Guide · chapter 9 of 12
The reincarnation loop
- Enter Iconic with an Iconic True Heart of Wood (1,495 DP), to be confirmed from a non-Iconic life, then level from 15 to 20.
- At level 30, jump to the cap and run the Legendary quests in Reaper, since the first run gives +200% Reaper XP (wiki, not cross-checked).
- Then go through an Epic Reincarnation (1,295 DP or 4,200 Commendations), turn in the sagas, then do the Iconic TR.
- Pick the class of each Iconic life to work toward the Heroic Completionist, one past life in each of the 15 classes.
- Hold off on the Racial lives until you have the Heroic Completionist, about two dozen Epic Past Lives and 40-50 Reaper Points.
To do: at the end of each 1 → 36 life (§10), pick the next reincarnation. Axel's cycle (§9.1) replaces the 1 → 36 lives with iconic lives 15 → 30, separated by Epic Reincarnations. In his view, racial lives come later (§9.3) AX.
Axel's cycle is the guideline of this sheet AX. Other players suggest other orders. They are listed separately, each with its author and date, and they are opinions. Many predate U81 (Jul 22, 2026) N81. The October-November 2026 threads on martial AC and racial APs come after it R196 R199.
9.1 Axel's cycle (one class life + one iconic + one epic per turn) AX
- Enter an iconic life with an Iconic True Heart of Wood (1,495 DP or 4,200 Commendations, see the table below) R167 → level 15 as an iconic. Per §3.1, the Iconic TR in step 5 can only be done from an iconic life at level 30 R218. Whether you can enter from a non-iconic life with this heart is still to be confirmed UNVERIFIED.
- Level 15 → 20 with the route in §5. Level 20 → 30 by filling the epic sagas without turning them in, and picking up Tokens and Commendations AX.
- Level 30: jump to the cap (§7). Do the life's legendaries on Reaper: the first run gives +200% Reaper XP wiki, not cross-checked W-RD R220.
- Epic Reincarnation (1,295 DP or 4,200 Commendations) R168 → level 20. Drink the potion, turn in the sagas (§6.2), climb back up, and finish the remaining legendaries.
- Iconic TR: iconic past life + past life of the dominant class. Start over.
- One epic life between two iconics is enough without redoing quests (two if you run a lot of slayers) AX.
- According to Axel, one turn gives you 1 class past life, 1 iconic, 1 epic, enough to pay for a Heroic True Heart with Tokens R165 R166 and the next Iconic Heart with Commendations R167, plus hundreds of thousands of RXP AX. The real Commendation flow is not established (§11).
- Choose the class of each iconic life to move toward the Heroic Completionist (one past life of each of the 15 classes: +2 to all abilities and skills). The class that is dominant at level 30 gives the past life AX.
Rules that frame the cycle (ddowiki, wiki, not cross-checked) R218:
| Rule | Consequence for the cycle |
|---|---|
| Heroic True Reincarnation is not available during an iconic life | a class life at 1 → 20 is played on a character that is not in an iconic life (inferred) |
| Iconic TR requires a character in an iconic life at level 30. It grants the iconic past life and the one for the full class | this is step 5 of the cycle |
| Epic Reincarnation is open to iconics | this is step 4 of the cycle |
| A level 30 iconic (Lesser excluded) restarts at level 1 of a heroic race or at iconic level 15, as you choose | both exits exist |
| Each iconic starts with a fixed class level (Purple Dragon Knight = Fighter, Tiefling Scoundrel = Bard) | check this before choosing which iconic to run |
Heart prices (DDO Compendium, pages from Dec 17, 2025, before U81). The type of reincarnation each heart serves is inferred from its name.
| Heart | Price in DDO Points | Other prices |
|---|---|---|
| Heroic True Heart of Wood | 1,495 R165 | 20 Tokens of the Twelve from Lahar R165 |
| Heroic True Heart of Blood | no DP price on the page R166 | 20 Tokens of the Twelve from Lahar R166 |
| Iconic True Heart of Wood | 1,495 R167 | 4,200 Commendations of Valor or 42 Heart Seeds R167 |
| Epic Heart of Wood | 1,295 R168 | 4,200 Commendations of Valor or 42 Heart Seeds R168 |
The wiki says 20 Tokens give one True Reincarnation token, either class (Heart of Wood) or racial (Heart of Blood), bound to the character wiki, not cross-checked R216.
