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3:09 am
November 4, 2010
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Happenstance
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| This Poster Has Maxed Out The Forums | posts 121 | |
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Post edited 3:53 am – November 4, 2010 by Happenstance
This thread is to provide my take on the DDO adventure packs, so that you can better decide how to spend your hard earned (or purchased) Turbine Points.
Adventure packs give a selection of adventures that often have nice XP rewards or unique items, in addition to providing extra Favor. All the adventures in a given pack give favor for the same patron, which may matter if you're looking for specific types of favor.
As for me, I purchased a big bonus pack of points during a sale. As it were, the adventure packs were all 20% off at the time, so I loaded up. Though I did want some of the other things – like the monk class – I decided that adventures were the meat of the game and I wanted a hefty helping. As of now, I own all but 7 of the available adventure packs, and so I'm up for most any of the pay-to-play content that others might have. But was it worth it? That's what I made this for. Without further ado, the first few packs I review. The basic info will be taken from the Wiki, sorry if any of it is wrong.
If there's a particular pack you're wondering about, just ask. I'll do that one if I know enough about it
Catacombs
Cost: 250 TP
Level range: 3-4, No Epic
Total Favor (all missions Elite): 66, Silver Flame
Type: Fixed Chain
The Catacombs is a low-level chain featuring hordes of, what else, Undead. The individual XP rewards for the missions is rather bland, but there are a number of them so it adds up. There are a few rather easily avoided traps, making Rogues less than useful in this chain. The worst quest happens in the middle of the chain; a mission with a mass of sarcophagi, each of which gives a very good chance to spawn a skeleton when broken. If the party decides to break said sarcophagi, this turns the mission into a bland "hold down the attack button for a half-hour". If you can convince the party not to, it's much better. Minus that one bog spot, the chain goes fairly quickly and doesn't present many troubles to an even moderately balanced party.
The end rewards are a bit bland due to the low level of the quest, but there are a few standouts. There are Longswords, Daggers, and Handwraps with both Ghost Touch and Silver enhancements, with an added Lesser Undead Bane. These may prove handy later. Healers can claim an Eternal Wand with 50 charges, each of which heal 1 HP (sounds sillly, but it's an extra 50 HP a rest and Wand Mastery DOES work to up the uses to 2 HP each an appropriate percentage of the time). Other casters can claim an Eternal Magic Missile Wand (50 charge), which can be a bit handy to have around.
Overall, though it's low level and there's a bit of a glut of low level content, the low cost and the end rewards are enough that it's worth considering this pack. Silver Flame favor is tough to come by without buying packs if you want it, so that could be another reason if that interests you.
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3:30 am
November 4, 2010
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Happenstance
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| This Poster Has Maxed Out The Forums | posts 121 | |
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The Seal of Shan-to-Kor
Cost: 250 TP
Level range: 3-5, no Epic
Total Favor: 48, Coin Lords
Type: Fixed chain, one loose mission
Only 4 missions long, Shan-to-Kor doesn't offer a lot of adventuring meat for your TP. Better than a Tasty Ham, but only just barely.
The missions themselves are actually rather nice. The first few are combat heavy against humanoid opponents. This allows for a large variety of tactics to be used depending on party setup. Traps start showing up more and more as you progress, culminating in an extremely rough time in the final mission if done whilst level appropriate. The halls of StK are described as "trap filled", and it's no exaggeration. One particular part can even be a challenge to rogues as there is an entire hallway full of traps, only a portion of which can be turned off. If you're high enough level to gain little or no XP, a rogue become more optional; however, that has it's own problems.
The XP rewards for all the missions is rather large, but the Favor rewards are low. Also, Coin Lord favor is easy to come by, particularly the first 75. It's not hard to gain the free bag using only free-to-play content below level 4. The absolute dependence on a Rogue being in the party makes this a tough sell to anyone else. There's not enough favor be really worth chasing without XP, and it can be tough to pick up a low-level Rogue who has the adventures available. It's a cheap pack, but has enough problems to pass on unless you're an incorrigible Favor hound.
