CaptainSpacePony
Member
This is an post from the old forums. It is still applicable.
A very big difference for season 8 that it does not touch on is the lack of a 5k (or 3k) favor reward. Dragon horde treasure fragments have taken its place. The known locations can be found here: https://forums.ddo.com/index.php?threads/dragons-hoard-locations.696/
I'm leaving the notes about favor in, in the assumption favor will be a thing again in later seasons.
What follows is a long list of tips directly applicable to HC.
GENERAL/FAVOR
-There are 5 HC awards available. Decide which you want to go for and make a plan. Most people will pursue favor rewards.
-LOTS of people ask how many quests they can skip while going for 5k favor. This season it's only 3k for the mount, so as long as you're paying attention, I assume you should be able to skip most that are scary too unfun. Normally the answer is, "A lot, but not as many as you'd like." Plan in advance which you're going to skip so you don't come up short.
-Those that can't open elite (me) will be at the mercy of the LFM panel. If there's nothing available, run to Wyndwood hall or waypoints, or knock out some flagging on normal or casual so that you can join that Into the Deep, I Dream of Jeets, or House of Pain LFM when it's up. I don't hesitate to repeat quests if it means I get to stay with a good party that has an opener.
-If going for favor, and you have all content access and skip little to nothing, XP quickly becomes irrelevant. Expect to be XP capped from about level 4 or 5.
-Don't expect to get much favor at epic levels. There are not a lot of quests that are epic only (aside from legendary raids and the original Eveningstar chains). Those that have heroic and epic versions are almost ALWAYS easier on heroic elite than epic elite. Ergo, don't take 20 too soon.
-Tangleroot's 1st quest is lvl 3, so you cannot start it above lvl 7. This is important in case you may want to farm it for the DW clicky
-Devil Assault is lvl 6. Few run it on elite but it's not bad on hard. This is also an old quest that has really harsh scaling on elite. So it can be a lot easier to solo on elite than to group. -EDIT- This keeps coming up in game. So let me put it this way: DA on hard is pretty easy. DA on Elite is really hard. DA on any difficulty is really boring.
-After 75 House favor, Phiarlan offers great buffs (most importantly energy resists). A full Tangleroot run (and Info is Key) will unlock that.
-Instead of skipping a quest you find difficult, consider completing on a lower difficulty. Some favor > 0 favor.
CHARACTER CREATION
-Hit Points are important. Most deaths occur when someone runs out of them. Build and gear accordingly (constitution helps).
-Robots tend to have poor AC but the immunities are great!
-Assiamar are great, because who doesn't appreciate a "Holy Snitch!" fast heal.
-I don't like dwarves (racist?) but they are tough.
-Int build? Take insightful reflexes early.
NOTEWORTHY THREATS
-Traps are the biggest killer. Kobold Shamen are lethal. Ancient Magma Brute (Heart of the Problem) hits like a truck. Flesh Renders and the like have vorpal attacks (death block prevents). Black Roomba Balls can cast slay living (death block). You have been warned.
-Have DDoor for ToEE water temple. Mikayl the Pious lvl 11 fighter hireling has DDoor. His are extra special: they never expire.
-Driving intoxicated or sleep deprived can take you to the land of lost souls.
-Buy some potions. Platinum is cheap.
-The bridge in the Sorrow Dusk troll cave quests is not to be underestimated. Climb up the ladder on the right side and jump across the chasm to the far side (not the bridge). Even if you fall short, there is a ledge to fall to below.
-Hera is the Queen (Total Chaos). Leave her alone. (See previous regarding optionals.)
-Heroic Stonejaw in Isle of Dread wilderness will eat you. Avoid him.
-The hag's tower in Fresh Baked Dreams should not be underestimated. The tight quarters make it hard to avoid their aoes and lines of sight are restricted on the stairs. On higher difficulties they are often all champs.
GEAR
-Consider running sacrifices in Korthos a few times for multiple Anger's Step, and Necro's Doom for Gloves of protection (need to open a lock though) or if you have the umd, get scrolls*. (Don't need much since they are lvl 1 and are cheap so you don't need 100% success rate.) Magic Missiles can be lethal, especially when coming from Famine Reapers.
-As soon as you earn a HC reward, talk to the HC vendor to unlock it. Really stinks to die w/o it unlocked and you have to start all over.
-You will probably earn a lot of DDO pts from all the favor you're farming. Don't be afraid to spend it if you need to. (I've bought various pots, bells, augments. hirelings, and...)
-Anti-beholder crystal from the DDO store is a wise purchase, especially for meat-bags.
-Death ward clickies are available as Tangleroot end reward (ML 5), Salt Marsh's the Final Enemy (ML3) and Bluto (behind secret doors) optional chest in White Plume Mtn (ML 9).
