Solo-Only

[Dirac]

A couple months ago, I embarked on a solo-only challenge under the following rules:

1. No grouping (obviously, though I allow an extra to pull a lever if necessary to complete quest as long as they contribute nothing else).
2. No twinking (no money, no items, nada from nobody).
3. Can only complete each quest once on each difficulty setting (no farming xp or items).
4. Must complete everything for every quest (every optional, every monster, every trap, every collectable, every breakable, every door, everything).

I discovered that rules 2 and 3 were not as big a factor as I thought they would be, but rule 4 creates a completely different experience. Some highlights include:

All aspects of explorer areas: Waterworks, Cruelen Hills, Tangleroot, Searing Heights, and Sorrowdusk.
All level 1-5 quests on elite (except guard duty).
All level 6-7 quests on normal (except gladewatch and dead girl).

Recently, said character hit level 12.6 and 1100 favor. This is more of a milestone than an accomplishment, but I thought I’d throw this out there to see if others are involved in their own solo-only challenges and how they are going. If you share, make sure you post your rules.

[Garth_of_Sarlona]

What is/was your build?

Garth

[Talon_Moonshadow]

While I congradulate your accomplishment...this game is usually more fun with a group.

I have some odd-ball tons that solo alot....but that's cause I can't find/don't want to explain myself to a group just yet.

But Id much rather have friends and someone to share my accomplishments with.

[Dirac]

While I congradulate your accomplishment...this game is usually more fun with a group. I have some odd-ball tons that solo alot....but that's cause I can't find/don't want to explain myself to a group just yet. But Id much rather have friends and someone to share my accomplishments with.

Oh, yes, I agree! I have a static group and have characters in a big guild of very nice people. I also duo with my kids a lot. Alas, I find myself soloing because of time issues or multi-tasking.

As far as build, I decided melee, but nothing very original: 32pt elf 2 rogue, 3 paladin, X ranger. With a 14 int, I can maintain all 5 skills: spot, search, DD, OL, and UMD. Uses nearly exclusively longswords with corresponding elf and paladin enhancements.

[Rekker]

Grats Dirac...was wondering where you had disappeared to :)

[uncus2]

A couple months ago, I embarked on a solo-only challenge under the following rules:

1. No grouping (obviously, though I allow an extra to pull a lever if necessary to complete quest as long as they contribute nothing else).
2. No twinking (no money, no items, nada from nobody).
3. Can only complete each quest once on each difficulty setting (no farming xp or items).
4. Must complete everything for every quest (every optional, every monster, every trap, every collectable, every breakable, every door, everything).

I discovered that rules 2 and 3 were not as big a factor as I thought they would be, but rule 4 creates a completely different experience. Some highlights include:

All aspects of explorer areas: Waterworks, Cruelen Hills, Tangleroot, Searing Heights, and Sorrowdusk.
All level 1-5 quests on elite (except guard duty).
All level 6-7 quests on normal (except gladewatch and dead girl).

Recently, said character hit level 12.6 and 1100 favor. This is more of a milestone than an accomplishment, but I thought I’d throw this out there to see if others are involved in their own solo-only challenges and how they are going. If you share, make sure you post your rules.

Actually, Rule 2 is a HUGE factor - IF you don't allow the character to buy from the AH.

So what if you don't get all the optionals? Do you repeat the quest? What about if, for example, Muck doesn't spawn?

I have 3 characters who have only soloed [was 5, but recently began playing with 4yr old nephew - tougher than solo in some respects :)] My "Main" is an Elf 28 pt Cl 3/Rog 1/Wis 1 - in retrospect, I should not have taken the wiz and just used more Rog with UMD, but...
Since I started just after launch [and stopped and restarted and stopped...], xp debt on death made for a huge learning curve and made it necessary to repeat quests. I have done all L1 & 2 on Normal/Hard; most L3 and L4 on solo/Normal; missed the Cerelean Hills [added while quit and over level now :(]; done all L5 solo and the first 2 House D on Normal successfully [the other NOT successfully yet - need an elemental bane weapon ;)] and currently working on Tangleroot/Splinterskull mission 7? - kill the warlock/summoner/whatever.
As my main, I can't really twink, but I DO buy from the AH [and DON'T buy Plat from rmt's]. I have repeated many of the quests, though I have not redone the L1 or 2's [though I should redo Goodblades now that the higher levels exist; likewise I only did the others on Normal as that was all there was at the time]

Personally, I feel that I have achieved something, though I will probably never cap nor ever be able to do every quest [I NEVER group, so I can never do any quest that has 2 levers to pull simultaneously - then again, I won't know what quests they are until I try them] I find DDO fun and challenging, and hell, that's ALL that matters :)

[Dirac]

Actually, Rule 2 is a HUGE factor - IF you don't allow the character to buy from the AH.