The one really unique thing this pack has going for it is that finishing it gives a permanent discount in the Marketplace a la the one granted in the Harbor after finishing the Waterworks. Decide for yourself if that's worth it, this pack has nothing else to offer that others don't offer better.
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3:51 am
November 4, 2010
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Happenstance
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| This Poster Has Maxed Out The Forums | posts 121 | |
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Tangleroot Gorge
Cost: 550 TP
Level: 3-7, no Epic
Total Favor: 99, House Phiarlan
Type: Fixed Chain, plus wilderness area
Tangleroot Gorge offers a decent-sized wilderness area with accompanying Slayer, Rare, and Explorer goals. The map is not particularly large, but the extra XP isn't a bad thing. Also, you only ever need go through it once if you feel like it, as a handy warp is available in the inn once you speak to the person that you recieve the actual quests themselves from.
This is important if you choose to do the quests even close to level appropriate. They first two start off easy at level 3. The next two are level 4. They go up a level each quest thereafter, though each one after the fourth is techinically two parts. The XP is nothing to spit at, so a few trips to Tangleroot could be in order. This also helps to break up the monotony of going through the quests, as each one has you playing the same two maps over and over. The first you will see no less than 7 times over the course of the chain, and will probably be at least a bit sick of, the second a more moderate 3 times.
Though monotonous, the multiple re-entries mean you'll become very familiar with the Splinterskull Fortress, making the quests easy to learn. The traps are always in the same place, as are the chests, making this a decent chain for loot as well. Gathering all the loot does slow down the party, but is usually worth it if you're lower in level. Rogues should be brought for all missions save the first, there's a decent chest persistantly behind a locked door and trap that takes very little time to collect. The last mission should really never be done without a Rogue, as there are a few nasty traps that can be tough to avoid and a few well-trapped treasures that are well worth getting.
The chain is usually done as a higher level party, one capable of finishing the last missions, rather than being broken up into level-appropriate bites. This, obviously, reduces XP gain but is not so bad as to be not worth it. The end reward items aren't terribly special, but a few of them can be nice. They're also high enough level to offer +3 stat items, albiet ones bound to character.
Though lower level and a bit pricier, I feel Tangleroot is basically worth the cost. House P favor grants nice rewards, and gathering 150 without packs is a bear to do. Threnal is a slightly better choice for the cost, but Tangleroot isn't bad at all. Finishing Tangleroot also offers a discount in House P, a handy thing to have. They have the only vendor in the game that offers larger Bags for sale, which is nice for holding extra collectables.
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5:36 am
November 6, 2010
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Happenstance
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| This Poster Has Maxed Out The Forums | posts 121 | |
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Sharn Syndicate
Cost: 350 TP
Level: 4, no Epic
Total Favor: 36 (seriously), Coin Lords
Type: Loose Chain
The first part of Sharn Syndicate is a loose chain. I took a few of the missions without even realizing that they were part of the pack. There is a main story chain that sends you to the quests in "order", and grants an extra one-time reward a la the Waterworks. There are a few quests (two, I think) that require you to have finished others to gain access to, but once you do you can replay them in whatever order you wish.
All the quests are level 4, and offer a decent variety. In addition, they're all very short. The entirety of the Pack could probably be finished in a half hour by an experience group. A novice group with a knowledgeable leader could probably put it away in about an hour. The only quest of consequence is the final one, time wise, which that is also the hardest.
The shortness of the quests is rather enjoyable for a quick romp, but the rewards are pretty substandard for the entire chain. The experience is only so-so, and the Favor is pretty lousy. There are no items of note, apart from the unique group in the reward list from the last quest (and the one-time reward list). Decent for Guild Renown due to the all-around crappiness of choices and the moderate number of chests available, coupled with the speediness of the quests themselves.
There is very little to recommend this pack to anyone. It's rather fun, so that's a plus, but in terms of rewards this one is seriously lacking. Blasse XP, crappy items, and a bunch of level 4 quests for the Coin Lords that don't even offer much favor. The unique "nicked" series of weapons is pretty cool, though. Some of them are actually quite good for their level. Other than that, I'd rate it a "pass" – there are better things to spend points on.
