How viable is soloing at higher levels?

[Qaliya]

Hi all, haven't written in a while.

I mostly solo, both due to real life schedule and also personal preference (I like to do things my own way, take my time in quests, and I don't really like having to deal with others' demands). But I just hit level 10 and am noticing the difficulty level in quests increasing. I recently did a quest that I think was supposed to be level 8 or 9 and it had a beholder in it that killed me twice! I've also noticed a lot of the adventure packs at mid and higher levels contain raids that require large numbers of players.

Is it really viable to solo to level 20? Or will I miss out on a lot of quests/raids and better gear?

The same issue occurs to a lesser extent with guilds. I and a few people I know have formed a small guild and gotten it up to level 14. But we don't have any really experienced players, nor enough players to do raids. So I am wondering it if wouldn't make more sense to join a larger one?

Thanks. :)

[jandhaer]

Of course. Look at the accomplishments forums ANYTHING (and I do mean anything) in this game is soloable so with a little preperation, know how, gear and a non gimp build absolutely solo away. I have a necro focused wizard that is my go to toon for solo epic scroll farming thats been gearing out my harem of toons for me.

[Claransa]

Outdoor areas are your friend for soloing to 20, don't under estimate the XP you can get from them though i admit it gets boring slaying the same mobs over and over even with the rare chests you pick up along the way and you won't geared doing slayers but some nice stuff drops sometimes... i hear stories of bloodstone trinkets and spell storing rings out in the sands of menecharun (ok name butchered but i think you know the area i mean).

[BOgre]

First guilds: my guild is has all of 2 active members. Maybe someday it'll grow, but we're in no rush. We've made a couple friends from other guilds with whom we run quests occasionally. Pick-up-groups work just fine for most quests and even raids. Epics might be a different story... we'll see.

As to soloing, my guildy and I either solo or duo just about everything. Like I said above, occasionally we need help or a guide, and we then start a group or join one that's posted. Soloing is completely viable, especially if you make use of a cleric hireling. It does get tough at certain levels, depending on your build. Most, if not all builds have stretches in their leveling progress that are weaker than others. But if your build is solid, you should be able to make it past the rough patches. Things will get easier later on, or at least you should be more survivable. Look at DDOWiki.com, paying particular attention to unique loot that may help your build at this level. Also, make sure to play the Crystal Cove event. You should be able to make some nice pieces like a hat or armor or a weapon that will give you the extra boost you need to see you through the rough patches.

If you post your build and gear you'll probably get some advice here on what specifically you can do, quests to run for loot, etc...

[Zenako]

Virtually every quest in the game can be and has been soloed. A couple have mechanics that make it very hard, but with the introduction of hirelings, they become relatively trivial to solo, since most of those merely need 'bodies" to set off triggers to advance the quest.

Is it easy? No. Can just any build do it? Not really, since some quests REALLY benefit from having certain skill sets or abilities with the character. Even most raids have been soloed, but most of those require superior characters with excellent gear and deep pockets to afford lots of supplies and time. Frankly some of the hardest ones to solo are the timed quests, especially if you are doing those at level.

As for guilds, you and your friends should be able to get to level 25 without too much trouble. (I know my small family guild did it easily, while my other guild is in the mid 50's now. ) Joining a guild is first and foremost about play styles. If you are mostly a soloer that will not mesh well with many guilds, especially today. Some guilds spend way too much time on drama, some don't spend any. Its hard to know. IF you have a character that goes out and joins groups in the LFM or starts groups and you are a good player, you will generally get asked about joining a guild by others in that group (as long as you are unguilded at the time). Very few if any respectable guilds poach players in my experience, it is just poor manners. Another way to do it would be to actually try and grow you own guild by inviting other players to join your guild as you advance it. If you look at the lists on each server, there are litterly thousands of guilds around. NOONE knows everyone. There are tons of guilds that no one even sees much due to low levels of play or off hours styles and the fact they keep to themselves.

