Looking for advice on getting used to TRing - Moving from 16-17 to TR territory

[EnjoyTheMoment]

I'm a premium player and I think I could really like TRing, once I get the hang of it. But, I seem to struggle with getting from 15-16 to level 20 (lvl 16, with lvl 17 banked is as high as I've ever gotten on a character). I have a feeling, though, that once I pierce that wall I'll be fine with going through TRs in the future.

I play solo self found, with in-game NPC vendor purchases OK for the character paying for them and hirelings paid for by the character hiring them also OK. Raids / handouts are not in the cards. My characters are probably on the weaker end of the power spectrum because of gearing / skill / 28 point builds. I haven't found anything useful for beholders yet (still working on an optic nerve, I've never had any luck though) and overall luck at finding good gear has been very much hit and miss (with the emphasis on miss).

I have most content, including Cannith challenges, Eveningstar challenges, and a lot of adventure packs. The list of content not owned is definitely shorter than the list of what is owned, at this point. I have plenty of content and will pick up what I feel I still lack and want. Necro 4, Druid's deep, and High road of shadows are coming up on the purchase list. I'll also get gnome and warlock, at some point.

With this information (not the strongest characters, at least first time through), solo self found with hireling, using NPC vendors, what path would you suggest for getting from level 16-17 to level 20?

My longer term goal is to have 2 or 3 characters run through HTRs, ETRs, and perhaps ITRs. One character would ultimately be a divine caster, another a melee specialist, another a wizard-type character. Completionist is not my goal. Reaper isn't really that important to me, at least for the foreseeable future.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions!

[C-Dog]

No real need to bank levels unless you're finishing up some slightly-lower "at-level" favor, or hoping for PUGs for a chain or something, or otherwise trying not to quest over-level. But don't feel that banking levels will speed things up - it won't.

You want to just move forward* - then, if you're not at 1750 favor (or 2500 (or more) if you prefer), you can go back as level 20 and crush lowbie quests, putting up an LFM stating "just for Favor" - you'll find an opener.

* Until Level 18. Then stop, do those quests, and bank Lvl 20 - then jump to 20 and done (or on to Epics, ymmv). There are few if any quests that are "better XP" when you're Level 19, and at 18 you can still find PUGs for L16 quests.

You may also find this helpful:

o https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...t=TR+checklist

It's dated, but the core is useful.


(Edit - I originally posted the "original" thread, from '11 or so. The above is identical, but w/ comments from a currrent perspective.

For those with historical curiosity:
o https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...t=TR+checklist )

[Annex]

I recently faced a similar dilemma. While my avatar and her sister get the bulk of my attention, my 6 other characters languish. Desiring to gain Guild Renown more quickly, I decided to raise those latter 6 characters to Epic levels. Unfortunately, 4 of the characters reside on Free to Play accounts, drastically limiting my options.

Having no desire to "farm" DDO points or struggle in high level quests with weak characters, I decided to approach the problem like Epic dailies. At Epic levels, many players squeeze in a few high experience points quests every day to speed up leveling. I applied the same solution to my languishing characters. I picked three at L12, L12, and L11 respectively, then began to level them in a "Daily Quest" on Normal difficulty. At that difficulty, one character with a healing hire could carry the others.

Each day I played this group through their "Daily Quest". I started with A Relic of the Sovereign Past, occasionally supplemented by Frame Work and Diplomatic Impunity. When the L11 character hit L12, I switched to Lords of Dust, Servants of the Overlord, The Spinner of Shadows, and Beyond the Rift. Eventually I added Good Intentions and some Cannith Challenges. Keeping it to one or two hours a night, I ran those dailies for about two weeks until my little group arrived at L20.

With the exception of weapons, my characters started with very poor equipment. By L20 they all acquired pretty good setups consisting of Random Treasure and a few named items.

Anyway, that was my solution for leveling characters I had no real desire to level. Good luck with your journey!

