State of the Game and Coming back

[WuChildNZ]

Hi guys. Its been a while since Ive actially played this game - 3 years to be exact. As I can see, its changed a lot and theres lots of new things. Im trying to find a good dps build perferably drow or human. Im still a noob as Im still trying to figure out how to build my toons properly. Anyways what is The endgame like now? How have players modified their toons to suit the new endgame? Do people just TR? Im still confused to why players would reincarnate when they have max level toon. Im also of thinking going VIP. What is the fastest leveling route in this game?

[Guanmagi-1]

Endgame consists of buying a heart and reincarnating.

[unbongwah]

True Reincarnation is all about accumulating extra stat pts and past life feats to make your build moar powerful. For better or for worse, the latest update made TRing more complicated (http://ddowiki.com/page/Reincarnation).

As you can see there have been a lot of changes in the last 3 years, but apart from all the new content (inc. the Forgotten Realms since last summer), I'd say the two biggest changes were (A) the addition of Epic Destinies (http://ddowiki.com/page/Epic_Destinies), which really boost your character in epic levels; and (B) the Enhancement overhaul (http://ddowiki.com/page/Enhancements) which radically changed a lot of classes and how we build them.

[WuChildNZ]

Endgame consists of buying a heart and reincarnating.
That's not that helpful.

I was wondering why do people even reincarnate? I was looking at builds and I've asked about them an d some people say that they are out of date. What do people mean by that? I know that end game content has changed and there are epic destinies. If I played a toon till level 20, could I reincarnate into iconic hero? Just curious. There seems to be a few builds that don't inlcude monk. What builds are effective now?

[Teh_Ghoul]

That's not that helpful.

I was wondering why do people even reincarnate? I was looking at builds and I've asked about them an d some people say that they are out of date. What do people mean by that? I know that end game content has changed and there are epic destinies. If I played a toon till level 20, could I reincarnate into iconic hero? Just curious. There seems to be a few builds that don't inlcude monk. What builds are effective now?

People reincarnate because there are no more raids being run on a regular basis. Regular quest gear drops faster than with the seal/shard/scroll system. So by the time you get to 28 there is really nothing to do after maybe a week or two.

[WuChildNZ]

People reincarnate because there are no more raids being run on a regular basis. Regular quest gear drops faster than with the seal/shard/scroll system. So by the time you get to 28 there is really nothing to do after maybe a week or two.

Oh ok. I was wondering if I should put money into this game but it doesnt seem it's worth it. I really like the game and all but not when theres nothing to do at the end.

[voodoogroves]

Oh ok. I was wondering if I should put money into this game but it doesnt seem it's worth it. I really like the game and all but not when theres nothing to do at the end.

Reincarnate is a gap-feature - as they expand and raise the level cap there is far less to do. Reincarnating lets you take a character you ran all the way from 1 to the level cap back to level 1 and start again stronger, with your old gear available as you level up to it's minimum level. You get some extra stat points and special abilities. Some will tell you that to be the "best" at somethings you need to reincarnate a few times anyway.

There isn't quite "nothing" to do, but a great many people are reincarnating in the interim.

Good for you, it is possible to play with zero cash - and decide if you want to toss some $ into it later.

[Braegan]

Oh ok. I was wondering if I should put money into this game but it doesnt seem it's worth it. I really like the game and all but not when theres nothing to do at the end.

Well if you haven't played in almost 3 years, there is alot of content at the end of the spectrum that you haven't done. You could easily play catch up and when you are nearly there that should bring you to mid next year when there are supposed to be 2 new high level raids added.

Also, while raiding is down, it isnt quite as dead as alot make it seem. Sure raid trains don't exist quite like they used to at all, but during the course of any given day on a smaller server quite a few raids get posted and run daily. Heck, I even saw 3 CITW alone today in the span of two hours post, fill and go...and they said the box was going to kill that raid.

Take forum posting with a grain of salt.

[WuChildNZ]

Reincarnate is a gap-feature - as they expand and raise the level cap there is far less to do. Reincarnating lets you take a character you ran all the way from 1 to the level cap back to level 1 and start again stronger, with your old gear available as you level up to it's minimum level. You get some extra stat points and special abilities. Some will tell you that to be the "best" at somethings you need to reincarnate a few times anyway.


So from my understanding, reincarnation is just people seem to be doing to get stronger. Is there a recommended number of times a player should reincarnate?


Well if you haven't played in almost 3 years, there is alot of content at the end of the spectrum that you haven't done. You could easily play catch up and when you are nearly there that should bring you to mid next year when there are supposed to be 2 new high level raids added.

