Review of all adventure packs

[sirgog]

Edit: I've added some feedback from other players; plus some minor corrections. In particular, the Subterrane is confirmed to be a part of the Vale of Twilight pack. Thanks for the info.
Edit the Second: Making sure that all Adventure Packs have recommended levels. These aren't necessarily the levels of the quests themselves, nor are they the lowest level at which the quests can be completed. Instead, they are a range of levels at which a group of players unfamiliar with the content could reasonably hope to beat most of it on Normal with a 'reasonable' resource expenditure and in a 'reasonable' number of attempts. I'm now changing those to show separate levels for normal, hard and elite.
Edit the Third: Added Dreaming Dark (finally) and Sentinels.


I see a lot of people asking 'which packs should I buy' on this forum. Here's a review of each of them, from the perspective of a long term VIP that's beaten every quest in the game except five that I've yet to get around to.


If you agree/disagree/have a different perspective/whatever, feel free to post your review below. If you send me a forum private message, I'll link to it in the early posts so it's easier to find. The ratings out of ten are my opinion only - I know that, for instance, I think Demon Sands is better than Threnal, but not everyone will agree. The only one that is fact, not opinion, is that Necropolis 2 is terrible .

List of Adventure Packs (thanks to RoBi3.0 for compiling this, and more useful F2P info here: http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?p=2397294)
Name-Cost in TP
The Catacombs-250
Tangleroot Gorge-550
Shan-to-Kor-250
Three Barrel Cove-650
The Necropolis part 1-250
Sarrowdusk Island-400
Devil Assualt-150
Delera’s Tomb-750
Sharn Syndicate-350
The Devils of Shavarath-650
The Demon Sands-850
The Necropolis part 2-350
The Ruins of Gainthold-995
The Ruins of Thernal-550
The Necropolis part 3-350
The Vale of Twilight-700
The Necropolis part 4-850
The Restless Isles-600
Reaver’s Reach-350
The Vault of Night-800
The Path of Inspiration-495

Low-level Packs:


The Catacombs - 250 points
Description:
This pack unlocks a small chain of quests set in three or four dungeons. The quests are filled with undead and vermin, are quite repetitive, and involve a few times that you'll just be looking around unsure of what to do or where to go (although that won't last too long)
Fun factor: Pretty low.
Rewards (XP/loot): Low to medium XP, loot that's nice at the time but quickly discarded as you outlevel it. Awards Silver Flame favor, which is not very important except for Barbarians that like to solo - if that's you, you'll need to buy all the Necropolis chains and beat everything on Elite except for the Black Abbot if you want the Silver Flame healing potions that solo Barbs love.
Best feature: Cool storyline.
Worst feature: Uninteresting mobs.
Ease of getting a group: Currently not hard as a lot of people have purchased this chain; may become harder over time as those players probably won't return to the Catacombs much on new characters.
Overall: Not recommended, but not a terrible buy.
Recommended level range: 2-4 (normal); 4-6 (hard); 5-8 (elite)
Edit - There have been several people that have commented that they had better experiences with this chain than I personally did, and in particular the quest where you must escape while being pursued by an invincible wraith was popular. Rating has been boosted from 5 to 6 due to this feedback.
Rating: 6/10


Tangleroot Gorge - 550 points
Description:
This pack unlocks a chain of ten quests set in one enormous, two-part dungeon. You'll launch a series of attacks on the hobgoblins of Splinterskull Fortress. The quests are varied - you'll have to deal with melee brutes such as ogres, hobgoblins that are potent casters, and even a (practically) invincible giant spider that you have to escape from after killing her eggs.
Fun factor: Fun for the first twenty runs. High. Lots of cool things to discover, such as a flesh render (a reasonably high level foe) that you can set free to wreak havoc amongst the Splinterskull defenders while you watch it from a safe location, and a battle with elementals in a secret underwater cave (this battle is an optional that most players do not attempt as it has poor rewards; it's well worth doing once, however).
Rewards (XP/loot): Excellent XP. Good loot - most is outlevelled quickly and discarded, but the Visor of the Flesh Render Guards are still good all the way through to endgame. In addition, by completing this chain on elite (hard may be enough if you've done other House P quests), you unlock potent House Phiarlan favor rewards which you'll find exceptionally useful until about level 9 or 10.
Best feature: Speeds up levelling through having both good XP and loot.
Worst feature: As you need to complete the entire chain to get end rewards, it's frustrating if you get halfway there and the group disbands - you will probably need to start over with a new group.
Ease of getting a group: Very easy, every VIP tends to run this chain 3+ times on every new character rolled.
Overall: Recommended for all players except those on a very tight budget.
Recommended level range: 4-6 (normal); 4-7 (hard); 6-8 (elite)
Rating: 8.5/10


The Seal of Shan-to-Kor - 250 points
Description: A chain of three quests (plus an optional quest) which see you storm an ancient, well defended hobgoblin city in pursuit of an ancient relic.
Fun factor: High. This chain is utterly amazing the first time you run it - the caverns en route to the giant city are truly amazing. Other than the totally not fun Misery's Peak, this is the first of many quests in the game that are truly three-dimensional - not just several flat levels on top of each other (like the Waterworks) but areas where you have to climb from the bottom to the top of an enormous city. Just a quick warning: This chain doesn't scale up much from normal to hard, but elite is pretty mean.
Rewards (XP/loot): Medium to good XP, loot is quickly outlevelled except for the extremely rare (1% drop rate) Ring of Feathers, which fetches a pretty penny indeed on the Auction House.
Best feature: The scope of the hobgoblin city.
Worst feature: The last quest is *much* tougher than the first two. Groups that stomp quest 1 and have few troubles with quest 2 can expect quest 3 to cause serious troubles.
Ease of getting a group: Easy, as most VIPs will run this 2 or 3 times on each new character.
Overall: Recommended but not essential.
Recommended level range: 2-4 (normal); 4-6 (hard); 6-9 (elite)
Rating: 8/10


