Post by Rain on Feb 2, 2009 14:15:45 GMT
Introduction:After getting my druid Illianaro to x5demi, finally i decided to make some changes to him due to the self feedback on my playing style.
He was 58druid/1monk/1bard with maxed 72 wisdom, transmutation/abjuration/evocation/conjuration epics. After getting him tagged to elysium and aboleth, i knew there were more i could do to make him effective not only in the nine hells of baator, but in elysium and aboleth. To get that, i chose to give up his bard lvl since i found he actually seldom used those mord/bbod/gust/stf/mb scrolls after he equipped himself from the items in stygia shop (the wands can be charged with electrifier fast and easily and besides, using wand is faster than reading scrolls. Stygia wands donot need any UMD skill either.) As for GS scrolls, mostly i found i used the stygia shopped GS pots instead since drinking pot is faster and there's no cooldown time. And yes i do have lots of those pots on each of my character actually. I didnot find i needed to use them much on druid but when i needed to, it was always more handy than GS scrolls, eg. when i need to reposition myself in a nasty spawn.
1. What i want in the new build:
--Max wisdom
--Greater Ruinx2
--High Spellcraft for Counterspell in Aboleth/Rona
--High saves
--5 Druid Epic Spells (Including both Abjuration and Necromancy):
1>Transmutation: Nature Balance, Drown, Crumble, Cast in Stone, Barkskin ( Epic spell - Elemental Shunt)
2>Conjuration: Stonehold, Grease, Storm of Vengeance, Elemental Swarm ( Epic spell - Shroud of Nature)
3>Evocation: Desert Sirocco, Sunburst, Firestorm, Earthquake ( Epic spell - Immutable Force)
4>Abjuration: Energy Immunity, Greater Dispelling ( Epic spell - Nature's Frailty )
5>Necromancy: Infestation of Maggot, Slay Living, Finger of Death ( Epic spell - Dust to Dust)
( One more epic than before is Necromancy cuz infestation of maggot/slay living/finger of death is quite effective in both hell and aboleth, and, the Necromancy epic spell - Dust to Dust)
------------------------------------------------
2. the Build:
58druid/1paladin/1monk ( paladin lvl chosen any lvl before epic and monk at 40)
Race/Subrace: Human Rilmani
Alignment: Neutral Good
Stats bonus all go to Wisdom
Starting stats at lvl1 :
Str:8
Dex:14
Con:12 (16 after subby change)
Int:12
Wis:18 (24 after subby change)
Cha:8
Stats at double demi:
Str:24
Dex:30
Con:32
Int:28
Wis:72
Cha:24
Feats:
before Epic:
Extend spell
Spell focus:Transmutation
Greater spell focus:Transmutation
Spell focus: Evocation
Greater spell focus:Evocation
Spell focus: Necromancy
Greater spell focus: Necromancy
Greater spell penetration
from lvl 20-40:
Epic spell focus:Transmutation
Epic spell focus:Evocation
Epic spell focus:Conjuration
Epic spell penetration
Epic spell focus: Necromancy
Greater wisdom I-VI
Legendary feats:
Epic spell: Greater ruin
Legendary spell focus:Transmutation
Legendary spell penetration
Greater wisdom VII-X
Tome: abjuration (at lvl 41)
Consumed Artifact: Pyramid Energy (wisdom artifact)
Pandect: Epic energy resistance: acid II
Skills Points(at lvl 60):
Concentration 63
Animal Empathy 54
Heal 63
Parry 63
Discipline 43
Spellcraft: 50
Tumble 40
Concentration/Heal is chosen from lvl 1-60. Parry and discipline only at pally lvl and monk lvl; tumble only at lvl 40th monk lvl. Animal Empathy u canot max it if u want the rest skills maxed. Personally i'd choose drop AE since in fact, with the gear i list later and rilmani bonus feat: epic skill focus: AE, it's pretty easily maxed.
