Free hints and advice for F2P and Prem in HCL3

[fatherpirate]

Here ya go, if your experienced in HCL ...please feel free to post.
If your not ... READ. but please don't debate HCL here, loads of threads for that
ADVICE to new players.

1. If your new ... your going to die at least once.
----- The death announcements go off every few seconds for the first week
----- even when it was all VIP.
2. Cheapest way to open elite or reaper is to group up with a group that has
----- a VIP member in the party...easiest way to do that is to find an active guild.
----- or just sub and become VIP < you can also buy keys, don't recommend or grind out normal, hard,elite
----- if your into grind
3. If your new and you more worried about the best path to do multiple TR? Don't worry,
----- you will never make 20. BECAUSE - you need to worry about staying ALIVE.
----- Worry about TR >>>IF<<< you get to 20.
4. There are 2 tiers that give you an extra life, if you don't make it to the tier - your dead
----- Even if you do, and you die again ...your dead. It is not a save point.
5. Anything that brings you back to life on a regular server does not work here. get over it.
6. Any death counts...fall through the ground...your still dead
7. IMPORTANT - Unlike normal servers, there are level locks --- If your in a level 1 dungeon, your max level is 5... lvl2 dungeon, your max lvl 6
---- Dungeon level on NORMAL+4 or dungeon level on elite +2 , if the dungeon locks on you before you got the favor you want from
----it, your options become dangerous and you will need to hit it on Reapers to get the favor...Reapers can 1 shot anyone...have fun
---- if you level is getting close to level locking some dungeons you still want to do...DON"T level up, until you are caught up.
8. Use Hirelings
9. Don't count on Hirelings
10. In Reapers your ability to self heal is CRIPPLED, best to be in a guild and party up if you want to go that route.
11. Don't like Champions...too bad, oh and they can have powers that are EXCLUSIVE to HCL ...ruin your day stuff.

ok, I will leave the floor to folks that have done HCL before
ps ....... Traps are #1 killer

SEE YOU AT NOON !
...(that death announcement going to be rattling off like a darn stop watch)

[voxson5]

that death announcement

Is one of the best things about HC

Here are some more tips:

- Put spare plat in your shared bank
- Buy and carry many potions> lessor restoration, remove curse, remove blindness, stats, resist & protection from energy, heroism, etc. Even if you can only afford 2 or 3.
- Work on house P favor, those 20 resist buffs are very useful
- Try to have some way to cast/scroll night shield or shield (for magic missile immunity)
- Layer defenses, this includes fighting from ranged
- Practise aggro management
- Have a GTFO strategy, like teleport, dimension door, sprint boost, spring attack to pass through mobs, etc
- Always have some kind kind of self healing
- HP are king, push them further with aid clickies/scrolls/potions & other temp hp sources


*edit
- Know your enemy, and check the wiki to understand how to defend against it
https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...ath-Statistics

[Cernunan]

In HC 1/2 Challenges were level locked from the lowest level you can access the challenge.
So if the challenge is level range 4-15, You cannot enter that challenge at level 9+, even if you set if to lvl 9+

If you want challenge gear/ favor plan ahead

Red Champions are tougher then on regular server, with much stronger dots, and last season had the ability to turn you to gold like the alch spell. That was super annoying

[FTPDDO]

You don't have to opt in to the favor or reaper challenges at all to benefit from hardcore.

You can simply run quests on normal for favor, backpack space and bank space. You earn first-time server favor bonuses and can transfer the character to your home server for free. So maybe level a character on your main account plus one or more bank accounts so they can hold more plat and more items and be be optimal bank characters all while earning first-time favor rewards. Maybe 500 favor or so for fast normal runs to level 13 with a few hard repeats for House K and Coin Lords to get the bank space.

No need or requirement to do anything risky - you can simply focus on other benefits besides cosmetics.

[Alrik_Fassbauer]

I often wonder whether I should do a character who can disarm traps, because I read that traps are "the No.1 killer" ?
Or whether I should rather do a character which has very good saves ?

[voxson5]

I often wonder whether I should do a character who can disarm traps, because I read that traps are "the No.1 killer" ?
Or whether I should rather do a character which has very good saves ?