Guilds are what you make of them. Do not worry about joining one, you will not be missing out on all that much from a game play perspective, as long as you are also willing to join with groups.

[jandhaer]

also if you say what quests in particular your having problems with there are proven tactics that work and almost all the quests are even on youtube recorded as solo runs that you can look at to help you out.

[Mrmorphling]

I bet it's Cavern of Korromar due to the description of being lvl 8 and having a beholder :D.

It can be quite nasty for everyone the first time as you probably never encountered a red named beholder first so you are ill prepared to it.

Don't let this quest dicourage you, the final boss it's harder than usual and some classes are just not really optimized to fight beholder (At least at lower lvls)

As a general rule of thumb you'll be able to solo your way to 20 quite easily, just you won't be able to experience the whole game as a few of quests are really hard to solo and Raids in general are out of reach for a first life toon with no absurd twink ;)

If you'd post your build we could provide more tailored suggestions.

[Ryiah]

I bet it's Cavern of Korromar due to the description of being lvl 8 and having a beholder :D.

Level 8 or 9 also sounds like The Prisoner and Jungle of Khyber.

Mentioning CoK though reminds me of my attempt at elite favor farming and going into the quest with my level 20 rogue/wizard. I was pretty careless and got near a pile of undead while in Vampire form only to find out half of them were those Searing Light spamming wights. Died so fast. :p

[Zenako]

Possibly, but their are also beholders in many of the Threnal Quests, and those are even more likely at those levels, but I agree that CoK is the most likely, although the beholder encounter at the end is usually not the hardest fight in my opinion. The one after you pop out of the tunnels into the plaza with all the spawning undead is the one that generally gave me or groups I was with the most trouble.

[Qaliya]

Thanks for all the replies and advice, appreciate it! I do want to persist with my small guild, and to be honest, I can't really leave because my two sons are in it and they wouldn't be suitable for a large guild with intense players.

This is my first character and isn't "perfectly optimized" by any means, but I've been able to accumulate some cash and have decent equipment. It's now an 8/1/1 cleric/thief/figher focused on melee with buffing, using a cleric hireling for support pretty consistently and a summon. (I find the cleric offensive spells of level 4 and below rather underwhelming.) I'm a Radiant Servant which helps with undead stuff.

And yes, it was Korromar. I find the level ratings for quests in this game really inconsistent... I think the whole "this is challenging, balanced party recommended" concept is silly, just rate the quests based on a typical party and let people make their own judgments. I never really know what to expect... :)

BTW if anyone can advise on a quest I might be able to do at this level to get myself a good BtC/BtA weapon, that would be great. I bought a Bloody Cleaver and it seems pretty good, but maybe there's something better... Same with any other good items maybe I've overlooked? Thanks. :)

[GuntherBovine]

Is it really viable to solo to level 20? Or will I miss out on a lot of quests/raids and better gear?
Maybe and yes. I have been able to do quests at level while soloing through level 11 while playing most self-found. I have lots of advice on how to do it here (http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=320329). You will miss out on raids soloing and will consequently not have as good of gear, but you will get good gear on other quests.

As for defeating the boss Beholder in the Cavern of Korromar, there are two ways to do it depending on your build. If you are a Wizard or Sorcerer, jump down after throwing the switch, cast Superior Inferno, sneak over to where you can see the Beholder, cast a maximized Firewall, dodged behind the doorway and wait for the Beholder to die. If you are a melee, get a bunch of arrows, hide to the side of the doorway, move into the doorway to shoot the Beholder, move to the other side. Repeat many, many times. Either way, it is good idea to hire a level 9+ cleric and park him/her at the end of the tunnel so that you can be rezzed if things go badly.


The same issue occurs to a lesser extent with guilds. I and a few people I know have formed a small guild and gotten it up to level 14. But we don't have any really experienced players, nor enough players to do raids. So I am wondering it if wouldn't make more sense to join a larger one?
Big guilds have powerful guild ship buffs that effectively twink your toon. If you are having a tough time doing quests, than getting buffed at a big guild boat will make the game more fun. Personally, I avoid the East button and have my own guild, which has no boat buffs.

