A Solo TR Leveling Quest Guide

[kuro_zero]

Having finished my first completionist, I thought I'd share my general TR Quest list to the general public for possible improvements and suggestions. Also interjected some newbie friendly advice on several quests to assist with those unfamiliar with zerg/rapid completion tactic for that particular quest.

This list is based off of the work of Carpone in this thread. (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/367893-Efficient-TR-Leveling-Guide) I altered it for solo play and adjusted level ranges after quest ransack penalties were introduced. It is nowhere near as efficient as his, and hovers in the 1500 XP/Min range which I'll take for primarily solo.

Using this format, it typically takes me about 40 hours of in-quest time (timed by XP potions) to cap to 20. Inventory, running to quests, etc. I'd put it at 50 game hours even. Real life time for me is 11 days (helps I can play at work :P ).

This is a (very) rough guide right now, as things are pretty fluid with the Quest XP Ransack. I'll sometimes jump up and run some quests reserved for later levels, or if haven't played in a few days re-run some lower level farm quests. I am planning on building a Monkcher so while I TR to stack several PL to assist in that I plan on refining the list.

The list assumes a Greater Tome of Learning, Elite Streak, and 20% XP Potions. I also use a 2nd account that holds several key farmable open, as well as sharing quests in explorer areas to red-door them (like the desert walkups and Wiz-king).

Run Korthos quests and Collaborator on Elite to build/rebuild up streak. Take level 2 (do a 2nd Collaborator run on Hard if not enough) then continue with list. Don't forget the cheap rez cake by trading in Old Sully's Grog. If you already have an elite streak going, skip this to the end before you TR again for the cheap rez cake.

Level 1:
Stealing the Lost Tome e, 4n, h (Electricity Protection potions help on elite)

Level 2:
Haverdaher e
Information is Key e, 4n, h

Level 3:
Durk's Got a Secret e, 4n, h (Invis to each Kobold Brother for Devious bonus, Fire Protection Pots to run through trap)
Garrison's Missing Pack e (Invis to end)
Butcher's Path e (Cannith Crafted Detect Secret Door trinket useful)
Stealthy Repossession e, 4n, h (Yup, invis. 0 Kills for Ingenious, jump on top of crates to finish out)

Level 4:
Kobold's New Ringleader e, 4h, n (Aggression by killing kobolds before Ogre, shortcut over crates)
Waterworks 1-4 e (with 50 slayers, don't check for rares. Skip inquest optionals)
Waterworks 1-4 h (100 slayers)

Level 5:

Shan-to-kor 1-3 e
Part 2 can invis straight through to key, re-invis and run to the end fight. Fire protection pots help. Careful of wolves trip, and boss hits hard.
Part 3 Detect Secret Doors trinket (clickie not high enough). Ranged weapon to lower bridge. Acid and Fire protection pots, also Jump helps
Tangleroot 5a e, 5n, h (invis, requires opener)
Tangleroot 6a e, 5n, h (invis, requires opener)

Level 6:
House Denith Depths chain 1-4 e
House Kunderak quests (Ever Full Flagon tavern quests except Taming the Flames) 1-4 e
Tomb of the Sanguine Heart e
Tomb of the Crimson Heart e
Tomb of the Immortal Heart e 4n, h

Level 7:
STK 3 4h, n (Requires opener)
Delera's 1 e (Skip beginning levers using jump)
Delera's 2 e, 4n, h (Hireling or pet required for lever. Skip optionals)
Delera's 3 e
Tear of Dhakaan e, 4n, h (Kill only around named bosses. Invis past rest. There are 14 Hobgoblins at the end fight to reach the 100 needed for quest completion)


Level 8:
Bloody Crypt
Redwillow's Ruin e (Invis to each boss/quest item, skirting map edges to avoid scorpions. DDoor helps return to turn them in. Skip Drow Optional)
Greymoon 1-4 e
Co6 1-6 e

Level 9:
Delera's 4 e, 4n, h
Haunted Library e, 4n, h

Level 10:
VoN 1-2 e
Tomb of the Shadow Guard e
Tomb of the Shadow King e
Tomb of the Shadow Knight e, 4h, n (only with trapper)

Level 11: Start banking levels
Von 3-4 e
Shadow Crypt (Requires opener) 5e, h, n
Fathom the Depths e, 4h, n (Invis, DD before pulling lever. Gelatinous Cube optional on normal runs only)

Level 12:
VoN 3 4e h, n
And the Dead Shall Rise e, 4h, n
The Enemy Within e
Purge the Fallen Shrine e, 4h, n
Chamber of Korush 4e, h, n (Invis to end, pick up seal for later Wiz King runs)
Chamber of Ramuth 4e, h, n (As above, keep seal for Wiz King)
Maraud the Mines 4e, h, n (Invis, DD helpful to shed Dungeon Alert)
Offering of Blood e, h (No optionals/side chests)

Level 13:
Wiz King e, 4n, h (All towers/optionals. Previous seals help bypass Djinn annoying whirlwind invulnerable phase)
Diplomatic Impunity e, 2h, n (2nd Account cuts 3 minutes off completion time)
Frame Work e, 4h, n (Invis, kill only Minotaur, Repair +13 item helps lower needed ballista parts)
Eyes of Stone e, 4h, n (2x Scepter of the Fleshweaver)
Assault on Summerfield e
Blockade Buster 5e, h, n (Invis, DD after each ship)
Relic of a Sovereign Past e (Non-combat end optional, skip locked wing and summoners)

Level 14:
Giant Hold Saga 1 Elite

Level 15:
Giant Hold Saga Hard
Giant Hold Saga Elite
Desecrated Temple of Vol e, 4n, h
Ghost of Perdition e, 4n, h
Inferno of the Damned e, h, n

Level 16:
Giant Hold Saga Elite
Missing e, 4h, n
Giant Hold Saga Elite (Level to 17 before taking saga reward)

Level 17:
Rainbow in the Dark e, h
Ritual Sacrifice e
Coalescence Chamber e
Let Sleeping Dust Lie e

To wrap up level 17 you can either do another GH saga, or farm the quests listed in the level 15 and 16 entries on elite if ransack is gone (takes 2 days). Ideally you would do Litany of the Dead e, 4h, n but requires having a completed sigil. I haven't found a decent way to solo Fleshmaker's Lab reliably so unfortunately I can't guarantee a completed sigil on a particular life.

Level 18:
Running with the Devils e, 4h, n (Requires some luck and lots of burst AOE damage. Invis to the levers, and then run to the shrine. Sorc/Wiz ideal, but cleric/FvS with BB, Comet Fall, and Firestorm is doable as well. Includes devil portal optional)
Enter the Kobold e, 4n, h (Firestorm Greaves or Cannith Crafted fire absorbtion item helpful on elite)

I think this leaves you a bit short to cap, so I think I did some IQ quests to cap. Level 15+ isn't quite right - I know I do alot of Giant Hold sagas but exactly what and when is not exactly correct.

[Uska]

Nice guide and shows why I'll never be a quick TR I hate repeating quests so much but it is a quick way to do it if people wish

[MangLord]

That seems not fun at all. I have no problem easily capping after a couple of the Wheloon quests and some quests in Vale. I hardly ever run a quest twice, unless I'm in a PUG that wants to run something I already ran. I enjoy clearing explorers and rares in most wilderness areas, just running them solo, and usually get the 750 slayer xp for everything except Restless Isles. I'd probably be more efficient but I tend to solo 75% of the content and my static group has either already gotten completionist or doesn't care to. They almost all run epic only.

I should state that my main character is 7th life, and with the exception of barbarian, I've mostly enjoyed each class. Barbarian might have been more fun, but I played it as my 2nd life with the old enhancement system, and I was constantly held or feared. I screwed around a lot with TRing a couple other characters and probably could have gotten completionist by now, but I don't really care. It probably takes me 3-4 weeks to TR, but I enjoy the ride through each class. I managed to TR through monk in just over two weeks, and I felt like I was cheating the whole time.

I have no problem playing each quest once on elite, with a bravery bonus, doing explorers and rares in most wilderness areas, and capping midway through level 16 quests. I skip a good amount of stuff, namely Threnal, Restless Isles and Necro 3. I haven't run a pot yet on this life, and I'm on course to cap without playing through quests I don't like. I usually save the Gianthold elite saga reward for level 17, since I don't enjoy In The Flesh or most of the Harbinger chain. Getting S/R/E in most of the FR wilderness saves me the trouble, and its very easy compared to at level elites.

Generally I have an idea of what class I'm going to do next life, so I save a good 20-30 items, mostly weapons, I find on the way to 20. I have to guess that this helps somewhat. For example, I hung on to a lot of choice greataxes for fighter life, having an idea of a dwarf kensei in mind. I wound up going 12fighter/8cleric, and I really enjoyed soloing with that build.

