When to TR..

[Resilian]

This is a concern of mine both for TRing a character, and for making the TR version of the Metaru build work. Currently my 20 monk just needs Madstone Boots, Bloodstone, ToD Rings to be pretty much decked out in non-epic gear. To TR I'd need those items and a docent since I'd be changing my race to WF.

That said..right now I've not yet been able to get into a ToD raid. I usually play later at night so no PuGs up, and my guild doesn't really do ToD much if at all. Bloodstone I farm a lot, but never have I seen it yet. Madstone boots I can start farming for if I TR w/o them as early as 14 if I can get flagged so I'm not worried about that. If I were to TR w/o madstone/bloodstone/tod rings/docent..would I be making a mistake, or would it be feasible to just farm them as if my TR were a new character?

I'm still fairly new..I played this game back in 2006, but not long. I came back this year and leveled up my monk and have only been playing a few months. So I'm still trying to makes heads and tails of the whole game, but I have a pretty nice grasp on it thus far. I just want to make sure TRing w/o being 100% properly geared isn't a bad idea before I decide to do it.

Edit:
This is my current monk: http://my.ddo.com/character/argonnessen/zaeken/

[Persnoody]

Hmmm always a tough choice, probly your best bet would be to run reaver's fate and tod till your 20th or 40th if you are anywhere close and do some reaver's refuge farming, to make a decent dt docent with +5 resist (eldrich) and hieghtened awareness (sov) and what ever else you may see fit for the tempest slot, I dont suggest you spend to much time prepping (a couple weeks maybe), because at least for me it would just turn into to much of a job.

but you might also want to wait for u7 since there is going to be a huge change to the dt crafting system.

I ended up tr'ing my monk about a week after the ability to tr was available, and I still had a lot of gear to obtain, but all it did was keep me interested in the toon, it took more time but it evened out considering how much fun it was and the knowledge I gained about the class and the content of the quests/raids.

so really my opinion would be to go with your gut.

[Neechen]

I TRd my Rogue and then my Barbarian as soon as I grew bored running capped. To me, it is all about having fun, not so much the grind to find gear. But, it is a personal decision. Every player has his or her own motivation.

Cheers.

[Uska]

I thought I would wait to TR my monk until I had some of the stuff but after a few ToD's and no rings I said the heck with it and did it twice still on my second I am not gonna worry about lvl 18-20 gear until I finish my TRing yeah I went to WF monk as well and its a blast.

[Lorien_the_First_One]

The ToD stuff is L18 so it really shouldn't impact your TR decision.

Get the stuff that will help you have fun relevelling. In particular, anything from the Shroud and GH. Some of the Hound/VoD stuff can be nice twink items as well. Really though Shroud are the #1 items for me.

When you have some toys and you are bored of L20, that's the time to TR

[Darkrok]

Hrm...I'd be really leery of doing it before getting at least one ToD ring if not both. You never know what kind of craziness Turbine might pull and have people going back to not wanting dark monks in ToD groups.

I've been thinking about this quite a bit myself. What the minimums for me would be to TR. There are things like Epic Cloak of the Roc that I'd LOVE to have but that you don't need and that have a high enough ML as to be something that can be put off until 20 of the next life. So here's my list of gear req'd to TR along with long-term targets.

Helm: Minos, long-term Red Dragon or Greensteel +45hp, heavy fort, +5ac
Necklace: Oremi's/Shintao/Silver Flame (really no reason not to at least get Oremi's Shintao beforehand
Goggles: Tharne's - these are a really nice upgrade to dps and are available at a very low ML
Trinket: Bloodstone - You have yours...I don't. Le sigh.
Docent: Quorforged Docent of Battle - This is my 'test' if you will to make sure that I can handle going through the releveling process. In addition, an awakened Quorforged Docent of Battle is a HUGE slot consolidator.
Cloak: Any +45hp cloak. I wish I had a smoke one for those times that I don't have someone to blur me but earthgrab will work for this, long-term Epic Cloak of the Roc
Bracers: Jidz-Tet'ka
Belt: Knost's belt although this becomes VERY open if you don't have the ToD ring to make the set and you have the Quorforged Docent awakened. You no longer need anything off of it but the set bonus then. I've really been eying the Belt of the Mroranon on a WF'd. Even non-epic you've got your fortification and strength taken care of, with a ML of 9. Because of the Quorforged this build needs very little in other stats and this addresses a lot of those spots - if you can get it. Otherwise a moderate fort item (ml:5 or 7), followed by a +6 str here would work until you can wear the Amrath belts.
Rings: Like I mentioned, I really think the ToD rings are a necessity. What I'm starting to question, especially given the overlap between the Quorforged and Knost's belt, is whether it's worth holding out for the Frenzied Berserker ring. I've got lots of other rings no one wanted sitting around so when I finish my 20th ToD I may just slap Shocking Burst on one of those (have Holy Burst on the Shintao already).
Boots: Madstone's pretty important for Metaru. Not sure if I'd hold off for it, especially since people don't usually mind low-levels in reaver, but a thought at least.
Gloves: Spectrals would be nice but those can be bought later.

Honestly, as a TR you probably know the game really well and could level solo to 20 using only what you pick up along the way. And low levels are blindly easy even with a meh build. If you really don't mind skipping out on the ToD rings I'd say the only thing to wait for is the next update. ID'd runes will make it worth spending a few weeks getting a decent DT'd docent or two set up. Basically, I'd follow Persnoody's advice, finish your 20th's, wait for u7 to make a decent DT'd easier to make (and to avoid TR'ing before a big update that might screw up your TR cache), and then TR.

[Fafnir]

TR whenever you get your 20th (or 40th) in whatever raid is of most interest. For me, it is usually TOD.

[SINIBYTE]

I'm 14-15 accross the board for the 5 raids I run regularly (VOD, TOD, Hound, Shroud, Reavers), when I reach 20th completion on them AND after U7, then I will TR my halfling into a WF.

[jamkriz]

Although those items are nice to have, I'd agree with the other posters and just get your 20th runs done for any raids where you're close as there is a chance of getting the items or even better +3 or +4 tomes which would be more useful IMO. Grab a bunch of lowbie items as well. I've just TR'ed my monk and gotten him to 8 in just a weekend by mostly soloing quests. With the right lowbie gear it's pretty easy. Try zerg through some of the lowbie chains and grab things like the Spellshield Docent:ml2 from stk, grims bracelet, devotion handwraps:ml0 and eternal rest handwraps:ml0. The Fernian are nice but the Threnal grind is not really worth it IMO.

For level 5, having chimeras crown Jidz-Tet'ka and the blademark docent from Bargain of Blood Series really allow you tank almost anything at those levels. You don't even take damage most of the time. Of course ensure that you have your worldshaper and voice ready for level 5 for the XP boost and True Seeing. Also try and grab some low ml stat gear especially str, con and dex if you doing metaru.