[loramin]

I haven't played Velious since since 2001-ish, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but ...

Originally Posted by DrKvothe [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

1) Is the plane of mischief or skyshrine armor remotely realistic for someone without time to be active within a raiding guild?

Originally Posted by DrKvothe [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

2) If the answer to the above is no, should one consider Kael armor? The set offers ~50 more armor and a small amount of additional stats. If so, is it realistic to do this after completing the coldain ring quest line? Are there any other really notable advantages to Kael?

As I remember it there were three faction armor sets: dragon, giant, and dwarf. The dwarf set was the only one you could get without a raid (it just required killing giants, while the other two required killing raid dragons).

I think Velious also introduced some armor in the Plane of Growth, but (obviously) that's raid only. Then there's Mischief armor, which is great except it will be REALLY hard to get (both because Mischief quests can take forever and because everyone and their brother will be fighting over Mischief).

So, I think any non-raider should initially go for the dwarf armor line, then supplement it with pieces from Mischief or random pieces (eg. 7th Shawl).

Originally Posted by DrKvothe [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

3) What 6-man grouping experiences can I expect from Velious?

Um, lots? Not sure about specifics, but I will say that the Per-Level Hunting Guide will have most if not all of them once Velious comes out.

Originally Posted by DrKvothe [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

4) What new leveling opportunities, solo or grouped, can I expect for 57-60?

As a 57 Shaman myself this is a question very near and dear to my heart. As I remember it there are LOTS of places to level in that range in Velious, but I don't remember any except the Kael arena. I remember doing that a lot though (both for dwarf armor and for dragon/dwarf faction).

Originally Posted by DrKvothe [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

5) For alt leveling, how would your ideal leveling path to 55 or so differ with the release of Velious?

When I played on live I *started* when Velious came out, so as soon as I got to Velious levels (min 35 I think?) I headed over. Again it's been too long to remember specifics, but there was definitely a leveling path from 35 or so to 60 in Velious (I want to say animals in the frozen wastes, then spiders in crystal caverns, then giants, but that's probably missing stuff).

Originally Posted by DrKvothe [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

6) Can the coldain ring quest be completed twice, once to 10 and a second time to 9? If so, do the buffs from the lvl 9 and 10 rings stack?

I think you can wear both, but I don't know if the buffs stack (I doubt it). This post makes it sound like at least wearing both is an option:
http://crucible.samanna.net/viewtopi...ld+stack#p3927

Hope that helps.