That could be. Then one might also draw the distinction between the broker or the AH... I considered not using the AH for about 10 seconds. Not because I thought it would be too hard, but that I love the AH. I love finding neat stuff, good deals, and selling cool things I find. For me, the AH is a big part of my fun.


So what if you don't get all the optionals? Do you repeat the quest? What about if, for example, Muck doesn't spawn?

No, I only consider the optionals that spawn. 4 runs of Dirks (S/N/H/E) and Muck did not once spawn :( I should also say that some optionals I cannot do. I cannot hit all the runes in Tear of Dhakaan or Xorian Cipher. So, I should say I complete everything possible for my character each run.



I have 3 characters who have only soloed [was 5, but recently began playing with 4yr old nephew - tougher than solo in some respects :)] My "Main" is an Elf 28 pt Cl 3/Rog 1/Wis 1 - in retrospect, I should not have taken the wiz and just used more Rog with UMD, but...
Since I started just after launch [and stopped and restarted and stopped...], xp debt on death made for a huge learning curve and made it necessary to repeat quests. I have done all L1 & 2 on Normal/Hard; most L3 and L4 on solo/Normal; missed the Cerelean Hills [added while quit and over level now :(]; done all L5 solo and the first 2 House D on Normal successfully [the other NOT successfully yet - need an elemental bane weapon ;)] and currently working on Tangleroot/Splinterskull mission 7? - kill the warlock/summoner/whatever.
As my main, I can't really twink, but I DO buy from the AH [and DON'T buy Plat from rmt's]. I have repeated many of the quests, though I have not redone the L1 or 2's [though I should redo Goodblades now that the higher levels exist; likewise I only did the others on Normal as that was all there was at the time]

Personally, I feel that I have achieved something, though I will probably never cap nor ever be able to do every quest [I NEVER group, so I can never do any quest that has 2 levers to pull simultaneously - then again, I won't know what quests they are until I try them] I find DDO fun and challenging, and hell, that's ALL that matters :)

There aren't very many quests that require two people. However, they show up at very inopportune times, e.g. Delera's part 2, Tomb of the Burning Heart, and Xorian Cipher. Not being able to do the first two cuts you off from many others, and XC is an important quest for items. (Though nothing came up for me on Normal.)

I also duo with my 7 year old, and it is much more difficult than solo. :)

[GeneralDiomedes]

Just curious .. did you hit 1100 favor doing only solo? Just asking as your highlights are all low level.

[Dirac]

Just curious .. did you hit 1100 favor doing only solo? Just asking as your highlights are all low level.

Yes. I've done fair number of level 8-10 quests, but have not completed all of the level 8 or above (that I can) on normal yet. I like your solo-log; I'm not very good making that sort of thing. :) What is your character build? <- Nevermind, I just found it on your log. :) My main character is a caster, and despite the converntional wisdom on the superiority of casters for soloing, I don't find I enjoy it as much as soloing melee characters. I am very impressed that you can complete them without re-enters. That was one of the main problems I have with my main (wiz). With my solo-only quest, I have a total of 5 re-enters. Each one on one of these painfully long quests, where I die from boredom right toward the end, and cannot bring myself to start over.

Any thoughts or observations on your quest so far?

[GeneralDiomedes]

Yes. I've done fair number of level 8-10 quests, but have not completed all of the level 8 or above (that I can) on normal yet. I like your solo-log; I'm not very good making that sort of thing. :) What is your character build? Any thoughts or observations on your quest so far?

Ah, nice work then. Doing it as you are (completing everything) is certainly a resource challenge and very time consuming. Your rules are probably more pure than mine, although I totally relate to your comments on the AH (loot is fun!).

My build is very similiar to MrCow's build stat-wise, basically a WF Sorc with enough STR to melee when necessary.

My observations so far would be that in general quests get more time consuming as you get higher in level, especially on hard or elite. I'm certainly progressing slower now than in the 6-10 range, but that could also be because I am far more familiar with those quests from my permadeath days. Quests that I have only done once for favor a loooong time ago (like The Enemy Within for example) are presenting quite a challenge to do without recalls.

