To Power Level or not to Power Level?

[zzZooKzz]

I've been playing DDO for a few months now and love the game.

Been playing pen & paper for many years and recently joined the world of DDO after the release of Mod6.

My highest level tune is a Dwarven Barbarian that wields Holy and Pure Good Dwarven axes most of the time. Pure Killer!

I've watched other players take their tunes from level 1 to level 16 in the same amount of time it has taken me to bring my guy to level 7.

I'm not about Power Leveling but sometimes get frustrated running the same content over and over just to bring a tune to level 4 or 5. Seems like once you get to level 6 it's a slow progression from there.

What are some tips to get into the upper levels without Zerging through the quests?

Laz...

[thatguy]

I've been playing DDO for a few months now and love the game.

Been playing pen & paper for many years and recently joined the world of DDO after the release of Mod6.

My highest level tune is a Dwarven Barbarian that wields Holy and Pure Good Dwarven axes most of the time. Pure Killer!

I've watched other players take their tunes from level 1 to level 16 in the same amount of time it has taken me to bring my guy to level 7.

I'm not about Power Leveling but sometimes get frustrated running the same content over and over just to bring a tune to level 4 or 5. Seems like once you get to level 6 it's a slow progression from there.

What are some tips to get into the upper levels without Zerging through the quests?

Laz...

If your one Sarlona, you need get to get in a party with people who zerg all the time. I usually play cleric on these zerg fests and its an adventure to say the least. I can usually keep up with the pace and sometimes fellow zergers die simply because of the pace but that's all part of the package and all parties know this when they join.

Lets face it, most of the quests in this game I have done dozens of times and I really don't want to explorer every nook and cranny. I simply want to finish the quest and get my XP so I can continue leveling. I hate leveling up toons and when I cap my next cleric it will probably be it as far as bringing toons along for a long time.

[JacknCoke]

If you want to burn your self out and become a bitter person who thinks they own a great deal of stock in ddo with there 14.99 a month sub, power lvl.

If you want to keep your sanity and be able to sit back and laugh at the above take your time.

[tihocan]

Simply put, leveling fast = zerging through high XP quests.
I don't think many new people do it though. I mean, it took me a lot of time too to level up my first character. Then each new one was faster, because I was more experienced with quests and could afford better equipment.
Don't worry too much about it... you'll get there someday too :)

[augie]

If ya want to get to the mid/upper levels quickly and painlessly (relatively), zerging is pretty much your best bet. Don't get tunnel-visioned with conquest/observance/ransack bonuses. Many quests can be zerged and completed 2 or 3 times for a larger amount of total XP than a single run of the same quest where ya dilly-dally around trying to get all the XP bonuses.

This obviously isn't everyone's preferred way of playing though. But if ya get in a group of experienced players that have this mindset, you'll be surprised how quickly leveling happens. Quite honestly, this style of play can make things very interesting and get the adrenaline pumping at times. Nothing like runnin thru quests as a level 2 knowing that if you get hung up or hit a locked door, you're gonna be turning around to 20+ kobolds/bugbears that really didn't appreciate you running by and ignoring them.

[RedeemerRed]

Nothing like runnin thru quests as a level 2 knowing that if you get hung up or hit a locked door, you're gonna be turning around to 20+ kobolds/bugbears that really didn't appreciate you running by and ignoring them.

I LOVE IT!! I don't think I've 'zerged' at all so far, but I've done the same quest from normal-elite with a group in one quest, then move
onto the next one, then the next, and we do at it a nice pace, so it isn't bad at all.

But then again, I'm still a lowbie, so I guess I'll have to see how things play out a little later on. :)

[darthmaul121783]

you way wont to zerg you may not but if you would like to get a toon capt fast tehn just roll a cleric or maybe a caster they get lvl very fast as their needed in most groups the rest of the classes can lvl ok fighters seem to take the logest as their are a lot of them

[Zaodon]

You should play this game the way you most enjoy playing it, and not feel pressured into playing a different way just to "fit in".

Some people love D&D, and play DDO very much like they play D&D (some even roleplay).
Other people love competition and MMORPGs, and play DDO "competitively" like just any "video game"..

Neither way is "right" or "wrong". The nice thing about DDO is that you can find guilds (groups of people) that play the same way that you enjoy, and then join that guild or group with those people to do quests, and you'll find that your question simply becomes moot.

[rawfocat]

The best way to level and run quests at your pace is to start learning them. Most power levelers do so because they know the quest and just want the xp.