[Qhualor]

Few things

1. What difficulty do you primarily play? I assume not elite, probably normal?

2. When you run quests, how do you play? One and done? Farm xp? Try to get optionals? Try to maximize xp or xp/min?

3. Monster Manuals? Heroic tomes of learning? Voice of the Master for 5% xp?

4. Necro 4 is great xp, but is more group incentivized namely Fleshmakers. To access Litany of the Dead you need a complete sigil where pieces drop from the 4 quests and wilderness chests. Not really easy solo, but once complete Litany is really good xp and common place to farm. Druids chain is poor xp, but is part of saga. High Road is decent xp, but also part of saga.

5. Which brings me to sagas. Do you use them? 3BC and Gianthold sagas are easy to complete. I use the xp there at level 17, but sounds like for you better to do it at 15.

[EnjoyTheMoment]

Few things

1. What difficulty do you primarily play? I assume not elite, probably normal?

2. When you run quests, how do you play? One and done? Farm xp? Try to get optionals? Try to maximize xp or xp/min?

3. Monster Manuals? Heroic tomes of learning? Voice of the Master for 5% xp?

4. Necro 4 is great xp, but is more group incentivized namely Fleshmakers. To access Litany of the Dead you need a complete sigil where pieces drop from the 4 quests and wilderness chests. Not really easy solo, but once complete Litany is really good xp and common place to farm. Druids chain is poor xp, but is part of saga. High Road is decent xp, but also part of saga.

5. Which brings me to sagas. Do you use them? 3BC and Gianthold sagas are easy to complete. I use the xp there at level 17, but sounds like for you better to do it at 15.

Responses below ...

1. I play normal at-level on a first go through a quest, unless it's a quest that is well known for being very difficult to solo, at level, or if the mission has a lot of mobs with which my character is likely to struggle (beholders are rough, for example). That usually works out fine and the first run through a quest is usually a lot of fun that way. I usually do hard difficulty once I'm effectively "at level +1" for the quest, although as I level up I'm finding hard difficulty is getting, well, harder. I usually do elite for favor and/or when searching for specific gear known to be "findable" in a quest. But, I'm usually 3+ higher levels than the mission at that point, so definitely above the elite level for a quest.

2. I usually run optionals and maximize the XPs from a quest. I like most missions and don't mind repeating the ones I like from time to time. I wouldn't enjoy chaining the same 1 or 2 missions together over and over and over in the same play session.

3. No monster manuals, whatever tome(s) of learning came with MOTU / Shadowfell purchases, no Delera's, which means no VotM.

4. Necro 4 is pretty expensive, so I'll ponder your feedback. I believe that soloing will get easier within a couple of HTR cycles and having content that stands out as different in the level ranges offered by Necro 4 (heroic and epic) will hopefully make me glad that I purchased it. I'm buying the Druid & High Road packs to provide more leveling options in their level range. If I can one day do the related saga, which is a longer term goal, then that would also be welcome.

5. I use Sagas, as I like the opportunity to earn skill point manuals.

PS: Thank you to Annex and C-Dog for your replies as well. I'll probably do something along the lines of what Annex is suggesting, with the twist being that all of my active characters are on different servers. Also, to answer C-Dog's question, I'll aim for 1750 favor on each life for a while, to get those +2 stat manuals for a number of stats. I'll also get 2000 favor at some point, for the one-time points bonus. I'll probably save that for a third HTR or later, though, so that missions can be run first time through on elite, easing the way to 2000 favor.

