When to start epics?

[Maatogaeoth]

Hey all, just got my first level 20 (Seraenah, FvS) and now I'm wondering when I should actually start joining in on some of the epic LFMs.

Is there anything in particular I should shoot for? I know there's a lot of quests (aka: Red Fens) that I've never done so I should at least run through them to get a feel for the layout.

Anything else?

[efreet5]

I'm not on your server, but as a healer you should be fine joining epic lfm's right out of the gate. If you can handle healing a shroud, then you can handle doing epics.

Just one piece of advice: Know when to call it. If you decide to do some epic quests (Epic Chains, ADQ1, and Devil Assault) you'll want to gauge your resources and how well your group is doing in the quest. Epics can be fun, but if you're spending 5+ pots to drag bad groups through quests by overhealing, then they can really put you off of running them again. Over on G-Land here, there are occasional lfms that read: "need healer, other one bailed." Sometimes, that healer might've had something come up, but often it's a red flag that says the party is bad and under prepared for the quest.

[dkyle]

Based on your MyDDO page, I'd say you're basically ready. Being a healer isn't very gear intensive. Enough HP (which you seem to have), and 100% fort to survive, and after that it really comes down to your own playing skills.

Start with some of the easier epics (Red Fens, Carnival, EVoN1&2), and work up from there. If you want to familiarize yourself with them on non-Epic, that might help, but as a healer, you'd mostly be following anyway.

Biggest issue I see is that your SP is a little low for a FvS. You might find extremely long epics like Devil Assault and DQ1 taxing.

[Maatogaeoth]

Biggest issue I see is that your SP is a little low for a FvS. You might find extremely long epics like Devil Assault and DQ1 taxing.

I've been working on this. Just got into my first shroud a week ago, so I don't have my GS spellpoint item finished yet. And I have Wiz 6 instead of Archmagi so I'm short 400 from where I could be.

Beyond that I don't know how to get it higher. I just don't know how people get spell point totals of 2900 or higher. I'm looking at 2750, maybe 2800 when I get shroud items finished.

[ayondie]

I've been working on this. Just got into my first shroud a week ago, so I don't have my GS spellpoint item finished yet. And I have Wiz 6 instead of Archmagi so I'm short 400 from where I could be.

Beyond that I don't know how to get it higher. I just don't know how people get spell point totals of 2900 or higher. I'm looking at 2750, maybe 2800 when I get shroud items finished.

Some things to consider are +2 and +4 cha tomes along with another 3 exceptional charisma from tod rings. Hitting 2900 takes a while but is possible

[Iaga]

... I'm looking at 2750, maybe 2800 when I get shroud items finished.

Without getting into past lives, that is an entirely reasonable SP total. Do not worry about players who insist that 3k is bare minimum - that's garbage.

432HP 2372 SP

Basically you are an ungeared fvs that doesnt belong in epics. You have zero raid/shroud items and zero epic items.

If you stick to the healer role, you can contribute effectively in an epic with only basic gear. You can learn the quests as you gather more end game gear. Let your group know you're new to the quest but can heal efectively, and you'll be fine.

If the OP was anything but a healer, most of you would be telling him to get more items.

But, he is a healer - which is one of the few roles you can do pretty much naked.

[sirgog]

I've been working on this. Just got into my first shroud a week ago, so I don't have my GS spellpoint item finished yet. And I have Wiz 6 instead of Archmagi so I'm short 400 from where I could be.

Beyond that I don't know how to get it higher. I just don't know how people get spell point totals of 2900 or higher. I'm looking at 2750, maybe 2800 when I get shroud items finished.

I think my FvS had 2600 SP or so (they are currently being TRed a few times and will end up FvS again). Most Epics (except the notoriously shrine-starved ones) I'd hit each shrine with 1000+ SP left.

If you have Quicken Spell, Heal, Mass Heal, one or more Mass Cures, 100% Fort and 400+ hp, you are ready for Carnival epics except Small Problem, VON1, 2 and 6, Last Stand, Claw of Vulkoor, Fathom the Depths and most of the Sentinels chain.

Stay out of VON3/4, Into the Deep, all of the Desert, Devil Assault, Small Problem, whatever that stupid Sentinels trap quest is called, and Chronoscope until you are confident in the easier epics.

[Boldrin]

All you need is the ability to control your toon properly, and the ability to follow directions, and ask if unclear on something... Epic ready...

[Trillea]

all You Need Is The Ability To Control Your Toon Properly, And The Ability To Follow Directions, And Ask If Unclear On Something... Epic Ready...

/qft.

[Shade]

I set some requirements for melee..

For healer, yea theres not much. But there's at least 1..

Healing scrolls. Take those along.
Running out of SP is fine. Not being able to heal after your out of SP isn't.

[Sarisa]

You should be fine. Fathom the Depths (Fens), Bargain of Blood (Sentinels), and Snitch (Carnival) are probably the best ones to start with. They offer fairly small encounters, are spread out enough that you can have things explained between fights, and have not-too-difficult boss fights. Those three are also ones that you can learn when you can melee, when you need to hold back and heal, and management of scrolls along with your SP heals. In all but the worst groups, you probably won't need to resort to scrolls.

Once you get a feel for those, other ones to try would be Big Top (Carnival), Partycrashers (Carnival), Claw of Vulkoor (Fens), Last Stand (Fens), Black Loch (Sentinels), The Tide Turns (Sentinels), Tharashk Arena (VoN1), The Prisoner (VoN2), and if you have a good leader, Chamber of Raiyum (Wizard King, Sands). Those are all accessible once you get the feel of the damage taken and what you can do. Many of these have 'tricks' that people use to make the quests easier to manage.

