Having a hard time finding more info about Reincarnations

[Tipton]

Last time I played DDO reincarnating didn't exist, and I'm having a difficult time piecing together the perks of it. Mostly I'm trying to figure out, what's the point of heroic reincarnating more than twice? I read on the forums that some recommend reincarnating a caster 5 times..why? What's the point of Iconic true and Epic reincarnating? Between Turbine's "official" reincarnating guide and the ddowiki there seems to be big holes of info, as far as I can tell.

Is there a more comprehensive guide to reincarnating that I'm missing? Thanks!

[unbongwah]

The main reasons to TR are to gain extra build pts (34 pts the first time you TR, 36 pts on each subsequent TR); and to acquire past life feats, which provide various passive and/or active bonuses to your character. Each passive PL feat can stack up to 3 times (once for each TR); e.g., some casters will do three wiz lives for +6 Spell Pen, 3 FvS TRs for +3 Spell Pen, and 3 sorc TRs +3 Evocation DCs. If you TR thru every class, you can take the Completionist feat. The really OCD will go for 3 of every past-life feat, which was 39 TRs (3 x 13 classes); but just got a lot more complicated with epic & iconic PL feats, too.

[PsychoBlonde]

Reincarnating is really a very simple process. If you hit the "show unavailable" toggle in your feats list, you can actually LOOK at all the heroic past life feats to decide whether you like them or not. There are two per class--one's active, you have to actually take it as a feat (and it's usually not worth it), and one's passive. The passive ones stack up to 3 times.

Iconic TR works much the same except you don't have to use a feat slot for the active part of the feat--it's a mode toggle and they are mutually exclusive, just like Power Attack and Combat Expertise. These also stack up to 3 times. For an iconic life you start at level 15 but you must reach level cap (28 and later 30) in order to TR and get the bonus.

Epic TR is just like Iconic TR except you start at level 20 with the race/class combination you've already selected. It also doesn't wipe out your favor or quest progress like Heroic and Iconic TR's do. With Epic TR's, you TR a specific destiny sphere (in which you must have 6 million accumulated karma). Each destiny sphere has 3 associated feats, each with an active and passive bonus. The active bonuses are mutually exclusive mode toggles just like Iconic TR, but the passives stack. EACH feat can be stacked 3 times for a total of 3 of the active bonus and 9 of the passive bonus if you really want to TR a given destiny 9 different times.

If you're into really pushing the envelope on your character, you like leveling, and you prefer to have a few uber characters instead of many decent ones, some of the bonuses are really nice, but it is a style choice. Some people find leveling to be a drag and a half. For others (like myself) it's the only way to play. It is up to you. You may find certain builds difficult to play in the highest-level content, but you can always build characters that don't require past lives to function.

I find that one of the biggest reincarnation benefits is that you get to try out tons of different builds and see whether you like them or not. You get tons of experience doing different things and it's always interesting and new. X or Y might sound cool, but how does it actually play? Are there situations where it just doesn't work? There are a LOT of options in this game and a lot of small tweaks and refinements can yield big dividends. That's why there's usually a large difference between the power level of TR nuts and first life characters *even though the bonuses don't seem like they'd account for it*.

[Matuse]

Mostly I'm trying to figure out, what's the point of heroic reincarnating more than twice?

The twice, as you've apparently surmised, is for the extra build points. 32 for drow, 36 for everyone else. But that's not the only benefit of reincarnating.

I read on the forums that some recommend reincarnating a caster 5 times..why?

Well, probably more than 5, actually. Exactly how many depends on your precise build desires. If you want to make a DC-based caster using instakills, then for maximum effectiveness you're going to want 3 Wizard past lives and 3 Favored Soul past lives. Sorcerer PLs are also useful, but less so. Other classes also provide utility.

Why? Each Heroic past life gives you a passive past life feat in the next life. If you are a wizard now, and reincarnate, then your next life (and all future lives) will have +2 Spell Penetration on your spells. A Favored Soul past life gives +20 Spellpoints and +1 Spell Penetration. So with 6 past lives, you get +9 Spell Pen and +60 Spellpoints. The spell points are fairly meager for a caster, but +9 Spell Pen vs epic level Drow and Demons is a night and day difference in how often your spells land.

All classes have a past life bonus. Not all of those past lives are going to be useful to every build. If you are a pure caster, then the +1 damage per hit given by a Monk life is pointless.

What's the point of Iconic true and Epic reincarnating?

Each of the 4 Iconic races has their own past life boost. These are in addition to a Heroic past life. So if you run through as a Bladeforged Paladin, and Iconic TR, then in your next life you will get BOTH the Paladin (+5% Healing Amp) and Bladeforged (+5% Fortification) boosts.

There are 12 different Epic past life benefits. They are less rigid than the Heroic and Iconic past lives, since they aren't dependent on being an Iconic or having X numbers of levels in a given class. When you are gaining XP at 20+, then you are gaining Karma in whatever sphere is currently active. Fatesinger, Magister, Draconic all give Arcane Karma. At 6 million Karma, you can spend it to get any one of three Arcane past lives. You get to choose which one. Those also all stack 3 times. If you were to do 9 Arcane past lives, taking 3 each of the different Arcane PLs, you'd end up with an innate 9% Absorption of Fire/Cold/Acid/Electrical damage, and would be able to choose one of three Arcane past life stances that would run all the time. Your choice between +9% critical chance with Fire/Cold/Acid/Electrical/Sonic spells, or +3 to the enhancement bonus of your main weapon, or 10% reduction in spell cooldowns.

With topped out past lives, you can be rather hugely more powerful than someone who is on their first life, even discounting the extra 4 build points. The question that only you can answer is how much of the XP and Commendation grind you're willing to put yourself through to get there. Most people simply do not have the time, energy, or desire to do some 40 past lives and churn out about 300 million XP. But the option is there if you want it.

Between Turbine's "official" reincarnating guide and the ddowiki there seems to be big holes of info, as far as I can tell.

Maybe just because I've been playing with it since the system launched, but it all seems pretty comprehensive on the Wiki.

[prophet1]

wow that explained alot , but expand for me i am 28 and a monk and do a epic rec , whats my benefit and , your also saying i can epic 3 times each feat , ok what if i epic 6 times 3 monk 3 unyield , then tr to 1 what would i keep and what would i lose