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5:57 am
November 6, 2010
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Happenstance
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| This Poster Has Maxed Out The Forums | posts 121 | |
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Necropolis part 1
Cost: 250 TP
Level: 5-6, no Epic
Total Favor: 66, Silver Flame
Type: Loose Chain
The Necropolis is an odd pack. There are 4 of them in all, each progressing in level. The big payoff is in the fourth, of course, but that one is almost as expensive as the remaining three combined. The Necropolis itself is a public area, with the quests from the first three packs all grouped up in a small town area. It also has a Spirit Binder, a Pub, an Auction House, Bank, and a General Vendor. Everything you might need.
The first four quests are level 5 can be undertaken in any order. There's a method to jump from tomb to tomb like with the Depths chain in House D, but it's not required. The different tombs have different styles to the – one requires splitting the party, one has many traps, one has many casters and the last is rather average. The one thing they all share is being chok full of undead; mainly wights and zombies. There are a few humans here and there, also, most notably in the caster-heavy Tomb of the Immortal Heart. All of them culminate in a fight with a mummy (they burn so nicely).
After the four tombs are done, you can open the Crypt. One level higher and a whole lot longer, the crypt is mainly a progressive fight. A powerful party could split up and finish much faster, but the XP is astronomical compaired to most other level 6 quests and well worth getting. A first-time trip on Normal can yeild almost 10k XP, and the gains from the preceeding Tombs are also worth noting.
One reward is rather odd. It requires picking up an item from each quest and combining them. The odd part is that it's level 9 requirement – far above what you likely have when you get the item. The pack isn't terribly difficult, so overleveling isn't recommended.
The only niggle I have is that in order to replay the Crypt, you have to finish all the Tombs again. But for it to count, you have to reset the chain from the person that you get the Crypt quest from. This isn't unusual, many chains work like that. The odd part is that due to the nature of the chain, you can re-do the tombs as many times as you want without resetting the chain, potentially "wasting" time if all you really wanted to do was run the Crypt.
At the low, low cost of 250 TP, Necro 1 is a fantastic deal. The treasure is pretty nice for the level, though a bit sparse in many quests (there's big gold chests at the end of each Tomb, though). The XP is phenomenal, nothing comes close at this level. The Favor is amazing for the price; it's even Silver Flame, something a bit different. There's really no reason NOT to get this, unless you are out of the level range once you have enough points and don't plan on ever being in the appropriate level range again. I will say it may whet you for further Necro packs, though…
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2:54 am
November 12, 2010
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Happenstance
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| This Poster Has Maxed Out The Forums | posts 121 | |
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Delera's Tomb
Cost: 750 TP
Level: 5-11, no Epic
Total Favor: 129, House J
Type: Fixed Chain + extra quests
Despite the cost, Delera's is a popular pack. Maybe it's the large level range. Maybe it's the huge XP in two of the chain's quests. Maybe it's the Voice of the Master, a little Trinket that gives a Luck bonus… oh, and a 5% boost to all XP earned.
The Tomb chain has a little for everyone, and offers nice pacing. As an added "bonus" Gary Gygax himself does the narration, though there's precious little to be heard. There's lots of Undead, as should expected from a "tomb", and very little else. The chain itself is 4 quests (with a 5th nothing of a quest that still grants favor), climbing in level from 5 to 8. The second has a massive number of optionals which bring the XP award far above 10k. Considering the 20 minute completion time for an experienced party, that's not bad. The fourth part also gives huge rewards, and a very nice amount of treasure to boot. Due to the rewards offered and the fact that it's a Fixed Chain, Delera's is a common place to find "window farming", a workaround that lets players get back into a quest out of sequence.
