Dasaria II - A NWN2 Roleplay and Story-driven Persistent World

Just as the thread title states I've reached level 13 on one of my characters the other day and found out rather regrettably that I no longer qualify for most of the quests in the Morell region. I've kind of run into the proverbial wall as I'm kind of stumped as to where to go next. I've tried the Orcs, Giants by Tristan, Koalisks by Two Bridges, Wyverns, Hobgoblins, Trolls by Thrall's gate and even the Undead found in the Maw. Each area I've tried either proved too difficult or didn't give substantial enough of a reward/incentive to correlate with the difficulty/risk involved.

To illustrate: 23xp per Hill Giant killed, 500xp quest reward for killing 20 which required waiting for respawns. Compare this to 28xp per Ni Triad or MacHeath member killed (even at level 13), 700xp for completing appropriate quest which can easily reach 1000+ if you complete multiple objectives while you're in the area. I'm not even factoring in the loot yet! This feels a little off...

I've come to the conclusion that I must be missing a quest or ideally, a hub more in tune to my character's power level. Unfortunately I haven't come across it yet. So where do characters at this level range, without inflated gear levels, gather to quest? I must have lost about 3000xp last night just exploring and testing out (read: randomly attacking) various monsters and regions and don't quite look forward to setting myself back any further.

And no, before you ask, this wasn't done solo either (for the most part.) But at the same time, I encounter less and less fellow players as I travel farther away from Cear (didn't see one soul anywhere near Lendose or Ravenswatch) compounding the issue. Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide!

Well, the server is created to be better off with groups, you get xp bonuses and obviously the party benefits of being in a big group. I would highly suggest interacting with people in game, around your level and see where they want to go.

But if you just want a straightforward answer; Aucklorn Mill
Its the most common area for 12-15's 3.2k plain quest exp for completing the whole area. (its a town past all the undead in korgovs maw)

There are 48-50 quests open to a level 13, it's a quest-rich environment.

For the most part, Quests in Aucklorn Mill are open to 15, Quests in Two Bridges are open to 14, and you're right in level for Quests in Tristan, a couple still in Morell, plus there are a half-dozen that start right in or around Cear!

There are three places where giants spawn, BTW. Also the entire Ravenswatch and Lendose hubs generally open at 14, which is yet another lump of quests.

I ran into the same problem, but then I shot from 13 to 15 with no problem by wedging my way into groups I had typically been one to solo a lot, but found that grouping had several benefits.

1) I gained xp WAY faster (but this was surprisingly the least important outcome).

2) I learned about new quests in old areas as well as new areas.

3) I go to know a bunch of characters that I used to just run past, now I am much more likely to group with them and even have them contact me to see if I want to party up.

4) I, by complete dumb luck and the niceness of other people, got pulled into a DM run event with people that are fantastic roll players and were able to work with that fact that I am not It was really cool because I got a glimpse at one of the personal stories that actually affects the main story line. Hands down my favorite session on Das. (Thanks Rob and Mon)

In a complete turn around, and I don't mean to hijack the thread - but while you guys are talking about how to get more XP, I am wondering if there is a way I can limit mine?

My character is at the stage where currently he should not really be above level 4 - he's more of a common citizen at the moment, but often goes on quests with others for the thrill of the adventure, as opposed to actually doing much in the way of stabbing, and therefore has little experience. I'd quite like not to have to go off and get myself killed every time I approach the next level as i'd lose gold and it's just plain odd - If I have to though I will.

My character may find his calling, and decide to learn the ways of weapons and what-not, and at that time he'll probably start going up in level as his experience and prowess increases, but until then is there an item that when in my inventory prevents me from either levelling or getting XP?

Looking at the replies here, that might seem like a rather odd concept. No XP.

Yeah, that is an odd request, I have a hard enough time leveling (Though mind you 1-4 isn't all that hard). There is no item to stop leveling, but you can always go to the temple of Nuarari in Cear to delevel. When you hit 5, do a quick level up, and then drop back to the bottom of 4 (Although, you might be able to not need to level up).

Yeah, well I dont play for the shiny levels - some of the best times I spent in NWN 1 were on servers with a level 10 cap. Dasaria is a bit more casual than that - which isn't a bad thing, it's a lot of fun. When my character gets to the higher levels, it'll be because that's where the character is both mentally and within the world, not just because he's run around stabbing wolves all day

Ugh, I sound like an RP elitist - don't get me wrong, I have nothing against anyone who wants to level - I just prefer things to come with time and story. Keeps me interested in the character.

You raise a good point though - do you still get XP if you don't level up in NWN 2? I know that was a cheeky way some people used to level up faster in NWN 1.