Final save at lvl 60 double demi:
Fort:66
Reflex:58
Will 84
--------------------------------------
3. the Gear
Gear setup at lvl 60:
Helmet: Crown of Uncanny Stability
Armor: Nature's embamking Palisade or Swamp Devil's Hide ( use Wings of the Deva if there'll be lots of malebraches on that layer)
Main hand: Tia druid staff
Offhand: Shattered Innocence
Bracer: Gauntlets of Transposed Energy
Belt: Tia druid belt
Cloak: Tia druid cloak
Boots: Tia druid boots
Amulet: Pendant of Seer
Rings: breach ring + bur elemental/exot imm ring depending on the layer
Gear Setup at demi:
Helmet: Crown of Uncanny Stability
Armor: Glory of Toril
Main hand: Tia druid staff
Offhand: Asmo shield
Bracer: Gauntlets of Transposed Energy
Belt: Tia druid belt
Cloak: Tia druid cloak
Boots: Tia druid boots
Amulet: Pendant of Seer
Rings: Ring of the Planewalker + breach ring ( if there's no breach effect in the run like malbolge, use another bur immunity ring instead)
Bullet: Mote of Power
AC at double demi with this demi Gear is 141. with cleric's girding of faithful, it's 143.
--------------------------------------
4. About the Playing of this build:
5 epics, high dc/save and greater ruin makes it quite effective to any run on HG so far, from PoM to hell, to aboleth, elysium. the wide and long range of frailty is the way for u to win the time for ur party casters in some intense fight like asmo. the quick mob controlling dust-to-dust can save a party from an unexpected tough spawn fast. not to mention the druid labelled shunt/shroud/immunt. with necro focus, after a bard's curse song and a skilled cleric's battletide+prayer, u can take down mammon's tear with infestation of maggot and narzugons/advespa/dogai/ossyluth with finger of death pretty fast. and greater ruin for those nasty randoms like brachina/dogai/non para excruiater/falxugon etc.. As for elysium and aboleth, these 2 necro spells are still quite useful on the right mobs like Cervidal, Leonal, Lupinal, golems etc. druid has immunt, so whenever a nasty random appears, immunt + greater ruin is pretty effective and helps the party greatly.
the Usual Spellbook i use in hell:
Lvl 1 - 3 spells:
Lv 4 - 6 spells:
Lvl 7 - 8 spells:
Lvl 9 spells:
Instruction on the Spells:
1). use FoD on the mobs that canot be drowned while not immune to death spell, eg. Advespa, Ossyluth, Sahuagin, Narzugons(Crumble is better on narzugon cuz it ignores SR and can still insta kill on a failed fort check) , dogai.
2). use Cast in stone on these mobs mainly: Ice Fiend, Paragon Sahuagin, Paragon Ossyluth, Paragon Kocrachon, Paragon Excruciator and Rakshasa. Crumble can kill all these mobs instantly when they get stoned(Rakshasa as an exception since they immune to all lvl 1-8 spells).
3). use Infestation of Maggots on these mobs mainly: Mammon's tear, Amnizus, Cornugons and Gelugons.
4). Restoration is a cheap spell for druid and it is a swift action which means you can restore urself even when you're casting other spells or running or drinking a potion etc.
5). Creeping Doom is mostly used on the nasty monster that canot be controlled easily by the other druid spells while they're a big threat to the party, eg. buerzoa, paragon mammon's tear, paragons pitfiend/malebranch, paragon brooding serpent, paragon ichor of the fallen. Quickslot the command !cancel aoe so that you can cancel your creeping doom when there're party kb mob around.
6). Greater Ruin is used mainly on: brachina, falxugon, dogai, non-paragon excruiator, non paragon orthon, superior/elite erinyes, paragon amnizus.
7). use Remove Disease on urself or bard on priority after fighting paragon advespas before u rest.