Its really not grindy at all to reach level 20 anymore, which I totally love. Enjoy more of the content and don't treat it like work. It feels like work if I have to run a quest three times in a row.

[kuro_zero]

Its really not grindy at all to reach level 20 anymore, which I totally love. Enjoy more of the content and don't treat it like work. It feels like work if I have to run a quest three times in a row.

Different strokes for different folks. This guide is not for you, but it is how I enjoy the game.

[Cardtrick]

Thanks for sharing this list, it's very interesting and well laid out. I look back at Carpone's old threads every once in a while, but they're way out of date, and they never really applied too much to solo players.

I don't usually run like this -- more often than not, I run every quest once on elite for Bravery Bonus. Most of the times, I'm in the mood for variety rather than optimum XP/min.

But sometimes I just want to zerg, or I want to level my way out of an awkward spot in a build. A resource like this is really helpful for that.

Can I ask for some details on how you, as a solo efficient leveler, use your opener?

I have a second premium account that currently owns just Necro1, Necro2, and Delara's, and I leave that guy flagged for Bloody Crypt, Shadow Crypt, and Delara's part 2. I don't take him inside for those quests, just use him to open them up for my main. That works great for Bloody/Shadow, and I suppose that's probably the best way to do things, right?

But for Delara's, I'm not sure. It's usually worth it to me to run the whole chain there, even parts 1 and 3, because i want a chain end reward (ideally account-bound DR-breaking quarterstaffs for crafting), and because even part 1 is worth doing once on elite with BB. I'm thinking that maybe the best way to do this is take my alternate guy inside with me for Delara's 1 on elite, then use him to open Delara's part 2 for as many repetitions as I feel like doing, but bring him inside for my final run of part 2. Bring him inside for part 3. Use him as an opener for part 4, but again let him finish that one on the last run. In other words -- don't use him to hold a particular quest open like I do with Bloody/Shadow Crypts, but instead have him tag along for the ride on some of the actual Delara runs. Each life or alt on my main account, the secondary guy goes through the whole chain once. Does that make sense? Otherwise, it seems like I'd need to have 2 alts to hold open part 2 and part 4 all the time, and that's frankly more work than I want to put into my second account (unless I buy vet status for it or something).

Thanks for the tip on using the 2nd account on Diplomatic Immunity. That's brilliant. The run back in that quest is deeply annoying.

Soloing Fleshmaker's is definitely a pain. I've never been able to do it without wings. Even with wings, it sometimes takes me a couple of tries to coordinate the hireling properly. But it's very good XP when you can manage it. Also, I actually think that a couple of Orchard slayer/rare/explorer runs can be worthwhile -- they're easy, there's a chance at sigil pieces, and the XP/minute is unusually good for an explorer zone.

For the L15+ stuff that you say isn't quite right -- have you tried doing a heroic Forgotten Realms saga? I know the XP over there isn't great, but with bravery bonus / tome of learning / saga reward, it seems like a single elite run through might be worthwhile.

[Jasparion]

We have tried many different things over the years, but these days we just run all the dungeons we like on E, then repeat the good XP ones on H and that is more than enough XP to get right through to 20.

Occasionally you may also need an N to get you over the line, but since the change in XP we have not needed to.

[kuro_zero]

Thanks for sharing this list, it's very interesting and well laid out. I look back at Carpone's old threads every once in a while, but they're way out of date, and they never really applied too much to solo players.

Yes, I did the same, and as you say his was geared towards 2-3 TRs splitting up objectives. Because his thread is so out of date, and his stating he wasn't going to update it (or if he's even playing anymore) I felt it was a good time to throw my modifications to it here.


Can I ask for some details on how you, as a solo efficient leveler, use your opener?

I have a second premium account that currently owns just Necro1, Necro2, and Delara's, and I leave that guy flagged for Bloody Crypt, Shadow Crypt, and Delara's part 2. I don't take him inside for those quests, just use him to open them up for my main. That works great for Bloody/Shadow, and I suppose that's probably the best way to do things, right?

My set up is a bit different. I normally don't do Bloody Crypt as its a very long quest by one's lonesome, and one that defiinately benefits from more than one person splitting up to complete. Although I'll have to look into it for a hefty chunk of XP with BB and first time elite bonuses.

For Shadow Crypt my 2nd account has a "runner" (Bladeforged 7Wiz/2Pal/2Rog who doesn't level past lvl 11 for BB. I will probably change this to 9Sor/2Pal for more SP) while my main account has the opener. I log the opener, enter on my runner, switch main account to whoever I'm leveling. Firewall+Fireball and DD makes it much easier to run through as I primarily play melee characters, especially against those god awful annying phase spiders.

Keep in mind my 2nd account does have all packs, standard edition of the expansions (hence bladeforged), and 15 character slots to play with (10 Mules). I'll throw up a detailed description on how I use this account in the next post.


But for Delara's, I'm not sure. It's usually worth it to me to run the whole chain there, even parts 1 and 3, because i want a chain end reward (ideally account-bound DR-breaking quarterstaffs for crafting), and because even part 1 is worth doing once on elite with BB. I'm thinking that maybe the best way to do this is take my alternate guy inside with me for Delara's 1 on elite, then use him to open Delara's part 2 for as many repetitions as I feel like doing, but bring him inside for my final run of part 2. Bring him inside for part 3. Use him as an opener for part 4, but again let him finish that one on the last run. In other words -- don't use him to hold a particular quest open like I do with Bloody/Shadow Crypts, but instead have him tag along for the ride on some of the actual Delara runs. Each life or alt on my main account, the secondary guy goes through the whole chain once. Does that make sense? Otherwise, it seems like I'd need to have 2 alts to hold open part 2 and part 4 all the time, and that's frankly more work than I want to put into my second account (unless I buy vet status for it or something).

I do do 1 complete run of Delera's, but I have crappy luck getting DR breaking Q-staffs from it lol. I have much better luck with Co6 :D But yes, you need 2 alts to hold pt2 and pt4 all the time. Pt1 and pt3 elite with BB are decent XP, even a pt3 hard run isn't bad but not worth having an opener for.

See my next post for complete details.



Thanks for the tip on using the 2nd account on Diplomatic Immunity. That's brilliant. The run back in that quest is deeply annoying.

Very. Even with DD its annoying to have to run back to the root wall. Not sure if you got the hint, but basicially you enter with main, invis run to the beach and talk to the guy. Enter with 2nd account, talk to Henrietta, and have him exit the quest. There is no XP penalty for exiting a quest, only by re-entering. Advance to the root wall, and since your main is only one in the quest, you advance the "Gather Party" requirement and can run to the end fight.


Soloing Fleshmaker's is definitely a pain. I've never been able to do it without wings. Even with wings, it sometimes takes me a couple of tries to coordinate the hireling properly. But it's very good XP when you can manage it. Also, I actually think that a couple of Orchard slayer/rare/explorer runs can be worthwhile -- they're easy, there's a chance at sigil pieces, and the XP/minute is unusually good for an explorer zone.

All of Necro4 is very good XP, but yea the end of Fleshmakers is a pain. S/R/E in orchard is definately decent, and if you just check/hit Caravan and rats can rack up lots of slayers in a short time, especially if running a slayer count boost. It is an option, but one I would do if my XP potion is running/ran out and pop a slayer count boost.


For the L15+ stuff that you say isn't quite right -- have you tried doing a heroic Forgotten Realms saga? I know the XP over there isn't great, but with bravery bonus / tome of learning / saga reward, it seems like a single elite run through might be worthwhile.

The XP doesn't bother me so much, since with BB/Tome/Saga/Potion, etc the base XP is only a large factor in farming. My main issue with those quests is the insane scaling on Elite - insane amount of trash mobs with insane amounts of HP. I primarily play melee on my main, so its painfully slow having to whittle away at the HP bags. It is definately something I'll look into, however, since I believe some of them are getting a boost in the next XP adjustment pass and might work a Bladeforged Sorc on 2nd account to blast through it.

[Cardtrick]

Many thanks for the detailed response!

I didn't quite get the whole hint on the Diplomatic Immunity bit -- although I would hopefully have figured it out quick enough once I actually tried it. I had planned on having the opener just enter then sit at the entrance so he could do the talking back at the beginning after my main talks to the spy dude, but I forgot about having to gather the whole party at the root wall; the piece I was missing was having the opener leave the quest after talking.

I'll look forward to the next post you mentioned with more details on the use of the second account -- it sounds much more involved than what I've been doing. I'm not sure I'm up for creating a character on the second account to actually run the quests, although I can definitely see the advantage -- my main guy is on a melee life right now after my last few lives have been casters, and some quests are way slower than I'm used to. A sorcerer on the secondary account could be really nice. (My opener right now is just a level 8 bard who opens quests and occasionally comes inside to sing a song and then pike.)