The end rewards aren't to be forgotten, either. First and foremost is the aforementioned Voice; no player should be without this handy bauble. +1 stacking saves and skill checks, and the XP bonus makes it hard not to take this reward first. It's always on the list, though, so if you see something you really like don't feel like you need to take it right away. Other items of note are the Carnifex, a nasty two handed axe with a wide crit range, the Linen Handwraps, gloves that with a +4 Str bonus, and the Golden Cartouche, one of only 3 items in the game with +UMD.
Due to the popularity of the rewards and the popularity of XP, a Delera's group is generally very easy to put together. This is especially true on a higher traffic night. In fact, the Tomb Chain is so popular and valuable that you might just forget that the pack also offers 4 more quests. I don't have personal experience with them, but they're the ones that push the pack into the 9-11 level range.
Overall, Delera's is well worth the purchase. It's a popular pack, so forming parties isn't hard. It also has a lot of nice items and nice XP available. It's got a big pile of Favor available. It's a little pricey, so waiting on a sale is a good idea, but I would recommend anyone get it. It's particularly good if you plan on doing a True Reincarnation ever, many of the items will help you early game and the Voice will help offset the extra XP required on TR characters, if only a little bit.
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10:11 am
November 13, 2010
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Procyon
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| Getting Frequent Poster Miles | posts 255 | |
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Post edited 10:22 am – November 13, 2010 by Procyon
First note: Thanks a huge bunch to Happenstance by providing a really really good plot synopsis of the core basic adventure packs that could be "first purchases" by many of our fellow furry guildies. All I really wish to add to this are 2 points and one more adventure pack worth mentioning:
First: Wait for a sale. Just about everything goes on sale and if you have something that looks really tempting and you getting near the points to purchase it, start to fish the DDO stoe to see if it is on sale. Sales of 20% are the "common" sale but every rare now and again a 50% sale occurs and this is pure awesome. It sounds stupid but every time you get you 25 turbine points of 100 favor from the mailbox seriously take a look on what is for sale in the turbine store that day. Heck, I pretty much check it out every day because you just do not know when one of theose 50% sales hit the system. It is how I got Delara's at 375 points and was one of the best buys I've ever made. So, rule of thumb is this. Buy things only when they are on sale. Jump on things if they are mentioned in these reviews and have a 50% sale.
Second: I ask if all the vetrans could rank these picks in order of suggestion to fellow furs who may be newer to game and just now deciding on what to buy. I really appreaciate the really hard and thourough work Happenstance has put in here and I know we have been having these discussions in parties online for awhile so please follow up on his lead and add your "ranked choice" a little bit of why.
For me, it goes in the following order:
1: Delara's tomb. Yeah it's pricey, but there is a reason for that. It is fun, challenging, has both a main chain and some neat stand alone side quest, and the "voice of the master" really makes it feel like you can advance quicker and more easily. Getting groups to run this is easy and even if you are a noob most people who run this are willing to teach and the missions can easily be and should be played as a "follow the leader" style since it is missing any obnoxious split party combat puzzels (like xorian cypher). The XP here is awesome and fun to get. Really, if you can wait for a 50% sale and can get it, get it.
2: Three barrel cove. I really like this area even if there are no chains over 2 missions and therefore this area has no good end rewards. The open "adventure area" is one of the prettiest and most varied in the game and the tropical feel really adds something for me. Each mission is really different and seems to try to make sure that each party memeber has at least one dungeon to "shine". Xp is ok but I find it just does not feel that grindy because the dungeons are so varied. I think I just love to "relax" out in this area and bind the random party together when nothing else seems to be running. Just remember to pack your water breathing gear if you go it (guild has extra) as many dungeons spend alot of time in the water. Lastly I notice this has a tendancy to a 50% sale day about once a month so if you got the 325 points to spend and your tired of waiting for delara's to go on sale, do it.
3: Tangleroot. Yes, the main adventure chain is a very linear dungeon chain and the end rewards are only fair baring one major exception: the blood stone. This is a +50 Sp trinket so spellcasters have every reason to run this area at about 4th-5th on normal to get it. I found this is absolutly money for favored souls, Sorcerrers, or even combat rangers who really on constant use of barksin and rams might. Also, the adventure area is REALLY pretty and groups are going out here all the time. If you want XP and find you are advancing too slowly in the 5-6 range, this is XP heaven. It is really easy to find groups eliting this and the is more than once I've entered a group running this elite at beggining 5 and came out mid 6 about 4 hours later. It goes on sale frequently and many guildies own this, a good buy.
