[X] My Assistant

Don't know if it's the right place to ask, but I could really use some insight from our veterans on Innate Arcana...

At the moment I got Haths for the first two level of the skill, but was wondering if investing in it really was the best option.
I've yet to switch to Light equip, and with my current gear (Power) and gameplan, there's no real buff I need to keep up 100 % of the time (I'm assuming that's how IA works).

Protection is my go-to buff, but during first rounds of arenas, if a spell channels I'll just go for Regen II and forget about higher mitigations - unless I fall asleep, I won't die even on Heroic with Regen II + Heartseeker when I'm facing < 4-5 monsters.
Heartseeker is what I cast right off the bat (with the 0.6.3 nerfs I cannot afford to have it down anymore, my damage is arse), but it is also my first choice when I'm about to use channel (assuming it's not still up or it'll take some time to expire), so I feel using a IA slot on it would kinda result in a waste of mana.
Haste & Shadow Veil, I only use them during late rounds because interference is just too high, so just like Heartseeker, it'd feel kind of a waste to use the slots on them since they wouldn't be needed on the first rounds.

If I were to use Light, I'd probably just put Haste & Shadow Veil on those, but as my set is not complete (Boots and Gloves I'm not sure they're even decent) and that'll probably take a while, I was really worried about what to do with my Haths - maybe getting a black/white aura, or a better ethereal mace?

Any thoughts/tips on this? I'd really appreciate it. :]

In b4 reroll mage lol.

Kinda related: I'm still lacking the final aura (the INT one, which I passed on being a melee). Do you guys suggest to get it asap?

I know it boosts exp considerably given how it works, but bonuses are somewhat lackluster for a melee.
At the moment the plan was to get to lv. 190 (Focused Aura IV) and grab some much needed +1 % evade, mitigations and some physical hit chance.
Should I just ditch one of those and invest 100k on the last aura slots?

I'd say yes on the int aura, first level of an aura gives that 7% xp bonus, which stacks multiplicatively with adept learner, xp tanks and post bonus, so it's more valuable than 3 AP into xp tanks.

As for IA. IA1 makes the cost the same as if you had casted it, counted in mana per turn, but gives no chance for channeling.
It is on you from the start and it stays on you until your mana drops below 10% of total. At which point it disappears to reappear when mana gets above 25% of total.
You can still cast the spell manually, which will then replace the IA, version, and the IA version will then reappear the turn after the casted one runs out (one turn without it inbetween), as long as your mana is above 25%.

The big kicker is that you can't place heartseeker in a IA slot for some reason. And not arcane focus either.
And of course not regen either.

With higher level of IA, the upkeep cost decreases, so for IA2 you will save 15% mana compared to if you had casted it manually.

I have IA1 and I don't really think it's all that awesome for a melee.
It's really good for mage though, since it is on you right from the start and you don't have to waste a turn to buff up but can get to work immediately (except for arcane focus, see above).


Personally, given the choice, I would have gone for one of the hath auras instead.
I got IA1 and rainbow aura, and saving up for black&white.
Rainbow aura was really nice IMO for the added regen rate.

The dark damage is really low, yes.
But it explodes the status effect on him, which explodes for holy damage.
And then it places a dark status effect on him, which explodes for dark damage. That explode does about the same damage as the spells, which means that the dark damage explode and spell are essentially bonus damage, while the holy spell and the holy explode are the main damage.

That's wrong.
If you know a monster's weakness, it's better to use spells that target its weakness, rather than going for burst route.
That's especially valid on holy spells, which breached defense can increase the following holy spells.

At the moment I got Haths for the first two level of the skill, but was wondering if investing in it really was the best option.
I was really worried about what to do with my Haths - maybe getting a black/white aura, or a better ethereal mace?
Kinda related: I'm still lacking the final aura (the INT one, which I passed on being a melee). Do you guys suggest to get it asap?

IA is almost always better for melees.
Just think about the chance of chanelling by maging, and the extra turns per round for a melee, and you will reach that conclusion.
That 1 turn from the beginning isn't that important.