[fyrst.grok]

Level 8 or 9 also sounds like The Prisoner and Jungle of Khyber.

Mentioning CoK though reminds me of my attempt at elite favor farming and going into the quest with my level 20 rogue/wizard. I was pretty careless and got near a pile of undead while in Vampire form only to find out half of them were those Searing Light spamming wights. Died so fast. :p

Lol.. I died on my level 20 in swiped signet.. Kept getting sleetstormed, nothing I could do.. Felt pretty stupid :p
My friend did more or less the same thing on his battlecleric in CoK.. Was talking to me at the time telling me how awesome his little dwarf were just to interupt himself with a 'oh f*** .. Dude.. I need help'
He had a nack for famous last words tho.. Good times..

Enough derailing.. Yes you can solo even most raids, but it's more fun to run with a friend. :)

Don't think anyone ever soloed evon5/6?

[DevHead]

See the toon in my sig? She solo'd to 20 and was there for a while until I joined FI. :D

[Istaria1]

See the toon in my sig?

Eh, no - you don't have a sig :) I'd like to look tho if you could provide a char link? :)

Thanks :)

[Buggss]

I tend to find the toons that make it hardest to solo are straight no umd meleers like fighters and barbs. As said above with the the introduction of hirelings and a degree of strategy and luck they alleviate most of the problems assuming they follow the instructions you give them and they stay away from the lava or walk out of the trap they're waiting inside of.

They still need programming tweeks :D.

[EustaceTrevelyan]

yeah, the Cove is gold. I didn't farm it like i should've the first time, either for the cash or the items, and had to really grind the little bit of encore they gave. Lots of really nice things, some of which are BTC (the hats). Mabar at halloween is another must have, the cloak if nothing else for all characters, and the wraps for monks.

[Zenako]

Thanks for all the replies and advice, appreciate it! I do want to persist with my small guild, and to be honest, I can't really leave because my two sons are in it and they wouldn't be suitable for a large guild with intense players.

Makes sense. You can get a viable boat (which I am sure your sons will be keen on) at only level 20 guild and then you can stock it with a few features and buffs that will make your characters just slightly better. Those all can be had with just in game gold, no Turbine Points needed. Higher level boats start to cost Astral Diamonds and while they can be found in Game, I have found more Bloodstones than those things.



This is my first character and isn't "perfectly optimized" by any means, but I've been able to accumulate some cash and have decent equipment. It's now an 8/1/1 cleric/thief/figher focused on melee with buffing, using a cleric hireling for support pretty consistently and a summon. (I find the cleric offensive spells of level 4 and below rather underwhelming.) I'm a Radiant Servant which helps with undead stuff.

Cleric/Thief(aka Rogue)/Fighter is fine as an all around member and support toon. Depending on how you go with armor you should seriously consider getting a second level of rogue very soon. As long as you are in light armor, you get EVASION and that can be a HUGE benefit in many encounters and even more so as you get into the quests in your level range. (I would hope your next two levels would be cleric (to get to 9th and the ability to Raise Dead) and then Rogue.



And yes, it was Korromar. I find the level ratings for quests in this game really inconsistent... I think the whole "this is challenging, balanced party recommended" concept is silly, just rate the quests based on a typical party and let people make their own judgments. I never really know what to expect... :)

The whole challenge ratings on quests has been weak since day 1. In fact many many quests are in actual gameplay MUCH harder to run on Hard Setting than on ELITE setting for one simple reason. The spell selection of the enemy casters changes. In the Harbor for example, on HARD the enemy often casts HOLD PERSON at the characters. In a small group or solo, that can be pretty deadly (although no where near where it used to be. They have made the save intervals to break free from those spells dramatically shorter for both characters and mobs. It used to be a virtual death sentence to get HELD.!) While on ELITE settings those same casters are tossing fire or lightning spells at you which can be all but negated with potions or spells in most cases. (Or Evaded) I did a thread once on this whole topic, and how many of the quests came from the Land of Lake Woebegone, where EVERY Quest was harder than average???? The language used by the quest builders does not match up well with average experiences in play.

