[X] My Assistant

A question about ethereals - I was under the impression that ethereals didn't drop under a certain quality threshold, and specifically this last patch reduced the lower drop threshold to the 'fine' quality rank. Since then however, i got this drop - Average Ethereal Longsword of Balance - and was wondering if anyone else has seen average or lower ethereals popping up?

Yes, there's some ave dropping, and it was already discussed, so for now that's "normal".

Got shafted again in arena....

Whats needed to survive 6 rounds & beyond?

str 31 + 7
dex 27 + 7
agi 29 + 2
end 31 +1
int 25 + 1
wis 25 + 1

equips - what I consider best equip as i have quite alot of crudes and averages and just 1 superior helm

fair axe of raccoon
fair buckler of nimble
average leather helm of shielding aura
average leather breastplate of protection
fair leather gauntlets of warding
average leather leggings of protection
fair silk shoes of raccoon

spells - cure curative proficiency 17.92 no other spells

one handed 26.11
shield 20.78
cloth 19.59
light 20.39

478HP
78 mana - all of it goes to HP
26 spirit

anything wrong?

Any chance we could get the stats on those equipments?

Before you go about posting a string of numbers for every single piece, let me suggest something - hover over the equipment name and press "c" to open a window for it. Copy the link to that window, then put this in the field of your post for each piece:

[url="LINK TO EQUIPMENT"]NAME OF EQUIPMENT[url]

Add a "/" to the beginning of that second 'url', and you'll hyperlink us to the equipment and its stats.

fair axe of raccoon
fair buckler of nimble
average leather helm of shielding aura
average leather breastplate of protection
fair leather gauntlets of warding
average leather leggings of protection
fair silk shoes of raccoon

Anything else needed?

Really looking forward to credit harvesting (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

This post has been edited by zzc: Mar 5 2011, 06:01

Anything else needed?

Really looking forward to credit harvesting (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

That should be plenty to start, from what you've given already. I haven't done enough to give good advice myself, but others are sure to help sooner or later.

Question for the thread and its visitors:

Poison, Shadow Veil, Confuse, Bewilder, Blind, Silence

Which of these are needed, if ever at all? Which ones should be maxed, and which are better of ignored to put the AP elsewhere?

I've been reading off and on about spell combinations for bosses and mobs, but I never really grasped what exactly is the combo of spells I should be using - and more importantly, which spells are even NEEDED to begin with. I realize once I reset the AP for maging down the road I'll have a second chance at setting everything, but I'd rather know now to make the training process easier on myself.

Thing is, I end up using potions just to survive 5 rounds.

Potions dont drop enough to replace what I've used up.

I can barely survive 6 rounds, so pretty sure I wont survive 7.....

I'm playing mage spec atm, so I'm not sure what perspective I can give to a warrior spec.

Poison:
I don't use this so much for the damage but for reducing boss monster's MP/SP regen (less damage spikes/one-hit kill attacks). Only have 1 point invested because of this.

Shadow Veil:
Depends, with 20% evade on me this boosts me to 50% total avoidance (evade+parry+block). Wearing warrior gear you should be able to get more out of it.

Confuse:
Avoid. Unreliable, Sleep is much better. It has a pretty good chance of breaking when taking damage and when maxed it won't hit itself so it's no good for 1-on-1s. I find Sleep is pretty good when you need to recover deep in grindfest and Weaken doesn't shave off enough damage (for this purpose I only need 1 point in it).

Bewilder:
Required for bosses and up. No magic crits and -50% magic damage (when maxed). Won't be using it much for common monsters though.

Blind:
I read that the debuff is: -25% base hit chance, not sure if that's maxed or at 1 point. Currently the only monster I'd use it on is Ryouko, since she only uses physical attacks (Weaken+Blind). Wonder what the proficiency scaling is, do monsters get -50% hit chance @ 200 deprecating proficiency?

Silence:
Level 110 is a long way off. Currently I use 1 piece of 20% resist gear and Weaken+Bewilder when fighting bosses/legendaries. Can't use it with Weaken though, so it's 15 total AP to max with Absorb & Spark of Life.

This post has been edited by Ballistic9: Mar 5 2011, 08:23

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This post has been edited by Ballistic9: Mar 5 2011, 08:25

I'm playing mage spec atm, so I'm not sure what perspective I can give to a warrior spec.

Shadow Veil:
Depends, with 20% evade on me this boosts me to 50% total avoidance (evade+parry+block). Wearing warrior gear you should be able to get more out of it.

I assume once it switches to mage, it should only be utilized if I have the gear to make it count, then, right?

Confuse:
Avoid. Unreliable, Sleep is much better. It has a pretty good chance of breaking when taking damage and when maxed it won't hit itself so it's no good for 1-on-1s. I find Sleep is pretty good when you need to recover deep in grindfest and Weaken doesn't shave off enough damage.

I haven't used Sleep at all because the concept of it probably breaking upon giving damage just makes it seem worthless to me. As a healing opportunity, sure, but usually when I'm low on health it isn't 1 monster threatening to end me, it's 2-3, and casting time doesn't give me a chance to recover soon enough.

