TR general advice

[Vindraxx]

I just returned this past week to DDO after about a year break and with the hopes to TR my first character. The biggest challenge I am currently facing is my lack of DDO knowledge, having only played one character (cleric) to level 20 and then stopping without experiencing much end game at all. When I leveled him about a year ago the friends I played with got their characters around 16-18 and stopped playing which left me little motivation to continue.

[/backstory off]

So as it stands now I have my level 20 cleric (which is a 28 point build) and no other characters above level 10. I was hoping to replay through the content of the game so TR'ing is appealing to me (also to grow my character in strength). However, I don't have any greensteel items crafted or twink gear ready for another go around. What sort of advice/suggestions do those experienced TR'ers have for me?

Is there end game content I should definitely farm on my cleric that would help me immensely in a second go around?

Should I start a new character and leave my 28 point cleric at cap?

How hard is it to farm epic dungeon tokens? What is the easiest way to do this (I only have a handful of fragments left over from last year)?

Any other tips/suggestions?

I am hoping to start a multiple TR caster so I am thinking Wizard would be a good option for the next go around.

[baronlager]

Others will have a lot of suggestions. I would say two things. Try to get your greensteel items crafted from Shroud raids. As a level 20 healer, people will want you in their groups. I would actually try to get your 20 shroud runs in before even considering TR'ing. Second, run up another toon to level 17 or 18 before you TR. That way you get to keep doing high-end content while you start running your TR through his/her second life. (Also, to the extent you are running Pug Shrouds, see if you like the play-style of others. If you aren't currently in a guild, try to find one that fits you. Having other like-minded players to run with makes this game fun and makes the leveling process that much easier.)

[wax_on_wax_off]

Cleric PL is a decent addition to any casting character.

Farming easy to moderate raids like DQ, Reavers Fate, Shroud, VoD, HoX can get some really excellent twink gear that can be equipped in the level 11 to 13 range that can make a huge difference to a TR.

If your cleric is a reasonably optimal build then there is no reason not to leave him at cap and use him as a farming character.

Farming tokens just got a lot harder with the easy tokens from partycrashers and big top being made a bit harder, I'm not sure where the easiest tokens come from now.

[augie]

There are quite a few threads regarding good TR gear to look at before resetting back to level 1.

If you're going warforged (also recommended for ease of leveling) pick up a Morleth Docent to use until level 5 and then a Bladesmark Docent after that until you find a better docent, whether it be a Gianthold one or random loot one. Chrono gear, Red Fens gear, Lordsmarch gear, Amrath gear... there's just too much to list nowadays.

Equipment aside, if you're planning to do multiple wizard TR's, I would recommend taking one or two levels of rogue for leveling purposes so you can disable traps for additional bonuses. Don't bother eating any tomes (unless you have a surplus of them laying around or really need them for a feat pre-req) since you're just gonna lose them once you TR again. Once you're in your last TR, then gobble those tomes.

It's nice to have at least one high-level guy just to be able to run Shroud and farm those ingredients and epic items. All your call. Although I'd highly recommend keeping him at 20 and cap an alt or two to take your clerics place before finally TR'ing him.

[Fejj]

Is there end game content I should definitely farm on my cleric that would help me immensely in a second go around?

Shroud Shroud Shroud .... Nothing can compare to ML 11,12 GreenSteel


Should I start a new character and leave my 28 point cleric at cap?

It really depends on what you like to do. Personally, I would cap another toon while gearing up my "main". Then TR


How hard is it to farm epic dungeon tokens? What is the easiest way to do this (I only have a handful of fragments left over from last year)?

Its hard running solo on an ungeared, unknowledgeable first lifer
Easy in a semi competent group.
Carnival and Redfens are your easiest epics, and are easy to find groups for. Epic raids just a real bump in difficulty, I would avoid running them as a "main healer" for now. Until you have more experience.


Any other tips/suggestions?

House P trinket of time (with favor) - amazing for a TR


I am hoping to start a multiple TR caster so I am thinking Wizard would be a good option for the next go around.

Sure, the wizard past life is the most coveted in the game currently. Great choice to start off with.


Good luck, don't rush it, and I hope I helped a little.

