Disposable Mimic Farmer, Free-to-Play

[C-Dog]

5/'22 EDIT: Since this was first posted, Warlock has become Free to Play(!), so that may be superior. Ymmv. I may throw together a suggested build...

(...Something like Warlock/Barb/W/W, with Maximize, Empower, Force of Personality. 17+ Cha, 13-14 Con, some Str, Wisdom. Skills: max Jump & Spellpower. Spell: Expeditious Retreat. Take Vet 1 Barb gear. 7 AP TS for Chain, 8 AP SE for Consume + Stricken, which are insta-kills at level.)

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(Disclaimer - This build uses all Free-to-Play classes/features and a 28 pt build, but wants Vet 1 (for the "disposable/repeat" concept); accounts with Artificer and/or Harper can easily find better parallel options. Or just whip up something like a Lvl 4 Warlock 3/Barb 1, that works too.)

Mimics have been toned down from what they once were(!) when this first started a couple years ago, but they still hit hard in melee with a big Damage-over-Time acid attack, so if you're having trouble with them, or just want to speed up the process, this is for you.


If you're chasing 80 Tokens for an item* (or 100 for a Creature Companion), you may need to do some farming, rather than "hope you get enough" in the next 9 days**. But you can't do that for long on any permanent character, because after you loot any chest 6 times, you hit mimic ransack - and that's it for the event, no cool-down period! Also, mimics can be cagey around high-level characters - if you're too high for the quest you're in, they tend not to show. And the "best" 4 quests (with the most chests/time spent) are base Level 1, 2, 2, and 4 (adjusted by up to +2 if run on Elite).

(* Be aware - you do NOT "upgrade" this gear, each is its own separate ML item.)
(** update: Obviously, this post does not reflect current dates - see most recent Chronicle))

And there are some nice items to grab - the Cloak can be great (with Deathblock, PRR, Fortification and DR /5, /10 or /15), the Belt gives the biggest False Life bonuses in the game, and the "Alluring Skills" Necklace is a monster for a Haggling/Social Skills swap.*

(* The ML 16 necklace stats actually are identical to the ML 20 necklace, and not much lower than the ML 28 (only -3 total diff). Note that a UMD bonus is NOT included. See Wiki for full info and more items.)

o http://ddowiki.com/page/Mimic_Hunt

This 28-point build is not "new player" friendly - it wants Vet 1, to start at Level 4*. Without Vet I, you could certainly start at Level 1 and level it up as you go (and maybe grabbing an easy 100 favor along the way?), but that defeats the "quick, rinse, repeat" nature of a disposable build.

(* @ new players - Vet I requires that you earn 1,000 Total Favor on any one alt that you have - usually doable by about Level 10-12 or so, depending. You can also buy it via the DDO Store.)

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What you need:

• a spare character slot
• Vet I (starting Level 4 characters)*
• Any** Repeater, heavy or light (choose proficiency appropriately)
• about 3 Thin Quivers (capacity 400/) (from the Hammer & Chain arms shop in NW Harbor)
• room in your pack for bolts (depending on quest)
• an ability and willingness to run backward while melting enemies
• room to shuffle gear when deleting/repeating build (either Shared Bank or dual-box a mule)

(* You ~could~ start at Level 1 and level up from there, hunting mimics as you go - but that won't be as strong to start, and since you quickly reach Mimic Ransack in the best quests (and there's no Mimic Ransack cooldown!), it kinda fails at the "disposable" part of this concept.)

(** Yes, any - generic Heavy Repeaters are available at the Hammer & Chain arms shop (NW Harbor) for ~50 (fifty) plat - and they do the job just fine. The worst random-gen repeaters add at least +1-2 on top of that. See comments.)

That's all you really "need" - as a test, I ran the 4 recommended quests effectively naked with a generic over-the-counter +0 repeater - no armor, no combat or defense gear, nothing but Korthos Expeditious Retreat boots (guaranteed in end reward list) and a random +Str item for encumbrance, and (only for Irestone) a cheap Lvl 3 Harbor healer hire. Haverdasher Elite took 200-250 bolts, Kobold's New Ringleader Elite took ~350-400, and Irestone Normal burned through ~800. (Irestone Elite was brutal - finished (barely), but had to have the hire run my stone to a shrine several times. ~1500 bolts. Normal/Hard definitely recommended.)

