Leveling 101
Hi, welcome to leveling 101. This guide will help you to level. There are various ways to level quickly (even quicker than described here) but those ways are pretty much reserved for higher level groups. This guide is to help you fond ways to level up to that point and dispel some common misconceptions.
With the release of Dark Age of Camelot: Shrouded Isles, I find that choosing the new lands as a starter town can be both better and worse for leveling. The new lands have monsters just a few steps away to begin leveling on. Also, the named guards are very close by to give you kill tasks (see kill tasks explanation) because they are so close, kill tasks in SI are even more valuable than in the old lands.
Another reason to level in SI is the new Random Object Generator (ROG). The ROG creates magic items appropriate for the level of the monster. These items can boost your characters strength and can be found with much greater frequency n the new lands.
The problem with choosing to level in SI is that most players know about its benefits and it’s therefore crowded at times. Sometimes the perfect spawn for you is camped by others. In the old lands, however, there is always another spawn somewhere.
-You do NOT have to group to level. -
You can solo mobs. True, it’s slower than groups but you CAN level through soloing monsters.
Leveling tip #1:
If you can't find a group, go solo. Killing ANYTHING will get you more exp than killing nothing.
And most importantly, while you're resting in between fights you can still be actively searching for a group.
-You do NOT have to solo oranges or even yellows to level. -
Orange con mobs are higher level than you. They will yield more experience than yellows, which are even or a few levels below you. There are few classes that can effectively solo oranges. There are some mobs that it’s more likely the soloer will win, but these are still risky.
Even yellows can be risky if the mob is even level with you. For example, if the mob was orange at level 39 but now at 40, it's yellow, it is an even con.
There are classes that can effectively solo yellows without much downtime. They will be able to level faster than those that can't. However, if you chose one of the classes that can't, your frustration will continue to mount if you try to duplicate what the other classes can do. You need to find what's right for your class and milk it for all its worth.
-And never underestimate the experience that can be received from green and blue con mobs. -
Example:
Fighter kills a yellow con mob for 10 million experience. But, the yellow takes him to half his health. He doesn’t dare attack another yellow knowing that it could kill him if he doesn't rest first. So he rests for a minute and pulls another yellow mob and once again, receives 10 million experience.
Now say he pulled a blue con mob first. It’s worth 6 million experience but only takes him to 3/4 health.
Knowing this, he could pull another blue con without resting as he would only be at half health and would receive another 6 million experience points.
In the same time it took to kill a yellow for 10 million exp and rest, he could have killed two blues and received 12 million experience.
Leveling tip #2:
Killing more of a lesser con will yield more experience. DOWNTIME is the leveling killer. Minimize your downtime and you'll level faster.
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Monsters:
It's very important to understand the monsters you're fighting. If you've never fought them before, obviously you might be surprised by some of their tactics. Some mobs nuke. ALOT. Others do alot more damage than like conned mobs.
Understanding the cons is extremely important as well.
At low levels, the con range is easy.
Grey = 3 or more levels below you
Green = 2 levels below you
Blue = 1 level below you
Yellow = same level as you
Orange = 1 level above you
Red = 2 level above you
Purple = 3 or more levels above you
But the con range changes as you gain levels. Orange can be as high as three two levels above you, yellow can be as low as four levels below you in the higher levels. By observing how the mobs change con as you level, you can decide which mobs are best for you to hunt in order to gain the most experience over time.
Leveling tip #3
Never solo hunt mobs for per kill experience. Always look at the experience you gain OVER TIME.
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Grouping:
1) Duos
What cons to hunt: Yellows (quickly), oranges, occasional reds.
Duos are in my opinion one of the best ways to level. Most monsters can be pulled solo by a duo. This means crowd control isn't needed in a duo, so many different classes can duo together.
Two shield specced fighters with guard on one another can be a great combination. Each fighter blocking the mobs attacks for the other can keep them killing mobs at breakneck speed and gaining alot of experience.
The Tank/Healer duo is also very good for obvious reasons. The healer can buff the tank making him powerful enough to solo orange con mobs with relative ease and the healer can attack the mob as well, stopping to cast heals on the tank as needed.