Pick a quest 1-3 levels below your level and run it on normal. Pull up the Lost quest guide on the forums and read the quest description and prepare a bit (you are going for knowledge not speed) buy a small number of potions (resist, invis, haste) and use them at the appropriate time. Invisibility potions are great for sneaking around even with a melee.

Once you think you know the quest put up an lfm and lead the party through. You can somewhat control the pace. Try and learn a couple quests for each level range this way.

Do not worry too much about completion or dying while learning. The goal is to know the quest well enough to help newbs through it, not become an elite soloer. Another tip if you are do not wan to spend that much time is after completing a quest with a group, rerun it alone on normal and see how much of it you remember.

Remember potions are a melee's friend, but you need to not develop an expensive habit :)

[CSFurious]

when i started playing in September 2006, there was minimal zerging

now, it is rampant

when i level a new char now, i level a certain way which would be considered power-leveling

anyway, i would not want to zerg all of the time if i was a new player (some of the time is good)

[Mistinarperadnacles]

As you're relatively new to the game - I'd advocate just taking it at a fairly leisurely pace and enjoying the new stuff, suprises and cool discoveries you get that first time round.

Powerlevelling will still be there for later.

Don't fall in to comparing your success or character to those who have been playing for over 2 years.

[Thrudh]

We all took a long time leveling our first characters... and it was fun!!

Enjoy your first time in a dungeon... someday you will have done them all, and nothing will be new :(

[Selenay]

The only reason I would power lvl is to keep my characters all relativly the same lvl. If you're new, then I would certainly not power lvl. There's too much you miss out on if you did that. It also kills part of the fun of exploring. I mean if you go all the way to the highest lvl then what's left? Showing off? Boring!

Take your time. Learn the game. Find a guild and make great friends. I personally love the different story lines in this game. Maybe you will too.

[Scipio]

I used to power level. If you have the time and you like the high exp quests it can be fun as long as ya don't mind repeating them over and over. I didnt mind and enjoyed doing it that way.

But my wife does things a diffrent way and I have converted to her way of doing it. Which is to do everything to elite. (with some exections... looks at the tombs quests...lol) This way you get exp AND favor done at once. It is slower but you are not bored running the favor later!

[Cruzer]

You should play this game the way you most enjoy playing it, and not feel pressured into playing a different way just to "fit in".

Some people love D&D, and play DDO very much like they play D&D (some even roleplay).
Other people love competition and MMORPGs, and play DDO "competitively" like just any "video game"..

Neither way is "right" or "wrong". The nice thing about DDO is that you can find guilds (groups of people) that play the same way that you enjoy, and then join that guild or group with those people to do quests, and you'll find that your question simply becomes moot.

QFT

I zerg because after playing since pre-release, many many maxed characters and deleted max characters for new characters, I don't need to take the time and smell the roses in WW, STK, Deleras, Tangleroot, etc. I smelled those roses long ago - they smell the same still. And surprise, surprise, its ddo! Don't worry about finishing a quest too fast - its a safe bet to believe you're going to do it again sometime soon!

So power level if you want, don't if you don't. The only time it becomes an issue is when Joe Bob Cleric lvl 8 for the last 3 months gets jealous of the person who spent those 3 months getting 3 characters to 16 and is looting "awesome" items to send down to his next guy.

[lissa_981]

The single biggest mistake one can make while trying to efficiently level a character is to do quests over their character's level. Sure, doing Stormcleave at fifth level is all impressive and makes you feel cool and powerful, but then what do you do for quests when you're at eighth level?

This makes the most difference in the 7 - 11 (ish) level area. Many folks blast through all the "good xp" quests...Stormcleave, Gwylan's Stand, Delera's Tomb, Redwillow's Ruins, etc. Folks love to do those waaaaay under level, because getting those big xp pay-offs is really nice at lower levels, and because they can.

Don't do it. You're better off saving those quests for when you really need the xp...which is when those quests are level appropriate.

[zzZooKzz]

I've found that when putting together a PUG, somehow I always seem to get 1 Zerg in the bunch. It can be very frustrating...

I don't necessarily need to look in every nook, however I have found that some people who Zerg haven't even seen whole parts of some of the quests because it doesn't have enough XP for them to care. I'm sure the developers who spend hours upon hours creating content would be sadly disappointed by this. I ask you to take your tune into one of the more elaborate quests with high ceiling and once in a while (not during a fight I might add) look up. Check out the attention to detail that the developers put in to make your experience richer. If you want to compare, check out the original Castle Wolfenstein game graphics and see how far we’ve come.

