Reincarnation

What is Reincarnation
Reincarnation allows a character to "start again", in one sense or another, while maintaining a continuity with their past achievements. Usually (depending on the type of Reincarnation), this gives the reincarnated character a small advantage in their new life based on their "Past Life" (aka PL), and these advantages can accumulate into quite a powerful difference for that character.

The Basics
There are many details and differences between the various types of reincarnation (see quick summary, below), but a few ground rules will get you started to understanding them all and clear up some of the most frequently asked questions...


 * The type of Reincarnation you use is not based on what your "next" race/class/build will be, but solely on what your current character is. See "How to Reincarnate", below, for full info.
 * As far as options during reincarnation (and with a couple exceptions), the character's name is the only part that cannot be changed* - the rest can all be changed, exactly as if you are starting a new character. If you're doing any sort of "True" reincarnation (including Racial Reincarnation), you can change everything else. A "True" reincarnation resets you back to "new build" time - exactly the same choices as when you first created a new character, only the name is locked.
 * (* You actually can change a character's name, but that is separate from and has absolutely no effect on present, past or future reincarnations; the character carries on with all Past Life bonuses and benefits under the new name.)
 * The 2 exceptions are the 2 forms of reincarnation which are not "True". These are 1) Lesser Reincarnation, which allows you to change many (but not all) of the current build-details of your character and continue from your current level, and 2) Epic Reincarnation, which simply resets your character from Level 30 to Level 20, as if they had just finished Heroic play and had not yet started Epic play, with no other changes. See articles for full details.


 * All your money and gear is saved, stored in a special "reincarnation cache", although there are some limits on this storage. Your mail is also saved, and you do not lose Guild status. However, you enter the game world as "naked" as any new character, so have to access your Bank for any items you may have stored there.


 * Veteran I and II status does not apply to a newly reincarnated character. Veteran status only applies to truly "new" starting characters, not newly-reincarnated ones.

Types of Reincarnation
The different reincarnation choices enable players to leverage their existing progress with a character and/or allow them to change certain decisions made during that character's advancement.


 * Lesser Reincarnation (LR) allows a character respec, retaining current character level, and can be done at any level.
 * (Note: You cannot have levels "banked" before a LR; you must take all available levels before LR'ing.)


 * Heroic (HR), Racial (RR) and Iconic (IR) reincarnation allow the creation of a more powerful hero, starting either from level 1 (as a non-iconic) or level 15 (as an iconic), your choice. HR and RR require at least Character Level 20, IR requires character level 30. Any of these allows you to start over at Level 1 with a new Heroic race or 15 with a new Iconic race.
 * (Note that current Heroic races choose HR or RR (your choice), and current Iconic races choose IR. After any of these, you are completely free to choose your next race, Heroic or Iconic.  Your current reincarnation choice has no affect on your next race, and your next race has no bearing on your current reincarnation choices.)


 * Epic Reincarnation (ER) provides more character power and allows a character respec in the current class, returning the character to level 20. ER requires character level 30.

HR, RR and IR are referred to as True Reincarnation (TR), as the character is completely reborn as a blank slate, with all Race, Class, Gender and Alignment options available to them. Any True Reincarnation resets all quest completions, favor and class advancement. Neither LR nor ER are "True Reincarnations", as both retain (some) elements of a character's progression in heroic levels, class choice, quest completions and favor.

All reincarnated characters will retain the name and items from the previous character incarnation:
 * If the character is performing a Heroic Reincarnation, Racial Reincarnation, Iconic Reincarnation or Epic Reincarnation they will acquire a Past Life feat
 * HR will grant a Past Life Feat based on the class that the character is reincarnating out of (or highest class if the character is multi-class)
 * RR will grant a Past Life Feat based on the race that the character is reincarnating out of
 * IR will grant a Past Life Feat based on the Iconic race that the character is reincarnating out of AND a Past Life Feat based on the class that the character is reincarnating out of
 * ER will grant a Epic Past Life Feat the character selects during the reincarnation process
 * Lesser Reincarnation provides no Past Life Feats
 * All Lesser Reincarnations allow a character respec, changing feat, skill & spell choices
 * +1 to +20 Lesser Reincarnations allow a character to change classes as they re-level (explained in more detail on the Lesser Reincarnation page)

What type of reincarnation will I use?
The first thing to understand is that you don't choose the form of reincarnation based on your next build, but based on where your character is when you start the reincarnation process. That is, reincarnations are always "out of" a thing, never "into" one. You look at where you are, and that dictates your options - "What's the next race/class?" has no influence at all on your choice.

Also, as far as reincarnation choice is concerned, there are only 2 types of "race" - Heroic races and Iconic races. Heroic races are defined as any race that is not Iconic. Iconics use a special form of Reincarnation - but, as per the previous rule, it doesn't matter what your next race choice will be, only whether your current character is or is not Iconic. Iconic races use Iconic (or Epic) Reincarnation, Heroic races use Heroic/Racial (or Epic) reincarnation.

So, in a very real sense (and as a player who plans ahead), you determine the type of reincarnation when you first design your new character build, by choosing whether that character is a Heroic or Iconic race, and/or when you decide whether you will reincarnate at level 20 (which is not allowed for Iconics), or push on to level 30.

