The frugal pack-buying guide.

[Feithlin]

IMO shared bank is never a real necessity, it is very convenient, but in my multiple lives, there are very few times that i really wanted to transfer a BTA item. (most items from raids tend to be BTC)

adding part about sales

Loots from Chronoscope and IQ are all BtA. This isn't a big issue for the 1st, but the 2nd is such a grind that it's much easier with shared bank. But the most important use of shared bank is Cannith crafting: this allows to equip all your characters while leveling only one of them. Sure, there are unbound shards, but it requires a much higher level to craft the same effect. Cannith craft is worth investing for F2P, because it provides a very nice gear, some being simply unique.

As a side note, consider that the most beneficial investments for Favor are: new character slots, which allow to gain favor (and thus TP) while playing the game instead of grinding the first 100 favor points; and TRing using epic tokens (a new life = gain all this favor again), which makes epic content very important.

I agree with Stille_Nacht that low-mid level packs with no epic content is not a good investment. You really don't need it to go to 20, it's useless once you're caped, and it will give you less TP back because it won't help you to TR.

[Ngha]

I just think the great many people who are F2P and struggling are not near cap at all.

Having a VIP account and a free account, both very recently. I can attest that F2Ps, once they hit level...4 level half as fast as a VIP truely grinding for a TR. Even with the same build. You wouldn't think its that much, however the difference is extremely tangible.

[jillie]

I disagree about the low level packs. Gear I've pulled from Delara's (Voice of the Master, Carnifex) and Tangleroot (Visor of the Flesh Render Guards) has been a great help in leveling my alts, and with my TRs. (The XP from Delara's is a huge help to TRs as well.) The Voice will stay with your toons all the way to cap, and will be reused every life from the time you get it, the Visor is useful at all levels, and Carnifex is simply one of the three best low level weapons in the game (the others being Maelstrom and the Silver Bow), and on a toon without greensteel weapons that suit the build will last into the mid-level content (or until you can equip an SoS at lvl 10 for TR's lucky enough to have one).

[Farayon]

It's become a habit to link sirgog's premium adventure pack guide: http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=287854

[stille_nacht]

I disagree about the low level packs. Gear I've pulled from Delara's (Voice of the Master, Carnifex) and Tangleroot (Visor of the Flesh Render Guards) has been a great help in leveling my alts, and with my TRs. (The XP from Delara's is a huge help to TRs as well.) The Voice will stay with your toons all the way to cap, and will be reused every life from the time you get it, the Visor is useful at all levels, and Carnifex is simply one of the three best low level weapons in the game (the others being Maelstrom and the Silver Bow), and on a toon without greensteel weapons that suit the build will last into the mid-level content (or until you can equip an SoS at lvl 10 for TR's lucky enough to have one).

visor- unescessary, cheap deathblock item can be obtained, definitely not worth spending tp for

voice- unescessary, this is frugal new player guide, not 3rd life tr guide, so 10% xp isnt a super big deal.
Carnifex- unescessary, you can get other nice axes, and people rarely feel the need to twink a low level toon.

Loots from Chronoscope and IQ are all BtA. This isn't a big issue for the 1st, but the 2nd is such a grind that it's much easier with shared bank. But the most important use of shared bank is Cannith crafting: this allows to equip all your characters while leveling only one of them. Sure, there are unbound shards, but it requires a much higher level to craft the same effect. Cannith craft is worth investing for F2P, because it provides a very nice gear, some being simply unique.

As a side note, consider that the most beneficial investments for Favor are: new character slots, which allow to gain favor (and thus TP) while playing the game instead of grinding the first 100 favor points; and TRing using epic tokens (a new life = gain all this favor again), which makes epic content very important.

Cannith crafting is a big consideration. However, you could always just mail essences, which is usually better for someone unsure if they should spend money or not.

I think your lens you're using is awesome - for people who know how and have the tools to get near end game fast.

I just think the great many people who are F2P and struggling are not near cap at all.

people start really struggling f2p around 13, not 4s and 7s. around that level, you still have quests in houses to get you through, especially things like redwillows, gwylans, tear, even tempests spine. F2P people dont struggle near that level. Or at least, not nearly as much as other levels.
anyway, I am trying to write and economical guide with max content/play vs. cost, not a convenience guide.

i am looking through the "enjoying the game and getting lots of content" lens, not the "i dont want to spend more than 30 minutes at level 7" lens

[FranOhmsford]

Threnal = Mantle of the Worldshaper - Companion to Voice and imo more useful.

