Soloing and XP

[WuTang]

XP-wise, when roll'n solo, could it be better to set the mission level to -1, team x2 with bosses? Or just have the level set at +1 or 2? I was thinking higher quantity, lower quality might yield more XP without making runs longer, and maybe less dangerous. Still working on my scrapper and blaster skills.

And on bosses, I assume they have a higher chance of dropping better items?

[Honorbridge]

Like so many other things, it depends.  In this case, on whether your character is faster killing single targets or packs.  If you melt bosses, but take longer dealing with a pack, increase the level until your TTK (Time To Kill) gets affected.  If you have a lot of AoE and lower ranks are no threat as a result, increase team size until you start being unable to handle the alpha strike from the enemy.

 

Bosses have a higher chance of dropping the same items as any other mob, to my knowledge.

[Captain Fabulous]

Yeah, it depends upon a number of factors. Best suggestion is to try it both ways and see which feels better. Higher level will give you more XP per kill, but they also take longer to defeat and harder to hit, and obviously are going to do more damage. I'm also unsure if bosses have a higher drop rate. I don't believe they do, but not 100% sure.

Personally if I solo I prefer lower level with more critters (+0/x8) because it feels more superheroey to me. When I crank it up to +2 or +3 it takes so much longer to clear maps that it feels like a slog.

[lemming]

I'd have to go check some numbers, but iirc, lower difficulty tends to lower changes of drops, but not certain.

 

Other than less xp per defeat, but a faster defeat per target,  not sure on the rest.

 

One reason I don't tend to run at lower difficulty is that any knockdown power is more likely to do more knockback.

[Sovera]

Bosses also have harder hitting or more annoying abilities.

 

-1 I would not advise since it's truly slow to get XP. +0x1 should not be difficult but it's a bit sad especially with the Blaster you get to a point you throw a Build-up + AoEs and you'll have melted the spawn before they even see you.

 

Place the Gaussian proc in Aim and use Aim to empower your AoEs for the next group.

[Shenanigunner]

I mostly solo, but I dunno numbers... I've just never been a numbers kind of CoX player. I find that I want to engage the maximum level of foes that I can handle without every encounter being a complete grind. So my muscle crowd tends to run +1 to +3, my squishies 0 or 1, and most alts, once they have a decent set of powers, +3 or even +4. That requires careful gameplay and strategy, but means I only get defeated if I make a mistake or just lose the luck of the draw.

 

That is, I want to be challenged, not just farm my way through moderate foes, but I consider it a win if I complete a mission without a defeat.

 

And I let XP, Inf and drops take care of themselves rather than fretting over whether I could have gotten 10% more with some less fun strategy.

[Perfidy]

With regards to bosses potentially dropping better items, I can't speak with any authority as to how things work now that HC has changed things, because I don't really remember if they changed how recipes, enhancements, catalysts, converters, threads and shards drop. (And any other loot) 

I did find this in the HC wiki, regarding only recipe drop rates: 

 

This is the link here if you wish to give things a more thorough look. 

 

As for the best or optimal way to plow through npcs for XP gain, I can only give anecdotal evidence. On my fire farmers, when they were leveling up, once I got burn 3 slotted, I found that running at +1/8 gained me more xp per minute against council mobs then at +2,3 or +4. But, recognize, it was just a spines/fire brute leveling up. Burn comes later on a brute than it does a tank. 

The tank levels up faster once it gets burn, too. The brute, with Fury, seems to do pretty well in the early levels, better than a scrapper. But that's just anecdotal perception. But, when I'm solo, I go afk a lot, so fury drops. In some cases for me, the scrapper is a better choice to maximize XP. 

In a nut shell, it varies a lot with what your specific character can handle. Perhaps you build your characters better than half of us, and you can get optimal xp per minute with +3/8, while most of us have to settle for 0/8. So much of the answer depends on your experience and knowledge of the npcs you're fighting, your experience and knowledge of your character and the build you've made for it, where what's true for me may not be true for you. 

[Snarky]

On 2/10/2024 at 5:00 AM, WuTang said:

XP-wise, when roll'n solo, could it be better to set the mission level to -1, team x2 with bosses? Or just have the level set at +1 or 2? I was thinking higher quantity, lower quality might yield more XP without making runs longer, and maybe less dangerous. Still working on my scrapper and blaster skills.

And on bosses, I assume they have a higher chance of dropping better items?

You really want to kill your way to fifty using this micro managed strategy Sheldon Cooper?

 

Seriously, I do a lot of solo story arcs.  They are their own animals.  Each different, some wildly so.  Each with its own challenges. Be that maps, or strange objectives, or difficult (for that toon) enemy group.  
 

You will have a difficult time constructing a “one size fits all” team setting to efficiently get experience soloing on every mission.

 

My two inf.  

[WuTang]

18 minutes ago, Snarky said:

You really want to kill your way to fifty using this micro managed strategy Sheldon Cooper?

 

Seriously, I do a lot of solo story arcs.  They are their own animals.  Each different, some wildly so.  Each with its own challenges. Be that maps, or strange objectives, or difficult (for that toon) enemy group.  
 

You will have a difficult time constructing a “one size fits all” team setting to efficiently get experience soloing on every mission.

