Help for a fresh level 70!

yiazzy · November 2016

So currently, I'm about two Reward Levels into Level 70, but I'm having trouble surviving in areas such as Icewind Pass, Well of Dragons, Epic Dungeons and PvP.

Does anyone have any tips on what gear to get, where to be grinding, what enchantments to be using, and how best to be refining my Artifact equipment? I'll post my full loadout on an edit once I get online.

mordekai · November 2016

Before going any further on this, I'm going to pre empt the guys who are best placed to answer this by saying;
What class, which paragon, have you re-specced, and what are you currently using? Its also useful to know if you have VIP yet.
If not, that would be one of my first suggestions... for 1000 Zen a month, the return far outweighs the cost. Quick and easy access to Rank 7s through the Tarmalune Trade Bar and lockbox key per day alone more than cover the outlay, and the benefits such as the sign post and epic keys become a "can't live without" after a short while.

yiazzy · November 2016

I'm a Scourge Warlock using the Damnation Paragon. I haven't respecced yet. My gear list is;

Guild Assault Cowl w/R7 Dark
Frostborn Raid Longcoat w/R7 Azure
Alliance Raid Wristguards w/R5 Dark
Epic Twisted Akinakes w/R5 Black Ice
Epic Twisted Grimoire w/R5 Black Ice
Dusk Raid Pigaches w/R7 Azure
Cloak of the Emissary of Neverwinter w/R7 Radiant
Protecting Ring of Smiting w/R5 Dark
Protecting Ring of Revival w/R7 Radiant
Guild Raid Belt w/R7 Azure
Pants of the Eternal Flame (No better shirt yet)
Epic Sigil of the Scourge as my active Artifact
Epic Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue
Rare Globe of the Third Eye
Rare Illusionist's Mask

I actually did get VIP 9 days ago, purely because it was 8 keys for 1000 Zen or 30 lol. Also been using those Tarmalune trade bars for enchants. I'm definitely going to be getting VIP each month for the bonuses.

mordekai · November 2016

First thing I'd say from that is to probably bank the Frostborn and replace with Dusk till you get to STK content or it will deteriorate due to lack of voniblood. (maybe even salvage it next weekend for double AD...)
I don't yet have a SW in my stable so can't help much on specifics, but at low 70 I find going for a set with matched neck, belt and artifact can be relatively inexpensive, and several options give a nice AP gain bonus that all the characters I've done that for feel the benefit from.
Look online at some of the epic builds for an idea of how to respec. Most of the build will be out of reach, but the powers and feats are good indicators for the kind of kit to go for. Some of them even go beyond being simply a list of cool stuff the writer has managed to collect, and provide good advice on how the feats support the powers, and how best to rotate the powers in combat.

yiazzy · November 2016

I've so far managed to keep my frostborn at T2 on the Voninblod, purely because I've had a lot of Ostorian Relics from the lockboxes, so I'm okay there for the moment. But I'll replace with Dusk as soon as I've got the bars available.

Atm I'm running the glyph, fireball and Vampire's powers, with Gates of Hell and Tyrannical Curse as my dailies. My current paragon seems to depend on my Soul puppet being able to sponge most of the damage whilst I unload into enemies, so when it dies is usually when I've got the issues. Which is why I'm running the Vampire power, because that health regain on a Parting Blasphemy hit is very helpful.

Apologies for the vague power names, I'm at work and can't quite remember them!

mordekai · November 2016

If you can keep the Frostborn going, fair play... its better than dusk, just a p.i.t.a to keep fresh.

moogie101 · November 2016

My suggestions would be

Neck Greater Cloak of Black Ice
Waist Greater Belt of Black Ice
Artifact Black Ice Beholder (Completes the set & gives bonus damage chance)

As already suggested get the Dusk Armour via Tarmalune Trade Bar Merchant/ Equipment/ SW/ Legacy 65 Bars for Cowl/ Boots/ Wristguards & 80 for Longcoat.