Lvl 8-10 Quests {10-12 on elite} rather than 5-7 {7-9}.

Carnifex is good yes but Chronoscope gives the Hellstroke Greataxe and Phiarlan Carnival the Antique Greataxe {both Epicable?}.

I disagree entirely with your placement of 3 Barrel Cove as I personally consider the explorer to be amazingly good {2nd only to Orchard}. The xp for said explorer is superb at lvl.

There seems to be a lot of complaints about getting to quests in 3 Barrel but even The Fire Caves can be run to with ease {less than 10 kills if you know the route} and the only other quest you might have to kill something to get to is Prove Your Worth {A coupla Hyenas outside entrance}.

Sharn was the first pack I bought which I've never regretted.

STK is pointless imo - loot is terrible unless you get the rare drop Ring of Feathers from the end chest.

Tangleroot I enjoy a lot but the slayer really should top out at 750 not 1500. The quests are great fun and the end rewards are far better than STK.

Sorrowdusk is basically a higher lvl Tangleroot {better loot - same 1500 slayer that really should be 750}.

Gianthold slayer I loathe but the quests {apart from Crucible} are quite good and interesting.

Sands is great - np here apart from the luck involved in getting a Ring of Spell Storing.

Vale really is a REQUIRED component of this game.

Red Fens loot is amongst the best in the game {non crafted}. The slayer however is terrible - 7,500 max at 150 a time - AAaaaaarrrrrrrrggghh.

Necro 2 is prob better than 1 - Shadow Crypt seems to get done a lot more than Bloody Crypt and the end rewards from both are weak. The Altar is what you're after.

Necro 3 is known as probably the most annoying quests in the game. Virtually no-one likes this pack {note I said virtually}.

The Lordsmarch chain is a very nice addition.

Harbinger is ok {not really familiar enough with this yet}.

IQ/Amrath - not familiar with - Battleground slayer looks good so far.

Dreaming Dark - Not touched as IQ incomplete.

Reavers Reach - Very nice slayer areas - Annoying to get back to Stormreach from - Haven't touched quests apart from Monastery {early wipe}.

I personally do a lot of soloing especially in packs like Tangleroot where Groups tend to zerg {I like the chance at Fragrant Drowshoods and the large number of chests}.

For getting into Groups Delera's, GH and Vale are simply unrivalled.

[Terminusz]

Gianthold is often popular to bridge the gap between 11 to 16'ish. However, even at 11 there should still be a good number ftp quests, just off the top of my head:
1. Hiding in Plain Sight
2. Spawn of Whisperdoom
3. Dreams of Insanity
4. Tempest Spine
5. Delirium
6. Mired in Kobold
7. Eyes of Stone chain
8. Xorian Cipher
9. Invaders
10. Enemy Within
11: Relic of Sov. Past
12: Made To Order
13: Ataraxia Explorer (and it's two quests)
Just doing Ataraxia Slayer/Explorer should net you a good amount of xp. But if those quests aren't enough to get you to Vale, you might need to invest in GH.

Back on topic: I'm surprised Reaver's Reach isn't mentioned. IMO it should be high up the list behind Vale/GH simply for the Dragontouched armor crafting. It's easier than Amrath, complements Vale greensteel crafting with the armor version, and it's quests are often run for loot/xp/flagging.

Thank you very much kind sir! and all the other who took the time to answer my newbie question

I'm seriously loving this game and I'm finding out as f2p player that holding up on leveling even when u've acquired enough xp to do so can make wonders for u as u won't get as many -% due to being higher lvl than some great xp quests demand.
I've done this my whole level 10 and 11 now, for those who may not know u can fill 4 full bars while delaying ur lvling up and will get back ur action points once u decide to do lvl up.

Those quests quoted up there are quite hard to solo with a hireling at level but they sure helped me quite a bit and some should be manageable at least on normal difficulty (like Whisperdoom, not so hard as a 10 fighter).

I'm almost 13 now and think I can hold myself til 14, will this level be enough to enter Vale of Twilight and still manage to cap from that alone?

Thank you guys, this community is the best I've seen yet in any mmorpg!

[Kmnh]

necro 1 and 2 are dirty cheap and some of the best xp at their levels. leveling a TR without shadow crypt sounds painful :P

[Ngha]

necro 1 and 2 are dirty cheap and some of the best xp at their levels. leveling a TR without shadow crypt sounds painful :P

get a 30 minute pass and window bloody crypt 10 times.

