Leveling Guide...

N

Nearo

Dalayan Beginner
I remember Ramblo had a guide up awhile back then some other people tried to as well, just wanted to see if there was a more recent one. I think its nice for people getting on forums that are new to SoD and wanted a look at what they had ahead of them.
 
From what I can tell thus far, and this is not meant to be THE BEST (tm) or THE MOST EFFICIENT (c) leveling guide. This guide doesn't take advantage really of all the zone bonuses, but takes advantage more of where there are abundant groups, relatively safe camps and steady exping. This is assuming you like to group and are willing to do so pretty much the whole way up, and also assumes you are starting in Newport or you get there quickly.


Code: 
1-4       : Newport Trash (all the mobs around the North Newport Gates
5-8       : Newport Sewers or the Gnoll Camps outside of Blackburrow in Centaur Hills
9-14      : Shrouded Island (quite a run but well worth it... COULD stay here 9-almost 30 from what I hear)
15-20     : The Warrens (from what I understand, you can get into your low 20's here if you so desire) Nice because it's close to SI
21-??     : Mielech A.  30% zone bonus, great drops, fun crawl, usually people to group with, etc

After that, I'm a bit foggy... I've heard Kaladim is for the 30's ish area. I'm currently only lvl 19 and recently just traveled to Mielech A to start messing around in there with friends, so I can't speak much for it other than what I've heard and read.
 
BlackBurrow can also be a good source of XP from levels 8-16.
Just make sure you're in a group that doesn't set up camp along the paths to the zone exit... as trains are common.

Same goes for Shrouded Isle, don't set up your group anywhere along the main central walk... train central.

Meilech A can also be a decent XP zone starting at level 10.
It has a good ZEM, and good drops.
 
Wow, MielA at lvl 10? I know the chart says that, but our group hit MielA at ... I think we were all 9-10... And we got completely trashed by the entrance mobs who were conning even or maybe yellow, but were still pretty vicious. Maybe with a well-balanced full-group of twinks... or maybe we just weren't on our game at that point... we were still pretty new to SoD at the time.
 
My wife and I playing two necros were able to do the full entrance at level 9 / 10 .. at 12 - 15 we did up to the enchanter.
 
I hunted there starting at 10, solo, untwinked, with an Iksar Necro.
The frogs near the zone will assist/add, but you can split the spawns via root, burn/zone, lull, or zone splitting.
Sure, you can't clear down farther than the crescent bridge... but at L10 your mana/hp downtime won't allow you to keep up with that many kills anyway.

Kills are of course slower, due to more downtime per mob... but the huge ZEM and lack of trains (e.g. BB/SI) more than make up for it imo.

I was also in a group of levels 10-15 that cleared down to the old live Scryer spawn room, which was fantasic xp/loot for a group that level.
We were barely able to keep up with spawns, and had one wipe, but the XP gain was astounding.

Conversely, I don't think a cleric can solo there at 10.. and a group of people that have no idea how to play EQ might also have difficulty at those levels in that dungeon... but if you're playing with a decent group 'o folks and have a solid, diversified group you can do very well starting at 10 imo.
 
Syrie Cinders said:
I hunted there starting at 10, solo, untwinked, with an Iksar Necro.
The frogs near the zone will assist/add, but you can split the spawns via root, burn/zone, lull, or zone splitting.
Sure, you can't clear down farther than the crescent bridge... but at L10 your mana/hp downtime won't allow you to keep up with that many kills anyway.

Kills are of course slower, due to more downtime per mob... but the huge ZEM and lack of trains (e.g. BB/SI) more than make up for it imo.

I was also in a group of levels 10-15 that cleared down to the old live Scryer spawn room, which was fantasic xp/loot for a group that level.
We were barely able to keep up with spawns, and had one wipe, but the XP gain was astounding.

Conversely, I don't think a cleric can solo there at 10.. and a group of people that have no idea how to play EQ might also have difficulty at those levels in that dungeon... but if you're playing with a decent group 'o folks and have a solid, diversified group you can do very well starting at 10 imo.
Click to expand...

Hmm.. Odd. I'm certainly not arguing. I hate to think it was lack of playing ability, and I doubt it was group balance... As I said, we were all like 9-10 I think... and it was a Necro, Cleric, Warrior, Shaman, Enchanter, Wizard grouping so I imagine we should have been able to do it. Maybe we were having some other issues... or perhaps we don't know how to play. Regardless, I've started goofing off soloing/duoing further down in (Clr/Nec) and been having some fun.