-Level 6 quests in the 12 have good loot but are more dangerous than most other lvl 6 quests.
-The good ML 7 Red Fens named loot are end rewards so can be farmed on casual.
-Relic of a Sovereign Past is pretty easy to do on casual at level 8. You can get the ore and make (in quest) 100% fort necklace, the best heroic longsword, and... other stuff I've never bothered with.
-As soon as you take lvl 10, run into the mists on casual to get your Barovian weapon. There's a good chance it will be BIS until epic levels.
-As soon as you take lvl 20 (go unlock your reward) go to the Keep on the borderlands and farm some epic ingots to get your borderlands epic wpn. Then, go to epic Barovia to grab a legendary Barovian wpn (bank it) and sentient gem (slot it--probably in your borderlands weapon).
-Wilderness areas are not level restricted. So those that drop named loot can be farmed over level (looking at you, Sands). This is probably most useful if you're running multiple characters or TRing.
-Dreaming Dark. Lord of Blades, and Tower of Despair are the only quests that can be run both above and below lvl 20. Flag by 19, run by 24. (Very useful if you want ioun stones).
PLAY TIPS
-Don't know a quest well and want a refresher? Scout it on a lower difficulty or other server.
-Avoid Optionals that don't yield something worthwhile beyond XP. They don't give more favor or Reaper XP. They are just more opportunities to die.
-If you're not running reaper, you can recall, top off, and reenter as long as the instance doesn't time out. In season 6, reaper could be reentered too. I will update this once I know the status.
-The level 6 quest in the Delara's chain where you just walk in and talk to her is not level restricted so you can run the rest of the chain at the level you planned.
-There are usually a couple of high population guilds that level very quickly and have the best buffs. If you aren't in one (they fill fast) post an LFM asking for ship buffs.
-Hotkey teleport or word of recall if you have them or the scroll.
DEATH AND TRANSFERS
-When you die, you are immediately teleported to the Land of Lost Souls (LoLS). This teleport never seems to go pear-shaped. You are not "dead", but you are stranded in a place with a whole lot of nothing, including mailboxes or bank tellers.
-While in the LoLS, you can still group with other characters, share quests (Restless Isles).
-You may want to leave your guild. HC tends to have REALLY large guilds that fill quickly to facilitate meaningful buffs in a short amount of time. Guilds have a limit of 1000 toons. If yours is hanging out in the LoLS, it's not earning favor and is taking up a spot. You can quit the guild on good terms (10% renown loss), bad terms (25% and it's the default amount), get kicked (bad terms), delete the character (no renown loss), or if transfers are available, transfer to another server (no renown loss).
-Inventory, character bank, and plat-type currency are all that move with a character. Shared bank, TR cache, stables, pets, monster manuals, and astral shards do NOT transfer.
-As noted, stables are tied to the server. If you get a mount from a daily roll or chest and use it, it will NOT be available on your home server when transfer your character out. This is not an issue with the HC favor unlocked mounts because you can claim them on any server from the HC vendor in the Hall of Heroes.
PERSONAL OPINION
-Some people like to rush to 20 and TR. While fun to show off your TRed name, 1 or 2 past lives do not give a big power boost but running all those quests does give you more death opportunities.
-Some people run separate toons for favor and RXP. I find that to be painfully time consuming. By around level 10 or so (certainly 12), I don't find R1 much harder than Elite. I typically have 7-10 reaper points by the time I reach 5K favor. I believe most people are far more scared of Reaper difficulty than they should be.
-RXP can come fast at legendary levels. Legendary groups can be scarce. (Another reason I like to earn RXP alongside favor.)
--(More on this) Some think it's high risk/low reward to run reaper before cap. I generally disagree. Anytime my party is blowing through everything on elite, I can't help but wonder why I'm not earning RXP?
-I'm a long-time premium player. VIP does not seem like the best value for me. However, I have upgraded to VIP for a few HC seasons. The inability to open elite or reaper can feel very frustrating if you're always LFM hunting. If you ever consider VIP, HC is a great time to be one. The seasons I haven't been VIP, I always find myself wishing I was.
-It's a game.
-It's fun.
Last bit may not be relevant anymore, but was key in previous seasons:
-If you disconnect and think there is ANY chance your toon was in possible danger, do NOT simply log the same toon back into the same place. Log another toon in 1st, or if you can, log in the hall of heroes to GET OUT of the trouble spot. Even on reaper, you can reenter the quest since you didn't "exit". Many a player not doing this (me) has logged out only to log back in and find themselves DEAD.
* I hear most people talk about shield scrolls. However, they are subject to arcane spell failure while nightshield scrolls are not. They are both level 1, so have same umd requirements, same plat cost, and are even sold by the same vendor.