If you haven't got all the basic auras from training refined aura, get them first.
But this point doesn't interfere with your planning on hath perks.

As for IA1+2 or black/white aura, that's some difficult matter.
I would say it's better to get black/white aura first.
Though they both gives a boost to melee playstyle, aura also gives exp bonus, which means you can level up faster.
And in HV, leveling faster is always a good thing.
Also, not trying to convince you into mage style, but as I've said, IA works better for melees.
So if you wanna be a mage in the future, black/white auras would give you more benefits.

The dark damage is really low, yes.
But it explodes the status effect on him, which explodes for holy damage.
And then it places a dark status effect on him, which explodes for dark damage. That explode does about the same damage as the spells, which means that the dark damage explode and spell are essentially bonus damage, while the holy spell and the holy explode are the main damage.

Hrm, I see. Once you get some decent proficiency & gear, Banish recasting is superior. Did some quick testing on BT FSM (dropped a nice hat XD) and the number's don't quite compare. I have a sneaking suspicion that the debuff explosions crit but aren't explicitly stated in the combat log (numbers may be inflated). Using the AOE dark spells for element switching is of course a huge waste of mana. Crits are also wasted during element switching, and you also have the problem of the element debuffs not being up 100% of the time.

And it's also slow to alternate between dark and holy spells.
Pressing R is way more easy (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

This post has been edited by varst: Dec 30 2011, 13:36

Especially true when he has 32 million hp (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I'm actually even more unsure about what to get: Black and White Aura wise, the exp boost is great, but the other bonuses don't seem much of a big deal to me.

Regen bonuses from Rainbow on the other hand seem awesome, but it'll be ages before I get my hands on it (and I've gone 4 days without dropping a single artifact, on top of that), but I'm not sure if it'd be better in the long-run - leveling faster should grant me quicker access to better gear.

I guess I'll get to 200 haths and toss a coin or something lol - leanining more towards 200 haths auras though.

IA is almost always better for melees.
Just think about the chance of chanelling by maging, and the extra turns per round for a melee, and you will reach that conclusion.
That 1 turn from the beginning isn't that important.

I'm not sure I get it, IA spells can proc Channeling?

This may be total bullcrap, but for some reason the spells I use on round 1 (especially Heartseeker) seem to have a higher chance of triggering Channeling - to the point that it happens almost every time.

Cure I and Protection on the other hand don't seem to channel that good, a couple hours ago I went 40 rounds with only those two and it never triggered, that was ass.

This post has been edited by wr4st3r: Dec 30 2011, 15:06

I'm actually even more unsure about what to get: Black and White Aura wise, the exp boost is great, but the other bonuses don't seem much of a big deal to me.

Regen bonuses from Rainbow on the other hand seem awesome, but it'll be ages before I get my hands on it (and I've gone 4 days without dropping a single artifact, on top of that), but I'm not sure if it'd be better in the long-run - leveling faster should grant me quicker access to better gear.

I guess I'll get to 200 haths and toss a coin or something lol - leanining more towards 200 haths auras though.

The recommended order has always been Black -> Rainbow -> White

I'm not sure I get it, IA spells can proc Channeling?

This may be total bullcrap, but for some reason the spells I use on round 1 (especially Heartseeker) seem to have a higher chance of triggering Channeling - to the point that it happens almost every time.

Cure I and Protection on the other hand don't seem to channel that good, a couple hours ago I went 40 rounds with only those two and it never triggered, that was ass.

IA spells don't proc Channeling.

Channeling chance is dependent on the spell's mana cost. Higher cost = Higher chance.
So Heartseeker will have a higher chance to proc it.

The recommended order has always been Black -> Rainbow -> White
IA spells don't proc Channeling.

This is interesting, is Mana pool the reason for getting Black aura before White?

Wish arenas would still refill mana, post 0.6.3 I don't even start with full hp/mana pools anymore :E

Channeling chance is dependent on the spell's mana cost. Higher cost = Higher chance.
So Heartseeker will have a higher chance to proc it.