Blind:
I read that the debuff is: -25% base hit chance, not sure if that's maxed or at 1 point. Currently the only monster I'd use it on is Ryouko, since she only uses physical attacks (Weaken+Blind). Wonder what the proficiency scaling is, do monsters get -50% hit chance @ 200 deprecating proficiency?

I wouldn't know myself, but it'd be far more enticing if the spell applied as an AOE - as a single target, maybe at higher levels, but I'm still on the fence about this one.

Silence:
Level 110 is a long way off. Currently I use 1 piece of 20% resist gear and Weaken+Bewilder when fighting bosses/legendaries. Can't use it with Weaken though, so it's 15 total AP to max with Absorb & Spark of Life.

So Silence is likely a no-go? And I was under the impression Absorb had very little use (mainly from talk about Scrolls of Absorption), but from your post it sounds like something I should prepare to invest in...

This post has been edited by PommyN64: Mar 5 2011, 08:35

I think Ballistic had some pretty solid advice.


I basically used none of those as melee, only a bit of experimentation with SV which ended with an AP tree reset. Even now as mage, I still haven't reinvested back into SV. I rather use shield, which may not be as good, but it's only 1 AP, and costs 1/3 less mana.

Some of those skills, I really don't think are necessary at all, unless you want to start fighting legendaries at earliest level possible (I haven't really bothered with ring of blood, since I'm still living off a surplus of credits (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)) I'd say save your AP for better skills. At your level range, I was still an adjusting mage, and reinvested into zero deprecating spells, only picking up weaken, poison (1 AP, like Ballistic), slow, and bewilder at level 90 in preparation for level 100 arenas.


Keep in mind I don't really do infinite grinding, so maybe you'll find uses for spells there where I didn't. Plus I still think if you want to grind better, you should switch to mage asap =P



zzc, I think a lot of your problems can be solved if you pick up the shield spell. Additionally, a dual-wielding build with a high parry dagger would probably help you better than that pitiful looking buckler (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) Let me know if you can't find something, I think I have one that scales to 12.8% parry at your level. Keep in mind you get an extra 50% parry on your offhand when dual wielding.

This post has been edited by dkplee: Mar 5 2011, 09:36

Shadow Veil is sadly maxed at the moment, so that's something I'll look into for when I finally make the switch over (I don't have the equips for it yet), but with several levels in AP training I should have a nice surplus when I finally make the switch.

Weaken stays for sure, but Poison, Bewilder, and maybe slow...I'll have to look into it. As it is now, shit sucks just meleeing to begin with, so it won't make much difference if AP is wasted here or there. This is all good info to know though.

What level are you planning to switch at anyway?


My opinion is this. Switch soon and you don't need any debuffs, just ignore RoB. Switch as late as level 90, you might as well grab them since you'll need them for level 100 arenas.

for spells, is it better to use elemental spells to level? Or is it better to switch to holy or dark right when it's unlocked?

I read some of the earlier posts, and people said that an upgraded tier 1 spell with +rating is better than a tier 2 spell. So should I stick with tier 1 spells until the end game?

How do people manage the mp costs of spells? I can only reach about round 30 before I'm out of magic and magic items.

What level are you planning to switch at anyway?
My opinion is this. Switch soon and you don't need any debuffs, just ignore RoB. Switch as late as level 90, you might as well grab them since you'll need them for level 100 arenas.

Originally it was going to be at 80 as a few people suggested, but I'm really just teetering on the fence, to be completely honest - changing to maging is going to mean having to remember a whole new set of 'what to do's, and besides a pretty damn decent staff I bought from hitokiri I don't have much in the way of high-end equips. The AP reset will only cost 163 Credits since I reset once early on, but chances are next time I do it it's going to be a tremendous amount if I need to rest again.

I wasn't planning on doing the level 80-100 Arenas on melee anyway, I didn't think I stood a chance at them until I switched to mage. The hard part is just....actually doing it. If someone wants to pitch me a basic rundown of the "Need to have" skills, though, it'd make the process a heck of a lot easier.

Well here's what abilities I grabbed when I switched.

I first grabbed both T1 and T2 for fire and elec. Both tiers of either element actually saw plenty of use. I used T1 for grindfests and IW, and T2 for arenas and hourly battles. Some people skimp on T1 but I think that limits you too much in IW grinding.

Support spells, I just grabbed shield, regen, cure, and maxed haste. I only really used haste in arenas, just so I can throw up other buffs like shield and regen safely. With decent proficiency in both supportive and curative, I think shield and regen is more than enough to keep you alive in most circumstances (for both IW and arena).

I maxed my mana tanks, then got half the HP tanks available to me.

Eventually I added 1 point in gale, condemn, and freeze just so I have a way to damage bosses encountered in IW. Gale was mostly for manthras now that I think about it.

