Is there a good content-by-level guide somewhere?

[SmartForce]

Hello All,

Back after a considerable hiatus and there's so much new content that it's a bit overwhelming. I'm looking for a good guide (or guides) for the following info:

1.) Where to go by level/level bands. Bonus points if it lists multiple (or all) options with pros/cons
2.) A breakdown of the Items/Rewards from various expansions and content packs. For example, I know if I go farm slavers I can make myself some pretty nice gear custom to what I want on it that will be useful to me at certain levels, and that could be a good thing to do in 1st life to prepare for future lives. I'm led to believe some of the content after RL has even better rewards, but haven't found a good centralized guide to what is where.

I know that I could go to the wiki and compile the basic data about what to do at which levels, but that wouldn't really help me know what people who have been playing suggest is best to do. I also suspect I could find all the rewards/loot on the wiki as well, but I also figure vets will be able to rattle off the high points pretty easily just from experience.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

[TitusOvid]

It is not that easy, imo. Because it depends a bit if you just go to 20 for example or if you want to grab some special favor rewards. It even depends on the class you play sometimes.
I can give you a rule of the thumb ...

1) https://ddowiki.com/page/Quests_by_level_and_XP
Take this as your base. If you just want to go to 20, breeze through them as you like. There are some outstanding xp quests like Shadowcrypt or Wiz King but mostly just when you know what to do and where to go. I try to prep most sagas on the way. I use those to get to lvl 23+ if I do an ER. https://ddowiki.com/page/Saga

2) Expansion gear is almost always better than other gear. Again there are things in regular quests that are awesome. The big difference are the set boni. https://ddowiki.com/page/Named_item_sets Beware what kind of bonus it is. Adherent of the Mist set from Ravenloft is Profane for example and therefore great, if you can make it work with a different set because it stacks. Rest of Ravenloft is Artefact bonus and not as good as other sets.
As for items to have: Deathblock clicky, Shield clicky, maybe even movement speed clicky or the Abbot Quiver. So much nice things.

Too much to list here.


Cheers,
Titus.

[DoctorOfLiterature]

In terms of gear, Feywild lvl 5 is awesome snd worth expansion just for gear; lvl 29 gear good for end game too. Lvl 10 ravenloft gear good to lvl 15. Sharn gear from lvl 15 good all the way to endgame. All these expansions on sale now.

[marinersfan]

Hi,

If you're a first life build, you're going to level very fast -- much faster than it takes to run all the quests. I'll try to list a few I'd try to hit with rough level ranges (I don't have it all memorized). The gear you pursue kind of depends on what sort of build you're planning, particularly when you hit sharn and look for a specific set bonus instead of general bonuses like you get in feywild and ravenloft.

Level 1-5ish =
1)korthos (some skip this), borderlands. If you're a caster grab one of the caster sticks in borderlands for an easy spell power boost (you can trade an arcane ingot for the spell power of your choice).
2) harbor lvl 2 quests, market 2's & 3's. - these are mostly fast - I always run them for the favor and xp. No special gear here
3) Saltmarsh if you have it, though for a 1-20 run I think it's silly to get a lvl 3 gearset and a lvl 5 gearset...waste of inventory space IMO. Aside from saltmarsh I don't think there's any special gear to pursue.
4) tangleroot gorge (if you're lucky you'll get a deathward clicky option in end reward list, which is very useful starting out). This chain isn't too popular as it can't be run on reaper, and has a wide level range - I think it's worth running each life at least until you get the deathward click item

Level 6-10ish =
1) Sharn syndicate chain for "nicked" weapon (depending on build)
2) feywild (these quests have GREAT gear for ML 5. Probably priority #1 and stuff you could wear for many levels)
3) delera's tomb (get voice of the master for xp bonus item)
4) red fens (decent item set bonuses, again depends on build)

