Race to 65 or take time to smell the roses?

V

Verlaine

Dalayan Beginner
I have a few questions about how to progress with my first two characters. I dual box a necro/druid:

http://shardsofdalaya.com/fomelo/fomelo.php?char=verlaine

http://shardsofdalaya.com/fomelo/fomelo.php?char=vermaelen

1.) I'm considering locking at 52 for http://wiki.shardsofdalaya.com/index.php/Shield_of_the_Cunning_Mind . Is pausing to do adepts at this level worthwhile or am I better off just making 65 as quickly as possible? Perhaps 55 is a better stopping point? Is getting into groups for these adepts going to be difficult?

2.) My brother boxes a similarly leveled/geared paladin/magician. Will we be able to do simple to easy tmaps on our own? If not, when should we start? We've bought and looted a few but I'm just sitting on them at the moment.

3.) Giants or Dragons? I've killed a few Cave Wyrms but have held off on turn ins. What are the things I should be considering here?

4.) Any general advancement or gear advice would be appreciated. Embarrassingly, I've yet to do any of the main quest but its definitely on my list, and I'm working on getting the Newport Insignia. Is there anything else I've missed that's essential?
 
definitely don't stop before 65 for the loot. if you do it, do it for the fun of killing the adepts. because the loot is okay but nothing spectacular

giants or dragons is kind of a tough choice but ultimately not a big deal. it's substantially easier to kill front king rymaz, rather than empress penerlia, for the head, but it's a bit harder to get combine gems as a giant killer.

if you want to advance quickly i'd get 65 asap and do your MQ/faction/deity aug quests, do hatesfury, and try to join a decent guild
 
What's your "end goal"? Can you / do you want to commit to regular raiding ? Those are important questions to ask yourself when deciding what you should do at this stage.

Regarding simple maps, they are notoriously difficult. I think it'd be difficult to do one with neither a Cleric nor any form of reliable crowd control.
 
@cian2 Thanks for the response. Do guilds tend to care much about whether you've chosen Giants or Dragons?


Minerios said:
What's your "end goal"? Can you / do you want to commit to regular raiding ? Those are important questions to ask yourself when deciding what you should do at this stage.
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The goal for the moment is to keep progressing without coming to regret anything. I haven't really been on a raid, let alone an organized and challenging one. I just don't know if its the kind of thing that can keep me logging on three nights a week on someone else's schedule. I guess the idea is to find out whether or not raiding is something I want to do. Snoring through the odd adept alongside twinked tanks doesn't seem like an accurate frame of reference.

But why does that matter so much? Assuming I don't want to just get to 65 and then stop playing, what should I do substantially different if I was looking for an eternity of PuG's rather than a hardcore guild? What should I do if I wanted a taste of raiding before committing to the guilded life?

Minerios said:
Regarding simple maps, they are notoriously difficult. I think it'd be difficult to do one with neither a Cleric nor any form of reliable crowd control.
Click to expand...

Good to know, thanks.
 
Verlaine said:
I have a few questions about how to progress with my first two characters. I dual box a necro/druid:

http://shardsofdalaya.com/fomelo/fomelo.php?char=verlaine

http://shardsofdalaya.com/fomelo/fomelo.php?char=vermaelen

1.) I'm considering locking at 52 for http://wiki.shardsofdalaya.com/index.php/Shield_of_the_Cunning_Mind . Is pausing to do adepts at this level worthwhile or am I better off just making 65 as quickly as possible? Perhaps 55 is a better stopping point? Is getting into groups for these adepts going to be difficult?

2.) My brother boxes a similarly leveled/geared paladin/magician. Will we be able to do simple to easy tmaps on our own? If not, when should we start? We've bought and looted a few but I'm just sitting on them at the moment.

3.) Giants or Dragons? I've killed a few Cave Wyrms but have held off on turn ins. What are the things I should be considering here?

4.) Any general advancement or gear advice would be appreciated. Embarrassingly, I've yet to do any of the main quest but its definitely on my list, and I'm working on getting the Newport Insignia. Is there anything else I've missed that's essential?
Click to expand...

1)Lord Commander Ragarati is very difficult to get a raid for, even for an adept junkie like me.
2) Being a tank-centric game, your ability to 4-man simple -> easy tmaps will depend mostly on how well your brother's paladin is geared (most likely not feasible with your guys' current setup)
3) Giant Ally: a) you can get scales/gems from the same mobs, b) the aug has mind shield on it c) empress head is difficult to get
Dragon Ally: a) cannot get heads/gems from the same zone (stormkeep/storm's eye) b) the aug has stun resist on it c) king's head is easy to get
4) your characters are doing fine
 
If you are going to stop to raid adepts, you probably want to do it at 55 as there are three options for you at that level. You might want to get to 65 as the 55-57 raid scene is kind of a micro culture, and when I did it most of the members were alts, as were the two toons I did it with.

On which faction, I would wait until you join a raiding guild, then basically poll the officers on which faction is the majority. Then I would choose that majority for my faction. That way you are FAR more likely to get guild help with aug/combine quests.