I'm liking it tho, definately a lot more enjoyable than pugs :)

[GeneralDiomedes]

With my solo-only quest, I have a total of 5 re-enters. Each one on one of these painfully long quests, where I die from boredom right toward the end, and cannot bring myself to start over.


I can relate to that too .. I've recalled a few times just because I couldn't bring myself to spend another couple of hours redoing everything just because of a split second mistake.

[Dirac]

I can relate to that too .. I've recalled a few times just because I couldn't bring myself to spend another couple of hours redoing everything just because of a split second mistake.

I re-entered Proof is in the Poison all three times. On Norm and Elite I fell into the last acid pool because I was so sick of the quest by then I was going too fast. On Hard I was killed by the ranger (next to last battle) becuase I was just not even paying attention to the battles anymore, clicking away without even looking at my health bar. He just picked away at me until I died with both LoH unused.

I have sort of a gentlemen's agreement with myself on re-enters. If it was a stupid mistake (or a fail a saving throw on a 1), I was right at the end and I felt otherwise I could have completed it, then I will re-enter but keep track because I consider it somewhat a failure. However, I'll never re-enter for the purpose of defeating a quest I could never have completed straight up. For example, I took a shot at STK elite when I was level 7 (maybe 8). The entire quest at that level is completely trivial, but the end boss owned; I took him down only about 30&#37;. There simply was no way I could have killed him straight up, and re-entering a couple more times to whittle him down is against the spirit of what I'm trying to do. So I waited on that quest until I was high enough level to take him.

As a caster, do you save the mnemonic pots that you get as rewards or do you sell them? For me, that is one of my best sources of income, and I owe the bulk of my extensive longsword collection to gouging those poor powergamer casters on the AH. :)

[GeneralDiomedes]

As a caster, do you save the mnemonic pots that you get as rewards or do you sell them? For me, that is one of my best sources of income, and I owe the bulk of my extensive longsword collection to gouging those poor powergamer casters on the AH. :)

Personally, I save them for emergencies and Feeblemind. I have only had to use one so far in Threnal, I misjudged how fast a pair of Renders would go down, and found myself being chased by 1 of them with no mana left. Those suckers will follow you to the ends of the earth and can definately take down a lowly caster going toe to toe :)

As for recalls, yeah .. I have much the same feeling, although I'm getting more and more anal about it as time goes on. I keep hearing hypothetical forum voices in my head making snide comments over recalling :) I have restarted more than a few after a failure, i.e. The Sanctum: Quench the Flames I think I restarted 4 times (what a PAIN that quest is!!). But then again I wasn't a couple of hours in.

Good luck!

[Heels]

I have recently embarked on a solo-inspired quest. After reading about General's plans to acheive 1750 favor solo, and after seeing some of the other caster soloing accomplishments by the likes of MrCow and Ghoste I started up my own caster. Using a similar build to MrCow, and using some of the rules you stated above. I only do the quests S/N/H/E, not really worried about getting all the optionals, just so long as I beat the quest (I usually try to maximixe experience though). I did put a no twinking rule in effect. I can buy and sell from the auction house, so long as I don't send items or money from another character.

Currently I have a no grouping policy, period. I don't let anyone in the group not even to hit the rune in the waterworks that is locking the one rare up and preventing me from getting 1k easy exp. I am thinking I may relax this rule to opening grouping up to flip switches/runes only...we'll see. Slayers/Explorers/Rares are allowed as is waiting for shrines to reset on Solo/Normal difficulty. I am also thinking about allowing farming quests for items so long as no exp is garnered from the result (no repeating quests unless No Exp is awarded)...not sure about this, and currently not high enough level to worry about it.

Also, not a rule, but a personal goal, was to maximize my experience before leveling up. So I didn't level to 2 until I had 19,999, 3 until 49,999, 4 at 89,999 and currently going towards 5 (106,042) at 139,999. The good news is that if I ever get tired of this goal or it becomes un-maintainable I will be able to effectively level up twice with little effort. More than likely this will happen when it gets closer to firewall time :) The added benefit to this is that for all the regular quests this effectively adds +10% experience, but it may take a little longer or a little more ingenuity to pull the quest off.

