So EQ likes to have these lovely exp cut offs. And it usually happens at every xpac where the level increases. Part of me wants to rush to 110-115 and get into ToV content (stupid me came back and bought ToV but am no where near that level of content lol), and I know that with levels comes power. Right now I’m at a point where autogrant is covering 90% of my AAs and I’m good with that (97 at the moment). And experience is coming decently quick and easy right now. And I know that at 101, exp from CotF xpac and before drops off pretty good (I believe that’s what someone was telling me). So I’d rather stop and grind out some AAs while the getting is good instead of rush to the end and have to bite and claw just to get AAs because things are tougher and not dying near as fast due to lack of power ups (AAs). So given that, what are some good bench marks to stop and grind out AAs? And where at? 100: VoA-CotF - 2k AAs? (I know, diff classes/roles require different amounts) 105: TDS + TBM? (Heard brothers island is a famous go to?) 2-3k? 110: EoK - push for 25k AAs (reasonable amount?) 111-115: 1k AAs per level, of push to 115 and back track?
Autogrant covers all aas through TBM. The only issue is that EoK was a HUGE aa expansion, especially with Focus tab spell and synergy aas. So getting to 105 will give you all the aas through TBM … but you are missing a decent chunk of power until you get the EoK aas for your class that matter. Speaking of which … you didn't mention a class. Advice would be class specific on what to do. Rangers for example can tear up FM in EoK for good aa xp to catch up. While clerics … are going to stick their thumbs out looking for groups. Also, if you have friends that you can join in ToV … if you were higher in level … that would be my focus first and foremost. The game is about having fun … if you have folks you can group with, get to that point as soon as possible.
Oh I didn’t realize Auto-grant covered that much. In that case, would it be a decent idea to level up to 110? I can use ToV t1 gear at 110 right? That alone should be a major power boost. The during that time I could work on AAs at like an 80/20 aa/exp split while going through the xpacs. EoK should be a breeze, and the quests/missions should give pretty good exp still since the xpac isn’t that old. And most mobs should still be LB/DB, which is also just about perfect for grinding out AAs. Next xpac will release at the end of the year right. Or about then. And level cap will still be 115. So it’ll just be more spells/AAs. So there’s no rush really. Should be able to get through EoK, RoS and most of TBL and into ToV by that time with a decent amount of AAs going into the next xpac. And no friends. Just a solo return. Few people added to the friends list in game but schedules don’t match up for play time really. So no ToV invites. And my 97 is a Beastlord. I’m making a Paladin to go with him (I’m used to tanks and understand their gear/AA dependency).
Grind out the AA when you need to. If you are pet tanking and you need to get those fortification AA then get them. Otherwise, don't. As 3-boxing I didn't buy any AA for my mage until she was 114. Since she is my tank, I have been buying fortification AA, not DPS focuses. Why 114? Well, earth pet, and the time to get 115 for a few spells is less important than pet fortification. Also, gift of mana is so huge I bought that. 80/20 is good if you are working on AA and dying a lot during raids. If you aren't dying just go 100% AA, get what you need and then continue XP. I usually stay 90/10 or 80/20 because of all the dying in raids, but my mage is currently 100% AA because a little real XP give me no benefit, while a few extra AA is tangible, and no raids = virtually no deaths. As I said, I box, (ENC, CLR, MAG). My cleric doesn't used promised much, or cures, so it's a relative waste of AA, while a real cleric might use it a lot might get it much sooner. Meanwhile, I use my cleric epic a lot and having a second divine arb is more valuable than a lot of the AA a cleric could buy. So, the number of AA doesn't matter. It matters how you play. Buy what you need to do the things you do.
I get that. But there are points in which exp drops off (100 is easy exp, then you lose that bonus at 101 in certain xpacs and back) And getting to level 115 isn’t an issue. I could do that with the bare minimum of AAs. But more about getting a large chunk of AAs while it’s easy, to make the next block as painless as possible. Sure I could go straight defensives AAs for my pet, and then level up to 101, and now where I was getting exp, just took a nose dive, and now where I have to move onto is more difficult than it needs to be because I only grinned out the defensives and no offensive AAs for me or my pet. So now he can take a hit, but it’s taking 3x as long to kill mobs and get decent exp/AA when I could have stayed at 100 and got 2k AAs that are letting me blow things up at 101 so it doesn’t feel like the exp coming in dropped off. I want to find those breakpoints. Like I’ve heard TBL was a pain compared to EoK/RoS, and even ToV is easier going into it than TBL was coming from RoS. Like if I can stay at 108-110 and get AAs to make TBL zones easier/faster, I’d rather do that then bum rush to 115, out level the “easier” zones, and being too weak to have any sort of decent exp rate incoming you know.
I'm confused what you are talking about with the AA at L100-101. All of the AA through TBM are autogranted. Sort by expansion and the only things saying TBM or before that are greyed out are level restricted. Racial innates and tradeskills are not autogranted. Are you not playing on a live server or not subscribed or something? Why would you be purchasing any AA at L100? Which AA are not being autogranted? I believe this accounts for 140 of the 160 fortification AA for the mage pet. You only have to worry about EoK and forward AA. A large portion of the EoK AA are the focus AA so you can feel free to grab a few ranks of defensive and etc from 105-110. You can grab a few of those during RoS if you like, but ToV is about even to TBL in difficulty. You will have more net gain from leveling to 111 and then knocking out your ToV progression which will very quickly put you at 114. Your higher level pet will be stronger than the lower level one with a few extra defensive AA. Unless you are strictly molo'ing and plan to stay that way, only buy the EOK, ROS and TBL AA as important. Getting to a point where people want you in their group all the time will make for more AA than molo'ing. People wont turn down a 114 BST with autogrant but they might turn down a 109 BST with 40k AA. The only thing they can see is your level.
