[X] My Assistant

Ok, I'm still working on this whole aspect, but lets see if I get this right:

Katalox of Destruction and Fenrir, Oak of Heimdall (plus hallowed), and then redwood ... only if its some sort of max all rolls mag/legendary destruction?

What is willow good for? ebony?

Katalox of Destruction, or Fenrir/Heimdall. Hallowed or Demonic ups value significantly. Focus is meh (but good rolls can make it decent). Prof is good too, but people are going to hesitate to sink millions into a prof staff when we know that massive changes to prof are coming Soon ™.

Hallowed Oak of Heimdall (vanilla is less good, Hallowed to get those absurd Holy EDBs).

Willow makes for decent Dark sticks if it's Destruction with good MDB. Other Willow can be ignored. Demonic, or to a lesser extent Tempestuous or Shocking improves value (Tempestuous Willow Destruction can make for a good Wind Stick).

Oak and Willow are T2, while Katalox is T3. They're more common and easier to find than Katalox. Usually, equal quality Katalox will beat Oak/Willow, but say a Mag Willow can best an Exquisite Katalox as a Dark stick.

Redwood, yeah, pretty much only high rolling Mag+ sticks with good prefixes. Elemental prefix Destruction, matched prefix/suffix EDB are both potentially good. Prof is actually very good (just like with Katalox), but again, Mage Patch coming down the pipe threatens to knock prof sticks into sub-Focus territory.

If you see an Ebony drop, file a bug report. Ebony got rolled into Redwood in 0.73. It had similar stats (better MDB, worse EDB, worse Prof, higher Burden).

Hey guys, thanks to everyone who responded to my questions a few days ago. I feel like I use this thread too much >_<

A few questions:

1. I'm still looking to upgrade my Superior Eth Estoc of Balance. I got an offer for an Exq Eth Estoc of Slaughter with 21% PA, 3.06 T, 57.99 WD, 9.59 accuracy, 5.45 crit, 6.57 STR, 4.17 DEX, and 2.67 AGI for 850k. Should I take it, or should I focus on upgrading my armor until I can afford one of the super expensive estocs?
2. Heartseeker+Spirit Stance = Pulverize everything but BT and IWBTH, which I love, but I seriously get parried all the time on higher difficulties. Like, 5 times in a row. Anything I can do about that besides Overwhelming Strikes and Sleep?
3. And of course, am I doing okay generally?

Here's my build right now:

Superior Ethereal Estoc of Balance: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=46212a03be
Ex Plate Helmet of Protection: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=03264e62cb
Ex Plate Cuirass of Protection: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=0505e8a8be
Ex Power Gauntlets of Protection: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=85d29b1088
Avg Power Leggings of Slaughter: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=866d3f9327
Ex Plate Sabatons of Protection: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=9e934abf04
(i know I'm terrible for still wearing an Average)


Thank you!

Hey guys, thanks to everyone who responded to my questions a few days ago. I feel like I use this thread too much >_<

A few questions:

1. I'm still looking to upgrade my Superior Eth Estoc of Balance. I got an offer for an Exq Eth Estoc of Slaughter with 21% PA, 3.06 T, 57.99 WD, 9.59 accuracy, 5.45 crit, 6.57 STR, 4.17 DEX, and 2.67 AGI for 850k. Should I take it, or should I focus on upgrading my armor until I can afford one of the super expensive estocs?
2. Heartseeker+Spirit Stance = Pulverize everything but BT and IWBTH, which I love, but I seriously get parried all the time on higher difficulties. Like, 5 times in a row. Anything I can do about that besides Overwhelming Strikes and Sleep?
3. And of course, am I doing okay generally?

Here's my build right now:

Superior Ethereal Estoc of Balance: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=46212a03be
Ex Plate Helmet of Protection: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=03264e62cb
Ex Plate Cuirass of Protection: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=0505e8a8be
Ex Power Gauntlets of Protection: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=85d29b1088
Avg Power Leggings of Slaughter: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=866d3f9327
Ex Plate Sabatons of Protection: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=9e934abf04
(i know I'm terrible for still wearing an Average)


Thank you!

You can reference the estoc against the equipment range to determine if it is good enough for you. But imo, the WD & PABs are below the average.
The final decision still lies with you.

This post has been edited by Apocalypse Horsemen: May 10 2013, 17:04

Hey guys, thanks to everyone who responded to my questions a few days ago. I feel like I use this thread too much >_<

A few questions:

1. I'm still looking to upgrade my Superior Eth Estoc of Balance. I got an offer for an Exq Eth Estoc of Slaughter with 21% PA, 3.06 T, 57.99 WD, 9.59 accuracy, 5.45 crit, 6.57 STR, 4.17 DEX, and 2.67 AGI for 850k. Should I take it, or should I focus on upgrading my armor until I can afford one of the super expensive estocs?
2. Heartseeker+Spirit Stance = Pulverize everything but BT and IWBTH, which I love, but I seriously get parried all the time on higher difficulties. Like, 5 times in a row. Anything I can do about that besides Overwhelming Strikes and Sleep?
3. And of course, am I doing okay generally?

