Ideal playthrough to max XP [SPOILERS]

[phaze]

Yep. I confused the two maps. Played so often I forget the names. 😉

Definitely second Matrim's perspective on the UF. A challenging place for sure. Easy to die even at level cap and with E3 equipment.

I think the monster scaling and level caps should intersect in odd ways such that some maps and mobs are tremendously hard. Torrent swamps and the fortress rush for me.

Or I recall choosing koda and the UF mobs in the mines up to CoD. Host initiates in the 30s were terrifying. On a side note, I've always itched to let vurnak live and see that storyline play out.

[crimsonking]

Jan 17, 2017 14:03:18 GMT -5 fallen said:

Would be interested in player thoughts on this one. Did you find one or the other too easy / less fun because it was second?

Definitely not on the whole, but as I usually go north first the upper reaches of the underforge are a bit easy.

Generally you will necessarily hit lots of level caps on the first two third of Act II, but nowhere else in the game, so some adjustment might come in handy. The influence this has on Act III and IV should be calculated too though.


As for static rewards, letting Hagathrun live in Act II will gain a static amount of XP too.

Also, this thread is heavy on spoilers. A warning should be put in the thread title.

[phaze]

Static reward in Ep 1 in the Temple. Explore back of the temple for flavor text and 40 xp. 80 xp, I think, for clearing the troll.

Reserving space for future static xp rewards as I find them. I could do a good list from memory but not the exact amount.

Darkmoss Ironwood/Wetlands: 120 XP per Traveler's Shrine.  5 in total.
" : Two Darkmoon Blossoms, 300 XP each for the Storm Bastion, clear again when the maps respawn
Gholla Overlook: 100 XP for the visit
Gholla Overlook: Blessings, 500 XP after first battle, ?? XP after the second battle
Gholla Temple: A yes answer is 500 XP, a no answer is ?? XP, a yes answer may have later game implications.
Vlotgar Hunting Lodge: Bonus ?? XP for the kill, less for letting him live but initiates Pale Walker Quest, different enemies in Ep 4
Tevensa: save the humans, is there bonus XP?, XP for slaying Tevensa
Granthorn Reeve saved: bonus items, is there bonus XP?
Storm Bastion/Vladin's Hand: 500 XP for visiting Vladin's Hand and giving them info
Darkmoon Blossom: 300 XP per blossom, collect in Darkmoss Ironwood/Wetlands, Darkmoss Heart, Torrent Swamps?, and a few locations in Ep 4
CoD: Visit all hidden dungeons for static rewards, I recall two off the top of my head

Ep 4, Tevensa Shrine south of Koda Camp, 2000 XP, is this available when you kill Tevensa?

[wascalwywabbit]

In all my months on the forums I've never seen anyone say the second half of UF was easy and plenty have said it was super hard.

The Orcin I've only seen that they hit and curse hard, but not really much about their whole area being difficult like the UF.

[fallen]

matrim - thanks for the very in depth answer +1

[phaze]

I think the UF represents a whole other level of challenge and complexity due to the layout, monster abilities with lots of ranged damage but also summoners that can quickly infiltrate your ranks for major melee damage. Of course the two small spiders die quickly but they do hit for full damage. The big spiders are quite beefy in nature and combined with regular enemies, the incoming damage can stack very quickly. The layout means a lot of tight corridors and potential to trigger multiple fights. The potential threat of a SPI in the shadows always looms in the lower levels. Many challenging elements overall.

Orcs, for the most part, hit hard but exist in small numbers. If one has a functioning avoidance tank, the dungeon is relatively straightforward provided you can sufficiently clear enemies at a reasonable rate.

[contributor]

Thanks everyone for the input. I will work on compiling it in the OP as soon as I can. I just got through E1 so I'll be trying to log what rewards I can and verify other data.

I third or fourth the idea that the UF doesn't need tweaking. The upper levels are easy because of the particular mobs you face, so it might seem like a lower level cap, but once you get deep enough to face the real nasties the difficulty is plenty high.

[contributor]

phaze I'm trying to decide which static rewards to list. I don't necessarily want to list all xp gained from killing boss types because that's just sort of redundant. Does anybody know though if those scale by the boss levels or if they are static?

Do you get the 80xp for killing the troll, when you kill it, or do you get it when you go back and talk to the bowyer? In the latter case I guess it would count as a static reward.

[matrim]

I'm pretty sure boss kill exp is related to their level. It means episode 2 bosses should be killed as close to their level cap as possible but episode 3 bosses never reach cap so order does not matter. I might revise max exp of episode 3. You might get more by doing Wolfy quest till you clear Gloomers, then turn back and finish storm brothers. Get static exp for flowers, then go back and clear the rest of the quest. Added benefit of getting to use Heartbeats during the storm brothers quest even if you give them back to Tavensa!

[phaze]

Listing boss kill xp as it relates to story driven choices seemed reasonable. Lets people compare story decisions.

And some bosses give a big xp bonus. Not sure it it is static on top of level driven xp.

Xp is given when yo talk to the bow guy. It is announced like static xp.

[fallen]

XP either announced as static, or always scales.

If you get 100 XP for doing such and such (announced in dialog), this amount never changes.

The amount of XP you get for killing a boss (and the subsequent bonus XP for the killing blow) is scaled by level. All monsters have a base XP value, this is scaled to their level based on their unique scaler rules. So, as matrim pointed out, killing bosses at their max possible level is the best way to get the best XP. Higher the better.

[phaze]

Good thing to know. Thanks!!

[contributor]

Jan 17, 2017 21:27:43 GMT -5 phaze said:

Listing boss kill xp as it relates to story driven choices seemed reasonable. Lets people compare story decisions.

And some bosses give a big xp bonus. Not sure it it is static on top of level driven xp.

Xp is given when yo talk to the bow guy. It is announced like static xp.

Yeah, I think my rule is going to be:
-List those things that are clearly static rewards.
-Don't try to list XP gained from inevitable boss fights.
-Try to list XP gained from boss fights that are the results of story choices and also try to list the trade off of what might be gained from making a different choice.

[bobc]

You will probably want Vincent in your squad too so that you can visit Platinum Peaks

[phaze]

matrim With this XP set-up, what is your total with an EP 4 group all content completed?

I have not optimized my Epic score max party in this way, so I am curious as to what your final level and XP amounts are.

I have a new party started in Ep 2 that will improve over my old score, but you likely have me beat in the XP totals 😉

Maybe my vampire Kyera can be efficient enough to reduce nearly all camping in Ep 3/4. In this playthrough I will kill tevensa for the Heartbeats and high sp drain.

Looking at your map list and level, are you able to achieve a max monster level on nearly all maps in Ep 2? There might be some gain in tackling parts of the UF at 24 after the Orcs, but also riskier since the UF is easier with EP 3 equipment and higher player levels.