Anyway, glad I read this thread, 'cause even though I posted intending to give some information, I've gleaned quite a bit from the conversation as well.
 
A brief snipit from my Gnome Paladin guide...All notes taken out :)

1-3 Steamfont; Spiders (Carapace Turn In).
3-6 Steamfont; Risen Paladins (Lots of $$$ drops).
6-8 Steamfont; Roaming White mobs in the vacinity of Dragon Skeleton. (Don't kill Stonbite spiders...)
8-9 Steamfont; Spider Valley near mines (Yellow/White roaming spiders)
9-10 Lfay; Fae Drakes and Pixies (Fae drakes drop 1.X gold a kill, pixie dust for a sassy quest at guard camp)
11-12 Western Badlands; Bandit Camps (Get both necks from named, also @12 you can easily kill Roaming Thief in Centaur for Bracer quest)
13-15 Warrens/Shrouded Isles (I solod and grouped here)
16-?? Northern Badlands; Spiders turn white around this level, and thier leg turn ins are amazing exp, also cub paws are great (You can do poulter for Antique Plate Helm now as well, he is red at 15 but blue at 20)

More to come ;O
 
Another great place to solo for level 11-15ish folks (or maybe a group of L7-10's) are the roaming spirits outside the entrance to First Ruins.
I don't believe there is a ZEM for Vally of Erimal, but the fact that you will be getting the +25% new area bonus for a while rocks.
You are also near 2 zonelines if you get in trouble, and are also very handy if a Warrens group needs more people, or if a SI group needs more people, or if you're L15ish, you might get very lucky and be able to join a low-level FR group camping the entrance rats.

As an added bonus, the spirits drop a very nice INTcaster/rogue dagger and a very nice INT/WIS caster shoulder item.

Great spot.
 
Grouped, not solo... Some can be soloed, but spotty.
After a few levels in one zone, you get a negative 10% penaly. After 6 levels, it is 25%. Some areas have multiple level ranges of content... choose yours.

1-8ish
Newbie Yard
then
Outside Newbie Yard

9ish to 15ish
Blackburrow
Fearstone
Shrouded Isle
Everfrost Gnolls
Southern Waste

15ish to 20ish
Everfrost Orcs
Warrens
LFey Orcs

20ish to 25ish
Cauldron of Dawn
Goblinskull
Oasis
Yaralith
Mielech A
North Badlands

25ish - 30ish
Kaladim A
Kings Pass
East Badlands
Yaralith
Mielech A
South Badlands
Cauldron of Dawn

30ish to 35ish
Paw
Kings Pass
Oasis
East Badlands
Yaralith
Obsidian Shard

35ish to 40ish
Paw
Kings Pass
Yaralith
East Badlands
Starfall
Obsidian Shard

40ish to 45ish
Paw
Yaralith
Mielech B
Northern Waste
Starfall

45ish to 50ish
Mielech B
Northern Waste
Freeport

50ish to 55ish
Mielech B
Northern Waste
Freeport
Sirens Grotto
Dragon Necropolis
Misty Thicket - Night



Did I miss any of the common and uncommon places?

Anyone want to fill in the 55 to 65 themes?
 
Excellent Mog... That list is SO getting saved/committed to memory. Thanks for taking the time to list that stuff out.
 
Nearo said:
I remember Ramblo had a guide up awhile back then some other people tried to as well, just wanted to see if there was a more recent one. I think its nice for people getting on forums that are new to SoD and wanted a look at what they had ahead of them.
Click to expand...

The easiest thing to do is check out the zone connection map and follow the color code guide for your appropriate level. Or do a /who all # # to see where most people are. That's pretty much what I did when I was leveling up.

The list Mogger gave is a good start. I didn't see Heartland Plateau (20ish-40ish), Warpstone Caverns (20ish-40ish), Sorcerer's Lab (45-65), Lasanth (45-65), Cmal (50-65), Eldenals (50-65) listed (in addition to First Ruins as mentioned above).

