Baldur's Gate : The Sword Coast Chronicles : NWN2 Persistent World

A few things that I have been thinking on for a while, and it was only in terms of curiosity, but I thought I would ask - please feel free to reply with a 1, 2, 3 itemized reply:

1) How long does it take you to level a character up to 30th? My first character took ten months of fairly regular playing (about10 hours per week) to get there. I know some have done it sooner, and some have been PMing or IG messaging me about, "how long does this take?" because they feel like it is taking forever. Wondering if the player base has any suggestions/encouragement for newer players?

2) If you add all of the levels of the top ten toons in your player vault, what is the combined score? Mine sits at 123 as of today (combined levels) out of a possible 300 which means my median level is 12th. How long have you been playing here factors into this too - obviously if you are new the score is lower than someone who has been around for years. Tell us your combined score and how long you have been playing here.

3) I hear a lot of grumbling about how hard it is to take a toon from 20th or so to 30th because grinding yields so-so XP. What are your tips for players on how to augment grinding? I could give suggestions, but I'd rather hear from players on what tips they can give.

DM Arkanis wrote: 1) How long does it take you to level a character up to 30th? My first character took ten months of fairly regular playing (about10 hours per week) to get there. I know some have done it sooner, and some have been PMing or IG messaging me about, "how long does this take?" because they feel like it is taking forever. Wondering if the player base has any suggestions/encouragement for newer players?

My first character took about 9-10 months as well, I think. May have been more. Very little grinding, mostly RP, some quests and DM events.

Suggestions? For getting XP? Don't care at all about RP, just grind, grind, grind, until your character is a cheesy level 30 with perfect gear and all the mechanical power you can hope to get. But absolutely 0 significance as far as RP goes.

If you want to get XP while actually being able to get a character worth RPing with, on the other hand, try gathering groups and going on adventures. RP XP combined with kill XP is often just as good or even better than plain grinding XP. At the same time, you're developing a character, relations with other characters and just generally having more fun. Joining an active guild is also a good idea.

DM Arkanis wrote:2) If you add all of the levels of the top ten toons in your player vault, what is the combined score? Mine sits at 123 as of today (combined levels) out of a possible 300 which means my median level is 12th. How long have you been playing here factors into this too - obviously if you are new the score is lower than someone who has been around for years. Tell us your combined score and how long you have been playing here.

I don't even have ten characters!

30 + 29 + 21 + 1 = 81. One is a mule!

DM Arkanis wrote:3) I hear a lot of grumbling about how hard it is to take a toon from 20th or so to 30th because grinding yields so-so XP. What are your tips for players on how to augment grinding? I could give suggestions, but I'd rather hear from players on what tips they can give.

Mindless grinding over several hours should be a punishable crime.

That said though, adventuring, as I mentioned above, is very rewarding. My suggestion is care less about XP when you're in the epics and more about RP. RP will give you more XP if you do it right.

Quests also help, of course, but do them in character and expect performing the quests to be reacted upon in character. I am here referring to the Imp quest, for instance. Anyone helping an Imp are likely to have to face consequences for such. Druids stealing eggs from wyverns and lizard folk should also expect consequences.

1) My pure druid took nearly a year, with a 3 month break. My sorcerer is looking to be close to a year as well. I had thought it would take shorter time with my second character, as I would know the server and the good areas but honestly I got quite tired of grinding and her main xp is quests and RP. I'd say it depends on the class and the style of the player. And of course how many RCR you have... I've done over 3 on both.

2) Combined level of three characters is 67. Been playing 1,5 year.

3) I played my druid with the sole goal of getting her to at least lvl 27 to achieve dragon shape. I did not focus so much on the path leading to it, than to actually reach that lvl. It was tedious and felt like a chore. Sure, she could solo in areas some other classes could not but it was very slow going. As soon as she reached lvl 30, I retired her. It felt quite pointless, somehow. (Yet good to have reached the finish of her story arch.)

So I made a new character with the goal of being perfectly RP-able at lvl 1 that didn't require a certain level in a certain class to define her being. It was a great change and while I do still have milestones at RP development at certain levels, I do not really need them to play the character. I would not advice anyone to play a character that is only playable at epic levels. Perhaps if someone has a lvl 30 character to RCR... but the journey should be more important than reaching lvl 30.

