This sort of list is subjective, so i'm trying to be strict about not requiring RNG drops/rewards for people as grind-averse as myself. In the interest of bloat i'm not including favour or saga rewards because they'd be worth entire posts themselves.
I'm sure there'll be useful suggestions down below that don't quite fit my list but are still *well* worth the time, if you're less lazy than me
This is a list of items which are 100% guaranteed the first time you do stuff which can gear up a new person/fresh server character/throwaway alt.
Korthos:
The static rewards will serve most characters well for quite some levels.
Harbour:
A quick run around the starting harbour quest givers gains the three collectable bags, and a quick dip into the twelve gets a bigger and bound to account ingredients bag. (you can buy other medium bags very cheaply in house phiarlan)
Necropolis (levels 5/8/11):
Silver Flame trinket at the altar in each tier of quests - death ward and negative energy absorb
Emerald claw nugget at the same altar for a +social skills swap
Ghostbane bow from the first tier of scarabs
Ghost Touch bow from the third tier of scarabs
Other scarab rewards are anti-undead themes but largely obsolete when you can get them.
Delera's Tomb (levels 5-8/27:
Voice of the Master as an end reward for faster levelling.
This breaks the normal reward rules too, because you can get the epic version from the heroic reward list then use it the moment you hit level 20 and it's even bound to account. The epic version is very flexible until 'real' artifacts at Legendary.
The Ruins of Threnal (levels 8-10):
Mantle of the Worldshaper for alternate xp bonus and for spell absorb.
Wheloon (level 15-17/26-27) and storm horns (level 15-19/25-27):
An almost full gearset of core stats which are not optimal but definitely help ease into the next tiers of content.
Relic of a Sovereign Past (level 12):
A ML 10, 100% fortitude neck before they drop randomly
OR a nice selection of weapons
Ravenloft (level 10/29):
A free weapon which may or not be better than the Sovereign Past ones for your build.
Sentient Gem at 29
Borderlands (level 1/21):
Excellent starter weapons that only need a single token to get, virtually guaranteed long before you finish the pack. Choice of ghost touch, silver weapons and caster sticks.
This is a secondary list of items that need a little more work, but are still guaranteed and may be worth the time if not doing a no-repeat challenge.
Saltmarsh (level 3/32):
Alternate weapons vs monstrous humanoids: 5 Quartermaster Chits from the pack. I have never gotten 5 chits in a single (levelling) life but if you do, consider if a trade-in is useful.
Feywild (Level 5/32):
Ferrosteel weapons for a damage bypass and damage vs enemies in the pack, caster sticks (including for DC casters this time) - need quite a few of the Crystal Chunks but you should get them in a run through especially because they drop from wilderness rare chests as well as quest ones.
Myth Drannor: (Level 13/34):
"<weapon type> of the Fallen Age" weapons from chests and end rewards have a direct 2-1 swap so don't trash the 'wrong' ones of these.
The rare wilderness encounter chests do have a lot of superb blues with normal drop rates and are worth detouring for - Complaints about them being legendarily stingy come from people who want things from a rare sub-table.
Vecna Unleashed (level 18/34):
"Shining Reliquary <weapon type>" weapons from chests and end rewards are notable for letting you trade 2-1 (with some quest pack tokens) for a preferred type so don't throw the 'wrong' ones away either.
Red Fens (level 9/21):
2-piece sets with guaranteed appearances on third clear (even a quick casual dash) - these are *extremely* powerful. I am especially fond of the Mire set for striding/featherfall/water breathing/pierce resist, but there are sets for most builds.
Threnal again (Levels 8-10):
Ratcatcher - You probably took the guaranteed Mantle of the Worldshaper the first time but if you enjoyed Threnal and want the Best-in-slot-for-ages crossbow it's guaranteed the third time you run the chain.
Many older quests gave a guaranteed full list of blues on the third completion, but most have been power crept in heroic compared to Red Fens/Threnal... and listing everything with good epic upgrades is entering wiki article territory.
These are honourable mentions because the reward vs effort ratio is noteworthy.
Gianthold (Level 13/24):
Augments from trading in Giant/Elven/Dragon relics - the loot is rare and most of the trade-ins are obsolete but these are an excellent resource. Placed here rather than next to Feywild because it's a full-on farm, which wasn't what i initially had in mind - but it is a steady, predictable farm not an RNG nightmare and augments are important.
The end reward for doing all quests has about... half?... of the blues you might have been hoping for, and is the most likely way to score your monk Adamantine Knuckles without a grind/shard cost.
Sentinels of Stormreach (level 7-8/21):
Not guaranteed, but especially generous in how many blues it offers so odds of getting what you want are great.
Sharn Syndicate (level 4):
The "Nicked <item>" end chain rewards here seem to include like... half?... the table. so not guaranteed, but they're still powerful enough to be noteworthy.
Menechtarun Desert wilderness (Level 11):
Various rares in encounter chests - this is the grindiest thing i'm willing to put on this list, but some of it is *extremely* powerful, especially the epic upgrades, and it's not as hard to get as it used to be. The token to pick one of your choice from the quests and wilds can be traded too, but you do need a fair few.
