You can always start a new char on a different server, see how the population is, join a guild, and go FTP until you get to the point you want to go all access again. As for the bard, id leave that FTP and play it along side for a extra merc and songs or just songs. I wish I could suggest other things, but without knowing exactly whats going on, I can only offer so much. You can also make a char on the other servers and do a /who all <level> at times and see how the population is. I do understand that at 96 valley xp can be slow solo, I was solo'ing on my mage at that level and it did seem slow, but then I realized my kill/hr and it wasn't that bad. I did find that the xp was better there than in grounds.
I have not played the last 3 expansions I'm level 100 so to get to 105 I would basically have to level in the new expansion?
Despite the fact that RoF was the 3rd last expansion, and you had to have it to hit 100... yes. CotF or TDS, trying to level in RoF past 100 is pointless, despite having numerous mobs all over the place that con dark blue, or possibly even or yellow depending on the nameds.
Nope, not entirely true. I just finished the experience needed to reach level 101 on an alt. I haven't set foot in the new expansion with him. Will I? You bet. I can't wait! His new spells are there. That's where the level 101-105 players hang out so he'll be getting groups there. His new armor, augs, weapons, and Rank II spells drop there. The old content he's leveled past is stale... He's level 101 so basically he's privileged to adventure and advance in the latest content. Oh less than level 101's can too but they'd mainly be PL'd there and not able to pull their weight. There's easier content that's more level appropriate for them, drops their spells, ...
I throw away TDS non-progression sandbox activities. Group content in a caution devs solve an expansion. I don't design for slumming in /general was the problem. Calling that easy that there is still be high reward/low effort players actually want from moving on a social network. Group content raid-like armor without levels and anti-marketing posts are fairly common - LDoNs shouldn't have been the progression game. I see with someone who misses the rest of the plug.
Current content also drops squat. I've now played all the content to Arx Mentis - and seen TWO Rk II spells drop. I've yet to see a "chest" with more than 2 items. Most with one. Just be honest and replace "the chest" with a toothpick box. -Rat
I don't know why you feel so entitled to tell everyone else how to play. Is it because you yourself are a heroic character with auto-granted AA and because you couldn't experience every expansion when you wanted, as you wanted, no one else can? Hmm... Please go troll somewhere else. After much research and discussing these fine points with friends across multiple servers who are groupers and raiders alike, everyone tells me the XP nerf was a swift kick to the sack for the entire player base. Its actually very true, that you need to be in TDS to do anything really over level 100. If you leave TDS you will experience awful slow XP as the result of not 'being in the latest content' Secondly, if you want to help your friends to gain levels, they also will receive lower XP as such the point of this entire thread. I have been where you are Battleaxe, I raided for more than a decade in this game and it is very easy to forget what groupers go through, folks who can't play 10 hours a day and those who don't have 1 million plat in their bank accounts. I'm sure you'd be happier if everyone played like you, but my friend that is not the point of this game. The point of this game is to make your own fun out of it and to spend time with your friends and community. Not to be constantly told how to play and where to play. No one is buying what you are selling and sucking up to the dev's mistakes just doesn't look so well to the rest of the community.
I like AC augs. I haven't found any worthy of replacing my existing ones on the little time I do have to play. AC > all for augs in my eyes, especially as a monk who solo's a majority of his play time What I wear for gear is really none of your business either. It's such a ridiculous thing to even mention when A) I said I returned and B) I'm a grouper. Stop trying to control everything and everyone. Enjoy the fact that people who do play are still playing and stop criticizing them.
If you want spell drops, you need to go to a static zone and camp a named. They rarely drop off the named, but do drop about once every 2-3 hours for me off the trash. Find something you want in a T3 zone and camp it. You'll likely get a spell drop, the item you need/want and some decent exp if you need AA. Stay away from quest mobs. The RNG can be finicky. My best night I had 3 glowing and 2 median drop in 3ish hours. I've also gone 2 nights (about 8 hours total) without a single one. Annoying is when a T3 named in Dredge drops a Median. They really should be limited to Glowing and Greater to reward the risk. Nothing but plat drops off mobs in group missions. The quick and easy group missions are worth doing for a chest and chance at a briny. The ones that take an hour + are questionable to be worth farming chests unless the chest's loot table has 2-3 things you can use. While I appreciate the chests being added (and agreed with those that asked for them), I don't think the difficulty or risk of doing any of the missions warrants boosting the chest drops.
Not true at all really, it is only true for those level 101 and over. I wanted to test this again, so last night I went and grabbed some random level 92 person, my 95 wiz, and 90 bst and went to shards landing. I cleared the coblat named camp 3 times and gained all the characters except my 105 SK about 10% xp. That was about 45 minutes, and I could have cleared more, but it was late and the test showed me the xp if set 100% to regular xp does not go down for the other characters in the group anymore (there was a bug but was fixed in the past) when grouped with the 101+, but my SK gained about 8% of an aa, so yeah for the higher char, it sucks. I also confirmed that my 85 druid (the free heroic char) could get xp with a 101 necromancer in a the grounds and valley, said druid is now 86. I have also run many many HA with less than level 100 characters and they gain just fine. The vast majority of people leveled up in CoTF not TDS when the expansion first came out, so you can still do a lot without going into the newest expansion.
If you are doing the HAs with others. make sure you are trying to do the daily HA quests from Guard Hanran in ETWK to maximize the rewards. Doing HAs was faster for me getting to 105 than leveling in TDS up to Degmar. if you are flagged to Thuliassar then it changes to Thuliassar and higher zones.
Nedrom, it sounds to me like you've -been there,done that- in all the older content, which I can respect. Being a newer player, who us having an absolute blast, I can only recommend doing what I do, which is finding they quickest,best way to get xp, get your daily xp goal done, and spend the rest of your time not worrying about the xp. But more importantly, I recommend starting a new toon on a new server, making new friends, and just not worrying about it, there are quick, easy ways to get xp, spend the bulk of what little time you have socialipzing and having fun, or what I call, playing the game. Come give us a try before you leave.
I can't relate to the thread. I leveled to 95 sometime around December 2012 and February 2013, and pushed to 100 over a period of about a month or so, so maybe March of 2013, I was 100. I did lesson burns in VoA, like Pups of War, with a group. I did some group content in Rain of Fear, and easily solo'd quests in Underfoot, House of Thule when groups weren't available. With all that experienced nerfed for 101+ players today, I have no idea how I could repeat that leveling in today's climate. edit: bad grammar
Yes, I do know that, thus the reason I qualified with exp set to 100% regular experience. Nedrom was having regular experience issues, as far as I know. Characters under 100 should concentrate on 100% regular XP if they have taken the auto grant so that they can group with others in HA's ect. When you get to 100 or higher, then you switch back to AAXP and do that in CoTF or stay at 100 and go decimate valley and grounds solo for really good AAXP, thats what I have done with my zerker and hes almost maxed now, and I don't play him much. then I will go to 101 and go 50/50 till 105