Here's my build right now:

Superior Ethereal Estoc of Balance: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=46212a03be
Ex Plate Helmet of Protection: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=03264e62cb
Ex Plate Cuirass of Protection: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=0505e8a8be
Ex Power Gauntlets of Protection: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=85d29b1088
Avg Power Leggings of Slaughter: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=866d3f9327
Ex Plate Sabatons of Protection: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=9e934abf04
(i know I'm terrible for still wearing an Average)


Thank you!

1. see the answer of horsemen, and for me that's good enough.

2. sleep isn't very effective for me. fill up the heartseeker + spirit shield for non-mage style.

3. I'm not a heavy armor user, but the inference is too high for me.

Interference seems normal for what I know.

You should put more points into INT anyway, that's really a low score and your SP shows it. The only two stats I keep over my lvl are STR and END actually.
Also, try to train a bit Pack Rat. It'll come in handy.

1. I'm still looking to upgrade my Superior Eth Estoc of Balance. I got an offer for an Exq Eth Estoc of Slaughter with 21% PA, 3.06 T, 57.99 WD, 9.59 accuracy, 5.45 crit, 6.57 STR, 4.17 DEX, and 2.67 AGI for 850k. Should I take it, or should I focus on upgrading my armor until I can afford one of the super expensive estocs?

Slaughter obviously reigns, but proc'ing PA is critical and a Balance estoc with good rolls in proc chance, crit and damage can work - yours would be much better with a good DEX roll, AGI currently only serves as a way to increase your chances of getting Butcher and Swift Strike.

The offered estoc lacks a bit of punch but prices get crazy above that, and it's overall pretty solid (it also has 3PABs, so if you aren't extremely unlucky you can have someone level it up to lvl 7 for only ~200k and get a decent boost from Butcher + Swift Strike) - estocs don't come cheap nowadays.

2H proficiency is a bit low though. It gets better on its own when you get higher, but 3 in Assimilator (it's relatively cheap, it doesn't scale as bad as other trainings - lvl 4 only costs ~250k) can go a long way, it's added DPS and survivability you're missing.

2. Heartseeker+Spirit Stance = Pulverize everything but BT and IWBTH, which I love, but I seriously get parried all the time on higher difficulties. Like, 5 times in a row. Anything I can do about that besides Overwhelming Strikes and Sleep?

Nothing you can do sadly, 1H is the only proficiency with anti-parry mechanics.

Just rejoice if RH Exelion, Aasta and the likes don't parry you 8/10 (I so wish we had pseudo random distribution...) (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

Also, don't waste mana/APs on Sleep, its only use is generally against the last standing monsters during marathons to use Focus - and if you feel you're lacking mana, train Pack Rat (you really want to max that asap).

3. And of course, am I doing okay generally?

Here's my build right now:

Superior Ethereal Estoc of Balance: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=46212a03be
Ex Plate Helmet of Protection: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=03264e62cb
Ex Plate Cuirass of Protection: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=0505e8a8be
Ex Power Gauntlets of Protection: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=85d29b1088
Avg Power Leggings of Slaughter: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=866d3f9327
Ex Plate Sabatons of Protection: http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=9e934abf04
(i know I'm terrible for still wearing an Average)


Thank you!

Averages with good rolls on core stats aren't bad at all, and you want Slaughter on Body/Armor because of the hefty ADB boost they give, so it's not terrible imo.

Upgrading your Armor (nice PMI but 1 PAB is terrible, you want STR+DEX+END, also keep in mind that good PMI > good END atm) and Leggings should be your priority imo (nice gloves, helmet it's decent too).
You should be able to grab a decent replacement for ultra cheap: I think I sold a close to max ADB Superior Slaughter leggings with STR+DEX in my previous auction (like 1 month ago) for something like 15-20k, prices only get ridiculous for Exquisites with huge ADB and great rolls on core stats. Same for plate, you can snatch Mags for 100k these days.

That being said, survivability is there, but how long does it take to clear things up? The damage/overall DPS just doesn't seem to be there.
Consider a Balance piece if you want to go faster and you feel you aren't gonna die, the accuracy will bring you closer to the 200 % target (monsters won't evade, a full chaos'd endgame monster will wreck your DPS with max evade+parry), and with the added crit you get quite a bit of DPS (more procs + 1.5x damage on crits).