Three Barrel Cove - 650 points
Note: I've never played through most of these quests at a level where they are still challenging; I'd appreciate feedback on this review from someone that has done so.
Description: A pirate island with several non-chain quests loosely themed around pirates, with a cool wilderness area (second best one in the game IMO).
Fun factor: The explorer area is fun to play around in, but some of the quests are pretty frustrating.
Rewards (XP/loot): Low to medium XP, poor loot.
Best feature: The variety. The quests here have more variety than any other adventure packs save some of the best endgame ones. There's a puzzle-based quest, quests with undead, and a quest fighting pirates.
Worst feature: Two of the quests are extremely frustrating. The ladder jumping is horrible, and hard even for high level characters with permanent featherfall and a capped Jump skill.
Ease of getting a group: Pretty hard to get a group at times - VIPs that focus on powerlevelling don't go out to Three-Barrel at all, and the pack isn't cheap, so won't be as popular amongst F2Pers.
Overall: Worth buying if and only if you prefer low-level play to high-level (for example, if you like permadeath play). If you consider buying this, you'll want your in-game friends to buy it too so you can get groups there.
Recommended level range: 3-6 (normal); 4-8 (hard); 6-10 (elite)
Rating: 7/10


Necropolis Part 1 - 250 points
Description: Five undead-themed quests, chock full of skeletons, wights, zombies and others. Each time you want to run the final quest (The Bloody Crypt), you need to run the four 'flagging' quests again.
Fun factor: Not particularly high, save for The Bloody Crypt which has a cool final room (cool the first time you see it), with a boss fight unlike anything else in the game.
Rewards (XP/loot): Fair to poor for the flagging quests, good to excellent for The Bloody Crypt
Best feature: The fight with Brother Salazzo or whatever his name is (the vampire at the end of the chain)
Worst feature: Reflagging every time you want to run The Bloody Crypt, also the fact that one of the quests requires 4 switches pressed simultaneously, making it impossible to solo at all and impossible to duo or trio without Hirelings. Also, see the notes in the Catacombs about Silver Flame favor.
Ease of getting a group: Very hard, except for a high-level group going for a favor run.
Overall: Not recommended. Should you buy it, do so at level 4-5.
Edit: It's worth pointing out that I've had a couple of PMs from people that liked this chain quite a bit. In particular, if you liked the Catacombs, you are more likely to enjoy this. Rating upped to 6/10.
Recommended level range: 4-7 (normal); 5-8 (hard); 7-10 (elite)
Rating: 6/10


Sorrowdusk Island - 400 points
Description: Two chain quests and an explorer area. The chain quests first set you against ogres and trolls, then in the second chain sets you against their evil masterminds. This chain oozes the feel of pen and paper D&D more than any other chain in the game, IMO. The first chain is short, easy and has four quests with little variance - the second chain is longer, harder, more varied and is fantastic the first time you run it.
Fun factor: Grey Moon Waning (the first chain) isn't great, but the Cult of the Six (Co6) chain is great.
Rewards (XP/loot): Average XP and poor loot for Grey Moon Waning, good XP for Co6, and useful loot, although it is quickly outlevelled. The House Deneith favor is highly important to anyone wanting to use a bow at high level, as it lets you bulk buy several important types of arrows, such as silver arrows for raid bosses like Arraetrikos, Suulomades and General Horoth.
Best feature: The variety of the Co6 chain, and the near perfect difficulty (one quest requires tactical play to beat).
Worst feature: The explorer zone is pretty lacklustre, IMO.
Ease of getting a group: This chain is pretty popular amongst VIPs, most play it 1-3 times on each character.
Overall: Recommended but not a high priority if you are on a tight budget.
Recommended level range: 5-6 (normal); 7-8 (hard); 8-10 (elite) for the first chain (Grey Moon) and 8-10 (normal); 9-11 (hard); 9-13 (elite) for Co6.
Rating: 7.5/10


Devil Assault - 150 points
Description: A small but long quest set in one room only, where you fight off a lot of foes trying to enter Stormreach through portals. This quest has non-standard difficulty settings - on Normal it's a (very tough for its level) level 6 quest, on Hard it's level 12 (again, tough for that level) and on Elite, it's level 18 (fairly easy for its level). If your party wipes in there, you have to restart, you cannot just recall and reenter the fray.
Fun factor: The quest goes a little too long to remain fun all the time, plus the early fights are very easy - any groups strong enough to beat the quest will be bored in the first few waves.
Rewards (XP/loot): Average to good XP, about 40% which is awarded if you wipe close to the end and fail. Poor loot.
Best feature: It's a quest you can run once at low level, once at medium and once at high.
Worst feature: Lack of variety.
Ease of getting a group: Very hard on Normal and Hard, not too bad on Elite at the moment as VIPs tend to want the favor. This will dry up as more players achieve their 2500 to unlock Favored Soul.
Overall: Not recommended unless you love solo play and want to hone your soloing skills - soloing this on Elite will certainly help you develop those. If that's you, buy this at or after level 16.
Recommended level range: 7-8 (normal); 13-15 (hard); 16-19 (elite)
Rating: 4/10, goes up to 7 if you are an avid soloist.


Delera’s Tomb - 750 points
Description: A series of four undead-themed quests where you investigate mysterious disappearances from a graveyard, then take the fight to the necromancer responsible. Lots of traps, lots of skeletons to kill, plus a tense atmosphere. This adventure pack also currently unlocks some other quests as well - two level 11 quests (one long and tough, one short and easy) and a level 6 one plus a level 8 2-quest chain- it's unclear whether these are meant to be part of the adventure pack or free.
Fun factor: Fun for the first ten or so times. There is a LOT to explore in one of these quests if you want to do so. Note that I'm personally burned out on this chain as I've run it so often, so I don't enjoy it much, but most people do.
Rewards (XP/loot): Excellent XP, truly stellar loot, so much so that most players will want to run this chain five or more times on each new character. The Voice of the Master (an end reward with a 100% drop rate) is something you'll not take off until you hit level 20 (it grants +5% to ALL quest XP whilst still having useful stats). The Golden Cartouche is another item that 50% of characters will want, and that isn't surpassed until you get certain rare raid items.
Best feature: The XP and loot.
Worst feature: Some of the foes are dull to fight - Skeleton Archers in particular.
Ease of getting a group: Very easy. Every VIP runs this a LOT unless, like me, they've run it 100+ times and are getting a tad burned out on it.
Overall: Recommended unless you are on a tight budget. Highly recommended if you prefer high-level play to low-level - this chain will get you there faster. Buy this immediately upon hitting level 5, or just before (the Voice of the Master requires level 5 to wear).
Recommended level range: 5-8 (normal); 5-8 (hard); 8-10 (elite)
Rating: 8/10