55-65 xp zones:
Sorcerer's Lab
Lasanth (lake)
Red Sun Mines
Dragon Nacropolis (rat city)
Great Divide
East Waste
Eldenals
Mielech C
Cmal
Western Waste
Dragonhorn Keep
High Keep
Fire Grotto
Red Sun Peaks
Catacombs of Elthannar
 
My group consists of War, Enchanter or Bard, Cleric, Monk, Shaman and random dps class. We did this actually twice 1-50 so we got pretty good at moving to new areas when the 25% New area bonus wore off. There is so much content there is no reason to stay in a zone outside of Mielech B and a couple others for the drops. Here is the guide we used.


Newport Newbie Grounds
1-3

Newport Sewers
3-9ish

Warrens
9-15ish

MielechA/Yaralith (old Cazic zone)
16-19

Warpstone
19-25

Warpstone/KaladimA/First Ruins
26-30

Kingspass
30-35ish

Paw
35-40

Heartland Goblins/Roaming Trash
40-43

Heartland Gnomish Robots in the Cave
44-48

MielechB/Velks Lab
48-51+ Whenever your ready to move out the Zem here is fantastic

Siren's Groto/Dragon Necropolis/Freeport East (there is a great spot by docks with very fast spawns)
53-56

Lasanth Pool Room past Minotaurs/Sun mines
57-60+

60+ Your choice of wherever. Tmaps are a great place for exp and loot and with the new system if you get any take advantage of them. Bind close by to where you are doing the Tmap because wipes do happen and you can get back in time.

There are of course other places to go at different levels and some may not be perfectly ideal due to your group setup. But do not pass up warpstone, mielechb, and heartland. For their difficulty the experience is great and the drops are worth it for the level range.

Hope this helps!
 
Might I suggest going to this lovely thread started by Jayelle:

http://www.shardsofdalaya.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5851

and then click on "Shards of Dalaya Guide"

and then follow the left hand menu to "Hunting Guide"

Although this page is a bit outdated (it still includes the lands of magic, and has not undergone the north lands (Velious) changes, but other than that it can give you some great ideas. I would HIGHLY reccommend visiting some of the areas where people don't experience as often, it's quite common that they have interesting drops and quests and exp bonuses as incentives to visit them, and it's fun to explore!

P.S. Who maintains SoD guide, and can we see this awesome page updated?
 
FR is a really bad zone to level. People go there because it close to warrens. They do 20-24 there. The xp is simply friggen aweful, and the chance of death by warlock is impossibly high. The higher level elementals can be done at later levels but you can spend 4 hours chain killing in a group and walk out with like 5% of a level. Those numbers are a bit exaggerated over the weeks since. However, I do recall that for the same frame of time, my chain killing blue group got roughly 1/4th as much xp as a semi afk mage soloing the entrance mobs in MielB. Under no current circumstances will I ever advocate xping in FR. I consider it a quest zone.

I forgot about Warpstone. It's a great zone with some really nice named drops from the vampire section.

Heartland is similar to FR. The mobs hit for a ton, have hella HP, and everything is extremely resistant. Thus, it is no fun for casters, and no fun for melee. I consider it a quest zone... any xp gain in incedental to being there.

The rest of the places listed I have either never been to, or only been once. I hope to get 55 tonight with my highest character, so I simply cannot speak definatively about them and why I asked for completion.
 
First Ruins

I beg to differ, Mog. Every time I've been there to do entrance mobs (admittedly, with a full group) the exp has been GREAT! For new players (plate classes) the black armor drops can easily be upgrades to the leather they got from Blackmaw and Warrens. And, if you've got a REALLY good group, you can even move in a little farther and do undead past the rats.

The only thing I have against First Ruins is that it's just overdone, and a lot of other good zones for that level range (20-30?) are ignored (such as the former Fungus Grove and the Eastern Wastes orc fort pre-velious changes).

Then again, I personally have a beef with Mielech, seeing as how I never grouped there on live and the place is a nasty maze that I always seem to die in :(. Exp is awful when you die every time you go there.
 
First ruins is some of the best exp you can get. And for the level, it's great coin as well from what I recall. To say that people just go because its close to Warrens is ludicrous. Hell, I never even hunted in Warrens but I loved FR and went back on alts. The exp can be awesome, especically if you are the only group in the zone. The mobs die fast and pop fast. What more could you want?
 
Just a quick comment on some stuff Mogger said:

Heartland mobs do not have high hp - they have the exact same hp as equal level mobs in other zones. That said, I'm going to review their resists and compare them to other zones. It should be noted though that the goblin mini-dungeon will not be in this resist pass because it's designed more for a group than soloing.
 
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