Was excited to come back..but the wall is real

[slarden]

I would focus on reaper points as most of the power added since you left is the reaper tree.

As for raiding it's mostly EH to R1 on Sarlona. So you don't really need much for that.

[capsela]

I would focus on reaper points as most of the power added since you left is the reaper tree.

As for raiding it's mostly EH to R1 on Sarlona. So you don't really need much for that.

And don't feel bad that everyone has reaper points and you don't.

They had to farm their points the EASY way. R10 amber back when it was a cake walk and there were no doom reapers and you could charm you way through R10.

But sorry that is gone forever now. Sorry devs pulled the rug out from under you. You shoulda got while the gettin was good.

You will have to slog through hell to get your points. Sorry bout that. Oh well. Sucks to be you.

[Thrudh]

And don't feel bad that everyone has reaper points and you don't.

They had to farm their points the EASY way. R10 amber back when it was a cake walk and there were no doom reapers and you could charm you way through R10.

But sorry that is gone forever now. Sorry devs pulled the rug out from under you. You shoulda got while the gettin was good.

You will have to slog through hell to get your points. Sorry bout that. Oh well. Sucks to be you.

I just recently starting messing around with my 4th alt again after years of not playing him.

Started at 0 reaper AP, got to 14 fairly quickly joining R1 and R2 groups and doing the best I could to help. Sure, I was piking a bit, but no one minds. Everyone is cool on a R1 run....

Wasn't that hard to find groups, reaper xp came quick, and 14 AP is all you need to get a solid chunk of abilities (+4 to main stat, +3 to tactics or DCs, and a full reaper boost)

Now he joins any group up to R4, and contributes just fine (Of course, he has a full set of Sharn gear, since that's Bound-to-Account, and my other three alts had already gotten all the gear).

But the OP can join Sharn groups as well...

Seriously, just tell them you're a returning player, working on getting gear and Reaper xp, and people will help.

Also my main has 45 reaper AP, and only ran Amber R10 maybe 5 times in his life. Just play and it all comes to you.

[Alrik_Fassbauer]

So my advice is: do not focus so much on what is ahead of you, but focus on what you enjoy about DDo right now, or rather on what makes you come back to the game.

This is what I agree upon as well.

Not to mention that this community here never talks about anything that is *not* Reaper or high levels. You can get many help through this community-based focus on certain content parts, but you will never get any help for content/levels below that.
This goes even so far that on the hardcore server there were apparingly many deaths because people simply did not doo low-level quests for years, it seemed to me, and thus completely forgot the dangers and traps within these quests.

Of course, when you do nothing but high level content with Reaper difficulty, you lose to have any knowledge of the content apart from that.

[Drunkendex]

Now he joins any group up to R4, and contributes just fine (Of course, he has a full set of Sharn gear, since that's Bound-to-Account, and my other three alts had already gotten all the gear).

That's nice, at rate I'm getting gear from Sharn (average 3-4 named per entire Sharn+cogs saga HE, with around half being ones I already got) I'm gonna need several years worth of ransacking before i get even one full set...

And Ravenloft is even worse with half of named being Barovian/Morninglord weapons... <_<

[Fenrisulven7]

Hey OP, I think this is good advice:

It's not required. R10 is not required. Most groups run R1-R5, and massive number of PLs are not required for R1-R5.

Relax.. It's really not that bad... Get all the Sharn gear, and you'll be able to join the R4 LFMs at end-game and contribute just fine.

Be advised, a lot of the others are unhappy with SSG and are using your post as a platform to vent. Ignore them.


Also, something no one has touched upon is longevity - server populations are dwindling, and the game may not be here by the time you grind out all those lives.

So I would just jump in and have as much fun as you can.

[Goalt]

Everyone knows this.
No one cares.
Why? Because everybody who knew this and didn't care for it already left.

[SerPounce]

And don't feel bad that everyone has reaper points and you don't.

They had to farm their points the EASY way. R10 amber back when it was a cake walk and there were no doom reapers and you could charm you way through R10.

But sorry that is gone forever now. Sorry devs pulled the rug out from under you. You shoulda got while the gettin was good.

You will have to slog through hell to get your points. Sorry bout that. Oh well. Sucks to be you.