Currently I have kept a screenshot record of most of the quests and open area slayers, etc. Occasionally I would forget to take a screenie, but for the most part I have a pretty good stash of them.


Look forward to hearing more of your thoughts and ideas on the solo'rs.

[Asirin]

A couple of the quests at low level are very fun and challenging if you are by your lonesome.(particularly the Boss giant on elite in STK).

I am currently practicing the run in Tempest spine with my paladin(normal of course) and hoping to post a solo screen shot soon.

Unfortunately I have found the Int rune and two locked doors further up cannot be overcome without help from a rogue so I will soon be posting a LFM for a unbiased player to step in and unlock these for me (without further participation.)Anyone else attempting this quest? I would be interested in hearing the outcomes or seeing a Screenshot of completion.

[Ron]

Nice Dirac, that is quite impressive. I've been on a similar quest for some time, and my rules are very close to yours. There's a link in my sig for my last solo project (and it shows all my rules). Unfortunately, this is one I didn't take very far, but I've had others that were much more successful (my best got into level 7 and 8 quests before bogging down, and it was a rogue/paladin/fighter build. But I got nowhere near the favor you have amassed). Like you, I tend to prefer the melee builds, as I find mana a constant problem for the caster builds, hehe (I tried a rogue/sorc warforged build but couldn't get past level 2, I was getting squashed in every dungeon I went into with the low AC and HP and was generally out of mana by the time I got through a couple of encounters).

I've suspended my solo questing until monks arrive. I'm thinking they are going to make a decent solo class since they are so non-gear dependent, and, if I understand correctly, pretty magic resistant (at least, that's my thinking, but we'll see what happens). When Mod 7 arrives, I'm going to reset my quest list and start back to it.

[VonBek]

Good job on a stout challenge. I'm curious how many/which quests you hit cold - no prior knowledge?

[Heels]

So it seems my baby sorc has hit a wall. At 116,645 experience and still level 4. Trying hard to reach the 139,999 mark but I don't know if I will be able to. I know I can finish up Tangleroot slayers for another 14k experience (really a slow go at 350 kills so far). I have finished all the t-root rares and explorers already, and done a few in searing heights (that place is brutal for a level 4 though).

I don't have the mana/firepower to solo through hard levels of the waterworks, or stk, sort of at a loss for what to do. Figure I might finish up on TR slayers, and if nothing else comes to me, go ahead and level to 5, get through a few more of the depths quests or hard/elite, then go ahead and bump up to 6 and see if that opens up some possibilities.

Any other suggestions out there?

[Dirac]

Heels, I would just level up. I started as you, kept from leveling as much as possible. But right about that point, I starting leveling when I could. I starting saving again later. I was 12.6 before I actually leveled to 12. Other than that, I don't have much advice as I went melee with my solo character.

Ron, about 1 day after I started my quest, I saw and read your sig and rules for the first time. :) Obviously, you are a giant of the all-solo business. Though one should also remember Neophyte (sp?) who was a solo-only proponent back in the day. I think you and I have the same rules with the primary exception that you do not use the AH. Also, probably get no help with switches, etc. I think? I love the AH too much to not use it. Also, I don't think I could take on this challenge more than once. :) If I were to start again, I might avoid AH and brokers, but would not do condition 4. Doing everything is a huge resource drain and time sink. And many, many times the optional is the most difficult part of the quest. I'm sorry you are shelving your project for the time. :(

Asirin, I have not even attempted tempest. I have so many quests to do, and since it would take me so much time to learn to do it solo, I don't even know when I'll get to it. That is one I might wait until I am very high level to allow plenty of slack.

VonBeck, all the quests I have done so far I know very well, and most I have completely memorized. Of course, I don't have any way around that. :) But to be honest, I don't think I would do a quest solo I didn't already know. This is really just a sideline, and I run any new quests in groups with my friends.

Thank you so much for the kind words, and great to see others doing some all-solo challenges!

[Aeneas]

I have been thinking of trying this myself (i get fed up with newb groups sometimes) but can't decide what to run with and don't know if i have it in me to level another character. Dwarven battle cleric seems like a decent choice. Just keep the stats kinda even across the board at creation, maybe skimp in intelligence and charisma a little.

[Dirac]

I have been thinking of trying this myself (i get fed up with newb groups sometimes) but can't decide what to run with and don't know if i have it in me to level another character. Dwarven battle cleric seems like a decent choice. Just keep the stats kinda even across the board at creation, maybe skimp in intelligence and charisma a little.