Sharn Syndicate - 350 points
Description: Several short quests in the Marketplace with goals that aren't just the standard 'storm XXX dungeon and slay XXX'. All of these involve combating the Sharn Syndicate criminal gang.
Fun factor: Finally got around to playing this (solo on Normal difficulty on my level 5 bard), and had a blast. The quests are all highly unique; who hasn't wanted to rob a bank in DDO? In addition, the quests look to reward smart play and teamwork on Elite.
Rewards (XP/loot): XP seems between mediocre and good (individual quest XP is low, but the quests can be done quickly). Loot provides excellent lowbie weapons that are quickly outlevelled but are as good as some of the better twink weapons in the game when you first earn them, plus some of the best stuff is bound to account, so VIPs (or F2Pers that shell out for the account bank) will be able to share them around.
Best feature: Eight trapped art objects, that you can perform a series of tasks to 'study' the traps. It's only an optional, but it's cool.
Worst feature: Competes with a lot of other quests at its level.
Ease of getting a group: Presently easy (lots of VIPs running their Favored Souls through it); this may change.
Overall: Excellent quests, but may be too short to be worth your money. If you are playing on a tight budget pass this one up; otherwise buy it.
Recommended level range: 3-5 (normal); 4-6 (hard); 5-8 (elite)
Rating: 8/10


Sentinels of Stormreach - 450 points
Description: Several medium-length quests in House Deneith or the Searing Heights, that revolve around trying to stop a necromancer from establishing a pirate army. Also available on Epic difficulty.
Fun factor: Pretty good, although one of the quests is very much like The Pit, requiring precision jumping, trap dodging and little fighting.
Rewards (XP/loot): XP is pretty mediocre. Pretty solid loot (once you upgrade it) for the level range, but the rewards for Epics are very lackluster indeed (no Epic tokens, no worthwhile Epic items).
Best feature: Choosing where to begin the 'assault a pirate fort' quest.
Worst feature: Competes with a lot of other quests at its level. Downright poor loot on Epic despite not being easy to complete.
Ease of getting a group: Can be a tad hard - few lowbies own the pack, noone runs it on Epic more than once now.
Overall: Cool quests, but just not enough in-game rewards to expect that you'll be running them much.
Recommended level range: 7-9 (normal); 9-12 (hard); 10-13(elite); 20 and partially Shroud-geared (epic)
Rating: 8/10
Next post: The level 8+ packs.

[sirgog]

Mid and High level packs


The Ruins of Threnal - 550 points
This quest has changed since I last ran it. My advice here is based on my experiences with old Threnal.
Youtube video ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SUjvxbvbtM
Description: About ten quests set in three or four large dungeons involving a series of attacks on House Deneith and House Kundarak interests at an archaeological site.
Fun factor: Great the first few times, but quest difficulties vary enormously within the chain - some quests are so easy as to be trivial; others are tough indeed. One particularly annoying quest was difficult to beat on Elite even with capped characters, but this has since been changed. Apparently that quest remains frustrating, but not obnoxiously so.
Rewards (XP/loot): XP varies from poor for some quests to great for others. Loot is nice for its level, but quickly surpassed, although if you don't have the Voice of the Master from Delara's Tomb, there's a similar item here to replace it (the XP boost does not stack with the Voice, but if you have both you get a useful set bonus)
Best feature: Flesh Renders. They are cool foes.
Worst feature: Oozes, and the complicated quest chain system here.
Ease of getting a group: Not hard in peak times, can be very tough in off-peak. Groups seldom do the whole chain at once, and completing from half-way is awkward to get a group for.
Overall: Not really recommended, but not an 'avoid at all costs' either. Don't buy if you are on a tight budget, consider it if you are a player that mostly plays weekends when you can find a group easily enough to enjoy these.
Recommended level range: 7-10 (normal); 9-11 (hard); 9-13 (elite)
Rating: 7/10


The Vault of Night - 800 points
Description: A chain of six and a half quests, culminating in a raid where you enter House Kundarak's vault and battle Velah, a red dragon. The quests are extremely varied, very tough for their levels, and mostly long. Once you complete the Velah battle (usually referred to as VON6, for Vault of Night part 6), you cannot reenter VON5 until you wait 66 hours. These quests can all be played on Epic difficulty once you are level 20.
Fun factor: These quests are a blast to play at level 10 or so in a good group.
Rewards (XP/loot): The XP is good to great if you are in a group of good players that can beat these tough quests. If in a weak group, the XP is poor as you will take a long time indeed to beat VON3, if you are even capable of doing so at all. The loot from VON6 is amazing at the level you first acquire it, and even now - before all the epic items are known - there's a number of new best items available here.
Best feature: Looking down on Stormreach from the House K vault in the sky in VON6, the best graphics in the game.
Worst feature: VON6 is easy to fail due to minor mistakes (a player moving too far forward at the wrong time, for instance). Failing VON6 requires you to repeat the very, very, very long VON5.
Ease of getting a group: Should be better now that reflagging is no longer required.
Overall: Worth buying if you have level 20 characters. Worth considering for lower level characters but by no means required.
**edit: This pack was changed significantly with Update 3. The pack was made more PUG-friendly with changes to VON2 and also the irritating reflagging mechanism has been removed.**
Recommended level range: 10-13 (normal); 10-14 (hard); 11-19 (elite - 15-19 characters will only be running VON5-6 here); 20 epic. Be warned that VON3 is tough even at the upper ends of this level range.
Rating: 8.5/10


The Ruins of Gianthold - 995 points
Description: A huge pack, containing ten quests, one raid and an explorer area. The quests are highly varied (although they share a few things in common).
Fun factor: These quests are (mostly) awesome. The Crucible is one of the most interesting quests in the game (allow three hours to run it if it is everyone in the group's first attempt and you don't use spoilers, once you know what you are doing, you can get that down to twenty minutes). Gianthold Tor just feels 'epic', and has the best fights against dragons in the game.
Rewards (XP/loot): XP here used to be incredible, now it's mediocre. There's quite a bit of loot here (mostly in the raid) that is currently the best in the game, especially the Madstone Boots, which are a very powerful melee item.
Best feature: The number and variety of quests.
Worst feature: The price. It's worth it however, trust me - it's the same price as a cinema ticket. Oh, and the air elementals - the raid has about 23 of them, and even after the recent nerfs to air elementals, fighting them is about as much fun as cutting yourself with a rusty razor.
Ease of getting a group: Very easy - there's pretty much always level 11-15 people questing and level 12-20 characters raiding or killing dragons here.
Overall: The second best adventure pack, very much worth your money.[/color]
Recommended level range: 12-14 (normal); 13-16 (hard); 14-18 (elite). Note that some quests (in particular Trial by Fire) are easier than this, others (the dragons in Gianthold Tor) are tougher.
Rating: 9.5/10


