First TR, solo Pally build, and Cannith!

[VarenTai]

Hey good folks! I have a few somewhat related newbie questions.

I am getting ready to do my first TR (currently playing warforged Pale Trapper). I am leaning really heavily towards a Purple Dragon Knight Ftr1/Pal19 since Seeds are easier to farm than tokens for a solo player, though I'm open to a non-Iconic suggestion.

1) I have to solo almost exclusively - what's a good current pally build for solo play through 30? I don't have feywild or the enhancement tree associated with it. I imagine THF is the best way to go in order to generate sufficient DPS, right?

2) What should I farm, equipment-wise, for this build before I TR? I have VotM, but am not sure what else might be handy to grab now while I'm 30. I have all expansions except Sharn (for now) and Feywild.
2a) I am still working on leveling my Cannith crafting - what can I craft that would be particularly helpful for my new life that doesn't require being maxed out?

3) I am trying to get enough favor for Artificer from Cannith before I TR - let's say I am running Lava Caves challenge. Do I have to succeed at the primary challenge in order to get an extra star for a side quest? Or can I completely ignore the kobolds and go run through the cavern to grab some of the extra stuff and have it still count towards new stars?

4) Holy ****, potions. They eat up most of my inventory space. What potions should I just get rid of? Which ones are particularly helpful?

[droid327]

- 18 pal/2 ftr Silvanus mauls, str>con>cha is still great for TR train. That 19th pal level doesn't get you much, the second fighter level is an extra feat

- part of the family set and castigators from sharn would be the big ones. A drow weapon master weapon of the appropriate type would be big too. Crafting isn't anything must-have.

- yes you need to succeed the challenge to claim your stars

- cure disease, cure curse, lesser restore, haste are the big ones among vendor-sold pots. Then some rare ones like angel tears, restore, death ward are useful to carry. I can't even imagine what all you're carrying if they're overcrowding your bag lol...usually it's scrolls that take up more room

[thedip]

I am not going to answer all your queries, I will let the pally experts do that. I have taken a Battle Forged arti/pally to lvl30 and it was a blast. Please note that these are my views and does not invalidate anybody else's if they disagree.

In terms of potions, what are you using? A Pale trapper should never need a healing potion except in the most exceptional circumstances - Death Aura and the neg amp in the PM tree should easily suffice. I have taken a number of pale trappers to 30 and had no issue healing even on 1st life. I use the normal cure disease (you won't need) this, remove curse, invisibility and remove blindness (although I have made a lvl 1 blindness immunity (lvl250)/true seeing (lvl250) set of goggles).

In terms of Cannith favour, run the main quests which will a good way to 150 favour. Also remember that you are looking for favour when running the challenges and so you don't need to run them at level, you can vastly out level them and still get the favour. In the challenges you have to complete the main objective to get any favour.

In terms of gear, run Delera's again to get the Epic Voice as this tends to be the trinket of choice for most builds from 20. As for specific gear I'll let others give an itemised view. I'd run lvl 15/30 Sharn to get some nice items (the part of the family set is rather nice) and the Borderlands to get some nice lvl21 items (CHA and STR). Myself I would take Bastard Sword prof when you take your fighter level and then take Helm as your patron deity, that way you can also use a shield.

Have a look on the Paladin section for some builds and hopefully others will chip in with some advice.

[VarenTai]

- 18 pal/2 ftr Silvanus mauls, str>con>cha is still great for TR train. That 19th pal level doesn't get you much, the second fighter level is an extra feat

- part of the family set and castigators from sharn would be the big ones. A drow weapon master weapon of the appropriate type would be big too. Crafting isn't anything must-have.

- yes you need to succeed the challenge to claim your stars

- cure disease, cure curse, lesser restore, haste are the big ones among vendor-sold pots. Then some rare ones like angel tears, restore, death ward are useful to carry. I can't even imagine what all you're carrying if they're overcrowding your bag lol...usually it's scrolls that take up more room

First off, I am seeing a lot of chatter about silvanus mauls vs PDK greatswords. Is one superior to the other? Or is it a tradeoff?

