i'VE GOT A LOOOONG WAY TO GO YET.

[Chauncey1]

I keep trying to solo stuff on EE with my capped toons, and it invariably ends so quickly, I can't help but laugh. EH is doable. But EE is something else entirely.
Are all toons I see on teh youtubes blasting through EE stuff solo like it's a walk in the park all multi-completionists?

My two capped toons are first lifers.
Is that where the difference lies?

[Ivan_Milic]

Depends on your class.
But you need to have eds maxed, good twists, gear, if you are melee displace clickies, and you need to know the quests.
Past lives are not that important, for caster are if you are dc caster.
But legend build gets more stat points than first life.

[Powskier]

2nd and 3rd life dont look like much o n paper ,bu tthey defin add apunch to any toon.there are alot of usefull builds for EE,if you like that pre-built style.The Twists really stack up for the players w a bunch of lives...i want lvl 4 destiny twists too:)...also you can get awsome EH equipment cheap nowdays;crank a hundred shards to pep up equipments is nice;and max your augments in the ddo store (way cheaper ,unless u find em in chests) Power toons just need you not to die in the EE dungeon,when my bard was runnin epic he was welcomed to EE parties as an adventurer build.

[Chauncey1]

Depends on your class.
But you need to have eds maxed, good twists, gear, if you are melee displace clickies, and you need to know the quests.
Past lives are not that important, for caster are if you are dc caster.
But legend build gets more stat points than first life.


So...yeah...I still have a long way to go on all that.

[moo_cow]

What class are you trying to solo with? It mostly requires gear, ed, twists, good self sufficiency and skill (depending on the ed).

[mobrien316]

The scaling on epic does seem a bit non-linear.

On a scale of one to ten:
Epic Normal = 1
Epic Hard = 5
Epic Elite = 27

I have characters that can solo some quests on Epic Hard, but when they try the same quest on EE they get killed in the first fight.

I actually like that EE is significantly harder than EH. I think it should be.

[Ivan_Milic]

So...yeah...I still have a long way to go on all that.

Ofc, cant expect to complete ee with no gear or eds.
At least not solo.
You should try with shiradi caster, needs much less investment.

[Enoach]

Along the line of "Knowing" the quest

When soloing it helps to know where the best places to pull monsters are to keep the advantage in your favor. The reason for this is so that you keep the advantage. Such as only fighting a number you can handle at a time. Such as a one on one fight (some might be able to handle more). Sometimes you need to take your time.

Next is learning which fights you need to do vs. fights you can simply bypass.

Also it takes practice. A couple good Epic Quests to practice:
1. Bargain of Blood
2. Partycrashers

[RedOrm]

My main (rogue 2 PM18, epic6) by now has all destinies capped, has 2 wizard past lives, 2 epic past lives, and is currently a shadar-kai instead of an elf.
Her gear on the other hand is decent, but far from end-game worthy.
And just yesterday, I realised that hubby and me will step into the lower EE's (Snitch, BoB, ID, RB)with confidence that we'll succeed without too much trouble. Mid-level stuff, we'll try but expect a seriously hard time. High end EE's, we just get wiped.

So yea, you still have a long way to go -but you'll get there :)

Greetz,
Red Orm

[Chauncey1]

What class are you trying to solo with? It mostly requires gear, ed, twists, good self sufficiency and skill (depending on the ed).

Pure monk and pure rogue, I have the best named armor and weapons I've been able to get my grimy mitts on, but it's not the uber dragonscale stuff. So, a LOT of room for improvement there. And the rest of the gear is as good as I can get right now as...which, is likely the the root of my problems, lol.
They are both working on the Unyielding Sentinel,which gives them a massive HP boost and modest healing capabilities on top of what they've already gotten along the way to lvl 28.
The twists are my weak spot...I don't know what is best for what class, race, etc...I had just put in what I could as it became available.
I think my monk has the lotus flower attack and sundering swings twists, and my rogue has...ah heck...without looking right at their respective ED's I can't say for sure.