Opinions that differ from Axel's cycle (all from before U81, forums.ddo.com):
| Author and date | Opinion | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Kortar, Jul 17, 2023 | take epic lives during racial lives, for defensive power. He did racial, iconic and epic before finishing the heroics | R192 |
| Eoin-1, Jul 18, 2023 | ran three cycles: racial + epic, class + epic, iconic | R192 |
| Aebro Komatme, Jul 18, 2023 | the most efficient way is to do racial and epic together, do the heroic lives during the iconic lives, and farm the Reaper first-time bonus at the cap | R193 |
| The Outfit, May 24, 2023 | reach at least 30 and do an Epic Reincarnation before a heroic or racial TR | R194 |
| QuantumFX, May 24, 2023 | go to level 32 first, since epic would be easier to level than heroic | R194 |
The opinions of The Outfit and QuantumFX match Axel's step 4 (an epic life before the TR) R194. Those of Kortar, Eoin-1 and Aebro Komatme put racial earlier than Axel does (see also §9.3) R192 R193.
9.2 Which stances to stack first (Axel's opinion, May 23, 2026) AX
| Main style | Epic Past Life to put at 3 | Iconic Past Life to put at 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Melee | Past Life: Martial Sphere: Doublestrike (+3% per stack; Martial passive changed in U81.4, see below) | Past Life: Razorclaw Shifter or Past Life: Aasimar Scourge |
| Arcane caster | Past Life: Arcane Sphere: Energy Criticals | Past Life: Eladrin Chaosmancer (general caster) |
| Ranged | Past Life: Primal Sphere: Doubleshot | - |
| Necro | - | Past Life: Dark Bargainer |
| Everyone | - | Past Life: Purple Dragon Knight (speed Action Boost), Past Life: Eladrin Chaosmancer (Fey Step), Past Life: Tiefling Scoundrel (+30% speed at 3 stacks, does not stack with Striding or with an upgraded Quiver of Alacrity) |
For Axel, the Quiver of Alacrity (+10% ranged attack speed, heroic raid Ascension Chamber, level 17) is a key item for reincarnation lives AX C-QA.
Opinions that differ from Axel's (before U81, forums.ddo.com):
| Author and date | Opinion | Source |
|---|---|---|
| PurpleTimb, Jul 11, 2024 | start with the defensive passives (Brace, Ancient Knowledge, Trap Absorption, Fast Healing, each at 3), then Doublestrike or Doubleshot. Axel puts the offensive stance first | R193 |
| Livmo, Jul 24, 2024 | take 3 Brace first, for saving throws | R195 |
| Mesmerin, Jul 25, 2024 | four lives for an all-round character: Colors of the Queen (primal), Brace (divine), Skill Mastery (martial), Ancient Knowledge (arcane), then specialize | R195 |
| Buddha5440, Jul 24, 2024 | one pick per sphere: Energy Criticals (caster) or Enchant Weapon in arcane; Brace or Power Over Life and Death in divine; Doublestrike (melee) or Skill Mastery in martial; Doubleshot in primal for ranged. In heroic: Paladin first, then Ranger (ranged), Monk (damage), Druid (solo) | R195 |
| spoonyrey, Jul 20, 2024 (message edited Jun 7, 2026) | melee: Doublestrike, Enchant Weapon and Ancient Power in epic; Razorclaw Shifter or, better in his view, Aasimar Scourge in iconic. He confirms Axel and adds Enchant Weapon and Ancient Power | R193 |
According to PurpleTimb (Jul 11, 2024), the Epic Completionist requires any 12 Epic Past Lives, with no need for one of each R193.
The Martial passive since U81.4. The official notes of Oct 7, 2026 say the AC bonus of the Martial Epic Past Lives is now passive: +1% AC, +1 Magical Resistance Rating and +1 to the MRR cap per stack. The active bonuses are unchanged. The note mentions no other change to reincarnation, completionists or XP R155.
