Shard exchange is a joke

[Gremmlynn]

And I'm sorry because I don't understand your point. Are you saying you never needed a Gold Seal Hireling to solo content with a first life 28 point build character or that your memory is failing? Or are you saying you skipped all quests that require a Gold Seal hireling?

I've never even considered buying one.

If you managed to solo Xorian Cipher without a Gold Seal hireling then you are a much better player than I am. How did you manage to solo the quest and press all four plates at the same time without at least two hirelings? When I soloed Xorian I used up two Shadow contracts for three runs through the quest and thought I was doing well. It just shows how little I understand about DDO.

If there isn't a group handy, yeah I just skipped it. Not like level 8 F2P content is lacking.

Many soloists on a budget would like to know how this is done to save on TP or Astral Shards. It is really hard to get Astral Shards from the ASAH now and most people are saving their earned TP for additional content. Even saving 4 shards on a Shadow contract would help them to progress.

Don't run the few quests that need more than one extra. Don't run above the difficulty they need. If TP farming is needed, there are 8 servers to farm them on. Don't expect the game to be easy for "players on a budget". It's primary purpose is to make Turbine money, if you want to avoid that expect to have to jump through some hoops.

[Algreg]

Yes, thank you, I was aware that it was possible to join in groups with elite Living Spoilers and make little or no difference to the outcome of quests, but this is not about me. The vast majority of new players choose not to join random groups most of the time, for whatever reason. Most of them group with friends or solo using income from the ASAH to buy Gold Seal contracts as necessary. Even the best 28-point build character without past lives is going to need to buy some Gold Seal contracts to solo content before they reach the level cap.

Now, pretend you are a new player and look back at the posts in this thread and any other threads on the DDO forums. Would you actually want to group with any of the many combative and off-topic posters? Most people in the real world don't but they have no way to identify the adversarial players within the game. Newer players have little choice but to solo if they cannot group with friends and they usually continue solo until they can go no further and must must move on to other things. Slower ASAH sales will force them to leave DDO sooner rather than later.

What the heck are you keeping to talk about? Why would anyone need gold seal hirelings? You can get hirelings for in game currency. The only thing ever useful even to new players are healbots which you can have for a meagre amount of plat. Maybe rogues, but what for, to get that one odd chest full of yet more vendor trash? Or the few quests where you need 3+ toons - is it not possible to get some real people going for this?? And no army of gold seal hirelings will do you any good in EE. Do you even play this game??

[Vint]

If someone wants to play without spending a dime, that is fine as we need players to play with those that that do spend.

If someone wants to play without spending a dime and feels that everything should be handed to them, they can GTFO.

If anyone is looking for some AS, I will give you my secret. Go farm for the Ring of Shadows or a few Haunted Halls items and you will get rich quick. If you are not able to solo these quests, put up an lfm. No one needs AS, but if you want to get into the market, you have to put forth some effort.

[Kawai]

If someone wants to play without spending a dime, that is fine as we need players to play with those that that do spend.

If someone wants to play without spending a dime and feels that everything should be handed to them, they can GTFO.

If anyone is looking for some AS, I will give you my secret. Go farm for the Ring of Shadows or a few Haunted Halls items and you will get rich quick. If you are not able to solo these quests, put up an lfm. No one needs AS, but if you want to get into the market, you have to put forth some effort.

*&%^$#!!!!
:|
+1

[Waaye]

My memory has not failed as I have never used a Gold Seal hireling from the DDO store or from Astral shards.

Have you managed to solo all of the free content? My point is that most newcomer soloers must buy some Gold Seal contracts in order to reach the level cap. Sluggish ASAH sales hinders their progress if they are on a budget.

As far as soloing Xorain Cypher that's not a thing that I care to accomplish as I'd just join a group but, since you asked here is a thread with exactly how to solo it with only 1 platinum hireling: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...-Xorian-Cipher

Sorry, but that thread from 2010 did not make much sense to me until I saw a video of it being soloed. The only thing about soloing Xorian that I could find on Youtube was by Vettkinna a L19 Sorcerer15/Rogue2/Paladin2. The text in the video does warn that the character must be high enough level to freeze a mob on a pressure plate long enough for the character to get to the other side.

Vettkinna was so tough she could actually ignore the attacking mobs in the key room and just open the chest. Then she wiped the room clean in a couple of seconds with spells.

There does not seem to be any videos of first life L8 characters soloing the quest by themselves or with one hireling. Most new players are still going to need at least two hirelings to solo this quest at level especially if their character doesn't have rogue skills. There are no rogue contracts available for platinum at this level.

I've been a big soloer at times when I've had no static TR partner & haven't wanted to wait for groups. A single Hireling is sufficient in most of not all quests where you need a lever pulled etc.

For most first life 28-point build newcomers a single platinum hireling may not be enough to solo all content needed to reach the level cap. Most of them will still have to buy some Gold Seal contracts to fill out their team for certain difficult quests. A second and third hireling will cost TP if the player can't earn the Astral Shards.

