Tips - please add yours...

[achitophel]

Invisibility scrolls: Many quests can be run "discreet". Not only is this very fast, it also gives you a "discreet" xp bonus. XP per min is better than xp per quest.

UMD: cha of persuasion helps. Persuasion can be crafted ml0. +4 cha ml 5. Bunny hat is a cosmetic hat that also gives +3 UMD on scrolls (but does not stack with persuasion).

Cure serious pots: Heal better than any pug divine (Much better than low level hires even...), especially a fvs. If you are playing with a guildie divine, he probably wont heal you either and then proceed to call you a noob when you die. Until about level 12 this is true. Sometimes this is true until level 18. FYI i do not play a divine.

Remove Curse/Disease/Poison/Blindness/Restoration pots: Should maintain at least 100 pots of each. If a divine cant be bothered to heal you, then why do you think that they will cast remove curse on you ?

Heal amp: you want as much as you can reasonably get.

Silver flame: Grind out the favor when it gives xp. Get silver flame pots. Be self sufficient. A friends quote "A good melee can self heal, a great melee is self sufficient".

Deathward: If you are playing a class that has a specific buff, say.. Deathward then it is good form to pass that buff out. If you can cast Deathward and you die to finger then you should be embarrassed and possibly delete your character. I see this happen a lot. Unlike some games, one does not need to stand still to cast spells so start running and pass buffs as you jump - space + buff spell. If casting masses, and people run off, then it is their problem.

GH: Contrary to popular believe, people do not ask for GH for the +4 to attack, generally it is to prevent Fear effects. Fear stops people using the aforementioned pots to self heal. If you are a bard, then you should definitely be passing out GH. This is probably more or less the only reason they let you in the group anyway (applies to 85% of all bards). Most people make sure they have a gh clickie or can UMD it.

Cleric/FVS: Carrying Harm can keep those pale masters alive. Keeping them alive is a good thing, especially if they are ccing. Agreed that many are arrogant SOB's but keeping them alive (and thus yourself) is a great way to gloat. The intelligent ones will thank you for it. The stupid ones will abuse you. Clearly come back to "if you knew what you were doing then i wouldn't have to Harm you...". Harm also clears stat damage on a pale master. Especially good for those IQ quests, Von2, Von5, etc. There is a ring that drops in Accursed Ascension that can be unlocked to give 5 charges of Harm.

Druid: Mass regenerate is possibly my favourite spell in the game. Throw it all the time!

If you are asked to pike, buff everyone as best you can and then pull up youtube or the forums for some giggles. Don't run in and die.

If someone is incap, do not stand on top of them and fight.

If you happen to die, stand next to your soul stone and not on it. Do not run away from your stone unless someone who can res has asked you to.

If you join a Zerg LFM, don't stay in the quest and loot all the chests when 5 other people are standing at the door waiting to come in again.

Litany of the dead: Use invisibility to reduce the number of mobs that must be killed. This gives extra xp.
Rainbow in the dark: In the caves, run to the end and kill everything. This saves on SP. If you die jumping the pillars, get to the other side and then take your res.
Any escort quest: Bring a divine hireling.
Abbot: If you do not know what your role is, or how to do it then say so. There are no stupid questions, only stupid people who fail to ask what the hell they are meant to do. Abbot in particular is a raid where the tolerance for failure on "easy" roles is very low, possibly getting you banned from future Abbots. However stating that you are willing to learn will more often than not be met with careful explanations and possibly even being edumacated.

[rest]

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife.

[cidchronic]

If you are asked to pike,

No-one should be asked to pike, no-one should ask to pike. IMO piking is wrong.
thx for your time

[TrinityTurtle]

Ask questions. Sure, some people will be jerks about it, but most players are happy to help you out. And in this game knowledge really is power.

[Ilindith]

Con is not a dump stat.

[Enoach]

Invisibility - I agree with your general idea. Not all quests need to be beat down to win. And XP/Min is only > Questing if your goal is to get XP faster. Added note: Invisibility Potions can only be found in Quests (chests/breakables) and the AH - Get as many as you can find learn when to use them to benefit your questing style or pocketbook.