I checked back above and I see you are L97. I just checked autogrant on my mage for you. Fortification 140/160 Fury (I might have bought a few ranks) 166/189 Natural durability 6/21 general sturdiness 45/65 Agility 54/74 Stability 58/73 Sort by category and anything before TBM will be autogranted. Also save your collection / hunter completions for 114. It's 2% per level at any level and that is worth way more than the AA.
I appreciate your time and willingness to look into this but it’s not strictly about the AAs themselves. But the experience rate. Like at 101, experience from the CotF xpac takes a hit. So it would be better for me to grind out 500 AAs in the CotF zones at 100 than attempt to get those same 500 AAs in the same zones at 101 is what I’m saying. Perhaps with Autogrant covering up to TBM, I may be better off getting to 115 and then focusing on AAs. At what level do mobs go from DB to LB to a level 115?
Experience in TDS seems easy enough that I don't think this is an issue. I've been wondering the same thing as you regarding stopping for AA, but I'm 107 now and I haven't needed to. Katta Deluge, Tempest Temple, and Brother Island should get you to 105 pretty quick. Then whichever part of EoK works best for your class.
Right. It’s just some zones are easier/better exp at others at certain breakpoints and I’d rather find those. I like to bank some AAs for the important stuff (CA/CS for example) so when I do level, I can purchase those ones right away so I have their full effect for the entire level. If I can get 50% of AA exp per 30 seconds at 100 in CotF vs 65% AA exp in 55 seconds in TDS, I’d rather do that then hit 101, and only get 27% AA exp in 25 seconds as opposed to 55% in 50 seconds As the saying goes. Get it while the gettinga good and work smarter not harder
Personally I'd go to level 105 and stop. You will get a lot of AAs from the auto grant as you get there. Take a look at the AAs you can purchase at that level (there will be a lot). Don't forget to check the Focus tab for speciffic spell lines, some you will want to max out, but there will be some for spells you don't use so ignore them. EoK AA can be a bit daunting, but just do the ones you need and move on. Do the Daily Quests from Clayton Teek, work on progression in TDS and get your mirror from TBM so you can enter all the zones the HAs start in. These give a nice chunk of AA, and it is surprising how quick AA can mount up just doing these. Get what you want at level 105, then start leveling up, check each level if there are any AAs you want to get as there is usually new ranks for different AAs at different levels, if there is nothing important continue to level. A short stop each level for important AAs can help you level faster in the long run. Though you may like to jump straight to level 110 so you can use the T1 ToV gear which will also help you a lot especially for the tank. Droga and Chardok were good for AAs from what I remember, even at level 110. After level 110 exp slows down a lot, see the huge thread in Vet Lounge complaining about it, so I wouldn't recomend leveling any higher until you get your important AAs again. Avoid ToV missions as these give a huge amount off EXP that you will want to save until you are ready to level to 115. At 110 I'd dip my toe into East Waste and see how you get on with killing mobs there, TBL is rough so I'd avoid that, I'd also suggest trying Gnome Mountain at that level and seeing which is better for you and what you enjoy. If you want to do RoS I'd suggest Gorowyn. Skyfire has annoying drakes that come from no where and Overthere has some NPCs with nasty dots. Sathir Tomb is a pain to get to, pally may like the undead in Howling Stones just below the entrance. Hope this is of some use, have fun.
Sorry for the late reply, but this is exactly what I was looking for thanks. Happened to look through the AAs specific to Empires of Kunark...and good lord. Granted there’s a lot to get, but on top of that, the beginning ranks are so damn expensive (and thus even more so for each consecutive rank). Looks like it’ll be 106, full conflagrant gear, and farm out as much of EoK as I can
Usually the autogrant moves up one expansion for each expansion launch. TBM is currently autogrant. IF there is another expansion launched after ToV, then EOK *should* become autogrant. This is important because you could spend a LOT of AA for no reason. Remember to sort your AA category filter by expansion. As you progress your character, keep in mind that non-critical EoK AA might be best differred until later. For example, I also had to catch up. I use my ENC animation a lot, but by maxing out my Mindslash focus and waiting for pet fury to autogrant I was able to get hundreds of AA for free. Yinla lays out a great plan for you and it is good advice. Just keep in mind these freebies as the year progresses, keep an ear out for information on a new expansion and balance the benefits vs the wait based on how fast you are earning AA.
You have two essential paths: 1. Enjoy the adventure and do the content that seems fun and interesting to you. Grind AAs when you feel like it's getting too hard to beat blue/even cons or you have an ability you want. Try to enjoy getting gear, achievements and make some friends along the way. 2. Rush to 110 ASAP, get the ToV gear and try to grind AAs. Easier if you're boxing or have friends to help you. If you've got friends to play with at max level and just want to get there to start having fun, I recommend #2. Otherwise I recommend #1. To answer your question directly, there is no perfect inflection point at which AAs really start getting dumped on you. But EoK and Frontier Mountains might be the closest thing you're looking for.
Yeah I’ve been doing number 1. Checking out at least a few of the zones for each expansion my current level at the time falls under Ran through all the CotF HA zones and I despise bixie warfronts with a passion. Still at 101 on my Beastlord while I’ve been leveling my Paladin, but currently stuck in Tempest Temple dealing with the “Clearer Skies” quest/mission because I’m having troubles splitting mobs. Usually end up with 3-4 after a good stretch of splitting mobs and go splat (molo play). The Paladin is 102 and in Lcea Beastlord is doing more of the achievements and gear route and taking it slower where as the Paladin is more of a number 2 route where I can actually stop and farm out AAs while getting required augs and the like because I could spend weeks upgrading augs every 5 levels.