If your really interested in learning how to solo without spending your TP or Astral shard on hirelings you should Google Mr. cow's Diary of a True Reincanate. Great stuff with videos for every quest listed if they still are up [,,,]

Thanks, but so far I have managed to solo almost everything using only a few Gold Seal contracts along the way. EE questa are a different story but I can just skip those quests the same way I did with the raids. Sadly, with slower sales on the ASAH and the higher cost of Epic hireling contracts I may also need to skip some EH quests but it is too soon to tell. That is okay, though, since I am mostly interested in exploring the game world and not killing everything in sight. Adventuring can still be done on Epic Normal.

Mr. Cow's material is interesting in a historic sense but largely irrelevant to DDO now. Those were the days when archers could multishoot for 6000 points per hit and a red named would go down in seconds. Now an AA's full 20 seconds of Manyshot is lucky to reduce a red named drow's health by 10%. Did that at L22 and my character was standing in his underwear with two broken bows by the time that Rogue/Ranger finally went down. It was one of the most boring fights I have ever experienced in a game and left me with no desire to complete any more EE content.

Times have changed in DDO and today an AA soloist needs Gold Seal hirelings more than ever before. Getting the shards to buy those contracts is much tougher now that almost "nothing sells" on the ASAH as the OP mentioned and shards no longer drop in the daily Silver rolls. Useless XP gems and bonus elixirs are no substitute for those precious shards.

[Algreg]

Have you managed to solo all of the free content? My point is that most newcomer soloers must buy some Gold Seal contracts in order to reach the level cap. Sluggish ASAH sales hinders their progress if they are on a budget.

It all comes down to you just reiterating the same point in different wording, a point which simply is not true. Even a newcomer does not need more than one hireling to succesfully solo. And no, you don´t have to be an exceptional gamer for this.

I don´t know if it is even possible, but I guess you would have a hard time reaching level cap without spending money - but that is for adventure packs, not underpowered extra hirelings. And that is absolutely not an issue, no one should expect to use a service for free indefinitely.

[janave]

I dont know where this *you have to have a gold seal hireling* is coming from, i have leveled many characters with just the platinum hireling + summons, and it is perfectly doable (while being extremely suboptimal in a xp/min perspective). I prefer grouping for good exp rate, usually on builds i dont enjoy, cus they only looked good on paper.

Learning the easier challenges is a huge exp source, learning the explorer zones is fairly effective exp to progress as well. Different classes/builds do better at DDO, and you are not forced to play any specific class/build. For example a wizard can get the skeleton pet which is fairly survivable if you buff it and has controls for lever pulling.

Astral Shards are pure convenience, even chest rolls add up to ransack so the only thing you get for sure is time saved when farming the quests over and over. I do not want to defend the idea of shards, i think its a top ranker of worst ever additions to the game, but there are ways to do without it.

I do think they should drop in chests, as well as added to the silver dice in tiny numbers on top rolls like 91-100 or so. Maybe even add to older raid 20th lists, shards could be used to get some older content run a little more.

I first thought they were essential to trading, but now that i used the asah for a while, i can tell for sure it barely helps getting stuff anymore. As most of the sought after items will be insanely priced, and everything else drops in 5 runs or so, or is barely an vital item, like a raid bypass.

I spent most of my shards so far on chest rerolls, as i cannot appreciate the farming for certain niche use items.

[Gothdom]

It all comes down to you just reiterating the same point in different wording, a point which simply is not true. Even a newcomer does not need more than one hireling to succesfully solo. And no, you don´t have to be an exceptional gamer for this.

I don´t know if it is even possible, but I guess you would have a hard time reaching level cap without spending money - but that is for adventure packs, not underpowered extra hirelings. And that is absolutely not an issue, no one should expect to use a service for free indefinitely.

Ok, I have to jump in:

First lifer here. Soloed almost everything as LFMs in Thelanis are... almost non-existent. I never bought a single Gold Seal Hireling. I used the platinum ones in the Marketplace. Their AI is dumb, so sometimes I went with a healer that was 3 or 4 levels lower. Maybe being pure rogue helped, but yeah, I'm now level 23. I couldn't spend a dime for the whole year I played, as I had some minor money problems since I had to switch jobs. I still waited for the cyber monday deal and bought Menace and Conspiracy.

I'm not sure if I should buy a minimal amount of shards. The regular AH in Thelanis sucks, but just putting an item on it would cost me a shard. I have to find a sure sell before venturing there.

P.S. Forgot to add about Xoriat. I intended to skip it but had the miracle of seeing a LFM up. Same with Tempest Raid.

[Eryhn]

snip to the boring, repetative rant that remains completely ignorant of people's kindly given suggestions

Times have changed in DDO and today an AA soloist needs Gold Seal hirelings more than ever before.

since you consider yourself an AA soloist (sounds really cool btw) I recommend

The Witcher
The Witcher II
Dark Souls
Dark Souls II

should keep you busy a while,
no need to interact with people
or spend AS to be able to do the hardest stuff without interacting with people
no need to rant on forums

by the time your done,
Witcher III should be out ...