[Enguebert]

First, check for Lfm when you log on.
Lvl 16-20 is a range where you can see many lfm (on elite).a Join a group if you can, you will get better xp on elite
if you are doing quests for xp, if you are alone, open a lfm, somebody may join you and it will help to complete quests faster. In Lfm, tell if you plan to do a group of quests. Such lfm fills faster

Second, be aware that old quest are usually easier than new quests

Now the pack that are easy tp solo (or solo+hire) fro range 16-20
- Lord of Dust. Good xp, ,often LFM for the chain
- GH on elite is level 15-16
- Vale quests. Every character who owns the pack try to be flagged for shroud/Legendary shroud. The 5 originals quests are not too hard. The 2 new (needed for LShourd) are hard to solo
- Druid deep and High Road are easy to solo. Xp is not terrific and don't hope to have a group
- Wheloon and StormHorn have good xp. Some quests are easy to solo, some are harder, depending of your class. Most of them are easy or easier in a group


VON4 quests are not friendly quest for soloing.
The only one easy to solo is temple of vol...if you are immune to drain
Inferno requires to be able to use fireball/icestorm (UMD)
Ghost of a chance require to have 2 characters (2 mobs to kill at same time, in different room)
Fleshmaker require to activate 5 levers in short time, with respawning air elemental. Impossible to do solo. Some succeed with a hireling, but easier to do with 2 or more people

[Tscheuss]

I like slayers for getting through rough patches. They are a nice change of pace, like a vacation for the character.

[Bluebird6757]

You get full XP from doing slayers/rares/explorers in the Gianthold area up to level 18. For the Vale, the level is even higher. It can be a bit boring, but worth your time - have the TV or music on while you're doing them.

As for beholders, you can farm Prison of the Planes for the Death's Locket. Not quite as good as optic nerves but I think easier to farm. If you're willing to use the AH, the locket is often up for sale. You might be able to make the Silver Flame Pendant from the Necro series. It doesn't require Necro4, but it might require Necro1, which is impossible to solo (not sure because I don't have any of the Necro APs except 4). You can also buy greater restoration scrolls in House J, but you'd have to be able to use them.

[Qhualor]

Responses below ...

1. I play normal at-level on a first go through a quest, unless it's a quest that is well known for being very difficult to solo, at level, or if the mission has a lot of mobs with which my character is likely to struggle (beholders are rough, for example). That usually works out fine and the first run through a quest is usually a lot of fun that way. I usually do hard difficulty once I'm effectively "at level +1" for the quest, although as I level up I'm finding hard difficulty is getting, well, harder. I usually do elite for favor and/or when searching for specific gear known to be "findable" in a quest. But, I'm usually 3+ higher levels than the mission at that point, so definitely above the elite level for a quest.

2. I usually run optionals and maximize the XPs from a quest. I like most missions and don't mind repeating the ones I like from time to time. I wouldn't enjoy chaining the same 1 or 2 missions together over and over and over in the same play session.

3. No monster manuals, whatever tome(s) of learning came with MOTU / Shadowfell purchases, no Delera's, which means no VotM.

4. Necro 4 is pretty expensive, so I'll ponder your feedback. I believe that soloing will get easier within a couple of HTR cycles and having content that stands out as different in the level ranges offered by Necro 4 (heroic and epic) will hopefully make me glad that I purchased it. I'm buying the Druid & High Road packs to provide more leveling options in their level range. If I can one day do the related saga, which is a longer term goal, then that would also be welcome.

5. I use Sagas, as I like the opportunity to earn skill point manuals.

PS: Thank you to Annex and C-Dog for your replies as well. I'll probably do something along the lines of what Annex is suggesting, with the twist being that all of my active characters are on different servers. Also, to answer C-Dog's question, I'll aim for 1750 favor on each life for a while, to get those +2 stat manuals for a number of stats. I'll also get 2000 favor at some point, for the one-time points bonus. I'll probably save that for a third HTR or later, though, so that missions can be run first time through on elite, easing the way to 2000 favor.

1. That's a good thing. To me, this is "doing it right".

2. Me too.

3. Those are very helpful. This is something I would suggest when considering where to spend store points. Not only do Monster Manuals give xp, but you can unlock descriptions about the different monsters with artwork, get rewards like pets, Astral shards and store points. The Voice from Deleras is a guaranteed drop, so that is another to consider spending points.

