newtinmpls wrote: »

We have tried logging on, off and using different combos of people, and the bad guys are always 31st level. Any suggestions?

Disband and regroup works.

Well we have a weird group; it was led by a 20th level, we also had a 18th, a 24th and a vet. We traveled away, disbanded, abandoned the quest (went through all this mess twice and it was still leveling to 31st). We then went (with the same group, with the same leader - 20th) to Crypt of Hearts and everything was 24th level, despite the leader being 20th. Ended up fairly workable, although the lower level folks died a time or two (or three in one case).

newtinmpls wrote: »

Well we have a weird group; it was led by a 20th level, we also had a 18th, a 24th and a vet. We traveled away, disbanded, abandoned the quest (went through all this mess twice and it was still leveling to 31st). We then went (with the same group, with the same leader - 20th) to Crypt of Hearts and everything was 24th level, despite the leader being 20th. Ended up fairly workable, although the lower level folks died a time or two (or three in one case).

Yeah, dungeons have a minimum level. They'll scale above that, but never below it. Tempest Island is level 31 (along with Direfrost Keep and Volenfell). If you're under that it's still level 31, and all the enemies are level 31. If you're over that, it'll scale up just fine.

Crypt of Hearts is (probably) 24, along with Arx Corrinis and City of Ash. So, if you're under 24, it'll still be there, but if you're over, it'll scale up.

@newtinmpls , are you trying to level it up or level it down?

Content will never level lower than its original intended level, in this case L31.

Regarding loot drops/XP's, it is not about the dungeon level so much as it is your level in reference to that of your group.

Few major patches back, they set it up so if you were more than 4 levels below the next highest character in your group and you didn't contribute enough (DPS is 1:1, Heals 2:1) when fighting higher level mobs, you would not receive any XP or drops.

This keeps someone from bringing along a VR14 friend, scaling it to L31 and facerolling the dungeon.

Not saying that's what you're doing, just saying that's why it was put in place. Keeps VR1's from tagging along in Crag and getting to VR14 in a matter of hours.

That being said, you have about three options:

1. If your next highest member is above that level by a factor of 5 or more, make sure you get some good hits in, especially on bosses. Higher level's are often willing to ease back a bit to allow this.
2. Prevent the +5 from happening in the first place. Run with a similarly leveled group if situation permits and you won't have this concern.
3. If you can't match the DPS of those higher than you (likely you won't, or at least you shouldn't), consider healing. Throw a heal over time, even in addition to your DPS, and you will get bonus points towards your contribution. Think of it as Group Dungeon 401K matching.

Hope this helps. If you reply with the specifics of your group, we can try to look into this further.

newtinmpls wrote: »

I hadn't been aware there were minimum levels in Undaunted dungeons, since they all claim to be available at 12th, and they all claim to be whatever level my character actually is.

As for everyone being the same level in a group - well reality is that it's just not going to happen. Some of us don't have the time and we want to adventure anyway. I'll try to remember to throw in more heals (or remind friends to do so if I'm not the 'low one'), but mostly I'm doing it for fun and don't care. Or if I do that day, I can go somewhere else.

Hits on Bosses? Well, I don't have THAT many soul gems <g>

@newtinmpls , you can still set foot, but they only scale down so low. You can walk in the door to Spindleclutch at level 8, but I scarcely recommend it.

They aren't really minimums, more like recommendations (and they're not far off).

The trash mob gear is not such a big deal in most cases. What you do want is boss credit though.

I realize finding four people with the same pace of progression you have, logged on at the same time you are is not as easy as it sounds like it should be. However, the closer you are to their level, the easier it will be for you to match (most of) their output, and thus, get kill credit/XP/loot.

A good tank can keep the boss taunted in almost all situations. Heals have to heal to count, which is usually not a problem, as there is plenty of damage to be had. Casting heals on full health targets will do nothing for your numbers though.

A long HoT, like Mutagen will work wonders. HIt is a couple times before engaging and it will do much of the work for you. Add a single bit of damage on occasion (try to mark as many enemies as you can) will help as well. Light/Heavy attacks add up faster than you think.

Keep at it, and your soulgem collection will expand rapidly, I promise. Alas, you will reach a point where you will use them more for recharging weapons than you every will for rez's.

If there is a vast level difference between you and the next guy, bear in mind you will eventually bridge that gap. If you ask nicely, most are willing to ease off a little to ensure you at least get the big kills.

The way it worked for me is by hardly ever turning down a reasonable dungeon run, above level or below. You will advance your skills, your undaunted rep and skill line, and all of these will lead to better efficiency and less divergence from those 'above' you.

If you're enjoying it, that's the key thing. You'll get the gear, you'll get a name for yourself, and you'll get much, much better. Do it because you love it. Everything else is just a bonus.

BTW, group delves (with many bosses) are a great spot to farm soulgems without the level of intensity a Group Dungeon provides.

Good luck!

starkerealm wrote: »

The system was revised, I think, around the time the undaunted enclaves were added to the game. This allows dungeons to scale up from their original level, but not down. So, you can go into dungeons overleveled and still have a challenge. But you can't run vet dungeons scaled down to level 12 for trivial gold keys.

I'm not sure what gold keys actually are. I join groups made up of friends I know - and we have vastly different play styles so we are way different levels; anything that helps compensate for that makes us better able to group and play.

Yes, I know Cyrodill is an option. But it's .... dreary. Lacks much of what I love about the physical world in ES. and occasionally full of idiots who are trying to fulfill their "kill enemy characters" writs, which kind of puts a damper on things for me.