[kuro_zero]

Yes, my alt account is much more involved but it is something I've been working on in conjunction with my main completionist character for the better part of 2 years. Iconics made things so much easier, and bladeforged is simply awesome especially at the lower levels.

Here's how I have it setup, a general build breakdown, and some notes and thought behind each one. Still a work in progress, as constantly deleting and rerolling characters to cover as many things I want to do in the fewest char slots possible.

1. VetI WF 2Barb/1Wiz/1Ftr
Feats: PA, Extend (Wiz Bonus), Cleave, Stunning Blow (Ftr Bonus)
Enhancements: Ftr Haste Boost, Barb Sprint Boost, Archmage Illusion (Invisibility!)
Equipment: Carnifiex but doesn't really matter

Quests:
Tangleroot Pt 5a (Runner)
Information is Key
Tomb of the Immortal Heart
STK Pt 3
Delera's Pt 2

This character hangs out in the One Ear Bugbear tavern and opens and runs Tangleroot Pt 5a (Deadly Package: Stronghold Key). Doesn't complete Pt 5b (Deadly Package: Agent of the Darguul) so the quest stays perpetually open. Run speed is the name of the game here, with Wiz providing Exp Retreat and Jump for mobility, and Invisibility as the core1 SLA in Illusion. With EK you can also get an extra cleave attack which is nice since unable to meet the 4BAB requirement for GCleave due to Wiz. Barbarian for easy stacking 10% movement speed and Sprint boost (WF running at 85% speed is pretty funny looking :D). Bard is also an option for Skaldic Rage interaction with barb rage but would need to use invis scrolls, clickies, or pots.

The other quests are shared/open and does not run them, simply allowing my main account to red-door farm them without having to turn in quest rewards or be on a particular point in the chain.

For Delera's Pt 2, again, he doesn't enter the quest. If my main does not have a pet for lever, I grab the Level 1 Gold Seal Barbarian hireling from the DDO store (5 Turbine Points) and call him up to pull lever then dismiss him. Can get 4-5 runs during the hour you have the contract, depending on if that sealed room opens or you have to wait for the timer. If the contract is running out and you have another run to do, call him up at the beginning and park him there. Throw an Invis on him and set to passive, while you work your way to the lever room before calling him up. This is longer since the hireling wants to path all the way to where you are instead of teleporting, so best to keep the hireling in the backback and call him up only after lever room is cleared. I also use him to pull levers in PoP so if you finish farming Pt2 and have time on the contract, put it in the bank for later.

2. Bladeforged 1Pal/1Art/8Sorc

Feats: Max, Emp, Quicken, Mental Toughness
Enhancements: Recon SLA, Fire Savant
Equipment: Arcane Shard, Flame's Gift, Cursed WizVI SP item (ML9), +10 trapping skill gear (Cannith Crafted)

Quests:
Xoriant Cipher (Occasionally)
Tomb of the Shadow Knight (Runner)
Tangleroot 6a
Delera's Pt4

This build was an experiment on dual-boxing through Xoriant Cipher. Burning hands and Scorch SLA provide mana efficient nuking, with recon SLA providing reliable healing, and enough sorc levels for fireball and firewall when things need to die now. Can do traps, has dog for 2nd pressure plate, and can hit both INT and CHA runes. Main account has a cleric hireling for WIS runes and to stand on the pressure plate in the split. This account goes on lower path and prompty dies after hitting the lever while main account does the puzzle. I found having to control two characters separately through the quest makes it go too slowly and only do for fun or chance at another planar gird.

This character is parked in the Necropolis, in front of Tomb of the Shadow Knight and is the runner for that quest, able to get the trap optional without having to spec my main with trapping abilities. I am thinking of combining this with my Shadow Crypt runner below to consolidate character slots. Flagged for Tangleroot 6a for main to run it after previous char farms 5a. I sometimes have this character enter Delera's Pt4 to disable the beginning trap, clear the rest with main, disable remaining traps then leave before completion. This is only useful on the first Elite run for max bonuses, but after that I just zerg to the end skipping traps and breakables.

3. Bladeforged 2Pal/2Rog/7Wiz

Feats: Max, Emp, Quicken, Mental Toughness, Improved Mental Toughness, Extend
Enhancements: Recon SLA, Archmage Illusion (Invis, Displacement)
Equipment: As above + Teleport Scrolls

Quests:
Shadow Crypt (Runner)
Fathom the Depths (Runner)
The Enemy Within (Runner)
Desert Walk Ups
Wiz King

I originally rolled this character up to deal with the traps in Shadow Knight, then leveled him to get firewall for Shadow Crypt. As above, there's a lot of overlap so will probably delete him eventually and use above for Shadow Crypt, although being able to have Firewall and DD at the same time is immensely useful for quests like Fathom the Depths.

As I stated in my previous post, I have a character on my main account with Shadow Crypt open, so I log her, enter quest on this character, then switch to my TR and run the quest with this character. I also use this method to help guildies run Shadow Crypt, as it doesn't matter if this character completes the quest.

Desert quests are shared for easy red-door farming without having to retake quest. For the walk ups you can always use the abandon trick but having a share is quicker.

4. Bladeforged 1Pal/12Sorc
Feats: Max, Emp, Quicken, Mental Toughness, Imp Mental Toughness or Extend
Enhancements: Recon SLA, Fire Savant
Equipment: As above, with Impulse Augment. Cannith +13 Repair item (for framework), 2x Scepter of Fleshweaver

Quests:
And the Dead Shall Rise (Runner)
Diplomatic Impunity (Henrietta Talker)
Framework (Runner)
Blockade Buster (Runner)

Disintegrate for Lich in Dead Shall Rise, and the burst DPS needed to take down the Minotaur in Framework. DD makes Blockade Buster much faster. You can also use to run Eyes of Stone.

5. Bladeforged 2Pal/14Sorc
Feats: Max, Emp, Quicken, Mental Toughness, Imp Mental Toughness, Extend or Toughness (I also like Eschew Matierials for the 15th lvl feat slot, just cuz i'm lazy)
Enhancements: Recon SLA, Acid Savant primary, Fire Savant Secondary
Equipment: Random loot Corrosion Sceptor or staff with red slot, Archmagi SP item

Quests:
Temple of Vol
Ghosts or Perdition (Runner)
Inferno of the Damned (Runner)
Missing (Runner)

Temple of Vol isn't bad on a melee, especially with 3x Pos GS so I have no problems running it with my main account and using this char to red-door farm it. An Acid savant makes short work of the beholder in Ghosts, and the 2Pal shores up saves. Unless able to UMD fireball/icestorm scrolls, a caster is better to have in inferno. DD shaves 2-3 minutes off Missing.

6. Bladeforged 2Pal/16Sorc
Feats: Max, Emp, Quicken, SF: Necro, GSF: Necro, Spell Penn, Heighten (for PK) or Greater Spell Penn
Enhancements: Recon SLA, Acid Savant Primary, Fire Savant Secondary
Equipment: Random loot caster sticks, preferably with red slot, Archmagi SP Item. Cannith Illusion and Necromancy Spell Focus items

Quests:
Running with the Devils (Runner)
Let Sleeping Dust Lie (Runner)
Enter the Kobold

This is my Vale runner/opener. Has the other vale quests and Enter the Kobold for main to red-door farm. Running with the Devils Elite solo as a melee is incredibly difficult. I originally tried to FoD and Heighten PK my way through Sleeping Dust, but quickly ran out of SP. I've since switched to Acid Savant for the Acid Blast SLA and run through nuking everything - the spiders are immune to acid so no worry of killing them with it. The feats still focus on insta-kill as it is useful for the orange named mini bosses.

Alternatively, I'm thinking of using the +20 heart and make this character a pure 18wiz for the bonus feats (spell resistance is a pain for a 1st life caster) and enhancements to boost necro DC.

[kuro_zero]

I didn't quite get the whole hint on the Diplomatic Immunity bit -- although I would hopefully have figured it out quick enough once I actually tried it. I had planned on having the opener just enter then sit at the entrance so he could do the talking back at the beginning after my main talks to the spy dude, but I forgot about having to gather the whole party at the root wall; the piece I was missing was having the opener leave the quest after talking.

The quest also has a "gather party" around the spy before he'll talk to you, which is why it is important to have the 2nd account stand outside the quest until after you have spoken to him.

[Cardtrick]

I don't really know what to say - you're some kind of efficient solo leveling savant!

This whole thing is incredibly helpful, especially the detailed breakdown on the alt account characters. Time for me to seriously consider buying Bladeforged on my alt account! Great work on this whole thread.

My natural inclinations are all.wrong for this.kind of thing - I want to break all the boxes, loot all the chests, kill all the bad guys. But I also want to get Completionist sometime before the game dies, have less time to play than I used to, and spend most of what game time I do have soloing - so I've been trying to improve my serving and efficiency, and I find this guide really useful. Thanks again for posting it!

[kuro_zero]

I don't really know what to say - you're some kind of efficient solo leveling savant!