A couple of things you could do to get some insight into the hazards. One is almost in character and in game is to just ask in GENERAL Chat if anyone has advice about Quest X? This would be like a character talking in a Bar and asking if anyone in the Bar had ever been to the nasty cave up on the mountain, you had heard there was a fortune to be made for anyone brave enough to explore it. I am sure you will get some useful feedback (and alas some not so useful stuff as well.) The other way is to check the various online sources, Compendium and Wiki's for hints. Depending on how much you like spoilers, you can skim them or read them closely.



BTW if anyone can advise on a quest I might be able to do at this level to get myself a good BtC/BtA weapon, that would be great. I bought a Bloody Cleaver and it seems pretty good, but maybe there's something better... Same with any other good items maybe I've overlooked? Thanks. :)

Well for some good "twinkish" items at the level range you are in. hmmmm. Most of the "overpowered" stuff is for lower level characters, ie the weapons from the Sharn Syndicate Quest are nice. Delara's Graveyard has a nice Greataxe that can often be in the end reward. (It is deceiving in its appearance, but the added Crit Range is actually a huge boost in damage output!). At level 10ish, this is the point where special weapons like Disrupters, Paralyzers, Smiters start to be able to be used (Most have level 10 minimums to use, unless race restricted) and those generally are random drops, so you cannot just work at them.

There are some nice items in the Red Fens quests for someone without a lot of preexisting gear. To be honest there is no one best place for everything. The Phiarlan Carnival series has a few good items too.

Best way is to probably quest a lot and keep your eyes out for nice weapons. The game frequently runs the RISIA Ice festival in the Harbor and it is pretty easy to get enough booty from playing with it to add in some Frost Damage effects to a non named weapon. So for example. I have a low level melee weapon for my 4th level types. A +1 Acid Quarterstaff or Pure Good (and now Frost) on it. Great at low levels, but not at high levels.

Frankly if you do the math, many many builds are better off using a simple +5 weapon with no features on it than something with extra damage and only +1 to hit. Those elemental damage features look cool when they happen, but you also need to actually hit the foe for them to matter. Low AC foes, not an issue. High AC foes, it can really matter.

You can also get some nice weapons off of the Auction House. But how can a new player afford them. Fairly easy, look into some of the various collectibles that drop when you break things. Some of them are highly useful in certain recipes and many many players with far more Plat than time pay highly for them. Sell a few good Dusts or Mushrooms or whatnot and you can be start buying up some decent stuff.

[Qaliya]

Thanks for the detailed reply, Zenako.

I knew the beholder was there... they set it up so you can see it well before you can fight it. I had a death ward item but the first time it killed me fast. Went all the way back, this time I got it almost dead before it got me. (My hireling was too stupid to help much here.) In fact, it was so close to dead I killed it with a single arrow the third time in. :)

I don't like "grinding" quests but did the Delera chain twice trying to get that axe, no dice so far. :) Did get the manacles which are nice.

I'm working on Red Fens, but that last quest has me a bit worried. :)

And I have found that at this level I do seem to be better off with straight +5 weapons so far. The Bloody Cleaver though seems like a good find, I'm going to give that a try. I also got a relatively cheap +1 holy greatsword of greater human bane, which I'm thinking could be good in quests with evil humans.

Nice Lake Woebegone reference. :)

I was not planning to get a second rogue level. Evasion is tempting, but I use heavy armor and I am already feeling "behind the curve" with respect to my spellcasting.

[BOgre]

Well, unless you are building specifically towards Armor, you are now coming up to the point where it becomes nearly useless. That rog level is 'almost' going to waste as is, I'd strongly consider another level in rog for evasion, and start looking for robes/outfits that benefit your caster more than that heavy junk. A good set of robes with various effects on them can be a GREAT boon to a caster, without all the negatives of heavy armor.