I think a Dwarven battle cleric is a good solo character. It didn't work for me because I need full rogue skills, and cleric and rogue do not mesh well together. I would think the main problem of the battle cleric is reflex saves, which are going to wreck havok from casters and traps. Another weakness of the battle cleric is base attack, which is made up for by divine power. (So you can't MC much at the beginning, and have problems with dispelling creatures.)

For my solo character, I put a high premium on being functional without any buffs. Buffs can be expensive in money or spell points and can be lost.

This brings up a great point, however. One big advantage of Clerics is Freedom of Movement and Death Ward. Why can I not find scrolls of these spells?

[Heels]

So I got to 139,999 and level'd up. Took a little bit of doing, and some explorers/slayers/rares in Searing Heights, which actually isn't that bad once you get familiar with the area. Sorta starting to like it a lot more than tangleroot, maybe it's because the slayers don't go to 1500 with very little to kill =/

I'm enjoying the challenge of playing a solo character, and I think it has made me a better grouper overall, much more resourceful and knowledgeable about how a caster is played effectively. Can't wait to keep leveling on up. I am going to try to make it up to 199,999 but it seems like a long haul without leveling up again. We'll see how it goes!

Just curious, how hard was leveling up the melee-based character solo? The only melee that I have much experience with is a ranger, and although at higher levels he can be effective, through 6-10 they are pretty rough trying to solo most things in my experience.

[Dirac]

So I got to 139,999 and level'd up. Took a little bit of doing, and some explorers/slayers/rares in Searing Heights, which actually isn't that bad once you get familiar with the area. Sorta starting to like it a lot more than tangleroot, maybe it's because the slayers don't go to 1500 with very little to kill =/

I'm enjoying the challenge of playing a solo character, and I think it has made me a better grouper overall, much more resourceful and knowledgeable about how a caster is played effectively. Can't wait to keep leveling on up. I am going to try to make it up to 199,999 but it seems like a long haul without leveling up again. We'll see how it goes!

Just curious, how hard was leveling up the melee-based character solo? The only melee that I have much experience with is a ranger, and although at higher levels he can be effective, through 6-10 they are pretty rough trying to solo most things in my experience.

Grats on getting the next level. Honestly, though, I'm not sure why you're adamant about maxing out the next level before you level. I'm almost level 13, and am still trying to finish off level 8 quests. There is a lot of xp if you are doing everything by yourself. It seems a little like punishment. However, if that is purposefully part of challenge you have set for yourself, then go for it! :)

I have not had any difficulty leveling up melee-based characters. I've done 4 or 5 previous characters to level 8-10 all solo and countless others to the 4-6 range before I start grouping. For me, it is faster because I don't have to make a group or herd people. However, all but the one described in my OP were heavily twinked, ran only the best xp/time quests, no optionals, etc. (Funny story, at level 9 (or 10) I decided to group my battle cleric for a Stromcleave elite PUG. I can't communicate with anyone in the group until "you have to enable voice chat" comes across party chat.)

My current character is designed specifically for solo play: high saves, evasion, high attack, good AC and DPS. I use the AH, so I can still get good equipment for my level. Of course, the biggest factor is, by this point, I know all the quests painfully well. It should be pointed out that the nature of my challenge (everything on every quest) leads to much more xp per level than I need to level. As time goes on, I have more and more quests lower level than I am, and thus easier to complete.

[jarlaxle_dourden]

How did you solo Delera's?

I would think that is impossible because of the switches?

[GeneralDiomedes]

Just a suggestion to all the soloists .. consider helping with filling out the missing gaps in MrCow's excellent DDO Catalog (sort of a DDO Monster Manual) as you go along. (link is in his signature). Make sure to read the guidelines on formatting, and don't include anything that isn't 100&#37; statistical, i.e. don't include things like 'you can kite this guy if you're fast enough'.

[Dirac]

How did you solo Delera's?

I would think that is impossible because of the switches?

I too believe it is impossible. I allow another character to hit switches for me under the condition they do nothing else to contribute. I've used this to complete

The missing party (Delera's part 2)
Tomb of the Burning Heart
Xorian Cipher

I allow myself to do this only if there is no other way to complete the quest, and the character can only do those actions that are necessary for completion. For example, I also couldn't hit all the runes in Xorian myself, but I don't allow the second character to hit runes to turn off chaos orbs (as helpful as that would have been), only to stand on pressure plates. Any buffing or healing is out of the question.

