Vooduspyce
12-14-2018, 08:44 AM
Northwynd 2 is cruising into the teen levels in style with my biggest challenges of the series of soloing R1 Tempest's Spine and R1 Demon Queen. I really wasn't sure how this second lifer would hold up doing these classic raids at level 10 and 12 but I was pleasantly surprised at her performance in Tempest Spine and was able to pull out the DQ win in my second try! See how it goes in Episodes 10 and 12 below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yg8BX6OEro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOKXmQ4OCkU
Northwynd 2 is now up to level 15 and in episode 15 I talk about my first experiences taking Northwynd into a group setting doing mid skull quests. I felt comfortable even on the 2nd lifer that I was able to meaningfully contribute in a mid skull reaper group. See how she performs in Episode 15: Level 15 - R4 Fear Factory (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTtAnwy5vBs).
I have had tons of fun with the Northwynd sequel so far. I'm learning the capabilities of a youngling version of my own favorite druid build and I've come to realize a few things by playing a newer toon in reaper mode for the first time...
Base normal level vs. elite streak level
Nearly 2 years into reaper mode we still have a huge portion of the DDO community which has not yet broken free of the old school regimen of running quests 2 over level, running R1's as if they were elite streaking. Doing reaper quests at base normal level will reward maximum reaper xp, but a lot of people feel this is too difficult or time consuming. What I've come to realize by taking Northwynd into R1's solo is that even a second lifer with next to zero reaper points using a non-power build can solo R1's at base normal level in a reasonable amount of time. In fact, by level 5 I was already feeling the need to bump up the difficulty because R1's were too easy.
Reaper mode was quite a culture shock when it was released and like so many DDO players, I got 5 kinds of butt kicked in low skull quests back then. Knowing that I would get more reaper xp, I grew accustomed to doing reaper quests at base normal level for maximum Rxp. Many will argue that there's massive Rxp to be gained in legendary content so there's no point. It's true that legendaries give great Rxp, but it's not an either/or scenario. We have to get through heroics on the way to legendaries so why not make the most of it? When I was working through my racial lives on Gingerspyce, I already had all my epic past lives at that point, so I did all my racials just going to level 20. Over the course of my 33 racial lives I garnered a whopping 5 million Rxp. If I had done R1's at elite streak level, instead of bumping it up to an average of 4-6 skulls at base normal level, I probably would've been lucky to walk away with a quarter of that total.
Ever since reaper mode came to DDO I've been encouraging players to not get complacent. Once you've mastered R1's it's time to step it up. If you're doing R1's at elite streak level, once you've built up some reaper points and feel good about it, you can double your Rxp by doing reaper quests at base normal level. Then when you feel comfortable you can step it up to R2, R3 and beyond. I have found that even mid skull quests can be zerged with a solid group and I hope to do a future video series demonstrating this very point: that you can step up your reaper difficulty and get significantly more Rxp during your heroic lives without it taking significantly longer. You'll get more Rxp, becoming a stronger player along the way and maybe you'll even enjoy the fun of the challenge!
Thank you for all the great comments on the series so far. Level 15 marks the halfway point and I look forward to sharing many more challenges with you as Northwynd forges her way toward epics. Meanwhile, if you haven't visited us over on my Twitch channel yet, you can find me and other Reaper Life members working through our racial lives nearly every day. Hang out with us and enjoy the laughs and the fun at Twitch.tv/vooduspyce (https://www.twitch.tv/vooduspyce). Hope to see you there!
Much love,
Gingerspyce of Sarlona
Older updates:
12/6/18 Gingerspyce Update 41 Lost at Sea first look live stream! (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/501550-Gingerspyce-s-Update-41-Lost-at-Sea-first-look-live-stream!)
10/22/18 Gingerspyce's Week in Videos: Prioritizing past lives and Northwynd 2 episodes 1-3 (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/500518-Gingerspyce-s-Week-in-Videos-Prioritizing-past-lives-and-Northwynd-2-episodes-1-3!)
10/9/18 Gingerspyce's Week in Videos: Announcing Northwynd 2 Druid True Second Life Series! (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/500088-Gingerspyce-s-Week-in-Videos-Announcing-Northwynd-2-Druid-True-Second-Life-Series!)