Also, while raiding is down, it isnt quite as dead as alot make it seem. Sure raid trains don't exist quite like they used to at all, but during the course of any given day on a smaller server quite a few raids get posted and run daily. Heck, I even saw 3 CITW alone today in the span of two hours post, fill and go...and they said the box was going to kill that raid.

Take forum posting with a grain of salt.

What are players usually doing now after they have gotten up to level 28? Do they get that high and then reincarnate to make a stronger and better toon?

[Braegan]

So from my understanding, reincarnation is just people seem to be doing to get stronger. Is there a recommended number of times a player should reincarnate?



What are players usually doing now after they have gotten up to level 28? Do they get that high and then reincarnate to make a stronger and better toon?

A sweet spot for recommending number of times for reincarnation is 3 for most builds to unlock 36 points. A caster trying to achieve meaningful DCs and Spell Pen might go more.

Depends on the player really. I have a couple characters, so most stay at 28 and raid, loot, etc and I'll rotate one around to TR. ETR being out now gives another option where you reincarnate 20 to 28, instead of 1-28. Offers different bonuses then heroic tring of course.

Honestly, if I were you and thinking of coming back, I would prolly VIP for a month and see for yourself if the game has changed in a way you find fun. For me it has, or I wouldn't still be here.

[WuChildNZ]

A sweet spot for recommending number of times for reincarnation is 3 for most builds to unlock 36 points. A caster trying to achieve meaningful DCs and Spell Pen might go more.

Depends on the player really. I have a couple characters, so most stay at 28 and raid, loot, etc and I'll rotate one around to TR. ETR being out now gives another option where you reincarnate 20 to 28, instead of 1-28. Offers different bonuses then heroic tring of course.

Honestly, if I were you and thinking of coming back, I would prolly VIP for a month and see for yourself if the game has changed in a way you find fun. For me it has, or I wouldn't still be here.

Oh, now I see. Im thinking about TR'ing, sounds like its got a purpose to it. Yes, I am going to get VIP to see what its like. But what builds do people tend to go for after they TR'ed a few?

[Braegan]

Oh, now I see. Im thinking about TR'ing, sounds like its got a purpose to it. Yes, I am going to get VIP to see what its like. But what builds do people tend to go for after they TR'ed a few?

Most folks I've seen that play in harder content will gravitate towards builds that do alot of damage, have a way to self heal, and have at least decent saves.

Really depends on if you want to melee, range, spell cast, etc. Their are options that are quite viable for each. Well DC casters are a bit in a tough spot atm, but DC casting has always had it's ups and downs.

[AbyssalMage]

A sweet spot for recommending number of times for reincarnation is 3 for most builds to unlock 36 points. A caster trying to achieve meaningful DCs and Spell Pen might go more.
This ^

People who are doing the min/max thing will do more of course. DC casters will do 9+ lives.

Others do enough to unlock 36 point builds and only change when they become unhappy (or bored).

[ycheese123]

Hi guys. Its been a while since Ive actially played this game - 3 years to be exact. As I can see, its changed a lot and theres lots of new things. Im trying to find a good dps build perferably drow or human. Im still a noob as Im still trying to figure out how to build my toons properly. Anyways what is The endgame like now? How have players modified their toons to suit the new endgame? Do people just TR? Im still confused to why players would reincarnate when they have max level toon. Im also of thinking going VIP. What is the fastest leveling route in this game?

Human enhancements are nice with action boosts/surges, and heal amp line. Do you have only F2P classes? End game.. I dunno really. I've always been a person who raided mostly. You could get to 20 and heroic TR, or you could get to 28 and Epic TR and build a strong character for new epic content. See: Rowan's letter (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/431908) on the plans for the game in 2014. There really is a lot of content to run already and you'd also want to level some Epic Destines as well, which will take time. So, there's lots to do if you've been gone 3 years. For people that have been playing non-stop it's kind of slowed down at the moment, until they establish the new cap and end game. How have people modified? Monk splashes mostly and or 2 pally levels. Lots of multi classing and self-sufficient builds. Some people TR all the time for fun. I enjoy playing at cap even when I don't have a ton left to do. I play an alt when I'm bored, but I still enjoy raiding, or trying to solo epics. People TR for a myriad of reasons. One could be that they simply want to play some other class/race. Mostly the reason is to bank past lives that provide stacking (x3) passive bonuses to the character and at 3rd life and on you get a 36point build. There are also active past life feats you can take. Having 1 of each class past life allows you to take Completion feat (+2 to all ability scores). The new Epic TR has a similar past life system with stacking passive bonuses and there are "active" stances you can get to use. I can't say anything about VIP really, I'm just premium. I also suck at leveling and can't speak to that either. Anyway, the game is still fun in my opinion, and the future plans sound pretty good.