Its become a bit of a running joke with our guild's semi-regular TR group. My main TR character has lapped them 3 times, rejoining the group on a different life.


This whole thing is incredibly helpful, especially the detailed breakdown on the alt account characters. Time for me to seriously consider buying Bladeforged on my alt account! Great work on this whole thread.

It made buying Shadowfell twice almost worthwhile (eh, who am I kidding, no it didn't...) Bladeforged are still awesome for this kind of thing - and they make excellent mules. Definitely something to consider, although I'm uncertain what their TP price is, maybe wait if they eventually go on sale.


My natural inclinations are all.wrong for this.kind of thing - I want to break all the boxes, loot all the chests, kill all the bad guys. But I also want to get Completionist sometime before the game dies, have less time to play than I used to, and spend most of what game time I do have soloing - so I've been trying to improve my serving and efficiency, and I find this guide really useful.

Something can be said about going through a long quest, getting every optional, and completing every XP bonus objective and getting that huge chunk of XP when you complete. When zerging and farming, the XP gains come in smaller chunks so it often feels like you're not making progress. Its a psychological thing, and sometimes you just gotta trust the math and plug away (covering the XP bar helps too).

Currently in the process of upgrading my main rig. If all goes well I may try my hand at making some videos to show the little tricks and tips that help speed things along.


Thanks again for posting it!

You're welcome and quite satisfied you find it helpful! Feel free to post or PM if there's any particulars I might be able to help with.

[TrinityTurtle]

While this guides isn't so much something I would use, it is something I might recommend to my son who plays sometimes and would like to get somewhere as opposed to full on addict like his momma. :) I think he only plays DDO to humor me and hang out with me online now that's he's moved out.

But I'm interested to know how the new ransack penalties are hitting your repetitions. Is this really still a viable path or would it be worth my time to scout out a few other decent xp/min quests and replace some of the repetitions on this plan?

[Oxarhamar]

While this guides isn't so much something I would use, it is something I might recommend to my son who plays sometimes and would like to get somewhere as opposed to full on addict like his momma. :) I think he only plays DDO to humor me and hang out with me online now that's he's moved out.

But I'm interested to know how the new ransack penalties are hitting your repetitions. Is this really still a viable path or would it be worth my time to scout out a few other decent xp/min quests and replace some of the repetitions on this plan?

Yeah if your repeating these quests all in one sitting Ransack would hit you hard. I wouldn't recommend a path like this anymore.

[kuro_zero]

But I'm interested to know how the new ransack penalties are hitting your repetitions. Is this really still a viable path or would it be worth my time to scout out a few other decent xp/min quests and replace some of the repetitions on this plan?

At most you're running into a -40% ransack XP penalty, sometimes -60% for select few quests. Definately an option to throw in some other quests to replace repetitions. With BB there's a few options but I try to minimize time running between quests, knocking them out in one chunk for as long as ship buffs last.

If you have ideas for good XP/Min quests I would be more than happy to hear them. I can weight the pro/con of said quest and incorporate it into the list if its beneficial.

[kuro_zero]

Yeah if your repeating these quests all in one sitting Ransack would hit you hard. I wouldn't recommend a path like this anymore.

Quest XP Ransack doesn't really change a whole lot. The good XP/min quests are still the same, except now you're running them maybe 6 times total instead of 8-12. This is balanced with the lower total XP requirement and ability to re-farm quests another day.

[Cardtrick]

Yeah if your repeating these quests all in one sitting Ransack would hit you hard. I wouldn't recommend a path like this anymore.

I'm not sure, this still looks very efficient to me -- kuro_zero definitely put it together with the current game, including quest ransack, in mind. (There some major differences from what the old pre-Ransack efficient leveling guides, like Carpone's, used to look like.)

He's got very few quests here with more than 5 runs. Remember that the first run on any given difficulty isn't affected by Ransack and doesn't count toward the Ransack counter. On all the multi-runs, he's doing multiple difficulties, so the Ransack really never gets too out of hand on most quests.

Ransack penalties can be offset with a Tome of Learning, Experience Potion, XP Shrine, Devious/Observation/Neutralization Bonus, etc.

And the fact is, some quests are just immensely faster than others. Some of this is just the quest design. Some quests are huge with a lot of running around (Stormcleave....), or have timed components (Coyle....), and should be skipped for efficiency . . . but others are nice and quick and compact (Information is Key), or give you the option to make them quick if you avoid optional areas and know what you're doing (Kobold's New Ringleader, Tangleroot, etc.), while others just give so much XP that they're worth doing despite their size (Von3, WizKing, etc.).

A lot of the speed comes with quest knowledge. For many of the quests on his list here, I don't know them well enough yet to do them so quickly that they're worthwhile despite lack of bravery bonus and an ever-increasing Ransack penalty. But I don't doubt that it's possible to get to that point -- it just takes practice. It's like Kobold's New Ringleader -- even with Ransack, that one's easily worth running multiple times for me. I can complete it in just a little over a minute -- less than 2 minutes even if I choose to get the end chest and an end reward. Same for anything in Tangleroot -- I've done those quests so many times that I'm very efficient at them. (Well, some of them are literally just running to a door, so pretty much anyone can handle that.) Or Tear of Dhakaan, although I could definitely improve there quite a bit.

But where he lists multiple repeats of Eyes of Stone, Blockade Buster, Frame Work . . . I understand the theory. (I think.) But I don't currently have 2 scepters of the fleshweaver, so Eyes of Stone is unlikely to be efficient for me. Frame Work I used to have down, before the invisibility changes -- but the only times I tried since then, I stirred up too much trouble and failed to completely quickly enough to make it worthwhile. I've got to practice this one more. Blockade Buster, too . . . I'm efficient enough at it that it's definitely worth the Bravery Bonus run, but I don't know about doing the repetitions. I'm really just not very good at invising, I think. Same for the Orchard quests -- I run them, but I think only Temple of Vol is really worth more than the Bravery Bonus run for me from an XP per time perspective. I might have to try something like kuro suggests, and create a dedicated runner for these on an alt account. Struggling through with a melee guy in these quests just doesn't work well for me.

EDIT: While I was typing up this novel, kuro_zero already responded . . . sorry, didn't mean to pile on.

[kuro_zero]

He's got very few quests here with more than 5 runs. Remember that the first run on any given difficulty isn't affected by Ransack and doesn't count toward the Ransack counter. On all the multi-runs, he's doing multiple difficulties, so the Ransack really never gets too out of hand on most quests.

Ransack penalties can be offset with a Tome of Learning, Experience Potion, XP Shrine, Devious/Observation/Neutralization Bonus, etc.

This pretty much in a nutshell. Much better explained than mine. For any given quest with an e, 4h, n run there are only 2 runs out of 6 where you are running with a ransack penalty (-20% and -40% respectively) on the last 2 hard runs. This is easily offset with three runs providing bonuses (BB, first time difficulty, daily bonus) and one with vanilla base XP (the 2nd hard run).


EDIT: While I was typing up this novel, kuro_zero already responded . . . sorry, didn't mean to pile on.

:D It was very eloquently put and covers the key points of XP/Min perspective nicely, however.

[Oxarhamar]

Quest XP Ransack doesn't really change a whole lot. The good XP/min quests are still the same, except now you're running them maybe 6 times total instead of 8-12. This is balanced with the lower total XP requirement and ability to re-farm quests another day.

Certainly if your returning to farm the next day with Ransack reset you'd not want to repeat past -40% on day one.

Probably a difference in styles but, I skip repeating a lot of these Quests in favor of streaking anymore especially in low levels the TP favor added onto the Streak bonuses are too nice compared to repeats any longer.

I still repeat only the juiciest XP quest like ones in Tangelroot but, I'm also Zerging the Chain on Elite for streak to avoid needing an opener.

Back when I use to farm Quests I was running E(x) H N for bigger XP payouts. In most of the lowbie quests its not really a big shift in time from E to N especially if your invis or even some of the higher stuff on a FVS with BB or an Arcane nuker solo E mobs don't stand up that much longer.

[kuro_zero]

Certainly if your returning to farm the next day with Ransack reset you'd not want to repeat past -40% on day one.

Probably a difference in styles but, I skip repeating a lot of these Quests in favor of streaking anymore especially in low levels the TP favor added onto the Streak bonuses are too nice compared to repeats any longer.

I still repeat only the juiciest XP quest like ones in Tangelroot but, I'm also Zerging the Chain on Elite for streak to avoid needing an opener.

Back when I use to farm Quests I was running E(x) H N for bigger XP payouts. In most of the lowbie quests its not really a big shift in time from E to N especially if your invis or even some of the higher stuff on a FVS with BB or an Arcane nuker solo E mobs don't stand up that much longer.