Scrolls? Maybe because I'm a Wiz, but I cannot fathom why on earth I would ever need a scroll. On other builds, I can see UMD being handy for a DD or heal, but am I missing something?

As for pots, since I'm a warforged PM, I just don't need death ward, death block, cure disease/poison, etc, but I have been stocking up on lvl 30 element resist pots and such, as well as other higher level buff pots like Shield of Faith, Barkskin, etc. However, just like my experience with single player RPGs, I find I rarely need/use them. When not running end-game raids, are they actually useful? Should I hang onto them? I do have rarer pots from daily dice and the like as well, but also rarely use them.

Sharn - my next purchase. I'll have it for sure before I hit 15 on my next life, but I'm debating if I should spring for it now and farm a bit before I TR...

[droid327]

First off, I am seeing a lot of chatter about silvanus mauls vs PDK greatswords. Is one superior to the other? Or is it a tradeoff?

Scrolls? Maybe because I'm a Wiz, but I cannot fathom why on earth I would ever need a scroll. On other builds, I can see UMD being handy for a DD or heal, but am I missing something?

As for pots, since I'm a warforged PM, I just don't need death ward, death block, cure disease/poison, etc, but I have been stocking up on lvl 30 element resist pots and such, as well as other higher level buff pots like Shield of Faith, Barkskin, etc. However, just like my experience with single player RPGs, I find I rarely need/use them. When not running end-game raids, are they actually useful? Should I hang onto them? I do have rarer pots from daily dice and the like as well, but also rarely use them.

Sharn - my next purchase. I'll have it for sure before I hit 15 on my next life, but I'm debating if I should spring for it now and farm a bit before I TR...

Gsword vs Maul is entirely situational and ultimately dependent on what you're running and what gear you have. Maul gives you 18-20/x3 on Mauls, which is a superior crit profile to most Gswords. Maul requires Iconic though, so if you're doing a 1-20 Heroic Paladin (or a 1-30) then Gsword is your option. Maul PDK requires you to be non-pure Paladin unless you burn a Heart, so you wont have the KotC capstone. Endgame, Maul only makes sense if you have Tremor. Leveling, Gsword wins out if you have SoS or eSoS. If you have none of those, the next tier down includes things like Blackrazor for Gsword and Drow Weaponmaster for Mauls. Ultimately neither is a bad option - its just a question of which is better suited for your specific situation.

Scrolls let you cast spells without needing to actually use a spell slot on them. Things like GH and Teleport can be cast from a scroll with the same effect as casting it natively, and you're never really casting those in combat where scroll-casting would be a liability. Plus with UMD you get access to Divine spells like Raise Dead (for hirelings) and Restoration/Greater Restoration (for neg levels).

PM still need Death Ward to guard against neg levels, though of course Beholders will just dispel it anyway. But any other fight where negging is a concern (e.g. the red name Skeleton Mage in Invitation to Dinner in the Chapel, among many others) is worth popping a Pot of DW. You can get them from ES Cleric commendations, IIRC, as well as Necro turn-ins, and stock up on a year's supply easily during Mabar. Or a Bottomless Pot during the Monster Hunter special event.

The buff pots are pointless. The benefit they provide is absolutely negligible, and often doesnt stack with your Guild buffs anyway. Feel free to vendor them, your instincts are good. Only ones worth keeping are the ones that guard against or cure status effects, since those are much more of a danger. Anything else, the problem is that in any situation difficult enough to be "worth" using a rare pot, they arent going to make enough difference to be worth using...and any situation where they do make a difference, its so easy you dont need a pot anyway.

Yes go ahead and get Sharn now if you're going to get it later anyway. Always better to get content ASAP so you can start benefitting from it immediately. You'll have a way easier time of it farming at 30 than at-level, especially since you can easily clear on Elite and unlock Inqui for the character. Plus then, when you play it next life, you'll already be familiar with the quests so you wont struggle as much at-level. Quests like House of Pain and Reach for the Sky are immensely easier when you know the proper steps. And, of course, having the gear already waiting for you at 15 is going to save you a lot of time.

[Waveman]

Hey good folks! I have a few somewhat related newbie questions.