There are still so many quests that I have not done simply because I haven't the appropriate level yet or because I just haven't come across it. I don't want to just run through like my pants are on fire to reach the end as quick as possible. Well, that's not entirely true as I attempted WW on Hard with my 1 lvl Ftr / 2 lvl Wiz by myself and I did do a lot of running, mostly away from things... “That’ll learn me”

This past week I finally did Stormcleave twice and loved the quest. I first ran through with a Zerging Monk who had twice the kill count that I did. Very sad... The second time was with a more balanced party and I enjoyed that run much better. It pains me to watch a blue dot run off the map ahead of everyone and see kill after kill and chests being opened when we still haven't finished an earlier battle. THANKS DUDE!

I play on Thelanis which is both good and bad. There are a ton of players, sometimes too many. As a result the auction house is always full but the prices suffer as when you have (20) +3 Longswords available, don't expect to get top dollar for yours. On the flip side, if you are looking for something exotic you'll probably find it on auction quite often. It is also quite easy to put a PUG together as you’ll usually find a ton of players looking for a good party.

Back to the topic for a moment. I don't Zerg nor do I like people who do but I understand that if you have run the quest 20 times it might be tiresome to walk slowly through it again. I only wish that the quests would have more randomly generated content. The Zerging would probably stop.

~k~

[scampb]

I used to power level. If you have the time and you like the high exp quests it can be fun as long as ya don't mind repeating them over and over. I didnt mind and enjoyed doing it that way.

But my wife does things a diffrent way and I have converted to her way of doing it. Which is to do everything to elite. (with some exections... looks at the tombs quests...lol) This way you get exp AND favor done at once. It is slower but you are not bored running the favor later!

I just created a new toon on Friday evening. By Sunday late morning he was level 6 (for sake of argument, level 5.4 with only 4k xp to go). I know this is nothing for some power levellers but was an acheivement for me. I did exactly what your wife does. I ran almost all the coin lords quests. I have all five back pack slots and house P favor and the only quest we did out of level was Red Willows. I enjoyed the process. With a few great PUGs over the weekend we ran everything we did on norm/hard/leet. Got to know the quests well and did a couple I had not done on my earlier toons. The biggest benefit of doing this like mentioned above is the favor. It is done and out of the way. No reason to revisit later as a high level toon (unless you are strapped for a few extra favor to get 1750).

I would recommend new players take your time and do quests at your level first. Enjoy the game. After you roll a few then power level your next ones up to level 6 or so when the quests become more time consuming and involved.

[Kalari]

I used to be anti powerleveling, then made a cleric to help out my guild and I must say its been a fun time. Sure it took me awhile to get my main wizard where she is now, I took my time with her and that was fun. But leveling up this new girl has been really exciting, ive run stuff with her that my main has only seen once or twice if any at all. So ive lost the attitude about powerleveling. Ive learned that depending on the character and my mood that its not always such a bad thing. So now for the rest of my girls I'll either take my time or powerlevl them now depending on how comfortable I feel playing the class. That to me is the most important, sure zerging isnt always fun, but when I dont want to you know what? I choose to take it slow. Thats the whole point of gaming period, play to the style that makes you happy. If your not happy stuck at lower levels power game abit till you get where your comfy. If you want to take it slow go on and read every last piece of text in a dungeon. Its all about what kinda play style suits you and ive learned that the longer I play the more variety I like. So this week I maybe powerleveling, the next dungeon crawling. I hope you find yourself a happy Medium to.

[ToeTank]

As others have said, move at the pace you are comfortable with. I have been playing since launch and only have one alt at L15. If you don't want zergers in your group so you can move a bit slower, start your own group and state no zergers. Just because you post an LFM doesn't mean you need to know where you are going. I can't tell you how many times I have started a group to run a particular quest and then asked if anyone knew the quest well enough to lead the way. If not, we all had fun trying to figure it out. You can also post on your LFM that you will be moving slower to look around or something like that. There are plenty of people that want what you want. You just need to let them know.

Good luck. If you ever decide to switch servers, I am on Ghallanda. Feel free to look me up anytime. I can zerg if needed but I have know problem moving at a snails pace if someone in the group hasn't done that quest before and wants to experience it for the first time.

[Gaermain]

I've found that when putting together a PUG, somehow I always seem to get 1 Zerg in the bunch. It can be very frustrating...

