Been reviewing threads here and on my old class sites (sk and mage boards, still up and running and awesome!) and getting the itch to come back, no significant play time since OoW. Most likely planning to level up to about 85-90 or so and start working on the HoT expansion going forward as progression. So far I have the following things on the checklist for stuff that I will have to go back for: 2.0 on the sk, unnecessary on the mage J5 questline to get the best mercs TBS raid to get power sources functioning? DoN progression? (why this? have seen it mentioned but not explained) Other than going back to farm for clickies/bps that may be beneficial, is there anything else from prior expansions that I will need to do, or should I just focus on leveling/aa's to get closer to my goal.
DoN progression gets you increase in stats, and spell resists. MPG trials is somewhat similar, but you gain resists cap increase.
You need a qualifying raid from TBS or later to unlock "pure" powersources. This will allow you to use metal powersources for the sk to give you a bit of an ac boost; not really necessary for the mage. DoN progression gets you +10 to stats, an extra buff slot, & +2% to hp, spell resist, & crits. Also worth doing is Everfrost LDoN for the +8% dodge aug, & MPG trials for added spell resists.
What: Borek said Why: Because they are permanent improvements that you can't get elsewhere I'm assuming you're about 70, 75? Try working on Jonas Dagmire's Skeletal Hand. Great Aug, not that difficult to obtain, and you'll get a nice set of gear to keep you going until level 80. Added bonus: it's pretty good, level-appropriate XP.
Was in the mid 70s when I came back, have been playing them quite a bit over the past week, just grinding levels and aas. Currently 92 sk, 92 brd, 91 mage. Finished up the 2.0 on the sk and got an orb for the bard, will probably start working on his 1.5 when not grinding out more aa. Also finished up the J5 quests last night. Already had the 8% aug for the bard and sk. Planning to go 100% aa once I hit 92 on mage, already there on the other two. I wanted to get access to the 92 req gear, but then play through HoT, VoA and RoF. Can I do the TBS, MPG and DON requirements above with this group plus mercs or will I need to secure the help of an actual healer for any of that?
Also - secondary question. For bard, it appears his songs affect the mercs just fine. Which of melee or caster dps does he affect more?
I think you can use mercs on the MPG group trials, but I'm not 100% certain. They should be doable without them though by 92. They're pretty easy by that level (maybe even grey cons, or getting close). TBS is all non-instanced zones so you can take mercs. It's probably pretty low exp by 92, and the gear you get is 70-80 level gear, so you probably have a ton better by now. The aug is still nice, but you might be able to out fit with better augs all around by the 90s, but as easy as it would be by then, still probably worth doing just to get started on better augs. DoN is a combination of instances, both group and raid, and non-instanced zones. The raid instances definitely do not allow mercs, although by 92, most will be doable 1-grouped, and maybe without a healer, using SK lifetaps, potions, and clickies. Definitely the early stuff of DoN, you'll be able to plow right through (It should be mostly grey to start out with; heck it's almost grey at 70 to start out with). As far as Bard, it mostly depends on which songs you pick, but they get more options for melee than casters, but their caster songs add alot and is comparable to melee. I don't know which is better overall dps improvement, but I'd guess melee since there are more songs for them, and more ways to improve there dps (like procs, haste, overhaste, etc versus, just improved damage focus and the like). Yther Ore.
I'm reasonably certain you can use mercs in the MPG group trials; they aren't instances and don't require raid formation. Each trial has a tactic to use (e.g. fear), and can be soloed by a character of a suitable class, even around level 75, and quite possibly lower.
