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Level 50 before Corellia and no PVP


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I have thought long and hard about posting this since I am sure to draw the ire of many here in the forums. However, there may be others who would be interested in this, so flame away if you must.

 

I always try to stay several levels ahead of where I need to be for one simple reason; I suck at video games, always have, always will. I enjoy them, I'm just not that good.

 

Over the weekend, my commando made it to level 50 without ever setting foot on Corellia and never doing any PvP (except for a duel at level 6, still don't know what that was all about). I have been playing since late January and I fully intend on taking all 8 classes to level 50.

 

I accomplished this by using some fairly simple principals:

 

Credits and Commendations - This game is all about gear and gear costs money. The gear and modifications that can be obtained through commendations is great but I also found some really sweet deals on the GTN. Keep the credits rolling in and only select commendations as mission rewards unless there is something you can really use also offered.

 

Get some rest - If you quit the game in a cantina, your ship or your fleet, when you come back all the XP you gain from killing things is double (the longer you rest the more double XP you get, don't know the formula). XP for mission rewards remains the same but if you kill enough, you get more XP from that then the mission reward. Leaving your toon in a rest area and playing an alt for a day really helps too.

 

Crafting is a black hole of credits - As I said, I am no good at video games so maybe I am wrong here but I just can't see how crafting can be, in any way, shape or form, profitable. However, selling crafting materials on the GTN can be. I dropped the crafting skills and picked up only mission and gathering skills. My companions really helped out. Speaking of companions...

 

Keep your companions happy - As the companion's affection for the player builds, there will be, what I call "talkie missions" (I have also referred t them as chat missions). A mission to visit with your companion. After of day of questing on Hoth, I had 5 talkie missions in a row for about 40,000 XP all for talking to Ellara Dorne, which I am happy to do anyway. Also, the higher the affection, the faster they run missions to bring back goodies to sell on the GTN. Don't have them get compaion gifts on missions until at least grade 5 or 6 because those are the ones that really get that affection up.

 

Complete every quest and then some - You know those missions where you are in a cave and have fight all sorts of horror all the way to the end of the cave to retrieve the relic of Puttin Tate? Its real tempting to just quick travel out of there and turn the mission in. Don't do it. Turn right around and kill the respawned idiots you just got done wasting.

 

Do the Heroic 2 missions - After all of the class missions and side quests on planet, I was generally 2 levels ahead of the max level for the planet. That is when I would group with other players. It is much easier to find one other player than to try to get a group of 4 together. I always tried to get at least the heroic 2 missions done and, if a group was available, the heroic 4 missions. I would also run flash points with any group that would have me. I would only try to find a group until I found myself losing patience then just move on. No sense in me getting upset over a game that is supposed to be entertaining me.

 

Get off the scooter and kill something - I've noticed when riding my little hover vespa along marked roads, I see tons of enemies that don't do anything but look at me. Once my mortar volley cooled down, I would stop and go find a strong enemy that was just standing around waiting for me to put my foot all up in his ***. If he/she/it/*** happened to have a couple week targets hanging around them, that could mean about 1,200 XP. A nice long 5 minute scooter ride could start turning into some real XP.

 

Advance to the next level if you are close - On every planet, I would make a note of "killing fields". Lots of enemies standing around just itching for a fight they would lose. If I was within 10,000 XP of the next level, I just went to a killing field and took out all my anger on them. It wouldn't take long for the next level to come up.

 

So if you are like me and feel like a high school basketball player thrown into an NFL game, there is hope. These are just the techniques that I used.

 

My guild has asked me to re-spec as a combat medic, which I am going to do. I am going to try PvP with some more experienced players in my guild and I will complete my class mission at some point.

 

All in all, taking my first toon in my first MMO to the max level was a wild and fun ride. Can't wait to see what happens next.

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This is some wonderful advice; I personally am not into the PVP scene at all and have run into trouble with characters being too weak to continue on in play. I am actually brand new to the MMO idea, always been just a RPG player and a longtime BioWare fan.