8). use Mass Camouflage + Aura of Vitality as a party buff to all the party members before battle. and do remember to refresh mass camouflage after rakshasa cast area mord.
9). use Stonehold + Grease on the spawning spot of a mob helps a lot on mob controlling. It's the way to seperate each monster away from another as well immobolize them so the party can deal with them one by one easily. And always keep quickslotting the command !cancel aoe to ease gfx lag after each spawn.
10). use Dust to Dust on: Paragon ossyluth, Paragon icefiends, Paragon Rakshasas, Paragon excruciators, Paragon brachina, and a swarm of ice fiends/sahuagins/rakshasas/rachugons.
11). the buff spells in Autocaster: Mass Camouflage, Freedom of Movement, Energy Buffer, Greater Stoneskin, Endure Elements, Monstrous Rengenerate, Death Ward, Blood Frenzy. (Memorized them in order of Importance)
Tips on Druid Playing:
1). before a battle after u rest, make sure all party members on the same map ready to get Shunt/shroud and then cast them. cast mass camouflage and aura of vitality on the party when u do buffing. ask party member if any of them needs freedom of movement. this helps especially assasin a lot since they need to move fast to the mobs that can be insta'ed by mortal strike fast. cast stonehold and grease on the mob spawning spot as this will helps party a lot especially when it's a huge/nasty spawn.
2). when in a battle, casting nature balance on the mobs that has high spell resistance is the first job. queue lots of nb so u wonot worry about getting flat footed and cancel it when u see the mobs are all green. if it's a huge spawn which mobs get scattered in a huge area, use frailty on those in the distance that canot be nbed immediately while can be a threat to the party.
3). after nb is done, insta kill those can be drowned/crumbled/fod'ed and stone those needed to be stoned(as i've listed above in the spell instruction). after this is done, if there're mobs that're immune to insta like pitfiend/malebrache/brooding serpent/ichor, make sure 2 things: 1. there arenot any party kickback mob around( ie. inferno machines, fumes, winds, colds) 2. these mobs arenot their superior or elite type. if both fits, then use elemental swarm as it's definately the best mass offensive spell on HG so far (note elemental swarm heals superior/elite monsters). if a creeping doom is needed(see the spell instruction), use it wise. if u have illusion draughts, drink it cuz it helps u get a better creeping doom.
4). whenever u notice a random spawns in middle of the party, use immutable force immediately and quick glance at the spawned monsters. if they match the one i listed in "spell instruction" that needs a greater ruin, use ruin first. then do the 2) and 3) steps. If you have the necromancy epic spell- dust to dust, use it in immunt cuz mass stoning the mob makes them not able to move. this way party can handle them at one spot together fast.
5). Druid is half a cleric, heal/mass heal/remove disease they can do well as a cleric too. so always check the party member's health info through the combat log to see if they get fester damage. and use remove disease after fighting swarm master before u rest or transit to another area.
----------------------------------------------
5. some Discussion on this build:
1> pally lvl is why i can drop the save feats on the previous monk/bard splash version, however the needing to be good means -7 universal saves in places like elysium/rona.
2> not being able to use the GS scrolls means if i want to pull some nasty spawns like in the serpent of coil, maze of malsheem and elysium, i'll have to burn the GS pots. anyway i donot have much concern about nessus cuz i donot think i'll be likely to play him through a whole nessus anymore.
3> i had ICC on my previous druid version. Meaning to make him more effective in offense this time so dropping some defense is unevitable. i never had much problem to get hit when i cast nature balance earlier cuz i always made sure most of the could-be-problem mob's attention is on the tanks when i nb, never needed to worry about getting hit or aoo.
4> There's an alternative for this build I'd like to mention cuz I think it quite feasible. That is, to drop 2 Greater Wisdom for Empower spell and LSF:Necromancy, and drop 2 Con for 2 more Int so you can get enough skill points to max lore skills for max damage output.