[Chauncey1]

The scaling on epic does seem a bit non-linear.

On a scale of one to ten:
Epic Normal = 1
Epic Hard = 5
Epic Elite = 27

I have characters that can solo some quests on Epic Hard, but when they try the same quest on EE they get killed in the first fight.

I actually like that EE is significantly harder than EH. I think it should be.


Yup.
Same here. It gives me something to strive for. Braggin rights.

[Grimlock]

I keep trying to solo stuff on EE with my capped toons, and it invariably ends so quickly, I can't help but laugh. EH is doable. But EE is something else entirely.
Are all toons I see on teh youtubes blasting through EE stuff solo like it's a walk in the park all multi-completionists?

My two capped toons are first lifers.
Is that where the difference lies?

Yes. Not having past lives will certainly be a hurdle. Operating on an off-destiny that is not capped will show. Soloing EE on a build that does not allow you to blitz, or put out excessive damage from a distance (Ie- DI, Fury, Shiradi) will show.

Gear is also a huge factor.

What is the build of your capped toon(s)?

[Chauncey1]

Yes. Not having past lives will certainly be a hurdle. Operating on an off-destiny that is not capped will show. Soloing EE on a build that does not allow you to blitz, or put out excessive damage from a distance (Ie- DI, Fury, Shiradi) will show.

Gear is also a huge factor.

What is the build of your capped toon(s)?

Shintao Monk (Helf) and Rogue Mechanic (Drow).

[patang01]

I keep trying to solo stuff on EE with my capped toons, and it invariably ends so quickly, I can't help but laugh. EH is doable. But EE is something else entirely.
Are all toons I see on teh youtubes blasting through EE stuff solo like it's a walk in the park all multi-completionists?

My two capped toons are first lifers.
Is that where the difference lies?

First it depends on class and if you have a good destiny. Straight up melee or say divine won't really work well. Exploiter builds - like Monk splashed and Shiradi can usually cake walk this stuff - as long as they have the gear needed. I suggest you skip trying to EE solo with straight build or anything but a well geared caster build. Melee is downright nasty on EE, especially when things hit for hundreds of HP and you can selfheal for sub 100. That is why you see so many Monk, Ranged and caster builds doing that stuff.

[bruener]

knowledge of the quest is key along with a properly built toon w/ decent gear. obviously some classes are better than others. dont forget to invis thru 80% of it. seems to be the norm.

[ValariusK]

I suggest starting with Impossible Demands. It'll show you several things:

The trash in EE is often at least as dangerous as the bosses, frequently more so.
You generally want to kill as few things as possible in EE. In Impossible demands, that means Vicala and ONLY Vicala.
Meleeing even trash in EE is extremely dangerous. Displacement via spell or clickies (I suggest a greensteel smoke item) is pretty much a must. It offends my sensibilities that displacement works in epic but AC in moderate investment amounts does not. IMO, pretty much every mob in EE ought to have true seeing given the levels involved---I mean nearly every player slots it at those levels don't we?
Reflex saves that rarely fail and evasion are really important. You can get away without evasion only if you have really high resists/absorb and strong self-healing. Vicala, for instance, spams cometfall a lot.
You need good self-healing that you can execute while kiting or otherwise on the run.
IMO EE needs to be retuned such that it is twice as hard for kiters/ranged and twice as easy for more pure melee. In addition, spell damages need to be tuned downward a bit BUT a lot more diversity of spell casting needs to be used. For instance, horrid wilting needs to be in the lineup (no evasion). Mobs should tweak what spells they cast when they see the target evading constantly or their magic missiles hitting a shield/nightshield. A big part of the reason such a ridiculous fraction of the population splashes for evasion is the spell choice by mobs.

[Vanhooger]

Yes it look impossible, but it's not. I remember when I start soloing EE (not that long ago..few months), and I was wondering how people could handle them. It's matter of time, decent equip, and knowledge on the right build/destiny. Poor build/destiny can do EE as well but require more skill and tricks :).