[WuChildNZ]

Human enhancements are nice with action boosts/surges, and heal amp line. Do you have only F2P classes? End game.. I dunno really. I've always been a person who raided mostly. You could get to 20 and heroic TR, or you could get to 28 and Epic TR and build a strong character for new epic content. See: Rowan's letter (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/431908) on the plans for the game in 2014. There really is a lot of content to run already and you'd also want to level some Epic Destines as well, which will take time. So, there's lots to do if you've been gone 3 years. For people that have been playing non-stop it's kind of slowed down at the moment, until they establish the new cap and end game. How have people modified? Monk splashes mostly and or 2 pally levels. Lots of multi classing and self-sufficient builds. Some people TR all the time for fun. I enjoy playing at cap even when I don't have a ton left to do. I play an alt when I'm bored, but I still enjoy raiding, or trying to solo epics. People TR for a myriad of reasons. One could be that they simply want to play some other class/race. Mostly the reason is to bank past lives that provide stacking (x3) passive bonuses to the character and at 3rd life and on you get a 36point build. There are also active past life feats you can take. Having 1 of each class past life allows you to take Completion feat (+2 to all ability scores). The new Epic TR has a similar past life system with stacking passive bonuses and there are "active" stances you can get to use. I can't say anything about VIP really, I'm just premium. I also suck at leveling and can't speak to that either. Anyway, the game is still fun in my opinion, and the future plans sound pretty good.

Oh sweet, this is what I was looking for. I was thinking of getting to level 28 then TR once and build off a strong character. Because by then I've probably grinded enough to get monk and then TR into a build that's more self sufficient in doing damaging and healing. Pretty much making a solid solo-able character. How do people even come up with builds? It seems so complicated. Anyways Im going to become VIP. What adventures should I do in order to get all the exp to level 20? I will get the expansion packs when Im level 20 or when they are on sale.

[ycheese123]

How do people even come up with builds? It seems so complicated. Anyways Im going to become VIP.

Character building in DDO can be complicated, but that's why it's one of the game's best features :)

Going VIP you will already have access to the monk class. (VIP perks (http://ddowiki.com/page/VIP)). As for coming up with builds...

Decide what style you want to play. See what classes and races you have to use. Pick a main class and race. See if you can benefit from splashing other classes & look for synergies between race/class trees and feats. Be aware if you have enough build points or tomes to meet feat-stat requirements. If you haven't played in a long time I can see how those are a little hard to do. There is a pretty handy Character planner you can download here: http://www.rjcyberware.com/DDO/. I think it's missing the newest PrE, Eldritch Knight, for wiz/sorc, but other than that it's up to date.

Visit the 'Classes' section of the forums and check out some builds for ideas. Or start a thread and people will help you plan out a custom character build.

[Munkenmo]

Anyways Im going to become VIP. What adventures should I do in order to get all the exp to level 20? I will get the expansion packs when Im level 20 or when they are on sale.

Vip gets all content other than the 2 expansions included with the monthly fee, you could by the expansions earlier since they have some heroic content. It is unnecessary though, I'd hold off on the expansions till post 20.

[WuChildNZ]

Vip gets all content other than the 2 expansions included with the monthly fee, you could by the expansions earlier since they have some heroic content. It is unnecessary though, I'd hold off on the expansions till post 20.

Yeah thats what I plan to do. I just got VIP. Im level 5 nearly 6, what adventure pack should I do next? I just did seal of kan tor. Is there a thread where it has all the adventures and what to do in order to get max exp gain?

EDIT: Started a new toon last night and already level 6, its quite fast leveling!
Im thinking about doing epic TR'ing with this character and building a build that fits my style

[Silverleafeon]

Catacombs then Tangleroot then Delaras

[WuChildNZ]

Catacombs then Tangleroot then Delaras
I did level deleras and now half way to level 8. What comes next?

[Teh_Ghoul]

I did level deleras and now half way to level 8. What comes next?

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/1650/8dua.jpg

[Lanhelin]

I did level deleras and now half way to level 8. What comes next?

Press P and there you will see all Quests, which NPC to talk to and where to get them. Also Wilderness Areas are listed, if you want to do some slayers/rares inbetween. And Challenges too.