Effect reported by players in the thread "I Just Lost 60 AC !" (Oct 7, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026) R196:
| Player | AC before → after | MRR |
|---|---|---|
| nicholas | 270 → 211 | not noted |
| Mechgraber | about 60 lost | not noted |
| Contessor | nearly 75 lost | not noted |
| Redoubt | 535 → 496 | 252 → 267 |
These are player figures, with no measurement method R196. The thread "The devs fked up the past lives just saying." (cxviihxxi, Oct 8, 2026) states that the old stacking gave +2 AC per stack and +1 AC per 10 character levels, and describes the new version as a damage-reduction-type effect at 15% / 1% per past life. The exact mechanism is not established, and this thread does not prove any XP change R210.
Opinions on this change (October 2026):
| Author and date | Opinion | Source |
|---|---|---|
| droid327, Oct 7-8, 2026 | the AC bonus became multiplicative, so you need to equip AC instead of only stacking lives. He rates +15 MRR and the MRR cap as good value and thinks farming these lives can remain useful. Spook reads the effect as additive in the same thread | R196 |
| SquireZed, October 2026 (page 2 of the thread, exact date not noted) | low-AC builds gain thanks to MRR, and mid-AC builds lose the most | R197 |
| Sarlona Raiding, Oct 7, 2026 | his undead wizard tank has more AC, MRR and HP. He sees an MRR increase and no general nerf. On Oct 13 he says AC changes nothing in heroic | R198 |
| JediThomas, Oct 23, 2026 | wonders what reason is left to farm these lives if more losses follow | R198 |
The AC thresholds offered by players in this thread are estimates without calculation, so they are not repeated here R197. No message read recommends a different reincarnation order. The debate is about the value of AC and whether activating the martial epic lives is worth it R196. Inferred: on a build that relies on AC, measure your AC before and after each martial stack.
9.3 When to start the racial lives (Axel's opinion) AX
Start after you have the Heroic Completionist, about two dozen Epic Past Lives, one iconic stance and one epic stance at 3 stacks, 40-50 Reaper Points, and a reserve of Tokens of the Twelve (20 per heart, see the table in §9.1). Reason: only one past life per life, levels 1-20 only, no epic and so no tokens during these lives. The strong reward (+1 racial AP) only comes with the 3rd life of a race AX.
Opinions that differ from Axel's (racial earlier or later):
| Author and date | Opinion | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fhrek, Jul 17, 2023 | racial first, then heroics + epics, iconics much later. He considers the Heroic Completionist risky solo. This is the opposite of Axel's cycle | R192 |
| comfy, Jul 17, 2023 | choosing between Heroic Completionist and Triple Racial Completionist depends on how much you want to grind. He did the triple racial first, then the iconic and heroic lives | R192 |
| Sarlona Raiding, thread of Nov 1, 2026 (date inferred) | the big flaw of racial lives is that they are back-loaded (reward at the end). He suggests moving the reward earlier | R199 |
| Garix and rabidfox, same thread | Garix would like the stat at the 1st life and the AP at the 2nd. rabidfox would stop at one life per race if the APs were moved earlier | R199 |
| Azasmokey, same thread | 1 racial AP from the first racial past life, or a reduced heroic XP curve with a maximum of 2M | R199 |
| Diaari, same thread | has one Racial Completionist, is working on another, wants the racial AP earlier | R199 R200 |
| Lazuli and Uska, Nov 3, 2026 (Tuesday, inferred) | the Heroic Completionist is easier. The Racial Completionist is a very long grind. This supports Axel without citing him | R200 |
| Buddha5440, Nov 2, 2026 (Monday, inferred) | APs are worth more than skill points or ability points, hence APs last | R200 |
| Wrensel, Nov 2, 2026 (Monday, inferred) | a solo racial life now takes about 11 hours, versus about 17 around 2020 | R200 |
These are player requests and opinions. No developer decision was found (§11). Other October and November 2026 threads cover the same subject, judging by their titles alone: "I just want a one-click reincarnation button" (Helke, Oct 23, 2026), "Distribute the power gained from racial trees more evenly so racial past lives are more worthwhile at lower investment" (dozensnakes, Nov 2, 2026) R209.