It's actually 2 days for quest ransack to reset from a --40% ransack. Its rather annoying. After one day you'll have -10% Ransack (seems it still applies a -20% ransack penalty then credits you the 50% for the day) +20% daily bonus so its still worthwhile.

Farming elite is certainly preferable and definately applies in some quests where you are doing little killing (invis quests) or where using firewall (shadow crypt). Otherwise its better to run at a lower difficulty to farm, especially on a caster as it generally means the difference between needing to use Meta vs not and being able to skip shrines (Tear is excellent example).

I would hate farming RwtD or ETK on elite. And even with BB alot of the quests are still poor XP/min. The only one in tangleroot at +1k/min besides pt5 and pt6 for a solo char is pt4 if you invis straight to whisperdoom and cleave the eggs.

[Oxarhamar]

It's actually 2 days for quest ransack to reset from a --40% ransack. Its rather annoying. After one day you'll have -10% Ransack (seems it still applies a -20% ransack penalty then credits you the 50% for the day) +20% daily bonus so its still worthwhile.

Farming elite is certainly preferable and definately applies in some quests where you are doing little killing (invis quests) or where using firewall (shadow crypt). Otherwise its better to run at a lower difficulty to farm, especially on a caster as it generally means the difference between needing to use Meta vs not and being able to skip shrines (Tear is excellent example).

I would hate farming RwtD or ETK on elite. And even with BB alot of the quests are still poor XP/min. The only one in tangleroot at +1k/min besides pt5 and pt6 for a solo char is pt4 if you invis straight to whisperdoom and cleave the eggs.

The reason your getting -10% Ransack after 1 day is because your running the quest 6 times. The first time bonus may apply to E H N but, it still adds to the Ransack. test it /ransack

If your getting less than 1K minute running XP pots in Tangelroot on a first time bonus Elite streak You've got to be flowersniffing. Your just making up numbers because, in reality you don't run those quest.

[Oxarhamar]

I was doing my 3rd life TRs in ~10 days with no XP pots running at 3-4 hours a day before the XP curve hit.

running without XP pots favors streaking and there is enough bonus XP in an 1 and done Elite pattern to make farming those Quests a waste of time. The key is to learn how to do all your Quests fast and efficient as possible like these you single out as "best XP minute"

[Cardtrick]

I would hate farming RwtD or ETK on elite. And even with BB alot of the quests are still poor XP/min. The only one in tangleroot at +1k/min besides pt5 and pt6 for a solo char is pt4 if you invis straight to whisperdoom and cleave the eggs.

I agree with everything else you've said so far in this thread, but Tangleroot quests being sub-1k doesn't sound right to me. We're counting Bravery Bonus and Tome of Learning? (Or no Tome? If no Tome, I could see it maybe not hitting 1k.)

I'm not very good about timing my runs, but I'm pretty sure a full elite runthrough takes me less than half an hour and it seems like I earn at least 30k to 35k xp total. I'll have to take notes next time I run a character through there, but it's always felt like one of the decent XP runs in the level range . . . except for the incredibly annoying breadth of the levels it covers. I usually do it in two chunks -- once at level 5 for the initial run out through the wilderness and elite BB runs of parts 1 - 4, and then a second chunk at level 7 for elite BB runs of the remainder of the chain (along with any farming of parts 5 and 6 that I choose to do).

[Oxarhamar]

I agree with everything else you've said so far in this thread, but Tangleroot quests being sub-1k doesn't sound right to me. We're counting Bravery Bonus and Tome of Learning? (Or no Tome? If no Tome, I could see it maybe not hitting 1k.)

I'm not very good about timing my runs, but I'm pretty sure a full elite runthrough takes me less than half an hour and it seems like I earn at least 30k to 35k xp total. I'll have to take more careful notes next time I run a character through there, but it's always felt like one of the decent XP runs in the level range . . . except for the incredibly annoying breadth of the levels it covers. I usually do it in two chunks -- once at level 5 for the initial run out through the wilderness and elite BB runs of parts 1 - 4, and then a second chunk at level 7 for elite BB runs of the remainder of the chain (along with any farming of parts 5 and 6 that I choose to do).

No its just pure conjecture the OP doesn't run these quests because, of flawed perception of their XP minute or doesn't understand how to run them most efficiently since Invis-zerg is not an option.

[Cardtrick]

If your getting less than 1K minute running XP pots in Tangelroot on a first time bonus Elite streak You've got to be flowersniffing. Your just making up numbers because, in reality you don't run those quest.


No its just pure conjecture the OP doesn't run these quests because, of flawed perception of their XP minute or doesn't understand how to run them most efficiently since Invis-zerg is not an option.

Why be insulting? The OP posted this thread to be a helpful guide. I find it useful. I'm sure others do too. It's fine if you disagree with his methods, or have suggestions on improvements, but there's really no reason at all to be offensive about it.

[Oxarhamar]

Why be insulting? The OP posted this thread to be a helpful guide. I find it useful. I'm sure others do too. It's fine if you disagree with his methods, or have suggestions on improvements, but there's really no reason at all to be offensive about it.

Take it how you will. The guide is far from optimal just pointing that out and being challenged for it.

The arguments brought against my pointing this out are just plain incorrect nothing more to it than that.

[kuro_zero]

I agree with everything else you've said so far in this thread, but Tangleroot quests being sub-1k doesn't sound right to me. We're counting Bravery Bonus and Tome of Learning? (Or no Tome? If no Tome, I could see it maybe not hitting 1k.)

BB, Gtr Tome, and 20% pot. Remember, its not just in-quest time as when calculating XP/Min via XP pot as every second counted down from advancing quest must be counted. Until the quest timer is fixed in next update, I use my buff bar to calculate how long a quest has taken.

Solo, Pt1 and Pt2 is pretty tough to complete in under 3 minutes as there's simply too much running around to do. Pt3 and Pt4 aren't too bad, and obviously Pt5a and Pt6a.

Pt5b XP got nerfed to oblivion. The remaining parts can be done at around 1k/min.


I'm not very good about timing my runs, but I'm pretty sure a full elite runthrough takes me less than half an hour and it seems like I earn at least 30k to 35k xp total. I'll have to take notes next time I run a character through there, but it's always felt like one of the decent XP runs in the level range . . . except for the incredibly annoying breadth of the levels it covers. I usually do it in two chunks -- once at level 5 for the initial run out through the wilderness and elite BB runs of parts 1 - 4, and then a second chunk at level 7 for elite BB runs of the remainder of the chain (along with any farming of parts 5 and 6 that I choose to do).

It evens out in the end so you're probably hitting the 1k/min. By farming just 5a and 6a you push that upto 1.5 to 2k/min.

[Oxarhamar]

BB, Gtr Tome, and 20% pot. Remember, its not just in-quest time as when calculating XP/Min via XP pot as every second counted down from advancing quest must be counted. Until the quest timer is fixed in next update, I use my buff bar to calculate how long a quest has taken.

Solo, Pt1 and Pt2 is pretty tough to complete in under 3 minutes as there's simply too much running around to do. Pt3 and Pt4 aren't too bad, and obviously Pt5a and Pt6a.

Pt5b XP got nerfed to oblivion. The remaining parts can be done at around 1k/min.



It evens out in the end so you're probably hitting the 1k/min. By farming just 5a and 6a you push that upto 1.5 to 2k/min.


Yeah I'm half tempted to prove you wrong but, its not worth the effort since I'm no longer doing Herioc TRs these days.

[kuro_zero]

Yeah I'm half tempted to prove you wrong but, its not worth the effort since I'm no longer doing Herioc TRs these days.

When quest completion timer is fixed in Monday I'll roll up a quick VetII to prove my point.

[Oxarhamar]

When quest completion timer is fixed in Monday I'll roll up a quick VetII to prove my point.

Unless your posting a video a screenshot of your completion time proves nothing except YOU'RE likely not doing the quest fast enough.

[kuro_zero]

I was doing my 3rd life TRs in ~10 days with no XP pots running at 3-4 hours a day before the XP curve hit.

running without XP pots favors streaking and there is enough bonus XP in an 1 and done Elite pattern to make farming those Quests a waste of time. The key is to learn how to do all your Quests fast and efficient as possible like these you single out as "best XP minute"

On second thought, I'm not going to waste my time proving my point as I already know I'm right. You're obviously just here to troll so consider yourself ignored going forward unless you have something constructive to add. Before I wipe my hands of you I simply want to debunk your assertion that running without XP pots favors BB streaking.

Simply put it doesn't. XP pot favors XP/min period. Whether that's 9 quests at 10k each in 1 hour or 90 quests for 1k each in 1 hour, you get the same bonus from the XP pot as the XP/min is exactly the same.

4.38m in 30-40 hours works out to 1.8-2.4k/min. That's giving you the benefit of the doubt and counting all those hours in quest. Solo and without XP pot. Yea, I don't believe it for a second.