 

I am already using the idea of staying logged off a character for a while will to let me level up enough to continue, I am 1 ½ levels below what I need to face a mission and I won’t give up my Legacy character (she’s my baby). I am also doing the whole killing spree thing to build up the XP.

 

Hopefully some other noobs (like myself) read you post and follow your ideas to help them stay up with the game.

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The comment below are coming from a long time gamer and MMOer (albeit a more casual player than I used to be). So, you will get some perspective from the "opposite side" of the gamer spectrum. I also got a character to 50 before leaving Voss (in fact I was half way through Voss when I hit 50 on my JK defense guardian.

 

Credits and Commendations - This game is all about gear and gear costs money. The gear and modifications that can be obtained through commendations is great but I also found some really sweet deals on the GTN. Keep the credits rolling in and only select commendations as mission rewards unless there is something you can really use also offered.

 

100% agree - especially when you are out-leveling quests the rewards are usually not upgrades. That being said watch out for upgrades for your companions. Improving your companions' gear (especially the one or two you use most), can make questing a lot easier.

 

Get some rest - If you quit the game in a cantina, your ship or your fleet, when you come back all the XP you gain from killing things is double (the longer you rest the more double XP you get, don't know the formula). XP for mission rewards remains the same but if you kill enough, you get more XP from that then the mission reward. Leaving your toon in a rest area and playing an alt for a day really helps too.

Again 100% agree. that being said you do gain rested XP even if you are not in a cantina your ship or fleet just at a slower rate. So do not feel like you HAVE to go back to a resting spot before you quit for the night.

Crafting is a black hole of credits - As I said, I am no good at video games so maybe I am wrong here but I just can't see how crafting can be, in any way, shape or form, profitable. However, selling crafting materials on the GTN can be. I dropped the crafting skills and picked up only mission and gathering skills. My companions really helped out. Speaking of companions...

I agree and disagree - you need to be wise amount where you spend your credits on crew skills but they can be VERY profitable. At worst, you break even over the long haul. For a beginner this can be daunting. The best piece of advice I can give in this arena is to have patience. it is ALWAYS better (over the long term) to sell quantity over quality; getting that one huge sale is a thrill, but lots of small sales generates a steady stream of income that will eventually feed an ever-growing cycle.

Keep your companions happy - As the companion's affection for the player builds, there will be, what I call "talkie missions" (I have also referred t them as chat missions). A mission to visit with your companion. After of day of questing on Hoth, I had 5 talkie missions in a row for about 40,000 XP all for talking to Ellara Dorne, which I am happy to do anyway. Also, the higher the affection, the faster they run missions to bring back goodies to sell on the GTN. Don't have them get compaion gifts on missions until at least grade 5 or 6 because those are the ones that really get that affection up.

Again I agree 100%

Complete every quest and then some - You know those missions where you are in a cave and have fight all sorts of horror all the way to the end of the cave to retrieve the relic of Puttin Tate? Its real tempting to just quick travel out of there and turn the mission in. Don't do it. Turn right around and kill the respawned idiots you just got done wasting.

I agree and disagree. It depends on how much you out-level the content. Once you get 5-6 levels above the mobs, the ROI time to XP is just not worth it anymore. Just my opinion though.

Do the Heroic 2 missions - After all of the class missions and side quests on planet, I was generally 2 levels ahead of the max level for the planet. That is when I would group with other players. It is much easier to find one other player than to try to get a group of 4 together. I always tried to get at least the heroic 2 missions done and, if a group was available, the heroic 4 missions. I would also run flash points with any group that would have me. I would only try to find a group until I found myself losing patience then just move on. No sense in me getting upset over a game that is supposed to be entertaining me.

I guess this varies from server to server and the times you choose to play, because I had trouble even finding someone for the 2+ heroics. that being said, once you start out-leveling them by 4 levels or more you can usually do them solo (with your companion of course). you have to be a lot more cautious (make sure that patrolling mobs does not get too close; make sure you know what is going to be pulled before you pull), and be prepared for more deaths.