Alright, so you are lvl 30. Then what? What is your character actually going to do?

Hunt bosses constantly for gold...? Alright, you got all the gold you need and the best equipment.

Then what?

It becomes boring, if you have not made connections with other characters and stories. The character sheet ends at lvl 30 but the character development on the RP side continues.

It may not have been what you asked for Arkanis but I felt a need to put in a good word for RP!

It all depends. If your toon is a powerbuild and you play around 4 hours per day (lets say 20 hours per week), you could make 30 easily in a few months. If you toon is not a powerbuild, it will be a bit longer because you have to find the right party and all that. I've heard many complain it is hard to level up casters but I think that couldn't be further from the truth. It's called summons people. Buff them up, turn invisible and follow them as they weave a path of destruction through an appropriate CR level dungeon. This makes arcane casters some of the easiest toons to level even if they are not power builds per say.

Great comments so far! No right or wrong answers folks just opinions based on experiences so if you want to rant or have something that you want to say, say it! Where is the line between RPing and grinding? Between soloing and partying up?

The best part about this game is the ability to be as creative as you want - chracter bios and back stories, meeting up with other players to rout out the evil undead, or to create an undead army, or simply play a loner who lurks in the shadows, distrusts magic, or is mute and secretive. I played SWTOR for a few months and found I was missing being able to walk up and talk to other players because the game was focused on getting gear and XP like a lot of ORPG/MMORPG's are. Getting to 30th level and having great gear are only two of many possible goals - maybe the follow up question then is, what comes after 30th lv?

1) First toon, seven months, with rp. Second toon, six, with rp. Third toon, three, with no rp.
There are many paths to follow. I feel much more comfortable when playing a lvl 30 toon.

2) First toon, human priest, lvl 30 + Second toon, elven mage, lvl 30 + Third toon, dwarven fighter, lvl 30 = combined levels 90.
Played 1,5 years.
I just started a drow. It will be my last character.

3) In the epic levels areas really make the difference. Find the area with the best xp per hour score.

DM Arkanis wrote:1) How long does it take you to level a character up to 30th? My first character took ten months of fairly regular playing (about10 hours per week) to get there. I know some have done it sooner, and some have been PMing or IG messaging me about, "how long does this take?" because they feel like it is taking forever. Wondering if the player base has any suggestions/encouragement for newer players?

It took me something like 6-8 months. As for suggestions don't put the nice stuff in the last levels in your build plan (if you have one), spread them out instead.

DM Arkanis wrote:2) If you add all of the levels of the top ten toons in your player vault, what is the combined score? Mine sits at 123 as of today (combined levels) out of a possible 300 which means my median level is 12th. How long have you been playing here factors into this too - obviously if you are new the score is lower than someone who has been around for years. Tell us your combined score and how long you have been playing here.

I don't have 10 characters in my vault, something like 30+14+8+1+1+1+1+1=57
(the level 14 is a result of the RCRing of my first character for those who wonder )
Been playing for 2.5 years.

DM Arkanis wrote:3) I hear a lot of grumbling about how hard it is to take a toon from 20th or so to 30th because grinding yields so-so XP. What are your tips for players on how to augment grinding? I could give suggestions, but I'd rather hear from players on what tips they can give.

Find a place where your character can kill mobs without much risks, run in circles killing everything for one hour, watch the XP gained. Change location and repeat, pick the most effective one and run in circles until madness is near.

DM Arkanis wrote:Where is the line between RPing and grinding? Between soloing and partying up?

When you stay in the same place, running in circles, wether it's with other characters or not it's clearly grinding. No amount of RP can explain the 42th respawn of giants at the exact same place where 80 corpses of their brrthren are beginning to rot.

Getting to 30th level and having great gear are only two of many possible goals - maybe the follow up question then is, what comes after 30th lv?

What comes after level 30 ? Nothing particular, you have potentially achieved one of your character's goal, all other goals your character might have are still around, possibilities are infinite. Political power ? Wealth ? Enlightenment ? Magical discoveries ? Preaching ? Construction ? Destruction ? Art ? Preservation ? Exploration ?

Whatever suits your character !

I have been on and off the server for quite a while now, and I have a level 10,2,4,8, and 8.

I continuously RCR and the lower levels (1-4) I just want to bang my head against my desk. I normally play casters. Thanks to Arkanis, he showed me several quests that helped me get passed that mind numbing time period.

