Furian's Ice & Blood Guide To The Ultimate Warrior

[locolagarto 15]

Well haha my survival bonus is 91% should I just die and let it go down?

 

Noooooo! lol

 

your survival bonus does so much for Attribute levels ( which effect everything), you don't want to loose that. But you may need to level a bit before moving into territory that is too dangerous. you can still build a buff suit with Platinum runes. geting a full set full with 16-19 plat runes will boost your grim buff a ton. work on that and see how things go.

[Furian67 14]

Noooooo! lol

 

Well said thanks bro!

[MatrixShadow 0]

Well haha my survival bonus is 91% should I just die and let it go down?

 

Noooooo! lol

 

your survival bonus does so much for Attribute levels ( which effect everything), you don't want to loose that. But you may need to level a bit before moving into territory that is too dangerous. you can still build a buff suit with Platinum runes. geting a full set full with 16-19 plat runes will boost your grim buff a ton. work on that and see how things go.

 

What level do you suggest I get to before taking the platinum guardians? They are currently still moping the floor with me.

[Furian67 14]

Hmm level 76 vs. Plat Guardians? I would say closer to 90-100 at least since you don't have the support network to really maximize your gear. I used to go level 50 to enter Gold, 75 to enter Plat (not fight the Guardians) and 100 for Niobium. But I have pretty much always had some sort of support network.

 

Think of it this way... Better to be safe than sorry that you pushed your build and got killed.

 

I usually don't do much questing in silver and gold and save that for plat and mostly Niobium so that I have something to do in the higher levels. And it helps make the quests a bit more challenging.

 

Keep us posted on how your doing. It's really interesting to see how others manage.

[MatrixShadow 0]

Where would you suggest to level up at? I'm doing the orc caves now (Up to level 81) but grinding orcs gets boring and I was looking for a change of pace.

[locolagarto 15]

Where would you suggest to level up at? I'm doing the orc caves now (Up to level 81) but grinding orcs gets boring and I was looking for a change of pace.

 

Finding a couple of different hunting grounds helps with the boring part. I like to run 4 areas.

 

1. the orc lands. I start at either west or east portal and do a big circle killing everything is site as I go.

 

2. The Southeast corner of the swamp. Lots of monsters in close quarters to make a circle around the lower right corner of the swamp

 

3. The Jungle area. I like to make a run from one portal to the other.

 

4. The wastelands leading up to the machine. There are some nice XP from the champions and daemons on the way from the ship to the machine.

[MatrixShadow 0]

Where would you suggest to level up at? I'm doing the orc caves now (Up to level 81) but grinding orcs gets boring and I was looking for a change of pace.

=

2. The Southeast corner of the swamp. Lots of monsters in close quarters to make a circle around the lower right corner of the swamp

 

Are you talking about that southeast werewolf town area? Thanks for the suggestions

Edited March 21, 2011 by MatrixShadow

[locolagarto 15]

Where would you suggest to level up at? I'm doing the orc caves now (Up to level 81) but grinding orcs gets boring and I was looking for a change of pace.

=

2. The Southeast corner of the swamp. Lots of monsters in close quarters to make a circle around the lower right corner of the swamp

 

Are you talking about that southeast werewolf town area? Thanks for the suggestions

 

Yep that it.

[DaveO 88]

Wouldn't a properly modified Reflective Emanation buff(antimagic) eliminate the need for Spell Resistance?

[locolagarto 15]

Wouldn't a properly modified Reflective Emanation buff (antimagic) eliminate the need for Spell Resistance?

 

It helps, for sure. I believe Furian and I were looking for a solution against those awful leeching Daemonic Eyes in Blood Forest and the Fens on the north end of Dryad Island. And since we only play Hard Core it was just enough anxiety to need to come up with a solution. Furian's solution was a combo of 4 things. Willpower from Grim Resilience Buff, Reflect from Reflective Emanation Buff, Spell Resistance Mastery, and using buff suits to really ramp up the 2 buff's bonuses without too much regen penalty. In the end his shadow warrior is pretty indestructible against those nasty spell casters. But if you don't mind smacking the space bar or staying out of those areas, then you could do without 1 or 2 of the above safety measures

[Furian67 14]

That was it exactly. And don't forget the bugged demon mages in the wastelands. The smooth headed ones can pack a really mean one shot lightning zap looking kill without all the extra protection.

[DaveO 88]

Ok, I was overthinking and not realizing the layers of protection. It's always a good idea to have multiple safety nets.

