Generic Questions

[KraahgDaAxe]

Heyo all. Played DDO for awhile but never really advanced past certain points where I needed information I can't really get elsewhere (atleast while at work). So here I post.

In looking through the DDOWiki and posts here I notice people say Vorpal Strike. If I understand this correctly, a vorpal strike is a natural 20 hit, as opposed to a weapon that actually has the vorpal ability, is this correct? So a weapon with an ability that requires a "vorpal strike" will come into play when I roll a natural 20 if this is correct.

Do quests run on epic give more favor then the same quest run on elite?

Since Update 8 I have been having problems with sound. Specifically sound when other people use their mics. All other sounds come through fine and I have checked all the settings I can think of and all are correct. I don't know what they are off the top of my head (since I'm at work and all), but the one that enables the mic is on definitely. Anybody have any ideas. It's annoying (probably more to my puggers then me) when I can't hear what they are saying and I stand at the lever in VoN 5 and never pull it cause I can't hear them.

If I TR, do Bound items still work for the newborn? I figure they do, as it would be just another thing people are screaming about TR not working (+3 and +4 tomes come to mind), but I didn't want to assume.

In regards to feat exchange, I understand the way to open the ability on the account (or server?) is to do the marketplace quest answering the questions. I have done this, but didn't need to exchange a feat at the time. I am thinking about it now. On DDOWiki it makes reference to the first feat exchange being free, although I believe this is more about the "cost" of the siberys shard then the monetary payment to Fred. When I actually play I always forget to check this myself, so I figured I could ask.

That's all I can think of for now, but I am sure I will have more questions. I am getting to the point in my toons lives that I need to know more then is readily apparent at low levels.

Kraahg

[toughguyjoe]

Heyo all. Played DDO for awhile but never really advanced past certain points where I needed information I can't really get elsewhere (atleast while at work). So here I post.

In looking through the DDOWiki and posts here I notice people say Vorpal Strike. If I understand this correctly, a vorpal strike is a natural 20 hit, as opposed to a weapon that actually has the vorpal ability, is this correct? So a weapon with an ability that requires a "vorpal strike" will come into play when I roll a natural 20 if this is correct.

Do quests run on epic give more favor then the same quest run on elite?

Since Update 8 I have been having problems with sound. Specifically sound when other people use their mics. All other sounds come through fine and I have checked all the settings I can think of and all are correct. I don't know what they are off the top of my head (since I'm at work and all), but the one that enables the mic is on definitely. Anybody have any ideas. It's annoying (probably more to my puggers then me) when I can't hear what they are saying and I stand at the lever in VoN 5 and never pull it cause I can't hear them.

If I TR, do Bound items still work for the newborn? I figure they do, as it would be just another thing people are screaming about TR not working (+3 and +4 tomes come to mind), but I didn't want to assume.

In regards to feat exchange, I understand the way to open the ability on the account (or server?) is to do the marketplace quest answering the questions. I have done this, but didn't need to exchange a feat at the time. I am thinking about it now. On DDOWiki it makes reference to the first feat exchange being free, although I believe this is more about the "cost" of the siberys shard then the monetary payment to Fred. When I actually play I always forget to check this myself, so I figured I could ask.

That's all I can think of for now, but I am sure I will have more questions. I am getting to the point in my toons lives that I need to know more then is readily apparent at low levels.

Kraahg

1: Yes. It refers to rolling a natural twenty and confirming, as anormal vorpal strike, then adds said damage or effect.

2: Yes, quests run on Epic give more favor than they do on elite.

3: Hmm as far as your sound problems, I suggest checking out the settings again when you get home, and maybe grabbing a friendly guildy and having them talk to you while you mess with your sound settings and volumes.

4: Yes bound Item still function for TR characters, you don't have to collect them again. The only exception is tomes you have already eaten. If you ate a tome, then TR the effects of said Tome are lost, so most people save their +3/+4 tomes and eat them after they perform the TR.

5: If you answered the questions in the hall of the mark Locania gives you one free feat exchange. you can use it at any time after you have completed her little quiz quest.

[KraahgDaAxe]

5: If you answered the questions in the hall of the mark Locania gives you one free feat exchange. you can use it at any time after you have completed her little quiz quest.