I am getting ready to do my first TR (currently playing warforged Pale Trapper). I am leaning really heavily towards a Purple Dragon Knight Ftr1/Pal19 since Seeds are easier to farm than tokens for a solo player, though I'm open to a non-Iconic suggestion.

1) I have to solo almost exclusively - what's a good current pally build for solo play through 30? I don't have feywild or the enhancement tree associated with it. I imagine THF is the best way to go in order to generate sufficient DPS, right?

2) What should I farm, equipment-wise, for this build before I TR? I have VotM, but am not sure what else might be handy to grab now while I'm 30. I have all expansions except Sharn (for now) and Feywild.
2a) I am still working on leveling my Cannith crafting - what can I craft that would be particularly helpful for my new life that doesn't require being maxed out?

3) I am trying to get enough favor for Artificer from Cannith before I TR - let's say I am running Lava Caves challenge. Do I have to succeed at the primary challenge in order to get an extra star for a side quest? Or can I completely ignore the kobolds and go run through the cavern to grab some of the extra stuff and have it still count towards new stars?

4) Holy ****, potions. They eat up most of my inventory space. What potions should I just get rid of? Which ones are particularly helpful?

Just keep in mind that Seeds are for ER, while Tokens are for TR.

[VarenTai]

Just keep in mind that Seeds are for ER, while Tokens are for TR.

Seeds can be used for Iconic TR as well, which is what I am gunning for.

[Taraborn]

Seeds can be used for Iconic TR as well, which is what I am gunning for.

You can't Iconic TR unless you are an Iconic, you will have to do a Heroic or Racial TR .

[VarenTai]

You can't Iconic TR unless you are an Iconic, you will have to do a Heroic or Racial TR .

Yup! Gotta use tokens on this life, but I intend to do a PDK on my next life.

[Stoner81]

Hey good folks! I have a few somewhat related newbie questions.

I am getting ready to do my first TR (currently playing warforged Pale Trapper). I am leaning really heavily towards a Purple Dragon Knight Ftr1/Pal19 since Seeds are easier to farm than tokens for a solo player, though I'm open to a non-Iconic suggestion.

1) I have to solo almost exclusively - what's a good current pally build for solo play through 30? I don't have feywild or the enhancement tree associated with it. I imagine THF is the best way to go in order to generate sufficient DPS, right?

THF Pally is very strong right now, what enhancements to use exactly I'm not sure.

2) What should I farm, equipment-wise, for this build before I TR? I have VotM, but am not sure what else might be handy to grab now while I'm 30. I have all expansions except Sharn (for now) and Feywild.

Grab some Ravenloft gear if you can along with Borderlands and then grab Feywild and Sharn stuff once you have those packs.

2a) I am still working on leveling my Cannith crafting - what can I craft that would be particularly helpful for my new life that doesn't require being maxed out?

CON and Insightful CON are great to have on any build. I use a belt with an augment slot for Gift of the Master and use it as my main CON item plus False Life. Depending on your past lives etc you might get away with just using random loot you find during quest and then craft it at say level 10 when Insightful shards become available.

3) I am trying to get enough favor for Artificer from Cannith before I TR - let's say I am running Lava Caves challenge. Do I have to succeed at the primary challenge in order to get an extra star for a side quest? Or can I completely ignore the kobolds and go run through the cavern to grab some of the extra stuff and have it still count towards new stars?

You must succeed in the primary challenge otherwise it will be classed as a failure and therefore won't count (as far as I know), on top of this you must complete the other side quests in the same run to qualify for it.

4) Holy ****, potions. They eat up most of my inventory space. What potions should I just get rid of? Which ones are particularly helpful?

Always (and I mean ALWAYS) carry:

Cure Blindness.
Cure Curse.
Cure Disease.
Remove Fear.
Lesser Restoration.
Remove Poison.

I know Pallies get a lot of them but pots are cheap and don't cost spell points.

Other pots are situational depending on the circumstances, I also carry the +20 Resist Energy pots from The Twelve until I reach Epics where I can cast the spell which does them all at once en mass.

Stoner81.