My first build posted on HG forum, hope u enjoy it. If u have any comments or questions about the build, it's always welcome to discuss either here or by pming me.
He was 58druid/1monk/1bard with maxed 72 wisdom, transmutation/abjuration/evocation/conjuration epics. After getting him tagged to elysium and aboleth, i knew there were more i could do to make him effective not only in the nine hells of baator, but in elysium and aboleth. To get that, i chose to give up his bard lvl since i found he actually seldom used those mord/bbod/gust/stf/mb scrolls after he equipped himself from the items in stygia shop (the wands can be charged with electrifier fast and easily and besides, using wand is faster than reading scrolls. Stygia wands donot need any UMD skill either.) As for GS scrolls, mostly i found i used the stygia shopped GS pots instead since drinking pot is faster and there's no cooldown time. And yes i do have lots of those pots on each of my character actually. I didnot find i needed to use them much on druid but when i needed to, it was always more handy than GS scrolls, eg. when i need to reposition myself in a nasty spawn.
1. What i want in the new build:
--Max wisdom
--Greater Ruinx2
--High Spellcraft for Counterspell in Aboleth/Rona
--High saves
--5 Druid Epic Spells (Including both Abjuration and Necromancy):
1>Transmutation: Nature Balance, Drown, Crumble, Cast in Stone, Barkskin ( Epic spell - Elemental Shunt)
2>Conjuration: Stonehold, Grease, Storm of Vengeance, Elemental Swarm ( Epic spell - Shroud of Nature)
3>Evocation: Desert Sirocco, Sunburst, Firestorm, Earthquake ( Epic spell - Immutable Force)
4>Abjuration: Energy Immunity, Greater Dispelling ( Epic spell - Nature's Frailty )
5>Necromancy: Infestation of Maggot, Slay Living, Finger of Death ( Epic spell - Dust to Dust)
( One more epic than before is Necromancy cuz infestation of maggot/slay living/finger of death is quite effective in both hell and aboleth, and, the Necromancy epic spell - Dust to Dust)
------------------------------------------------
2. the Build:
58druid/1paladin/1monk ( paladin lvl chosen any lvl before epic and monk at 40)
Race/Subrace: Human Rilmani
Alignment: Neutral Good
Stats bonus all go to Wisdom
Starting stats at lvl1 :
Str:8
Dex:14
Con:12 (16 after subby change)
Int:12
Wis:18 (24 after subby change)
Cha:8
Stats at double demi:
Str:24
Dex:30
Con:32
Int:28
Wis:72
Cha:24
Feats:
before Epic:
Extend spell
Spell focus:Transmutation
Greater spell focus:Transmutation
Spell focus: Evocation
Greater spell focus:Evocation
Spell focus: Necromancy
Greater spell focus: Necromancy
Greater spell penetration
from lvl 20-40:
Epic spell focus:Transmutation
Epic spell focus:Evocation
Epic spell focus:Conjuration
Epic spell penetration
Epic spell focus: Necromancy
Greater wisdom I-VI
Legendary feats:
Epic spell: Greater ruin
Legendary spell focus:Transmutation
Legendary spell penetration
Greater wisdom VII-X
Tome: abjuration (at lvl 41)
Consumed Artifact: Pyramid Energy (wisdom artifact)
Pandect: Epic energy resistance: acid II
Skills Points(at lvl 60):
Concentration 63
Animal Empathy 54
Heal 63
Parry 63
Discipline 43
Spellcraft: 50
Tumble 40
Concentration/Heal is chosen from lvl 1-60. Parry and discipline only at pally lvl and monk lvl; tumble only at lvl 40th monk lvl. Animal Empathy u canot max it if u want the rest skills maxed. Personally i'd choose drop AE since in fact, with the gear i list later and rilmani bonus feat: epic skill focus: AE, it's pretty easily maxed.