[Vindraxx]

Thanks for all the suggestions thusfar! I did find a nice small guild on Khyber which has been very helpful (got me some CC epics and ran me through shroud). I'll look into capping my WF Favored Soul for now while I farm up some more on my Cleric.

I was planning on grouping for getting the epic tokens, I don't imagine I can get them on my own (While a competent player, I definitely need more difficult group setting experience and to get readjusted to DDO controls). Thanks again all, any other tips (or threads I should read) feel free to send them my way.

[Chilldude]

Thanks for all the suggestions thusfar! I did find a nice small guild on Khyber which has been very helpful (got me some CC epics and ran me through shroud). I'll look into capping my WF Favored Soul for now while I farm up some more on my Cleric.

I was planning on grouping for getting the epic tokens, I don't imagine I can get them on my own (While a competent player, I definitely need more difficult group setting experience and to get readjusted to DDO controls). Thanks again all, any other tips (or threads I should read) feel free to send them my way.

The others have given solid advice. However, I was facing the exact same decision as you are and I went a different route than they suggested. My capped barbarian, being my first toon, was less than optimal. I ran a few shrouds but found it to be a huge grind, it seemed like I had a bunch of greensteel mats, but when I went to make something I quickly found out I didn't have nearly enough. I bought a druidic heart from the store and started over.

My reasoning was that I made it to cap once, on a less than optimal toon, without much problem at all. This time around I would have the benefit of all the experience I gained in the past, plus a fat stack of weapons I'd accumulated over the past life. I'm not in to grinding at all, not a bit. I like to just play the game and let the chips fall where they may, so I was actually looking forward to the next life anyway, and even looking forward to getting to spend more time at each level, something most people dread.

I TR'd as a rogue, a build of my own design. A two handed fighter using the array of weaponry from my past life. I maxed STR and INT and am following a sort of barbarian approach to roguery. I run in right behind the melee and cleave for massive damage. In short, I'm having a blast, and my character is awesome. I'm almost always in first place on kills, not that that matters, I'm just throwing that out there so you can see you can be powerful without greensteel. I even got most kills in a Tempest Spine run which really surprised me since there were a couple barbarians, casters, and TRs in the group. Having a much better understanding of the mechanics of the game have simply made me a much better player this time around.

So I think the decision to grind out gear or TR is more up to what you enjoy doing. If you like questing, go for the TR, you'll be back at 20 before you know it. If you don't like questing, grind out some gear to make the return trip faster.

[Lehmu]

Here's my 2cp:

Keep your options open. Try doing all the stuff you can do at cap. Run a few raids, dip your toes in epic quests. Who knows, if you like them, you'll regret TR'ing if it means you can't run them anymore.

If you feel like leveling a character, make an alt. Try out a new class. If you like it, you'll have fun playing it. If you don't like it, you can just delete it and make another. On the other hand, if you TR, you'll either have to drag yourself back to cap playing something you don't like, or abandon the character and giving up on the time spent capping your cleric the first time around. As an added bonus, trying out a new class gives you an idea of how they play and what you can expect from them even if you don't like to play one yourself.

There's not a huge difference between a single TR'd character without twink gear and a fresh character without twink gear. In my opinion, the reason TR'd characters are so much easier to play is that most of them have dozens or even hundreds of raid completions under their belt, and have farmed the raidloot that makes most of the content into a cakewalk. That said, TR'ing without grinding some shiny toys for your next life will make your next life play out much the same way as your first life (well, besides maybe having a different class and requiring more xp.)

[Daine]

My first TR was way too soon, I basically hit 20 then bam, back to level 1. I thought I was prepared, had 300,000 plat, thought that was a lot of money! I had one GS item and a lot of what I thought at the time were good weapons. Basically because I finally understood how to play a fighter I figured gear wasn't too important. I get it now, master your class AND get your gear; until you're fully geared up and can meet others expectations of your class role don't deviate too far from the core of your class.

Just a couple of weeks or most a likely a month (I'm not the best grinder) would have made a world of difference to my first TR experience. Gear plus experience is the key.

Oh and run some epic at level 20, just so you know what everyone is talking about otherwise you'll be wondering the whole way back up to 20!