If I play fire, for instance, I’ll drop a Searing Ember in my weapon(s). Is that smart? Are there little tricks that any of you have found that help smooth out the early levels?
Thanks!
If I play fire, for instance, I’ll drop a Searing Ember in my weapon(s). Is that smart? Are there little tricks that any of you have found that help smooth out the early levels?
Thanks!
Honestly even with no gear if you play Normal leveling is super smooth.
This is my first toon in GD I’m currently level 46 next quest is going to Fort Ikhon (sp?) and using a toon focused on Poison Dot I usually cast 2 (max 3) spell toward any boss and let them die. I decide to finally take the time to read some Devotion around level 35 and ended up just finding one skill that seemed cool to attach on my main cast and worked toward it.
Every trash mob die in a single hit and I kill a lot of them each cast.
I still haven’t picked my 2nd Mastery (still unsure what I will need to be stronger as I don’t find much if any opposition or dangerous situation) I didn’t use a single relic yet and most of my gear is now green with a couple of blue item. Still have a yellow belt.
I’m also sitting on 10+ Attribute point and while they are super weak I still run with couple of skill (that will be dropped) using a single point in the whole line.
Obviously using Relic, picking Devotion sooner or using your attribute point and min/maxing would make all those step even easier than it was.
Normal is clearly done easy just spend enough point in Mastery to wear your stuff and check the loot from time to time and it should go well.
I have begun leveling my characters through their 20s in the crucible lately. The first run to only wave 10 will get you to character level 8, and subsequent 10-wave runs will keep providing great experience and tribute points. That (tribute) is the key, in my opinion, to a much easier path ahead, as you can trade these points toward devotion and pick up some seriously overpowered damaging abilities early on.
Devotion point cost in tribute increases based on the number of devotion already unlocked, so it’s best to do this before restoring a single shrine. Also, even though it might be slightly tedious, the best way to get the points quickly is to run the crucible to wave 10 (possibly 20 if you’re going insane) and end it. Of course at low levels, this nets higher probability of upgrade gear also. After picking up 20ish devotion points, you’re all set to snag some Falcon Swoop, Twin Fangs, Tsunami, Elemental Storm, etc. which will simply melt mobs for quite some time. Also note that you can refund your devotion choices for relatively low cost, so I usually pump up procs early, then respec later to match my actual build.
Your searing ember suggestion is good, also any of the other components that add auras are usually hugely helpful early on, so toss one of those on. Also, the flat HP increasing components help on armor, potentially almost doubling your life at low levels.
Finally, the cost to respec skill points is relatively low at 25 bits until you have used it a bunch, so pump up some flat damage AOE skills (maxed Olexra’s Flash Freeze is great for this if you’re an Arcanist), and get rid of them later. Just be sure to not move the mastery bar further than your build is planned, as you can’t currently refund those points.
What about if we don’t have the Crucible?
I like to clear all the maps before I move to the next one but after doing this with 10 low levels chars it gets boring (I know Act 1 as good as my own house).
It’s a good thing to skip some parts of the map and just rush a bit the rifts?
The Crucible DLC is quite inexpensive, I’d pick it up if possible (or within budget) to combat monotony.
Secondly, I’ve only ever fully explored maps in normal on my first toon for the “full” experience, but that’s more of a personal preference. Notes, completion, etc. don’t really interest me, and there isn’t any tangible reason to do it once you’ve experienced it once (other than maybe finding missed areas or chests). Plus, it helps to learn a quick path through the acts if you do it a few times while only completing main quests, and the side quests offer nothing “missable” or important except the skill and stat points, as the inventory bags are primarily MQs. Even on Elite I tend to blow through the earlier acts without full clears. This helps make my addiction to alt characters less painful to level. Later Elite and Ultimate is good to clear for farming, as the map permanently defogs.
Veteran mode of normal awards better drops and experience at the cost of difficulty, but I have never really found it too hard, so be sure to stick to that instead of traditional normal.
Finally, as long as you’re not WAY underleveled, progressing faster will help you level faster. Spending a few days clearing normal act 1, for instance, would yield gear that will become obsolete in minutes and the exp gain is much lower than subsequent areas. As a general rule, try to progress to areas as hard as you can handle and blow through to rifts and main quests, unless your personal brand of enjoyment prevents it. Faction boosting, nemesis farming, ult boss runs, etc. will quickly show you that all those cleared normal maps will never be visited again, and the gear will be long gone.
Edit: If you’re going to really spend some time on full clears, I’d do it on Ultimate, as the scaling is better and the drops more rewarding. Also, it removes that feeling of “I’ve literally done this two times already.”
Nice Rylocke. I am starting to do that because after 10 low level chars it becomes tedious so maybe I let the full clear map to ultimate.
Thank you