I see, makes sense! And it's actually written on the wiki I see, I totally missed that lol...

This is interesting, is Mana pool the reason for getting Black aura before White?

Yes. 10% more mana is infinitely better than 10% more HP.

The recommended order has always been Black -> Rainbow -> White

I think i went white/black/rainbow. but at the time I think white added to holy damage, black added dark and rainbow added elemental.

If you haven't got all the basic auras from training refined aura, get them first.
But this point doesn't interfere with your planning on hath perks.

As for IA1+2 or black/white aura, that's some difficult matter.
I would say it's better to get black/white aura first.
Though they both gives a boost to melee playstyle, aura also gives exp bonus, which means you can level up faster.
And in HV, leveling faster is always a good thing.
Also, not trying to convince you into mage style, but as I've said, IA works better for melees.
So if you wanna be a mage in the future, black/white auras would give you more benefits.

IA does not prevent you from casting one of th IA spells. If you get channeling, you can still cast it and replace the IA-version and remove the upkeep cost.

The advantage for a mage is that they can one-shot entire rounds, which means mobs don't get to hit them.
But stopping to cast non-damage spells gives mobs time to act.
The biggest benefit of IA is that you save turns on casting them, and mages use far less turns than a melee, so they save more turns percentagewise.

I have one IA slot, and thought it was a pretty bad investment as a melee, still same upkeep cost and no chance for channeling. Since casting buffs and heals are a melees only chance for channeling basically.
But as a mage, that IA slot is gold, and I wish I had another (and a third and that Arcane focus could be put in auto-cast) so all buffs would be up right from the start and I can get right down to blasting away monsters.

Hrm, I see. Once you get some decent proficiency & gear, Banish recasting is superior. Did some quick testing on BT FSM (dropped a nice hat XD) and the number's don't quite compare. I have a sneaking suspicion that the debuff explosions crit but aren't explicitly stated in the combat log (numbers may be inflated). Using the AOE dark spells for element switching is of course a huge waste of mana. Crits are also wasted during element switching, and you also have the problem of the element debuffs not being up 100% of the time.

Hmm, yes, that spreadsheet makes a good argument.

Not the least because I never even considered using AoEs against a single-target like FSM.
Does make sense when I think about it, does double damage against main-target and costs twice as much when fully upgraded, so actually same damage/mana.

But with single-target spells, the explode does more damage compared to main spell hit, so that kinda skewed it.
But yeah, spamming banish instead of smite+disintegrate would hold the advantage, I can see that.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I'm actually even more unsure about what to get: Black and White Aura wise, the exp boost is great, but the other bonuses don't seem much of a big deal to me.

Regen bonuses from Rainbow on the other hand seem awesome, but it'll be ages before I get my hands on it (and I've gone 4 days without dropping a single artifact, on top of that), but I'm not sure if it'd be better in the long-run - leveling faster should grant me quicker access to better gear.

I guess I'll get to 200 haths and toss a coin or something lol - leanining more towards 200 haths auras though.
I'm not sure I get it, IA spells can proc Channeling?

This may be total bullcrap, but for some reason the spells I use on round 1 (especially Heartseeker) seem to have a higher chance of triggering Channeling - to the point that it happens almost every time.

Cure I and Protection on the other hand don't seem to channel that good, a couple hours ago I went 40 rounds with only those two and it never triggered, that was ass.

Channeling depends on mana cost as a percentage of your total mana, as answered above.

IA vs auras are hard, no real right answer IMO.
I like fast leveling, so I'm leaning towards auras and it's auras I'm saving up for. I went for an IA slot because it was cheap and I wanted some perks quick, instead of having to wait months for one of the auras.