10/6/18 Gingerspyce's Night Revels 2018 First Look and Review (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/500014-Gingerspyce-s-Night-Revels-2018-First-Look-and-Review)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yg8BX6OEro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOKXmQ4OCkU
Northwynd 2 is now up to level 15 and in episode 15 I talk about my first experiences taking Northwynd into a group setting doing mid skull quests. I felt comfortable even on the 2nd lifer that I was able to meaningfully contribute in a mid skull reaper group. See how she performs in Episode 15: Level 15 - R4 Fear Factory (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTtAnwy5vBs).
I have had tons of fun with the Northwynd sequel so far. I'm learning the capabilities of a youngling version of my own favorite druid build and I've come to realize a few things by playing a newer toon in reaper mode for the first time...
Base normal level vs. elite streak level
Nearly 2 years into reaper mode we still have a huge portion of the DDO community which has not yet broken free of the old school regimen of running quests 2 over level, running R1's as if they were elite streaking. Doing reaper quests at base normal level will reward maximum reaper xp, but a lot of people feel this is too difficult or time consuming. What I've come to realize by taking Northwynd into R1's solo is that even a second lifer with next to zero reaper points using a non-power build can solo R1's at base normal level in a reasonable amount of time. In fact, by level 5 I was already feeling the need to bump up the difficulty because R1's were too easy.
Reaper mode was quite a culture shock when it was released and like so many DDO players, I got 5 kinds of butt kicked in low skull quests back then. Knowing that I would get more reaper xp, I grew accustomed to doing reaper quests at base normal level for maximum Rxp. Many will argue that there's massive Rxp to be gained in legendary content so there's no point. It's true that legendaries give great Rxp, but it's not an either/or scenario. We have to get through heroics on the way to legendaries so why not make the most of it? When I was working through my racial lives on Gingerspyce, I already had all my epic past lives at that point, so I did all my racials just going to level 20. Over the course of my 33 racial lives I garnered a whopping 5 million Rxp. If I had done R1's at elite streak level, instead of bumping it up to an average of 4-6 skulls at base normal level, I probably would've been lucky to walk away with a quarter of that total.
Ever since reaper mode came to DDO I've been encouraging players to not get complacent. Once you've mastered R1's it's time to step it up. If you're doing R1's at elite streak level, once you've built up some reaper points and feel good about it, you can double your Rxp by doing reaper quests at base normal level. Then when you feel comfortable you can step it up to R2, R3 and beyond. I have found that even mid skull quests can be zerged with a solid group and I hope to do a future video series demonstrating this very point: that you can step up your reaper difficulty and get significantly more Rxp during your heroic lives without it taking significantly longer. You'll get more Rxp, becoming a stronger player along the way and maybe you'll even enjoy the fun of the challenge!
Thank you for all the great comments on the series so far. Level 15 marks the halfway point and I look forward to sharing many more challenges with you as Northwynd forges her way toward epics. Meanwhile, if you haven't visited us over on my Twitch channel yet, you can find me and other Reaper Life members working through our racial lives nearly every day. Hang out with us and enjoy the laughs and the fun at Twitch.tv/vooduspyce (https://www.twitch.tv/vooduspyce). Hope to see you there!
Much love,
Gingerspyce of Sarlona
Older updates:
12/6/18 Gingerspyce Update 41 Lost at Sea first look live stream! (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/501550-Gingerspyce-s-Update-41-Lost-at-Sea-first-look-live-stream!)
10/22/18 Gingerspyce's Week in Videos: Prioritizing past lives and Northwynd 2 episodes 1-3 (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/500518-Gingerspyce-s-Week-in-Videos-Prioritizing-past-lives-and-Northwynd-2-episodes-1-3!)
10/9/18 Gingerspyce's Week in Videos: Announcing Northwynd 2 Druid True Second Life Series! (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/500088-Gingerspyce-s-Week-in-Videos-Announcing-Northwynd-2-Druid-True-Second-Life-Series!)
10/6/18 Gingerspyce's Night Revels 2018 First Look and Review (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/500014-Gingerspyce-s-Night-Revels-2018-First-Look-and-Review)