[Feithlin]

I'm almost 13 now and think I can hold myself til 14, will this level be enough to enter Vale of Twilight and still manage to cap from that alone?

Thank you guys, this community is the best I've seen yet in any mmorpg!

No problem. I was 13 when I began the vale on my 1st character, when I had only the vale, and I brought him to 20. However, use the F2P as much as you can before leveling. You will also need a lot of slayers. It was not a problem for me, as I liked the rythm of the runs and it gave me enough money to equip him better. Beware of xp penalties for grouping with level 20 though. Only group with ppl no higher than your current level + 3.
If it's acceptable for you to spend some money in the game (there are special prices atm), it will be a lot smoother if you get either Sands (to get a little more xp before hiting the vale, while keeping some epic content for later), IQ (higher level content than the Vale, but easy to run, with good xp/loots and often TR groups who run them to fuel their leveling) or Amrath (a lot harder to run than IQ, but better loot and the high end raid, Tower of Despair; since you will need to farm the quest to build your boots of anchoring, getting xp while doing so is nice).

*Edit: don't forget the 1st three quests of Attack on Stormreach, which are F2P (they don't appear in the list above) and will help getting enough xp to reach level 15 before hiting the vale imo.

[stille_nacht]

Threnal = Mantle of the Worldshaper - Companion to Voice and imo more useful.

Lvl 8-10 Quests {10-12 on elite} rather than 5-7 {7-9}.

I disagree entirely with your placement of 3 Barrel Cove as I personally consider the explorer to be amazingly good {2nd only to Orchard}. The xp for said explorer is superb at lvl.

mantle has been nerfed to spell level absorbtion. now, the luck bonus on the set is nice, but not really justification for buying a pack. a pack's main justification must be its content. And in that case, threnal falls short, it has frustrating flag mechanics, and boring quests (and in coyle's case, annoying). Add in the high TP cost of threnal, it is very low priority.

i placed 3 barrel cove there only because a fellow guildy commented badly, checking it out, it actually seems quite extensive and interesting (for a lower level pack that is) took it down ;/. Still wouldnt highly recommend it (after all, you outlevel it really quick, and it is quite tp heavy)

Back on topic: I'm surprised Reaver's Reach isn't mentioned. IMO it should be high up the list behind Vale/GH simply for the Dragontouched armor crafting. It's easier than Amrath, complements Vale greensteel crafting with the armor version, and it's quests are often run for loot/xp/flagging.

also, i forgot about reaver's ><, its because i never had a need for it :P, but it is VERY good cost vs. price

[BossOfEarth]

I made it to level 20 on free-to-play like this:
1. Halls of Shan-to-Kor
2. Delera's Tomb
3. Gianthold
4. Vale of Twilight (DING! LEVEL TWENTY! YEAH!)
5. Vault of Night (for Epic content and TR from Epic! tokens)
6. Shavarath the devil's Battlefield (For fun endgame stuff)

It probably would have gone faster without STK and Delera's but I love those quests dearly so I still recomend them for fun. Gianthold is a treasuretrove of XP. I leveled out of Gianthold long before I finished qualifying for the raid. My favorite quests are the Hound of Xoriat and Vision of Destruction (HoX and VoD) that you gain from buying the Vale of Twilight.

From my experience as f2p you'll be fine as long as you buy Gianthold and Vale of Twilight -- everything else is gravy.

[Gremmlynn]

Hm, been playing since F2P came out and haven't gotten Vale yet. I suppose if one's goal were to be sure they could grind that first, most likely poorly built, character to the level cap getting that one first makes some sense.

For myself, I found getting packs in whatever level range I'm in at the time I become bored with the content I'm running on whatever build I'm finding interesting to play at the moment to be the way to go if I have the TP built up.

[guardianx2009]

Thank you very much kind sir! and all the other who took the time to answer my newbie question

I'm seriously loving this game and I'm finding out as f2p player that holding up on leveling even when u've acquired enough xp to do so can make wonders for u as u won't get as many -% due to being higher lvl than some great xp quests demand.
I've done this my whole level 10 and 11 now, for those who may not know u can fill 4 full bars while delaying ur lvling up and will get back ur action points once u decide to do lvl up.

Those quests quoted up there are quite hard to solo with a hireling at level but they sure helped me quite a bit and some should be manageable at least on normal difficulty (like Whisperdoom, not so hard as a 10 fighter).

I'm almost 13 now and think I can hold myself til 14, will this level be enough to enter Vale of Twilight and still manage to cap from that alone?

Thank you guys, this community is the best I've seen yet in any mmorpg!

