This actually sounds reasonable, both in terms of what I've experience here so far, as well as in other games. The additional twist so far seems to be the mob densities, or lack thereof. Without actually looking at totals, I would say I received more XP/hour in the Catacombs fighting mobs -2 - +3 my level, than in Shalemont, fighting mobs +3-+8 from me. Even with the time I took to 'rest' in between fights in Shalemont, I still ran out of mobs to take down. Maybe I just need to get the higher ones (I don't think I've tried a +10* yet) so as to prolong each spawn.On levels, stars, and difficulty. The standard advice I've read on the forums is to level on mobs 5-10 levels above you. My advice is to concentrate on mobs your level minus 1 to your level plus 2. Disclaimer: I've only played ranger and druid, and probably didn't play the ranger well. My opinion is based on playing those classes. Other people might have radically different opinions but this should put you in the ballpark.
This pretty much matches my experience so far as well. It's those quest mobs that kinda throws a curve! I'll keep trying that L30*** Ent and see when I can take one down. The thing is, I've taken down a quest mob that was +3*** to me (that first man in black guy you have to kill in Catacombs for main quest), and he was also non-aggro at first.General rules of thumb for standard, non-quest mobs:
- Standard xp formulas for a given class of mobs: If a mob is your level and 1* = 1000xp, then 2* = 1500xp and 3* = 2000xp
- You should be able to
- easily solo any one-star mob your level or up to about 5 levels higher
- solo any two-star mob your level or up to about levels higher, but you might have a 25% chance of failing
- solo any three-star mob your level with difficulty, with a large chance of failing
- The bigger the difference in levels, the bigger the difference in effective damage. So, if you're a higher level than the mob, you do more damage and it does less. The battle will be short. Switch those roles and take on something bigger and badder than you? It's gonna take longer and you're gonna feel more pain.
- You get way less xp for killing mobs lower than you. Going back to the numbers above for a mob one level below you'll get 750xp/1000xp/1500xp
- You get marginally more xp for killing mobs higher level than you. A mob one level above will give you 1050xp/1575xp/2100xp
- My baseline for assessing difficulty of mobs is to count the number of stars, subtract one from this number, and then add one for every 5 levels the mob is above my own. This total is how many people of the same level of the mob that you will need to easily kill it, assuming you have a good balance of tank, dps and heals.
I'll need to try body pulls (getting close to a mob myself) instead of pulling with Lure, to see if I can whittle down those group mobs.Some strategies from someone who pretends that druid is a dps class:
- If mob density is relatively high, meaning I don't have to run too far between mobs, I try to clear out the 1- and 2-star mobs and then go back to the 3-stars. Soloing, I only do 3-star and higher mobs if there's nothing left, or if I want better drops.
This sounds troubling; can you elaborate? So if I continuously kill a bunch of 1* - 3* mobs, eventually they're be replaced by 4*s? Like a Lot of 4*s? Why? That almost sounds like forced grouping...[*]Eventually, you will spawn a bunch of 3- and 4-star mobs. Hope that a higher level will come along on a gold farming run, or see if you can partner up to clear these. I had a high level ranger before I had a druid, so while I was levelling the druid, I'd just bring the ranger out to clear the tough stuff. Keep in mind, I'd already played through the quest line, and was simply interested in levelling the druid quickly.[/list]
By the way, jump in topic; can I reasonably expect to do the main quest on my own, on level? And for the higher levels, is it still a soloable field?