Of course, that's naked and using only the non-magical repeater, so those numbers would only get better with any better gear... speaking of which...

What you might want:

• a "real" repeater *
• Barbarian Vet I Starter Gear - about half is useful, particularly the boots
• Basic Guild buffs (+2 stats, etc.)
• Heavy* Armor w/ Fortification (* or med or light, but no penalty here for Heavy)
• +2-3 resistance (saves) item
• +3 Dex random item (= 22 Dex)
• +3 Con random item (= 20 Con; Vet 1 comes w/ a +1 cloak)
• +2 Wis item (for Irestone)
• a 2nd set of Korthos Anger's Step boots (for Irestone)
• Spearbane bracers, from Korthos, to help against Irestone archers
• some combination of items with Deadly, Tendon Slice, and/or Seeker (probably in that order, but whatever's handy)
• some basic +Str item for encumbrance (only if you're grabbing loot)
• any item(s) to reduce damage. - Natural Armor, Protection, Dodge, Sheltering, etc etc.
• an Acid Resist/% Reduction item
• a decent Spot item for Irestone skulkers would be nice, too, but not necessary - they'll find you, then you just kill them.
• a stack of Cure X Wound potions (for when you get acid DoT'd - but the 2 free Vet 1 Healers should more than cover you.)

(* Mimics are Aberrations, which are "unnatural". You could craft a ML 4 repeater of {2d6 (Force or Light, your choice) with 2d10 Unnatural Bane}, which is cheap to make and also covers Undead (and Monstrous Humanoids, so Werewolves and Sahuagin). Add a Ruby of Ghostbane and you also have a Reaper killer. That would be complete overkill, but you could do it, and then have it for those other occasions too.

The generic, store-bought repeaters are "+0" and did the job more than adequately, so anything would be an improvement. I used a droploot ML 4 "+2 Lawful 1d6 repeater of Reptile Bane" (the "bane" part was 100% useless except against Kobolds, and overkill against them), and tore through Level 1 and 2 quests on Elite (and others for 100 Favor, while I was at it), and then Irestone on Normal. Ransacked quickly using that, np.

And don't flinch at Light Repeaters - the math on the damage is only -1/shot, but they fire just a little faster - it's effectively a wash. If you have/find a decent one, take that proficiency and don't sweat it.)

The only real trouble I had was with Will Saving Throws in Irestone - the Clerics' and Witch Doctors' Fears, Holds, Commands, I failed on 1-3, but still survived to win the day despite that. Aim for them first, natch. (And if you have a 32 point build, that's where to put the extra points, in Wisdom.)

If you wanted to, you could easily level to 5, and grab Fighter 2 and another Feat before tackling Irestone. I'd suggest either Precision (for fortified boss-types), or (my preference) Precise Shot (for taking out casters behind their meat-wall), but you could take Skill Focus:Haggle and still rock.

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Mimic Repeater Hunter
2/1/1 Ranger/Barbarian/Fighter
True Neutral Human

Level Order
1. Ranger
2. Fighter
3. Barbarian
4. Ranger
5. (Fighter) (optional, only if the xp shows up)

Stats
. . . . . . . .28pt . . 32pt. . .Level Up
. . . . . . . .---- . . ----. . .--------
Strength. . . . 12. . . .12 . . . 4: DEX
Dexterity . . . 16. . . .16
Constitution. . 15. . . .15
Intelligence. . .8. . . . 8
Wisdom. . . . . 14. . . .16
Charisma. . . . .8. . . . 8 . . .

Skills

(Really, aside from Jump, Balance, & Spot (for Irestone skulkers), pick any skills you want. Search would pro'ly be better than Spot for general questing.)

. . . . . R. F .B. R
. . . . . 1. 2 .3. 4
. . . . .------------
Spot. . . 4. . .1. 2. .7
Jump. . . 4. 1 .1. 1. .7
Search. . 4. . . . 2. .6
Heal. . . 4. . . . . . 4
Balance . 2. . .½. ½. .3
Haggle. . 1½ ½. . . . .2
Tumble. . ½. . . . . . ½
. . . . .------------
. . . . .24. 2 .4. 6

Feats
.1. . . . : Point Blank Shot
.1 Human. : Exotic Weapon: Rpt Hvy Crossbow*
.2 Fighter: Rapid Reload
.3. . . . : Resilience (be sure to slot this in a hotbar and turn it on!)
.4 (Ranger 2: provides Rapid Shot)
.(5 Fighter): Precise Shot)

.1 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Goblinoid**

(* or Light Repeater, if you already have a good one, or if you just want to use the free Ember Lt Repeater from the intro with Jeets. Discussed above)

(** Mimics are "Aberrations", but they already melt w/ this build - "Goblinoid" helps in Irestone and w/ Ringleader bosses, etc.)