All three of the raids are also accessible to you, just get a feel for epics first. Of these, VoN6 is the easiest to run with good leadership, but it can turn into a wipe very quickly if things go wrong.

I would recommend avoiding Jungle of Khyber (VoN3), Haywire Foundry (VoN4), Vault of Night (VoN5 pre, the raid is fine), Against the Demon Queen (pre, raid is fine as long as you have multiple mass cures known), Offering of Blood (Sands), Chain of Flames (Sands), Spies in the House (Sentinels), Devil's Assault, Into the Deep (Fens), and Small Problem (Carnival) until you get a bit more experience. Some of these are only very rarely run on epic.

[Maatogaeoth]

Thanks for the input everyone. How often can you run epics? Are they once a day things or.. ?

[killerzee25]

The timer is 17 hours or around that, so basically once a day.

[crazydamage]

432HP 2372 SP

Basically you are an ungeared fvs that doesnt belong in epics. You have zero raid/shroud items and zero epic items.

You can compensate for this by willingness to use scrolls/Pots.

Some epics are laughably easy. You can be carried through by stronger characters if you choose to sit in the back and heal (and contribute nothing else).

Minimum requirements to group with me: GS HP/SP Item. Tier3 GS weapon for melee. Depending on the class (Monks) i will require TOD rings and other gear.

You are missing SP item, bauble, abbot staff, vile blasphemy, TOD heal belt clickies, eardweller, festival dagger, noxious embers and a bunch of other equipment.

What these do is extend your mana so you can contribute other things Buffs/DPS/CC/Spell dps besides sitting in the back and healing. As I said, you can compensate for lack of raid/shroud items by using scrolls/SP pots.

HOWEVER, if you were to group with 6 ppl geared as poorly as you, you will fail, so in essence you will be heal botting a group of stronger characters that carry you through the quest until you get better gear.

[cheever77]

432HP 2372 SP

Basically you are an ungeared fvs that doesnt belong in epics. You have zero raid/shroud items and zero epic items.

You can compensate for this by willingness to use scrolls/Pots.

Some epics are laughably easy. You can be carried through by stronger characters if you choose to sit in the back and heal (and contribute nothing else).

Minimum requirements to group with me: GS HP/SP Item. Tier3 GS weapon for melee. Depending on the class (Monks) i will require TOD rings and other gear.

You are missing SP item, bauble, abbot staff, vile blasphemy, TOD heal belt clickies, eardweller, festival dagger, noxious embers and a bunch of other equipment.

What these do is extend your mana so you can contribute other things Buffs/DPS/CC/Spell dps besides sitting in the back and healing. As I said, you can compensate for lack of raid/shroud items by using scrolls/SP pots.

HOWEVER, if you were to group with 6 ppl geared as poorly as you, you will fail, so in essence you will be heal botting a group of stronger characters that carry you through the quest until you get better gear.

NOT THIS

Follow the others advice from this thread. As a healer myself my first epic was on a cleric with 2k sp and i did use pots. But it was a poorly led wiz king which took 3.5 hours.

Do try easier epics. Use scrolls for spot heals and mass cures/heals for those "O FRUIT" moments just to help you conserve mana. Find people you know, or guild names that are known to be good. After a few you will wonder why people above request you have all that gear......

Sure it helps but isn't necessary IMO. Gee I still don't have most of it on my FVS and I manage an average of 1 epic a night. However I am in, IMO, the best guild on Khyber..............

So that makes a HUGE difference.

[Boldrin]

NOT THIS

Follow the others advice from this thread. As a healer myself my first epic was on a cleric with 2k sp and i did use pots. But it was a poorly led wiz king which took 3.5 hours.

Do try easier epics. Use scrolls for spot heals and mass cures/heals for those "O FRUIT" moments just to help you conserve mana. Find people you know, or guild names that are known to be good. After a few you will wonder why people above request you have all that gear......

Sure it helps but isn't necessary IMO. Gee I still don't have most of it on my FVS and I manage an average of 1 epic a night. However I am in, IMO, the best guild on Khyber..............

So that makes a HUGE difference.

I remember, I came in on my Sorc and saved the day on that one... you guys had already been in over 2 1/2 hours and had a list of over 10 people with deaths, so a lot had come in prior to me.. Sometimes it's fun saving a trainwreck

[cheever77]

I remember, I came in on my Sorc and saved the day on that one... you guys had already been in over 2 1/2 hours and had a list of over 10 people with deaths, so a lot had come in prior to me.. Sometimes it's fun saving a trainwreck

Yep it was a bit that way boldrin. Fun tho :-)

[Boldrin]

Yep it was a bit that way boldrin. Fun tho :-)

I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the 200+ minute completion time, lol.. Definitely good times though...

[crazydamage]

NOT THIS

Follow the others advice from this thread. As a healer myself my first epic was on a cleric with 2k sp and i did use pots. But it was a poorly led wiz king which took 3.5 hours.

Do try easier epics. Use scrolls for spot heals and mass cures/heals for those "O FRUIT" moments just to help you conserve mana. Find people you know, or guild names that are known to be good. After a few you will wonder why people above request you have all that gear......

Sure it helps but isn't necessary IMO. Gee I still don't have most of it on my FVS and I manage an average of 1 epic a night. However I am in, IMO, the best guild on Khyber..............

So that makes a HUGE difference.

PM me your name so I can not group with you ever.

[dkyle]

PM me your name so I can not group with you ever.

It's really quite easy to find this out, if you feel it's necessary to squelch someone based on a perfectly reasonable forum post.