Quick Learner

[CKork]

Route

[Kasi]

I was thinking about a similar character as well. Pump up QL in the beginning and get extra levels.

Idea:
More struggle in the beginning, less struggle in the end. I'd go for the IF skillpoints 1, 2 and maybe 3 straight away for biggest bonus.
Why:
You get to higher levels faster. You might get the same amount of skillpoints in the end, but with more levels, so higher base stats in comparison, making things easier. Though, lvl 20 QL seems a bit like overdoing it. You'd need another 80 levels to get to the same skillpoints (lvl 160) compared to a regular lvl 80 player, which is probably unrealistic. Your stats would spike, though and OP you compared to a level 80 regular char. Equal combat readiness of the QL char is probably much closer to lvl 80 than lvl 160, though you'd not get the joy of having more skillpoints (which reads like it was your original intention).
I have not done it yet or tried to find out the QL level sweetspot yet.

Currently I play a level 80 (as of right now, not for long ) limited life and saves balanced build.

Your farming spots are OK. I sometimes use them, too. But you need to work on something. Either your path, or weapon and equip choise, or something else.
I can do 300.000 XP per hour easily without any QL levels (83 XPS) in similar areas in lower levels (starting lvl 30ish).
The best one, since years and still unchanged, especially past lvl 40/50 is Hirathil caves.
I do all Hirathil caves up to Lodar (with going to the Boss Cave and the 6-8 mobs down the ladder and then back up and onwards) and back incl 2 Khakin maps up to the large bridge, forth and back. With the right set-up, you BLAZE through these, and they swarm you, which makes you incredibly fast. Bridge and back will leave the first Hirathin Maps empty, but the crowded, swarming later caves will be filled, just throwing XP on you. Lodar bed, respawn, back. WHOOSH!
Olwyn's curse is great. I one-hit almost everything. One-hitting is important for speed XP farming. (Important: don't lower item usage or move cost with equipment, or you might have AP points left after swinging the hammer, which will force you to press "end turn" manually. Your round needs to auto-end after the attack to start the next round. CS 2 skill, Olwyn's curse and some -AP move cloth get you in a bad spot ). Oh and I use necklace of the undead, so I heal without using potions. Using/clicking potions also slows you down! And don't show loot, auto collect with no pop-up window and confirm buttons. That slows down. Prevent any clicks that are not moving/attacking.
Oh and gold here is abundant. Selling runic scepters will make you rich easily.

*I get 600.000+ XP per hour (!!) with 0 points (!!) in QL here.*
167 XPS
(Edit/Update: just evaluated my latest run with a stop watch. 830.000 XP per hour, 230 XPS! And no QL skill. Details next post)

So if you do it right with your LVL 20 QL, you should get MUCH MORE than what you stated above. Seems I'm outrunning your XPS by far, without any QL points.

I tried newer areas like the graveyard on the way to Sullengard and other Areas there. It's ok-ish, but a lvl 80 balanced char (limited lives, 1 save, BC and AC focus) still struggles with crits there, and its hard to one hit. XP per mob is higher, but overall speed and XPS still lower. I expect there to be a turning point, though. At some point further down the road, i might one- to two-hit mobs there and have high enough BC to also blaze through there. There are also some swarming mobs there. So maybe even more than 600.000 XP per hour are possible later on, but not with my current lvl 80 char.

Experiment some more with your QL build, but try to squeeze out more XPS. There should be more potential!

To be honest I have not been working enough on the older quest lines and instead have been playing with the new content. I will work on getting to Lodars Cave and get some numbers, I forgot how good the XP is in there. I've been playing with a pretty harsh handicap so most of the data above is lacking tons of efficiency. Like you said one-hit kills(or at least one turn kills)are probably the biggest factor to consider when finding a good level grinding spot. I'm 3 levels away from level 100 which is a huge milestone for my build because that's when I'll have a fighting style/specialization. Here is my current plan,

Skills

Level 80>
Quick Learner 20
Level 88>
Combat Speed 2
Level 96>
Fighting Style: Two-Handed Weapons 2
Level 100>
Specialization: Two-Handed Weapons
Level 120>
More Criticals 5
Level 136>
Better Criticals 4
Level 140+>
Magic Finder ???(I figure I'll be so OP at this point I may as well start trophy hunting)

I'm currently sitting on my last two skill points waiting for level 100 before making my final choice on fighting style. Once I get here ill start lodars cave and other harder locations, then record more data.