Only on the character that completed the quest? Or the first for any character on the server? If per character can I perform the quest again on another character to get the "free" exchange?

Thanx for the quick reply.

Kraahg

[Sir_Noob]

There are four settings in the Audio portion that you should be concerned with if voice chat quality is an issue:

1. Voice Volume -- this controls the volume of the voices of other players in your group. It's like the music or effect volume sliders. You cannot control chat volume by person, it's an all or nothing affair.

2. Voice Microphone Gain -- this basically tells DDO how much to amplify the sound of your voice as it is recorded from your microphone. If you do a test, for example, and people say your voice is too soft, trying increasing this to increase the volume of your voice.

3. Voice Cap Threshold -- this only applies if you are using automatic chat (not push-to-talk). It is basically the volume level that distinguishes your voice from just background noise. If a sound on your mic is louder than the threshold setting, it gets recorded as voice chat. If it's softer, it doesn't.
(The lower the setting the more sensitive the mic is for picking up sound).

4. Playback Latency -- this setting is basically how much voice chat lag you want. The lower the number, the quicker you will hear other players when they speak. Lower numbers may come with voice quality issues, however, so if you are getting bad voice sound you can try increasing latency to see if it helps.

Now, that covers DDO settings. You also need to make sure your Windows settings are correctly configured. I can only provide guidance for XP, it may or may not be the same on Vista or Win7.

1. From the Control Panel, select Sounds and Audio Devices.
2. Click the Voice tab and review the settings there.
3. Make sure the appropriate device is set for voice playback and recording.
4. Especially helpful is clicking on the Volume button and checking the levels there, especially your microphone recording volume. These volumes are like master volumes for your PC -- the ones in DDO are secondary. So, if your mic volume is low here, turning it up to high in DDO only makes it as high as it is currently set here. That may be a little confusing. If your mic volume is set to 50% in Windows, then 50% is the max it can be in DDO. If your DDO setting is 100%, you're getting 100% of the 50% Windows setting. If your DDO setting is 50%, you're getting half of the 50% Windows setting, or 25%. If you want greater control over volume from within DDO, set your Windows settings higher so you have more range within which to work.
5. There is also an Advanced button. Depending on your hardware, you may or may not have any options there to adjust. Just check to see if the settings there appear rational.
In the advanced microphone settings, there is a +20dB mic boost. If your mic is coming through soft, that is often the key to fixing it. After activating it, others may ask you turn your mic down. Now that can be done within the game.



That is pretty much it for settings that affect voice chat. Unfortunately, a lot of the quality issues you may have with voice chat are due to poor settings on the other person's end, low mic gain or volume settings, for example, make their voice quieter in comparison to other players.

Some tips to improve voice chat:
1. Set your voice volume in DDO to 100%. Almost always the problem is people who are hard to hear, not too loud.
2. Reduce background sounds and music to much lower levels so they do not contribute to drowning out voice chat.
3. Increase your master (headphone or speaker) volume so it's easier to hear voice chat. You will probably want to reduce the sliders for most other game sound options, however, so they don't blow you away.
4. Make sure your own setup is configured properly. Use the Mic Test option to hear yourself speak and make adjustments until your sound is clear and at a reasonable volume. Take note of where your microphone is in relation to your mouth -- you will want to keep it in roughly the same place any time you play. Moving it even an inch away, for example, can sometimes drastically change your voice quality. It really depends on your mic and your settings. Mic Test isn't perfect -- form a party with some friends and test out your settings as well to make sure real players hear you properly too.
5. Encourage players with quality issues to adjust their own settings. Many times people aren't aware of how they actually sound. Keep in mind, though, that some of the problems with voice chat are inherent and are nobody's fault -- many times I've had one person in a party I could barely hear, but everyone else heard him or her just fine.

[dkyle]

Only on the character that completed the quest? Or the first for any character on the server? If per character can I perform the quest again on another character to get the "free" exchange?

It can be done once per character, for each character you create. You need to do that quest on each character.

In fact, it's once per life; when you TR, you can do it again.

[The_Cataclysm]

Another thing I would check with your sound problem is make sure your voice playback device is set to the right speakers (usually the same as your sound playback).