[claudius 104]

For the SE corner of the swamp there are also spiders and its a good idea to socket some - DOT..

[Cidius 0]

hey I just started up a shadow warrior and wanted to implement this build on xbox. I was wondering about the runes for all the skills should I be careful in using them like to keep a certain regen time for certain skills. Didn't go to far in depth about runes and the skills so I was just wondering.

[Furian67 14]

hey hey glad to hear your interest. For runes right off the bat you can eat as many as you want for Rousing Command, Ruinous Onslaught, and Killing Spree. For the rest of the combat arts you can keep them at a low number initially till near level 50-75. Or once you start finding/shopping for Regen per Hit you can eat runes to keep the regen time of the eaten runes close to the animation speed and the amount of RpH you have socketed.

In other words eat as many "mini-buff" runes possible at any time. Everything else stays at one rune until Armor Lore is at least Mastered.

[Cidius 0]

alright awesome ya was not to sure on that part so I was just keeping everything on one rune until I found out thanks alot

[Trac Ali 0]

Hello,

I am a beginner (xbox 360) and I have read through the entire thread. I think I have a genuine grasp of this build, however my question is if I wanted to replace sword weapons with dual wielding, what would be the outcome (positive/negative)if this is all I would replace? Would I need to modify anything else with this build to accommodate the inclusion of dual wielding?

 

I understand you addressed this in your thread previously, however you have also mentioned you have been experimenting with dual wielding and other modifications later on in the thread. So I am just curious to see what you experimented with and what were your findings.

 

I would also like to thank you for writing such a great guide, it is has been a tremendous help.

Edited May 24, 2011 by Trac Ali

[Furian67 14]

Hello,

I am a beginner (xbox 360) and I have read through the entire thread. I think I have a genuine grasp of this build, however my question is if I wanted to replace sword weapons with dual wielding, what would be the outcome (positive/negative)if this is all I would replace? Would I need to modify anything else with this build to accommodate the inclusion of dual wielding?

 

I understand you addressed this in your thread previously, however you have also mentioned you have been experimenting with dual wielding and other modifications later on in the thread. So I am just curious to see what you experimented with and what were your findings.

 

I would also like to thank you for writing such a great guide, it is has been a tremendous help.

 

Totally welcome, as for dual wield instead of Sword Lore its totally doable. The attack speed with Dual Wield and Frenzied Rampage is crazy fast. Actually any weapon skill is great, the trick is to get it to mastery for the benefits and attack speeds it will provide.

[Trac Ali 0]

Hello,

I am a beginner (xbox 360) and I have read through the entire thread. I think I have a genuine grasp of this build, however my question is if I wanted to replace sword weapons with dual wielding, what would be the outcome (positive/negative)if this is all I would replace? Would I need to modify anything else with this build to accommodate the inclusion of dual wielding?

 

I understand you addressed this in your thread previously, however you have also mentioned you have been experimenting with dual wielding and other modifications later on in the thread. So I am just curious to see what you experimented with and what were your findings.

 

I would also like to thank you for writing such a great guide, it is has been a tremendous help.

 

Totally welcome, as for dual wield instead of Sword Lore its totally doable. The attack speed with Dual Wield and Frenzied Rampage is crazy fast. Actually any weapon skill is great, the trick is to get it to mastery for the benefits and attack speeds it will provide.

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

I have another question. I see in a picture you posted of you your character at level 107, you had grim resilience at level 57. I also read the buff suit thread that was posted. My question is, why did you raise the level of your grim resilience? Wouldn't it be better to leave it at 1 and retain the lower regeneration times. Or could you afford to raise it and still benefit substantially from the buff suits.

 

While we are still on the topic of Combat Arts.

 

What regen times do you keep for Demonic Blow and Frenzied Rampage?

 

With or without buff suits , what would be the ideal regen percentage I should keep my buffs at (for both GR and RE)?

 

General information about my play style, I like to have have demonic blow regenerate right after I use it. I have no idea what the animation time is, but I guess 1 second or under. What do you think about this philosophy?

 

I apologize if my post is a little incoherent, it's just that I have little understanding of when I should raise the levels of the Combat Arts. In fear of making a mistake I just leave everything at 1. I have no idea what to do with other combat arts and how I should level them. Demonic blow is simple, just keep the regen times under 1 second, but what about killing spree and rousing command?