Who says you can't do both?

[KoobTheProud]

The first rule of HCL is: everybody talks about HCL.

The second rule of HCL is: 2 levels of Barbarian for 10% run speed, Die Hard - Die Harder and Blood Tribute is never wasted.

The third rule of HCL is: the best melees wear a pointy hat but something better than a wizard's robe.

The fourth rule of HCL is: traps are the reaper's scythe.

The fifth rule of HCL is: always run behind the guy who is going to die in the trap you all forgot about.

The sixth rule of HCL is: never join a group wailing for a tank in the middle of an instance - you have a lot more warning than the tank they just killed.

The seventh rule of HCL is: never run with the guy who wants to be first to whatever - just don't.

The eighth rule of HCL is: when you are getting close, slow down - an extra minute of thought never killed anybody in HCL.

The ninth rule of HCL is: never be afraid to leave an instance if something doesn't feel right - one bad run ends the chain.

The tenth rule of HCL is: there are no rules in HCL.

Best of luck!

[Dark_Lord_Mary]

Best advice I can give for HCL is to quest in groups and always have a trapper - traps kill more people than anything else.

[yfernbottom]

I often wonder whether I should do a character who can disarm traps, because I read that traps are "the No.1 killer" ?
Or whether I should rather do a character which has very good saves ?

If I intend to solo with a character at all, I consider it essential to be able to do traps. If you are planning to run in parties all the time, that's a different matter.

Some combination of high base hit points, strong self heals, and temporary hit points (more than the 20 from aid) is also pretty essential. I would say you need at least 2 out of the 3.

Saves are also important, but you can get there with gear. Resistance, parry, luck are the main ones that are easy to get. Feats like insightful reflexes and force of personality are a much higher priority than on normal servers.

[fatherpirate]

Epic classes start at level 1, but their racial enhancement trees
are generally stronger than any other race in HCL. If you can open them.

Crafting featherfall, underwater action, wizardry, elemental resists are easy.

Do not go into Elemental evil without a way to resist paralyze or you
will likely die in the living pool room.

Make a crafter

Blacksmith in keep at the borderlands makes lvl 2 beginner ghost touch
weapons.

[yfernbottom]

Crafting featherfall, underwater action, wizardry, elemental resists are easy.

Make a crafter

To expand on this, you can make feather fall and underwater action the moment you step into a crafting hall.

You can also makes the others right off, but not at a very useful level (4 resistance . . .). If you can get to effective CC level 50, you can make some nice low level items. Weapons with 2d6 elemental and 2d6 generic (slash/ peirce/ crush) damage, +7 to any skill, +14 to any resistance. That is dead easy to get to, and will get you to level ten much more easily.

[fatherpirate]

^ what he said

The reasoning for this is simple.
Regular servers have had years of time to get powerful
drop loot items in AH.
HCL starts fresh so...for a while at least, crafting gets you the good stuff quicker

[arminius]

To expand on this, you can make feather fall and underwater action the moment you step into a crafting hall.

You can also makes the others right off, but not at a very useful level (4 resistance . . .). If you can get to effective CC level 50, you can make some nice low level items. Weapons with 2d6 elemental and 2d6 generic (slash/ peirce/ crush) damage, +7 to any skill, +14 to any resistance. That is dead easy to get to, and will get you to level ten much more easily.

I've never done any crafting at all, ever, in all the years I've played. Is it obvious what to do to make the feather fall and underwater action items? Like is the recipe shown when you click on the crafting thingy-bobber, or is it something that takes a recipe list that is un-intuitive like Shroud ingredients and their effects?

[DivineHolyone]

Get ready it is upon us! Some players realize the grind and utter h#^& they are about to embark upon, others will soon taste it.