About stats, don't leave INT that low, something like ~0.7-0.8 your current level should be your target. Yes it technically adds nothing to a melee, but it's hella cheap and you get some more mana and spirit.
Exp is better spent that way because core stats will be too expensive and give less in comparison.
Same for AGI, you want it to be lower but that's a bit too much imho.

Training wise, pump more points in Scavenger + Archaeologist: Artifact are a great source of income for lower level players (sell them obviously) and those 2 combined will give you a higher chance of getting them.

This post has been edited by wr4st3r: May 10 2013, 22:13

Have the token drop rates been adjusted over the past few days? Previously, I was experiencing a drought of ToBs. Today, they're even dropping in the damned REs.

Feels like the opposite for me :S

nah , it just RNG (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

Thanks everyone!

stuff

I got the estoc, and the owner actually threw in 2 IW levels for free. http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=fca4426b62 <--Here it is--no Swift Strike yet, sadly. I feel like there's a difference--it used to feel like I was hitting IWBTH monsters with a cardboard tube, now it feels like I'm hitting them with a chisel. A blunt, cracked chisel, but a chisel nonetheless (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Also grabbed a pack rat, and pumped my INT and AGI a little. I don't know how slow I am--it usually takes 4+ Mana pots to get through a RE on IWBTH, maybe ~65-80 rounds if there's more than six of them? I'll keep the Power of Balance in mind.

I also have a little question about methodology. Should I buy Energy Drinks to keep my Stamina in the Great zone all the time? 400 rounds is less than 5 arenas for me now...
e: Oh yeah, also, should I be buying and using Voidseeker, Featherweight, etc for all my arena runs?

This post has been edited by petalferrous: May 11 2013, 18:09

Thanks everyone!
I got the estoc, and the owner actually threw in 2 IW levels for free. http://hentaiverse.org/pages/showequip.php...;key=fca4426b62 <--Here it is--no Swift Strike yet, sadly. I feel like there's a difference--it used to feel like I was hitting IWBTH monsters with a cardboard tube, now it feels like I'm hitting them with a chisel. A blunt, cracked chisel, but a chisel nonetheless (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Also grabbed a pack rat, and pumped my INT and AGI a little. I don't know how slow I am--it usually takes 4+ Mana pots to get through a RE on IWBTH, maybe ~65-80 rounds if there's more than six of them? I'll keep the Power of Balance in mind.

I also have a little question about methodology. Should I buy Energy Drinks to keep my Stamina in the Great zone all the time? 400 rounds is less than 5 arenas for me now...
e: Oh yeah, also, should I be buying and using Voidseeker, Featherweight, etc for all my arena runs?

For energy drinks (well) that is up to you. If you are earning good amount of credits and play a lot each day than why not. ED normally cost around (12-13K) less sometimes if you are lucky to grab those. Also sometimes you will get ED from shrine artifacts

Regrading using shards well its not good to depend upon them too much. Play normally and use shards once in a while. If you get lots of drop shards than that's a whole different story imo

This post has been edited by xcaliber9999: May 11 2013, 20:40

I also have a little question about methodology. Should I buy Energy Drinks to keep my Stamina in the Great zone all the time? 400 rounds is less than 5 arenas for me now...
e: Oh yeah, also, should I be buying and using Voidseeker, Featherweight, etc for all my arena runs?

I'm not sure about RE on IWBTH at your level, but I don't remember ever needing to chug that many pots for one.

You should buy ED if you are doing arenas on Hell. It makes things easier. I also did some math and I found out that I actually have a net gain in credits doing it on Hell in great stamina after buying ED. I forgot how much but it was substantial. It also depends on what arenas you are doing. I am allotting my stamina based off of arena priority in limited time in http://ehwiki.org/wiki/Talk:HentaiVerse_Advice and using 2 ED.

I don't use shards cause its a drain on my resources that I don't need but then again shards would make things easier. It depends on if you need the extra help or not I guess but since I don't use them I can't tell you for sure.

just wondering about attack damage and primary attribute boosts from weapons.

so I have 2 mace of balance,

327 damage with +32 strength and +17 dexterity
401 damage with +24 strength and +12 dexterity

which one ends up dealing more damage? doesn't strength points adds +2 damage each and dexterity adds +1 damage each?

Hi everyone.

I'm now lv91, but, because of some time spent in Niten, and because most of the XP on the last 30-40 levels comes from random encounters in nintendo mode (tons of XP for very short fights), my profficiencies are really low. 19 for DW, 23 on heavy armor and 36 supportive. Am I going to be in deep shit real soon if I keep leveling using random encounters, or can I afford to delay the grindfest until post lv150+?

I also unlocked Absorb, but don't know if I should invest on it. On the wiki, it state "Absorbed MP is between 5-10% of base max MP."
We're speaking about the player base max MP and not the monster, right?
The spell cost 30 MP. Assuming 100 interference, and a minimal 7.5% return, by my math it would mean the break even point would be at 600 base MP.

