When to Reawaken/Leveling Guide

Prior to reading this I suggest reading Reincarnation FAQ as I won't be going over the content covered there.

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My main hit 105 prior to the expansion and therefore reawakening right away was a bit of a no-brainer. However, I had a 101 alt that I was considering reawakening as well. In this guide I cover 2 questions I had when first looking at reawakening my alt: When to reawaken; and when to put xp into previous incarnations. My recommendations are primarily based on xp needed per extra stat point. Secondary basis is how quickly the extra stats are to be realized. There are some subjective considerations (such as archer/sin stealth levels, or the time necessary to level to 100 again, etc) but, for the sake of simplicity in this general guide, have been ommitted.

When to Reawaken:

Short Answer:

For the first reawakening;

- Level 100 for non r9, suggested to have g15 gear or greater to make leveling after easier, r8r is a great option as there are no stat requirements for the armor

- Level 101 for r9(2/3)

For the second reawakening;

- Level 100

Long Answer:

Traditional levelling prior to reawakening offers the following (5 stat points per level):

100-101: Needs 66,954,000xp or 13,390,800xp/stat
101-102: Needs 267,816,000xp or 53,563,200xp/stat
102-103: Needs 535,632,000xp or 107,126,400xp/stat
103-104: Needs 1,339,080,000xp or 267,816,000xp/stat
104-105: Needs 1,750,000,000xp or 350,000,000xp/stat

After Reawakening the first time you will receive at minimum 20 bonus stat points. I consider the xp after reawakening needed to reach 100, to again participate in endgame BHs and the like, the "cost" for those bonus points.

1-100 Needs 303,626,185xp or 15,181,309xp/stat however since you receive 4x xp after the first reawakening you can divide this by 4 to get 3,795,327xp/stat.

To put it simply, the amount of grinding/questing needed to gain stats by reawakening and to return to endgame is, by far, less than that needed by continuing to level normally. Players intending on going r9+ will need level 101 before being able to wear their gear so it's a given that they wait an extra level.

The second reawakening follows similar logic though even r9 players can reawaken again at 100 (assuming their first was at 101+) since only the highest historical level is considered for gear requirements. At 3.5x xp after the 2nd rebirth, it works out to 4,337,516xp/stat.

Also, once you've obtained enough stats to wear your level 100 gear you'll be able to handle mobs/bosses/instances much higher than your level and will receive better xp due to your low level, making leveling extremely easy.

When to put xp into previous incarnations:

Short Answer:

After 2nd rebirth as soon as you hit 101. Level both of your previous incarnations to 102 one at a time before levelling to 102 on your current incarnation. Afterwards, alternate levelling your previous incarnations until they are both 105 before continuing on past 102 on your current incarnation.

Long Answer:

Levelling previous incarnations provide the following stats per level:

100-101: 5 stat points
101-102: 7 stat points
102-103: 10 stat points
103-104: 14 stat points
104-105: 20 stat points

This results in the following (for previous incarnations):

100-101: 13,390,800xp/stat
101-102: 38,257,428xp/stat
102-103: 53,563,200xp/stat
103-104: 95,648,571xp/stat
104-105: 87,500,000xp/stat

Comparing these to the returns on traditional levelling (which applies to your current incarnation) we see that 100-101 have the same return, afterwhich returns on xp are greater when levelling previous incarnations than when levelling the current one. In fact, all stat bonuses for levelling previous incarnations are better than levelling your current level from 102 to 103. Alternating between previous incarnations allows a character to realize the bonuses sooner. Consequently, I recommend going from 104/103/102 to 104/104/102 instead of 105/103/102 in spite of the better return due to the significant difference in time it takes to level from 103 to 104 vs 104 to 105.

Anticipated questions:

I'm not interested in reawakening, why should I?

- Ummm... You should. New map, new instance(s), new skills, extra stats, new quest lines, all your friends are doing it.. The list goes on. Read through some of the other expansion guides if you're not convinced.

I'm not interested in reawakening a second time, why should I?

- Purely subjective. This guide was intended for those who want to make the most out of their characters. If that's you, the 2nd reawakening is a must.

I'm at x% to the next level, should I wait or reawaken now?

- Fast players can reawaken and hit 100 in 1-3 days, serious players with less time or classes not apt/geared for soloing about 1 week, and casual players I can't see taking more than 3-4 weeks. I would say if your playing habits allow you to reach that next level in less time than it will likely take you to hit 100 again then wait, otherwise reawaken now.

Okay, I'm gonna rebirth now. Any suggestions before I do?

- Clear out any bhs you have and turn in all 10x quests you have as they will just take up space in your quest log until you hit 100 again. Maybe take a few days to stock up on xp items that you can use right at level 1 such as Tiger Event rewards, and Fantasy Fruit as it will help you level quickly early on so you can wear your 100 gear sooner.

What are some of the best ways to earn xp post-reawakening?

- With 4x/3.5x xp for both quests and mob kills, anything really. Favorites include: XP items at early levels; Hypering in Frost, Phoenix Valley, Map 3; Dailies such as BHs, Divine Contract quests, Cube, Crazy Stone, GBQs (9x), Morai (95+); Decomposing green frost gear for oracles (80+). The new yellow quest chain you get after first reawakening is pretty good xp too and you get some free C and possibly some B War Avatars for doing it. It's also a prerequisite for your 2nd reawakening.

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Hopefully I covered everything. If there's something you think I should add or you have a suggestion to make this better lemme know and I may fix/change it. Ty for reading