A very big difference for season 8 that it does not touch on is the lack of a 5k (or 3k) favor reward. Dragon horde treasure fragments have taken its place. The known locations can be found here: https://forums.ddo.com/index.php?threads/dragons-hoard-locations.696/
I'm leaving the notes about favor in, in the assumption favor will be a thing again in later seasons.
What follows is a long list of tips directly applicable to HC.
GENERAL/FAVOR
-There are 5 HC awards available. Decide which you want to go for and make a plan. Most people will pursue favor rewards.
-LOTS of people ask how many quests they can skip while going for 5k favor. This season it's only 3k for the mount, so as long as you're paying attention, I assume you should be able to skip most that are scary too unfun. Normally the answer is, "A lot, but not as many as you'd like." Plan in advance which you're going to skip so you don't come up short.
-Those that can't open elite (me) will be at the mercy of the LFM panel. If there's nothing available, run to Wyndwood hall or waypoints, or knock out some flagging on normal or casual so that you can join that Into the Deep, I Dream of Jeets, or House of Pain LFM when it's up. I don't hesitate to repeat quests if it means I get to stay with a good party that has an opener.
-If going for favor, and you have all content access and skip little to nothing, XP quickly becomes irrelevant. Expect to be XP capped from about level 4 or 5.
-Don't expect to get much favor at epic levels. There are not a lot of quests that are epic only (aside from legendary raids and the original Eveningstar chains). Those that have heroic and epic versions are almost ALWAYS easier on heroic elite than epic elite. Ergo, don't take 20 too soon.
-Tangleroot's 1st quest is lvl 3, so you cannot start it above lvl 7. This is important in case you may want to farm it for the DW clicky
-Devil Assault is lvl 6. Few run it on elite but it's not bad on hard. This is also an old quest that has really harsh scaling on elite. So it can be a lot easier to solo on elite than to group. -EDIT- This keeps coming up in game. So let me put it this way: DA on hard is pretty easy. DA on Elite is really hard. DA on any difficulty is really boring.
-After 75 House favor, Phiarlan offers great buffs (most importantly energy resists). A full Tangleroot run (and Info is Key) will unlock that.
-Instead of skipping a quest you find difficult, consider completing on a lower difficulty. Some favor > 0 favor.
CHARACTER CREATION
-Hit Points are important. Most deaths occur when someone runs out of them. Build and gear accordingly (constitution helps).
-Robots tend to have poor AC but the immunities are great!
-Assiamar are great, because who doesn't appreciate a "Holy Snitch!" fast heal.
-I don't like dwarves (racist?) but they are tough.
-Int build? Take insightful reflexes early.
NOTEWORTHY THREATS
-Traps are the biggest killer. Kobold Shamen are lethal. Ancient Magma Brute (Heart of the Problem) hits like a truck. Flesh Renders and the like have vorpal attacks (death block prevents). Black Roomba Balls can cast slay living (death block). You have been warned.
-Have DDoor for ToEE water temple. Mikayl the Pious lvl 11 fighter hireling has DDoor. His are extra special: they never expire.
-Driving intoxicated or sleep deprived can take you to the land of lost souls.
-Buy some potions. Platinum is cheap.
-The bridge in the Sorrow Dusk troll cave quests is not to be underestimated. Climb up the ladder on the right side and jump across the chasm to the far side (not the bridge). Even if you fall short, there is a ledge to fall to below.
-Hera is the Queen (Total Chaos). Leave her alone. (See previous regarding optionals.)
-Heroic Stonejaw in Isle of Dread wilderness will eat you. Avoid him.
-The hag's tower in Fresh Baked Dreams should not be underestimated. The tight quarters make it hard to avoid their aoes and lines of sight are restricted on the stairs. On higher difficulties they are often all champs.
GEAR
-Consider running sacrifices in Korthos a few times for multiple Anger's Step, and Necro's Doom for Gloves of protection (need to open a lock though) or if you have the umd, get scrolls*. (Don't need much since they are lvl 1 and are cheap so you don't need 100% success rate.) Magic Missiles can be lethal, especially when coming from Famine Reapers.
-As soon as you earn a HC reward, talk to the HC vendor to unlock it. Really stinks to die w/o it unlocked and you have to start all over.
-You will probably earn a lot of DDO pts from all the favor you're farming. Don't be afraid to spend it if you need to. (I've bought various pots, bells, augments. hirelings, and...)
-Anti-beholder crystal from the DDO store is a wise purchase, especially for meat-bags.
-Death ward clickies are available as Tangleroot end reward (ML 5), Salt Marsh's the Final Enemy (ML3) and Bluto (behind secret doors) optional chest in White Plume Mtn (ML 9).