I don't necessarily need to look in every nook, however I have found that some people who Zerg haven't even seen whole parts of some of the quests because it doesn't have enough XP for them to care. I'm sure the developers who spend hours upon hours creating content would be sadly disappointed by this. I ask you to take your tune into one of the more elaborate quests with high ceiling and once in a while (not during a fight I might add) look up. Check out the attention to detail that the developers put in to make your experience richer. If you want to compare, check out the original Castle Wolfenstein game graphics and see how far we’ve come.

There are still so many quests that I have not done simply because I haven't the appropriate level yet or because I just haven't come across it. I don't want to just run through like my pants are on fire to reach the end as quick as possible. Well, that's not entirely true as I attempted WW on Hard with my 1 lvl Ftr / 2 lvl Wiz by myself and I did do a lot of running, mostly away from things... “That’ll learn me”

This past week I finally did Stormcleave twice and loved the quest. I first ran through with a Zerging Monk who had twice the kill count that I did. Very sad... The second time was with a more balanced party and I enjoyed that run much better. It pains me to watch a blue dot run off the map ahead of everyone and see kill after kill and chests being opened when we still haven't finished an earlier battle. THANKS DUDE!

I play on Thelanis which is both good and bad. There are a ton of players, sometimes too many. As a result the auction house is always full but the prices suffer as when you have (20) +3 Longswords available, don't expect to get top dollar for yours. On the flip side, if you are looking for something exotic you'll probably find it on auction quite often. It is also quite easy to put a PUG together as you’ll usually find a ton of players looking for a good party.

Back to the topic for a moment. I don't Zerg nor do I like people who do but I understand that if you have run the quest 20 times it might be tiresome to walk slowly through it again. I only wish that the quests would have more randomly generated content. The Zerging would probably stop.

~k~

Some of the problem you might be experiencing is that many times, LFM's are up for the 'popular' quests only: Waterworks, STK, Tangleroot. Then it continues to progress: Redwillow, Delara's, Gwaylen's, Stormcleave, Greymoon and Co6, Threnal. Then it's onto the Gianthold, then the Vale. Not so much fun, eh?

My advice would be to open up your master quest journal and sort by level. Pick stuff around your level and put up an LFM with a 'no zergers' comment. If someone zerg's - remind them of the no zerger comment. If they continue, recall out, drop them, and continue on. If you're at your level, with rare exception (like if you need a ruin popped), take six and go. It's a great way to see the quests that people pass over until they are way over level and come back looking for the favor. You'll accumulate your favor quite nicely as well. Also, with some hodgepodge groups (take six and go) you'll probably find the adventure more fun - as people are more willing to work together and come up with some creative solutions to overcome when there isn't a cleric around to wipe their nose or an arcane around to burn everything.

On the flip side, if you see an LFM up with a comment of "bring a barf bag," or something similar - know what you're getting into: a zergfest. If you're not in the mood, or just don't think you'll be comfortable - don't join. You'll be frustrated, the party leader will be frustrated and no one will have fun. Pop up your own LFM or do some slayer, etc.

Don't overlook the slayers. There are explorer areas with slayer for every level in the game. They pass the time nicely if you're waiting for a group and pack some really nice XP rewards.

[Frodo_Lives]

I personally don't power level but I do find that I can't get out of the harbor until I'm level 5 then STK on normal and hard and I'm level 6. Tangleroot a few times (the end rewards are just too good to pass up) and a few of the house quests and I'm level 7. A few more of the house quests and Delera's N/H/E, and boom you are level 8 well on your way to ninth. You don't have to power level or repeat a ton of quests to level quickly.

I play 9 characters who range from multiple capped guys to levels 5 and 6. That way I always have a group LFM doing something I want to do, and GH or the Vale doesn't become as stale as quickly because I'm only spending 1 or 2 nights out of 7 questing in that area.

I level as fast as I want, and as a new player I strongly encourage doing more than just the big xp or chain quests. Enjoy the game for what it is. You'll be 16th before you know it and believe me the most fun you can have in this game (IMO) is with content that is new to you and leveling up your first character. So enjoy the process and go at a pace that is comfortable for you.