[Zenako]

You're welcome.

One important trick I hope you are using a lot is Summoned Monsters. They have tons of HP (compared to characters) and will generally get the attention and focus of the enemies for a while, giving you a number of "free shots" at the main threat. It takes some time to learn which summon option might be best for which mobs you want to deal with, but any character class that can use a summons spell should have at least ONE of them memorized for use. Even the 1st level Celestial Dog can be useful in mid level quests. It sucks up enemy attacks, can give you a flanking bonus to hit (and possibly damage too) while it lives. Much better for it to take a couple hundred points of damage than for you to.

There are also some reasonably nice end rewards with summon critter effects on them from Tangleroot and STK quest chains. I often end up with one of those items on my non caster types, for just this purpose in big fights.

[Kmnh]

A lot of the difficulty and fun of this game is finding and bringing the right equipment to the quests.

That beholder would have failed if you had this: http://ddowiki.com/page/Mantle_of_the_Worldshaper

It would block his antimagic effect and the first few spells, which is likely enough time to kill it :)



Oh, and most quests are soloable. It's not even that hard. It will take the right equipment (which is usually cheap and easy to find), a good strategy, a few tries and nice stacks of consumables :)

[somenewnoob]

A lot of the difficulty and fun of this game is finding and bringing the right equipment to the quests.

That beholder would have failed if you had this: http://ddowiki.com/page/Mantle_of_the_Worldshaper

It would block his antimagic effect and the first few spells, which is likely enough time to kill it :)



Oh, and most quests are soloable. It's not even that hard. It will take the right equipment (which is usually cheap and easy to find), a good strategy, a few tries and nice stacks of consumables :)

The mantle combined with the 3rd upgrade silver flame trinket is what I use for beholders. Usually it's dead by the time both are drained of charges.

As a pure fighter with no umd, I take a cleric hireling with me when I solo (Good old Haystack Ironhorse is my favorite, lv 18 cleric). I've found that there are some quests that are much easier to colo than others, I can solo some level 18,19 quests but not 16 in some cases. It jsut really depends on the build and the quest, some classes solo some content more easily than others. But even at higher levels soloing IS viable.

[pSINNa]

This thread reminded me of this old chestnut (i do solo quite a bit myself when i'm not duoing with my TR levelling mate, but this is classic funny stuff :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9dDBrxAySA

Enjoy, Coit out~

[aennae]

This beholder is nasty, first he debuf you, second he may put you in some anti magic cone (prevents casting), last desintegrate will kill you if you have less than 200hp if you fail a reflex save.

May be one can kite him or swarm him with pet or kill him from far with rays, they probably easy for melee type and bad for clerics (since our bufs are useless against them).

Be cautious with players achievments. A brief look at the proposed build page show that many have access to 32 build, 6 +2 tomes, some even use past life (reincarnation) and they often assume gear that you are unlikely to have.

Moreover reading at the strategy/method you will see that most use a large number of consumables. As example some consider that drinking barkskin, heroism, ardor potion is natural and free. Many do have use magic device skill and spam cure wands etc ....

If you are like me new, spending 2000pp to solo an instance is not really a long term solution.

On the top of that veteran have huge advatages :

- They know what is going too happen next, so they can be pro-actives.
this mean using the good resistance potions or spells, the good weapon (undead bane, ghost touch, metaline, anti beholder, lawful, chaotic ...)

- They know how to kite/split mobs etc ...

On the top of that their "build" is usually very well done.

As a newplayer the best is to read builds and see what you should do/have done and to do the zone in casual mode when you fail on normal.