-Level 6 quests in the 12 have good loot but are more dangerous than most other lvl 6 quests.
-The good ML 7 Red Fens named loot are end rewards so can be farmed on casual.
-Relic of a Sovereign Past is pretty easy to do on casual at level 8. You can get the ore and make (in quest) 100% fort necklace, the best heroic longsword, and... other stuff I've never bothered with.
-As soon as you take lvl 10, run into the mists on casual to get your Barovian weapon. There's a good chance it will be BIS until epic levels.
-As soon as you take lvl 20 (go unlock your reward) go to the Keep on the borderlands and farm some epic ingots to get your borderlands epic wpn. Then, go to epic Barovia to grab a legendary Barovian wpn (bank it) and sentient gem (slot it--probably in your borderlands weapon).
-Wilderness areas are not level restricted. So those that drop named loot can be farmed over level (looking at you, Sands). This is probably most useful if you're running multiple characters or TRing.
-Dreaming Dark. Lord of Blades, and Tower of Despair are the only quests that can be run both above and below lvl 20. Flag by 19, run by 24. (Very useful if you want ioun stones).
PLAY TIPS
-Don't know a quest well and want a refresher? Scout it on a lower difficulty or other server.
-Avoid Optionals that don't yield something worthwhile beyond XP. They don't give more favor or Reaper XP. They are just more opportunities to die.
-If you're not running reaper, you can recall, top off, and reenter as long as the instance doesn't time out. In season 6, reaper could be reentered too. I will update this once I know the status.
-The level 6 quest in the Delara's chain where you just walk in and talk to her is not level restricted so you can run the rest of the chain at the level you planned.
-There are usually a couple of high population guilds that level very quickly and have the best buffs. If you aren't in one (they fill fast) post an LFM asking for ship buffs.
-Hotkey teleport or word of recall if you have them or the scroll.
DEATH AND TRANSFERS
-When you die, you are immediately teleported to the Land of Lost Souls (LoLS). This teleport never seems to go pear-shaped. You are not "dead", but you are stranded in a place with a whole lot of nothing, including mailboxes or bank tellers.
-While in the LoLS, you can still group with other characters, share quests (Restless Isles).
-You may want to leave your guild. HC tends to have REALLY large guilds that fill quickly to facilitate meaningful buffs in a short amount of time. Guilds have a limit of 1000 toons. If yours is hanging out in the LoLS, it's not earning favor and is taking up a spot. You can quit the guild on good terms (10% renown loss), bad terms (25% and it's the default amount), get kicked (bad terms), delete the character (no renown loss), or if transfers are available, transfer to another server (no renown loss).
-Inventory, character bank, and plat-type currency are all that move with a character. Shared bank, TR cache, stables, pets, monster manuals, and astral shards do NOT transfer.
-As noted, stables are tied to the server. If you get a mount from a daily roll or chest and use it, it will NOT be available on your home server when transfer your character out. This is not an issue with the HC favor unlocked mounts because you can claim them on any server from the HC vendor in the Hall of Heroes.
PERSONAL OPINION
-Some people like to rush to 20 and TR. While fun to show off your TRed name, 1 or 2 past lives do not give a big power boost but running all those quests does give you more death opportunities.
-Some people run separate toons for favor and RXP. I find that to be painfully time consuming. By around level 10 or so (certainly 12), I don't find R1 much harder than Elite. I typically have 7-10 reaper points by the time I reach 5K favor. I believe most people are far more scared of Reaper difficulty than they should be.
-RXP can come fast at legendary levels. Legendary groups can be scarce. (Another reason I like to earn RXP alongside favor.)
--(More on this) Some think it's high risk/low reward to run reaper before cap. I generally disagree. Anytime my party is blowing through everything on elite, I can't help but wonder why I'm not earning RXP?
-I'm a long-time premium player. VIP does not seem like the best value for me. However, I have upgraded to VIP for a few HC seasons. The inability to open elite or reaper can feel very frustrating if you're always LFM hunting. If you ever consider VIP, HC is a great time to be one. The seasons I haven't been VIP, I always find myself wishing I was.
-It's a game.
-It's fun.
Last bit may not be relevant anymore, but was key in previous seasons:
-If you disconnect and think there is ANY chance your toon was in possible danger, do NOT simply log the same toon back into the same place. Log another toon in 1st, or if you can, log in the hall of heroes to GET OUT of the trouble spot. Even on reaper, you can reenter the quest since you didn't "exit". Many a player not doing this (me) has logged out only to log back in and find themselves DEAD.
* I hear most people talk about shield scrolls. However, they are subject to arcane spell failure while nightshield scrolls are not. They are both level 1, so have same umd requirements, same plat cost, and are even sold by the same vendor.
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