[suitepotato]

Power level if you've already been through content. I've been from Goodblade to Flaming Chicken and all the lands from one to the other showed me nothing worth standing around at. Sorry devs, but as cool as the new 3BC is, there's nothing amazing to watch and once you hit all the explorers and rares, there's nothing new. The game has limited graphics, limited random sights to see, etc. If every so often one or more of several hundred random events not really related to any game or quest just occurred, just for visual amusement, it would be very very cool. Like pirates raiding 3BC or a kobolds streaking through the harbor for some sort of cult pledge drive. Maybe a city parade of NPCs complete with wagons and items tossed to the crowd. Or a sudden flock of birds. Just inane distractions for no real reason that you might see. That kind of thing is the chief reason for going slow for me. But since it doesn't happen, power level. Also, I get limited time to play and want to be powerful enough to have a decent chance of living. Lowbie toons get killed a lot solo and that's boring.

Note, this is not to say zerg. Get a group and just pound through some quests over and over till you hit XP ransack. Like Information is Key in the harbor. Find something you can rampage through and totally own. Excuse me, pwn. Zerging to me implies running into mobs and taking big chances.

Besides, if you go slow, you're still going to hit level cap LONG before you've gotten anywhere near max favor. There must be five or six times the content/XP as you need to hit level cap. For me, boring is being too low level to comfortably get the favor done solo, having to hope I can get an lfm together for stuff like those horrid House K quests no one likes or Spawn of Whisperdoom, or the Shadow Crypt quests which bite. Sure I'm level sixteen doing a level eight, but the level eight was designed around four to six level eights. One man is looking to get roughed up even at level sixteen but you at least got a shot with the right potions and weapons.

Rather be level sixteen than four.

[MrWizard]

I've been playing DDO for a few months now and love the game.

Been playing pen & paper for many years and recently joined the world of DDO after the release of Mod6.

My highest level tune is a Dwarven Barbarian that wields Holy and Pure Good Dwarven axes most of the time. Pure Killer!

I've watched other players take their tunes from level 1 to level 16 in the same amount of time it has taken me to bring my guy to level 7.

I'm not about Power Leveling but sometimes get frustrated running the same content over and over just to bring a tune to level 4 or 5. Seems like once you get to level 6 it's a slow progression from there.

What are some tips to get into the upper levels without Zerging through the quests?

Laz...

yes...do not repeat quests....ever. You will be doing them enough as you make new ones.

Learn more about the 'looking for members' and start your own group for the dungeons you want to do.
Use the 5 pointed star on the menu bar to bring up the adventures available.
Click on the word level so you can sort them by level.
Then try to do as many of each level as you can or want to.

put the lfm up for those dungeons. Say you want to do them at a medium pace, not zerg, not asleep, just keep moving and enjoy.
Most experienced players who join will respect that.
Don't spend all day doing all the optionals, save them for other characters so you do not get bored doing everything all the time and end up knowing everything.

Repeating dungeons may seem like good xp, but it is not. It is the slowest way to level and the least rewarding. The purpose is to enjoy and explore, so do that. IF you have to, do some dungeons normal-hard-elite, but for the most part try to just do hard and elite. A good group will survive and you will get xp and favor very quickly.

And this goes on for other higher level stuff too. Although normal runs are good, elite runs will bring more due to the favor.

There are more than enough people who want to do other dungeons. Unfortunately a lot fo them are really power leveling and will go through them pretty fast. As long as you stay near the front, it will still be fun for you. And you will level quick. Many times you will run a dungeon and only on the 4th or 5th toon will you be in the lead and finally enjoy it, it is a product of party play.

[Pellegro]

I'm not about Power Leveling but sometimes get frustrated running the same content over and over just to bring a tune to level 4 or 5. Seems like once you get to level 6 it's a slow progression from there.

What are some tips to get into the upper levels without Zerging through the quests?

Laz...

Run every quest at or above your level exactly 3 times - once on normal, once on hard, and once on elite.

Do not let anyone join the group who is above the level of the quest.

Take your time in the quest and get every optional, all trap bonuses, and breakable bonuses.

Don't die.

If you do those things you'll have a nice enjoyable run that is not a zergfest, you'll constantly be doing new content (and not getting bored), you'll be challenged (always at or below quest level), and you'll be getting max XP and favor to boot.

[sirgog]

Personally I powerlevel because I find high-level play more fun. (When I do powerlevel, I do the best XP quests at or near their level, I tend to do them three times on normal, then once on hard and once on elite).

But, during quiet times, I am more than happy to join a non-zerg group and respect the party's decision not to zerg.


I'd put your preferred style up in your LFMs whenever you make a group. So I'll tend to post LFMs like "Zerg till you can't zerg any more. Then zerg some more." or perhaps "Speedrun, be self-sufficient". I'd suggest you post ones like "All optionals, no zerging"