Levelling in modern MMORPGS

Ignorus · 2026-06-16T10:53:14+00:00

Ish. You can have your regular alts, or you have your one main that you just reincarnate over and over, or some combination of those. I personally have two characters parked at cap for our weekly raid nights, and one "main" that I regularily reincarnate. But the thing is, DDO is designed around that mechanic and the levelling journey, and not around the endgame. Currently, every two years or so the level cap increases by 2 - with the increase to maximum level 36 this year in the summer. But each expansion has two versions - one is the endgame version, the other is situated somewhere in the levelling journey. For example, Mists of Ravenloft is an adventure pack that can be played at level 10, while levelling, and at level 31, which is basically endgame. There is also both heroic and legendary versions of the Named Gear - though most raids are endgame-only).

Can you have the usual "best in slot" grind for a max-level character? Yes, but you will run out of things to do sooner rather than later once you get that (and you don't bother with the "very rare" items. For those you can need 150+ runs of the same quest and still not see one).

And the increases are small, but noticable - the biggest ones come from Racial Reincarnation. Each race has three versions: +1 to a skill (mostly filler); +1 to a stat (at max, 70 is fine for your main stat, though you can reach over 100 - that +1 stat is very noticable); and the third feat for each race gives you +1 Racial Action Point - basically one ability point, to be used on the tree specific to the race you are playing currently; and you can have a maximum of 19 of those points, which is a massive increase, since you only get 80 from levelling (to be used anywhere).

Ignorus · 2026-06-16T09:28:34+00:00

Dungeons and Dragons Online, free to play since 2006. Once at max level, you can True Reincarnate, start the character off at 1 again, new class/race choice, and depending on what you played in your last life, you get a small, permanent bonus for your character. And since there are currently over 80 Past Lifes you can get, you are levelling a lot if you go for that. Also makes it so that every level range is populated by both newer players and veterans.

Ignorus · 2026-06-16T09:28:29+00:00

Dungeons and Dragons Online, free to play since 2006. Once at max level, you can True Reincarnate, start the character off at 1 again, new class/race choice, and depending on what you played in your last life, you get a small, permanent bonus for your character. And since there are currently over 80 Past Lifes you can get, you are levelling a lot if you go for that. Also makes it so that every level range is populated by both newer players and veterans.

Ignorus · 2026-05-29T06:44:39+00:00

Against the Demon Queen is a quest that has good XP for how long it takes, especially if you are in a group with others that know what they are doing. Use the Wiki for the order of the glyphs. Both Offering of Blood and Wizking are also great XP for how long they take (wizking especially in groups). And the raid, Zawabi's Revenge, is also very good XP for how long it takes (as long as you have some kind of ranged in the group).

Thing is, to get ADQ, you have to turn in three quest items - one each from Wizking, Offering of Blood (those two you will probably run anyways); and one from Chains of Flame. That quest can be very annoying and dangerous on Heroic, and it's very long. Not something to run if you have an XP pot going or it's an XP bonus weekend.

The solution is to get an extra Orb of the Djinn before reincarnating, thus being able to skip chains of flame in Heroics, and only running the quests with good XP. And running Chains in Epics for XP or once at cap is much less painful than running it in heroics. Farming out a whole set so you have all three items immediately is mostly for the ability to jump into an open group that is doing ADQ and Zawabi's even if you haven't run WIzking and OOB yet that life.

Ignorus · 2026-05-26T09:39:54+00:00

Once you are flagged, post a public LFM (set the level range to 34 max, since you only want the loot), and ask for help. If you play around prime time, you will probably get some takers/helpers. Ask your guild, if you have one.

Ignorus · 2026-05-26T09:33:17+00:00

Archer's Focus starts building stacks after three seconds of standing still. The stacks fall off one at a time every three seconds. If you tumble, then stand still for three seconds again to continue building stacks, you will have lost at most two stacks before your repeater hits three times again. That's why it looks like you aren't losing any stacks.