[KraahgDaAxe]

Ty all for the help, won't have a chance to test/work on the sound settings until after Xmas, but I did some more questions.

This is in regards to VIP vs. PF2P.

Currently I have PF2P. 6 character slots, HOrc, HElf, WF and Monk and a number of adventure packs. I *assume* that taking advantage of the 3 months 30$ VIP status will not remove these items when the VIP ends. I don't want to go VIP (even for a great price) if I am going to lose all the PF2P bonus's I have purchased when the VIP ends.

Also, my primary character is a ranger and coming up on his third favor enemy. I *believe* I remember hearing the undead and giants were the two most useful, but I am unsure of what to take next. Orc makes sense since there are alot, but it ONLY covers orcs (per DDOWiki). Aberrations might make more sense although I am unsure how many there are after GH (my highest played AP). Evil Outsider? Construct?

TY in advance.

Kraahg

[dkyle]

Currently I have PF2P. 6 character slots, HOrc, HElf, WF and Monk and a number of adventure packs. I *assume* that taking advantage of the 3 months 30$ VIP status will not remove these items when the VIP ends. I don't want to go VIP (even for a great price) if I am going to lose all the PF2P bonus's I have purchased when the VIP ends.

They're yours. If they go away when your VIP ends, it's a bug.

Also, my primary character is a ranger and coming up on his third favor enemy. I *believe* I remember hearing the undead and giants were the two most useful, but I am unsure of what to take next. Orc makes sense since there are alot, but it ONLY covers orcs (per DDOWiki). Aberrations might make more sense although I am unsure how many there are after GH (my highest played AP). Evil Outsider? Construct?

Aberrations are pretty uncommon. You'll definitely want Evil Outsider soon. The Vale and the rest of endgame is full of them.

[KraahgDaAxe]

And the monthly TPs I get as part of the VIP, do they only last while I am VIP? Or do they also stick around?

For the ranger, so take Evil Outsider (was leaning towards this anyways). But this begs another question from me. My build as it is now was mostly (to this point) kinda on the fly. I don't have a toon higher then 14th and never progressed past GH. As such, my knowledge of "epic" items/feats/etc. is limited. But I have come to a point with this build where I need to give it something for later on, I just hope it's not too late.

--Bad Build Incoming--

Now, I don't have stats, enhancements or skills listed cause I don't know what they are from work, but here are my opposing ideas.

I am currently a 9Ranger/2Barb/2Fighter. There are two routes that I can clearly take (I know there are tons other options, but these are the two I have narrowed it down to). Please note I am not working towards max DPS or anything, just planning ahead. The first path was before I exchanged OTWF for Mobility. I think it still might be nice, as I already can't reach Tempest 3. The second path takes into account the switch from OTWF for Mobility. I am not looking for alot of drama over how the build is wrong (as I haven't really given enough information for that to be stated anyways) so much as the best overall way to go for the remainder of this life before I TR him. I currently use TWF with para/icy burst scim/kukri of pure good (with Improved Crit). I also believe I already have GTWF and may need/want to exchange it before I hit 11th Ranger so should have two feats by 20th that I haven't accounted for.

Fighter:
14th: 9R/3F/2B
15th: 9R/4F/2B (Spring Attack Feat | Weapon Specialization:Slashing)(Tempest I enhancement)
16th: 10R/4F/2B (Favored Enemy: Evil Outsider)(Stat Increase)
17th: 11R/4F/2B (Precise Shot, Improved Precise Shot, GTWF)
18th: 12R/4F/2B (Tempest II enhancement)(Kilau’s Necklace/Band)(Feat: ?)
19th: 13R/4F/2B
20th: 14R/4F/2B (Stat Increase)

Ranger:
14th: 10R/2F/2B (Favored Enemy: Evil Outsider)
15th: 11R/2F/2B (Spring Attack Feat)(Tempest I enhancement) (Precise Shot, Improved Precise Shot, GTWF)
16th: 12R/2F/2B (Stat Increase)
17th: 13R/2F/2B
18th: 14R/2F/2B (Tempest II enhancement)(Kilau’s Necklace/Band)(Feat: ?)
19th: 15R/2F/2B (Favored Enemy: ?)
20th: 16R/2F/2B (Stat Increase)

Again, TY all for the help.

Kraahg