Enhancements (16 of 16 AP)
Kensei (8 AP)

• Kensei Focus: Crossbows
  1. Extra Action Boost II, Attack Boost III

Frenzied Berserker (4 AP)

• Die Hard
  1. Die Harder III

Human (3 AP)

• Skills Boost
  1. Improved Recovery

Deepwood Stalker (1 AP)

• Far Shot

Leveling Guide (11 of 12 AP)

1. DS0 Far Shot; (Bank 3 AP)
2. Ken0 Kensei Focus: Crossbows; Ken1 Attack Boost I, II, III
3. FB0 Die Hard; FB1 Die Harder I, II, III; Ken1 Extra Action Boost I; (Bank 1 AP)

Vet I characters start with only 12 AP - that's what's listed under the "Leveling Guide" section, above, and that's all you really need. As you gain AP in Level 4, grab the second Action Boost (for 7 total!), the Human +4 Skills boost (for Jumping, selling loot, etc.), and Human Healing Amp. If you level up to 5+, spend as you will.

Tactics
When you first hit The Market after taking Vet 1 (lvl 4), you'll be given the option for a weapon - non are helpful, so grab a 2nd healer hire. Handy when running Irestone.

Repeaters burn through an insane amount of ammo, which is why I recommend (at least) 800 bolts in 2 spare quivers*, plus more loose (and ready to use*) in inventory. And more at your option, depending how many times you want to run to the vendor between quests.

(* Ammo is pulled first from your equipped quiver, then (when that's empty) from any ammo loose in backpack inventory. Any ammo in your backback which is in quivers is NOT available to use, and must be moved out to inventory and/or put in the equipped quiver.)

When you open a chest, you do not want to be near it if/when a mimic spawns - the beauty of this build is the fast backward running, staying beyond the short-range DoT acid attack. (Altho' the Die Harder is a buffer against that.) If you can, hit [b] to "loot all" automatically (or [Esc] to close the chest-loot window) - faster than mouse-clicking. Open, loot, and back away immediately, then open fire or go about your business, as approp.

And happy hunting!
o7

(Edit - tweaks)

[AbyssalMage]

Vet II
Artificer
Fighter
Phiarlan Carnival
Second Account (w/Carnival) - Level 20+

1 Character, 1 Creation, Endless hours of boredom in one adventure.

Note: Can be done with an Epic Level 20/22 Character (that is very decently geared). No need to waist time running in the Harbor or spending time on the character creation screen.

[Saekee]

nice suggestion!

I had a premium toon parked at level 4 for guild help that was 2 druid/1 arti/1 barb. I used it in the mimc event since the wolf form speed boost and barb made running through irestone really fast. If I had to design it for mimic only I would do 2 druid/1 barb/1 wiz. But druid is not f2p so your build is great!

[brian14]

I am a bit of an altoholic, as well as TR-holic, so at any given time I usually have characters ranging from very low levels to very high. Since the latest Mimic Hunt began, I came to conclusion that the best level for farming Mimics is 8.

A level 8 can do Haverdasher and Kobolds Ringleader on elite (needs to be level 4 to get mimics), Irestone on normal (you won't get champion chests anyway, so might as well run it as fast as possible), then Redwillow and Forgotten Caverns on elite to maximize champions.

Also at level 8 chances are you already have Splinterskull teleport, so you can do that chain: 1-2 hard, 3-5 normal, 6-7 elite. And Splinterskull has a lot of chests, although most people forget about the optional ones.

Those are just the most obvious ones, I am sure there are other quests in 2-8 range with good chests per minute ratio.

[C-Dog]

I am a bit of an altoholic... I came to conclusion that the best level for farming Mimics is 8...

Deciding that your account has room for a dedicated Mimic Farmer, and then leveling them up to your "sweet spot" is a personal choice - more power to ya.

Also at level 8 chances are you already have Splinterskull teleport, so you can do that chain: 1-2 hard, 3-5 normal, 6-7 elite.

