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Post by gruntgruntson on Mar 11, 2007 14:47:59 GMT
Hello All, I'm new to the forums, so please bear with me. Considering that at lvl 51 this build has only achieved 102AC, this would be making the need for AC obsolete becuase with that much AC you would get hit everytime in the desert, I have a char with 120AC with epic dodge and 50% conceal and still get hit often. So what I'm really asking is that considering AC means nothing for this build, only immunities, is it possible to use a two handed weapons like a double axe instead of a shield. I'm asking this because I'm bored of always using a shield and with certain two handed weapons you also get 2 extra attacks per round. Regards Evolution I'm sure others will be able to tell you what AC is needed, and how to improve yours,if you let us know your bulid, and what equipment you have. As to whether a shield is a good idea, apart from the AC, and the AC bonus (for a total of around 18 pts of AC), shields can also have other abilities, such as elemental immunities (e.g. Valiant's Honour has 25% cold, 25% Elec, or Preservation Shield has Immunity to Implosion, very useful for desert!)
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Post by evolution on Mar 11, 2007 15:08:49 GMT
Ok this is the equipment I have, its nothing spectacular.
Armor:Mageblight Plate (+14ac) Cloak: Cloak of the Immortal or Lloth Coil (+15ac) Helmet: Machination (it has +16ac deflection) Bracers: Bracers of the Immortal or Wrists of Resistance Boots: Noble Acid born (+13ac) Shield: Demondim but I odviously dont want to use this. Belt: I dont currently have one, I cant find a decent one. Amulet: Amulet of the Immortal (+15ac) Rings: Ring of the Ready +9, and Spider Signet I usually take one of though for desert runs for the lev ring.
Thats about the best I have any help would be appreciatted.
Regards
Evolution
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Post by chainlink on Mar 12, 2007 12:33:16 GMT
Equipment advice - Ideally Plate of Thokul Zenben UR (+18 ac 25% physical immunities and some other benefits) or Penumbrian Plate (for implosion immunity) illithid tag req. or any of the beholder plates (25% elemental immunity of a different sort on each) level 55 req. You'll be wanting the Unitary Focus UR helm that gives +12 to Dex and Wis so +6 to both the related saves. Belt of Bestiality (illithid fixed drop) +12 Str, Con and some really handy resists on this one. Cloaks, boots, rings, etc. will be mix and match depending on where you are going. Shields Pentevite with 100% electric immunity and a good ac boost is the standard one to use but these can also be mix and match depending on the situation for immunities. Do a load of partying and get yourself some URs and you should be fine.
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Post by Yomi on Mar 12, 2007 19:12:47 GMT
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Post by stonewarrior on Mar 12, 2007 19:35:18 GMT
Ok this is the equipment I have, its nothing spectacular. Armor:Mageblight Plate (+14ac) Cloak: Cloak of the Immortal or Lloth Coil (+15ac) Helmet: Machination (it has +16ac deflection) Bracers: Bracers of the Immortal or Wrists of Resistance Boots: Noble Acid born (+13ac) Shield: Demondim but I odviously dont want to use this. Belt: I dont currently have one, I cant find a decent one. Amulet: Amulet of the Immortal (+15ac) Rings: Ring of the Ready +9, and Spider Signet I usually take one of though for desert runs for the lev ring. Thats about the best I have any help would be appreciatted. Regards Evolution Hey there, I wore much of the same gear until I got my Illithid tag yesterday on my variation of the DoS. Until you get the tag the Immortal's plate is a pretty good choice. Until you hit level 50 or get your Illithid tag it is likely one of the better options you will have. As I just upgraded I would be happy to pass mine along to you (I am on most evening after 10:30 EST). I also have an Immortal belt if you want it. As for your other gear the Immortal gear is pretty good until you can upgrade. I wore the amulet for a long time with my first immo. As for the rest of the equipment it will often depend on where you are headed as to what is best to use. As many have written explore, explore and then explore some more. Do the Deepbats, the Drow and try and do some runs. Not only do you have an opportunity to get some needed gear but you also gain XP. With the new shout features a lot of people are stating what immunities are needed for a run. Do not be afraid to try one even if you do not have 100% immunity to a certain element. Remember to factor in your resistances as well. As for AC I got mine up to 111 (I think) after swapping for Illithid gear) but even if you are hit it's not a big deal. You should be able to take a lot of damage and with Defensive Weave you are likely doing damage to those that hit you. Anyway, good luck with your build and look for me in game and I will give you the plate (and belt if you like). Peace, John.