[Heels]

Dirac,

At first I wanted to max the experience before leveling because the quests were fairly easy to run and it didn't make much of a difference in leveling up, so it was basically a +10% exp modifier (either for the quest being 1 level above me or not having a penalty for being one level above the quest).

Since level 4 or so, I guess it was more the challenge of it, since it seems the pickings are a little bit more slim in the 4-8 range without actually taking the level up. Technically I could just repeat the good experience quests a number of times on the same difficulty and really rack up the levels solo without much difficulty, but once again, that kind of ruins the challenge of building the solo character for me, although for others, I am sure that is their cup of tea, and props to them for it :)

This is my first experience with a caster, and I was shocked at the number of tells I get asking me to join groups, I thought only clerics had that problem (level 13 cleric that has to /anon or it gets bombarded). As far as people working switches for me, I think I'll wait until I literally can't do anything else on my own before I recruit switch bots. It may mean forgoing some quests and quest rewards (Cartouche!) But I've still got some levels in me before I worry too much about that.

And just a FYI, Tomb of the Burning Heart is solo-able switches included for a caster. Check Hetch out! http://seanjorden.web.aplus.net/ddo/1750/ScreenShot00290.jpg

I was impressed by this, simply because I wouldn't have thought about it. :)

[Dirac]

And just a FYI, Tomb of the Burning Heart is solo-able switches included for a caster. Check Hetch out! http://seanjorden.web.aplus.net/ddo/1750/ScreenShot00290.jpg



Nice. I guess If I used scrolls (need a bazillion maybe) I could have used this method to get through solo as well. However, just using two people and summoned monsters was hard enough for me. This method seems like a lot of work, and unlikely to be successful if one relies on scrolls due to them saving before I could set up the others.

[MrCow]

In regards to Tomb of the Burning Heart, you can do it with only summon monster and no other necessary spells providing you are really quick and somewhat lucky. The body of a wight counts as weight on a pressure plate and they remain for 10-15 seconds before disappearing (I never actually timed the full time). Theoretically you could quickly kill two wights in the eastern room, each on a pressure plate, run to the western room, and summon a monster while you are on a pressure plate in the western room.

Also, an interesting tidbit of information about that eastern room is the wights inside can't get out so if you leave they have no way to find a path to you. This means if you exit the eastern room then all the wights will stop where they are (and if they stop on pressure plates then the eastern room is done).

[GeneralDiomedes]

Now see, if I had thought about the corpse method, I would have saved myself some $$$ switching out Halt Undead :)

[Heels]

<tucks the useful information in his back pocket for when the tomb time comes> :)

[Dirac]

In regards to Tomb of the Burning Heart, you can do it with only summon monster and no other necessary spells providing you are really quick and somewhat lucky. The body of a wight counts as weight on a pressure plate and they remain for 10-15 seconds before disappearing (I never actually timed the full time). Theoretically you could quickly kill two wights in the eastern room, each on a pressure plate, run to the western room, and summon a monster while you are on a pressure plate in the western room.

I thought it impossible to summon a monster on the pressure plate when standing on one. I had two characters each summon a monster, align it on their respective pressure plates while standing next to them, and then dash to the other plate during the one second they freeze while vanishing. This would make it much easier, but they appeared (were summoned) too close to me.


Also, an interesting tidbit of information about that eastern room is the wights inside can't get out so if you leave they have no way to find a path to you. This means if you exit the eastern room then all the wights will stop where they are (and if they stop on pressure plates then the eastern room is done).

Have you successfully done this? This seems by far the best way. Even if it takes 12 times to run into he room, stir them up, then run out to get them positioned on the plates, this would be far preferable. If it takes, say 120 times to get the right position, then ...

[Zenako]

The single hardest part of running solo, is learning to be patient and taking your time when you need to. While I have not made any of my characters solo only by design, almost all of them do it a lot for the experience and challenge. (In fact most of my level 4 and 5's got there almost entirely on their own.) The bumping up of trap damage on elite has made that aspect more painful for my non-rogue types to deal with. (Dwarf Tank received some mighty deep punctures in TR later parts on Elite...ouch). Now these guys are twinked to some degree so I am likely able to handle some things which a more pure soloist would not be able to (unless very lucky on their pulls).