The Necropolis part 2 - 350 points
Description: We go from a shining star to a steaming turd. This consists of five quests, choc full of incorporeal undead that are even less fun to fight than air elementals.
Fun factor: Non-existant, except for the final quest, The Shadow Crypt, which has an interesting puzzle. (At least I like it)
Rewards (XP/loot): XP is mediocre for the four prequests and good for The Shadow Crypt. In an experienced group, the XP for The Shadow Crypt is stellar; I've run groups that have got 25000 XP in under fifteen minutes in there, but I know the maze/puzzle backwards as I use that quest to powerlevel often. Loot is poor except for two items, of which one can also be obtained in Necropolis 3, favor is Silver Flame favor again, so not important for 99% of characters.
Best feature: Once you've done the quests on elite, you never, ever need to go back there.
Worst features: Incorporeal undead everywhere, endless boring swimming, fights that are ridiculously difficult unless you have an arcane caster with Firewall, I could go on and on.
Ease of getting a group: Not counting elite 'once only for favor' runs, I've seen LFMs (looking for more postings) up for these quests about once every three months back when everyone had access to them.
Overall: DO NOT BUY! Under no circumstances should this be purchased, except maybe by former VIPs that know The Shadow Crypt backwards and want to powerlevel with it.
Recommended level range: 8-10 (normal or hard), 8+ (elite favor runs)
Rating: 1/10


The Necropolis part 3 - 350 points
Description: Another five undead quests in the Necropolis. These quests are tougher than their level indicates, with the exception of The Cursed Crypt.
Fun factor: Really varied here. Tomb of the Tormented is an infamous quest - it's a lot of fun for the first half of your first run, then it is just dull. This quest has quite a reputation, and is probably the most hated quest in the game. The other three level 11 quests are far, far tougher than their level indicates and not all that much fun, but The Cursed Crypt makes up for that and is one of my favorite quests in the game even though I have run it more than one hundred times.
Rewards (XP/loot): Poor to average for the four level 11 quests. XP for The Cursed Crypt is good, and the loot is stellar - there's a powerful binds-on-acquire necklace you can get after three completions (this can also be obtained, with much more difficulty, from Necropolis 4's Black Abbot raid), and there are two of the most sought-after unbound named items in the game, the Scourge Choker and the Docent of Defiance, plus Jinx's Vexation, a good mid-level armor set. The named items have extremely low drop rates, but the big two will fetch around two million platinum each in trades. Even with a 1% drop rate, that's still an average of 40k PP per run, making this the second best loot run in the game (second only to the Shroud raid)
Best feature: The Cursed Crypt is a fantastic quest with three vampire fights that are a lot of fun and require tactical play.
Worst feature: Rats in a maze (shudders).
Ease of getting a group: For the Cursed Crypt - not too hard. For the other four, near to impossible.
Overall: Like the Catacombs, I'm not going to recommend this, but it's not a purchase you'll regret like Necro 2 is.
Recommended level range: 11-14 (normal); 12-14 (hard); 12-16 (elite) (quests are harder than their level indicates)
Rating: 6.5/10


The Restless Isles - 600 points
Description: This pack contains two very long quests and one two-part raid plus an explorer area (note - this raid is currently locked due to technical issues). The quests are interesting but there's little incentive to run them more than once or twice each. The first part of the raid is an enormous puzzle, which requires significant teamwork to solve and is unlike anything else I've ever seen or heard of in any MMO. The second part is a battle against a reasonably mean Warforged Titan raid boss, which requires precision play and tactics rather than brute force, but really only requires a couple of people with everyone other than two or three key people nothing other than spectators.
Fun factor: I personally didn't find this content all that much fun - your results may vary.
Rewards (XP/loot): Mediocre to bad XP. Although the first part of the raid pays out more XP than almost any other quest in the game, very few groups can beat it in under an hour (many take two), and few players of appropriate level are flagged for it. The loot, on the other hand, is stellar, including the Chattering Ring and the Seven-Fingered Gloves, which are both extremely powerful items that are not currently surpassed by any other items, and the Belt of Brute Strength, which is also extremely powerful and is hard to replace. There's also some exceptional unbound items, including the Royal Guard Mask and the Ring of the Ancestors. Sadly, these items are all extremely rare.
Best feature: The loot.
Worst feature: Waiting around in part 1 of the raid when your subgroup has completed its puzzles but other subgroups haven't and aren't sure what to do - you can be stuck for half an hour sometimes.
Ease of getting a group: Level appropriate groups are extremely hard to fill, high-level (no XP) groups are not too hard to fill.
Overall: Only worth buying for the raid loot.
Recommended level range: 9-11 (normal); 11-14 (hard); 13+ (elite), these quests can be pretty mean on Elite with level-appropriate characters.
Rating: 6.5/10


The Demon Sands - 850 points
YouTube video ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMVZtQsoC_0
Edit: This got a major boost with the recent release of Mod 10. The addition of the Epic difficulty has a lot of people (myself included) loving the Desert content again - I've been running this content on normal/hard on my 14th level bard; on elite on my Sor17, and on Epic on my Clr18/Ftr2. There's a lot more people playing it too.
Description: This is a huge pack, almost the size of Gianthold, with about eight quests plus a raid. The quests are varied, long, fun and rewarding, and there's also an enormous explorer area.
Fun factor: Pretty good here. There's a lot to explore (particularly in the Chains of Flame and Tomb of the Wizard King quests).
Rewards (XP/loot): XP varies from mediocre to excellent. Tomb of the Wizard King offers about twenty thousand XP for a full clear on normal done at level 14 (this is a BIG change for people that played pre-Mod 9). Loot in the quests is mediocre, loot in the raid is excellent, loot on Epic difficulty is finally starting to surpass Shroud items.
Best feature: The quest "Against the Demon Queen", the last quest required to flag for the raid. Great story concept, great quest. If you hadn't noticed, the whole dungeon is in the shape of a marilith. Epic difficulty is the game's premier endgame challenge now.
Worst feature: The size of the explorer area makes for some loooooong runs to get to the real quests.
Ease of getting a group: Massively improved with Mod 10 - veteran players and new players alike are heading there in numbers now. Running the raid is the only real exception.
Overall: Bumped up a bit - I'm now strongly recommending this pack, where prior to the breath of fresh air it got in Mod 10 it was an 8.5 out of 10, it's now a great buy that you'll have fun in from level 10 to 15, then return to at 20 and have a blast.
Recommended level range: 10-14 (normal); 12-15 (hard); 13-17 (elite); 20 (epic, suitable only for geared and experienced players)
Rating: 9.5/10