Curious - why this spread? I would think the last one Casual, for speed, no?

[Ausdoerrt]

Deciding that your account has room for a dedicated Mimic Farmer, and then leveling them up to your "sweet spot" is a personal choice - more power to ya.

Or you could roll a Vet II toon, which should be able to hit most of the lower level quests and level up to 8 in the process to do the harder ones.

[brian14]

Deciding that your account has room for a dedicated Mimic Farmer, and then leveling them up to your "sweet spot" is a personal choice - more power to ya.

I may have been unclear. I did not level anything to 8 in order to farm mimics; I already had three level 8 characters: a bard, a barbarian and an artificer.

Curious - why this spread? I would think the last one Casual, for speed, no?

Quests have to be at least level 4, otherwise no mimics. And if I can get them up to level 8, I'd rather do that, for champion chests. So the only quest worth doing on Casual is the fifth one, Deadly Package, which happens to be level 5 on Normal.

[C-Dog]

Quests have to be at least level 4, otherwise no mimics.

Totally untrue - characters have to be Level 4 - not quests. One of the best chest:time quests is Heyton's Rest (Korthos, Lvl 1 quest, equiv Lvl 3 on Elite).


And note that your stable of 3 alts doesn't perfectly solve the problem of chest mimic-ransack, depending how many tokens you're chasing and willing to farm. Which is why the above "disposable" Vet I solution was offered.

[brian14]

Totally untrue - characters have to be Level 4 - not quests. One of the best chest:time quests is Heyton's Rest (Korthos, Lvl 1 quest, equiv Lvl 3 on Elite).


And note that your stable of 3 alts doesn't perfectly solve the problem of chest mimic-ransack, depending how many tokens you're chasing and willing to farm. Which is why the above "disposable" Vet I solution was offered.

Quests have to be level 4 if you are using a level 8 character. Mimics do not appear if the character is 5+ above the quest level.

[C-Dog]

Quests have to be level 4 if you are using a level 8 character...

Kinda an important distinction vs. what you said before.

[Ausdoerrt]

After doing some farming on my own, and trying various classes / builds, I've concluded that a level 4 barbarian with sprint boost is the best / fastest mimic farmer.

[cru121]

After doing some farming on my own, and trying various classes / builds, I've concluded that a level 4 barbarian with sprint boost is the best / fastest mimic farmer.

I raise you Barbarian 3 / Fighter 1 with Great Cleave.

[Ausdoerrt]

I raise you Barbarian 3 / Fighter 1 with Great Cleave.

This (and many others) might be a better build, but it takes less than half the time to roll a straight barb based on a template ("path"). Since you'll be rerolling all the time, cutting down time on setup and gearing is as crucial as maximizing yield from quests.

[Spongebong]

This build isn't gonna work unless you have a shared account bank, everything is bound to account including tokens

[Spongebong]

level 4 barbarian with sprint boost,that's what I'm using

[C-Dog]

If you can drag around a healer hire, a melee could work fine. I find melee's take it in the shorts every now and then, that acid DoT can be just brutal. If you can find a way to survive that, then you're golden - which is why I suggested this ranged build.

[Saekee]

This build isn't gonna work unless you have a shared account bank, everything is bound to account including tokens

There is the shared crafting tab of 12 slots. I know premiums get that, not sure if for ftp

[Ralmeth]

I have been testing some different Mimic Farmer builds, and one thing I noticed is that the chance for a Mimic to spawn doesn't seem to matter what difficulty you are on. Instead, it all seems to be about how how many chests per min you can open (CPM). So it's all about run speed and being able to take mobs out quickly on normal. Below is a build I've found that works well for this. Though I have to preface this by saying that farming for Mimics is dreadfully boring. Instead, I recommend to just play the game. On my main, I get a decent CPM just by running quests like I normally would on R1.

Another Mimic Farmer Option - Human, Non-Lawful, THF, 2 Barbarian / 2 Fighter
The only things you need are Vet status 1 so you can start at level 4, and a Shared bank.