Running solo lets you really see the value of clickies and renewable abilities (like Ranger Many shot for example). And work on stealth skills.

Do you worry about killing mobs that do not need to be killed? (Ie, is Conquest one of the objectives you need to meet?) Not having to kill everything in some quests makes them a lot easier to complete, even if you are trying to hit the optionals.

[Heels]

You couldn't stand on one plate while summoning them onto the other one?

When casting targettable spells simply enter mouse look mode which is the "T" key if you haven't changed the default, or right mouse button on my set-up. After that just position the little circle where you want the spell to cast. Make sure you have no target (press "Esc") then cast away. If you didn't target too far away, he should pop up wherever you wanted him to. Very effective for dropping pets in rooms full of mobs then sneaking through them a'la Ghoste.

If this isn't what you meant by your comments I apologize, might have mis-interpreted.

[Heels]

Zenako,

Many times I try to hit conquest/ransack simply for the experience it might garner me. Every little bit I can get in one quest is that many fewer quests I have do. However, it isn't a requirement that I place on myself, and if it comes down to completing the quest but only killing half the enemies, I'll do that as well.

As far as getting lucky on solo pulls, there is somewhat of a luck element (I squeal in delight when I see a decent level two wand or mnemonic potion up as an end reward), but since I didn't limit the AH from my solo character, it isn't too bad to sell mnemonics and be able to afford the essentials and splurge on an item or two that makes running the quests a little easier.

[Dirac]

You couldn't stand on one plate while summoning them onto the other one?

When casting targettable spells simply enter mouse look mode which is the "T" key if you haven't changed the default, or right mouse button on my set-up. After that just position the little circle where you want the spell to cast. Make sure you have no target (press "Esc") then cast away. If you didn't target too far away, he should pop up wherever you wanted him to. Very effective for dropping pets in rooms full of mobs then sneaking through them a'la Ghoste.

If this isn't what you meant by your comments I apologize, might have mis-interpreted.

Nope, that is exactly what I meant, and if it really is that easy I am going to be very, very angry with myself. The process I described stakes split second (or at least 1 second) timing, and doing it for two characters simultaneously is very difficult (for me). Since my main is a wizard I do target my spells all the time, but I haven't with summon monster. I had it in my head that the summoned monster did not appear where you target, just near you. I'm sure I tried it at one point and failed, but now I really don't remember. Ugh, all that time ... :mad: I am an idiot.

Zenako: My rule 4 means I get every xp possible out of every quest. That helps me level without repeating any quest more than once on each setting, but does make some quests very long, and many much more difficult.

[Zenako]

Nope, that is exactly what I meant, and if it really is that easy I am going to be very, very angry with myself. The process I described stakes split second (or at least 1 second) timing, and doing it for two characters simultaneously is very difficult (for me). Since my main is a wizard I do target my spells all the time, but I haven't with summon monster. I had it in my head that the summoned monster did not appear where you target, just near you. I'm sure I tried it at one point and failed, but now I really don't remember. Ugh, all that time ... :mad: I am an idiot.

Zenako: My rule 4 means I get every xp possible out of every quest. That helps me level without repeating any quest more than once on each setting, but does make some quests very long, and many much more difficult.

Nope, you are just one of thousands of players who probably do not know that...;)

as for going for conquest...nice. That does make some of them a good deal more challenging. I often end up with that result since I tend to spend a LOT more time poking around when on my own, and end up killing everything.

Just curious about a couple of situations. In some quests, some of the optional stuff is behind a locked door. Assuming you do not have Pick Locks as a skill, but could say cast knock spell from your SP or a Wand, how many attempts would you make to pop that lock and do that part. I have been on quests where the caster (who did not have a wand) burned thru a whole boatload of Spell Points to open the door to the encounter and optional chest. On a character lacking either method, I would just ignore the lock and move on, my rogues can pretty much always pick it without issue, but my arcane casters (lowbie bard and wizard) have to decide if it is worth the wand charges (Bard) or spell points (Wiz) to open it vs how that impact my ability to complete. (Often on a harder setting so shrines not resetting in those runs.)

The second question, do any of the characters (not WF or Ranger who get it free) take the Diehard feat now that it works the way it does?