You're welcome. Definitely try to squeeze as much out (such as doing ataraxia slayers) before you hit vale. Although people do run vale on toons as low as L12, it's now often run with groups 15+, when you hit 14, you can probably spend some time doing vale explorer/slayers, but do know that you may be declined/kicked out of groups that think you're too low level for vale.

Doing vale explorer, slayer and rares and the four flagging quests should take you close to 17, 18. Once you reach 18, you're pretty much at end game (sans epic) as you'll start doing the end game raids (Shroud, Hound, Vision of Destruction), which give plenty of xp.

[zex95966]

I have all packs.

I only like Sharn syndicate and Phiarlin carnival packs.


Sharn because it is the only pack I can actually find groups for, plus it's kinda easy and fun to go through with noobies.

House P because well I love Malicia.

screw anything with undead they are simply not fun.

Gianthold is pretty, and nice big monsters there, but kinda empty in terms of other people.

devils assault is nice, but short, hard to find groups for, and not very great in terms of rewards, however chrono is easy to get groups for, and has good loot, but is quickly outleveled. (the pack, not the loot.)

[badkhan]

people start really struggling f2p around 13, not 4s and 7s. around that level, you still have quests in houses to get you through, especially things like redwillows, gwylans, tear, even tempests spine. F2P people dont struggle near that level. Or at least, not nearly as much as other levels.
anyway, I am trying to write and economical guide with max content/play vs. cost, not a convenience guide.

As a FTP that just got into buying packs recently, i can only agree with you. On a first FTP life, its really easy to level all the way to 10-11 soloing, 12-13 if you group on a regular basis and run tempest raid and other long missions. I've been adviced on this forums to only buy high level packs (most important being Vale) and 1 mid-level pack (GH or Sands) to make it less of a grind to reach high level. This is good advice.

I dont think any of us new player even care about TR'ing etc... We (or me at least ^^) just want to reach lvl 20, having fun at every level,with minimum grind. Another option that is really fun for mid-levels is attack on stormreach. All the "coinlord plaza" (forgot the exact name) ftp + ptp lvl 12/13 chain is a blast.

[Blackheartox]

So far i have Vale, Devils of shavarath, Devil assault, Catacombs, Sham Syndicate, Necro 1 2 & 3, Atack on Stormreach, Pharlian Carnival & Sentienels of Stormreach, got a pass for deleras. grabbed my voice trinket & i think im doing pretty fine with al those packs i bought so far. Im planning to get Necro 4 & RR next cause i love all crafting in game so far & i would like to see how my monk is going to look in all the dragon touched armor outfits. Btw im still a f2p, so i think we f2p can have all packs (with not so much work as its always written on forums).
Only thing i need is a bit multitasking & some decent coordination, as i bought most packs at full price. Couldnt wait till the sales hit the stores as im like a little baby that wishes to see everything as soon as possible. Curentlly im my second life on my main, away from game for the past & next month, but i didnt notice im leveling at a slower rate. Im planning to get deleras for my third life & maybe some other mid level pack. Suggestions? Gianthold? Sands? Not sure which is better & more cost effective. Or is there a better pack for me (a fanatic monk player)?

[stille_nacht]

if you dont have gianthold, get it. you will most certainly want it for third, and most probably 2nd life. Aside from its 3 or so xp grind quests, it is a solid pack on its own, with the 3 flag quests being rather interesting, with good loot in the raid (which is imo pretty boring...)

[Avenging_Angel]

Gianthold is pretty, and nice big monsters there, but kinda empty in terms of other people.

I disagree. I often see pugs for walkup quests, flagging and s/r/e (even 3-4 at a time). The raid, however, doesn't seem to receive the same amount of love as other raids. The main problem is the cost: even with a 20% discount (not that hard to get) it's still almost 800 TPs, but in my opinion it's good to have if you can afford it.
This has to be the same reason why Delera's is not listed: 850 TPs full price is not exactly "frugal" for the level its quests are. You might as well go with The Red Fens for half the price (and epic - again, I happen to see pugs for epics often enough).

[Matuse]

visor- unescessary, cheap deathblock item can be obtained, definitely not worth spending tp for

The visor gives death ward, not deathblock. Far, far more useful except against beholders. Death Ward completely negates stat drain from Shadows, the bubble damage from arcane skeletons, clerics casting harm at you, and all forms of level drain.

Deathblock is almost exclusively a beholder effect, since it can't be dispelled. Deathward is VASTLY superior in any other circumstance.