Necropolis part 4 - 850 points
Description: Finally, a bunch of quests in the Necropolis that's not packed full of stinkers! This unlocks five quests and a raid, plus the best explorer area in the game (the Orchard of the Macabre). Although all undead-themed, the quests are highly varied - there's a maze (Inferno of the Damned, really fun quest if you have a patient group that's never seen it before), a straightforward hack-and-slash (Desecrated Temple of Vol), possibly the best non-raid boss fight in the game (Cholthuzz, the boss of Ghosts of Perdition), and some truly unique and memorable encounters in Litany of the Dead.
Fun factor: I really liked this content - personally I prefer it to Gianthold, although I'm in a small minority there. However, be warned: the Abbot raid is tough, and not in particularly fun ways - parts of it require flawless execution, and a small lagspike at the wrong time can cause a group to fail the raid.
Rewards (XP/loot): XP is good but not great. The Black Abbot raid has some nice loot, but the most significant item of loot comes from the Orchard of the Macabre explorer area - if you collect twenty Shreds of Tapestry from rare encounter chests out there (they have a high drop rate, about 65%), you can turn them in for one of the game's best helmets, Minos Legens.
Best feature: There's a lot of good stuff here, but I'd go with the feeling of satisfaction you get when you finally solve the maze of Inferno of the Damned.
Worst feature: In this entire pack, melee classes are quite weak and will feel (correctly) that their party doesn't really need them. The Abbot raid is an exception - here they are weak but useful. In particular, Rogues will feel terribly weak.
Ease of getting a group: Reasonable.
Overall: Recommended. This isn't an essential purchase like the Vale of Twilight, but it's still a great pack.
Recommended level range: 14-16 (normal); 15-17 (hard); 16-18 (elite) for the quests, 18+ for the raid
Rating: 8.5/10


The Vale of Twilight - 700 points
Description: Contains five quests, a standard wilderness area, a raid group wilderness area (the only one in the game), and three raids, including the most important raid in the game, The Shroud. The quests and raids centre around attacks on Eberron by the devil armies of Shavarrath and their cultists.
Fun factor: Except for one terrible quest (Coalescence Chamber), these quests are a lot of fun, and the Shroud remains entertaining even after dozens of completions. One part of it is designed to hardly ever play the same way twice, as there's a semi-random selection of key minibosses.
Rewards (XP/loot): The XP is average to good, but it's the loot crafted in the Shroud that is stellar. In the Shroud you will find the best weapons in the game by a long way, plus many other items - most characters will be able to quickly craft an item (such as a Great Commander Goggles of Existential Stalemate) that's a big upgrade on what they previously had, then you can make it even better after you've run the Shroud a couple of dozen times and amassed the precious Large Ingredients. In addition, the Shroud is the game's best lootrun - on average a successful completion will net 70k PP worth of ingredients (¼ Large Scales plus ¼ Large Stones plus garbage) plus about 15k PP worth of vendor trash. The other raids have worthwhile items too - in particular Tharne's Goggles are an item in the Vision of Destruction raid that pretty much every melee character will want, and the Subterrane wilderness offers the Icy Raiments, the best armor in the game for many high Dexterity builds.
Best feature: The Shroud, parts 2 and 4 - intense, exciting battles. I personally love the Vision of Destruction raid too.
Worst feature: Part 1 of The Shroud. It's incredibly easy (even on Elite) and dull, monotonous and long.
Ease of getting a group: Very easy for everything except Coalescence Chamber and Vision of Destruction. Medium for Coalescence Chamber, VoD can be hard to fill a group for as few clerics want to run it.
Overall: A must-have.
Recommended level range: 14-17 (normal); 16-18 (hard); 16-20 (elite) for the quests; 17+ for all three raids on Normal and Hard, 20 for all three raids on Elite.
Rating: 9.5/10


Reaver’s Reach - 350 points
Description: Four quests and four small explorer areas where you team up with your former nemesis the Stormreaver and try to prevent another former nemesis, Sor'jek Incanni, now a lich, from creating a cluster of powerful undead dragons. The quests are varied, with Monastery of the Scorpion being a puzzle and trap themed dungeon crawl, Enter the Kobold being all about one deadly last fight, Prey on the Hunter being a unique race against time where you must save an evil dragon (one you might recognize from Korthos Island) from being captured and turned into a draco-lich, and Stealer of Souls being a different type of race against time, where you must disrupt a ritual within an hour, then take out Sor'jek himself.
Fun factor: These quests are reasonably good quests, but the frustrating loot and flagging systems really undermine this.
Rewards (XP/loot): XP is good. The loot is excellent and (for most characters) the best body armor in the game comes from here. However, it uses an incredibly frustrating random crafting system that is pretty much not fun at all.
Best feature: The Stealer of Souls (SoS) quest is a blast, when you are flagged for it. Be warned - it's tough even on normal. Elite is brutal indeed.
Worst feature: Every time you want to run SoS, you must repeat one or more of the three flagging quests. This reflagging is extremely frustrating, particularly when you only want loot from SoS (Sovereign Runes) and don't care about the Tempest Runes and Eldritch Runes from the pre-quests. Plus, the number of the Sovereign Runes you need to grind is random - some people get their perfect crafted armor in three runs, some haven't got it after seventy.
Ease of getting a group: Currently groups here are slow to fill, I expect this may change over time.
Overall: An excellent pack that is utterly ruined by two terrible mistakes - the 'lottery' system for crafting, and the reflagging for Stealer of Souls. Probably still worth buying, but it's the last of the endgame content you should buy (get Devils of Shavarrath, Necro 4 and Vale of Twilight first, then consider this pack).
Recommended level range: 16-20 (normal); 18-20 (hard); 20, geared and experienced players (elite)
Rating: 8/10