If I can give an advice, just watch those guys playing, what they use, how they play.

And start do EE party before trying to solo, it will help understand how to survive first, because a dead body is 0 dps. When you more confident, start with the easiest EE, like LOD, snitch, ecc.

Of course you will die sometimes but that happend. just don't give up, and you'll see the result :)

Some EE solo needs lot of resources, so be prepared for any situation, because nobody will help you!

[Sokól]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM6RFE1p8Z8

[janave]

Multiple PastLife Feats are very helpful, but it is more build dependent, and i agree on knowing the quest inside out being a major plus, so you know for sure when to skip a fight.

Probably the easiest entry is a self healing caster, with cheap SLAs. My first life gimpy Sorc can put out 2-4k damage very quickly for 2-4-6sp rotations. Granted they dont save for half. Really undergeared, so there is an easy 30-40% up from here i guess. SP is generally plentiful if you prepare well, and acquire some resources, it is not uncommon that soloers use a fwe major mnemonics.

With an FVS you can try maxing out blade barriers, get enough umd for displacement scrolls and kitefest until the mobs drop. Since you are already kiting, might pick up a bow, and plink down a few100s of damage with it too. This worked for me somewhat well, but really tiresome to play. Instakills are just too much mana with my 45-48ish dc-s (depending on ED).

[AzB]

I keep trying to solo stuff on EE with my capped toons, and it invariably ends so quickly, I can't help but laugh. EH is doable. But EE is something else entirely.
Are all toons I see on teh youtubes blasting through EE stuff solo like it's a walk in the park all multi-completionists?

My two capped toons are first lifers.
Is that where the difference lies?

My challenge has been to get a bard that can solo EE. It's fairly easy with a WF sorc, monk, or FotM build. Other than the monk, it requires a bit of cheese. The monk has no real weakness, so there's really no challenge other than making it time efficient.

The bard though is really, really fun and challenging. It takes quite an investment in gear and pls, but EH is cake. Some EE is fairly easy. Some of it is touch and go, there are few that I simply can't do because of the limitations of the bard. Some are doable, but take forever because bards aren't allowed to have any abilities that do anything to bosses, except melee dps, which is not the best.

Keep trying, it gets easier. Knowing the quests is just as important as having a well built toon and all the gear. PLs can help, but may or may not be required depending on build, gear, and general strategy. I have two capped toons that are 3rd lifers, and they do ok.

[Chauncey1]

Maybe, juuuuust maybe my strategeries and tactics were all wrong.

I was trying to fight just like it was EH...
I'm so stupid...

[Sokól]

Maybe, juuuuust maybe my strategeries and tactics were all wrong.

I was trying to fight just like it was EH...
I'm so stupid...

Do not put your self down this has happened to most if not all us :)

[Grimlock]

Shintao Monk (Helf) and Rogue Mechanic (Drow).

Cool. I think you should zone in on the Monk build. Gear is plentiful and by stocking up on high Wisdom, Epic Jidtz, or items that will step up your damage output you will both enhance your AC/Dodge and be able to use Master's Blitz for effective damage output. Maybe not as much as a THF swinging a greatsword/falcion, but certainly enough to lay waste to your enemies. The ability to slaughter trash while keeping yourself displaced via scrolling yourself, blur items, etc. is huge.

Monitor your hit points and do not be afraid to pull back, heal up and jump back into the frey. Drop casters first then worry about assassins, then other trash types. As a Monk your saves should be the best in the game compared to pure builds of other classes.

Going in to Epics I would ensure you have the TWF feat tree, Pefect TWF from capping out Primal Sphere, and stay in LD if you are soloing EE's. Can you pass by with other Destinies? Possibly, there are always players in this and other games that love to play the 1 up card and throw up a post of their character showboating in an off destiny on EE. Reality paints a different picture.