[VarenTai]

OK, another Cannith favor question. I noticed that the heroic and epic raids are two different quests. Normally, you get full favor for elite, no matter whether elite was run in heroic or epic, but the favor page confused me. Are the 2 raids really 4 raids in terms of favor? If I run Lord of Blades on heroic Elite and then on Epic Elite, will I get favor for both or is it still like normal?

[Bjond]

Seeds can be used for Iconic TR as well, which is what I am gunning for.

ITR isn't terribly useful compared to ETR, though. ITR = Heroic + Iconic PL feats, no Epic PL feat. I'd recommend as much ETR as you can tolerate before moving on to other types of TR. I'd rate each EPL as worth roughly 5 or 6 other types of PL feat.

[droid327]

ITR isn't terribly useful compared to ETR, though. ITR = Heroic + Iconic PL feats, no Epic PL feat. I'd recommend as much ETR as you can tolerate before moving on to other types of TR. I'd rate each EPL as worth roughly 5 or 6 other types of PL feat.

Some ITRs are more worthwhile. PDK being the big one, since it gives you PRR (always need more of that) and a free Sprint Boost. That'd arguably be better than 3 EPLs early on in your ETR hamster wheeling.

Plus ITRs reset your quests and ETRs dont, so alternating ETRs and ITRs would let you run with FTBs, as long as you alternated your quest pattern too. Resets your Favor too so you earn free DP.

[SpartanKiller13]

ITR isn't terribly useful compared to ETR, though. ITR = Heroic + Iconic PL feats, no Epic PL feat. I'd recommend as much ETR as you can tolerate before moving on to other types of TR. I'd rate each EPL as worth roughly 5 or 6 other types of PL feat.

Some ITRs are more worthwhile. PDK being the big one, since it gives you PRR (always need more of that) and a free Sprint Boost. That'd arguably be better than 3 EPLs early on in your ETR hamster wheeling.

Plus ITRs reset your quests and ETRs dont, so alternating ETRs and ITRs would let you run with FTBs, as long as you alternated your quest pattern too. Resets your Favor too so you earn free DP.

I'm with Droid here.

PDK + Deep Gnome = 9 PRR/MRR, which is pretty appreciable. Also you can pretty easily pick up some priority HPL's (like Paladin) while resetting your first times to faster accumulate EPL's (and RXP/favor).

Personally 15-30 is barely slower than 20-30, to me it's like 1.2 EPL's vs HPL+IPL.

-----

Also Pally x3 is frankly pretty comparable to most EPL's, and depending on your build others like Wizard get a lot more competitive.

[Bjond]

Personally 15-30 is barely slower than 20-30, to me it's like 1.2 EPL's vs HPL+IPL.

The deciding factor for me is whether I have the gear for it on that particular build/char. I did a heroic cycle for 3xPLD on my Bard and my Tank. I did 3xITR on my ranged. I definitely had MUCH more fun doing the 3xITR, but that was as a fully PL'd & geared INQ carrying a PLD.

I'd definitely agree about PLs being build-centric and I certainly didn't do things in an "ideal" order myself. However, were I to do things over and how I do things now is to strictly target DPS over anything even remotely defensive. DPS speeds up all subsequent goals and is just plain fun. An extra 9 M/PRR is so tiny as to be unnoticeable in most cases. In general, there's more DPS in EPLs than IPLs both directly and via extra fate for better twist options. So, EPLs first or least until you need a change of scenery.

There are obvious exceptions, like 3xRGR is very nice for ranged dps builds (better than even 3xPrimal doubleshot) and there's Spen and DCs for casters and .. well .. DDO is chock full of exceptions to every generality.

Also Pally x3 is frankly pretty comparable to most EPL's

Hamp is much higher on my list than MPRR. IIRC, it was the first thing I grabbed for my tank (before DPS even). My chars that ignore it are all PM-based and live off other less wholesome things.

[archest]

For your crafting,

BtA marks can be purchased in House Cannith from Visgard d'Cannith who is also the House Cannith Patron. Visgard d'Cannith is in House Cannith on a floating platform that can only be reached by taking one of the moving lifts; lift stops are marked by yellow glowing runes on the ground and only after earning 50 House Cannith Favor.