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Post by stonewarrior on Mar 12, 2007 19:54:02 GMT
I am looking for some advice on Legendary Level feats for my DD. I have followed the same level structure the only difference is some of the pre-epic feats and I used a Battlerager. My Strength at 41 is 30 and I will be taking 10 more with LL ability increases to put me at 40. I am looking to take either 2 or 4 Great Strength feats which would give me a total of 42 unbuffed. My dilemma is saves. Currently my saves (buffed) are F 54, R 54 and W 51. I plan to take Legendary Luck (57 / 57 / 54) and am looking at possibly taking Legendary Reflexes and Legendary Will as well (57 / 64 / 61). With the LL saving throw increases at 60 it leaves me with F 62 / R 69 / W 66 (assuming I am doing this correctly).
My question is (assuming I have the number correct) is it worth not taking 2 Great Strengths to get my saves this high? If I took all four saving throw feats I have 1 free feat to use. Another option I suppose it not taking Legendary Reflexes and using it and the free feat for a Great Strength pushing my overall unbuffed Strength to 44. That would leave my final Reflex save the same as my Fortitude (62). I could use the other feat to continue the saving throw feat frenzy and take Epic Fortitude leaving me with final buffed saves of F 66 / R 69 / W 66.
Ugh...now my head hurts. Any suggestions?
Peace, John.
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Post by Kazatel on Mar 12, 2007 23:12:17 GMT
Hello All, I'm new to the forums, so please bear with me. Considering that at lvl 51 this build has only achieved 102AC, this would be making the need for AC obsolete becuase with that much AC you would get hit everytime in the desert, I have a char with 120AC with epic dodge and 50% conceal and still get hit often. So what I'm really asking is that considering AC means nothing for this build, only immunities, is it possible to use a two handed weapons like a double axe instead of a shield. I'm asking this because I'm bored of always using a shield and with certain two handed weapons you also get 2 extra attacks per round. Regards Evolution I've recently got a dwarf of steel build to lvl 56, and my ac is only hitting between 100 - 110, depending on what armor and shield I need for the area. I've found that with the natural immunities and with some elemental immunities it doesn't matter if I get hit. I have plenty of HP to absorb whatever damage I eventually take after all the immunities have taken their chunk (if I take damage at all). To John: I've given up those Great Str feats and will eventually have taken all the save feats. I will end up with a str of 56. I'm not sure why, but with a little buffing I still manage to hit often enough to make a difference, and my saves are awsome (although I still roll 1's). -Kaz
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Post by evolution on Mar 13, 2007 15:35:25 GMT
Thanks alot Stonewarrior for the tips and yes the belt and the plate would be greatly appreciatted, my toon is called Aphrodite (a pure druid build), but since are kindly donating those items to me I will make a Dwarf of Steel. Do you think then that The Plate of the Immortal is better than Mageblight Plate and do you think its wise to use a 2 handed weapon with this build, I wanted to use a 2 bladed sword, but I believe you have to take all the two handed weapon feats ao I may go for a cheesy scythe, greatsword or halberd.
What are your thoughts?
Thank you
evolution
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Post by stonewarrior on Mar 13, 2007 15:47:48 GMT
Ah, I thought you meant you had already built a DoS. I have never had a Mageblight Plate so it is hard for me to compare the two. I used Mageblight robes for my Dexer until he hit level 50 and was happy with them.
As for a 2 handed weapon, I would not advise using one with a dwarf but that could just be me. You lose the ability to wield a shield. In fact the only time I think I would use a 2 handed weapon is with a "large" sized character. I briefly toyed with the idea of using a 2 bladed sword for my DD but instead decided upon using a warhammer.
Peace, John.
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Post by Yomi on Mar 13, 2007 23:45:25 GMT
Caveat, I have a DD, but not this build. I prefer higher AC and not getting hit, and pretty much never use defensive weave. Too many things that force saves vs. Annoying, Bad, or Horrible effects on hit, so best to try not getting hit.
Plugging some numbers into my spreadsheet it looks like you could hit about AC 104 using standard gear at level 40 immo (immo plate, boots, cloak, amulet, AC15 total shield). The natural armor bonus will come into play as you gain LLs as well as cross-class tumble, and UR's will help. Looks like a decent setup at high levels would be about AC 120 (penum plate, Pentavite, +16 dodge, +16 deflection), and hit 124 after cleric Girding. That matches with our earlier comments about a Tin Can DD hitting 130 with girding and being 6 higher AC than this build (different tradeoffs for the two builds!).
For armor, Mageblight full plate isn't terrible. It's decent AC and the elemental DR is nice. However, I prefer Immo plate for the extra 25% physical damage immunity. I can usually fit in a spider signet or Ring of the Ready to cover the elemental DR. Once I get get Illithid tag, then the Penumbrium plate goes on. It's 25% blud/slashing with only 10% piercing, but the +18 AC (vs. 15 for immo and 14 for Mageblight), 25% elec immunity, implosion immunity, and small str/con boosts make up for it. At level 50 you could consider UR or beholder plates or baatezu, but Penumbrium is still very nice.