= profit

[RedOrm]

Ok, I have to jump in:

First lifer here. Soloed almost everything as LFMs in Thelanis are... almost non-existent. I never bought a single Gold Seal Hireling. I used the platinum ones in the Marketplace. Their AI is dumb, so sometimes I went with a healer that was 3 or 4 levels lower. Maybe being pure rogue helped, but yeah, I'm now level 23. I couldn't spend a dime for the whole year I played, as I had some minor money problems since I had to switch jobs. I still waited for the cyber monday deal and bought Menace and Conspiracy.

I'm not sure if I should buy a minimal amount of shards. The regular AH in Thelanis sucks, but just putting an item on it would cost me a shard. I have to find a sure sell before venturing there.

P.S. Forgot to add about Xoriat. I intended to skip it but had the miracle of seeing a LFM up. Same with Tempest Raid.

+1 to you.
Regarding shards, you might want to considder buying one or more monster manuals; they give you bonusses for killing tons of monsters, like bonus xp, seeing monster hitpoints, cosmetic pets, turbine points, and: the occasional set of 3 shards. It's quite a grind, but it might be a more interesting investment than just buying shards.

Greetz,
Red Orm

[Gothdom]

+1 to you.
Regarding shards, you might want to considder buying one or more monster manuals; they give you bonusses for killing tons of monsters, like bonus xp, seeing monster hitpoints, cosmetic pets, turbine points, and: the occasional set of 3 shards. It's quite a grind, but it might be a more interesting investment than just buying shards.

Greetz,
Red Orm

Really? I'll have to check more deeply into this when the server are back up. I know I completed a couple of entries in the ones I have.

Thanks for the heads up.

[Wipey]

I have to find a sure sell before venturing there.

Any tomes, Haunted Halls loot, heroic 3bc loot, Avithoul ring or Stun /Combat Mastery Dun Robar, Backstabber gloves, Jewelled cloak, 3 stat Optics, Consuming Darkness, Royal Guard Mask, Planar Gird, Heart of wood, some build specific high level clothing or jewellery, Masterful Craftmanship Deadly / GFL / clean stat heroic twink items. Tome pages, Litany named items, large bags.
Spell Storing Ring, Whirlwind, Sword of the Thirty, Devotion wraps.

Sometimes obscure stuff like Silken Mail, Leaves of Forest or even old Bloodstone.

Lowest amount of shards is plenty if you have stuff to sell.

[RedOrm]

Really? I'll have to check more deeply into this when the server are back up. I know I completed a couple of entries in the ones I have.

Thanks for the heads up.

I never paid much attention (vip, so get them all anyway), but according to the DDO Wiki, only part 3 gives shards (and only 1 and 2 give TP).

Greetz,
Red Orm

[Eth]

...

Recently sold an EE Livewood Core for 300 AS. Was super surprised.

I sometimes wonder how rich I'd be in game if people hadn't duped everything.
You know... selling stuff like globe, soul gem or meridian fragment for actual value.
Duping is bad enough, but seriously **** those people that put duped stuff on the AH.

[jalont]

Recently sold an EE Livewood Core for 300 AS. Was super surprised.

I sometimes wonder how rich I'd be in game if people hadn't duped everything.
You know... selling stuff like globe, soul gem or meridian fragment for actual value.
Duping is bad enough, but seriously **** those people that put duped stuff on the AH.

Even with duping, you can still make a lot on ASAH. I usually make at least 100 astral shards a day. A lot of random things sell that you think wouldn't... crafting essence, low level weapons with holy on it, trapping gear.

[Eth]

Even with duping, you can still make a lot on ASAH. I usually make at least 100 astral shards a day. A lot of random things sell that you think wouldn't... crafting essence, low level weapons with holy on it, trapping gear.

No worries, my toons are usually capped on items I can put on ASAH at any time
But 95% of the stuff is in the 5-10 AS range nowadays.

[Robai]

I was selling like 100+ items (sometimes more than 200 items) all the time on ASAH and the most popular/the best items weren't the ones I've got most shards from.
90% of all shards I've earned was from unpopular, but still good stuff that nobody bothers to sell

The most needed/popular stuff is useless for ASAH since there are many sellers and thus the price is too cheap to bother selling.
After U24 so many items became useless for selling since drop rates were increased a lot.

[Bargol]

The biggest issue that has always been the case for the ASAH is that 90%+ of the items people are listing is total junk that should be listed in the plat auction house at best, likely vendored though.

So the next time you go to list something just think "would I spend real money on this item"? If you answer no to that question then dont bother listing. This will have the benefit of making less work in game for you and give you less reason to come and post in a thread like this one.

[jalont]

The biggest issue that has always been the case for the ASAH is that 90%+ of the items people are listing is total junk that should be listed in the plat auction house at best, likely vendored though.

So the next time you go to list something just think "would I spend real money on this item"? If you answer no to that question then dont bother listing. This will have the benefit of making less work in game for you and give you less reason to come and post in a thread like this one.

That's horrible advice. Astral shards aren't real money and silly things sell all the time.

[Dragavon]

Ok, I have to jump in:

The regular AH in Thelanis sucks, but just putting an item on it would cost me a shard. I have to find a sure sell before venturing there.

It does cost a shard to post an item yes, but if it does not sell you get that shard back with the item. So if you have one shard then you can post an item, you will not loose anything.