Doing Endless Paths vrs following quests and hubs.

[Cacophonix]

Greetings once again folks. I have gotten further in this play than any time sine POE launched. I am really having a good time and this time I am playing via a Pally Tank and custom group (Edder 2nd tank, Durance, Aloth, Custom rogue w/ Tall Grass, Cypher using pistols/Arbalest).

 

I am about 2/3rds to lvl 8 on all the party members except the Rogue and the Cypher. Those were hirelings and are lagging behind the party. 

 

I have yet to set foot into Old Nua. While I LOVE D&D, for some reason I am avoiding Old Nua as I feel that as i get deeper and deeper Ill end up hitting the proverbial wall that will wipe the party. 

 

I am playing on Normal. 

 

Any reason i should NOT do Old Nua?

 

I am about to enter Heritage Hill, I've done all of Copperlane, First Fires, Slaughtered the  Domenel family in their own home, all of the Docks area and Sanitarium. Someone here mentioned that the game kinda leads you to where you would go but gently. I deliberately went to Dyrford to get Tall Grass and since that point I have been randomly attacked by groups of assassins all he time. This is fine as I use the gear drops for money, hehe.

 

I really have not gone there since we get really no exp for doing so. There are no missions you get quest exp that I am aware of. To me I had thought (and I may be wrong) but it seems Old Nua is just a place to go kill stuff and get 'meh' gear. No real rewards. 

 

 

Any advice on this? 

[Flix]

There's 5 or 6 side quests in Od Nua, including Kana Rua's quest and the main "Master Below" objective.  I did about 5 dungeon levels at a time with my group, starting with a level 6 party and defeating the master at level 13.

 

I enjoyed this dungeon a lot.

Edited September 22, 2015 by Flix

[Boeroer]

You get great gear in the deeper levels - so that's a reason to go there. But you will not level a lot there because there are just a few quests. The best thing to do is this: go down there until the fights get too diffucult and until your camping supplies are all used up. Then quit the paths and return later after you have gained one or two levels. But in normal, you should get very far. Important: you have to have high mechanics if you don't want to miss the best stuff (e.g lvl 11: mechanics 10 or 11 req. to find the bestest arbalest for a rogue in the game).

Edited September 22, 2015 by Boeroer

[Boeroer]

The Master Below sits at 15, not 13.

[jsaving]

There are no missions you get quest exp that I am aware of. To me I had thought (and I may be wrong) but it seems Old Nua is just a place to go kill stuff and get 'meh' gear. No real rewards. 

Whether it's worth going depends on what you enjoy about PoE (and RPGs in general).  If you like role-playing interactions with lots of choices-and-consequences, clearing a 15-level monster-infested dungeon is probably not going to be a great use of your time, especially since there is more than enough XP elsewhere in the game to reach the level cap.  And while it used to offer some of the game's best gear, much of it is now outclassed by White March equipment, making Nua less essential for min-maxers than it once was.  On the other hand, Nua offers a wide variety of monsters against which you can battle, as well as some decent loot and some character development for Kana (assuming you have him in your party).

[Flix]

The Master Below sits at 15, not 13.

 

13 was the level of my party.  I realize now that wasn't clear, but then again there's no way I could start on level 6 of the dungeon either.

[hilfazer]

The Master Below sits at 15, not 13.

 

Experience level, not dungeon.

 

 

Edit:

Damn, i got beaten by Flix.

Edited September 22, 2015 by hilfazer

[gkathellar]

 

 

The Master Below sits at 15, not 13.

13 was the level of my party. I realize now that wasn't clear, but then again there's no way I could start on level 6 of the dungeon either.

We have all dodged a bullet here.

[bartlebooth]

At (character) level 8 you should be fine to clear at least (dungeon) level 7. I would wait for level 8 and below until you've finished with Heritage Hill because QUEST REASONS. The gear is pretty great actually, including plenty of gems and vithrack brains for enchanting.

[Flix]

 

 

The Master Below sits at 15, not 13.

13 was the level of my party. I realize now that wasn't clear, but then again there's no way I could start on level 6 of the dungeon either.

We have all dodged a bullet here.

 

 

Henceforth I shall use "floor" to describe a dungeon level.

[Ymarsakar]

Od Nua drops unique weapons. It's worth it. Also you should do it along with main quests because the early levels will be boringly weak if you super level yourself first via quests.

 

As for being wiped out.. if you rest and go back up top to your inn, it shouldn't be a problem. On normal you should be able to cruise through many levels without even having to rest.

 

Sure, the encounters there are designed for tougher tactical fights, but it should get real obvious to you when you are in danger of being wiped out. Because you'll have used up all your spells and abilities.

Edited September 23, 2015 by Ymarsakar