For shields, there's a half-decent set drop shield in the Ssith Hatchery that's relatively easy to get. There's also a decent set shield in the Maze treasure room. A lot of my str tanks carry around the trio of Valiants Honor (dr 25/- slashing, 25% cold, 25% elec -- great for Ssith!), Tempus Left (dr 25/- piercing, some stats -- great for desert), and Demondim (dr 25/- bludgeoning, 25% acid, 25% fire, some stats). Each of those can come in handy. Once you get Illithid tag, the Pentavite Shield is a must to have available. Awesome AC as well as 100% electric immune. There are some UR shields that work out in some setups -- some have a lot of immunities (Pinwheel, Myrkuls), some have exotic resists (Starfire Force, Myrkuls), and some have nice stats (Vandalar).
For boots, the immo boots give +15 dodge and +6 con and aren't that hard to find. Alternately if you have a bard, mage armor, cleric UEF, or epic mage armor from an item, you can pump up dodge. The set drop Illithid Boots of Bolstering are awfully nice with their +16 dodge and +6 to both str and con, though if you have the Bestial Res belt you won't need them. Lots of choices in UR type boots.
For belt, the immo belt isn't terrible. Not ideal but better than nothing. For a str build we all highly recommend looking for the Illithid item Belt of Bestial Resilience. +12 to str and con, some physical DR, and DR 30/- to divine.
For cloak there's nothing wrong with the immo cloak -- 10% physical and dr 20/- piercing are pretty nice. Loki's and Parsons are two very nice UR cloaks, and Ectoplasmic Weave from Illithids is my favorite. Those cloaks are admittedly hard to come by.
For bracers, Clasps of the Forewarned are great. Yet another 10% to physical and covers all your major immunities. Illithid Bio-bracers are nice for other builds but I think they'd be redundant for this one and the Clasps would be a lot better. Immo bracers should work if you don't have Clasps.
For helmet, Unitary Focus would be perfect in combination with the Belt of Bestial Resilience, as it'd max out your dex and wisdom which will help with reflex and will saves. But wear what you have.
For amulet, the Illithid Amulet of Adaptation is sweet to have on hand, as it covers lev and water ring needs. As a DD, your natural armor AC will go up to +20 eventually regardless of amulet, so think outside the box on this. For instance the mind ward amulet that gives fear immunity. The Eye of Everwhole rare amulet is a favorite of mine for new immos as it gives +14 AC and Harm immunity. The immo amulet is nice for your first DB trip as it has DR 10/- magic which is a godsend if you don't have magic DR on anything else.
For rings, a mord ring is nice if you want to keep spells up though not necessary on this build for many LL places (you'll probably have to have one for Illithids). Spider Signet or Ring of the Ready or Dachy warding ring. Water and lev unless you have an amulet of adaptation or are a striding/waterbreathing subrace. Always remember your armor (e.g. Baatezu with 50% fire immunity) and shield (e.g. Pentavite with 100% electric) in ring setups. The blazebolt ring, for example, is not really the best choice for something like this, while something like a baneblast or chillfang would be great to have available.
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Post by violentj on Mar 23, 2007 13:48:52 GMT
DD has a feature called harden to spells that absurbs magic and with spell resstiance and magic resstiance you should be find shouldnt you?
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Post by Senaattori on Mar 24, 2007 19:36:21 GMT
Hey, what u think about Planewalker DoS build?? I know -2 str is painful but that he could breath underwater and walk on quicksand! whats ur opinion?
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Post by thedomicron on Mar 24, 2007 20:41:42 GMT
if you plan on playing in the desert or underwater often, then i'd say its worth it. its an important choice you have to base on which areas you enjoy the most
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Post by stonewarrior on Mar 24, 2007 21:26:28 GMT
To me the Planewalker does not bring a lot to the table for a DoS. The only areas you will need a water or lev ring are Ssith, the Desert and the first part of Dusty. In those areas you can get by quite well wearing the required ring and still not take a lot of damage when properly equiped. What you lose from a Dwarf based subrace is not worth it...at least IMO.
Peace, John.
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Post by sithdad on Apr 10, 2007 21:52:49 GMT
Just got the battlerager sub and I wanted to use this build. I tried him in the test chamber using starting stats of: Str 14 Dex 14 Con 18 Wis 8 Int 15 Cha 6
If you can suggest a better way pleas do so. Also, since BR gets Dodge and Toughness for free, along with Intimidate +5, I took Blind Fighting at lvl 2 and Improved Expertise at lvl 12. I am under the impression that Str tanks use Expertise to survive mobs in the hells. If there is a better selection for that lvl 12 feat I'd be grateful for the suggestion.
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