If anything I feel bad for people who did that kind of monotony to advance. I learned my lesson after MotU came out and I ran House of Blades a gazillion times to level my destinies and then quit for a six months. It's just not worth it. Stick to running quests on a difficulty you find enjoyable and the advancement will come.

[Pyed-Pyper]

I just recently starting messing around with my 4th alt again after years of not playing him.

Started at 0 reaper AP, got to 14 fairly quickly joining R1 and R2 groups and doing the best I could to help. Sure, I was piking a bit, but no one minds. Everyone is cool on a R1 run....

Wasn't that hard to find groups, reaper xp came quick, and 14 AP is all you need to get a solid chunk of abilities (+4 to main stat, +3 to tactics or DCs, and a full reaper boost)

Now he joins any group up to R4, and contributes just fine (Of course, he has a full set of Sharn gear, since that's Bound-to-Account, and my other three alts had already gotten all the gear).

But the OP can join Sharn groups as well...

Seriously, just tell them you're a returning player, working on getting gear and Reaper xp, and people will help.

Also my main has 45 reaper AP, and only ran Amber R10 maybe 5 times in his life. Just play and it all comes to you.

lol, the best way to play the game is not play.

Listen up noobs newbs returning players and any other non-1337s out there. Join groups and pike at the entrance, until you're 'good' enough, that is.

Indentured servitude in the computer age. GJ SSG!

[SkyJ89]

lol, the best way to play the game is not play.

Listen up noobs newbs returning players and any other non-1337s out there. Join groups and pike at the entrance, until you're 'good' enough, that is.

Indentured servitude in the computer age. GJ SSG!

Or u can join with the group of your level and have fun. U don't have to be with the big boys all the time and pretend to be one of them when your character is obviously no longer on the same level. If the game allow a new player to be as strong as the vets in r10, whats the incentive of being a vet player? Might as well take a break like the OP did and pop in once in a while and I'm still a top dog.

People need to know a lot of things could happen in DDO even in a year. Your reaper point could jump from 12 to 50+ and that weight something.

The wall is not just there in DDO. It exist even in real life. If u stop progressing, u are gonna be left behind.

[Oliphant]

In a previous post I mentioned that endgame power is 80% a function of endgame loot. I forgot to mention sentient weapons. You must get your sentient weapon leveled up and slotted appropriately.

In terms of fastest progress, I'd say that endgame gear + reaper points + sentient xp is much faster than past lives so the Catch 22 is you need to park at 30 for a while to maximize your rate of returns as all three of these factors are boosted at endgame. Obviously you need to play legendary quests to get legendary gear. And legendary gear is also the best way to feed your sentient weapon. You also get double reaper points at cap. If you can be disciplined and save first time reaper bonus until you cap you can level up reaper points a little faster even.

Just get to cap, farm legendary gear, feed your weapon, get filigrees and get reaper points. I would probably not bother with past lives if the goal is to get into elite endgame circles quickly, it would take forever. By definition "elite endgame raiding" cannot be elite if neither greatness nor specialization is required. Good news is you can specialize in getting legendary gear and sentient xp by playing at cap, which also specializes you in reaper progression.

[janave]

Or u can join with the group of your level and have fun.

This is a wild assumption, and tbh I found it not to be the case when i joined DDO. I had to level up both my character sheet and my player skills before groups wanted me in, talking about normal raids and easier epic quests here nothing fancy. circa 2010-2011;

[OrodelaSol]

In my opinion, and yes it is only my opinion, this is exactly the sentiment that is (has?) killed this game.

The wall is real. I don't have 1000s of hours to devote to this game every year and I don't feel relevant anymore and I haven't even taken a break. I have always, for the entire time I have played this game, been behind the curve. I have always been pretty good, but never able to play the hardest content solo by myself. And once I get to that level, the bar gets raised again.

But I have always held my own in a party and been happy with my contribution to the party. Occasionally i would be in a party, enjoying myself, then an UBER player would join, sprint to the end, killing everything.

I would simply drop the party and find a new one that was more my speed. Live and let live was my motto.

But the curve has now left me far behind and I am too exhausted to even try to catch up. After 9 years I CANT keep up anymore. I cant kill anything because it takes me four swings with my axe and everyone else in the party kills everything in one shot. I run to engage the mobs and they are dead before I get there with all the ranged players.

Every party I join is the same. Overpowered players kill everything nearly instantly. I can't play with a party unless I just want to run along and wait for the RXP at the end.