Also in the Trade Bar you can get Rank 7 stones & enchantments for only 6 bars.

You don't appear to yet have either an Armour Enhancement or Weapon Enhancement in the Armour or Main Hand weapon slots which means you're missing out on some great gear. Armour is usually Soulforged (Restores you back to life if killed) or Terror & Weapon is usually Vorpal or Dread although personally I have Flaming Enchantment, a lot cheaper & does a % of weapon damage as additional fire damage.

Do you have a decent Mount yet? Again available through the Trade Bar or the Auction House. Purple level give Equip[ Power skills such as 2000 Power Heavy Twilight Nightmare or 2000 Crit Strike Rage Drake.

Run Sharandar daily for the Lesser Thaumaturgic Stones, then save them up for Double RP as will give 5000 RP each towards levelling up Enchantments.

Run Leadership through Professions on main & Alt Characters It is a hell of a grind but from Level 20 it gives you loads of enchantments/ stones that should be left unopened again until the next Double RP event. Its amazing how much your character levels up through doing this.

Available through the Campaigns Dragon's Hoard Enchantments (Tyranny of Dragons) & Fey Blessing Enchantments (Sharandar) cause Stones/ Enchantments to fall after killing enemies which are great for RP to level up equipment. Again where you can ave for Double RP events.

Work on getting the Boons as can give great boosts to characters.
For example in Sharandar 400 Power/ 400 Crit Strike/ AP 3% Faster/ Chance at dealing 20000 Damage/ Power Buff. These Boons make a huge difference to a character & not reflected in Item Level scores.

Are you in a Guild yet? Some don't like them but give huge boosts via Boons to your character as the Guild levels up. Also easier to find people to group up with to run areas & dungeons.

thegravelnome · November 2016

Also don't forget about armor kits! Yes they can be expensive but thay are worth it if you need that extra little bit to survive

mossy · November 2016

What's your armor pen sitting at? Should aim for 60 to 50 percent. That was a big stonewall for me till I learned that.

The faster you take out the enemies the less time they are around to grief you & if their armor is soaking up your damage since it's not getting through.....

yiazzy · November 2016

I actually don't have a decent mount yet, getting the Rare Mount from the siege tomorrow as I'll have enough Writs for it.

I am in a guild, yes. Been running a lot of Stronghold HE's and quests for marks, sitting pretty at 4.5k atm.

The problem with the Black Ice Artifacts is that i can't survive for long in Icewind Dale areas unless there are other players around. Bryn Shander's not a problem though. How do i go about getting those?

I actually have the first ToD campaign boons unlocked, just nothing after the Well of Dragons in the boon department. Also got two of the Elemental Evil boons, and two of The Maze Engine boons.

Funnily enough, Leadership is my highest profession, Level 12 atm.

Not sure about getting Enhancements. Nor about my Armor Penetration value without being online to check

armadeonx · November 2016

SW survival is heavily reliant on lifesteal so you'll need to get a decent companion and put some bonding stones on it then put on gear with 2 slots and put Dark in the defence slots for lifesteal. The higher your bondings, the more lifesteal you'll get.

I'd suggest doing the respec as the soulbinder damnation build has been nerfed. HB Fury is the way to go and it has some decent choices for defensive passives/class features. Blades of Vanquished Armies and Pillar of Power are good defensive encounters - using this you should see yourself surviving well, especially if you sort out your lifesteal.

Edit - stop doing leadership, it takes far too long at this stage. You should do Jewelcrafting first (you can upgrade some items like specific rings, neck and belts to make them double slotted), then a class armor profession (you can make your own armor enhancement kits), then alchemy (you can make your own unified elements as well as potions). Once you have 3 professions at r25 and all 9 slots open you can go back to Leadership.

