New guy wants to slay a dragon

[kilpanic]

Hi Thela...nians I guess?

Once again I find myself in need of advice and possibly assistance. Since my return to the game, I've been enjoying the content, at a leisurely pace. My time on DDO has devolved into a solo effort as interest in the game by my static group has waned once again, so I'm completing quests as Ibnsina Panic, a 10th-level Sorcerer focused on Air Mastery.

I'm running up against a wall though. I'm a little stuck on The Prisoner. I'd completed the quest once before, years ago with my static group (though sadly we never did finish VoN in its entirety). The platforming stuff is a LOT easier than I remember, but the mobs seem designed specifically to mess with my sorc, with Charisma-training poison spiders and antimagic-raying Beholders. I think I need help. I don't want to just be a tourist watching from the sidelines, but I don't think I can do this myself. How do I find a level-appropriate group for this and other party-oriented quests? The in-game tools seem to be populated solely by expert veterans farming the quests for the nth time.

In any case, I won't be able to Raid by myself, so I guess this is a LFG post in disguise. When's a good time to look for folks running VoN on our server? I'm typically only on for the duration of a couple of quests a couple times a week, but can log on pretty much anytime.

Thanks in advance!

[Thalone]

Welcome back to the game. If you don't have any contacts left, your best bet is to put up an LFM for the quests you want to run, and if you don't want zergers, make sure to label your LFM as "stay together" or "flowersniffing" or the like. But good luck with that, as moving briskly has been the default for some time. Filling the raid at-level can take an especially long time.

Some tips on the specific problems you're having: the beholders in VoN 2 can be easily handled on a caster. Make sure you have Deathblock on so you don't get instakilled by an unlucky shot from beholders/hounds. The two beholders on the "ground floor" don't activate until you approach a bit; run close until they activate, then backtrack to hide behind the nearby walls. At that point, they can't see you, so you can take this opportunity to sneak just close enough for casting and let loose a quick Phantasmal Killer, string of nuking spells, or CC (Web should work well). The beholders on the jet platform do not need to be activated at all: after you pass the last jet, hop down onto the steps and follow them to the ladder end, then climb back up onto the main hall. The beholders won't spawn if you do it like that. For the spiders, remember that all characters should carry Lesser Restoration pots to partially cure stat damage. As a Sorc, your CHA/UMD may be high enough to use Heal or Restoration scrolls, which will cure all stat damage. Again, CC is your friend, but I forget if Web works on these. If you don't have CC, your best bet is to aggro only one at a time so you don't get overwhelmed. Go into Sneak mode and get close enough until only one spider tries to search you out, then kill it once you're a safe distance away from the pack. Or use a returning thrower and chuck it at the floor in front of the one you want to draw away.

[kilpanic]

Thanks for the tips! My guy is currently very nuke-focused, so I tend to have trouble with dudes who don't fall right away to my initial barrage of lighting spells and SLAs. I've also got a lot of spell slots taken up by utility and quality-of-life spells (Knock, Expeditious Retreat, etc) at least until I find suitable utility gear and clickies. I've been thinking of switching out some of my less-useful, more 'characterful' spells (c.f. Fog Cloud, Gust of Wind) but have been worried that lack of enhancements for non-Air spells will mean they are not potent enough. Should I swap out Ball Lightning for PK? I do have trouble when I meet lighting-resistant mobs as I don't have a lot of offense that isn't zappy.

I did remember the necessity of Deathblock, and will be sure to stock up on Restoration scrolls next time I visit a vendor. Like a lot of players I have a billion random potions and my inventory's a mess; I'll have to sort it out next time I'm online.

I'm sorry to hear my suspicions confirmed that nobody's really playing the lower-level content anymore. I guess I might have to hook up with a zerging group that doesn't mind a piker.

[Thalone]

There's an inchoate page on the wiki with general advice on spell selection. In your case, definitely drop Expeditious Retreat, as you should have a permanent Speed item at this point.

