Leveling - Another Nerf to Leveling (via Shrouds)

[playj]

The patch that keeps on giving..

Along with the Lichen Creep nerf looks like the June 15, 2016 patch also nerfed the last viable method of leveling using shrouds.

How it used to work: group a higher level char with a shroud so that level range still allows for xp messages.

For example: Level 90 DPS + Level 65 Shroud -> Kill Level 60 mobs all day -> Level 65 shroud gets regular grouping xp for blue mobs AFTER unshrouding. You could get to Level 105 using this method.

There were various limits to this method (no AA for one) but it still worked before patch.

It was particularly nice with anniversary instances such as this: http://www.redguides.com/community/...te-Macro-v1-0?highlight=Infiltrating+Guardian
http://www.redguides.com/community/...o-95-in-a-day?highlight=Infiltrating+Guardian

After the 06/15/2016 patch you still get the xp messages on the shroud but very little xp is gained after unshrouding.

What is funny that any xp gained on the shroud before the patch was saved and given properly.

I am still testing various shroud and PL combinations but so far have not found one to get xp(not even 1%).

 

[liword]

Another trick I learned when its dead.
Anyone can PM me a still work PL trick?
I have to spend around 1000 hours per toon to PL my alts....
Would like to Pay.

 

[playj]

Tested the following:

Had a Heroic 85 Shroud to 30 and solo kill blues all day -> no xp gained despite thousand xp messages (would have been a couple of % before).

Had a Heroic 85 Shroud to 70 and team kill with 100 all day -> gained measly 2% into 85. Before patch it would have been easily 10-20x more. This 2% gain is consistent with an xp rate for the 85 killing same mobs(ie mostly no xp grays with a few greens).

So the nerf appears to be the following(EDITED after more tests): shrouds still get xp but at the vastly reduced rate compared to a regular character

In other words, shrouding is pointless now for xp purposes.

 

[Sum1]

The pre-nerf exp rate sounds shitty, too. What was the point?

 

[Rustycat]

Can still shroud down to lvl 30 shroud as a group and put a lvl 1 in with them to sponge while they kill all day and then bracket the shrouded toons up appropriately along the way for afk xp?

 

[playj]

Rusty I am not sure I follow you, a lvl 30 shroud(or regular char) would be too high for a level 1 to sponge with in any case.

Shrouds are rather weak compared to regular characters with even a bit of defiant so even if you group a level 5 shroud with level 2 character it would be pretty pointless. What you wantED is to use the shroud to lock in the mobs giving xp.

Sum1 The whole point of shrouding for xp was that you would find a sweet spot for that particular level and just kill kill kill not worrying about the mobs going green/gray. The infamous Tipt instance PL was like this.

Second advantage of shrouds was that you did not have to worry about class abilities/spells when PLing, you could select a shroud with unresistable throw stone for one.

Update:
Just had a Level 49 shrouded to Level 30 kill 711 level 27 mobs and gain 8% into 49. This is about 10-20x less than before.

I gave DBG too much credit, I think they just put a 0.1 multiplier in shroud xp and that is all.

Another proof is that I had a level 100 with 100% regular xp shrouded to level 70 ding 101 but nothing else but that was it from a day of killing blue level 67 mobs grouped with a level 100. Before it would have been 30-40% into 101. A huge nerf.

So technically the shroud is getting xp but there is some nasty penalty being applied.