[Qaliya]

Well, unless you are building specifically towards Armor, you are now coming up to the point where it becomes nearly useless. That rog level is 'almost' going to waste as is, I'd strongly consider another level in rog for evasion, and start looking for robes/outfits that benefit your caster more than that heavy junk. A good set of robes with various effects on them can be a GREAT boon to a caster, without all the negatives of heavy armor.
I do keep an eye out for robes and so forth, but as a meleeing cleric, I do find the heavy armor useful. It's currently +2 adamantine with light fortification and lightning guard. The guarding is like free damage, and I do notice when I use lesser armor.

Not sure what the negatives are of heavy armor for a character like this.

I do want to get that mantle, but Threnal seemed a bit daunting a level or two ago.

Zenako, I nearly always have a summon and a hireling. I also have Augment Summoning, which seems to help a fair bit, and I use Roderic's Wand frequently. ;) Those summons are starting to get a bit "stale" though. I do laugh when a quest boss runs for my wimpy summon so I can wail away on him.

[somenewnoob]

I do keep an eye out for robes and so forth, but as a meleeing cleric, I do find the heavy armor useful. It's currently +2 adamantine with light fortification and lightning guard. The guarding is like free damage, and I do notice when I use lesser armor.

Not sure what the negatives are of heavy armor for a character like this.

I do want to get that mantle, but Threnal seemed a bit daunting a level or two ago.

Zenako, I nearly always have a summon and a hireling. I also have Augment Summoning, which seems to help a fair bit, and I use Roderic's Wand frequently. ;) Those summons are starting to get a bit "stale" though. I do laugh when a quest boss runs for my wimpy summon so I can wail away on him.

The only downside of heavy armor is at higher levels when AC gets to be pretty useless, a lot of people like to wear robes because you can switch them fast.

I still wear full plate at level 20 on my fighter, mostly for the DR it has on it (mine has 5 dr/-. As you gain levels things like dusk and blur (give a % miss chance) and damage reduction are what you should focus on more than AC. You've got adamantine which does give some DR which is good. To my knowledge the best dr on any armor is 5, though I could be mistaken.

[Zenako]

Plate of the Giants (DR5/-) is about the nicest one "readily" available. My capped cleric wore it up until recently and only swapped to a EPIC plate from CC event which had some other kickers.

The other factor in the utility of armor are the settings you run at. It appears you are probably running mostly on normal settings, and in that case AC is much more meaningful and possible to maintain at significant levels. it is on hard and Elite that it becomes a lot of challenge since those mobs have a lot higher to hit bonuses. Simple example. On Normal the AC you have might make the enemy miss you 40% of the time, while running the same quest on Elite they only miss you on "1's" which auto miss since the monsters have added something like +10 to their to hit base line bonus.

Armor can mitigate damage in a number of ways and having DR is a VERY GOOD way to help.

[aennae]

My cleric is 10 and i really suffer much more than till 8-9, mob really hit a lot more now.

One of the reason is the rather low qualty of my plate and of my shield but both have nice side-effect (heal buf, dps buf fearsome, 3 chance over 4 to avoid crits). The other is that except for tanks (who probably get enhancements) AC do not scales up well. And if level 20 clerics go in robe there must be a reason, believe me they are not stupids and have been around for long enough to know what works and what does not.

Heavy amor penalties are many : Balance malus, sneak malus, jump malus, and many more.

I Currently wear a mithral plate (with reduced malus) and love it.

[somenewnoob]

Plate of the Giants (DR5/-) is about the nicest one "readily" available. My capped cleric wore it up until recently and only swapped to a EPIC plate from CC event which had some other kickers.


That's what I'm wearing right now, and what I'm planning on getting when cove comes back!

So you might try running Tempest Spine a few times to try to pull FP of Giants, I think I got one in about 15-16 runs of it. You can also buy off the AH since it's not bound, but it might be out of your price range. Tempest is free to play with no timer so it's possible to make a run every day without ransacking the chests.

Also, when cove comes back the cavalry plate is pretty nice, even the non epic versions, I wore the level 8 cavalry plate up until the time I pulled my full plate of giants.