[Ron]

In regards to Tomb of the Burning Heart, you can do it with only summon monster and no other necessary spells providing you are really quick and somewhat lucky. The body of a wight counts as weight on a pressure plate and they remain for 10-15 seconds before disappearing (I never actually timed the full time). Theoretically you could quickly kill two wights in the eastern room, each on a pressure plate, run to the western room, and summon a monster while you are on a pressure plate in the western room.

This is exactly right. I've used this method two or three times to solo this quest. It can be done fairly reliably (it does take a little bit of luck, in that it's not always possible to get a wight to die exactly where you want him to, heh).

As long as you can get two dead wights on the two plates in (and don't take TOO long to kill the second one or the first will despawn on you), you have plenty of time to book over to the second room, stand on the plate and do the summoning thing. Since it's designed to break up the party anyway, I've found this is the easiest quest of the four to solo, at least until you reach the point where the party would come back together, at which point it becomes hard again :)

As for the other quests that you cannot solo because of mechanics, I'm considering adding a new rule (or modifying my existing rules) to allow a second person to join for the purpose of pulling a lever, as long as they contribute absolutely nothing else (because Dirac you are totally right, they come along at really bad times. I find Delaras Part II exceptionally annoying) . I think the hardest part would be convincing another player to not help out once they are there. People would have a tendancy to want to finish the quest with you, I would think.

I've been itching lately to get back into the soloing (it's been a while since I stopped in December), so I may not wait until Monks arrive to try a new build. With the addtion of Die Hard and Force of Personality feats, I could imagine a pretty strong Paly solo build, heh.

[Dirac]

Nope, you are just one of thousands of players who probably do not know that...;)

as for going for conquest...nice. That does make some of them a good deal more challenging. I often end up with that result since I tend to spend a LOT more time poking around when on my own, and end up killing everything.

Just curious about a couple of situations. In some quests, some of the optional stuff is behind a locked door. Assuming you do not have Pick Locks as a skill, but could say cast knock spell from your SP or a Wand, how many attempts would you make to pop that lock and do that part. I have been on quests where the caster (who did not have a wand) burned thru a whole boatload of Spell Points to open the door to the encounter and optional chest. On a character lacking either method, I would just ignore the lock and move on, my rogues can pretty much always pick it without issue, but my arcane casters (lowbie bard and wizard) have to decide if it is worth the wand charges (Bard) or spell points (Wiz) to open it vs how that impact my ability to complete. (Often on a harder setting so shrines not resetting in those runs.)

The second question, do any of the characters (not WF or Ranger who get it free) take the Diehard feat now that it works the way it does?

For the record, I don't just do conquest, but everything possible: every monster, every trap, collectable, breakable, door etc. So that means opening every door in catacombs 1 and 2 for possible collectables. It means clearing out the entire Outer Splinterskull fortress and prisons, even on part one; turning a 5 min quest into a 40 minute one. :( Now, here I am describing the most unpleasent examples just to emphasize the point. Obviously, most of the time it is nice to see the whole dungeon. :)

Because of this, I have full rogue skills. I have only blown one trap box ever: the one in The Low Road on Solo. :eek: (I don't remember what I rolled, but I was just off the boat and had no equipment or enhancements. I do remember thinking, "Well, this is not a good sign.") But, I've been able to open and disable everything else since.

For your example, I would not pass the door until, having maxed out everything, I rolled a 20 and failed. Then I would conclude that I could not do it and move on. That's tough though, because I could make the case that I would have to wait until I was higher level and then do the quest. It's a judgement call, balancing having fun with a challenge and making the challenge not fun. However, it is the significant number of situations just like you described that convinced me that for my challenge, I had to have full rogue skills.

However, there are some things I cannot do. There are some runes I cannot activate. If it is not necessary to complete the quest, then I have to let it go. Otherwise, I am compelled to complete it.

Ron, the solution to making sure the second character does not contribute anything else is quite simple: two accounts. :) Seriously, if you don't have a guildie or a friend on, and can plan ahead of time when you want to run one of those, PM me.

[Zenako]

Ron, the solution to making sure the second character does not contribute anything else is quite simple: two accounts. :)

Or so far below you in level that they get 0 for exp..... I have convinced a ungrouped guildy on a lowbie to run into Delaras 2 a couple of times for lever duty. There are a couple of chests nearby that they get to loot (I left them for just that purpose), then they leave...takes them 5 minutes tops, round trip I think. In the last case it was on my high level bard, and it was not a technical challenge, I had just missed a few parts on elite and was filling in the gaps, but needed "just a little help there...thank you"...