*Edit*
I ended up going with Heavy Armor Proficiency 4 at level 100.

[Kasi]

Ok, to demonstrate, I just did a couple Hirathil runs. Screenshots as reference and proof.

• Duration: 51:30 Minutes

• Route: couple runs like discribed above, forth and back, Lodar's bed to bridge and short stop on the side-cave and ladder down (screenshots)

• XP total: 712.700

• XP per Hour: 830.000

• XP per second: 230

• Level of Quick Learner: 0(!)

Equipment and skill can be seen on screenshots as well. Olwyn's Hammer and getting swarmed is the trick. You need good block

Now show me that you can easily breach the 1.000.000 XP per hour barrier with your QL build. Should be quite doable.

I have a couple days off starting tomorrow, I'll post results soon!

[Kasi]

Equipment and skill

With my current gear and stats this is the best I could do. I'm not quite able to kill the ghost with 1-hit unless I'm lucky so I definitely have room for improvement there. Still not bad, I definitely like the feel of the grind here. Once I get my offensive abilities increased I'll try again but for now I got the BC to take on the graveyard monsters with low risk so I'm headed there next.


Lodar's Hideout

Cabin to Bridge(Round-trip)

Start at rest spot in cabin. Clear entire dungeon, head outside and kill all Hirathil lizards before and after bridge. Dunk into western cave entrance and kill enemies near latter before heading back to Hirathil cave entrance. By this time all but first room in cave is respawned. Clear dungeon and end at cabin rest spot. Below I recorded the average out of 3 runs after practice runs to establish most efficient route through dungeon.

QL: 20
XP: 375,000
Loot Value: 4000+
Time: 20m
XPS: 312

[CKork]

I finally had enough block and good enough general stats to establish a farming route in the graveyard/forest next to vilegars, above sullengard. I still get hit occasionally, and hard, too, but they do not get me below 40% hp, even when swarmed. And I heal up rather nicely with undead necklace and shield.
I use the Olwyn's Curse hammer as weapon, and I two-hit monsters typically (2 rounds). So, a tad slower moving than in the Lodar/Hirathil caves, but the increased monster XP makes more than up for that.
Since I heal up nicely without any potions, I do not need a bed nearby or shop. I can run around the area of that graveyard continuously.
Also the area is large enough. So when you run around in circles, it takes more than 3 minutes to go around, so all maps respawn before you get back to them. Continuous killing, no empty maps!

And yes, it is a worthy grinding spot, if you can manage it!

I get roughly 1.250.000 XP per hour! Yes, over 1.2 million!
So, even at around lvl 100, you can squeeze out levels rather fast and nicely.
Again, 0 points in quick lerner!
345 experience per second.

[Kasi]

And yes, it is a worthy grinding spot, if you can manage it!

I get roughly 1.250.000 XP per hour! Yes, over 1.2 million!
So, even at around lvl 100, you can squeeze out levels rather fast and nicely.
Again, 0 points in quick lerner!
345 experience per second.

Very nice! I unfortunately got stuck on the silly "ratdom" quest all day yesterday and never got the time to play in the graveyard

Yeah, 345xp/s is more than I was getting at Lodar's and I made, I think, 7 levels there past level 100 pretty quick.

[Kasi]

I get roughly 1.250.000 XP per hour! Yes, over 1.2 million!
So, even at around lvl 100, you can squeeze out levels rather fast and nicely.
Again, 0 points in quick lerner!
345 experience per second.

I ended up getting an XPS of 424, averaged out of three 20 minute timed runs. I'm going to be revisiting with cleave level 2 to see if I fair better. Still a very good grinding spot that should vastly get better for me as I level up my skills. I'm glad I didn't go with the crit build as a few monsters in the graveyard are immune!