4. Necro 4 has a beholder for me, but I also have maximum xp bonuses going, I can easily go from 16 to 17 just from Necro 4. It's not as popular as it once was, but the xp really is that good. The epic version has some really nice gear that drops from there.

Overall looks good and you seem to be making some smart decisions. The xp will eventually come the more content and xp boosts you buy, so I would suggest keep doing what you are doing.

[jalont]

There's some interesting quests in that range that are great xp/min to farm but most people don't bother with.

Missing - If you know the shortcut, it can be done in about three minutes a pop. The quest is a circle. Get the first book and then backtrack to get the second and third book, basically knocking out half of the circle. Great xp/min.

Shadow of a Doubt - This quest can be invisid. You may die a few times in the bear traps until you figure out where to jump, but this is another easy farm that gives great xp/min with the added benefit of having that ioun stone. They sell very well on the ASAH!

But really, you don't NEED to farm anything. Spend some time solo out in the Vale, maybe run the quests solo a few times. And once you know them, join groups if you'd like. Between Vale and Lords of Dust chain, you're almost at 20 no matter what life you're on. And then you can finish out with whatever you life. Sometimes I run a quick High Road, which you don't have. Or I'll even still go out and do the IQ quests. 17-20 is a lot faster than it used to be. As you're a first lifer, you don't need to keep your elite streak, but I'd recommend keeping it by the time you get to your 3rd life+.

[Astarii]

Its very valuable to be a VIP ... not only can you begin by opening elite, but get the content while running things. A yearly subscription can reduce that price, and overall its alot cheaper then purchasing all of the stuff outright. ave up the DDO points, then if you want, then in some future year drop it (I would keep it, because i totally support the game. but on my 3 daughters accounts they are just premium now w/ a lot of the packs).

Get
Epic Destinies,
Tomes of Learning,
Vale,
Necro (Combines pack)
GiantHold,
and possibly 3 Barrel cove
and Deleras (Heroic only)

There are a lot of other fun ones, but those are kinda the main must haves. They all are both heroic & Epic.

Monster manuals are a great idea as well, not to mention races & iconic classes, and bank/inventory expansions along with a few space character slots to experiment on. Warning: Have a MAIN toon, if you start to split your time on multiple toons, you'll find it to be a mistake.

[jalont]

Its very valuable to be a VIP ... not only can you begin by opening elite, but get the content while running things. A yearly subscription can reduce that price, and overall its alot cheaper then purchasing all of the stuff outright. ave up the DDO points, then if you want, then in some future year drop it (I would keep it, because i totally support the game. but on my 3 daughters accounts they are just premium now w/ a lot of the packs).

Get
Epic Destinies,
Tomes of Learning,
Vale,
Necro (Combines pack)
GiantHold,
and possibly 3 Barrel cove
and Deleras (Heroic only)

There are a lot of other fun ones, but those are kinda the main must haves. They all are both heroic & Epic.

Monster manuals are a great idea as well, not to mention races & iconic classes, and bank/inventory expansions along with a few space character slots to experiment on. Warning: Have a MAIN toon, if you start to split your time on multiple toons, you'll find it to be a mistake.

Monster manuals are a great idea. I never pay attention to them, so I'm always excited when I get those XP pops. They're a great way of basically collecting passive xp each life.

[EnjoyTheMoment]

A quick update ...

Now I have a plan for 16-20 and it looks pretty good, after a bit of experimentation. I'll probably stick with the "Lords of Dust + something else" pattern for first lives, at least until level 18. I'm considering Gianthold explorers / Lords of Dust / various quests while holding at level 18.

I really like the idea of farming PoP in Gianthold, as it's a fun mission and it's quite limiting to not be able to handle Beholders well. I've had no luck at all getting optic nerves anyways, so I might as well give PoP a try.

Thank you all for your contributions.

[korgzz_bloodaxe]

Get

Necro (Combines pack)

Necropolis bundle has not been available for over a year now. It was removed when the new DDO store came out around the start of 2016.