For some, that's all that matters. Get more powerful so you can kill everything easier, so the game is less challenging (and then complain about being bored).

Reaper was supposed to be more challenging and supposed to force group play. It did at the beginning. I enjoyed reaper at the beginning. But now it exactly the same as before reaper. Heal yourself. Single superstars killing everything. No one heals. No one depends on others.

Keep up or get out and shut up complaining if you don't like it.

My advice to returning players is to find the two or three single builds that are the only ones possible to play anymore, and play those.

Dual crossbow inquisitive with the exact mix of classes to maximize insta-kill and keep with that until you get enough RXP and gear to be able to branch out a little more.

And if you don't want to do that, then this game probably isn't for you anymore.

You may enjoy the hardcore server which tends to wipe out those extreme differences. Almost everyone I talk to or I read on the forums really seems to enjoy hardcore. But for some reason most of those people are AGAINST anything that would bring any kind of balance back to the permanent servers.

I was not aware of DDO's passing. Where should i send the flowers? Joking aside, there are currently SO many ways to get xp from the store they really don't need to make any changes. If you want to catch up, pay up. It supports the game as a whole. I have VIP and that is ALL i am willing to pay and have not and will not buy anything other than new content expansions n such. Time or money...i have chosen time.

[Kaboom2112]

I had an "eationist" caster - then I was a bad boy and got her deleted for cheating.

I took a toon out of my stable. Did 3 wiz, 3 FvS (as Deep gnome), 3 Gnome, 3 drow, and an epic PL or two for each of the lives. Took me about 6 months.

He is currently 135 necro DC with all other schools over 120. He is top-geared and 74ish Reaper points of course.

To gain the pittance of the two DCs I don't have would be nuts, absolutely crazy for a secondary toon. Not needed

Did a "sorc vacation" a few months ago to bang out a few Dragonborn lives. Nuked the **** out of everything, included R10s.

If somebody tells you that all the PLs are needed on a caster they are clearly playing "forum DDO" and not actually playing the game.

With that said . . . the grind is absolutely absurd right now. The game was better when people played alts and it was about gear acquisition and not PLs. Then again that was 10 years ago so who know if that would have been sustainable.

[nokowi]

With that said . . . the grind is absolutely absurd right now. The game was better when people played alts and it was about gear acquisition and not PLs. Then again that was 10 years ago so who know if that would have been sustainable.

They lost sight of making the play experience fun when our leader decided player power vs game content, class features, melee vs ranged vs caster were simply things you could vary by 300% at a whim to introduce new builds.

I can't decide if DDO thinks (pick most any build) is the toughest, weakest, highest DPS, lowest DPS, best healing, or worst healing build in DDO. They might be the best ranged build one day, and the worst the next.

SSG unfortunately has no design goals or metrics other than picking new winners and losers in the build department.

All that remains is chasing lives on the (current) easiest builds.

[capsela]

A few minutes ago I was literally kicked out of a raid because my hitpoints were too low.

Great game devs!

Everything old is new again.

[OrodelaSol]

A few minutes ago I was literally kicked out of a raid because my hitpoints were too low.

Great game devs!

Everything old is new again.

Details? What world, what raid, what class, how many hp... inquiring minds wanna know!

[capsela]

Details? What world, what raid, what class, how many hp... inquiring minds wanna know!

cannith 2h2h wiz 1200

elaroth kicked me for not meeting his standards in the pug which was apparently 2k, he also refused to let me join his r1 sharn pug afterwards and I was very polite to him the whole time I guess he has me on ignore now and i just outed myself guess ill put name in sig

[capsela]

Sigh...

[janave]

DDO could really look thru its reward systems... just sayin ...

Due to your outstanding achievements toward our shared goals, The Twelve now feel that you are worthy of something few citizens of Stormreach have enjoyed. Please come by to speak with me at your convenience so that I may have the honor of bestowing on you a new title.

May the magic never leave you,
Jean

(Your deeds have convinced the Twelve that your power is not to be underestimated and that you should be kept close, so as not to catch them unawares. Rather than give you any more substantive rewards at this time, they are bestowing on you a flowery title only. When next near the enclave of The Twelve off of the Marketplace, you can speak with Jeanselme Brucetius for details on this supposed reward.)