Solo Mapping (More of a poll)

So far, I have never managed to progress beyond a stable pool 70 maps the "natural" way.
That is, starting with 66s and climbing the map ladder by drops alone.

Either Ive had to buy my way up, or keep grinding (which ended with a decent 69 pool at character level 84)

So the question is, how normal is this?
And if so, does anyone with experience mapping solo have any tips and tricks to share?

i have been in your same situation until some lucky high level map drops. from those maps generated naturally level 73-74 maps that are really steady (i have about 10) and also some 77-78 map came in.. from that moment i'm perfectly fine.. i did spend a lot of alchemy orbs to get better mods.. that is very important.

for a while i also ran some IIQ which helped as well

lso get zana in your hideout if you don't have her, she gives missions in high level maps many times

Yup, Zana helps a lot, with her map device and rolling blue maps you will stock a nice pool of 74s, with occasional touring into higher levels.

I usually have no problems till 73-74 maps, which is the point (around lvl 80) I usually get bored and start another character

and no, your IIQ has no effect on map drops. Only item quantity on map and number and type of monsters matter

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Ludvator wrote:

and no, your IIQ has no effect on map drops. Only item quantity on map and number and type of monsters matter

that's right. my bad, i was just illuded then lol

Well, thanks for the responses.
From experience, 66 - 68s more or less restock themselves by just running them naturally, thus in future I can definitely "cut-off" some time by not overstocking on them.
Im starting to think, the reason has more to do with myself overstocking on each "level" of map.

Beyond that though, what is fair amount of %exp to get per map? (pre 70 maps)
Also, how many maps per level do you guys feel is safe before you progress to the next tier?

From my experience, in lower maps it's much better to run two safe maps for the time it would take you to clear one with dangerous mods.

There are a few calculators online that can tell you how much experience you're getting per area of certain level. When you see there's nothing more to gain on that map level or you feel comfortable moving on, you should do it, there's nothing to lose by moving higher if you're able to.

http://poetools.com/experience-penalty/

i was in your shoes too then I bought 5, 74 maps and ran those with some mods i alt'd. more rares, more blues, pack size and if I hit a hard mod, I kept it as it increases the item qty on the map (obviously, some mods are harder for different builds so chose wisely).

Agreed with all the above responses too that Zana will greatly improve your map base if you level her up! Mine just got to lvl 7 and she is providing 73-74 maps per session.

You can also do the map vendor recipe; 3 identical lvl maps (3 gorges for example-no matter how they are rolled) can be vended to get the next level up map. I do this for all maps 72 and under.

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There are a few calculators online that can tell you how much experience you're getting per area of certain level. When you see there's nothing more to gain on that map level or you feel comfortable moving on, you should do it, there's nothing to lose by moving higher if you're able to.

http://poetools.com/experience-penalty/

Thanks, <3 that tool.

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You can also do the map vendor recipe; 3 identical lvl maps (3 gorges for example-no matter how they are rolled) can be vended to get the next level up map.

Yeah, that's one the things that's keeping me afloat right now.

I played solo all last season and managed a pretty stable supply up to 71, rotating in some 72s. I ended the season with 11x 73 maps but haven't run them because my main character that does the high level maps is already past that point with Zana and none of my secondary characters were good enough for that level of map. Something to do next season, I guess.