Regarding your mechanic, I strongly suggest you ETR him into an assassin build. I have little to no insight for you on the Shadowdancer ED as Grimlock has yet to cap this out and my three life Rogue has not stepped in to Epics as of yet. I do know that the extra dice from sneak attack and assassinate do considerable damage on Epics, and if you invest heavily into INT that you can hit your assassinate on EE most of the time, but as we are talking about first life builds sans completionist this will be hard to do.

[Qhualor]

I keep trying to solo stuff on EE with my capped toons, and it invariably ends so quickly, I can't help but laugh. EH is doable. But EE is something else entirely.
Are all toons I see on teh youtubes blasting through EE stuff solo like it's a walk in the park all multi-completionists?

My two capped toons are first lifers.
Is that where the difference lies?

No. Those YouTube videos are FOTM players mostly. Not saying that aren't good players because you do still need skill.

When I used to solo old epics on my barb I failed a bunch of times at first. I'm sure its the same for anyone before they start posting screenies and videos of accomplishments.

[Chauncey1]

Cool. I think you should zone in on the Monk build. Gear is plentiful and by stocking up on high Wisdom, Epic Jidtz, or items that will step up your damage output you will both enhance your AC/Dodge and be able to use Master's Blitz for effective damage output. Maybe not as much as a THF swinging a greatsword/falcion, but certainly enough to lay waste to your enemies. The ability to slaughter trash while keeping yourself displaced via scrolling yourself, blur items, etc. is huge.

Monitor your hit points and do not be afraid to pull back, heal up and jump back into the frey. Drop casters first then worry about assassins, then other trash types. As a Monk your saves should be the best in the game compared to pure builds of other classes.

Going in to Epics I would ensure you have the TWF feat tree, Pefect TWF from capping out Primal Sphere, and stay in LD if you are soloing EE's. Can you pass by with other Destinies? Possibly, there are always players in this and other games that love to play the 1 up card and throw up a post of their character showboating in an off destiny on EE. Reality paints a different picture.

Regarding your mechanic, I strongly suggest you ETR him into an assassin build. I have little to no insight for you on the Shadowdancer ED as Grimlock has yet to cap this out and my three life Rogue has not stepped in to Epics as of yet. I do know that the extra dice from sneak attack and assassinate do considerable damage on Epics, and if you invest heavily into INT that you can hit your assassinate on EE most of the time, but as we are talking about first life builds sans completionist this will be hard to do.


I have been focusing on the monk more recently, even though I was singing the praise about my rogue just a week or so ago.
He's more DPS than my rogue, as well he should be, but my rogue can hardly be hit at all (on EH, anyway) and has a much higher spell resist. I am not ready to ETR any of my toons yet, even if I had all the CoV's and had all the spheres done, I still don't think I'd ETR any of them right away.

After doing all that, I'd want to try them out and see what they can for a while first.
Though I will eventually go assassin build with him, maybe on his TR.

[mobrien316]

Maybe, juuuuust maybe my strategeries and tactics were all wrong.

I was trying to fight just like it was EH...
I'm so stupid...

You can pretty much use the same strategy through all heroic content and up to Epic Hard (i.e. - run into room, kill everything, repeat as needed). Epic Elite is a whole other game, especially when trying to solo.

[schelsullivan]

I solo EE with my 28 ranger who runs in the Fury of the Wild destiny. Here some of the strategies I use:

I go very slow, rushing always gets me killed.
I use range weapons to attract single mobs from large groups from a safe distance. Takes some practice, arrows hitting walls or crates can help split mob groups.
I have Pin, and Ottos arrow from Shiradi twisted in, these I use to control the mob as it approaches.
I use Paralyzing arrow imbue, hits enough to be useful even in EE.
I have rank 3 Overwhelming Force from Fury of the Wild for 10 second knock down with adrenaline charged melee attacks, Its invaluable.
I twist in rank 3 Cocoon from the Druid ED, great self healing.
I have good sneak and move silently stats to avoid fighting when I can.
I open doors as far from the door/switch as possible, out of view from the opening, then drop into sneak immediately, this help prevent rooms full of mobs rushing me.
I have manyshot with Fury of the Wild for when I need to fight more than one mob or for boss fights.
I am a ranger, I can kite with the best of them.
I sometimes run like hell and hope mobs rebound with it starts getting out of control.
I have +40 jump and sprint boost, it helps your escape if you get surrounded.