4: Necropolis 1: This is kinda my unsung anti-hero recomendation. It is only 5 missions, has no adventure area, and the "chain" has this nasty requirement of having to do all 4 subvaults before it allows you to do the main vault and is therefore a serious a pain in the ass somedays. Also trying this without both a cleric and a rogue seems an exercise in masochism. However, with all this said the XP and favor per turbine poin spend is second to none. It fits nicly in getting xp and favor farming band at the level 5-6 range and, like tangleroot, is and easy enter in at level 5-7 and come out level 6-8. It also has a tendancy to go on 50% ad about once a month. If you are the serious farmer for Xp and favor this expasion is a really solid investment return when it is on sale.
5:Catacombs: Happenstance said it all; grindy as all get out with only 1 or 2 end rewards even worth looking at. The main reason to even look at this area is it can be cheap and easy favorand xp and relativly easy to solo most quests becuase it tends to be overleveled (all adventures are considered level 3). However, unless you are looking for cheap content and just an area to practice your playing style and control of your character, your points are better spent elsewhere.
6: Shan-to-Kor: My Least favoroite buy for several reasons. 1: Adventure area is some small as to be laughable and is just more sewers, which everyone is sick of by level 4 anyway. 2: The advetures are ok but I find very unforgiving and not noob freindly. Yes same could be said for some of the other expansions posted above but I still find this is one of the areas the suffers the most from bad and poorly organized parties. 3: End battle is the untilmate of this as issue of not noob freindly and is very diffacult. If party does not have plan they will wipe. And more so tyhan tangleroot it is hard to find a group that is willing to run just to complete then end. It is long, annoying and really not worth the effort and not worth favor or end rewards.
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1:41 pm
November 13, 2010
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Happenstance
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| This Poster Has Maxed Out The Forums | posts 121 | |
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Post edited 4:35 am – November 14, 2010 by Happenstance
I plan to keep going with what I've bought and experienced, just decided that going in level order made sense. My favorite packs (including the one that I most recommend as of now) I haven't gotten to yet. I'll get there eventually. I skipped over 3 Barrel Cove because I don't have a lot of experience with it. I did the same with Sentinals of Stormreach and Sorrowdusk Isle. I plan on getting to those later.
Without further ado, my next review:
Devil Assult
Cost: 350 TP
Level: 6-20, + Epic
Total Favor: 30, Coin Lords
Type: Adventure (single) + Raid
This is a really odd pack. I bought it when it was originally 150 points, because I was looking for something cheap. I saw "level 6 raid" in the description, and thought "Hey, that might be fun". … Yeah. It was a misnomer. What I got was then the big fat loser pack, something that could legitimately be considered the worst pack available, even given the low cost.
But now, Devil Assult contains a whopping TWO adventures. That's it. Two. One is Devil Assult, the original adventure offered in the pack, and an adventure for which you likely NEVER see an LFM up. There's a reason for it, it's wonky. At Normal, it's level 6. But, ho? Hard and Elite are already open? Click Hard and you'll not see the level go to 7, but to 12. Elite pushes the adventure to level 18. It's nutty. It might be cool if each difficulty kept a separate counter of completions; the widely different levels could be used to help pad your XP amounts. But since it doesn't, that's only a dream.
The mission is just a fight in a room. Enemies come in waves that get progressively harder. There's short breaks between each wave where you're awarded experience, and perhaps a shrine and/or treasure. The XP stacks up so that the adventure gives much more than it seems, but it's not an easy adventure to form a group for.