UMD: A 50% chance use on a Buff/Utility Scroll is worth it. Also Consider UMD of 10 (Low Level RR by pass)/20 (Alignment By pass)/30 (Greater Alignment By Pass). Also if using UMD for Buff/Utility/Equip restricted items, consider switchable gear and remember to switch back to questing gear once done.

Cure serious potions do heal better at lower levels than most divines as they still have a low SP pool to work with, however consider why you are taking so much damage - Elemental or Physical and is there something you can do to mitigate it. Not needing to drink potions non-stop because your not taking damage is far more valuable.

Carry potions to remove curse/disease/poison/blindness/restoration - if your taking penalties or have become ineffective you are no longer benefiting your party. You don't need 100 of each, what you need is enough to make it through the quest. If you are playing a class that is constantly Rage (Barbarian/Madstone) and have access to Guild Potions choose these. It is also good to carry a few non-Guild ones to help out party members in distress - Incap and have curse that prevents healing.

Healing Amplification is a good thing - I agree with getting as much as is reasonable. However, consider having switchable gear to maximize healing between encounters.

Silver flame - The potions are more HP than Cure Serious Potions. Keep in mind that you will suffer Ability Score, Save and Movement Speed penalties for 30 Seconds per type you drink. Using these between fights before you run off to the next one will give you time to recover. Using these in combat can be more harm than good so drink responsibly.

Deathward - Run tangleroot to get the fleshrender goggles (they are BtA 1 charge 7 minutes). If Deathward is passed out save your clickies for later. When running a quest that has high use of instant death and dispel always backup your deathward with deathblock - Silver flame trinket or any other item that has it.


Greater Heroism: while I agree the +4 attack is not the primary reason for this spell and Fear Immunity and +4 Skill boost. The Fear Immunity is not always needed, but for skill classes the +4 Skill bonus is always used. Keep in mind that there are other forms of Fear Immunity - such as Hero's Feast (which could be activated at the next shrine). This also falls in the if you can get even 50% UMD on scrolls or get your hands on the Level 9 or Level 18 gear that has this as a clicky.

Divines able to carry Harm should consider using this spell and not just for helping a Pale Master. Targeting is tricky in that your target has to be in front of you, it also has shorter range than its heal counterpart. However, it is negative energy and does not have spell resistance and each enhancement you spent in healing also increases its effectiveness. To the Pale Masters out there - Keep in mind Harm and Inflict do not target the same as cure/heal, if you need the assistance in keeping yourself up make it easier to Harm you by not bouncing behind the Divine - Also take the time to turn in the collectables and consider handing a few Harm Scrolls to a Divine.

Druid - regeneration spells are useful to help reduce party healing - Others while regeneration is great it does not stop death by taking massive damage your not invulnerable.

Artificers - Cure Potion infusions are available starting at level 1. You get more out of an infusion of the cure light wounds potion than you would drinking it.

If you are asked to pike and don't want to pike, leave this is not the party for you. Personally I hate piking I want to play the game, get the XP and Loot, I don't care if others think it sucks.

Any quest your in try to compromise and run the quest as the party leader wants to. If you can't, than leave. But sometimes you can learn some interesting things from both the Flowersniffer and Zerger alike.

If you die in a trap, and its possible to take the raise on the other side, choose to take the raise on the other side. You've already proved that the trap beat you, no need to give it a second chance.

Escort Quests - Never consider yourself too good to take a turn to watch the escortee

If your unsure of what to do in a quest, ask questions. Don't pull levers and open doors or pick stuff up if you are not sure what it does or who is behind it. Simply asking the question can get you information about if it is ok or not and in some cases can help you avoid an untimely death. Speaking up and asking questions shows that you are attempting to help with the completion. It also opens you up to receive more information. Many that have been around and have run quests numbers of times don't know you are new or don't know until you speak up. Never be embarrassed to ask - Everyone has had their first time and I dare say 90%+ of the people you meet were taught by someone else how to do it, of course not everyone is cut out to teach but all should have the patience to handle questions from someone that is new and trying to learn. There are very few "Self-Taught" around.