I still had enough to put 12 points into exp tank plus the debuffs I grabbed at level 90. Eventually, I put another 10ish points in EXP tank just so I can get level 100 a day early before resetting my AP tree again once I did hit 100. My AP tree looks a little different now since I'm set up to kill all the basic bosses. I no longer have any exp tanks, and I have T2 ice and T2 holy maxed instead.

for spells, is it better to use elemental spells to level? Or is it better to switch to holy or dark right when it's unlocked?

I read some of the earlier posts, and people said that an upgraded tier 1 spell with +rating is better than a tier 2 spell. So should I stick with tier 1 spells until the end game?

How do people manage the mp costs of spells? I can only reach about round 30 before I'm out of magic and magic items.

I use both, some people use only T2. It's mostly preference. I stick to T1 for IW and grindfests so I don't end up wasting mana. To manage mp, make sure you're strong enough to kill most enemies in 1 or 2 AoEs. If using two T1 AoEs per round, make sure to take note if any of your enemies get proc'd with coalesced mana, then aim your second AoE at them. I'm not sure which element(s) you use, but I usually just blindly cast my T1 elec AoE, following it up with a T1 fire AoE at the one with CM or anything with enough HP that looks like it might survive the second hit. Also, make sure you're spending most of your exp on int and wis. Maxed mana tanks is a given.

This post has been edited by dkplee: Mar 5 2011, 11:38

for spells, is it better to use elemental spells to level? Or is it better to switch to holy or dark right when it's unlocked?

There are holy and dark impervious enemies now, so you can't rely solely on them. Depending on the difficulty level and round count, I open with either the tier 1 or 2 elec AOE and if I see a Coalesced Mana proc I cast a Purge on it. If I do it the other way around there's usually too many mobs left up, which adds up to more damage taken. Other than that, it helps keep up my divine proficiency. I could last longer mana-wise if I didn't bother with holy and my elemental proficiency would cap twice as fast before I hit the current level cap.

I read some of the earlier posts, and people said that an upgraded tier 1 spell with +rating is better than a tier 2 spell. So should I stick with tier 1 spells until the end game?

Tier 1 spells are cheaper and faster to cast (no double monster turns), but tier 2+ is better when you absolutely must have the damage (harder difficulty levels, deep into grindfest/itemworlds, boss fights).

How do people manage the mp costs of spells? I can only reach about round 30 before I'm out of magic and magic items.

Gets better as you level, I guess. Try find a good Ether Theft staff (33%+, 2+ turns) if you haven't already. Also chew through gems like crack, don't save them up, just blow through them immediately to try get more mana/mystic gems.

Eventually I added 1 point in gale, condemn, and freeze just so I have a way to damage bosses encountered in IW. Gale was mostly for manthras now that I think about it.

I still had enough to put 12 points into exp tank plus the debuffs I grabbed at level 90. Eventually, I put another 10ish points in EXP tank just so I can get level 100 a day early before resetting my AP tree again once I did hit 100.

How much damage does Freeze do at 1 point? I hate running into White Bunnehs 'cause I have to magic missile them to death (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

Btw, how much EXP were you getting with the EXP tanks in grindfest/itemworlds?

Magic Missile did about 200-250 damage and Freeze did about 600-800ish? I actually didn't pay much attention (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) I just know it was a lot faster than MM, more than double. I did use MM to try to proc CM first, but it usually goes up after my debuffs anyway. Or if you get into an unlucky streak like me, you can go spamming magic missile for 20 rounds and it still doesn't proc.

For 1 AP, I think it was worth it.


With all those exp tanks, I didn't stay at 99 for long. Most of my exp came from an exquisite IW run, where I was getting approximately 500 exp per round. I got up to about round 110 before running out of mana and mana recovery items. I think I was getting 30 per enemy on a normal average IW? Compared to my current 20 per enemy with the same settings, I think it was a huge difference.

Oops, I should mention I was in a bidding war earlier that day as well, and made about 20ish posts in the same thread, so that contributed a bit to my exp gain.

Whoops, double posted. IGNORE THIS ONE FOLKS, LOOK BELOW.

This post has been edited by PommyN64: Mar 5 2011, 12:17

Does Ether Theft proc only on hitting enemies with the staff directly, and if so, does that mean you usually whack an enemy when low on MP until you trigger it, then fire away with magic? I have a 36% 3 (2) turn Ether Theft staff from hitokiri, but the proc isn't much use if I don't use it correctly.

Or is the case that people just don't give a crap about Channeling/Ether Theft, and we're just talking "Get Coalesced Mana, enjoy half-off MP cost"?

Well here's what abilities I grabbed when I switched.

INSERT WALL OF TEXT

Can't give enough thanks for the tips, I'll bookmark this page just to have it handy.

Only one other question based on the info you gave:

1) When you say T1 and 2 of the spells, does this also include maxing out the 3rd block of each skill that increases the Damage Rating by 2% per AP?

I think that about covers everything. Between that and what's just been provided, I feel tremendously more confident now about doing the switchover, and will probably change it tonight after I take care of some things. Once again, tremendous thanks to both of you - I can't Pos. Karma enough.

This post has been edited by PommyN64: Mar 5 2011, 12:26