Quests are indeed a great way to get XP and to learn the server map. Just for fun I made a character and only did quests with him to see how long I could go without killing a monster... got him to 11th lv before he finally caved and fireballed a bunch of goblins... I know there are players who have a whole route that they have mapped out that they take for quests and it can be quite lucrative XP-wise especially when things like wyvrens and effreets don't smoke you anymore. The downside is that there is not much to RP even in a group if you are doing the non-combat quests.
I have done small events in the past where I have asked small groups to quest for certain things for me (usually something I dropped somewhere behind a boss-type monster depending on the party level) and encouraged them to go fourth and retrieve in exchange for some XP/gold, with bonus XP given for good RP. It is a lot of work as a DM, but I have a lot of fun doing it. In fact, the Broken Pieces quest is still in progress and I am waiting for the proverbial planets to align so the players involved can meet me IG so we can finish.

Eden wrote:I just started a drow. It will be my last character.

Ye... you told me that before when you were done with Wino

Why staff resorts to OOC IG means of integrating new players into community?

I will clarify. The surface area of Farmlands has a board object put on wall, seemingly oriented for new characters.

So, the greeting on board is good. Pretty much everything I would expect someone who would just come to city to find. Few words that somehow warm up the heart of new adventurer who prepares to RP.

Then, you shoot in the face with sawn-off shotgun.

Next came absolutely OOC explanation of terms used in game mechanics and gamer slang. Without as much as change of captions. Without any actual other IC information, without anything promoting RP per se.

So, here are additional questions to the first one:

1) Don't you think it would be much, I repeat, MUCH greater idea to put this notice in Nexus instead of soiling RP game space?

2) Are means like this used by staff called 'Necessary evil'?

3) Don't you have shame?

Rainbow Prism wrote:Why staff resorts to OOC IG means of integrating new players into community?

I will clarify. The surface area of Farmlands has a board object put on wall, seemingly oriented for new characters.

So, the greeting on board is good. Pretty much everything I would expect someone who would just come to city to find. Few words that somehow warm up the heart of new adventurer who prepares to RP.

Then, you shoot in the face with sawn-off shotgun.

Next came absolutely OOC explanation of terms used in game mechanics and gamer slang. Without as much as change of captions. Without any actual other IC information, without anything promoting RP per se.

So, here are additional questions to the first one:

1) Don't you think it would be much, I repeat, MUCH greater idea to put this notice in Nexus instead of soiling RP game space?

2) Are means like this used by staff called 'Necessary evil'?

3) Don't you have shame?

Excellent post! Brings up the whole notion of in-character and out of character as part of game play. Rainbow Prism is definitely arguing for the side of "all in character all of the time." Is the Nexus the only area of the game to be out of character? Should DM staff ONLY interract with players there? I mean, a cloak change request is definitely not an in-character event; should we be porting players to the Nexus for these changes? DM shout channel too - should we be using it to give OOC information to the players in game or should that be solely reserved for the forums?

The debate is on!

Oh and for the record I was playing a character, and role-played helping Hawke, "find work" and we did some quests together.

Is the Nexus the only area of the game to be out of character? Should DM staff ONLY interract with players there? I mean, a cloak change request is definitely not an in-character event; should we be porting players to the Nexus for these changes? DM shout channel too - should we be using it to give OOC information to the players in game or should that be solely reserved for the forums?

Most DM interactions with players should be held in non-occupied areas.. it helps maintain immersion, keeps the DM groupies at bay, etc. That said, there are plenty of unoccupied places a DM can use in game rather than the Nexus, whether DM areas or just places that people don't use often.. if nothing else to maintain some level of confidentiality as well as control area lag.

The DM shout channel should be used for whatever the hell you guys wanna use it for, within reason. We used to have lore trivia games for small bonuses that helped teach lore, etc.

And above all, even the hardcore RPers (I include myself here) need to realize it is still a dang game. I would wager that even the more strict RPers suspend that on occasion to deal with the reality of the game-space. An unobtrusive sign shouldnt be a concern for anyone that isnt intentionally trying to be offended.

My .02

mrm3ntalist wrote:

Eden wrote:I just started a drow. It will be my last character.

Ye... you told me that before when you were done with Wino

Didn't I said "it's my last surfacer?"