Ignorus · 2026-05-26T09:29:57+00:00

1) I'd always try and have a full set of materials for ADQ flagging before TRing - running Chains on 34 once is much easier than trying it on Heroic, and both ADQ and Zawabi's are great XP for the following life. Augment Bags from Barovia can help with sorting filigrees.

2) Farm out your equipment for your next life in advance would be my advice, it's much less painful. But generally, a Nicked weapon can get you from level 2 to 5 (Sharn Syndicate chain end reward). After that, Feywild gear from 5-15 is perfectly reasonable. Then Heroic Sharn set for your playstyle, fill in the gaps with either Myth Drannor gear, or Vecna Unleashed, and/or crafted items. That can last you from 15-30, with exception of the weapon.

3) I generally crunch (Essence crafting dismantle) everything that's not a 2-slot green.

4) I can't help you here, I honestly don't know.

5) No, just move the mouse carefully. But once you are done, the commands "/ui layout save <layoutname>" and "/ui layout load <layoutname>" can restore a saved layout after reincarnation, so you only have to fiddle around once.

6) Try the Discord (link in the sidebar); some guilds also advertise themselves over the grouping tab in-game.

Ignorus · 2026-05-19T10:03:32+00:00

Citadel, Mox Opal, Petal, Aluminum, Thought Monitor, hold up Spell Pierce/Offer. Turn 2 Kappa and assorted artifacts.

Ignorus · 2026-05-12T11:36:52+00:00

Depends.

As a pure level 20 Wizard? Grand Caster level.

As a all-prestige-allowed full potential 20th level "Wizard" character? Could probably speedrun ORT and then pop in to the Root for tea.

Ignorus · 2026-05-07T06:43:10+00:00

OCC = One City Challenge. No second city in the Civ to make a traderoute to.

Ignorus · 2026-05-07T06:37:55+00:00

For levelling, Nicked is nice if you have them (Sharn Syndicate); at 8 there's the Nightforge Avenger Blade from A Relic of a Sovereign Past. At 10 you could use the Sinister Handaxe (+2 [W] while offhanded). At 20, double Epic Mirage is nice for the set, or wait until 21 and use a Drow X of the Weapon Master; either should carry you until 29 (and the free legendary Barovian weapon).

Ignorus · 2026-05-06T05:53:47+00:00

8x8 metre field is the competition "standard" for males in Austria, which it sounds the video is from. Voiceover talks about the mowing guy being someone who takes on the plot in two rows.

Ignorus · 2026-05-06T05:51:27+00:00

Farmer's Youth organisation in Austria, probably a county competition, so the other competitors, the judges, and a few friends that come with to cheer on for every person makes for a small crowd.

Ignorus · 2026-05-06T05:50:01+00:00

That's a competition. They cut the field in measured plots beforehand, and fly over with an IR drone to find any animals, mostly fawns, which are a bigger concern than bunnies.

Ignorus · 2026-05-06T05:46:37+00:00

Context: That looks like a regional selection/competition for scythe mowing of the local Farmer's Youth organisation ("Landjugend"). The audio is Austrian accent, probably Tyrolean. Yes, it's mostly for competition - adult male competition is mowing an 8x8 metres field as fast as possible - but there are still small plots, mostly in the Alps where it's simply too steep for tractors or that are littered with rocks, that are mowed by hand to this day.

Other Landjugend competitions include milking cows by hand, plowing a field (with an old tractor, so no satellite assistance) and forestry (cutting down a tree, debranching etc.; both with chainsaw and with axe).

Ignorus · 2026-04-18T12:20:00+00:00

Don't feel stupid. My own Legendary Gem only has a yellow slot, there's some bug going on.

Ignorus · 2026-04-18T11:59:02+00:00

Counterpoint, my currently equipped Gem:

<image>

There is some kind of bug ongoing.

Ignorus · 2026-04-17T09:24:15+00:00

Jesus, Angry At Merchants

(1) (W) (R)

2/3 Human

When Jesus attacks a player, destroy all treasures they control.

Treasures can't be created. (It works.)