The Path of Inspiration - 495 points
Description: Five medium to long quests that pit you against a quori infiltration of Stormreach. These see you fighting a wide variety of foes inside the realm of nightmares, in some of the more unique and interesting quests in the game. All of them are solo-friendly, although the loot mechanics savagely punish soloing the Mindsunder quest.
Fun factor: Good stuff here. The quests are varied, have interesting battles, and a really unique feel. Two minor gripes - first, the loot mechanics of the Mindsunder's bonus chest are unforgiving, and disadvantage groups of less than six. Secondly, these quests are all a bit too easy for their levels.
Rewards (XP/loot): XP is mediocre to good. The loot is pretty incredible, as you can loot a lot of chests fast in here, and also there's the Mindsunder named items too.
Best feature: Some of the hidden easter eggs in I Dream of Jeets are just amazing. Who hasn't wanted to literally save someone's bacon or kill the skeleton in their closet?
Worst feature: Again, the anti-soloing loot system.
Ease of getting a group: Easy.
Overall: Recommended purchase, but not at the top of the list.
Recommended level range: 16-18 (normal); 17-19 (hard); 18-20 (elite)
Rating: 8.5/10


The Dreaming Dark - 495 points
Description: Five medium to long quests that (like the last pack) pit you against a quori infiltration of Stormreach. Again very solo-friendly (one quest is solo-only).
Fun factor: Quite similar quests to the Path of Inspiration chain. Getting any of the loot here requires a pretty enormous grindfest. I'm not a huge fan of this content, and have run everything only once or twice. Also, (with the partial exception of the final quest) these quests are easy - I soloed all of them except the final one on Hard on my first try, and never came close to dying.
Rewards (XP/loot): XP is good. Loot is somewhat lacking except for the Xaochasian Eardweller (which has its own problems, see below) - you can otherwise only upgrade Mindsunder items, and the upgraded versions are often just weird and unimpressive. Plus, it's one heck of a grind to upgrade them.
Best feature: The XP.
Worst feature: The drop rate on the Xaochasian Eardweller - it has a 3% drop rate on Elite (1.5% hard), and only one drops for the whole party (in the open, so unscrupulous players can ninja-loot it). Yet it's so overpowered it's pretty much a must-have for all spellcasters - which leads lots of players to spend an enormous amount of time soloing Elite Eye of the Titan over and over.
Ease of getting a group: Reasonable, if you want to (Eye of the Titan rewards soloing it on Elite, recalling for SP over and over).
Overall: One of the lowest priority packs.
Recommended level range: 16-18 (normal); 17-19 (hard); 18-20 (elite)
Rating: 6.5/10


The Devils of Shavarath - 650 points
Edit: Changed to reflect that it is no longer the top endgame content. If you have a level 20 character, read the notes on the Demon Sands above.
Description: Four long quests, two short ones, and a raid, plus the town of Amrath (which is IMO the best town in the game) and an explorer area.
Fun factor: There's some excellent quests here. A New Invasion rewards groups that work as a cohesive team, particularly in the last fight. Sins of Attrition is a long battle of attrition that can be done in many ways, and also lets you choose which one of six bosses you will fight. Bastion of Power and Genesis Point are slightly more complex quests, with interesting things you can do in them. The two short quests (Wrath of the Flame and Weapons Shipment) are a nice change of pace - letting you run some quests here even when very short on time. The Tower of Despair raid is an excellent raid and a real challenge, particularly on Elite.
Rewards (XP/loot): XP is poor to mediocre (Exception: Clerics/Favored Souls will find Sins of Attrition soloing to be excellent XP - 11k in ten minutes for a first run and not too hard if you know the quest). Loot is stellar, pretty much every character will have major upgrades out here.
Best feature: The multiple endings of quests - several quests play completely differently depending upon how you approach them.
Worst feature: Opposite of Necropolis 4 - Arcane casters feel weak and like they are a burden on groups. The best players piloting arcane casters do pull their weight, but the insane saves on foes restrict what they can do.
Ease of getting a group: There's a lot of groups for this content. However, many people prefer to solo/duo the quests on Normal due to dungeon scaling (Sins of Attrition in particular is notoriously easy for a cleric to solo)
Overall: High recommendation. Fun quests, and gets you ready for the new endgame of Epic Demon Sands.
Recommended level range: 17-20 (normal); 19-20 (hard); 20 (elite)
Rating: 9/10



Overall:
I recommend buying the following packs:

If you are on a tight budget:
Delara's Tomb OR Tangleroot Gorge (one or the other, don't grab both, Delara's will get you to level 20 faster but IMO TR is more fun)
Demon Sands OR Gianthold
Vale of Twilight
Devils of Shavarath OR Reaver's Reach

You can quite reasonably buy these packs one per fortnight if a semi-frequent player, or once per month if an occasional player, keeping costs down.


If you are on a medium budget:
Both Delara's and Tangleroot
STK
Sorrowdusk
Demon Sands
Necro 4
Reaver's Reach

One per fortnight or so is recommended here.

If you are on a budget that isn't really constrained much:
Buy all save Necro 1 and 2, Devil Assault, Threnal and the VONs. Or go VIP.

[sirgog]

Here's a useful list of total available favor per pack. Note: I've put a single asterisk (*) next to packs where it is moderately challenging to achieve maximum possible favor, a double asterisk (**) next to packs where it is difficult to attain maximum favor, and a triple asterisk (***) for the hardest of the hard. In the event that Epic difficulty is changed to grant additional favor (presently it does not), the Demon Sands will become a four-star difficulty.

These are in descending order of favor attainable per Turbine Point spend to purchase the pack.

The Vale of Twilight: 207** favor, 700 TP, 0.3 favor per TP
Sorrowdusk Island: 117 favor, 400 TP, 0.29 F/TP
Reaver's Reach: 96*** favor, 350 TP, 0.27
Necropolis 3: 93* favor, 350 TP, 0.27
Catacombs: 66 favor, 250 TP, 0.26
Demon Sands: 216 favor, 850 TP, 0.25
Necropolis 1: 60 favor, 250 TP, 0.24
Necropolis 2: 81 favor, 350 TP, 0.23
Devils of Shararath: 147*** favor, 650 TP, 0.23
The Ruins of Gianthold: 216 favor, 995 TP, 0.22
The Ruins of Threnal: 108 favor, 550 TP, 0.20
Shan-to-Kar: 48 favor, 250 TP, 0.19
The Path of Inspiration: 90* favor (please someone check this), 495 TP, 0.18
Tangleroot Gorge: 99 favor, 550 TP, 0.18
Delara's Tomb: 129* favor, 750 TP, 0.17 (* is for the level 11 Lich Tower quest)
The Restless Isles: 99* favor, 600 TP, 0.17 (* more because it's hard to get a group for elite Twilight Forge)
The Vault of Night - 126 favor, 800 TP, 0.16
Three Barrel Cove - 99 favor, 650 TP, 0.15
Necropolis 4 - 117*** favor, 850 TP, 0.14
Sharn Syndicate - 36 favor, 350 TP, 0.1

More stuff will follow if needed.