I'm sure there'll be useful suggestions down below that don't quite fit my list but are still *well* worth the time, if you're less lazy than me
This is a list of items which are 100% guaranteed the first time you do stuff which can gear up a new person/fresh server character/throwaway alt.
Korthos:
The static rewards will serve most characters well for quite some levels.
Harbour:
A quick run around the starting harbour quest givers gains the three collectable bags, and a quick dip into the twelve gets a bigger and bound to account ingredients bag. (you can buy other medium bags very cheaply in house phiarlan)
Necropolis (levels 5/8/11):
Silver Flame trinket at the altar in each tier of quests - death ward and negative energy absorb
Emerald claw nugget at the same altar for a +social skills swap
Ghostbane bow from the first tier of scarabs
Ghost Touch bow from the third tier of scarabs
Other scarab rewards are anti-undead themes but largely obsolete when you can get them.
Delera's Tomb (levels 5-8/27:
Voice of the Master as an end reward for faster levelling.
This breaks the normal reward rules too, because you can get the epic version from the heroic reward list then use it the moment you hit level 20 and it's even bound to account. The epic version is very flexible until 'real' artifacts at Legendary.
The Ruins of Threnal (levels 8-10):
Mantle of the Worldshaper for alternate xp bonus and for spell absorb.
Wheloon (level 15-17/26-27) and storm horns (level 15-19/25-27):
An almost full gearset of core stats which are not optimal but definitely help ease into the next tiers of content.
Relic of a Sovereign Past (level 12):
A ML 10, 100% fortitude neck before they drop randomly
OR a nice selection of weapons
Ravenloft (level 10/29):
A free weapon which may or not be better than the Sovereign Past ones for your build.
Sentient Gem at 29
Borderlands (level 1/21):
Excellent starter weapons that only need a single token to get, virtually guaranteed long before you finish the pack. Choice of ghost touch, silver weapons and caster sticks.
This is a secondary list of items that need a little more work, but are still guaranteed and may be worth the time if not doing a no-repeat challenge.
Saltmarsh (level 3/32):
Alternate weapons vs monstrous humanoids: 5 Quartermaster Chits from the pack. I have never gotten 5 chits in a single (levelling) life but if you do, consider if a trade-in is useful.
Feywild (Level 5/32):
Ferrosteel weapons for a damage bypass and damage vs enemies in the pack, caster sticks (including for DC casters this time) - need quite a few of the Crystal Chunks but you should get them in a run through especially because they drop from wilderness rare chests as well as quest ones.
Myth Drannor: (Level 13/34):
"<weapon type> of the Fallen Age" weapons from chests and end rewards have a direct 2-1 swap so don't trash the 'wrong' ones of these.
The rare wilderness encounter chests do have a lot of superb blues with normal drop rates and are worth detouring for - Complaints about them being legendarily stingy come from people who want things from a rare sub-table.
Vecna Unleashed (level 18/34):
"Shining Reliquary <weapon type>" weapons from chests and end rewards are notable for letting you trade 2-1 (with some quest pack tokens) for a preferred type so don't throw the 'wrong' ones away either.
Red Fens (level 9/21):
2-piece sets with guaranteed appearances on third clear (even a quick casual dash) - these are *extremely* powerful. I am especially fond of the Mire set for striding/featherfall/water breathing/pierce resist, but there are sets for most builds.
Threnal again (Levels 8-10):
Ratcatcher - You probably took the guaranteed Mantle of the Worldshaper the first time but if you enjoyed Threnal and want the Best-in-slot-for-ages crossbow it's guaranteed the third time you run the chain.
Many older quests gave a guaranteed full list of blues on the third completion, but most have been power crept in heroic compared to Red Fens/Threnal... and listing everything with good epic upgrades is entering wiki article territory.
These are honourable mentions because the reward vs effort ratio is noteworthy.
Gianthold (Level 13/24):
Augments from trading in Giant/Elven/Dragon relics - the loot is rare and most of the trade-ins are obsolete but these are an excellent resource. Placed here rather than next to Feywild because it's a full-on farm, which wasn't what i initially had in mind - but it is a steady, predictable farm not an RNG nightmare and augments are important.
The end reward for doing all quests has about... half?... of the blues you might have been hoping for, and is the most likely way to score your monk Adamantine Knuckles without a grind/shard cost.
Sentinels of Stormreach (level 7-8/21):
Not guaranteed, but especially generous in how many blues it offers so odds of getting what you want are great.
Sharn Syndicate (level 4):
The "Nicked <item>" end chain rewards here seem to include like... half?... the table. so not guaranteed, but they're still powerful enough to be noteworthy.
Menechtarun Desert wilderness (Level 11):
Various rares in encounter chests - this is the grindiest thing i'm willing to put on this list, but some of it is *extremely* powerful, especially the epic upgrades, and it's not as hard to get as it used to be. The token to pick one of your choice from the quests and wilds can be traded too, but you do need a fair few.
Last edited:
