The Lowbie Diaries Vol. 21: Maze Engine Preparations

Welcome to a new project, experiment, challenge or whatever you wanna call it. Normally experiencing the content with well-geared toons, I figured it would be quite interesting to approach the game from the perspective of a casual player. How does it feel starting from scratch and build up a character without the help of your mains? How long does it take until you are geared enough for the latest endgame content? Welcome to the Lowbie Diaries, it should be fun!


Well those VIP accounts I was talking about last week are already working like a charm. After ten days of subscription I’m up to 300k ADs on both accounts, meaning that I’ll be able to transfer the useful drops to the Lowbie in a few days. I’m mainly looking for Exceptional Professions Packs, the Abyssal Strongbox of Enchantments and Companion Augmentation Packs to boost the character’s progress and probably will still sell the rest.

Other than that, there’s not really something new to tell as the grind continues, so I’m looking ahead to the Maze Engine and what the new Module brings from a lowbie standpoint. As great as the new queue system is, it will separate the haves and have-nots even further and for a character like this, that is below 3k and not in a guild, I think it could be substantially harder to get into queues, most namely Tiamat and epic Demogorgon.

I already stated that I’m stalking those 3k toons and enter Tiamat when they enter, but that will stop in the Maze Engine, because those players will build full groups within their channels and do not need to enter any longer. So I’m looking to get the sixth campaign boon before the release of the Module. Grabbing another 50 Linus for a char like this makes limited sense anyway and so I will more likely focus on getting that new weekly Tiamat reward and call it a day.

Good thing I’m almost finished with Demogorgon as well. I have my Twisted set and although the Ring of Rising Precision +4 would be nice, I can temporarily exchange that with a Personalized Ring as I near Jewelcrafting level 25. The most obvious fix would be to get to 3k item level before the 15th, but I don’t see it happening with the resources of the account. I’m comfortably able to gradually upgrade my enchants, but the big jumps come from Artifact upgrades or additional Enchantments slots, which are hard to come by.

Obviously you want to look up which Mount Insignia bonuses you might want to aim for and get the Mounts in advance, but unfortunately I’m nowhere near the cash to land any ZEN mount. Maybe I’m able to luck out on a lockbox and trade in a reward. Unfortunately the Striped Owlbear that I got doesn’t really have the slots I was looking for either. What you can do however is grabbing one of the cheap green mounts and use whatever bonus they offer. Not sure the prices will actually rise, but currently there are still some 20k-ish mounts out there. Also CtA: Pit Fight is scheduled for next week, which should majorly drop the Shadow Wolf.

Overall if you’re not on the verge of making the jump to 3k, there’s nothing you can actually do to really take advantage or prepare. Run Tiamat and Demogorgon as long as you can and get into the Mount Insignia bonuses to not make a wrong investment before the Maze Engine.

See you next week!


The Lowbie Diaries Vol. 16: Finishing Campaigns And Gear Goal Update
The Lowbie Diaries Vol. 17: Tiamat Loot Luck And Epic Demogorgon
The Lowbie Diaries Vol. 18: VIP Benefits And Other Convenience Tweaks
The Lowbie Diaries Vol. 19: Professions, Companion And Mount Goals
The Lowbie Diaries Vol. 20: Here Comes the Grind


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j0Shi

j0Shi plays the Neverwinter MMORPG since the open BETA in 2013 and is a regular contributor to the blog and the whole UN:Project. Originally a Guardian Fighter, he has built up ALTs of all classes and plays on BIS/near-BIS level.

One thought on “The Lowbie Diaries Vol. 21: Maze Engine Preparations

  • March 9, 2016 at 1:33 pm
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    Thanks for the diaries JOShi, it’s always fun to look at a lowbie perspective. Nearing 3k, not bad I mus say.

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