One of the reasons for this is it's the longest to level up - by far - and as such it'll save you weeks & weeks to do it when you have 9 slots. There are other reasons too.

mordekai · November 2016

There are also the Boons.
some are quick and easy, others a proper ballache. If you have enough AD you can buy enough Formorian Concoction to trade for Gold Crescents and complete the first two on Sharandar right away.
Some of the later ones are an atrocious grind (Tyranny for example...) but ultimately worth it.

thegravelnome · November 2016

Boons are the big one. Finish the Elemental Evil campaign first. Then sharandar and then dread ring. After that you should be powerful enough to be able to tackle icewind Dale

sundance777 · November 2016

Life steal and boons +1. Get your elemental evil, sharandar, dread ring boons then go back to icewindale and well of dragons

yiazzy · November 2016

So it turns out I had a free respec to use. Which I promptly used. Specced out of Damnation into Fury, and I'm using Prince of Hell instead of Shadow Walk, and Blades of Vanquished Armies instead of Vampire's embrace.
Also swapped my existing boons around for things like Lifesteal Severity and deflection.

My lifesteal is now crazy good, and my damage output is a lot higher. No more Soul Puppets though!

Good advice on the boons, I'm already 75% through the Elemental Evil Campaign, doing the Spinward Rise section as we speak, which is the only area left to complete. Then is it worth grinding out the "Weapons of (Element)" quests? 100 HE runs (plus the ones that won't drop motes) seem a bit much for an Artifact Weapon when I've already got the Twisted Akinakes...

armadeonx · November 2016

Ah well if you have Twisted then no, stick with those - the Water are good for survivability until you get geared enough, then you switch to Twisted - but if you're doing ok now then stick with those.

I'm glad you're doing well with the respec, I found the puppet to be a bit of a crutch so I was glad when I did the same

yiazzy · November 2016

Yeah, that was exactly my issue. I was too reliant on the Soul Puppet's threat, meaning that I got blitzkrieg'd the second it died.

Quick question, are the campaigns listed in order of difficulty? I only ask because I've almost finished the Elemental Evil camp now, and not sure whether to start Sharandar or continue the Maze Engine.

thegravelnome · November 2016

I ran sharandar first and then the maze engine. If you're doing well enough you can run both at the same time. And no they're not listed in order of difficulty. that would be too easy

armadeonx · November 2016

I believe they are listed in order of difficulty but you can run Sharandar & Maze at the same time, you can probably get by in Dread Ring too. The good thing with Dread Ring is that the demonic heroic encounters earn you currency that you can buy armor with in Mantol Derith as well as progress the Underdark boons.

I would avoid WoD and IWD until you get your Resistance Ignored above 50% and are more confident about your survival. Enemies in those areas take longer to kill and hit a lot harder. The advice from the game itself is to get 3 boons from Dread Ring & Sharandar before going to IWD.

yiazzy · November 2016

Okay, good to know. Can't resume the Maze Engine for 9 more days anyway because of the Interlude. Sharandar and Dread Ring are actually really easy. Got myself an Artifact belt from Sharandar already, only a Legacy one but better than what I have.

Saved up a load of refining stones for the double rp event tonight too. Hoping to finally get my Akinakes to Legendary...

armadeonx · November 2016

The interlude is where you go to the Maze Engine section of your campaign board and select whichever box is waiting for you, it doesn't delay the campaign. Maybe you're misunderstanding it? Go the that section and check.

yiazzy · November 2016

I have, but the second boon requires ten pages, of which I can only get one per day from Bruenor Battlehammer. 2/10, just gotta be patient and get those dailies done.

In the meantime, I'm rocking around Sharandar/Dread Ring, and even popping into Icewind Pass/Dwarven Valley to get those dailies done for later.

mordekai · November 2016

Sharandar is also useful for basic supplies.
There are plenty of trash mobs, and they drop the same loot as pretty much anywhere else.
Trade out Formorian Concoction for extra Gold Crescents and either buy additional keys to open up the full list of daily lair quests (you get ONE free one from Leprechaun) and for 15 crescents you can pick up a Potion of Heroism which is a useful toy.
Just running the normal quests should get you a stash of healing potions and cashable loot.

yiazzy · November 2016

Yep, I'm currently waiting on the Campaign task "Unlock Malabog's Realm" to finish. Been turning in those Formorians for crescents as well, as well as doing both lairs for those Shards of Terror/Feytouched Enchantment. I'm assuming Malabog's Realm will have a third to collect?