[Tobril]

/joinchannel Defense

/1 hi

[stoopid_cowboy]

Know your roll, play your roll.

"You shall not pass!" Famous last words of Gandalf, a whizzard who thought he could tank.
With that being said, just because you see the intim icon pop up over the monster's head does NOT mean you can lay down your characters max DPS instantly. Let the tank "establish aggro". A good tank will be able tell the party when it is ok to lay down max DPS.

If you are playing a hjealing capable class, you should be able to at least help hjeal!!!! I do not care what kind of favored soul you are playing, you have the ability to help heal a raid. End of discussion! If you don't have any heal spells, why in the world did you roll a favored soul instead of a paladin or a fighter? (Yes, I can argue this point with anyone. My human DPS favored soul is one of my fave's. I will do decent DPS on any bad guy, not to mention tank if need be, and also solo hjeal a raid in the process.)

Spell point reduction buffs first! Please please please for all bards and monks to cast the spell point reduction buffs BEFORE the party starts buffing at the beginning of the raid!

Arty's, thank you very much for your deadly weapons. However, may I have another? The weapon(s) I was holding are not what I am going to be using, or the weapon(s) I am holding really need <insert metal type or alignment here>. Let the party members request what they need. This will usually save you spell points.

There is no need to Finger of Death a bad guy that the melee have beaten down to 1% health! Save your SP and let the melee feel UBER for 1 second!

yuda

[Sethus]

No-one should be asked to pike, no-one should ask to pike. IMO piking is wrong.
thx for your time

That's fine if it's your opinion, but if you join a group where the leader says that's all he wishes you to do you have the option of leaving, or sticking around and getting your easy button XP.

It's well within your right to think that, but to say someone else is wrong for wanting to do it (and honestly, it's a benefit to those who just want some quick, easy XP) is short sighted at best.

[LafoMamone]

Cleric/FVS: Carrying Harm can keep those pale masters alive. Keeping them alive is a good thing, especially if they are ccing. Agreed that many are arrogant SOB's but keeping them alive (and thus yourself) is a great way to gloat. The intelligent ones will thank you for it. The stupid ones will abuse you. Clearly come back to "if you knew what you were doing then i wouldn't have to Harm you...". Harm also clears stat damage on a pale master. Especially good for those IQ quests, Von2, Von5, etc. There is a ring that drops in Accursed Ascension that can be unlocked to give 5 charges of Harm.

Carrying Harm on a FvS is a particularly bad idea, because not only are you nannybotting a class that has excellent healing/damage mitigation capabilites (PM), but you are also shutting yourself out of either an excellent nuking/crowd control spell (Cometfall), the best single-target healing spell in the game (Heal), or the best persistent damage AoE spell in the game (Blade Barrier).

[DarkForte]

Deathward: If you are playing a class that has a specific buff, say.. Deathward then it is good form to pass that buff out. If you can cast Deathward and you die to finger then you should be embarrassed and possibly delete your character. I see this happen a lot. Unlike some games, one does not need to stand still to cast spells so start running and pass buffs as you jump - space + buff spell. If casting masses, and people run off, then it is their problem.

But if your class doesn't have it, consider doing tangleroot 3x for a visor of the flesh render.

Cleric/FVS: Carrying Harm can keep those pale masters alive. Keeping them alive is a good thing.
No No No. A wisdom-based FvS that doesn't carry cometfall (not having BB or heal is out of the question) loses one of their best nuking options for static enemies that don't follow through BBs (divine wrath only comes at 20!). Clerics are ok carrying it, though.

If someone is incap, do not stand on top of them and fight.

Casting Rage, GH, using your korthos curative cloak, bracers of assistance is good form in those cases.

Coments in bloody red

[achitophel]

But if your class doesn't have it, consider doing tangleroot 3x for a visor of the flesh render.

Should definitely have several pairs on any toon that can't cast DW. On those longer quests, like CITW a 25min DW is very handy as opposed to 7mins.