[Oxarhamar]

On second thought, I'm not going to waste my time proving my point as I already know I'm right. You're obviously just here to troll so consider yourself ignored going forward unless you have something constructive to add. Before I wipe my hands of you I simply want to debunk your assertion that running without XP pots favors BB streaking.

Simply put it doesn't. XP pot favors XP/min period. Whether that's 9 quests at 10k each in 1 hour or 90 quests for 1k each in 1 hour, you get the same bonus from the XP pot as the XP/min is exactly the same.

4.38m in 30-40 hours works out to 1.8-2.4k/min. That's giving you the benefit of the doubt and counting all those hours in quest. Solo and without XP pot. Yea, I don't believe it for a second.

You can't debunk a thing your assumptions are based off of copying a TR leveling guide built around having multiple players in quests to gain the most benefit for the time spent and trying to adjust those same quests to a solo play style many of the best XP quests are due to multiple players dividing the quests into portions working as a well oiled machine to accomplish different objectives simultaneously getting the most XP in the shortest amount of time.

Still your assumptions of certain quests XP/min are based on your own inability to complete them in a shorter time or to maximize your bonuses without taking more time.

You can not believe anything you like but, your system is far from most efficient. You don't even understand how the XP ransack works to begin with as proven by your own posts (which is why I recommended against a path like this to begin with) here how could anyone expect you to know how to get efficient XP if you don't even understand basic mechanics of XP in the game.

lets look at you common break down of 1E 4H 1N

1st Elite run full bonuses +streak no repeats added on first run
1st Hard run full bonuses first time elite
2nd Hard -20%
3rd Hard -40%
4th Hard -60%
5th Normal full XP first time bonus

Unless your leveling so fast that your out of level range to rerun Quests the next day your much better of not taking your Ransack beyond 40% and getting a fresh +20% daily run with no ransack of quests the next day.

Also running those Quests at -60% on Hard is likely way less XP than just running something else entirely on Elite with +20% daily +80% first time +50% streak and whatever other bonuses your running but, you keep plugging away in those -60% runs because we all know that -60% is more than 250%. .

Just doing at 1E 3H 1N then repeating 1H the next day for more bonuses is more efficient that your entire system and is more similar to the way I've done XP never farming beyond -40% to always leave the possibility to rerun with full XP the next day unless your leveling past the quest level and will definitely never step in the Quest again.

P.S. I' always slash Rogue or Artificer for +15% bonuses your probably missing out on in applicable quests which can make huge difference in the long run as well as make questing a bit easier since traps become a boost instead of a hindrance. stopping for a few seconds to grab 15% xp in many quests will cut down HOURS off your TR time.

[Oxarhamar]

To wrap up level 17 you can either do another GH saga, or farm the quests listed in the level 15 and 16 entries on elite if ransack is gone (takes 2 days). Ideally you would do Litany of the Dead e, 4h, n but requires having a completed sigil. I haven't found a decent way to solo Fleshmaker's Lab reliably so unfortunately I can't guarantee a completed sigil on a particular life.
.

This bit right here the solution to solo Fleshmakers is either to use a hireling for the runes or use Arti or Druid pup even at 1 level splash the pup are great lever pullers and can expand the number of quests you can solo that have levers.

Skipping Litany is a NO NO

In your OP you ask for and tips or advice to improve the system and it was my fault for just advising against leveling like this without going into detail. Still its far from most efficient solo XP.

[kuro_zero]

You can't debunk a thing your assumptions are based off of copying a TR leveling guide built around having multiple players in quests to gain the most benefit for the time spent and trying to adjust those same quests to a solo play style many of the best XP quests are due to multiple players dividing the quests into portions working as a well oiled machine to accomplish different objectives simultaneously getting the most XP in the shortest amount of time.

Still your assumptions of certain quests XP/min are based on your own inability to complete them in a shorter time or to maximize your bonuses without taking more time.

You can not believe anything you like but, your system is far from most efficient. You don't even understand how the XP ransack works to begin with as proven by your own posts (which is why I recommended against a path like this to begin with) here how could anyone expect you to know how to get efficient XP if you don't even understand basic mechanics of XP in the game.

lets look at you common break down of 1E 4H 1N

1st Elite run full bonuses +streak no repeats added on first run
1st Hard run full bonuses first time elite
2nd Hard -20%
3rd Hard -40%
4th Hard -60%
5th Normal full XP first time bonus

Unless your leveling so fast that your out of level range to rerun Quests the next day your much better of not taking your Ransack beyond 40% and getting a fresh +20% daily run with no ransack of quests the next day.

Also running those Quests at -60% on Hard is likely way less XP than just running something else entirely on Elite with +20% daily +80% first time +50% streak and whatever other bonuses your running but, you keep plugging away in those -60% runs because we all know that -60% is more than 250%. .

Just doing at 1E 3H 1N then repeating 1H the next day for more bonuses is more efficient that your entire system and is more similar to the way I've done XP never farming beyond -40% to always leave the possibility to rerun with full XP the next day unless your leveling past the quest level and will definitely never step in the Quest again.

P.S. I' always slash Rogue or Artificer for +15% bonuses your probably missing out on in applicable quests which can make huge difference in the long run as well as make questing a bit easier since traps become a boost instead of a hindrance. stopping for a few seconds to grab 15% xp in many quests will cut down HOURS off your TR time.

Dammit I wasn't going to bother but I need to correct the misinformation you put out.

First: 1e, 4h, n works out like this:

1e - Full bonuses, BB, 50% gtr tome
1st hard - First time bonus
2nd Hard - 100% XP NO RANSACK NO BONUSES
3rd Hard - -20% Ransack
4th Hard - -40% Ransack
1n - first time bonus

Second: you still have a ransack penalty after 1day after running a -40% ransack run

I even explained it above, and no its not because it counts normal as a ransack repetition. Using /ransack you will see your ransack is -60% after the 4th hard run, because, if you run it again on hard you will have -60% XP penalty. 1 day credits you 50% so you are still at a -10% ransack, but gain +20% daily bonus.

3h hard brings you to 20% ransack on the run, 40% on /ransack so next day (+50%) you get no penalty. Seriously you're telling me I don't understand the ransack mechanic?

Third:, yes following this guide playing 4-5 hours a day I out level quests to not bother returning to re-farm. Exception include necro4 quests @17 which I stated can be refarmed to take you over the lvl17 hump (after 2 days).

Seriously, with your ~2100 XP/min (w/o XP pot no less) you bother keeping farm quests available to run the next day?

Fourth: Yes I farm the same quest upto 40% ransack (not 60%) because I'm already there. Ship buffs are running so it easier to squeeze another run in than taking the time to run to another quest and have ship buffs run out in the middle of another elite run.

But you're so uber Elite takes you the same amount of time as normal, so hey go for it.

Last: As solo it generally is less time efficient to search/disable traps as the 15% XP bonus is 15% of base. You're not running an XP pot so you don't even get the multiplicative bonus for doing so. When BB, streak, and gtr tome providing a huge 250% base XP bonus, an additional 15% is waste of time. Quests where taking time to do traps is worthwhile is an exception rather than the rule when solo. If in a group where others can move towards the objective while someone takes care of the traps it becomes worthwhile because you still finish in approximately the same time.

P.S. No where did I state this was the "most efficient" way to level, solo or otherwise. (All I did is objectively compare it to Carpone's guide and stated I was happy with a solo rate of 1500 XP/min compared to his party rate of 3,000 XP/min

[Oxarhamar]

Dammit I wasn't going to bother but I need to correct the misinformation you put out.

First: 1e, 4h, n works out like this:

1e - Full bonuses, BB, 50% gtr tome
1st hard - First time bonus
2nd Hard - 100% XP NO RANSACK NO BONUSES
3rd Hard - -20% Ransack
4th Hard - -40% Ransack
1n - first time bonus

Second: you still have a ransack penalty after 1day after running a -40% ransack run

I even explained it above, and no its not because it counts normal as a ransack repetition. Using /ransack you will see your ransack is -60% after the 4th hard run, because, if you run it again on hard you will have -60% XP penalty. 1 day credits you 50% so you are still at a -10% ransack, but gain +20% daily bonus.

3h hard brings you to 20% ransack on the run, 40% on /ransack so next day (+50%) you get no penalty. Seriously you're telling me I don't understand the ransack mechanic?

Third:, yes following this guide playing 4-5 hours a day I out level quests to not bother returning to re-farm. Exception include necro4 quests @17 which I stated can be refarmed to take you over the lvl17 hump (after 2 days).

Seriously, with your ~2100 XP/min (w/o XP pot no less) you bother keeping farm quests available to run the next day?

Fourth: Yes I farm the same quest upto 40% ransack (not 60%) because I'm already there. Ship buffs are running so it easier to squeeze another run in than taking the time to run to another quest and have ship buffs run out in the middle of another elite run.

But you're so uber Elite takes you the same amount of time as normal, so hey go for it.