Two Casters can be an interesting duo as well. Two casters stand apart creating a triangle with the intended target. After one casts the first nuke the mob will run towards him. The second caster then begins casting nukes until the mob turns towards him. As it runs towards the second caster, the first then begins casting again. Repeat until mob is dead.
Caster/Archer duo is one I discovered the true power of only recently. Casters with root spells can be of great use for an archer. Together, they can deal so much damage even if the spells or resisted or the arrows miss a few times, that an orange con mob sometimes won’t even reach them. But should it get that far, it’s usually hurt enough that a single melee hit from the archer will finish off the mob.
Archer/Assassin is one of the greatest experience duos ever. The archer does great damage as the mob is incoming. The assassin waits stealthed by the archer. When the mob has reached the archer, the assassin strikes. If the mob stills lives, (and usually it wont) a melee round, maybe two, will finish it off.
2) Three and Four player groups
What cons to hunt: Oranges, Reds, Non Bafing Purple (with healer)
These groups are going to be bafed. For those that don't know BAF stands for Brings a Friend. If you attack a single monster and another comes running with it to attack you, that’s a baf.
Once you’re in a group that's going to get bafs, you’re going to need one of two things: A healer or a crowd controller.
Most healer types have some sort of crowd control so that is good. But if you can’t find a healer you're going to need someone in the group to act as the mez/stun/root on the addition mob that pulls (called an add).
This allows the group to deal with one of the monsters at a time and make proper tactic changes in between mobs. Some root/mez/stun last long enough that it’s possible to actually rest between fighting the two mobs.
Without a healer, I wouldn’t suggest anything above low red mobs as the adds can be devastating.
3) Full Groups
What cons to kill: Red, Purple
Full groups are almost always going to get adds. (There are some mobs that always come solo) Therefore, you will absolutely need a crowd control. They are often referred to as the main mez. Decide before the first pull who is going to be main mez (MM) and if you have someone who can act as a back up, all the better. Mezzes will be resisted. If one is resisted and the mob gets to the MM, the back up can quickly throw a mez on the mob and hopefully keep it from killing the MM.
Also, decide who will be the main tank, often referred to as Main Assist. They will be the tank that will use nothing but taunt styles for as long as they have endurance. This will assure that the monster continues to hit only them and the healer can then concentrate on that one player instead of having to switch heal targets repeatedly. This saves times, confusion and in the end, lives.
Decide beforehand who will be the Puller. It will be this players job to pull the mobs to the group from their spawn location. The puller MUST have range of some sort.
Lastly, assign a secondary tank as protector over the casters/healers. If a mob gets by unmezzed or unengaged by the main tank, it’s this persons job to draw aggro off the healers or casters. After drawing agro, they will then turn their attention to the mob the MA is engaging.
NOTE: It’s then the MM or secondary mezzers job to attempt to mez that mob. If it’s rooted, you should move out of its melee range as a rooted mob can still hit you.
Next, assign protect/guard. Using your guard ability on the main tank will allow you to block attacks meant for him. Even if you only block a single blow during a fight, it will save that much more power for the healer.
Using the protect ability on the healers will help keep them from being aggroed through heals. That aggro will then go to you instead.
In lower levels, characters do not have this ability and it makes large groups much harder because of it.
Now, say all these jobs have been assigned and you're none of them. What do you do then?
You job is simple. You hit the mob that the Main tank is attacking. You help to kill that first mob as quickly as possible. Once a mob is dead, do not attack a new mob until the main tank does and ONLY attack the one he has engaged.
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Set realistic goals:
In the early levels, goals of a few levels a gaming sessions are not unrealistic. But as you level you'll realize that levels take much longer to attain. Set your goals accordingly.
Level 1 to 5 can be attained in one to three hours
Level 5 to 25 can be attained a few levels a gaming session.
Over 25, the levels began to slow. Each level will become increasingly difficult to get. This is normal and expected.
The 30's are when things start to become frustrating. Players often want to fight mobs that are higher than they should be fighting because they have heard about such and such a dungeon or this and that loot drop and they want it. Resist these temptations as they will only lead to frustration. Stick with what works and don't push it.