Here's a small bonus tho.
The black&white auras give bonus to experience, but also a small bonus to certain stats and +10% to mana or hp depending on which one you go for. It doesn't say if it is +10% base or +10% total, but if it is the latter, that'd make it really awesome (since at lvl 250, you got +162% to both from mana/hp tanks).
But it also gives a 25% bonus to power, which is the little meter with how much karma you can give out.
But it is also a heavy factor in how many spirit points you have, you get 1 spirit point per 7 power, and while it is not a straight 25% bonus, but is counted in with other bonuses, it should still be a pretty considerable one, meaning a noticeable boost to spirit points. Something that is far from useless, and shouldn't be forgotten.

Innate Arcana really helps to keep your Supportive proficiency up, especially when coupled with a decent level in Assimilator.

Black and White auras also give some stats.

http://ehwiki.org/wiki/Auras#Spectral_Auras

Innate Arcana really helps to keep your Supportive proficiency up, especially when coupled with a decent level in Assimilator.

That it does, a small hidden benefit.
Instead of a small chance of getting supportive proficiency every time you cast a supportive spell, you have a small chance of gaining supportive proficiency every turn that an auto-cast spell is running.
I've no idea if the effect is cumulative with multiple spells in auto-cast, but it does give more proficiency than by casting them the old-fashioned way.

I have IA3, max Assimilator and capped staff/cloth/magic profs. Takes 1.5 arena clears for profs to cap themselves after a level up, with the exception of Curative. Before this patch I had to drain my remaining mana on Cure1 in the first 10 arenas to cap it, without the auto-refill it looks like it'll take 4-5 arena clears for it to auto-cap without grinding.

Woha that's cool, didn't know about that. Is it mentioned somewhere, or it's like a hidden property of IA?

Too bad interference would kill my profs anyway lol (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/anime_cry.gif)

I'm tempted to try out Invisible Pink Unicorn and Flying Spaghetti Monster for the first clear boni.
I've already killed Real Life and I had to use half of the Godly Mana Potions I brought along (3 of 7).

Somewhere in this thread I read that FSM is five times stronger than Real Life (in terms of HP?), how much stronger is IPU compared to Real Life?

How would I fare against both of them? My setup:

I have Ability Boost on 42, thus my health and mana tanks are all filled and I have Poison, Haste, Shadow Veil, Spark of Life and Silence maxed,
but I don't have Weaken and Bewilder.
I'm a meelee two-handed sword fighter, the other proficiencies are quite low.
My main weapon is not ethereal, but I have an Ethereal Katana of Balance 20 levels below mine. I might have to use that one.
I have various power armours in all armour slots.

I could really need the money right now.

Somewhere in this thread I read that FSM is five times stronger than Real Life (in terms of HP?), how much stronger is IPU compared to Real Life?

At your level, RL should have ~215k HP, IPU ~340k and FSM ~490k.

Woha that's cool, didn't know about that. Is it mentioned somewhere, or it's like a hidden property of IA?

Too bad interference would kill my profs anyway lol (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/anime_cry.gif)

Shouldn't be... I remember PMing Joe about adding it to the wiki and he said he did. Should be under settings or innate arcana or something to that effect.

@cybhchaos I haven't visited unicorn lately/recorded anything about him so I can't really help you with that. Well more like, I could help you but I think someone more familiar with the unicorn would give you better advice. Bad advice is worse than no advice IMO

But if no one recommends you anything and you don't feel safe entering the IPU fight, get a full set of thrice blessed gear (cotton if you're going cloth, leather if you're going light, plate if you're going heavy), silence him, and use your highest bleed damage 2h weap (illithid would be preferred but your full stash of godly mana's should last you)

Thrice Blessed gear should negate most of IPU's regular damage and silence will stop his special attacks. I'd also recommend focus-ing before you cast silence (be wary of that 1 turn focus that might leave you vulernable)

e: rawr ninja'ed by tiap. Did you find the hp relation for all 3 bosses? (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)

This post has been edited by dcherry: Dec 30 2011, 19:43

e: rawr ninja'ed by tiap. Did you find the hp relation for all 3 bosses? (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)

Not really, just approximations.
FSM → ~4050*level
IPU → ~2800*level
RL → ~1800*level