The second adventure is the Chronoscope Raid. I'll say first, I love this. It's a bunch of fighting and nothing else. Pure Melee bliss. A nice relaxing smackdown is enjoyable from time to time. The enemies include Devils (Lawful Evil Outsiders) and humans. That could be really tough for a level 6 raid, but the mission prepares you well. There's a tavern that sells wands, potions, and a limited selection of non-magical weapons that can overcome the Devils' DR. There's also a lot of shrines here. Doing the optionals is recommended, even if annoying, because it grants more treasure at the end. Speaking of treasure, lots of neat stuff to be had with low level requirements, but it all sadly binds (to account) on aquire.
Then there's that Epic thing. This is the first pack I've reviewed that has that option. Here's how it works: Epic setting is only available on certain missions to parties full of characters at Level 20, and cranks things up to that difficulty. It also drops some different and much better stuff, since level 20 characters aren't gaining XP any more. Some things it gives out are used to "Epic-ize" unique loot from that adventure: Here that would be things like the Might of the Abashai set. When an item goes Epic, it's enchantments jump way up to make it useful to a level 20 character. However, it requires the Alter of Epic Rituals to make an item Epic once you actually have the requisite materials, THAT is available in a different pack (or on a properly equipped Airship).
Epic is also useful for something else: Epic tokens. Epic tokens can be traded for various Epic-useful things (gems that slot into Epic equipment to customize it, for instance), or for True Hearts of Wood, that are used to True Reincarnate into a more powerful character WITHOUT having to buy the Heart from the Store for Turbine Points.
I'm torn about this pack. Were it still 150 points, I would say to go for it; Chronoscope is really fun and some of the loot is just peachy for the level. At 350 points, though, it solidly earns the title "Worst favor return on TP". It barely edges Sharn on XP (which 3 Barrel Cove is also terrible on, but has a wilderness area to ameliorate), and though the bonus XP in Devil Assult would lift it up more, you probably won't run that adventure enough to care. It pains me to say it (because, once again, Chronoscope is fun), but the average player should probably skip this one and spend the 350 TP elsewhere. If you find it on sale for 50% off, maybe go for it then.
If, however, you plan to play at Epic level, it might well be worth it. There are only 3 Epic Raids, of which this is one (counting both Vault raids as one, since they have to be done at the same time). Also, if you plan to Reincarnate, this is nice to have. You can gain Epic Tokens here, and the equipment could make for nice stuff to set up on a low-level character, since it only requires level 5 to equip.
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3:23 am
November 18, 2010
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Happenstance
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| This Poster Has Maxed Out The Forums | posts 121 | |
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Post edited 3:25 am – November 18, 2010 by Happenstance
Having covered the early packs, I think for the next few I'll compare two similar packs. The reasoning is, as you go up in level, you get forced more and more into the status of "Needing" premium content to continue. It makes sense, so I figured I'd throw in my opinions on these to help you make a more informed choice.
First up is Sentinels VS. Sorrowdusk
Sentinels of Stormreach
Cost: 450 TP
Level: 6-8, +Epic
Total Favor: 66, House Deneith
Type: Loose chain + adventure
Sorrowdusk Isle
Cost: 450 TP
Level: 6-10, no Epic
Total Favor: 117, House Deneith
Type: Double Fixed Chain + Wilderness Zone
These two were selected to face off because they have the same cost, type of favor, and a similar level zone. Sorrowdusk offers far more "meat" for your TP in terms of XP (particularly if you do the Slayer/Rare/Explore) and Favor, but the final rewards are lacking. There looks to be a few items that are ok to nice, but nothing terribly special, despite being a double chain to aquire (at least the first time). Sentinels, on the other hand, has a few very nice and very unique items, mostly geared toward melee classes (there is one unique wand). Bards and Assassin rogues in particular should take note, though Monks can also gain a very nifty toy. The XP offered by each quest in Sentinels is more, but there are only half the number. They are also only levels 7 and 8 quests, giving a smaller levelling range.