There's a saying in DAoC," Once you reach level 40, you're halfway to 50."
This is not that far off.
Your level 40+ goals for a single gaming session must then be scaled down to accommodate this. Often times, I try for a single bubble of exp per gaming session.
There is a bright side to level 40+: Half Levels. After level 40, you will "level" every 5 bubbles instead of 10. 5 bubbles into level 40 you will reach your first "half ding" You cannot lose that experience no matter how much you die. Because the death penalty is assessed based on how much experience you gained since your last "ding", you will lose a smaller percentage of experience than you did prior to level 40.
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Maximizing your experience gains
Mythic has what they call an anti-spawn camping code* in DAoC. What this means is, each time you pull another mob from the same area, the experience will be less than the one before it. Not every pull, but the pattern is less and less experience per kill.
Dungeons maintain their camp bonuses for longer periods of time than overland spots. Therefore, hunting a dungeon will yield more experience over the same amount of time than an overland spot.
However, frequently hunted spawns often yield less experience than less commonly hunted spawns in out of the way places. Also, less competition at these out of the way spots will yield more experience over time as you're not sharing the spawn with anyone.
It's best to find three or four spawns you can hunt within a close proximity of each other. Hunt one until you notice a significant drop in the camp bonus. Then simply move to the next. When it's camp bonus drops measurably, move to the third.
This method is best used with at least three spawns. With only two, you will find upon returning to the first spawn that the camp bonus has not yet returned.
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Realm Abilities
Gaining Realm Points in the battleground will give you Realm Ability points. Choose these skills wisely. Using them early for great RvR related skills may sound great, but some abilities will help ONLY in RvR. Try to choose RA's that can be used both in RvR and PvE.
For example:
I choose Falcons Eye on my hunter. This increases the chances of getting a critical hit. This will increase my damage output not only in RvR but in PvE as well, making it easier for me to level.
Leveling Tip #4
Choose Realm Abilities that will be useful to you in both RvR and PvE.
Leveling Tip #5
Do not level to 36 until you have hit the realm point cap of the level 30 - 35 BG. That’s extra +1 bonus may not seem like alot but it does make a difference.
NOTE: This tip is class specific. For some classes, like healer types, it's easier to pick up groups in the frontiers and therefore, they can get RP’s faster there. For classes that are harder to group and harder to level, I suggest keeping them in the BG's until the hit rank 2 and get the bonuses.
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Misc. tips
Leveling tip #6
If one type of mob keeps killing you, move to a different type. I know people who have literally lost 9 bubbles because they refused to move from the spot they were hunting. Don't allow stubborn pride to get the better of you.
Leveling Tip #7
You're going to have bad gamedays. Don't push it if this is one of them. Log off and go do something else today.
Leveling Tip #8
Kill GREENS!!! Some levels are awkward levels. Learn to recognize them. Some levels there are just no decent mobs to fight. Yellows seem to kill you and even blues seem to have your number. Kill GREENS to get through it.
Leveling Tip #9
If it can't hit you, it can't kill you. Always purchase armor above a weapon, and always spec for defense. You may only hit a mob for 40 points damage for awhile. But if it can't hit you because you specced shield/parry or it's barely damaging you because of your high Armor Facto, you will defeat it.
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Conclusion (bout time huh?)
Regardless of your session times, powergamers and casual players can spend the same amount of game time getting to level 50. Both players could spend 960 hours (40 days) playing the game to get to level 50. Though one player may do it in three months, it may take the other player a year or more.
Don't allow yourself to become overly frustrated. The game is not a race. There will still be level 50's (or 40's for that matter) to kill when you reach level 50.
And lastly,
Leveling Tip #10
Always, always, ALWAYS use your time wisely. Kill everything you can. Kill MoBs in your path while in transit. Do not be so focused that you miss the forest for all the trees.
PS. Not included in this guide are kill tasks. I have found that Kill tasks are frustrating to the new player as they do not yet know the geography of their realm and cannot find the assigned MoB to kill in a timely fashion because of this. Therefore I have purposely omitted them from this guide.