Final save at lvl 60 double demi:
Fort:66
Reflex:58
Will 84
--------------------------------------
3. the Gear
Gear setup at lvl 60:
Helmet: Crown of Uncanny Stability
Armor: Nature's embamking Palisade or Swamp Devil's Hide ( use Wings of the Deva if there'll be lots of malebraches on that layer)
Main hand: Tia druid staff
Offhand: Shattered Innocence
Bracer: Gauntlets of Transposed Energy
Belt: Tia druid belt
Cloak: Tia druid cloak
Boots: Tia druid boots
Amulet: Pendant of Seer
Rings: breach ring + bur elemental/exot imm ring depending on the layer
Gear Setup at demi:
Helmet: Crown of Uncanny Stability
Armor: Glory of Toril
Main hand: Tia druid staff
Offhand: Asmo shield
Bracer: Gauntlets of Transposed Energy
Belt: Tia druid belt
Cloak: Tia druid cloak
Boots: Tia druid boots
Amulet: Pendant of Seer
Rings: Ring of the Planewalker + breach ring ( if there's no breach effect in the run like malbolge, use another bur immunity ring instead)
Bullet: Mote of Power
AC at double demi with this demi Gear is 141. with cleric's girding of faithful, it's 143.
--------------------------------------
4. About the Playing of this build:
5 epics, high dc/save and greater ruin makes it quite effective to any run on HG so far, from PoM to hell, to aboleth, elysium. the wide and long range of frailty is the way for u to win the time for ur party casters in some intense fight like asmo. the quick mob controlling dust-to-dust can save a party from an unexpected tough spawn fast. not to mention the druid labelled shunt/shroud/immunt. with necro focus, after a bard's curse song and a skilled cleric's battletide+prayer, u can take down mammon's tear with infestation of maggot and narzugons/advespa/dogai/ossyluth with finger of death pretty fast. and greater ruin for those nasty randoms like brachina/dogai/non para excruiater/falxugon etc.. As for elysium and aboleth, these 2 necro spells are still quite useful on the right mobs like Cervidal, Leonal, Lupinal, golems etc. druid has immunt, so whenever a nasty random appears, immunt + greater ruin is pretty effective and helps the party greatly.
the Usual Spellbook i use in hell:
Lvl 1 - 3 spells:
Lv 4 - 6 spells:
Lvl 7 - 8 spells:
Lvl 9 spells:
Instruction on the Spells:
1). use FoD on the mobs that canot be drowned while not immune to death spell, eg. Advespa, Ossyluth, Sahuagin, Narzugons(Crumble is better on narzugon cuz it ignores SR and can still insta kill on a failed fort check) , dogai.
2). use Cast in stone on these mobs mainly: Ice Fiend, Paragon Sahuagin, Paragon Ossyluth, Paragon Kocrachon, Paragon Excruciator and Rakshasa. Crumble can kill all these mobs instantly when they get stoned(Rakshasa as an exception since they immune to all lvl 1-8 spells).
3). use Infestation of Maggots on these mobs mainly: Mammon's tear, Amnizus, Cornugons and Gelugons.
4). Restoration is a cheap spell for druid and it is a swift action which means you can restore urself even when you're casting other spells or running or drinking a potion etc.
5). Creeping Doom is mostly used on the nasty monster that canot be controlled easily by the other druid spells while they're a big threat to the party, eg. buerzoa, paragon mammon's tear, paragons pitfiend/malebranch, paragon brooding serpent, paragon ichor of the fallen. Quickslot the command !cancel aoe so that you can cancel your creeping doom when there're party kb mob around.
6). Greater Ruin is used mainly on: brachina, falxugon, dogai, non-paragon excruiator, non paragon orthon, superior/elite erinyes, paragon amnizus.
7). use Remove Disease on urself or bard on priority after fighting paragon advespas before u rest.
8). use Mass Camouflage + Aura of Vitality as a party buff to all the party members before battle. and do remember to refresh mass camouflage after rakshasa cast area mord.
