Death From Below to 50?

It's really strange how experiences differ so much. I had two friends on (one VIP and one prem) and was trying to run a DfB because neither had done it before and me and the VIP were having major end issues.

So, I /b and asked in the global channels. Nothing.

Ran a mission. Stopped for everyone to sell and train.

Asked again. Nothing.

We played for 3 hours and I queued between each one to see if we would get dumped in and asked each time to fill the one spot. Never did get one in.

Those freebies doing endless DfBs are not so easy to find always.

I'm sure you could get to 50 doing just DFB, but it would be a long and boring trip. Exemping doesn't negate the increase in XP needed every level so you'd go from multiple levels per trial to multiple trials per level (probably quite a few per level eventually). Compared to the massive XP you get running TFs or large mission teams it would be a much slower and duller ride, though if you only play for short periods at a time the auto-teaming would be nice.

Back in Beta I was getting 2-3 bars per run at level 40 (I believe I had an XP booster activated at the time). I'm currently planning on taking a terrible concept build (petless Demon/Trick Arrow Mastermind) to 50 largely using DfB. And when I get bored of doing whatever soloing I'm doing and no random invites are forthcoming I may occasionally queue up for it on other characters (though I'd happily queue up for another quick-and-fun trial if there were any available).

While the grinding thought of power leveling is a foreign concept to me and farming seems so contrastingly uncreative and droll compared to how I enjoy the game... I have to admit that when I hit those spans where it just seems like getting to the next level is taking an eternity, and driving me away from the game, its very refreshing to have a way to close the gap when you hit a plateau... and to get a little bit more instant gratification for time spent vs xp gained.

It's really caused me to pull the triggers on far more alt concepts knowing I can see them realized on a timeline that fits my playing schedule.

So I'm torn.

p.s.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Restoration and i levelled him up through the story arc's and double exp events ect.

Holy crap. This just hit me... double XP + DFB = whoa...

Love all the anti-AE farmers supporting this.

I might be a little late to this subject... I JUST realized you could do this until 50. It's funny that they Devs are attacking AE left and right but DfB is okay because it's their content. Both AE and DfB create the same type of "babies" unaware of what their powers do and how their character meshes with others.

A bit late to the party IMO. You could do this with the old style sewer runs. It wasn't quite as lucrative, but very close. I hit 50 on my FF/Ice Defender by getting the last level in the sewers when I couldn't find teams in Peregrine. I got several levels on my Ice/Rad Controller this way too. The "trial" mainly just makes it more obvious that its possible.

Personally, I like the DFB up until about level 20; frankly because its cool to get SOs right from level one and 'baby incarnate' buffs. The leveling is fast paced and there seems to always be a team eager to go. The actual play-through is simple enough and people seem to really have fun with it.

But once I get up into that 20 range, I know the baby-i buffs will soon be gone. The leveling isn't as fast paced and I'm starting to run a mid-level toon that is stuck using low level powers for most of the trial (which for some power combos... can be really sucktacular).

I wouldn't want to do it from 1-50 but it may be a nice offset when finding teams for content between 20 and 50 starts getting thin. Especially redside on lower pop servers.

I recently got a toon to 50(my 5th)and I would use DFB as a means if getting quick xp during the slow levels or when TFs weren't forming at level 47 a run would net 3 1/2 bubbles

I concur about the aggravation of people PLing to extremely high levels in DFB.

There was one Fire/Fire blaster who was absolutely convinced that Blazing Aura was his best power, because: "It kills everything instantly, and I just have to stand there!"

Turns out he had been killing level 1 and 2 Hellions with it and had never used it on anything his own level (43).

The regen scrapper that didn't understand what a toggle was because he didn't get his first one until level 16 (and had never had a combat level higher than 5), was amusing as well. I watched him get repeatedly held while complaining that his mez protection wasn't working. (granted, this one could just be him being dumb)

There are untold numbers of people who have no idea how to play their characters. It's arguably worse than AE babies, becuase at least the AE babies can use their higher level powers and maybe figure out how they work. DFBabies have no clue about anything above level 10, because they either don't have access to it, or they're using it on level 1 NPCs.

It's kinda sad really.

This happens in all games... If it wasn't DFB it'd be something else. Personally, I never find it annoying. I make my toons to be self sufficient enough that even though I play 100% pick-up groups I really couldn't care less what powers the other 7 people have, much less if they know how to use them. The game is easy enough as it is, and it's just a game anyway. If the team starts to wipe too much, usually the idiots who can't play and blame everyone else, quit first anyway. Replace them and move on.

IDK. Having rolled 12 50s the normal way, Personally I get tired of doing low level stuff, so yea the DFB is a quick way to get to 20 for me. skip all the boring tedious crap and all. only so many ways you can play those beginning missions, All be it they did freshen up villain side a little. But still. I know many that just dont want to waste their time playing a character that is worthless to anything team oriented. For me I can tell if a build is going to be useless around lev 25 or so. if its just not going to be able to fit a role thats good for a team it becomes garbage cause no one will want to play with it on a team. Alla Keldarian Syndrome.. Or trials with a non+1

So yea I like the DFB because there are people playing it and its fairly quick to use to get to a point that an experienced player can then respec it and tweak this or that to see how a build feels... I've trashed a dozen or so this way and kept maybe 3. Specifically the Titan weapon builds since there is no Mids to play with yet for this; I played in game with a few builds. Ultimatly its an interesting set but not really ready to say I love it... I'm hoping to reroll once a new defence power set comes out in Issue 22. that may pair better with this. And yes DFB will make since to reroll the toon up after its deleted for the new build. why put yourself through that tedium again?

As to end game. well after 5 years for most of the players I been playing with, the old stuff is just uninteresting. Its a SF/TF or trial or nothing... When nothing is running they leave. Heck some of these people have BOTH sides oro arcs complete. I was in shock seeing that on a Friends account. Its no wonder he is bored with all the low content if he did all that! I really try to mix it up some to keep the game fresh. I'm just a casual player going on 4th year. So I have plenty to do between say lev 30 to 50 I haven't done. but prior to that its rather tedious for me now. I have literally rolled at least 40 toons to at least lev 20 or so now, most get deleted cause I dont like the builds. Once AE and DFB came out it was easier to determine a build was a waste of time for me. I can see why some vets just want to reroll to 50 and start from there. alla the reason so many vets have multi accounts to do just that.

Answer: Yes, yes it is indeed possible to level to 50 just by running the Death From Below trial. Click on thumbnail for the victory moment:



This screenshot was grabbed in the middle of a PuG today February 1, 2012. I was one happy player to get my third 50 so quickly, thank you Freedom!

Firessence was started on October 19, 2011 because this thread got me curious about if it was possible to earn levels only in DfB or if it would cause me to overdose on sewers. A Fire/Fire blaster was an obvious choice as it's all about damage and more damage from the start.

I was pleased that the XP curve stayed pretty good, though it did feel slow during levels 45 - 48. The three things that helped me through most of the DfB was interspersing playtime with other alts, listening to the Ustream community chats, and great PuGs players.

Next DfB: Monday with the Freedom Horde.