Favor, Soloing, Etc...

[ndragonsbane]

Okay, so I played in the beta for a while but never got to the mid-levels because RL decided to screw me over and keep me from testing. I ended up getting back into WoW and thus didn't buy DDO when it came out. Now, I've not played anything in a while and have decided to give DDO a shot now that it's been out for around a year...see if the kinks have been worked out and whatnot.

So here I am with a trial account and finding myself really enjoying DDO...much more so than I did in the beta. However, I am a bit confused by the "new" (to me) solo mode and whatever favor is. I've read through the online manual and spent an hour or so scanning the forums and can't find ANY info on the favor system (aside from Drow at 400 and 32pb at 1750). Also, what's up with the solo mode? Frankly, I'm happy that it's there since I tend to play at weird times and have had troubles getting enough to group (during beta and in other games); does this mode persist throughout the game? Does the mode actually offer good solo play? I know it excludes the big dungeons (like Waterworks).

Yeah, I know I'm asking a bunch of trial holders about ingame stuf they may not know about, but whatever.

[GHOSTRYDER]

first off the solo play mode is designed for those who like to solo but find the "normal" setting to be too difficult, it's really just an easier version of the quest

second the favor sytem is broken up into categories as you will notice if you open the patrons panel. each patron gives different rewards for obtaining the first rank of 75 favor, followed by 150, and then 400

here is a thread that shows the rewards for the different levels of favor for each patron

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=49523

hope this helps

[ndragonsbane]

That was exactly what I was looking for, but couldn't find. Thanks for your help.

[KaKa]

On top of solo mode being easier it also means that you do not suffer the re-entry penalty of -20%xp if you die and have to come back inside the quest, but remember you still have 5 minutes before it resets.

[Shade]

Favor is just an alternate type of advancement for DDO.

It offers you an incentive for doing many different quests, rather then the same quest over and over.

Each quest has a set # of favor, which is awarded on completion, and listed in the Adventure compedium (press P to see it) This currently ranges from 2 - 10 per difficulty. So if a quest is worth 2 favor on normal, it is worth 4 on hard, and 6 on elite. There is no penalty for skipping normal or hard and just doing elite for favor.
Each quest also has a specific patron assosiated with it, and thus awards favor for that patron.

On the 2nd page if the aventure compedium you will see your total favor for all patrons, as well as favor per house. Most rewards are well worth it as they offer unique upgrades you cant get any way else.

Solo is simply a new difficultty setting. It has low CR monsters, easier traps and lower difficult skill checks. As well as lesser rewards and XP. Altho the favor awarded is the same amount as normal.

Solo play is generally just recommended for when you cannot find a group as group play is allot more fun and more rewarding. Solo quests only go up to about lvl6 right now.