Last: As solo it generally is less time efficient to search/disable traps as the 15% XP bonus is 15% of base. You're not running an XP pot so you don't even get the multiplicative bonus for doing so. When BB, streak, and gtr tome providing a huge 250% base XP bonus, an additional 15% is waste of time. Quests where taking time to do traps is worthwhile is an exception rather than the rule when solo. If in a group where others can move towards the objective while someone takes care of the traps it becomes worthwhile because you still finish in approximately the same time.

P.S. No where did I state this was the "most efficient" way to level, solo or otherwise. (All I did is objectively compare it to Carpone's guide and stated I was happy with a solo rate of 1500 XP/min compared to his party rate of 3,000 XP/min

Your absolutely wrong about the way Ransack Penalty works and you've proven it because after 1 day the Quests for you reset to -10% Your taking the XP to -60% Ransack penalty does not reset only -40% after the first day your just doing it wrong when you run the Quest @-40% ransack it adds another -20% to your ransack penalty just type /Ransack and you'll see.

And your also wrong about Trap bonuses as well while its only 15% of Base it is mere seconds added onto quests granting more XP in a one stop visit meaning less quests total to run. (yes its more efficient to have multiple players getting traps but, it doesn't mean stopping for a second to grab them is not better than skipping them to begin with. Some quests where they are off the main path sure they are not worth bothering with but, many they are an easy bonus that's along the way. Think of the lost xp in von3, Temple of Vol, Coal Chamber, Tangleroot part 3 (there is 2 traps for 8% bonus at the end that you must pass thru in order to reach the last objective its most efficient to avoid the traps grab agro then backtrack thru the traps and begin to disarm them while the traps mutilate the red name for you) Maybe this is why your getting such low XP/min your focusing so much on speed your missing easy XP bonuses.

[kuro_zero]

Your absolutely wrong about the way Ransack Penalty works and you've proven it because after 1 day the Quests for you reset to -10% Your taking the XP to -60% Ransack penalty does not reset only -40% after the first day your just doing it wrong.

No, I'm not. You can even do it in epics (hint: its why all those daily EH VoN3 farm runs are done twice and not 3 times).


And your wrong about Trap bonuses as well while its only 15% of Base it is mere seconds added onto quests granting more XP in a one stop visit meaning less quests total to run. (yes its more efficient to have multiple players getting traps but, it doesn't mean stopping for a second to grab them is not better than skipping them to begin with. Some quests where they are of the main path sure they are not worth bothering with but, many they are an easy bonus that's along the way.

I have math to back me up. I know exactly how many seconds I have to attain a certain XP bonus before it negatively affects my goal of +1,500 XP/min.

[Oxarhamar]

No, I'm not. You can even do it in epics (hint: its why all those daily EH VoN3 farm runs are done twice and not 3 times).

I have math to back me up. I know exactly how many seconds I have to attain a certain XP bonus before it negatively affects my goal of +1,500 XP/min.

first refusing to admit your wrong about the XP mechanic doesn't make you right. Just type /ransack after you've run your full E HHHH N and find out why your getting -10% the next day.

exactly how many more seconds would effect your goal when adding up to 15% which BTW is multiplicatively effected by XP shire, Voice and in your case XP pots. You don't know because, your too focused on XP/min to even think about it.

Just 1 trap disarmed in Von3 is 8% xp bonus that takes all of ~5 seconds to search+disarm Guess +8% in von3 is not worth the 5 seconds added onto your solo run

[kuro_zero]

first refusing to admit your wrong about the XP mechanic doesn't make you right. Just type /ransack after you've run your full E HHHH N and find out why your getting -10% the next day.

Keep digging. I find it hilarious.


exactly how many more seconds would effect your goal when adding up to 15% which BTW is multiplicatively effected by XP shire, Voice and in your case XP pots. You don't know because, your too focused on XP/min to even think about it.

[x(a*b*c)/y]*60 = Z

a = XP potion multiplier
b = VoM multiplier
c = XP Shrine multiplier
x = Trap XP bonus (% of base XP)
y = Target XP/min goal
Constant 60 = seconds
Z = Number of seconds before time spent on traps becomes detrimental to target XP/min.


Just 1 trap disarmed in Von3 is 8% xp bonus that takes all of ~5 seconds to search+disarm Guess +8% in von3 is not worth the 5 seconds added onto your solo run


Quests where taking time to do traps is worthwhile is an exception rather than the rule when solo.

[Oxarhamar]

Keep digging. I find it hilarious.


[a*b*c(x/y)]*60 = Z

a = XP potion multiplier
b = VoM multiplier
c = XP Shrine multiplier
x = Trap XP bonus % of base XP
y = Target XP/min goal
Constant 60 = seconds
Z = Number of seconds before time spent on traps becomes detrimental to target XP/min.[/QUOTE]

Keep denying won't make you any less wrong

fancy "Math" in the time it takes you to plug in all those numbers you could have had your +15% and been done with it. While not all Traps are worth doing your already going slower than a full party by soloing adding on a few seconds in most cases is not going to break the bank. .

[kuro_zero]

The reason your getting -10% Ransack after 1 day is because your running the quest 6 times. The first time bonus may apply to E H N but, it still adds to the Ransack. test it /ransack

Wrong.


lets look at you common break down of 1E 4H 1N

1st Elite run full bonuses +streak no repeats added on first run
1st Hard run full bonuses first time elite
2nd Hard -20%
3rd Hard -40%
4th Hard -60%
5th Normal full XP first time bonus

Wrong.


Also running those Quests at -60% on Hard is likely way less XP than just running something else entirely on Elite with +20% daily +80% first time +50% streak and whatever other bonuses your running but, you keep plugging away in those -60% runs because we all know that -60% is more than 250%. .

Wrong. Only 5 quests on the list are run at -60% ransack.


Your absolutely wrong about the way Ransack Penalty works and you've proven it because after 1 day the Quests for you reset to -10% Your taking the XP to -60% Ransack penalty does not reset only -40% after the first day your just doing it wrong when you run the Quest @-40% ransack it adds another -20% to your ransack penalty just type /Ransack and you'll see.

But, according to you, I'm running a quest @-60% ransack.

Seems like I said the exact same thing:


Second: you still have a ransack penalty after 1day after running a -40% ransack run

I even explained it above, and no its not because it counts normal as a ransack repetition. Using /ransack you will see your ransack is -60% after the 4th hard run, because, if you run it again on hard you will have -60% XP penalty. 1 day credits you 50% so you are still at a -10% ransack, but gain +20% daily bonus.

And its pretty sad when elementary algebra is regarded as fancy "math."

[Oxarhamar]

Wrong.



Wrong.



Wrong. Only 5 quests on the list are run at -60% ransack.



But, according to you, I'm running a quest @-60% ransack.

Seems like I said the exact same thing:



And its pretty sad when elementary algebra is regarded as fancy "math."

Admit it or not your the one who is wrong about Ransack

the term "fancy" was used since your Mathing away nice bonuses due to some idea that its not the most effienct method yet your already using a less than efficient method.

[Oxarhamar]

Wrong.

But, according to you, I'm running a quest @-60% ransack.

Seems like I said the exact same thing:"

Actually you said something entirely different
"
You claim that Ransack only resets -40% on 1st day when in fact it resets 50% each day but, you can't see past your "Math" to understand your the one taking the quest to -60%

Each time you repeat a quest, the amount of experience the quest grants decreases by 20%. Running a quest at -40% leaves your total ransack -60% at the end of the day

[kuro_zero]

Got two characters on the TR train and a 3rd as soon as I get enough tokens for a heart.

Have some tweaks in mind for level 16 and 17 so will see how that goes.

[cru121]

AFAIK, Kuro is right.

Anyway, my 2 cents: If a quest is worth running at -60%, you can probably also include one run on Casual.

[kuro_zero]

AFAIK, Kuro is right.

Anyway, my 2 cents: If a quest is worth running at -60%, you can probably also include one run on Casual.

Of the 5 quests listed that I run @ -60% ransack, running a casual could be worth while on 2 (tangleroot 5a and 6a). The others you run into a stiff overlevel penalty (-50% to -75%) in addition to 50% base XP on casual. While 25% first time bonus helps a bit, the reduced base XP means all bonuses are likewise reduced.

[Stoner81]

Thanks for the guide kuro I never use them for the most part since guildies want to run things and what not so I never stick to these just to be more flexible for others however, I do appreciate the time and effort involved in the creation of your guide and as such wanted to say thank you :)

Stoner81.

PS - It would really help a lot imho if certain packs were standardized in terms of level ranges (Threnal, Delera's, Sorrowdusk and Tangleroot to name a few) but that is another story entirely!

[kuro_zero]

Thanks for the guide kuro I never use them for the most part since guildies want to run things and what not so I never stick to these just to be more flexible for others however, I do appreciate the time and effort involved in the creation of your guide and as such wanted to say thank you :)

Stoner81.