I know other builds are faster or use more brute strength or nuking tactics, buy my sneaky ranger who can range/melee and has some CC is a lot of fun.

[Teh_Troll]

I keep trying to solo stuff on EE with my capped toons, and it invariably ends so quickly, I can't help but laugh. EH is doable. But EE is something else entirely.
Are all toons I see on teh youtubes blasting through EE stuff solo like it's a walk in the park all multi-completionists?

My two capped toons are first lifers.
Is that where the difference lies?

Have you considered taking my course?

[Chauncey1]

I solo EE with my 28 ranger who runs in the Fury of the Wild destiny. Here some of the strategies I use:

I go very slow, rushing always gets me killed.
I use range weapons to attract single mobs from large groups from a safe distance. Takes some practice, arrows hitting walls or crates can help split mob groups.
I have Pin, and Ottos arrow from Shiradi twisted in, these I use to control the mob as it approaches.
I use Paralyzing arrow imbue, hits enough to be useful even in EE.
I have tier 3 Overwhelming Force from Fury of the Wild for 10 second knock down with adrenaline charged melee attacks, Its invaluable.
I twist in tier 3 Cocoon from the Druid ED, great self healing.
I have good sneak and move silently stats to avoid fighting when I can.
I open doors as far from the door/switch as possible, out of view from the opening, then drop into sneak immediately, this help prevent rooms full of mobs rushing me.
I have manyshot with Fury of the Wild for when I need to fight more than one mob or for boss fights.
I am a ranger, I can kite with the best of them.
I sometimes run like hell and hope mobs rebound with it starts getting out of control.
I have +40 jump and sprint boost, it helps your escape if you get surrounded.

I know other builds are faster or use more brute strength or nuking tactics, buy my sneaky ranger who can range/melee and has some CC is a lot of fun.

Great advice.
I will try that on my toons tonight. And I forgot I had a capped AA ranger too..(don't ask, it's been a week of stupidity for me) that is set up very similar to yours.

[Chauncey1]

Have you considered taking my course?

I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

[Ivan_Milic]

I have been focusing on the monk more recently, even though I was singing the praise about my rogue just a week or so ago.
He's more DPS than my rogue, as well he should be, but my rogue can hardly be hit at all (on EH, anyway) and has a much higher spell resist. I am not ready to ETR any of my toons yet, even if I had all the CoV's and had all the spheres done, I still don't think I'd ETR any of them right away.

After doing all that, I'd want to try them out and see what they can for a while first.
Though I will eventually go assassin build with him, maybe on his TR.

If you are going to bother with ac, you need at least 100 ac for ee.

[Ivan_Milic]

Great advice.
I will try that on my toons tonight. And I forgot I had a capped AA ranger too..(don't ask, it's been a week of stupidity for me) that is set up very similar to yours.

For aa ranger take frosty and pin, with cocoon to heal.

[Chauncey1]

If you are going to bother with ac, you need at least 100 ac for ee.

I haven't bothered with AC except on my S&B toons.

