ok so just brought the game and jumped right in, didn’t look on-line for any help just tried to make my way as best I could.
Following the task quest did help but made a few missteps, mainly with the portal tasks not properly reading me just choosing what I though was best i.e. picking a Location when it was telling me pick a Beacon etc. I still have this task as it wont mark as complete even when I follow instructions…
But now I have reached level 12 and have got stuck trying to make a cog for a spark core, I bumbled my way through making everything up to here, mostly by trial and error.
My problem is with the skills, I got to level 12 without realising I could Cleanse skills to get the points back, I tried to use the tool-tips to pick the right skills, but I have ended up picking the wrong skills to get a recipe for a cog.
It doesn’t help when not only are the tool-tips incorrect, but also have the same wording. i.e. Common Machine Recipes and Common Item Recipes both state they will give recipes to make items in a machine.
I tried using Cleanse but quickly discovered that even though you get 1 Cleanse per level I only had 3, I must have missed the info on Cleanse early on.
In the end I checked on-line and I found I should have gone down the Common Items path, So now its’ 25 skill points before I can make a cog. The prospect of needing another 5 levels just to progress through these starter tasks seems a bit excessive.
So what’s the quickest way to level? just keep mining? it seems very slow, I have fallen back to stone hammers as I can’t find enough coal to keep making copper ones, they wear out faster than I can find the coal to smelt them, I have found a reasonable amount of copper but coal seems very scarce.
I agree with you that the combo of XP grind + various things being unclear in game becomes quite the problem. Best thing to do on that front is exactly what you’ve done – post to the forum – as the devs (@james and co) are looking for this kind of feedback.
For a quick bandaid fix, cogs are tradeable and I think there are a few shops I’ve seen selling them. What planet are you on? And have you managed to find a city with some good portals yet? Worst case I can come find you with a cog or two
As for leveling…I guess the current quickest way is to pick a flower forever and ever? Otherwise, if mining is taking forever (it becomes more bearable with skills in Power and Dex and Hammer Mastery but it’s still a slog) you might try hunting for a bit. Especially on the higher level worlds, where, weirdly enough, the creatures don’t do much more damage but do give more XP.
Oh, and you’ll find more and better coal on higher level worlds, too. Try your local moon!
Hey thanks for the tips, I guess I’m typically more of a solo player and like to get things done myself first…
Hadn’t thought of trading for them, although not sure what i would trade for one? just the mats? haven’t really got anything of value yet I don’t think.
As for going to another planet, I’m not 100% sure but I guess I need a warp crystal? looking at the requirements it needs bone extract which seems to be in the skill tree I didn’t take so still 2-3 levels before I can make that.
Does anyone know the best item to craft for xp? least mats for most reward etc?
I must admit I don’t much enjoy the grinding, much prefer getting to a level where I can do the things I want to do as quickly as possible, whether thats crafting, building or exploring.
In all the MMO’s I have played, and that’s a lot, the quickest way to enjoyment is complete all the quests you can as quickly as you can then you can take your time to explore and enjoy the world
Yes I realise this is EA, but after x number of years I would have thought this early game would have been done and dusted and provide a quick transition to the more challenging mid-game. After all if you want to reel in as many players as possible you need to have plenty of bait before the hook
Grind on low levels is part of adjusting xp/leveling system. This is the first iteration, and it’s a bit off. Next update (not sure when it’s gonna happen) will make a major fix for that. On starter planets rocks and other natural blocks will be “softer” so you will be able to go through them more quickly.
One of developer goals is to make game possible for solo and guild oriented players, so all the difficulties you experience now are consequence of balance being off at this phase.
I suggest you to go a bit deeper, strip mining is not something that works well in Boundless (at least atm) when you’re low on tools. Find a cave (or dig to one, if you dig 45 degrees downward you’ll hit a cave eventually) and pick coal/ores that are exposed.
As for cogs, I’m not sure why you want a spark core? Just to finish objective? It’s a bit high tier item atm. I mean you can make it at early levels but you’ll have to make disproportional effort. You’ll still need high tier recipes unlocked to use spark core.
For faster leveling I suggest you to do daily/weekly objectives and feats as much as possible, there are feats like 50, 100, 1000, 5000 rock/wood mined, similar for coal and ores, gravel, dirt etc.
If you haven’t yet, start using grapple for mining, i.e. moving through caves, and do it with both hands, it’s a bit tricky because or dark in caves but you’ll manage
ok cool, understand XP grind is a moving target at the moment, was just wondering if anyone had some tips to speed through it
I guess most of the seasoned players are well past this and although they have probably made most, if not all, the gear are wishing they “only” needed 9k or so of xp to level
as for the spark core, yes was only cause the quest thing was telling me I had to make one.
thanks for the advice on mining, I had fallen back on my ancient minecraft habit of of building a stair well straight down then branch mining out
anything dangerous in the caves to watch out for?, apart from pools of lava and dead fall drops I guess
For now there is no creatures in caves. Lava is exclusively below height 17 so you won’t find lava pockets randomly like in minecraft (on higher grounds) on starter planets. Munteen has lava lakes for example, but that’s not to worry about atm.
As for grind, nothing in particular except what I already mentioned for dailies etc.
In next update or so Hunters will be added, nasty things dwelling in caves Can’t wait for that to happen
me just choosing what I though was best i.e. picking a Location when it was telling me pick a Beacon etc. I still have this task as it wont mark as complete even when I follow instructions…
Can’t wait for that to happen