A6 - Skribbane = Finite but Large XP Gain?

[Rionep Ecnirp Etlevs]

Can I basically buy skrib on the cheap from Fort Haledon, sell it at Dharmon, and repeat for an extra level or two any time? If money isn't an issue late game, that sounds like a good way to squeeze out a couple more levels.

[Lilith]

Pretty much! The rewards for wiping out Fort Haledon and the skribbane dealer in Dharmon aren't really that special, so you're not missing out on too much by keeping them alive until near the end of the game.

[Slariton]

Note that because the skribbane turn-in XP scales with your level, you get the same XP for turning in 100 skribbane at level 1 as you do at level 50. This means you are also far better off holding onto all of your skribbane until close to the end of the game, since most XP does scale down with level.

[Lilith]

Originally Posted By: Margerine Eclipse

Note that because the skribbane turn-in XP scales with your level, you get the same XP for turning in 100 skribbane at level 1 as you do at level 50. This means you are also far better off holding onto all of your skribbane until close to the end of the game, since most XP does scale down with level.

Well, only if you're optimising for endgame power. But by the endgame you're powerful enough to take everything on anyway, so optimising for endgame power beyond a certain point is silly. If you want to gain a level right now, then it's perfectly reasonable to turn in your skribbane right now.

[VCH]

I forgot I was carrying Chrysander's package and got busted at the Silvar gates. And with me living from one quick-save to the next there was no other option but to kill him.

[Lilith]

Whoops! Yeah, I guessed in advance that there'd be some kind of catch to that quest, so I didn't take it until after I'd already activated the Silvar portal pylon.

[Randomizer]

There is or was a dialog option at the Silvar Gate to pull rank and avoid being tested for drugs.

[Monroe]

Indeed there is. And since you need to have that rank to pass through the gates, there is no reason to let them search you. Unless you want to be caught, though there is no benefit in that.

[Slariton]

Originally Posted By: Thuryl

Originally Posted By: Margerine Eclipse

Note that because the skribbane turn-in XP scales with your level, you get the same XP for turning in 100 skribbane at level 1 as you do at level 50. This means you are also far better off holding onto all of your skribbane until close to the end of the game, since most XP does scale down with level.

Well, only if you're optimising for endgame power. But by the endgame you're powerful enough to take everything on anyway, so optimising for endgame power beyond a certain point is silly. If you want to gain a level right now, then it's perfectly reasonable to turn in your skribbane right now.

Here I'm not sure I agree. The thing to remember is that turning in your skribbane early is kind of like taking skribbane: you get a little boost for a little while, but after a few levels it gradually fades away. If you wait until you're already levelled past the base level for most XP rewards anyway, it will take longer to fade away. The boost, of course, is much, much less dramatic than skribbane's, so it doesn't matter so much. Really it's a question of getting 5 or 10 skill points earlier for a few levels, or 5 or 10 more total towards the end, and maybe getting a few points of trait bonuses earlier for a few levels, or a few extra points of trait bonuses towards the end.

[Rionep Ecnirp Etlevs]

Originally Posted By: Drawn And

If you wait until you're already levelled past the base level for most XP rewards anyway, it will take longer to fade away.

Please explain. I don't understand what this means.

[Alorael at Large]

The skribbane quest reward doesn't scale with level, and many quests do. Thus, the higher your level, the lower your experience award for quests that aren't skribbane, and the harder it is to get experience. Turning in skribbane at very high level gives you a proportionally larger gain.

 

—Alorael, who definitely doesn't think the difference is worthwhile. It's not enough experience to change your game.

[Lilith]

Remember, you also get money for turning in skribbane. So it's actually a couple of levels plus a couple of thousand gold. Admittedly, that's worth about one or two points in a skill from a trainer, but if you're doing something like waiting to raise Parry or Melee Weapons until after you've finished training it, you want those one or two points as soon as possible.

[Erebus the Black]

is the level cap still 61?

[Slariton]

Yes. I doubt it's possible to reach it, unless there are respawning monsters that are fairly high level.

[Lilith]

Well, there are respawning monsters that drop gold. So you could hunt them, use the money to buy skribbane, sell it to the dealer for experience, and repeat for a year or so until you were level 61. In theory.