Many guilds make a point of running members through these until eventually turnover burns them out. Doing ndhk twice a week for 5 months will make you want to gouge your eyes out.
 
on the other hand the fact that most of them are alts typically means they are on average, better geared/AA'd leading to more successful raids, but they might be harder to get into, esp for all 4 characters
 
Normally guild's probably won't deny your application based on your faction alignment, but it would suck to have to skip out on a raid because you only kill one side. I would suggest waiting to turn in your heads/scales for when you have 5 exquisite/marvelous and 5 peerless gems for combine. That way you can keep killing both with your guild and have a better chance at getting both the head aug, gems, and you can have loot from both sides.

Just wait til you have 5 peerless gems for combine armor (not based on faction), then turn in all of your heads/scales at once for ally faction and upgrade straight into combine. This also prevents you from losing out if your guild dissolves and you join a new guild of the opposite faction, or if your guild decides to do a faction switch.
 
If you stop to kill adepts, it is because you really want to experience the fights and hang out with twinked alts. The gear doesnt matter, and you will progress your character much more efficiently by getting to 65 asap and doing AAs.

The giant/dragon faction isnt a huge deal, as others have said, wait until you join a guild and then pick whatever faction they are on.

Guilds are really the way to go for most people. Even if you don't want to raid, they will provide a community that will be happy to help you level up, maybe even give you some decent gear to get you started, show you the ropes of the game.
 
Stop at 55 Farm Harthhuks grind AA"s and do adept raids. So you can hit 65 and not be completely gimped. Start on your main Quest if you haven't at 55 If I recall you'll still get good exp for Under caverns around this level. Turn exp back on hit 57 leave Harthhuks and go to Crystal Caverns (I forget what its called under Thurgadin. exp here till 65 lots of nice drops you can get. Haste earing + lots of other good drops come from this zone you'll hit 65 with money and gear ready for raiding.
 
Enjoy your time at 55, get some aa's done, see the 50's xp zones, do the 50's adepts. When you have had enough of all that, turn normal xp on, and level to 65. There is little reason to rush to 65, as a fresh 65 with no aa's, you'll have a hard time finding groups. Also, at 65, besides doing some raids, you will find yourself cycling through the same list of zones endlessly for xp. And really, at 65 there is nothing but getting xp for aa's, and then codex/tome. So why rush to it? Enjoy the journey before the endless grind.
 
"Enjoy your time at 55, get some aa's done, see the 50's xp zones, do the 50's adepts"

So, exp and kill mobs for loot?

"And really, at 65 there is nothing but getting xp for aa's, and then codex/tome. So why rush to it? Enjoy the journey before the endless grind."

So, exp and kill mobs for loot?

The entire game is a "grind" and regardless of level you basically do the same things. If you are the type of person who enjoys making your character as strong as possible, you will end up regretting any time you spent locked at 55, because it is not even close to efficient.

I went straight to 65, and after two years of hardcore raiding I am still seeing and doing new things. I have 0 regrets about skipping the 55 game.

That doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the 55 game or people who do it, its just kind of a mini culture and I think the 65 raids and community are way more fun.
 
For a long time, I've recommended stopping at 51 and getting Innate Run Speed 3.

Nowadays on SoD, I'd recommend going straight to 55 then getting Innate Run Speed 3. By waiting until 55 to do those AAs, you're really not missing out on much. Plus, then you have a brief time to see if the "Level 55 Crowd" subculture is something you'd like to be part of. If you like the "Level 55 Crowd", stick around. If not, don't.

There's really no wrong answer; it's more important you don't stop and do something you don't enjoy.
 
Yeah.. way to pick out parts of it, and ignore what was between. *rolls eyes*
You are right, the whole game is about getting xp and loot. I suggested a pause in the mid-50's to get some aa's done, and see the 55 sub-culture. And then, level on up to 65. Too often fresh 65's with little to no aa's are ignored, but those limited aa folks are not ignored at 55. So, why not get the aa's where it is easier to get groups to do them, so that it is easier to get groups when you start leveling again?

This might be a shock, but not everybody wants to solo/duo, or has a dozen RL friends playing that they will always be certain to have a group.
 
darksabbath said:
This might be a shock, but not everybody wants to solo/duo, or has a dozen RL friends playing that they will always be certain to have a group.
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I did/had neither of those. Finding groups isnt always easy, regardless of being 55 or 65, but the AAs will be 2-3++ times faster at 65.

As I said there is nothing wrong with 55, but if you tend to care about the min/max at all, go straight to 65. I personally had a harder time finding groups at 55 than 65 so maybe that's part of why I dont get it.
 
At that time, I don't think the 55 subculture quite existed.. or at least not as extreme as it is now, Solo.
When I played, I could find a group more easily with my 55's, then I could with my 65's. I won't argue that xp for aa comes quicker at 65, with the bonus at that level, but that is only if you get groups, or can solo (and are willing to.) I am not at all suggesting he stay 55 for 150-200 aa's, but maybe the first 50, tops. That gives time to do the adepts, get some exp gear, and see the "sights". Then you power up to 65, and probably won't see those zones again until you do some questing.
 
55 is also a good time to finish/start some of the longer quest lines. I usually wait till 55 to start MQ on my characters and usually good for getting through the first dozen AAs or so depending on how much time I spend in UC (Which is good XP at 55). You can start the Vah, faction, and diety quest lines.
 
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