[Faelyndel]

I think I speak for everyone when I say Thank You for this Your post has been most informative. I look forward to seeing additions and having a better idea of what adventure packs I'd be best off buying.

[sirgog]

I think that's all of them, if I'm missing an adventure pack, please let me know and I'll add it.

Can a F2P player please check - is the Subterrane (includes the raids Hound of Xoriat and A Vision of Destruction) free to play, part of a different adventure pack, or its own adventure pack? It's not listed in RoBi3.0's list of packs, but I have a sneaking suspicion it isn't F2P. If it's a pack, please let me know its price (I cannot check; VIPs cannot see the packs in the store).

Edit: Confirmed to be part of Vale of Twilight.

[Tinrae]

Originally Posted by sirgog

Can a F2P player please check - is the Subterrane (includes the raids Hound of Xoriat and A Vision of Destruction) free to play, part of a different adventure pack, or its own adventure pack? It's not listed in RoBi3.0's list of packs, but I have a sneaking suspicion it isn't F2P. If it's a pack, please let me know its price (I cannot check; VIPs cannot see the packs in the store).

I've verified that Subterrane is NOT available in store. (Unless it just doesn't pop up for my level 4 character to purchase for some reason.)

....even though it appears on DDO's website here: http://www.ddo.com/ddogameinfo/adventure-packs.

Very confusing.

[Borror0]

You should encourage other users to post their own reviews of an adventure pack in the thread. Also, put a link in your sig.

I was going to start one of those, but I have been postponing writing it.

[Junts]

Arcane casters who feel useless in Amrath aren't playing properly; my sorceror's soloed every rare in the explorer area with ease and consistently dominates quests he's present in; further, 2 or 3 good casters is pretty essential to run the raid smoothly.

While casters do not dominate the quests the way they do in Necropolis quests, properly equipped ones are just as effective as they were in other areas, though on elite they will probably want to stick to crowd control.

I think a fair thing to include regarding the module 9 content is that freshly 16-17 characters who have not run previous raids a fair bit are likely to find the quests very challenging; a character who is still challenged by Vale or Reaver's Reach quests will probably be torn up or feel useless in Amrath, as the jump in mob difficulty is significant.

[Angelus_dead]

Originally Posted by sirgog

The Catacombs - 250 points
Awards Silver Flame favor, which is not very important except for Barbarians that like to solo - if that's you, you'll need to buy all the Necropolis chains and beat everything on Elite except for the Black Abbot if you want the Silver Flame healing potions that solo Barbs love.

Mod9 includes new sources of Silver Flame favor, loosening the acquisition a little... plus you can actually expect to kill Abbot.

[Borror0]

I think you would increase the readability of your guide by putting some text in bold, hyperlinks and maybe indent some of it, like this:

Originally Posted by sirgog

The Ruins of Threnal - 550 points

This quest has changed since I last ran it. My advice here is based on my experiences with old Threnal.

Description: About ten quests set in three or four large dungeons involving a series of attacks on House Deneith and House Kundarak interests at an archaeological site.
Fun factor: Great the first few times, but quest difficulties vary enormously within the chain - some quests are so easy as to be trivial; others are tough indeed. One particularly annoying quest was difficult to beat on Elite even with capped characters, but this has since been changed. Apparently that quest remains frustrating, but not obnoxiously so.
Rewards (XP/loot): XP varies from poor for some quests to great for others. Loot is nice for its level, but quickly surpassed, although if you don't have the Voice of the Master from Delara's Tomb, there's a similar item here to replace it (the XP boost does not stack with the Voice, but if you have both you get a useful set bonus)
Best feature: Flesh Renders. They are cool foes.
Worst feature: Oozes, and the complicated quest chain system here.
Ease of getting a group: Not hard in peak times, can be very tough in off-peak. Groups seldom do the whole chain at once, and completing from half-way is awkward to get a group for.
Overall: Not really recommended, but not an 'avoid at all costs' either. Don't buy if you are on a tight budget, consider it if you are a player that mostly plays weekends when you can find a group easily enough to enjoy these. Should you choose to buy it, do so at level 7 or 8.

PS: You should mention that it's narrated by Dave Arneson.

[Junts]

Originally Posted by Angelus_dead

Mod9 includes new sources of Silver Flame favor, loosening the acquisition a little... plus you can actually expect to kill Abbot.

Wrath of Flame and Weapons Shipment are now favor with The Twelve, bringing the total Twelve favor available to 243.

[7-day_Trial_Monkey]

Arcanes have more of a niche use in The Devils of Shavarath quests. It's great to have displacement up in those quests, more so than previously in the game.

Also, Otto Irresistable dance turns extremely difficult elite runs into fun times. And with shrines near the entrances, running them on norm and have dd to a reset shrine is very nice to have.

[sirgog]

Originally Posted by Borror0

You should encourage other users to post their own reviews of an adventure pack in the thread. Also, put a link in your sig.

I was going to start one of those, but I have been postponing writing it.

Done.

[Arianrhod]

Originally Posted by sirgog

Sharn Syndicate - 350 points
I've heard good things about this chain but am yet to play it; might go and make a group for it on my level 4 bard soon.
Description: Will fill later
Fun factor: Will fill later
Rewards (XP/loot): Will fill later
Best feature: Will fill later
Worst feature: Will fill later
Ease of getting a group: Presently easy (lots of VIPs running their Favored Souls through it); this may change.
Overall: Will fill later

Very well done set of reviews, thank you for going to the trouble
In spite of a very different perspective (mostly play in static duos/trios and have never had enough interest in "endgame" to even get a character leveled past 13 in 3 years, never run a raid other than Tempest Spine), I can't find much to disagree with.

