XP problems when grouped

[Goom]

Hey all, been reading endlessly on the tons of info on this forum, but there's something that I need help with that I couldn't find.


What the heck is wrong with grouping experience? I'm 31 (though have had this problem since i started grouping at 25) as of today and I find that grouping slows my experience down a lot. A LOT. Whether it's with someone lower or higher, or 1 or 2 or 3 people, I just can't benefit from it.

Sample data:
With a 24 pally (i was 27) in Echo & DSP.  It happened that the pally couldn't tank so I just had him dps from behind. XP was just behind being solo, per kill, but I was able to go without stopping, and it evened out. Mobs were yellows, mostly. Took less than an hour to level.

With a 35 shroud rogue (i was 29(?)) in DSP. Slow kills, less xp per kill than solo. Mobs were red. XP was terrible. Would take more than an hour to level.

With a 35 shroud rogue, a 25 shaman, and a 39 druid (then later without druid) in DSP (I was 30). Killed ruthlessly fast. Had 70 clr on heals, everyone else pulled everything that moved and we went for hours. Bad XP. Mobs were blue through red. Without druid in group, XP was the same. Roughly 1/3-1/4 a blue per kill. Took well over an hour to level.

With a 46 zerk and 39 druid (and sometimes without druid) in Gunthak (I was 29 and 30). All mobs red to me. Mobs died fast. XP same as previous setup in DSP. On average, it would take a little over an hour to level.

With a 26 shaman (later shrouding to 35 dps class), a 40 shroud warrior, and probably the 39 druid again (though we probably booted him out again to test the numbers) in ... ready? (I was 29) ... Gunthak. Took a bit longer than with 46 zerk to kill, but XP was just as slow. Took over an hour to level.


Ok, anyway...I'm a troll. I know trolls get wacked with the slow-xp stick after the ugly stick. And if any of my xp rates actually sound good, then yes, I'm spoiled. I've been playing a very long time and I've been able to solo every class I've played much, much better than the above. My other characters have always had better gear, but I'm finding this troll beastie has *no* problems tanking. I haven't played in about a year. Before I quit, I was used to either soloing a level in about 45 min (up until about 41, then I find it slowed but I could plow on through 50 very easily) or PL'ing myself and having it go quicker. That was years ago without any hotzone xp.

I also know DSP isn't a hotzone, but I can't think of anyplace that rivals it for fast pulls for levels 30-40. OT is generally 1/2 the xp of dsp per-level-per-mob for equal kill times, so if it's a hotzone now, it's the same as DSP. I tried Echo but found there weren't enough mobs for it to be worthwhile. I spent a long time waiting around.

I did try IC, but only dervishes. They were good xp, but I guess I'm just ignorant of IC - where do they come from? Do I really have just wait around for them? I know once I actually TRY to find them, I won't be able to grab them reliably quickly. I heard about cougars, but are there enough of them?

I have not been to FM since 2002. There were tons of mobs strolling about, it was interesting (I just loved the terrain) and had a giant fort ... but I know that zone was never as good as OT in terms of XP, and OT is a hotzone, so FM just won't cut it - even if it is a hotzone. However, if there's anything I should know, I'm listening.

I love sol A but without snare (the guy playing the druid is not a snare queen, sadly), I can't go deeper. Ditto for dead guk.

I haven't been to scarlet desert since 03, so I'm not sure if I should go there now or when I get the high-30's pet.

I really just want to get to ~45 ish and I can take it from there. I don't want to do MM's because I have neglected 1 of our 3 weapon skills (and it's not throwing  :-P and don't want to "graduate" without having it maxed ... plus i have 0 divination, isn't that great? oy!). And I don't want to solo. I will, probably, since I seem to be missing something about grouping, but I just would rather not.

So...what am I missing here?

-I'm grouping with people too far outside my range, even though we technically *can* get xp together? What is the preferred range, like 7 levels? or is it 5? Or is it 3 better?

-Shrouds suck? Do shrouded chars ruin the xp of others? Do they expect that people will shroud down to PL friends, and thereby take a cut of the xp?

-Is it just trolls? I leveled an iksar up, but maybe I didn't notice their penalty or maybe theirs isn't so bad?

-Has something fundamental (or maybe only relating to pets or beastlords) changed? I know about losing xp when a pet does either all or a majority of the xp (should be negligable because I always tank everything, and if my dmg is a minority to pet's, there's nothing I can do about it), but did that change?



Any and all advice is welcome. Thanks in advance.

Firiona.Goom
(Fennin.Faza)

[Goom]

Just to update,

I spent a while soloing in DSP and went from 31-33. I wasn't getting half a blue per kill. I think the xp curve has to have been changed and/or the troll xp penalty is eating me to death. When I was grouped, though, the xp was worse. Noticeably worse.

My past perceptions should be factored out - in the here and now, grouping gives less xp, even when fighting harder mobs - and (I guess this is a 'duh' ... ) if grouping can't get those mobs dead a *lot* faster, it's pointless ...

But I can't understand why soloing isn't much faster ... it has to be a troll thing / xp curve smoothing-out or something.

Firiona.Goom
(Fennin.Faza)

[shenk]

From what I remember, my bst solo'ed well and generally could tank fine up until pop zones.  As far as solo'ing v. grouping.  I usually found I could exp faster solo'ing unless you end up in one of those rare exp pick up groups that just owns.

As a bst, you can farm d. blues all day and experience very little downtime.  I used to tank mob until i was about 50 health then play pet cleric until the mob died.  WHile playing pet cleric, i was able to get mana back so while solo'ing, i experienced very little down time.

When I grouped, I found that the group usually ended up going after mobs that would take too long to kill, or take your cleric oom and a lot of time was spent with everyone but the cleric FM and ready.  Additionally, you need a good size camp to pull mobs.  Because the other issue i remember was being out of mobs to pull.  Anytime you aren't killing something just slows down the experience.

When solo'ing a lot of camps I could kill all the mobs, med about 1-2 mins before the first repop and start over, with no real down time.

[Goom]

Hey,

Just an update,


I dinged 50 yesterday. Those 20 levels sure put things in perspective.

Ok, first up - being a troll is definitely a big factor. The regen IS usefull - while soloing, there were plenty of times where about 2-3 minutes of kiting in circles (pet in the center, chewing on what's chasing me) was able to net me a good percentage of my HP back. I don't have any regen items, but truth be told, it's so easy to get them that I should just have made myself a Vah Shir (though for some reason, they still feel like the cliche "novelty" race/class) and gotten some +regen. The xp penalty is not worth it.

THE XP PENALTY OF BEING A TROLL IS NOT WORTH IT.

Ok, but the bigger issue is soloing. Beastlord were BORN to solo, and I was grouping. I made a ton of friends. In the 50+ game, friends are way more important because no one can solo through the 50's as well as a super-group can. So in between groups, while LFG, I would solo. And I would rake in the XP. Being on a double-xp weekend sure didn't hurt, but factoring that out, soloing was definitely the way to do it. The only problem I had while soloing is that my spell skills were constantly lagging, so I couldn't cast my best dot. The best time to solo is the first two levels after getting a new pet. Especially the lvl 46 pet - I did 46 and 47 with my eyes closed.


So anyway, it was a good journey. It's actually just starting. I would not recommend being  a troll unless it's the lovliest race you've ever seen. I wish there were more options for BL, but I guess those are the breaks. I'm going to write up my experiences in depth so as to hopefully give some confidence to anyone else that rolls up one of our fine class.

Firiona.Goom
(fennin.faza)