn, use your summon dagger spell. Cast the spell four times to create four daggers. You can use these daggers in two ways - equip yourself (use them as primary weapon and secondary weapon) and equip your pet (place two daggers into your pet inventory to improve your pet’s damage). This provides a free early power boost without requiring expensive weapons.
Copy Your Beta UI or Build a New Interface
UI customization is one of the most important early steps in EQL. If you played Beta, use /copy. This allows you to copy a previous character’s interface setup. You can instantly restore Hotbars, Window positions, and Layout preferences.
Recommended UI Setup for New Players
If you are starting fresh, use /load. The Default Modern UI is recommended because it provides better functionality. Important UI adjustments include:
Inventory Layout
Many players prefer the Legacy Layout because it provides easier access to character information and equipment.
Spell Bar
Right-click your spell bar and adjust size, position and display style.
Chat Filters
Create different chat tabs for combat messages, private messages, group communication and important system information.
Hotbars
Right-click hotbars to create additional bars.
Important Settings to Change
Open the Options menu and adjust these settings.
Monk Feign Death Toggle
For Monk players, enable the Feign Death toggle. This allows you to press the ability to feign death and press again to stand up.
Persistent Auto Attack
Highly recommended for melee classes. When fighting multiple enemies:
- Your auto attack stays active after a target dies.
- You immediately attack the next target.
Implied Healing
This helps automatically heal yourself, party members, and pets.
Customize Key Bindings
Go to Options → Controls → Key Bindings. Useful bindings include inventory, bags, auto run, jump and so on. Many players bind inventory and bags together for faster access.
Enable Map NPC Tracking
Open your map by pressing the M Key. Right-click the map border and enable NPCs and Ring. This creates a detection radius around your character. Even without tracking abilities, you can quickly locate nearby NPCs and quest targets. Recommended community maps include Brewalls Maps and Good’s Maps if default maps are unavailable.
Learn Your Abilities and Auto Skills
Open your Action Window by pressing the L key. Review your available abilities. Important actions to place on your hotbars include Tracking, Forage, Stances and Invocations.
Enable Auto Skills
Make sure important combat skills are automatically trained, like Kicks, Strikes, Backstabs, Smite and Reave. Check your abilities every few levels because new skills become available. For Monk players, regularly update Round Kick, Flying Kick, Eagle Strike and other new combat abilities.
Manage Spells Correctly
Avoid relying on the traditional spell book. Instead, access spells through the spell management interface. You can sort spells by level, check missing spells or organize categories. This makes managing abilities much easier.
Use Rituals and Macros
Some classes provide useful rituals, like Druid teleport abilities, Wizard gates and Cleric bind abilities. Leveling multiple classes can unlock useful utility skills even when playing another main class. Macros are also extremely useful. Common examples include Forage macros, Combat macros and Utility commands
Understanding Instance Charges and Beginner Areas
After completing the early skeleton farming section, do not spend too much time farming more boots. The experience becomes less efficient. Level 1 skeletons give noticeable XP. At level 2, rewards drop significantly. Once you have enough equipment, move forward and explore the world.
Use Pick System to Travel Faster
The Pick system allows players to move between different versions of zones. Use /pick or the Pick menu. This can help you:
- Avoid crowded areas
- Find available monsters
- Travel across zones faster
When zones become full, new Picks automatically open.
Farm Early Gear in East Freeport
Another good early option is farming skeletons in East Freeport. Switch to a higher difficulty Pick, such as +4 difficulty. Skeletons here can drop Rusty weapons, cloth armor and early upgrades, such as Rusty Scimitars, cloth chokers and basic armor pieces. This is especially useful while waiting for instance charges.
Bind Your Soul Before Exploring
When reaching new areas, consider finding a Soul Binder. Binding your soul allows you to respawn nearby after death and return more conveniently after using Origin. For example, binding near Befallen allows easier future travel.
Use Free Class Swaps at Level 10
At level 10, players can optimize their character setup by changing secondary and tertiary classes. Changing loadouts can automatically grant certain class benefits. For example, Cleric can get Bind Affinity ritual. Experimenting with different class combinations can provide powerful travel and quality-of-life advantages.