Both packs are somewhat unpopular on the LFM listings, though Sorrowdusk sees more group postings. Probably due to having double the number of quests and also the wilderness area. Sentinels also suffers from one nasty little setback: seals. In the three lead-up quests, the end chest has a chace to spawn one of three seals, based on the mission. The loose mission has a chance to spawn any of the three, if I heard correctly. One of each seal is needed to "power up" the item you (can) get as a final reward from the final mission into what it really should be. Without the powerup ritual, the item is very weak. Since the seals aren't a guarentee, and especially if you want multiple items on the list, this could lead to having to replay the missions more than you might otherwise like. They're not terrible, though the one-off has fussy jumping and steam blasting.
Overall, Sorrowdusk is the better choice for XP and particularly Favor (as it's worth over 50 more), but Sentinels is worth checking out if merely for it's EPIC setting. The nifty and sometimes funky items that you powered up can be further powered up into Epic items, and some of them border on amazing. Of course, this implies that you're going to play your level 20 characters for a while, but if that appeals to you then Sentinels is the better choice.
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3:17 pm
November 19, 2010
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Happenstance
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| This Poster Has Maxed Out The Forums | posts 121 | |
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Next up is Tangleroot vs. Threnal
I covered Tangleroot already, but the matchup is too good to pass up. The same cost, same house, almost the same favor amount.
To recap:
Tangleroot Gorge
Cost: 550 TP
Level: 3-7, no Epic
Total Favor: 99, House Phiarlan
Type: Fixed Chain + Wilderness
Ruins of Threnal
Cost: 550 TP
Level: 8-10, no Epic
Total Favor: 108 (good luck), House Phiarlan
Type: Triple Chain + adventure area
Since Tangleroot is pretty well covered, this will focus a lot more on Threnal. It starts off with an adventure area, which is similar to a Wilderness but smaller. There's no Rare/Explorer, and not really a Slayer. Just micro-slayer-type rewards: Kill a portion the enemies and get a bit of XP, kill them all (or mostly all) and get a bit more. Shan-to-Kor has the same system in the Steam Tunnels, and it's very forgettable. It's gimmicky and hurts the pack a little, since you have to run over to the Threnal camp each time you enter the zone. There's a tavern there, and shops, and I think even some trainers, but it's annoying to run through with so little XP available to get.
Threnal is a bit long, requring a three separate chains of three quests each to get the final rewards. The first two can be done in either order, and flag the third for doing. The first two can be re-done as often as desired, but the whole set has to be manually reset (like in Necro) and re-done to get the big end rewards again, which is a pain. There is only one quest which is especially bad, it involves protecting a certain NPC from waves of enemies that he likes to go fight. He can be immobilized, but it's still tough going. One party I was in easily finished everything in Threnal on Hard save that mission – we had a time of it even going on Normal. So good luck on tackling it on Elite to get all the favor.
It's actually not too bad to put togeather a party for Threnal, because it offers a lot in the way of rewards. The XP is very nice, and it gives more options at a level where they're starting to dwindle. The rewards are where it's at, however. The "big" prize is the Mantle of the Worldshaper (always on the list), which gives the same 5% XP boost as the Voice from Delera's (non-stacking), along with absorbing the first 5 hostile spells cast at the wearer. It annoyingly only recharges 1/day, however. If both the Voice and Mantle are worn together, they give a hidden effect of True Seeing. Handy for seeing secret doors and dealing with displaced foes.
A few other items are also noteworthy on the list, well worth claiming. One is a Lawful Good aligned sword, sporting Holy, True Law, and Pure Good. A nasty little combo for Evil enemies. Another is the Spectacular Optics, which give +4 to Reflex saves and a +3 Deflection bonus to AC (stacks with armor and shields, but not Shield of Faith spells). One I personally like is the Coin Belt, with +10 Haggle and Command (which gives +2 to all Charisma-based skills).
Overall, I have to give the victory to Threnal all around. The lead in chains can be tackled separately rather than all at once like with Splinterskull, and the rewards are leaps and bounds better, be they items or XP. Also, the variety offered in available missions helps quicker leveling past 10, and the Favor rewards and cost to the player are essentially the same. Oh, it's narrated by Dave Arneson, but that hardly comes into play and he's no vocal virtuoso (just like Gygax in Delera's).
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