|
Post by chainlink on Apr 17, 2007 9:47:38 GMT
The longer you play the easier it gets (assuming you're not the worlds worst loot roller that is), I didn't end up with over 100 currently unused URs by playing five minutes here and there. If you put in the effort you'll get your rewards sooner or later and for the Ssithrak area you really only need one of two rare rings and one of two UR boots (which you can obviously transfer on when that toon has finished these areas) to effectively give you 95-100 resistance/immunity to both cold and electric and let you run around the ssiths with impunity (or immunity
|
|
|
Post by Trazik on Apr 17, 2007 11:39:09 GMT
I consider myself to be in the 3ish range, aspiring to 3.5, perhaps. I have been playing on HG for about 4 months now, but am thankfully able to spend quite a bit of time online (out-side of work, of course *cough*). Lots of good advice in this thread, for those with the patience to read it all. I never thought of doing that water dragon repeatedly (for example). He is soooo overlooked I think. Is he level capped? Maybe I start trying to hit all the "lowbie" dragons solo with my immos. I have a currently inactive 40 that could be available for the task. I see a tendency to power-level, sometimes in the extreme (i.e. people getting to 60 inside 1 week). And they wonder why they lack the rings.
|
|
|
Post by dodrudon on Apr 17, 2007 16:54:50 GMT
This thread is getting off topic =/.
The suggestion I made isn't so bad toons can be made better, but for convenience so that those who do manage to get a rare immunity ring or two can occasionally switch it for one they actually need, for instance, trade in that fire/cold for a cold/elec at level 42, and maybe back again in 5-10 levels.
|
|
|
Post by thedomicron on Apr 17, 2007 17:24:07 GMT
i'm saying that this convenience is a poor substitute for time and experience in game. it provides nothing which cannot already be easily obtained, truly i got my first 4 rare rings before i found an rare weapons, or certainly any urs. and i found them by soloing deepbats cave, hardly a high traffic, high loot area, but its enough. if people are struggling, then maybe they should be looking for changes of scenery and play style.
for example: a well built druid can help to negate the need for immunity rings in most legendary areas.
ranger's resist elements spell gives a noticeable boost in elemental immunities.
Rdd gives fire immunity which opens up plenty of other options for adapting to new environments.
bottom line: having problem with an area? maybe you should look for other ways of approaching it, even other characters? most of my characters are built with certain areas in mind, because i don't realistically expect to be able to tackle every area with every character.
|
|
|
Post by cathedralmaster on Apr 17, 2007 18:25:13 GMT
You need the immunity rings for the areas they are needed in - if you do dustbone without fire and cold, forget the whole find another way to approach it, your just going to piss people off. A dustbone run is a dustbone run - when they call for the run, it means they want to do it a certain way and the expect you to have the equipment to do it.
Lie? Then you'll get a bunch of questions when your dying in the furrow every five seconds. It won't take them long to figure out you don't have the right equipment and once they do, you can expect not to be getting anymore invites from them for dustbone runs. At the very least tell the truth before the run and maybe someone will loan you the needed rings.
Same holds true for Beholder runs, though SSithrak and Illithid runs are nice in that if you don't have what's needed, you'll just die and fugue till you quit.
As for building characters for specific areas, that's almost always a mistake. It's actually quit easy to build a character that can handle every area - all my actives do well in every area I've taken them.
As Acaos pointed out, if you don't have the rings you need, explore - it's how most of us got our first rings. Personally, I'd suggest hanging around deepbats - decent number of loot spots, pretty easy spawns.
|
|
|
Post by dodrudon on Apr 17, 2007 18:51:12 GMT
Agreed, but I'm also saying this convenience lets you go to places sooner, instead of, say, farming sissy runs for a ring for DB. Also, the less you die, the more you're able to pay attention and learn (can't check the log while dead). I see it as an acceleration for those who can already help themselves. For instance, maybe stick it in at the end of the Maze, or extend Deepbats and put it there. The people who use it should know and be able to get immunity rings already, but are looking for one ring in particular (maybe all your rings are cold, but you need a fire one, go to the pedestal, trade one in).
|
|
|
Post by bort on Apr 17, 2007 18:52:36 GMT
As for building characters for specific areas, that's almost always a mistake. I made a Half-dragon - white Rdd a while back when i found out that you could get innate fire immunity coupled with 65% cold before even putting any equipment on, with the idea of having a tank who could easily cover the immunities needed for Dustbone runs and beyond. It might not be necessary, but it helps you get through quite a few of the LL runs more easily until you know what to expect, without being a burden to your party.