The Level shown in the list is the Level you're recommended to do the quest on normal difficulty. Hard and Elite raises your recommended Level to do it by one each.

[WuChildNZ]

Press P and there you will see all Quests, which NPC to talk to and where to get them. Also Wilderness Areas are listed, if you want to do some slayers/rares inbetween. And Challenges too.

The Level shown in the list is the Level you're recommended to do the quest on normal difficulty. Hard and Elite raises your recommended Level to do it by one each.
I'm going to reincarnate for the first time I get up to level 20.

Here's a link to the build Im using now - https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/426129-Weekend-Warriors-3-Faithsworn-Hunter-%28ftr-12-rgr-4-pal-4%29

What would be a good build to use after reincarnating?

The Ghoul - What a troller lol. I wish I had those but unfortunately I dont have them.

[Munkenmo]

What would be a good build to use after reincarnating?

That kind of depends on your playstyle and resources.

Do you like melee? does casting sound fun? are you soloing? Knowing these help alot when providing builds. For now you're probably better off just focusing on your current life.

Personally I'm a big fan of druid templates for knocking out pastlives (google pastlifenmo) but I'm a seasoned vet who's more interested in the result than the journey.

Maybe you should try choose a direction you want to go over the next few lives (eg, 2hf, 2wf, ranged, unarmed, divine or arcane) Then we can help give you an idea of gear to look out for.

[Lanhelin]

What would be a good build to use after reincarnating?

It really depends on what you want to do. Do you have a special plan for this toon, do you want to reach Completionist with this toon, do you prefer melee or casting, and so on. When I went ViP the first two months I only created, played a couple of hours and deleted various toons with different builds to find out what suits me the most. Finally I ended with a Rogue 2 / Wiz 18, played it to Level 24 and then TR'ed. During the play time I had an idea for this toon which resulted in a plan, unsure if it will work the way I want, but I'm excited. It's not a dps build but a DC based cc build (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/427478-Wizard-Some-thoughts-about-the-ultimate-Enchanter). It's an experiment, I don't know what the result would be but I like figuring it out.

In general I'd say there's lots of new content for you to explore. Due to unknown traps and their damage I'd either try to get as much HP as possible or Evasion and/or Trap skills - if you want to explore new dungeons on your own first, or, depending on what server you play, if it's easy to team up or not.
I've read here on the forums that a solid build would be Rogue 1 / Monk 9 / 10 whatever: Trap skills, Improved Evasion and the Past Life for the class you want. Though casters shouldn't take less class levels than 17-18 for T9 spells, DC and Spell Pen reasons.

[WuChildNZ]

That kind of depends on your playstyle and resources.

Do you like melee? does casting sound fun? are you soloing? Knowing these help alot when providing builds. For now you're probably better off just focusing on your current life.

Personally I'm a big fan of druid templates for knocking out pastlives (google pastlifenmo) but I'm a seasoned vet who's more interested in the result than the journey.

Maybe you should try choose a direction you want to go over the next few lives (eg, 2hf, 2wf, ranged, unarmed, divine or arcane) Then we can help give you an idea of gear to look out for.

I like the build that Im on now, I was just wondering if TR'ing would maximize my DPS. I wanted to make a more of assassin build which could be fun using TWF like the one now. I woulsnt solo too often but I want a character to be able if needed. Is it possible to make a assassin with spells?

[Lanhelin]

I like the build that Im on now, I was just wondering if TR'ing would maximize my DPS. I wanted to make a more of assassin build which could be fun using TWF like the one now. I woulsnt solo too often but I want a character to be able if needed. Is it possible to make a assassin with spells?

Sure, it's possible. If you prefer melee assassinating, then you'll probably focus on buffs and/or heals or UMD scrolls. If you prefer spell assassinating, then just put points in Hide and Move Silently and you should be able to surprise-kill out of the shadow with maximized spells.

Take a look at http://ddowiki.com/page/Past_Life_Feats. Your toon will benefit from passive and active feats, though maximizing dps is not granted by taking any of them. It also depends on build, gear, enhancements, tomes, dice rolls, party setup, behavior, etc. There are many factors that have an impact on your dps. Many of them would increase your chance to do more dps, but there is no definite guarantee. And also don't forget about survivability, because a dps monster glass cannon does no damage anymore when dead and unlike in other MMOs resurrecting in or out of combat is not always possible and you should not anticipate it. Even to get heals from other players who "could" you shouldn't anticipate.