Is this spell mandatory at high level to reduce mana pot usage?

just wondering about attack damage and primary attribute boosts from weapons.

so I have 2 mace of balance,

327 damage with +32 strength and +17 dexterity
401 damage with +24 strength and +12 dexterity

which one ends up dealing more damage? doesn't strength points adds +2 damage each and dexterity adds +1 damage each?

I sent you something a bit better.

It should hold you over till someone can donate you an ethereal weapon (mace or estoc if you're sticking to 2H); or you buy one in the WTB forum.

It should hold you over till someone can donate you an ethereal weapon (mace or estoc if you're sticking to 2H); or you buy one in the WTB forum.

Why is the estoc considered as one of the best 2H weapons? Those weapons seem comparable to a katana damage-wise, but don't have the same accuracy. I understand that penetrating armor is more usefull than, say, bleeding, but ethereal weapons don't need that. Wouldn't an Katana or Scythe better exploit the advantages of the ethereal attribute?

Hi everyone.

I'm now lv91, but, because of some time spent in Niten, and because most of the XP on the last 30-40 levels comes from random encounters in nintendo mode (tons of XP for very short fights), my profficiencies are really low. 19 for DW, 23 on heavy armor and 36 supportive. Am I going to be in deep shit real soon if I keep leveling using random encounters, or can I afford to delay the grindfest until post lv150+?

I also unlocked Absorb, but don't know if I should invest on it. On the wiki, it state "Absorbed MP is between 5-10% of base max MP."
We're speaking about the player base max MP and not the monster, right?
The spell cost 30 MP. Assuming 100 interference, and a minimal 7.5% return, by my math it would mean the break even point would be at 600 base MP.

Is this spell mandatory at high level to reduce mana pot usage?

Absorb isn't for mana gains, its to prevent spirit loss. If you absorb a hit that would spark you, or take a chunk off with spirit shield, it's essentially nullified, mana wise (cast absorb during spirit stance); but also reduces burst damage taken in a turn. Niten probably isn't a good idea for leveling, you'll want weapon proficiency. Leveling does slow exponentially, which will let it catch up at higher levels, but you do need to have gains for that to happen. I don't know about everyone else, but I primarily do arenas as a higher level player, not grindfest. I never complete them all, so that doesn't leave much time for gf or iw.

Why is the estoc considered as one of the best 2H weapons? Those weapons seem comparable to a katana damage-wise, but don't have the same accuracy. I understand that penetrating armor is more usefull than, say, bleeding, but ethereal weapons don't need that. Wouldn't an Katana or Scythe better exploit the advantages of the ethereal attribute?

No, at higher levels and difficulties both mace and estoc are the better choice. Sycthe may seem superior at low level because it does higher damage, but the bleed is mostly negatable; and both Stun and Pierce Armor on Mace/Estoc respectively are much better options. Stun essentially is free damage avoidance, while PA on estocs just kills things quickly.
Ethereal weapons only go so far as to how much damage void allows through, but monsters still have armor with PA can get through; and Maces are just good for tank players who want to sit back and wack everything behind a wall of stun.

I might have the void-mitgation-armor thing backwards, but it does work.

Estoc is kinda meh at low level. At higher level + higher difficulty, however, estoc become the simplest and most flexible of all 2H when it comes to dealing damage to the enemy— it works well on a wide range of situation and playing style since PA is always useful in conjunction with anything melee-related, using estoc made it simpler since you can proc it just by hitting the enemy.

Whether it is the best or not is depends on how one defined 'best' though— Mace, for instance, is either an utter shit or overpower depends on how you viewed and use it. Actually, many weapon and fighting style works quite well now (Niten is now usable... something I thought will never going to happen!) if you use it right.

This post has been edited by buktore: May 11 2013, 22:40

Why is the estoc considered as one of the best 2H weapons? Those weapons seem comparable to a katana damage-wise, but don't have the same accuracy. I understand that penetrating armor is more usefull than, say, bleeding, but ethereal weapons don't need that. Wouldn't an Katana or Scythe better exploit the advantages of the ethereal attribute?

Monsters have two things that reduce the incoming damage of a hit. There's PMI and there's specific mitigations (Crush/Slash/Pierce). Void damage bypasses specific mitigations, but not PMI. Penetrated Armor reduces PMI (how many stacks to fully bypass depends on level). PA + Void bypasses both. Without a Rapier or Estoc, you can only get Penetrated Armor via skills (and then only with 2H or Niten skills). Monster's specific mitigations are class-specific and never change, while monster PMI depends on stats and Chaos. At your level, no mob has more than ~25% PMI, and those are ones with either Chaos or stats unbalanced toward STR/END.