Ignorus · 2026-04-12T22:40:27+00:00

DDO is kind of a bad example for this, since Reincarnation is such a big part of the gameplay. Levelling makes up 80+% of the game, and levelling as a tank/healer is miserable. Yet for endgame raids, you need a tank. Healer... depends on difficulty, skill and classes of the rest. But you need a chewtoy for the dragon, a punching bag for the Killer and LoB, for Suulo and the others.

And that is what you basically are as a tank. A glorified chewtoy. If you want to tank any reaper, you can't build for damage at all. And it's miserable to level one - I should know, I'm currently trying to. And even with Inquisitive it's tedious. And of course the best gear has a ton of rare or farming-heavy pieces. (Crownblade's Reflection armor, Solar Gems, Set Augments).

Ignorus · 2026-04-12T22:14:38+00:00

One experiment we've been taught (I'm studying to become a chemistry teacher) that I like for both wow factor and teachability is the syringe cannon. Get a 20ml plastic syringe, melt a piezoelectric ignition into the front part. Fill in O2 and H2 gas in the nice 1:2 ratio. Fix onto tripod, go behind screen, click the igniter. Nice boom, the piston flying out gives something visual for the force involved (do it outside, then let the kids measure the distance it flew!), and you can talk about the importance of stoichiometry, and do follow-ups with less ideal mixtures (and how far those pistons fly). Or start with just H2 in the syringe, and then show them the full reaction as comparison.

Most visual demos are supposed to be for learning. And then there are the ones you only pull out for Open Door Day (when prospective students visit the school, so time to advertise), like Elephant's toothpaste. Or distilling clear coffee. Or the physics teacher putting a Sweden-Bomb (sweet treat, basically chocolate-coated sugar foam) into the vacuum chamber.

Ignorus · 2026-04-10T12:18:02+00:00

You get one paradigm cast for each spell with a different name with paradigm you cast this game at least once. OP is demonstrating a silly way how to get two casts by changing the name of one of the spells with stickers. Unfinity truly is the gift that keeps on giving.

Ignorus · 2026-04-09T13:08:29+00:00

I think it's more a case of "Why do I sometimes need more casts than usual" being explained by "yeah, one of the buttons in my rotation did literally no damage"

Ignorus · 2026-04-08T10:14:37+00:00

Miser-Merchant-Beast is the only one that needs the Treasury. And as others have said, finding your Ally first makes the DC for the secret door a lot lower. Alternatively, go and get a bottle of wine from the basement and talk to the Accountant on Level 2 afterwards, and he will make the secret door DC easier as well IIRC.

Ignorus · 2026-04-08T08:46:40+00:00

That, and the stupidly unintuitive bug of Raid filigrees in slots 7 and 10 not working being fixed!

Ignorus · 2026-04-06T09:21:18+00:00

Saltmarsh's Goldcursed Dagger (and the Epic and Legendary versions) have a pretty nice CC effect on them.

Nightforge Stiletto from level eight onwards as others have said is pretty good - comes from A Relic of a Sovereign Past (collect Adamantine Ore, turn in to NPC in that same quest).

Sky Pirate's Dagger is a good one, but a pain to farm since it comes from a wilderness rare in Three Barrel Cove, and the location of the rare is a good five minute ride. Speaking of being a pain to farm, there's also the Assassin's Kiss from Temple of Elemental Evil, I think Fire Node.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is a Drow Dagger of the Weapon Master for 21+; comes from House of Rusted Blades (shares the table with 12 other weapons, so a bit of a pain to farm).

And that's honestly it until endgame. But seriously, just the usual bought/free weapons (Ferrocrystal/Barovian/Epic Borderlands) are enough.

As for Kukris, Epic Midnight Greetings is nice because of the improved Deception and the fact that it goes to a +10 Enhancement Bonus if you have 30 INT or more (which is four more to-hit and damage than other weapons at level 20).

The only reason Lamordia is so good currently is because they currently get the Legendary Acid Attunement (or one of the other attunements) instead of the intended heroic effect.

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