[Ivan_Milic]

I solo EE with my 28 ranger who runs in the Fury of the Wild destiny. Here some of the strategies I use:

I go very slow, rushing always gets me killed.
I use range weapons to attract single mobs from large groups from a safe distance. Takes some practice, arrows hitting walls or crates can help split mob groups.
I have Pin, and Ottos arrow from Shiradi twisted in, these I use to control the mob as it approaches.
I use Paralyzing arrow imbue, hits enough to be useful even in EE.
I have tier 3 Overwhelming Force from Fury of the Wild for 10 second knock down with adrenaline charged melee attacks, Its invaluable.
I twist in tier 3 Cocoon from the Druid ED, great self healing.
I have good sneak and move silently stats to avoid fighting when I can.
I open doors as far from the door/switch as possible, out of view from the opening, then drop into sneak immediately, this help prevent rooms full of mobs rushing me.
I have manyshot with Fury of the Wild for when I need to fight more than one mob or for boss fights.
I am a ranger, I can kite with the best of them.
I sometimes run like hell and hope mobs rebound with it starts getting out of control.
I have +40 jump and sprint boost, it helps your escape if you get surrounded.

I know other builds are faster or use more brute strength or nuking tactics, buy my sneaky ranger who can range/melee and has some CC is a lot of fun.
You mean you twist cocoon in 3rd slot, cocoon is not tier 3, it is tier 1 ability.

[Ivan_Milic]

I haven't bothered with AC except on my S&B toons.

Go with aa then on ee, because if you dont have at least 5 displace clickies on your melees you wont get far.

[Blackheartox]

I think its hmm.
How to explain that..
Its like a hidden power.
You need to feel the heart of the car.. mobs..
Once you learn that skill ee wont be a challenge anymore.

Uhm yea...
Well try to start in party, once you get confident enough try it solo.
Build matters, gear matters, past life matter, skill matters.
They are all like stepstones to make it easier, but imo it mostly comes from experience and your personaly ability to play the build correctly and the ability to develop tactics how to handle ee.

Start with easier with party, then try harder ones in party, then try the easier ones solo.
ITs a tough road, but when you master it you will lose most of your issues, aka finding party, collecting valor, having fun, not needing to frustrate over others mistakes

[Teh_Troll]

If you are going to bother with ac, you need at least 100 ac for ee.

LOLz . . .

AC only works (works = actually generates enough misses to even notice a difference in survivability) in the VERY low-level epics. Anything above EE MoTU and forget it.

[Ivan_Milic]

LOLz . . .

AC only works (works = actually generates enough misses to even notice a difference in survivability) in the VERY low-level epics. Anything above EE MoTU and forget it.

What ever you say.
Go whine to turbine, will just make people who know how to get ac stronger.

[schelsullivan]

You mean you twist cocoon in 3rd slot, cocoon is not tier 3, it is tier 1 ability.

Oh yea, I meant 3 Ranks, to make cocoon the strongest, your right its a tier 1 ability, which makes its pretty easy to access.
and "RANK" 3 Overwhelming Force from Fury of the Wild for 10 second knock down with adrenaline charged melee attacks.

I was getting my tiers and ranks confused.

[schelsullivan]

My Pin>adrenaline>slayer arrow usually hits for around 9,000.

[Teh_Troll]

What ever you say.
Go whine to turbine, will just make people who know how to get ac stronger.

Youtube Video or it hasn't happened.

[Ivan_Milic]

It didnt happen.
Turbine needs to buff ac, you are right.

[Grimlock]

I have been focusing on the monk more recently, even though I was singing the praise about my rogue just a week or so ago.
He's more DPS than my rogue, as well he should be, but my rogue can hardly be hit at all (on EH, anyway) and has a much higher spell resist. I am not ready to ETR any of my toons yet, even if I had all the CoV's and had all the spheres done, I still don't think I'd ETR any of them right away.

After doing all that, I'd want to try them out and see what they can for a while first.
Though I will eventually go assassin build with him, maybe on his TR.

Remember you can redo your enhancements or swap out feats if you want to put off ETR and then a HTR right after, which would give you an Epic Past Life feat and a heroic past life feat assuming you have 6,000,000xp in a sphere and the necessary hearts of wood.

Assassin builds are fantastic. Do not worry about traps. Even with assassin every trap in the game can be found/disabled at level on the assassin build save the Cabal of One trap in Heroic Gianthold. Epic players who have rogues sitting at cap might know more than I do about trapping in EE's.