Sorcs in general should not rely on a single element for their damage spells. Lots of enemies have resistances or immunities to certain elements, and you don't want to make yourself useless in those situations. At your level, I would consider adding Scorching Ray or Frost Lance to your arsenal. These are both ray spells, so have double range, and additionally fire more rays as your caster level goes up. Also consider DoT spells like Eladar's Electric Surge or Niac's Biting Cold; you can peek and cast and then take cover with these DoT spells and let them do their work. I can't advise you if taking PK is a good idea: it depends on how high your DC can get. PK is a dual-save spell (Reflex, then Fort), so your target gets two chances to avoid it. However, beholders are supposed to be weak in both those saves, so it may be a good investment against them and casters in general.

[kilpanic]

you should have a permanent Speed item at this point.

[Thalone]

Not sure why the frowny. Looks like you're on Thelanis, and there are super-cheap ML 9 Speed V items on the AH right now. If you can't afford one, let me know what slot and I'd be happy to buy a reasonably priced one and mail it to you.

[kilpanic]

Not sure why the frowny.

'cause I'm relying almost entirely on random loot drops for equipment, and haven't found any Striding gear yet. I was about to check the AH to see how much that stuff cost - thanks for the tip!

[kilpanic]

I overpaid for a fancy pair of boots and now I gotta learn about Augment Slots

[kilpanic]

Thalone thanks for the advice. I screwed up my courage by finishing up the Red Fens (love those underwater adventures!) and finally tackled one of the Vault quests. Soon I'll be flagged for the Dragon, and then all I have to do is find a raiding party!

BTW I hate Beholders so **** much...

[kilpanic]

Finished up VoN 1-4 this weekend, though I died too much (despite being over-level) to get any XP from The Prisoner.

I guess the best way to get a Raid group is to watch the Social Panel? The only raid I've done so far is Devil Assault, and that was some time ago, so I'm pretty excited about this one.

[Tscheuss]

Finished up VoN 1-4 this weekend, though I died too much (despite being over-level) to get any XP from The Prisoner.

I guess the best way to get a Raid group is to watch the Social Panel? The only raid I've done so far is Devil Assault, and that was some time ago, so I'm pretty excited about this one.

Just remember to let the raid leader know this is your first time. Parties usually split up in VoN 5, and it can be really confusing for a first-timer (or a fourth-timer, for that matter).

[kilpanic]

Still no luck finding a group, so I've been exploring Ataraxia's Haven and the Sands of Menesomething in the meantime. they aren't too bad but I'm starting to miss trees.

[Thalone]

Sounds like you're looking for a heroic group, overlevel. Heroic, this raid is usually done at-level to maximise XP, so it's extremely unlikely you'll see a group up or convince people to join yours. Your best bet is to level to 20. On epic, this is the one of the most-run raids and you'll have no issues finding a party for it.

[kilpanic]

Sounds like you're looking for a heroic group, overlevel. Heroic, this raid is usually done at-level to maximise XP, so it's extremely unlikely you'll see a group up or convince people to join yours. Your best bet is to level to 20. On epic, this is the one of the most-run raids and you'll have no issues finding a party for it.

Well that's disappointing. I guess I should have played this game more before it died.

Thanks again for the advice.

[Tscheuss]

Well that's disappointing. I guess I should have played this game more before it died.

Thanks again for the advice.

Getting bummed about not finding a group on a Monday night? The weekend is over, and you might have better luck trying to put a party together during your server's peak hours. Otherwise, you may just need to wait until the weekend comes around again to tackle heroic VoN 5&6. Then again, if people already ran it this weekend, they would not likely be off the raid timer before Tuesday.

[kilpanic]

Getting bummed about not finding a group on a Monday night? The weekend is over, and you might have better luck trying to put a party together during your server's peak hours. Otherwise, you may just need to wait until the weekend comes around again to tackle heroic VoN 5&6. Then again, if people already ran it this weekend, they would not likely be off the raid timer before Tuesday.

I've been putting a few hours into this game every day for the last week, in prime time and off-peak, and have managed to find a group just once. It's not just VoN.

[LadySorrows]

I remember wanting to learn VON 5 6 listen if you haven't found someone to help you out send me an email in game, I wil give you a list of my toons I will throw together a run for you and try to teach you the basics..if that is what you want. If you don't need Von 5 6 anymore hope it went well for you.

Enchantriss
Spellstriss
Queststriss
Stealstriss ( you will most likely find me on this one as I am lvling her through heriocs again )