Step by step

 * In order to reincarnate, a character needs to speak with the Life-Shaper in the Halls of Heroes
 * The Life Shaper is located in the Reincarnation Grove on the lower floor of the Hall of Heroes, accessed through a door on the North Wall of the Eastern Chamber, and appears as a Lantern Archon (a glowing ball of light)
 * The Character requires a certain type of Heart of Wood in order to reincarnate:
 * Lesser Reincarnation (re-configuring elements of the current character) requires a Lesser Heart of Wood (+0 for no class changes, +1 to +20 if class changes are required)
 * Heroic Reincarnation (Heroic race 20(+) to new build for a Heroic Past Life) requires a Heroic True Heart of Wood
 * Racial Reincarnation (Heroic race 20(+) to new build for a Racial Past Life) requires a Heroic True Heart of Blood
 * Iconic Reincarnation (Iconic race 30 to new build for an Iconic Past Life) requires an Iconic True Heart of Wood
 * Epic Reincarnation (Heroic or Iconic 30 back to an identical 20 for an Epic Past Life) requires an Epic Heart of Wood
 * The Life Shaper guides the character through the relevant Reincarnation process
 * After speaking to the Life Shaper the Character should log off, and the Reincarnate option becomes available on the login screen.
 * Note: At this point, be sure you've read the Warnings regarding reincarnation section, below!
 * On choosing the Reincarnate option, characters go through the Character Creation Menu, as with initial character creation
 * Characters undergoing Heroic, Racial or Iconic Reincarnation can now log in to play
 * Characters undergoing Lesser or Epic Reincarnation can now log in, but will arrive on some rocks floating in space in a place between
 * The Life Shaper, now appearing as a blonde human woman, will meet the character in the place between and guide them through the leveling up process
 * For both Lesser and Epic Reincarnations, the character has to speak to the Life Shaper for each level to open the menu, then select options as if they were talking to a class Trainer
 * If the character is changing classes (with a Lesser Heart +1 to +20), they have to immediately make that selection as they level up, or else are stuck with their previous class choice(s)
 * Only once the character has leveled up to their current level can they leave the place between and continue adventuring

How to get a Heart of Wood/Blood

 * A +0 Lesser Heart of Wood is given to every character on first login after initial character creation
 * Lesser Hearts of Wood can drop in chests (extremely rare drop rate)
 * All Hearts of Wood & Blood can be purchased in the DDO Store
 * Heroic True Hearts of Wood and Heroic True Hearts of Blood can be earned by trading at Lahar outside the Tower of the Twelve
 * Iconic True Hearts of Wood and Epic Hearts of Wood can be earned by trading or HS 42
 * Double click the Commendations or Heart Seeds to bring up their respective barter menus

* Warning regarding reincarnation! *

 * You cannot have more than one reincarnation option active at the same time. This means that when you turn in your heart of wood of choice, you cannot perform another form of reincarnation until you reincarnate.


 * The game tells the player that they can still enter the world and play the game while the reincarnation is active, but warns that you should complete the reincarnation relatively quickly. Heed that advice as server restarts may bring various bugs to any character flagged for reincarnation.


 * When performing a heroic or racial reincarnation that allows you to make a new character, bugs may occur that can erase much or all of your character's inventory, tomes, destinies, etc! To prevent this from happening, you need a stable connection and client (your computer) speed:
 * Make sure your internet connection is stable.
 * Do not perform reincarnations during server restarts or when the server is lagging.
 * Close programs that may be slowing your game down. (Ideally, have only the game and your build details open)
 * When logging out, allow plenty of time for your computer to close down the game and reclaim the memory.
 * The most critical point is when you enter the world as a new character (where your items are being moved to the TR cache). Do not close the game or logout when this is happening.


 * After applying the Heart of Wood and before reincarnating, log out and wait 5 minutes or more. This gives the multiple(!) servers involved ample time to write all the details of your old character (specifically tomes and gear!) before asking it to re-write your new build.
 * If you intend to perform an Epic reincarnation immediately followed by a Heroic/Racial one, this requires that you log out twice, once after each Heart' is applied.


 * It is also recommended that you DO NOT log out in the middle of any individual reincarnation (only after it is complete).
 * Allow yourself ample time, especially if you need to re-build a complex character


 * See also forums for more recommendations.

Quick summary
Appearance, abilities, enhancements, chosen feats, skills, and selected spells1 are reset for all types of reincarnation. For those types of reincarnations that allow, alignment can only be reset within the limits of the first class taken*, at level 1.


 * (* Players who plan to multiclass a character should choose their alignment with limitations of future classes in mind!)

Veteran Status is only for new characters, and so has no effect on any Reincarnation. All newly reincarnated Heroic races start at Level 1, regardless of any Veteran status for the account.


 * See individual articles on the different specific types of reincarnation for full information.


 * 1 On Lesser/Epic Reincarnation Wizards and Artificers will keep their spell books AND they also learn new spells when leveling up. Other spell casting classes must reselect spells on Lesser/Epic Reincarnation. For Heroic, Racial and Iconic Reincarnation, spell books will be fully reset, irrespective of class before and after.
 * 2 Due to Drow racial inherent stat bonuses, reincarnations into Drow will only yield 30 point builds (not 34) on 1st reincarnation and 32 (not 36) on 2nd (and higher) reincarnations.
 * 3 If a character/account has achieved Champion status, non-Drow 28 point builds will become 32 point builds on Lesser/Epic reincarnation, otherwise they will remain 28 point builds
 * 4 Adventurers (28 point builds) who Heroic/Racial/Iconic Reincarnate before the account has achieved Champion (32 point build) status will become 34 point builds on 1st Reincarnation and 36 point builds on 2nd; This applies only to those characters and does not grant Champion status to the entire account for new builds if it has not been earned or bought.
 * 5 Reaper XP is not lost during any Reincarnation, but persists and accumulates through every successive life of the character.