Starting Stats
Str: 18
Dex: 8
Con: 16 for a 28 pt build, 18 for a 32 pt build...doesn't really matter
Int: 8 (don't waste time picking extra skill points with a higher int)
Wis: 8
Char: 8

Leveling Plan
Level 1 - Barbarian 1
Feats: Dragonmark of Passage, Power Attack
Skills: Jump, Swim, Balance, Tumble

Level 2 - Fighter 1
Feat: Cleave
Skills: Jump, Swim

Level 3 - Barbarian 2
Feat: Stunning Blow (to knock Mimics out when they spawn)
Skills: Jump, Swim, Tumble x2

Level 4 - Fighter 2
Feat: Great Cleave
Skills: Jump, Swim

Enhancements
Human: Core 1 (melee power boost), Extra Dragonmark x1 (2 APs)
Barbarian, Frenzied Beserker: Core 1, Cracking Attack x3, Die Harder x1, Sprint Boost x3, Extra Action Boost x2 (10 APs)

Gear
1) Select the Barbarian starting gear because it comes with Anger's Step boots, an expeditious retreat clicky.
2) Don't bother with twink gear. You don't need it, and it wastes time picking it up & dropping it off.

Running Speed Plan
Add your expeditious retreat clickies (boots and dragonmark), and sprint boost to your hotbar. Always have expeditious retreat running. Don't use rage because the exhaustion at the end is going to slow you down.

Combat Plan
You want to fight two-handed fighting, so use the best two handed weapon you pick up. Grab the free one you get when you first arrive at the market and use that until you find something better. Turn power attack on, and set-up cleave, great cleave, stunning blow, cracking attack and melee power boost on your hot bar. When you see a Mimic spawn, hit him with a Stunning Blow followed by a Cracking Attack. Use Cleaves as well when they hit you with goo.

Farming Plan
1) Run "The Kobold's New Ringleader" 6 times in a row, running normal, hard, elite, and maybe R1, and then a couple of other runs on normal. The idea is to get some XP for enhancements which you should put into extra dragonmarks for more expeditious retreat clickies, as well as some gear to use for the rest of your farm. After this quest, don't bother with looking at gear in the chests because you should only run on normal after this.
2) Run out to Korthos using 1 sprint boost, and run Heyton's Rest 6 times on normal. On each run, use 2 sprint boosts. When you go in, do not bother getting the crests or try to finish the quest. Instead, don't take the secret door if you can see it. Grab the two chests that give you free weapons, followed by opening the chest with the trap on it. Recall and reset. When you are running low on sprint boost clickies, just hit the shrine on your way past.
3) Run back to the Harbor using a couple of sprint boosts. I've tried running Irestone but there's too much to kill and this slows you down, so don't bother. Instead, run Haverdashers 6 times, all on normal. You need to finish this one to get the 2nd chest and that will reset your clickies so use these when they are off timer. Don't waste time looking at the items.
4) Run the Miller's Debt 6 times in a row, using 1 sprint boost per run. Don't finish / pick up the Miller's Good, but instead when you get to the end just open the two chests, recall and reset. If you finish, you need to talk to the NPC again and this will waste time. On the 6th time through, finish to get your clickies back.
5) Your run is done. Sprint boost to the bank nearby, dump your mimic tokens into your shared bank, log out, delete your character and rinse/repeat.

Test Results
During the last Mimic event, after I worked out this plan I was able to farm Mimic tokens at a reasonable rate, and I was able to get myself a Mimic cloak for my efforts.

[C-Dog]

This build isn't gonna work unless you have a shared account bank, everything is bound to account including tokens

Don't know what BtA "everything" there is beyond the Tokens, but you're wrong anyway...

There is the shared crafting tab of 12 slots. I know premiums get that, not sure if for ftp

They do, everyone does. You don't have to buy the Shared Bank to access the 12 shared crafting slots, which will hold collectables, ingredients, ammo, most/all of the various event tokens/coins, and a couple other things (e.g. Mysterious Remnants).

[Niminae]

[snipped]
As I mentioned, this is dreadfully boring, and takes way too much time to make an item. I stopped after doing this circuit a couple of times and ended up with 15 tokens for my effort.

So at this rate, you will need to open about 533 chests to have enough tokens for an item. At 1 1/4 chests per minute, that's 7 hours and 6 minutes. Add in some time to learn the route, take breaks to log in and out, it's more realistically 8 hours. That's one full day of work in order to get one Mimic item. Are you kidding me?! That's an abysmal farm.

Agreed, this is an abysmal farm. On top of that, the Mimic Hunt is not regularly scheduled, and locks behind its irregular schedule best in slot items such as the Necklace of Glib Tongue.