Level 10-15ish =
1) threnal (depending on build I'd either take mantle of the worldshaper or ratcatcher as end reward). You can combine the mantle, the voice of the master, and a few greater tokens of the twelve to make an ML 1 xp bonus augment you can slot into your gear.
2) ravenloft (best gear for these levels, ML10. You might be able to skip this set in favor of feywild if you happen to pull great stuff from there)
3) sands of menechtarun - nice 2-item set bonuses here. Good to fill out gear pieces as needed - again, totally dependent on build what you need or want here
4) lordsmarch chains (coin lord favor to make sure you get all your backpack slots). IMO no great gear here
5) gianthold (could run at lvl 15-16) - good xp and has a saga for extra xp. I'd say the gear here stinks. I'll often skip gianthold then run it in epics

Level 15-20ish =
1) sharn - has great 3-item set bonuses depending on what your build is. I'll gear this set up, and generally speaking wear it until I hit level 29. I'd say if your eventual plan is to start hitting 30 each life, this is the most important gear to collect. If you're planning to go 1-> 20 a bunch of times, I'd worry less about getting this gear. So in other words, if you're only willing to buy 1 x-pack, get feywild if you want to stay in the 1-> 20 range, buy sharn if you're going to spend time in epics.
2) sharn docks - has similar great 3-item sets, but rather than being ML 15, it's ML 17 gear. I like this as I can slot ML 16 augments into the gear without increasing the ML of the item.
3) shavarath (just to get the mysterious bauble from weapons shipment)
4) dreaming dark (just to get an upgraded pale lavender ioun stone, great item for leveling)

I think if you run that you'll be close to hitting 20 on a first life character.

Depending on your preferred playstyle and what you anticipate running as I'd have more specific recommendations

[SmartForce]

Thank you! Those responses are helping me get my bearings.

Currently I'm playing a warlock and the plan was to go to cap and then decide whether to TR or do an ER, level to cap then TR. I'd like to build up some nice reaper points if I can and also get some gear set for following lives.

My current plan is for lives 2-4 to be PDK Paladin lives so I can get the PRR and healing amp benefits for lives after that. Depending on what rare drops and gear I can accumulate during those lives, I'll proceed from there.

[ekaterina]

A reminder of something that doesn't really answer the question but can be helpful.

Type P as in Patron to see all or almost all quests anywhere near your level. You can sort them by level or by faction.

[marinersfan]

Thank you! Those responses are helping me get my bearings.

Currently I'm playing a warlock and the plan was to go to cap and then decide whether to TR or do an ER, level to cap then TR. I'd like to build up some nice reaper points if I can and also get some gear set for following lives.

My current plan is for lives 2-4 to be PDK Paladin lives so I can get the PRR and healing amp benefits for lives after that. Depending on what rare drops and gear I can accumulate during those lives, I'll proceed from there.

I've been playing caster for a few years so don't have solid gear sets to recommend. I think your idea of amassing gear and figuring it out as you go is best. I find it not fun to "need" a piece of gear.

If it's an easy romp to level 20 for you, I'd recommend going all the way to 30, do an ER down to level 20 followed immediately by a TR. If you hate your lock by level 20, just TR. There's interesting level 21 gear in the borderlands you could farm for.

If you're going to do 3x iconic lives pretty much right off the bat, I'd recommend hitting sharn extra hard. That ml 15 hear will be awesome for you.

By far the best way to get reaper points is to get to cap then run level 30+ content for the first time bonus on r10 (like 5k+ rxp per quest, compared to 100-200 rxp running leveling content on r1). This is not easy without great gear, quest knowledge, and group. I think especially for a melee (paladin) without a ton of gear and points this will be very tough. Unless you're an excellent tank, you'll die in 1-2 hits. The first few lives you may be better served running this content on r4-6 instead (unless you get into a rockin' party). At least on ghallanda the "R10 dailies" crowd is extremely patient and happy to add a newbie if they have room... probably best to /tell before joining to see how they feel about a relative noobie joining.

Oh! Also, +8 supreme tomes are on sale for 75% off right now. That's an excellent way to pump up your power. Imo it's a great deal at the current price point.

[Whitering]

No love for Borderlands? I know the gear isn't set related but those quests are mostly pretty quick and you can get a horse there. Note, for some stupid, stupid, stupid reason if you get a golden horseshoe in an epic quest, the horse has to be in your inventory to upgrade, meaning don't buy a horse and click on it to put it in your stable. I found that out the hard way.