9). use Stonehold + Grease on the spawning spot of a mob helps a lot on mob controlling. It's the way to seperate each monster away from another as well immobolize them so the party can deal with them one by one easily. And always keep quickslotting the command !cancel aoe to ease gfx lag after each spawn.
10). use Dust to Dust on: Paragon ossyluth, Paragon icefiends, Paragon Rakshasas, Paragon excruciators, Paragon brachina, and a swarm of ice fiends/sahuagins/rakshasas/rachugons.
11). the buff spells in Autocaster: Mass Camouflage, Freedom of Movement, Energy Buffer, Greater Stoneskin, Endure Elements, Monstrous Rengenerate, Death Ward, Blood Frenzy. (Memorized them in order of Importance)
Tips on Druid Playing:
1). before a battle after u rest, make sure all party members on the same map ready to get Shunt/shroud and then cast them. cast mass camouflage and aura of vitality on the party when u do buffing. ask party member if any of them needs freedom of movement. this helps especially assasin a lot since they need to move fast to the mobs that can be insta'ed by mortal strike fast. cast stonehold and grease on the mob spawning spot as this will helps party a lot especially when it's a huge/nasty spawn.
2). when in a battle, casting nature balance on the mobs that has high spell resistance is the first job. queue lots of nb so u wonot worry about getting flat footed and cancel it when u see the mobs are all green. if it's a huge spawn which mobs get scattered in a huge area, use frailty on those in the distance that canot be nbed immediately while can be a threat to the party.
3). after nb is done, insta kill those can be drowned/crumbled/fod'ed and stone those needed to be stoned(as i've listed above in the spell instruction). after this is done, if there're mobs that're immune to insta like pitfiend/malebrache/brooding serpent/ichor, make sure 2 things: 1. there arenot any party kickback mob around( ie. inferno machines, fumes, winds, colds) 2. these mobs arenot their superior or elite type. if both fits, then use elemental swarm as it's definately the best mass offensive spell on HG so far (note elemental swarm heals superior/elite monsters). if a creeping doom is needed(see the spell instruction), use it wise. if u have illusion draughts, drink it cuz it helps u get a better creeping doom.
4). whenever u notice a random spawns in middle of the party, use immutable force immediately and quick glance at the spawned monsters. if they match the one i listed in "spell instruction" that needs a greater ruin, use ruin first. then do the 2) and 3) steps. If you have the necromancy epic spell- dust to dust, use it in immunt cuz mass stoning the mob makes them not able to move. this way party can handle them at one spot together fast.
5). Druid is half a cleric, heal/mass heal/remove disease they can do well as a cleric too. so always check the party member's health info through the combat log to see if they get fester damage. and use remove disease after fighting swarm master before u rest or transit to another area.
----------------------------------------------
5. some Discussion on this build:
1> pally lvl is why i can drop the save feats on the previous monk/bard splash version, however the needing to be good means -7 universal saves in places like elysium/rona.
2> not being able to use the GS scrolls means if i want to pull some nasty spawns like in the serpent of coil, maze of malsheem and elysium, i'll have to burn the GS pots. anyway i donot have much concern about nessus cuz i donot think i'll be likely to play him through a whole nessus anymore.
3> i had ICC on my previous druid version. Meaning to make him more effective in offense this time so dropping some defense is unevitable. i never had much problem to get hit when i cast nature balance earlier cuz i always made sure most of the could-be-problem mob's attention is on the tanks when i nb, never needed to worry about getting hit or aoo.
4> There's an alternative for this build I'd like to mention cuz I think it quite feasible. That is, to drop 2 Greater Wisdom for Empower spell and LSF:Necromancy, and drop 2 Con for 2 more Int so you can get enough skill points to max lore skills for max damage output.
My first build posted on HG forum, hope u enjoy it. If u have any comments or questions about the build, it's always welcome to discuss either here or by pming me.