[TeacherSyn]

I did level deleras and now half way to level 8. What comes next?

Many continue into the Sorrowdusk chain, start or continue through the Necropolis chain, the Vault of Night chain (massive XP for your level there, including Epic), complete the Sentinels of Stormreach, and do several other stand-alone quests such as Stormcleave Outpost.

[Seikojin]

Many continue into the Sorrowdusk chain, start or continue through the Necropolis chain, the Vault of Night chain (massive XP for your level there, including Epic), complete the Sentinels of Stormreach, and do several other stand-alone quests such as Stormcleave Outpost.

That is what I have been seeing the last few months.

If you don't mind missing out on max exp and rerunning some quests, run things on normal then on hard and you should be good to go. I have typically been solo grinding on quests that don't break my streak and then jumping into whatever pug fits my streak. On my 3rd life and it hasn't been a problem yet. luckily each life allows a higher difficulty until elite to be opened right away. So I think any non-vip should try all their characters at least twice.

As far as builds; ddo is one of the best when it comes to supporting any build for the majority of the game. I have some truly broken builds and they can solo most normal and hard at level content. Past lives will definitely help reduce the gear requirement and push you past the higher end dc thresholds, so that is the main thrust for tring.

[Guartwog]

I did level deleras and now half way to level 8. What comes next?

If you're F2P, then it's a good idea to do all quests at a given level before moving on (or as many as exp will allow) so you can collect all the favor possible. If you didn't know, you can bank exp (so at level 8, you can get enough exp to take level 9 and be 1 exp from level 10).

As for what comes next, it depends a lot on what you have access to and whether you're running normal level 7 quests, or elite level 5's. If you're doing level 5's, there is a TON of content you could run, so just pick something and roll with it. If you're doing level 7's, Tangleroot's got a couple, House D chain, Tear of Dhakaan can offer great exp if you do all the opts/traps, as can Gwylan's stand. The Pit, though very confusing (I'd recommend against it unless you have a guide/are willing to switch between game and wiki for walkthrough) is just about the highest exp quest you can run at level 7. All of the necropolis chains are great exp for their level ranges. Vault of Night quests are also solid, especially Von3 (Jungle of Kyber).

Myself, I find that even on my 3rd+ lives (3rd life and after require more exp to level up than 1st or 2nd), if I do all the quests of a given level before taking my next level up, I hardly need to re-run or farm anything. I only run into a little trouble when I start getting towards level 13-15 or 16, and even then there are enough quests that give solid exp that are short to run.

Anyway, short of the long is that you're at a level where there's a lot of quests you can choose from. Some will give lots of exp and some less, but if you run everything you'll level up quickly enough and then you'll remember which ones you felt were the best bang for your buck for other toons/future lives.

[Guartwog]

I like the build that Im on now, I was just wondering if TR'ing would maximize my DPS. I wanted to make a more of assassin build which could be fun using TWF like the one now. I woulsnt solo too often but I want a character to be able if needed. Is it possible to make a assassin with spells?

An assassin with spell casting (at least enough for it to be worth giving up the rogue levels) probably wouldn't be very effective. However, rogues get a TON of skill points/level AND have access to UMD (use magical device) as a class skill. Once you get it to a high enough rank, it'll let you use all sorts of great heal/buff scrolls and wands, and lets you bypass racial/alignment restrictions on certain items. Eventually, you'll be able to scroll heal yourself, raise dead (not that it helps you if you're solo'ing) and cast all sorts of handy buffs like GH, displacement, tenser's transformation, etc. which turns you into a quasi-caster for buffing purposes and a little healing help for emergencies. For a self-sufficient rogue, UMD is an absolute must-have.

As far as tr'ing goes, I don't know that you could say it WILL maximize your dps, though it certainly shouldn't hurt.

DPS is a lot more build/equipment based than anything. What tr'ing WILL help with is giving you more build points (28 or 32 points will increase to 34 for 2nd life) which lets you start with one or two abilities higher. It'll also give you a past life feat based on your primary class which, in your case as a fighter for this life, will mean that next life you'll have +1 to all combat dc's making things like trip and sunder land a little more often. The appeal of tr'ing for most people is those extra build points, past life feats (each class will offer a different past life bonus when you tr from it), and the fact that you get to keep all of your gear from the previous life. This last one is especially important if you spend time to grind out "twink" gear - great items with low-ish level requirements like Green Steel (level 11 for accessories, 12 for weapons which are ridiculously powerful for those levels) which increases ease of leveling in the next life immensely.