Get off the scooter and kill something - I've noticed when riding my little hover vespa along marked roads, I see tons of enemies that don't do anything but look at me. Once my mortar volley cooled down, I would stop and go find a strong enemy that was just standing around waiting for me to put my foot all up in his ***. If he/she/it/*** happened to have a couple week targets hanging around them, that could mean about 1,200 XP. A nice long 5 minute scooter ride could start turning into some real XP.

Like killing mobs on your way back to a quest turn-in I disagree if you out-level the content by a fair amount. the ROI time to XP is just not worth it.

 

Advance to the next level if you are close - On every planet, I would make a note of "killing fields". Lots of enemies standing around just itching for a fight they would lose. If I was within 10,000 XP of the next level, I just went to a killing field and took out all my anger on them. It wouldn't take long for the next level to come up.

In this game I disagree. In the time it takes to kill the 50-100 or so mobs you need to level you could have gotten another quest and completed it and gotten more XP for the effort. I have done this playing other games, but not this one.

 

One thing to add to your list:

 

Space Combat daily quests - I know a lot people do not like the space combat. I do. It's a mindless great source of easy credits (and XP when done within the proper level range). If you are on your ship anyway, take a half an hour and do the three highest level daily quests available (five or six missions). The ship upgrades are reasonably priced and eventually pay for themselves.

 

In summary, I am not saying your ideas and strategies are wrong. I am only saying that sometimes you have to think about the time you spend and what you are getting for that time; are their more efficient ways of getting XP and credits?

Edited by psandak
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Re: Rested XP...

 

Rested XP is WONDERFUL!!!

 

Please note, Quest rewards (and Holocron rewards) is ALSO doubled...and unlike Combat XP, does NOT diminish the amount of Rested XP.

 

I also levelled to 50 before reaching Corellia...heck, I hit 50 somewhere on Hoth if I recall correctly...and as with you, I played zero PvP.

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The comment below are coming from a long time gamer and MMOer (albeit a more casual player than I used to be). So, you will get some perspective from the "opposite side" of the gamer spectrum. I also got a character to 50 before leaving Voss (in fact I was half way through Voss when I hit 50 on my JK defense guardian.

 

You put a lot of time and effort into your post and I appreciate that. Everyone should go back and read psandak's comments. Lots of good stuff there.

 

You are correct about the ROI of time spent to gain XP. As a player out levels quests, the amount of XP diminish until it eventually reaches zero. I have noticed that 3 levels over the max level of the planet is seems to be where this occurs. So yes, its not worth it to spend 30 minutes for 1,000 XP.

 

As far as crafting goes, the position you are advocating requires one thing that I sort of lack IRL and that is patience. I think everyone should try their hand at crafting (and buy lots of materials from me on the GTN) and see if they can make it work for them. Doesn't really work for me but oh well.

 

I had made this thread because most people had told me that level 50 would occur someplace on Corellia. I took that to be the absolute earliest it could happen. When I hit level 50 on Voss, I started thinking I had achieved something exceptional which I am finding out is not the case.

 

Again, psandak thank you very much for sharing your thoughts.

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Re: Rested XP...

 

Rested XP is WONDERFUL!!!

 

Please note, Quest rewards (and Holocron rewards) is ALSO doubled...and unlike Combat XP, does NOT diminish the amount of Rested XP.

 

I also levelled to 50 before reaching Corellia...heck, I hit 50 somewhere on Hoth if I recall correctly...and as with you, I played zero PvP.

 

Hoth? Really? That's impressive. Pub or Imp?

 

Is Hoth a higher level planet on the Imp side than it is on the pub side?

 

I've noticed the planets aren't in the same order for the two factions.

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Hoth? Really? That's impressive. Pub or Imp?

 

Is Hoth a higher level planet on the Imp side than it is on the pub side?

 

I've noticed the planets aren't in the same order for the two factions.

 

Its about the same level for both sides iirc.

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