Back on original topic: Thanks for the info, I had completely forgotten about Aucklorn Mill, since well, the last time I tried going there was at level 9 and let's just say Vampire Bats have a keen sense of hearing. So I never made it though the Maw. As I stated though, most of my "field studies" were done as a duo (both of us level 13) not solo but it was a case of "the blind leading the blind" which caused the harsh xp losses (I finished the night at a 2k xp deficit) as we tried various inappropriate areas for our (under)power(ed) levels.

Ideally yes, I would love to be in a (larger) group at all times, but the harsh reality is this isn't always possible. I think I spent about an hour earlier that day running around different maps and the entire time spent between Tristan and Lendose I was the *sole occupant* of each of the maps I passed through (this includes the cities by the way) hence why I asked where people of this level range gather. Note: I open the player list each time I load up a map out of habit just to look out for grouping opportunities!

The way your typical established persistent worlds work (this includes MMOs too not just NWN2) is a majority of the population occupy the extreme sides of the level range (for example 40% will be lowbies, 20% midranged, 40% end gamers) and my observations so far lead me to believe that Dasaria experiences this effect of population maturity too. Note: I always examine every PC I run across out of habit too, even when we don't stop to chat. Most come up as "Effortless" and I get quite a few "Impossibles," anytime I see a Moderate to Challenging show up I usually PM that person. Less people your range, the harder it is to group. :/ That's also why I'm always at a lookout for soloable quests, I just look at them as a necessary evil between groups.

Well hopefully Aucklorn resolves my troubles and I run into many new faces as well as some familiar ones alike. Also note I'm not in any way bemoaning how the server is tuned, constructed or balanced I'm just using the forums for some answers since running up to people OOC and asking for metaknowledge ingame isn't really encouraged. Also while I'm not exactly "captain roleplay," I do enjoy it and try to play along except when I get in a really foul mood (which tends to happen when I spend hours running around looking for quests where I don't get 3 shotted or where enemy ACs and DRs /lol at my character's attacks.) If I really wanted to solo I would've just made a power build and HIPS/Trapped/Walked Unseen my way to the level cap, it's easy enough to do.

One last question for Wired if you don't mind divulging some of this info. Is there a specific pattern with how you and the team handle enemy Spot & Listen scores? I find that even in level appropriate areas some enemies (tower hobgoblins & vampire bats come to mind) have no problem overcoming my capped hide & move silently with +8 from modifiers. I'm sure that this is intentionally done to prevent cheap stealth tricks, but what I guess I'm getting at is what would be a reliable modifier number to shoot for if I wanted to operate as a advance scout/explorer with relative safety (safe modnumber = char level for example?) Thanks again everyone I'll see you all online.

Its pretty vanilla/legal. Tiny races get spot/listen bonuses; they're just better at it.

To Fighter-Wraigth, just don't take the level if you don't want it. You cannot accrue experience above your current level indefinitely. It gives you a small buffer, then stops accruing.

Guile, if you're having some trouble finding people of your level range to party with, try using the Hub Scry tool, it'll tell you what quest hub everyone (Without names) is in, and provides average level of that hub. For example, if you have 1 person in T&C level 10, one person in North Cear level 20 and one person in Aucklorn level 15, then it'll tell you there are two players in Cear avg level 15, and one player in Aucklorn, avg level 15.

Other then Cear, typically average level will be what the quest hub level is.

The way your typical established persistent worlds work (this includes MMOs too not just NWN2) is a majority of the population occupy the extreme sides of the level range (for example 40% will be lowbies, 20% midranged, 40% end gamers) and my observations so far lead me to believe that Dasaria experiences this effect of population maturity too.

Really? I've noticed that Das has mostly mid ranged folks, in fact of the 10 or so characters I've played since joining Das, only one has reached beyond 15, and all of them are ECL 9 and above (Including the one that died). Maybe the quest scry system will help you find people

Good luck!

Irrelevant comment here but....You had a character on das with ECL 9?
Was it an ent or something?

ECL is effective character level. Normally things like Tieflings are ECL +1, which means its Effective character level is its character level +1. Races that are ECL 0 have an ECL = to their character level. My point was that characters like Glanin are ECL 9, even though their level is 8. (Hense why at 19 they are equivalent of 20).

I see.

Hang out in the IRC if you are looking to form a specific group too. I too have a majority of my characters in the mid-range. You won't always get a group in IRC but if you state what you are trying to do you may find a large group quickly.

Also, if you talk to people in IRC, they may switch to their mil-level characters to play with you....