PS - It would really help a lot imho if certain packs were standardized in terms of level ranges (Threnal, Delera's, Sorrowdusk and Tangleroot to name a few) but that is another story entirely!

Thanks for the support and hope it helps. I also don't follow the guide verbatim, and also run what guildies and friends want to run if they're on. I'm finding it more useful as a reference of solid XP quests availible for a certain level.

The level range Delta on certain quest chains are pretty annoying. Tangleroot is probably the worst offender mainly because alot of character power and equpement is gained during those levels. Sorrowdusk is another one that annoys me but mostly because elite trolls and ogres in Black Moon Waning chain are tougher than the cultists in the later quests.

I would like to get some threnal quests on the list as they're excellent XP but the escort-like missions are problematic solo.

Final thing is an update to the list. Last time I may have run with a 20% bonus XP weekend or was using 30% XP pots but regardless level 6 and 7 quests are short on XP to level (level 6 by approximately 7k, level 7 by a huge 20k - not sure what happened there).

Will update OP after work - move some quests down a level to cover the gap, an elite The Snitch run @ level 7 (7m,~10k XP) and a Bloody Crypt elite run at either 7 or 8 (~22k XP, run time TBD) Will see if Bloody Crypt us worth forming at other difficulties, but its alot of running around by yourself.

[Angelique38]

Main problem I see with this is that a new player on his/her first character CAN NOT do any of this........


How about a NEW player guide, not expecting any player to have ANYTHING but a mere 28pt build ( standard) and NOTHING more

It doesn't help reading a guide to do missions on elite when you first have to do the mission on normal, even casual for some, before they can go to Hard and ONLY then go elite.

So where are these "guides" they are in fact non existent or close too
Any and ALL guides, tips and tricks I hve seen related to DDO takes for granted that players have either played enough to have their second or more life, or PAID something, be it bough an adventure or subscription.


I wanted to see a guide, it was on a quest I struggled with, I turned off every vido guide I could find the oment I saw they were either higher level ( more then +3 levels) or P2p or Had extra classes or enchantment trees, like harper.

To me this makes this guide totally BULLCRAP, and the guides alike, because those that need it don't have what the guide maker takes for granted after their own years of playing.

[Drekisen]

Main problem I see with this is that a new player on his/her first character CAN NOT do any of this........


How about a NEW player guide, not expecting any player to have ANYTHING but a mere 28pt build ( standard) and NOTHING more

It doesn't help reading a guide to do missions on elite when you first have to do the mission on normal, even casual for some, before they can go to Hard and ONLY then go elite.

So where are these "guides" they are in fact non existent or close too
Any and ALL guides, tips and tricks I hve seen related to DDO takes for granted that players have either played enough to have their second or more life, or PAID something, be it bough an adventure or subscription.


I wanted to see a guide, it was on a quest I struggled with, I turned off every vido guide I could find the oment I saw they were either higher level ( more then +3 levels) or P2p or Had extra classes or enchantment trees, like harper.

To me this makes this guide totally BULLCRAP, and the guides alike, because those that need it don't have what the guide maker takes for granted after their own years of playing.

For first time players doing it even on just normals it is still probably the fastest xp/minute quests. Besides first life should be less about speed and more about learning.

[SpartanKiller13]

Main problem I see with this is that a new player on his/her first character CAN NOT do any of this...

This isn't a guide for new players. There are plenty of those on the forums already; this is for vets who want to get small endgame rewards faster.


How about a NEW player guide, not expecting any player to have ANYTHING but a mere 28pt build ( standard) and NOTHING more

Here's (https://lmgtfy.com/?q=ddo+new+player+guide) one for you.
Here's (https://lmgtfy.com/?q=ddo+28-point+builds) some 28 point builds.
Frankly, 36-point builds are nice, but they're not the difference between a vet and a new player. Knowledge and understanding is.


It doesn't help reading a guide to do missions on elite when you first have to do the mission on normal, even casual for some, before they can go to Hard and ONLY then go elite.

If you have to run it on casual, you're likely never going to run it on elite (given the same build).
You don't need to run anything elite, especially on a 28-point build.
If you choose to run elite on a 28-point build, N/H/E works fine. Otherwise you can find a group, and then this guide is not for you (see the 2nd word of the title).


So where are these "guides" they are in fact non existent or close too
Any and ALL guides, tips and tricks I have seen related to DDO takes for granted that players have either played enough to have their second or more life, or PAID something, be it bough an adventure or subscription.

I reference the links above. If you are looking for a guide for something specific PM me or post in the new player section and either one will be found or I'll write it.


I wanted to see a guide, it was on a quest I struggled with, I turned off every video guide I could find the moment I saw they were either higher level ( more then +3 levels) or P2p or Had extra classes or enchantment trees, like harper.

Ok, what quest? Did you check the wiki (http://ddowiki.com/)? It has moderately comprehensive guides for every quest, and Spiderwolf has done videos for many of them.


To me this makes this guide totally BULLCRAP, and the guides alike, because those that need it don't have what the guide maker takes for granted after their own years of playing.

I re-iterate: This is not a guide for new players. This is a guide for those who already have all the stuff the guide maker is taking for granted. This is an intermediate/advanced guide.
You're asking for all guides to be basic only; not everyone is at your level, some have the basics mastered and are looking for more advanced knowledge.
I'm starting to think you just want to get angry online; you've been offered help/guidance on every post I've seen from you, and continue to ignore/protest any advice given.
I'm Khysiria on Cannith, and if you mail me or /tell me or PM me I'll roll up a toon (level 1/4/7/15 easily, but I'll even level one to match you) to help you figure out what you need to know.


For first time players doing it even on just normals it is still probably the fastest xp/minute quests. Besides first life should be less about speed and more about learning.

I totally agree. You can also run elite, but it'll be in a group. You can even ask/post your LFM as a learning experience. On my main's first life I ran exclusively EBB, 1-20. However, I've run 70+ toons across my years of gaming, so to me it's more about speed now.

[awar1234]

The game GIVES YOU FREE TP for favor. Why not just run ALL quests once on ELITE and done? Now i dont run ALL the quest on elite, some are just not fun, but you can run most of them one ELITE and DONE each life.. If you get close to 3000 favor each level 20 TR that is 750 FREE TP EACH LIFE!
14 TR's for completionist that is over 10,000 FREE TP!?!
Do that 3 times for Triple completionist and you have OVER 30,000 FREE TP!! enough to buy every pack and class and bank and tomes and bags and......

Now i know that is how you enjoy the game, BUT why?? A few more different quests and you get so much more out of the game... I run most quests ONCE ON ELITE and done, but one of my friends in game LAUGHS at me for doing this, because he can TR faster than me...but he also just buys TP when on sale, so maybe that is the difference?? I was VIP for the first year and got alot of FREE TP, then went Premium, for about 4 years. Now back to VIP because I really love this game and $8.25 a month is some of the best entertainment money i spend!!

BUT I STILL LOVE MY FREE TP!!

[SpartanKiller13]

The game GIVES YOU FREE TP for favor. Why not just run ALL quests once on ELITE and done? Now i dont run ALL the quest on elite, some are just not fun, but you can run most of them one ELITE and DONE each life.. If you get close to 3000 favor each level 20 TR that is 750 FREE TP EACH LIFE!
14 TR's for completionist that is over 10,000 FREE TP!?!
Do that 3 times for Triple completionist and you have OVER 30,000 FREE TP!! enough to buy every pack and class and bank and tomes and bags and......

Now i know that is how you enjoy the game, BUT why?? A few more different quests and you get so much more out of the game... I run most quests ONCE ON ELITE and done, but one of my friends in game LAUGHS at me for doing this, because he can TR faster than me...but he also just buys TP when on sale, so maybe that is the difference?? I was VIP for the first year and got alot of FREE TP, then went Premium, for about 4 years. Now back to VIP because I really love this game and $8.25 a month is some of the best entertainment money i spend!!

BUT I STILL LOVE MY FREE TP!!

Speaking as a Premium player, I had a lot of trouble hitting 2.5k favor on my second life, and I had run nearly every quest I have available on elite. Including a bunch I'd never ran before.
Elite once and done is great for favor/TP, but this guide is not for that.
This guide is for those who want to get through a TR, solo, as fast as possible.
Everyone can do Elite once and done, doesn't require any strategy etc (except if you're not VIP/$$ premium you probs need to grind a bit at some levels).
Not everyone wants to take 200 hours in-game to get through a HTR, however.

To get your 3k favor how many hours does it take you? Also how many undesirable or out-of-the-way quests do you have to do?

[awar1234]

The Op says he can TR in about 11 days.

I do Once on elite and done, MOST quests, (there are some i dislike) if i was going from 1-20 14 days would be normal for me..... But i mostly run up to 30 then ETR, then ITR/HR