I hit level 33 last night in the Growling cave in Hillsbrad Foothills trying to get Hecular’s rod to drop and then charging it at the braziers. I was at 52% when I logged in and noticed after 20 minutes that I only had 20 minutes left for the level, with full rest through the end of the level, give or take a kill. That’s some dang good motivation to grind there. I was getting about 2% XP per group of 3 yetis and rocked out the rest of the level in a 43 minute session before bed.
With 6% Retribution, things were going pretty good. I could take on 3 like-level or +1 level yetis without any danger, plus one or two to follow if someone happened to spawn or patrol.
That all changed with another level under my belt and another 2% chance for 4 extra swings. Here’s what I did: I went after Frostmaw. I cleared out the cave, charged the rod, and then realized that I needed to kill a mountain lion again to get the carcass. I found 2 and got a carcass. Entering the empty cave, I summoned him with the bait, only to have a yeti respawn. Not good. That meant that two more were going to respawn momentarily, and much sooner than I’d prefer too.
As I was laying down the last smack on Frostmaw, a second yeti appeared behind me as I had the first one down to 56%. I started to conserve mana and just trying to beat them down and had Seal of the Crusader up to help heal. Then the third one respawned behind me and I had to bring it full force.
So… that’s a 37, 32, 32, 31. Screenshots at home… I’ll get them up.
My next point is going into Blessing of Sanctuary, not Retribution. I think I’d like the perpetual damage from multiple attackers more than extra full-force swings a little more often. 8% is darn good, and 10% can wait one more level after I get the benefit of Sanctuary.
Well all this talk of AOE grinding and kicking mad butt is getting me all riled to pull my lvl 10 pally out and start making some crazy damage happen.
You’re going to have to drop some serious money into gear to do it at my level, though. I keep spending 5-20g per sword and shield every 3-5 levels. I’m ready for a serious SM run this week if we can find some time.
I’m really not liking my school demands right now, but it’s what I have to do for this stage of my advancement. I’ll get to play games my whole life. If I don’t work hard now, I’ll be working harder than I have to for much longer.