Leveling post 2.1Follow

Hello.

I'd like to get some feedback for those of you leveling at a moderate/high pace in 2.1. I've seen quite a few friends get classes to level 50 within a week or so of playing and have been wondering how they do this.

For those of you who currently do this, what is your plan of attack? Say I wanted to level my CNJ on my alt. What would I do to make sure I can get CNJ to 50 within two weeks?

Looking around Google, I've found some outdated sources. One, though, suggests doing low level duty roulette always and then possibly daily guildhest. After this, they say queuing for a level specific dungeon is the key to 50.

Have most of you been doing this? Also, how do you manage to keep your sanity doing the same dungeons over and over again? :P I really have not been able to get into the new swing of leveling since 2.1: no class I had at level 49 and below is level 50 currently.

I don't know how it is on other servers, but FATEs are dead on Midgard. Escort leves were pretty useful until the nerf...however, they were extremely boring. Now they seem to be a bit more difficult.

Really, what I want from the leveling experience is the following: leveling with random people in an environment that has moderate to high level of risk. Also, not getting Satasha for the 17th time would be great. Has anyone found any paths off the beaten trail where leveling is both interesting and engaging? If so, care to share? ><

The most effective way I have found is to queue for dungeons that are your level, or one level less. After you are two levels higher than the latest dungeon you have unlocked, then running FATES is faster. This keeps your level rate at around 30-45 mins per level up to level 30ish, and about 1 hour per level 30-50

Sastasha Seagrot - level 15
Tam-Tara Deepcroft - Level 16
Copperbell Mines - Level 17-18
Quarrymill Fates - 19
Halatali - Level 20-21
Fates 22-23
Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak (Level 24 - 25)
Fates 26-27
Haukke Manor (Level 28 - 29)
Fates 30
Etc.

To me, this method keeps me from getting bored of a constant string of either fates or dungeons.

Another helpful tip is you should really run Fates solo as DPS, so you can dual purpose your DF queue time while still getting full Fate EXP. Tanks and healers are better off actually joining a fate party for the off dungeon levels.

The balance between fates and dungeons is so close currently that the actual per-mob Exp is what puts the dungeosn ahead, until you out-level the dungeon by 2 levels or more, when they lose efficiency compared to Fates.

Lastly, when there are not any fate parties, and you want to maintain 1 level per hour, you can run battle leves, this is closer to 1 hour 15 minutes per level, but that still beats the rate of out-leveled dungeons (which is closer to 2 hours per level, because those levels take two or more runs of out-leveled dungeons).

It still takes around 40 hours to level one job fully, not including class quests.

BTW, the low level duty roulette actually gets more effective at higher level, since the EXP bonus seems to be based on a percentage of your current level requiremnet. The level-synched rate of per-mob exp is horrible. So at low levels, the EXP % bonus is hardly even worth it compared to correctly leveled dungeons or Fates. Running Guildhests is a similar situation, more effective at higher levels for EXP/time ratio.

Not exactly any secrets here. Hope it's somewhat helpful anyway.




Edited, Mar 21st 2014 4:22am by Gnu

I think 3 man dungeon experiences would be a blast! I wish they were more practical.

Also didn't know about the exp drop off after 2 levels for dungeons! Good to know. Time to get to work on my alt.

Thanks for the replies. :) Gave me some ways to break up the monotony.

Gnu: any advice pre-15?

Edited, Mar 21st 2014 7:03am by HitomeOfBismarck

Pre-15 the fastest route seems to be to do class quest > then hunting log. You unlock Log at 5 , and doing the 1-10 Hunting page will generally get you right about to 11, which unlocks 11-20 page. In turn, if you have just basically decent gear, you can do 11-20 in order which puts you right around 13.5.

Having the Hunting log Wiki open is essential for efficiency here.

The bonus to this is the hunting log is going to take you on a path that puts you right in the middle of Fates that are your level. At low level you can absolutely solo the Fates even if no one else is there. Clearing the Fates along the way makes up the balance of putting you over 15. You save time because you are dual-purposing your travel for Hunting Log instead of losing time just chasing around Fates.

BTW, at higher levels the hunting log loses efficiency but is still viable as a solo activity while in DF. I can't remember the quote but some bonus is coming for those who have 1-50 Hunting Log complete. If I recall correctly, it's the prerequisite for unlocking some new feature.

Don't groan if you get Halatali and you are level 45. While the mobs might give 500 xp a piece (if that) you get a massive bonus at the end, that pales in comparison to the ones you get at the end of the higher level dungeons (although it balances because you get 2-4k per mob in those dungeons.)