If you can make it to 1750 for the tome you can walk away knowing you did ok, if you can do that with 0 lives lost you can almost say you have done great with reaper points up to the first 10 points you can say your among the greats, group or solo. As Pirate said people die, I'm likely to die in shan to kor or the market bazaar, I did in my practice run I was level 8 then I died again. It is going to happen anyone can come on here and say I've done it before I can do it again, but they still get the same quake in the knees that your going to get going into stormcleave or the pit on R1. The possibility is there and no matter the resists, saves, AC or hit points you can still be killed.
Tips
If your building charisma (add umd to your skills) or have some divine levels make sure to use wands of cure that you can access. I hate using potions I'm a wand guy,
for umd people wands of stone skin can be purchased from the tower of the 12 they are nice to have mid level range. Heal scrolls you can buy those eventually greater restoration scrolls, mass bless.

Shop, portable hole accessible through teleport, Jorasco Arcane shop, If you join a guild house Kundrak guild vendors. You may need the plat for something else and if your essencing all your gear through a crafter plat will be hard to get.

if you have astral shards the guy in the harbor sells a light fortification augment (Blue) for 4 shards best 4 shards you can ever spend at low level you should be able to buy 10 shards with the coins in the store that will leave 6 to reroll loot twice (3) or skip a quest in a saga that you know will kill you for me its the crucible in Gianthold. Fortification PRR and MRR are a big deal here don't look over them if you can get something with moderate fort use that item usually a belt or bracers will sometimes carry that designation.

If you spend all that time getting a mount and you die you'll have to get it again. Just my opinion here its a waste of time. But then again some people love the cloak and goggles from there who am I to judge ?

The gatekeepers while having some great loot I wont tackle those until I'm within those higher levels to access them. Those quests the ravens squawking will scare me and I'll psych myself out before its even time to fight them.

The best tip I can give is to have fun, it may not seem like fun when your rebuilding your character for the 4th time, but that's what keeps us coming back its the adrenaline high from those close calls the walking away with one hit point. Or stabilizing and the hireling finally deciding to heal you. It's the closest we can get to bull riding or parachuting without actually doing them, have fun and enjoy the ride.

[Tscheuss]

GTFO tactic #1: Alt+F4

This is NOT a joke.

[Xgemina]

Still get the starter cake in Korthos. It's worth the measly 5 pts. While it will not rez you if you are dead, it will take you out of incap to positive HP. Just be ready to suck a potion down or hit your GTFO once you've eaten the cake.

[Cernunan]

I often wonder whether I should do a character who can disarm traps, because I read that traps are "the No.1 killer" ?
Or whether I should rather do a character which has very good saves ?

You don't realize it as much on normal server, but you still gonna roll 1's on saves.

You don't realize how often you roll 1's on saves

On elite in a trap is usually gonna mean starting over

[fatherpirate]

lol

also, your first toon will be required to do the tutorial :-P
yea...

your not alone

[erethizon]

I've never done any crafting at all, ever, in all the years I've played. Is it obvious what to do to make the feather fall and underwater action items? Like is the recipe shown when you click on the crafting thingy-bobber, or is it something that takes a recipe list that is un-intuitive like Shroud ingredients and their effects?

Yes, it is obvious. You simply go to the bound shard machine and type 'feather' in the search bar. Crafting is quite simple in this game and I definitely recommend you start doing it on the main server you play as well. The only thing you really have to do is use the red dissolvers (which you get from the merchant in crafting halls) to break down all the non-named gear you get instead of selling that gear to merchants (you do get some plat for breaking things down in addition to crafting essences).

[yfernbottom]

I've never done any crafting at all, ever, in all the years I've played. Is it obvious what to do to make the feather fall and underwater action items? Like is the recipe shown when you click on the crafting thingy-bobber, or is it something that takes a recipe list that is un-intuitive like Shroud ingredients and their effects?

There is a tutorial quest that you need to run through to see how the system works. A guy standing right in the doorway of the crafting hall in House K will give it to you. As DDO goes, it's amazingly clear and informative. In fact you should do this quest once on every single character and send the rewards to your designated crafter (crafting XP potions or crafting boost items).

From there you should be able to figure out how to make items pretty easily. For example, you can search a menu at the "thingy-bobber" for shard types and see if you have the correct ingredients or if you don't what you need.

A crafting planner is also essential to figure out what you can make. Ramzes has a great one:

http://ccplanner.byethost14.com/