Carrying Harm on a FvS is a particularly bad idea, because not only are you nannybotting a class that has excellent healing/damage mitigation capabilites

If you are in an EE and that disco ball is the only thing between you and death and you don't harm that PM, then you are gonna have a bad time. I'm not saying your fvs has to take harm, but there are alternatives that will keep YOU alive - its kind of a symbiotic relationship. Its a tip, disregard as you wish.

Bringing me to...

There is a ring that drops in Accursed Ascension that can be unlocked to give 5 charges of Harm.

The state of FVS players on Sarlona leaves a lot to be desired. I see on many occasions a FVS join my group zerg, pull a red alert and die, or get fingered/wailed. In fact my last epic levels on my arcane archer i did not have at any point a FVS who joined and didnt do one of the these two things. Don't get me wrong, there are a bunch of great FVS of which i am sure you are one.

[LafoMamone]

If you are in an EE and that disco ball is the only thing between you and death and you don't harm that PM, then you are gonna have a bad time.

If you are in an EE and everything is discoballed, you won't need harm to keep your PM alive.

If you are in an EE and nothing is discoballed, you won't need to keep your PM alive. Rez him to be a buff-bot maybe.

[Pank]

ddowiki.com is your friend: use it

Re-rolling a toon is not necessarily a bad thing, most of us have gone through it (especially first toons)

Asking questions about stuff you don't know is a clever thing to do. Most people are friendly enough to answer and help (unless of course you don't stop asking them and become a PITA)

If you don't know the quest or are absolutely sure about what the outcome will be don't be the first to do anything (pull a lever, open a door, attack, etc.). This is of the upmost relevance in a PUG.

[arjiwan]

"You shall not pass!" Famous last words of Gandalf,

No. I think it was Fly, you fools.

To the OP, just the tip?

[achitophel]

Some good tips! Keep them coming. I will edit the OP with them and give credit. Tobril... I am sure that you realise most casters wait until a mob is at 1% BEFORE fingering while cackling like a maniac ?

[Ryan220]

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife.

Years ago when I was single I had this discussion with a friend.

He followed your advice and went for a "not so photogenic" option whereas I married my wife for her looks.


25 years down the line and both our missus's have turned into bitter and twisted man-haters but at least mine is still easy on the eye.



My advice is marry the best looking woman you can find - she'll end up hating you anyway so you might as well have something thats pleasent to look at.

[rest]

Years ago when I was single I had this discussion with a friend.

He followed your advice and went for a "not so photogenic" option whereas I married my wife for her looks.


25 years down the line and both our missus's have turned into bitter and twisted man-haters but at least mine is still easy on the eye.



My advice is marry the best looking woman you can find - she'll end up hating you anyway so you might as well have something thats pleasent to look at.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NF5XU-k2Vk

[TrinityTurtle]

Carrying Harm on a FvS is a particularly bad idea, because not only are you nannybotting a class that has excellent healing/damage mitigation capabilites (PM), but you are also shutting yourself out of either an excellent nuking/crowd control spell (Cometfall), the best single-target healing spell in the game (Heal), or the best persistent damage AoE spell in the game (Blade Barrier).

Carrying harm on your spell bar might be a not great choice for a FS, but carrying it on scrolls to help a teammate out when needed and having access to whatever spell you put in it's place is good. There is a VAST difference between nannybotting and the ability to react to a situation as needed and keep the group good going. Even though the class has inherently good self-healing, no one is ever so good that they don't eventually get into trouble at some point.

[TrinityTurtle]

Carrying harm on your spell bar might be a not great choice for a FS, but carrying it on scrolls to help a teammate out when needed and having access to whatever spell you put in it's place is good. There is a VAST difference between nannybotting and the ability to react to a situation as needed and keep the group good going. Even though the class has inherently good self-healing, no one is ever so good that they don't eventually get into trouble at some point.

ETA: Upon further thought, I would also put in a tip that scrolls are a fabulous option for spells that you don't have room for in your lists, especially for sorcs and fs. But they are also a great option for emergencies when you run out of mana. Mana conservation is an acquired skill through experience, and carrying a supply of emergency scrolls is a good idea to help you to the next shrine if you misjudge it. Wands too, especially healing and emergency damage ones.