Here's my take on Sharn Syndicate:
Description: A fun & varied series of quests in the market that awards useful Coin Lord favor (for folks who might not have gotten that 4th pack page yet). Includes a relatively dull protection quest, a fairly standard explore-the-building and kill-the-bad-guys quest, an after-hours trip to the bank, an interesting rescue (this from someone who normally hates escort quests, BTW), a trip through an attractively furnished mansion, and (AFAIK) the only quest in the game with an escape-over-the-rooftops component (very cool, if a bit long and kind of lethal at level).
Fun Factor: I liked it a lot, but then I like low-level stuff
Rewards: Decent XP, some very nice weapons for the level (+1, 1d6 elemental damage, and another bonus like Deception or Impact, all min level 2)
Best Feature: Finally something decent to do in the Market other than Shan-to Kor
Worst Feature: Guarding the brothers, a few annoying bugs (like an unopenable door), crystals with a bazillion hitpoints
Ease of Getting a group: no idea, since I stick to static groups, but it's right in plain view in the Market, so probably not too tough
Overall: Very nice series, not too resource-intensive for new players, but still challenging & rewarding if they're not twinked to the gills

[Angelus_dead]

Originally Posted by sirgog

Sharn Syndicate - 350 points
Worst feature: Will fill later

The worst feature is the length. Of 6 quests, one is medium, one is short, and four are Very Short. Most of the quests are hardly 5 minutes long.

[Tinrae]

Originally Posted by Arianrhod

Here's my take on Sharn Syndicate:
Description: A fun & varied series of quests in the market that awards useful Coin Lord favor (for folks who might not have gotten that 4th pack page yet). Includes a relatively dull protection quest, a fairly standard explore-the-building and kill-the-bad-guys quest, an after-hours trip to the bank, an interesting rescue (this from someone who normally hates escort quests, BTW), a trip through an attractively furnished mansion, and (AFAIK) the only quest in the game with an escape-over-the-rooftops component (very cool, if a bit long and kind of lethal at level).
Fun Factor: I liked it a lot, but then I like low-level stuff
Rewards: Decent XP, some very nice weapons for the level (+1, 1d6 elemental damage, and another bonus like Deception or Impact, all min level 2)
Best Feature: Finally something decent to do in the Market other than Shan-to Kor
Worst Feature: Guarding the brothers, a few annoying bugs (like an unopenable door), crystals with a bazillion hitpoints
Ease of Getting a group: no idea, since I stick to static groups, but it's right in plain view in the Market, so probably not too tough
Overall: Very nice series, not too resource-intensive for new players, but still challenging & rewarding if they're not twinked to the gills

I just finished this one last night as a new player duo. (Please keep in mind that I'm a new player so I'm still on the learning curve here!)

-Some of the quests were VERY difficult even on solo mode for me as a level 4 cleric. The bank quest was extremely tedious when I did that solo and I seriously doubt that any new player doing this at-level without decent healing capacities could have done it solo. I was knocked down constantly by the mobs while chipping away at the crystals which took forever. The bookbinder one was also very bothersome without CC abilities as you get mobbed right away. As a duo though, everything was possible to finish at level much easier.

-The last quest in the Tenements was very fun! We did wipe several times though - one boss mob in particular was absolutely brutal and one-shotted almost the whole party. Be *very* careful and not rush head first in if you're new, because it hurts...lol.

-Got some great upgrades from the quests, some +2 gear and other neat items. Well worth it for the loot if you're new and poor!

-Got my first rank of Coin Lord favor from this series, which rewarded me with another inventory bag slot.

[Borror0]

Originally Posted by Tinrae

-Some of the quests were VERY difficult even on solo mode for me as a level 4 cleric. The bank quest was extremely tedious when I did that solo and I seriously doubt that any new player doing this at-level without decent healing capacities could have done it solo. I was knocked down constantly by the mobs while chipping away at the crystals which took forever. The bookbinder one was also very bothersome without CC abilities as you get mobbed right away. As a duo though, everything was possible to finish at level much easier.

Weird. When I did it, I didn't find it hard. Probably even too easy. I did, however, find beating on the crystal to be long and extremely boring.

I was on a level 3 ranger/1 rogue, if that can help for comparison.

[Tinrae]

Originally Posted by Borror0

Weird. When I did it, I didn't find it hard. Probably even too easy. I did, however, find beating on the crystal to be long and extremely boring.

I was on a level 3 ranger/1 rogue, if that can help for comparison.

Hence the disclaimer "new player" on the top.

I'm sure you have a much better grasp on game mechanics than I do as a non-DnD player to start with!

Actually, I agree the bank quest wasn't difficult per se as much as very tedious to the point that I wouldn't do it again solo because it takes too long. The bookbinder one was more difficult with the mobs ganging up on you even on Solo mode, and traps that I could not disable.

[Borror0]

Originally Posted by Tinrae

Hence the disclaimer "new player" on the top.

I know but I try to account for that fact when I evaluate a quest's difficulty.

Originally Posted by Tinrae

The bookbinder one was more difficult with the mobs ganging up on you even on Solo mode, and traps that I could not disable.

Is that the one where you can enter either from the roof or the front door?

I remember that one of them was horribly hard to solo compared to the other. I got torn into shreds my first time in because I got ganged by the mobs. The amount of damage I was taking was too much for my twinked dwarf ranger to handled. I had to be more careful in there my second time in to actually complete it.

[Tinrae]

Originally Posted by Borror0

I know but I try to account for that fact when I evaluate a quest's difficulty.

For a comparison of my noobness: I just recently found out that Spell Failure on armor does not apply to Cleric spells. I was running around in light/medium for a long time because nothing said there was a difference on what Spells that actually affects....

I really do not think my boyfriend could have solo'd it on his rog/wiz as a new player (and also a non-DnD player).

Originally Posted by Borror0

Is that the one where you can enter either from the roof or the front door?

I remember that one of them was horribly hard to solo compared to the other. I got torn into shreds my first time in because I got ganged by the mobs. The amount of damage I was taking was too much for my twinked dwarf ranger to handled. I had to be more careful in there my second time in to actually complete it.

Yes, the one was where you got ganged up on by a swarm of mixed class mobs...so you had some fighter types and rogues beating on you while archers and magic casters were hurling arrows and spells at you. I survived the assault actually, but the traps were just too frustrating for me to finish it. I waited for my boyfriend to log on to duo it and we did fine, no deaths.