All in all, I'm a big fan of wearing heavy armor if you can, swapping robes out is nice, but the DR from some armor is also a nice thing to have. With dr 5/- if you get hit twenty times you just took a HUNDRED less damage from being hit. That's not insignificant.

[EllisDee37]

BTW if anyone can advise on a quest I might be able to do at this level to get myself a good BtC/BtA weapon, that would be great. I bought a Bloody Cleaver and it seems pretty good, but maybe there's something better... Same with any other good items maybe I've overlooked? Thanks. :)I went from Carnifex to Bloody Cleaver at level 11, then upgraded the cleaver to Vampiric Cleaver around level 14 and used it to get to 20 and farm the Shroud for greensteel. It's a little gimp at level 20 but whatever, it's a good survivability weapon. Until I finish my lit2 falchion it's good enough. (As a pally I need the crit range of falchions.)

[Eilierie]

first quest EVERY toon should do when they get to lvl 9 - RELIC OF SOVEREIGN PAST

http://ddowiki.com/page/Nightforge_Gorget

there is no excuse not to have this :)

[learst]

Thanks for the detailed reply, Zenako.

I knew the beholder was there... they set it up so you can see it well before you can fight it. I had a death ward item but the first time it killed me fast. Went all the way back, this time I got it almost dead before it got me. (My hireling was too stupid to help much here.) In fact, it was so close to dead I killed it with a single arrow the third time in. :)


Did you know each beholder stalk fires different spell/effects. And that the firing is dependent on your location from the beholder? I remember reading a wonderful thread about it. Lemme try my forum search-fu skills.

Ah, here it is:
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=151041&highlight=beholder

Edit:
For armour, I find this quite useful up to lvl 15. Though it's not exactly heavy armour.
http://ddowiki.com/page/Elemental_Mithral_Breastplate

[Faent]

I knew the beholder was there... they set it up so you can see it well before you can fight it. I had a death ward item but the first time it killed me fast.

I hope you mean Deathblock. Beholder's dispel Deathward.

Since you're soloing, you'll want to make sure you have a few items. A Planar Gird or two from farming Xorian Cipher will come in handy. Use Heroism, Rage, Haste and Lesser Restoration potions. Grab Detect Secret Door clickies.

UMD is huge on a toon that wants to solo. Being able to UMD low-level spells like Nightshield and Invisibility is invaluable, and it doesn't require a high UMD. You can also find Invisibility clickies and get a Nightshield Clickie by turning in a Silver Flame Talisman from the Necropolis. You'll want one of those Silver Flame Talismans too. They're incredibly valuable when dealing with Beholders.

A nice soloing tool can be found at the end of the Waterworks chain. It's the Melt Wood Staff.

As you progress, you'll find that you need to have the right tools for the job. It is unlikely that on a first life toon, you'll be able to solo much past Vale without a lot of frustration. Amrath will prove incredibly difficult. All of these quests can be soloed, however, and you should have no problem getting to cap soloing, since they are not required for that.

[Jeremiah179]

This may perhaps be frowned upon as unfair play.... but when I solo'd many quests on elite and close to or at level...

Instead of disarming traps, I used them and led the mob boss's and other mob to them to die. I would park my hireling on the other side of trap, a little ways off to heal me if I got hurt a bit much from literally playing with fire...or whatever it was. Often, I was barely able to defend myself long enough, but I guarantee that those elite traps do more damage than your average lvl 10 character!

On Elite you can get better exp and more exciting loot - which may help grinding some levels a little less painful.

Happy Hunting!

[aennae]

Btw any advice on what quest could give me a cool shield or armor as an 11 cleric?

[EllisDee37]

Btw any advice on what quest could give me a cool shield or armor as an 11 cleric?I love cannith crafting for cleric shields. Specifically:

Efficient Metamagic: Empower Healing of Healing Lore


If you can't craft tier 2 for both effects (check the ML in the shard-attaching machine before finalizing your recipe) then ask in the crafting hall if any high level crafters would make them for you in unbound form. That's what I did, and I love it.