 

My two inf.  

Still learning. I'm not sure how else to level efficiently. I've enjoyed some stories, and some radios have a funny premise and some of the rescue missions I pick simply because of the victim's name. But, how would you suggest soloing to 50? I've grouped a once for a long mission but as I'm still learning my contributions were limited and to be honest everyone else seemed to know so much more that I just felt like a tagalong, it was a whirlwind of go here, now here, take this portal, now this place....

 

Grouping for raidos was a more fun experience but I don't always have a set amount of play time and might need to bounce quick and can't do that with a group.

 

Edit: Caves and sewers suck btw...

Edited February 13 by WuTang

[Snarky]

3 minutes ago, WuTang said:

Still learning. I'm not sure how else to level efficiently. I've enjoyed some stories, and some radios have a funny premise and some of the rescue missions I pick simply because of the victim's name. But, how would you suggest soloing to 50? I've grouped a once for a long mission but as I'm still learning my contributions were limited and to be honest everyone else seemed to know so much more that I just felt like a tagalong, it was a whirlwind of go here, now here, take this portal, now this place....

 

Grouping for raidos was a more fun experience but I don't always have a set amount of play time and might need to bounce quick and can't do that with a group.

 

Edit: Caves and sewers suck btw...

Enjoy the ride!  I do a LOT of soloing to learn how to play a new AT/powersets.  And i have been at this a loooong time.  Just learning the mobs/maps, regardless of toon, is a very big thing.  

 

I just spent about 40-50 hours slow doing every contact red/blue 1-19 to understand the synergy (solo) of my new Ice/Dark Corruptor.  On a team he plays different, more debuff, AoE and timing.  

 

For me, I like to 50 by doing every TF/SF Blue/Red in ENDING level range order.  

 

DFBx4 (for the buffs), Cavern of Transcendence, Posi1, Posi2, DiBx4 (buffs to 30), Synapse, Tarikoss, P Yin, Silver Mantis, Sis Psyche (Ouro), Moonfire, SF Oper Renault, Citadel, Hess, TV1, Treespec1, KHTF, Manti, Ice Mistral, TV2, Treespec2, Mort Kal, Serafina, Adm Sutter, then on to ITF and such. 

 

You prob want to avoid the TVs and esp Treespecs, very odd for new players.

 

Just teaming with ANY team, doing ANY content that is near your level range will be GREAT chance to learn.  Do not jump onto 50 teams to learn, great experience to level, learn nothing.

[Ironblade]

1 hour ago, WuTang said:

Still learning. I'm not sure how else to level efficiently.

Why is it important to level 'efficiently'?  If you're having fun, just play the game and you'll level when you level.

 

If you specifically want a level 50 (to generate influence, for example), just make a fire farmer.  That's the most efficient way to get XP.  Of course, playing the market is the most efficient way to get influence.

[WuTang]

1 minute ago, Ironblade said:

Why is it important to level 'efficiently'?  If you're having fun, just play the game and you'll level when you level.

 

If you specifically want a level 50 (to generate influence, for example), just make a fire farmer.  That's the most efficient way to get XP.  Of course, playing the market is the most efficient way to get influence.

Figuring things out like that is what makes it fun for me. And yeah 50 is the goal and yeah the journey is fun, but with time or lack thereof being a factor, sometimes I just wanna go brain dead and level up.

[Snarky]

2 hours ago, WuTang said:

Figuring things out like that is what makes it fun for me. And yeah 50 is the goal and yeah the journey is fun, but with time or lack thereof being a factor, sometimes I just wanna go brain dead and level up.

For me the brainest dead and leveling up is to open my second comp and load up my farmer acct.  Then meet my new alt in Pocket D.  (2xp buff)  Then run the fire tunnel endlessly.  I can 50 in about 6? hours with breaks.  And it feels (to me) like driving around Phoenix on the hottest day of the summer in a convertible with the top down.  Sure, there is a breeze.  And you are going somewhere.  And it is a dry heat........

[Perfidy]

6 hours ago, WuTang said:

Still learning. I'm not sure how else to level efficiently. I've enjoyed some stories, and some radios have a funny premise and some of the rescue missions I pick simply because of the victim's name. But, how would you suggest soloing to 50? I've grouped a once for a long mission but as I'm still learning my contributions were limited and to be honest everyone else seemed to know so much more that I just felt like a tagalong, it was a whirlwind of go here, now here, take this portal, now this place....

 

Grouping for raidos was a more fun experience but I don't always have a set amount of play time and might need to bounce quick and can't do that with a group.

 

Edit: Caves and sewers suck btw...

So, this sheds a bit more light, and well, I would suggest you not worry about feeling like a tagalong. We were all new at one point, and most of us learn something new that we weren't aware of before. 

I think my best advice would be to avoid speed runs, but other than that, I think you would be just fine if you're teamed. 
That said, I love to solo and solo far more often than not. 

I also team. Teaming is a smoother XP ride, and a lot more efficient than going solo, unless your character is geared towards one specific npc damage type. 

Don't try to squeeze yourself in a box. Solo, team - do all of it. 

You can bounce quickly with a group, just try not to do so when you're on a Taskforce or Trial.