|
|
|
Post by illandous on Apr 17, 2007 19:35:52 GMT
I'll tell you that I've never seen a dustbone run and I grown a little everytime that I hear one called out as I don't have the immunitys to handle it. Being able to trade in my crackleshard for something that has fire immune would be excellent. I've even visited some places on the server that have % fire immune gear drops at a low lvl (Think about it, who whould be wearing fire immue gear at a low lvl? ) And I still can't get up to 100% fire immune. The funny part of the matter is I needed to trade away my one fire immune ring to get a crackleshard. Now I need find one so I can go on a dustbone run. But if I wanted to go on a Ssith run agian..... Would be nice to not have to trade stuff all the time to go on runs.
|
|
|
Post by Lythe Featherblade on Apr 17, 2007 20:27:28 GMT
Illandous
Part of your problem is propably your playing style. You love many different builds (nothing wrong with that) and play them all, however in the end you spend tons more time in the lower runs, and all the gear you have is distributed among many characters.
I ran into the same problem.. got an immo to 44, got a secret race, got another to 41. I was lucky enough to make a flawed build (and realize how flawed), took another look at building, at the subraces needed for my builds, etc. and came to the conclusion that the higher I get with a single character, the easier it gets to play, and the easier it will be to gear up any subsequent characters.
In short, I picked my best char, decked it out with the best gear I had, and concentrated all my time with this one character. As a starting player this is propably the best thing you can do (once you have a build that'll go a fair distance). Because leveling is not a big issue anymore, I can always go on the runs I need that might result in the items I want, and I'm rarely tempted to pick other items over resists, because those slots already have gear that only a UR would upgrade. If a decent upgrade does appear in the community chests, there's a good chance I'll have the money to get it.
Dom I have to disagree about not needing a UR subrace. With the heavy feat requirements for resists for hells, a lot of builds can really use the extra feats and stats to make it that far. Most builds I try to make feasable are always feat short, and 2 more dex or a free ring slot, 2 more con (and the extra hp) etc does end up making a huge difference. Some builds are viable with free or secret races, but is every new player supposed to make an arctic dwarf tin can or white dragon RDD to start up?
I'm playing a free subrace right now, and can hold my own. I've played it far enough to truly be able to appreciate the difference a UR subrace would make.
|
|
|
Post by thedomicron on Apr 17, 2007 20:52:16 GMT
excuse me, but you can already trade in that crackleshards for another ring, with another player. this requires no pedastal and costs no gold or xp in order to do so.
cath: i realize that cookiecutters do well everywhere, but some players are quite fond of their immortals, and many people new to the LL areas don't have access to characters which can complete all the areas. furthermore, i'm not saying you should sign up for a run without any preparation and say you can handle it. however if you've been on runs, or have talked extensively about how to handle certain situations etc, and believe you can adapt your setup to , say, a sithrak run, then try it out. if you realize you're dying too often, leave the run.
lythe: i left out the hells because i believe that ur subraces are definately helpful for the hells. to give two examples: delfestra had a drow wizard (until it became corrupt) and tyranylthixis (sp) has a tiefling gnome wizard and are two of the strongest mages i've seen. they're not the powerhouses of the burs, but they easily hold their own against illithid mages. are URs good to have? of course, but i'm saying that subraces without gear are weaker than others with.
another option, which i have done, is to ask to borrow rings for a run. now certainly, you can't expect people to say yes, but the chances go higher if you regularly party with people who know you and trust you.
my point is: the pedastal is hardly going to help you out, so why bother with it? swapping immunities? SWAP RINGS! if you're sick of doing sithrak runs, find someone and trade in your sith rings for db ones! that easy! i can't think of anyone i know who wouldn't be willing to help someone out by swapping rings they have for rings the other guy needs, unless they need it themselves...
|
|
|
Post by cathedralmaster on Apr 17, 2007 21:14:59 GMT
delfestra had a drow wizard (until it became corrupt) As I understand it, when Delf redid her wizard at around the time the pyramid came out and changed from the Loralon to the Delfestra account , she did it with PW, not the Drow Subrace. Tiefling is a secret race.