I've got a metric tonne of potions, so I'm not going to need them anytime soon.

After getting all my dailies done, I'm running around Drowned Shore farming HE's for motes, purely because I discovered the Wands in the Tarmalune merchant. Though I seriously wish that the bugs regarding the Aquatic Elf Abduction and Subterranean Surge encounters would be fixed...

mordekai · November 2016

I've literally just finished Shore farming for motes for the second time.
My advice would be to only do the Aquatic Elves if the timer is about 6 minutes or less remaining, and forget the tougher ones unless you're in a group doing them together.
Stick with Merchants (seems bug free) Ranger, Ambush and the Tavern. If they lock out and you're left with only the tougher, longer ones shift instance to another version, and that *might* prove more productive.
By sticking to that, I've completed twice with charges left on wand no 2. Usually averaging 15-16 HE's per charge.
Also, by sticking to those tasks repeatedly you can help yourself practice your power rotations and mix and match a bit in combat scenarios that are less likely to punish you too severely if you HAMSTER it up.

I'm currently running errands for Bruenor, to get enough Alliance Supplies to buy a skin to make my new "Drowned Bow" look less like it was designed by a 4 year old with a half melted crayon.

mordekai · November 2016

And having now done that, and purchased my " Grand Warden's Longbow" (L1 item...) I'm HAMSTER astonished to discover that it isn't a free appearance change.
It's cost me 5 grand to be able to walk round in public without looking a complete bufoon carrying Liberace's Bow on my back...

armadeonx · November 2016

Haha yeah I bought weapons with tradebars to transmute mine, they are truly hideous in their original form xD

yiazzy · November 2016

Hahaha, luckily I'm a Scourge Warlock, so it doesn't look too bad thank god.

I've managed to get upto 36 motes now. Only problem is, the Aquatic Elves HE has decided to sometimes not reward a mote even with the wand active. It's bugged to all hell, so I'm just going to avoid that encounter altogether.

armadeonx · November 2016

That's because the elves often don't appear with the mobs - if they are missing I normally clear the mobs then check back in with a couple of mins left on the clock, they've normally appeared by then. A point on that btw, if you clear the mobs and leave then someone else rescues the elves later, you get the mote but they don't...

Yeah the SW and CW are fortunate that their weapons are small so have less of the Liberace look xD but once you've got them go check out the weapons from the TB vendor, they are nice transmutes.

mordekai · November 2016

Elves is indeed a ballache.
I've found that, more often not, if the timer is below 5 or 6 minutes when you go, you will either find them there or they will turn up very soon.
Never head there at a timer above 10 minutes. Cos while they might be there, chances are they won't turn up for 5 or 6 more minutes.
Unless, of course, you are stuck with instances all overcrowded and its them or the crabs, or trecking halfway across the map for a long fight, its worth killing the mobs, hoping another HE opens up and then go back for the elves later.

But that's proper last ditch methodology.

Probably better to log out, put the timer on pause, and go make a coffee for ten minutes...

yiazzy · November 2016

I haven't run around for motes recently tbh, been taking advantage of the double xp on my two alts, and the double refining for my Artifacts/Artifact Equipment. Managed to get my Sigil of the Scourge to Legendary, and my Seldarine Cloak/Belt to Epic.

Also managed to get myself a Savage Polar Bear from the numerous boxes I opened (JUST THAT THOUGH, 79 BLUE REWARDS!!!!).

Having issues running Cultist Prison on my own though. I'm item level 2500~ now, getting impatient because I want to see what Tiamat's all about

lol

Help for a fresh level 70!

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