|
|
|
Post by Ironfang on Apr 17, 2007 21:52:22 GMT
I have to disagree about not needing a UR subrace. With the heavy feat requirements for resists for hells, a lot of builds can really use the extra feats and stats to make it that far. Most builds I try to make feasable are always feat short, and 2 more dex or a free ring slot, 2 more con (and the extra hp) etc does end up making a huge difference. Some builds are viable with free or secret races, but is every new player supposed to make an arctic dwarf tin can or white dragon RDD to start up? I'm playing a free subrace right now, and can hold my own. I've played it far enough to truly be able to appreciate the difference a UR subrace would make. I don't think a new player should be worried about their first or second toon finishing the hells. I think any well built toon could survive but I think by the time you have a level 55 ready for hells (not seriously flawed and decent gear) you will have found a UR race and will want to start over anyways. Building up to 55 again will be much faster. Remember getting thru all the runs as fast as possible is not a good thing because there will be nothing new to see / achieve for. Take your time, enjoy the server and the areas you are exploring, do them over again until they come easy to you and move on to the next. If you do this you will have all the gear / races you need.
|
|
|
Post by FunkySwerve on Apr 17, 2007 22:13:33 GMT
I've even visited some places on the server that have % fire immune gear drops at a low lvl (Think about it, who whould be wearing fire immue gear at a low lvl? ) And I still can't get up to 100% fire immune. Expecting to get 100% immunity isn't realistic, and it certainly isn't necessary. I don't think I've done a run outside the hells with any immunity 1 100% in a long time. 75% and 20/- or more resist is plenty, and really not hard to get. If you are struggling in the areas you are attempting, try looting easier areas like deepbats, you can quickly find immunity rings there, and odds are pretty good of getting at least something to trade with. Don't fixate too much on the rings, though, because there's some other great loot tucked away down there as well. Funky
|
|
|
Post by thedomicron on Apr 17, 2007 23:36:13 GMT
i only mentioned tyrs riefling wiz cuz its a relatively easy to get secret subby (compared to a UR) i know its secret.
|
|
|
Post by Yomi on Apr 18, 2007 0:29:25 GMT
I'll agree that a more usual strategy is 75% combined with one of the very many DR 20/- items (there's one for almost every equipment slot). If you search the forums you can find a lot of information -- probably too much for people who don't want everything handed to them. While huge UR ring collections are one solution, if you don't have all that stuff you really need to be looking at items like shields (e.g. Valiant's Honor, Demondim) and robes (e.g. Ssith robes) and so on to supplement. Don't forget Shunt if you have a druid, or if you have any mage the Endure Elements spell, plus Resist Elements from a cleric. A cleric with Aegis can easily perm you with 7-10% immunity to all elements (stacks with everything else) plus DR 16/- to all (if you're not wearing any elemental DR gear). I don't think a new player should be worried about their first or second toon finishing the hells. I'd agree. If you ask most of the vets they will remember their first characters with a mix of nostalgia and horror. Not only should I nickname my first character "Sir Swishes-A-Lot" but he took Epic Skill Focus: Dying. I'm sure most people wouldn't make anything so poor but it's asking a lot to make a Hells character when new to NWN or this server. Part of your problem is probably your playing style. You love many different builds (nothing wrong with that) and play them all, however in the end you spend tons more time in the lower runs, and all the gear you have is distributed among many characters. This is a problem I suffer from, and I most certainly realize it as a self-created problem. It would be advantageous in many ways for me to pick one character and use all of my resources to give them their choice of everything I own, and then play that character without exception until they are level 60 (or even beyond with the Hells). Then move to the next character. Even better, prefer loot items that benefit your current character. Doing this will not only result in an easier time for that character, but more likely that character will excel and gain a reputation for being a "good caster/tank" or whatever. However, I really enjoy logging in in the evening and thinking "who do I want to play right now? Do I feel like the bard, or maybe one of my clerics, or how about that rogue, or ..." in addition to being able to swap around whenever parties need a different combination. I also don't like moving equipment around between them as then one character will always end up entering the Furrow then discover that someone else took all their fire rings. This means that I try to make every character self-sustaining, leading to somewhat inferior equipment choices and loot choices that may benefit some other character. Trying to keep over 20 immos equipped in the style to which I am or would like to be accustomed to is always going to be hard, and I've had to pick a few that get some special equipment preference. The other issue is that when I've been playing other characters for a while it takes some time to get back into the swing of things. Much easier with most tanks, but AA's ideally know what bow is best to use on every mob on every map. Casters have lots of tricks, not to mention the headache of spellbooks that need to be tweaked for each area.
|
|