 

I have read the wiki on runes, and highest level without penalty but with little experience playing the game I don't know how the regen times will affect how I play. I guess what I am looking for is a little insight. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

Oh and one more question, does the Highest Combat Art Level Without Penalty apply to the entire focus tree of the that aspect? Or is it for specific combat arts. For example if my HCALWP is 24, and I put 24 points into grim resilience can I then put points into demonic blow or will I incur a penalty?

 

That's all the questions I have for now. Thanks again.

[essjayehm 58]

Hello, Trac Ali... I will slip in some answers to questions you had below in RED

 

I have another question. I see in a picture you posted of you your character at level 107, you had grim resilience at level 57. I also read the buff suit thread that was posted. My question is, why did you raise the level of your grim resilience? Wouldn't it be better to leave it at 1 and retain the lower regeneration times. Or could you afford to raise it and still benefit substantially from the buff suits.

At some point it is OK (desireable, actually) to eat some runes into buffs as the regen penalty becomes quite small... but it varies so much between builds that the only way to know when is to test it with your current setup.

 

While we are still on the topic of Combat Arts.

 

What regen times do you keep for Demonic Blow and Frenzied Rampage?

Not sure how Furian did it, but typically I keep the regen times = CA animation time

 

With or without buff suits , what would be the ideal regen percentage I should keep my buffs at (for both GR and RE)?

No buff suits - eat runes until your buff(s) is at/near "penalty level"

Using buff suits - a general rule of thumb I use is to have total regeneration penalty at about 30%. So, without concentration (ie only 1 buff) then I'll eat runes until the penalty is 30%. With concentration pre-mastery (2 buffs) then I keep them each at about 15%. With 3 buffs I would eat runes until penalties were about 10% per buff. You can play with these %'s if you feel one buff is "more important" and want/need higher levels on the buff.

General information about my play style, I like to have have demonic blow regenerate right after I use it. I have no idea what the animation time is, but I guess 1 second or under. What do you think about this philosophy?

Perfect!

 

I apologize if my post is a little incoherent, it's just that I have little understanding of when I should raise the levels of the Combat Arts. In fear of making a mistake I just leave everything at 1. I have no idea what to do with other combat arts and how I should level them. Demonic blow is simple, just keep the regen times under 1 second, but what about killing spree and rousing command?

Tricky one to answer, because of 2 factors - cooldowns (which usually cannot be reduced) and durations. Typically, I just read as many runes into these Combat Arts as I find them; but if you keep the "cooldown+regen" calculation at or below the duration, you can keep these active 24/7.

 

 

I have read the wiki on runes, and highest level without penalty but with little experience playing the game I don't know how the regen times will affect how I play. I guess what I am looking for is a little insight. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

Oh and one more question, does the Highest Combat Art Level Without Penalty apply to the entire focus tree of the that aspect? Or is it for specific combat arts. For example if my HCALWP is 24, and I put 24 points into grim resilience can I then put points into demonic blow or will I incur a penalty?

Just specific Combat Arts. If you have a HCALWP = 24 for your Death Warrior tree, you can have each of your DB,SS,RO,RC and GR at level 24 before you get penalized (ie partial/decimal levels)

 

That's all the questions I have for now. Thanks again.

 

And Furian may have more build-specific answers for you, but I hope I answered your questions well enough in the general sense.

[Furian67 14]

Nicely answered essjayehm, Not far off from what I would say. I'll do as you did but in Gold.

 

I have another question. I see in a picture you posted of you your character at level 107, you had grim resilience at level 57. I also read the buff suit thread that was posted. My question is, why did you raise the level of your grim resilience? Wouldn't it be better to leave it at 1 and retain the lower regeneration times. Or could you afford to raise it and still benefit substantially from the buff suits.

In the picture you mentioned I have eaten 41 runes for GR. My regen time is only at 14.9 seconds yet. Still a very low regen. There are two pictures of the GR buff. both at 41 runes eaten. I believe I took pics with the buff suit on and off. I ate the runes so that if I battled a boss that could drop my buffs I could easily recast and not suffer much at all. And besides at 41 runes eaten I can almost stop using the buff suit now.

While we are still on the topic of Combat Arts.

 

What regen times do you keep for Demonic Blow and Frenzied Rampage?

For both of these I eat runes or socket +CA so that it is equal to the Regen per Hit that I have socketed. This way I can really pump the Combat Arts level even past malus. Just make sure that you chance to hit is high 150% or more. That way if there happens to be a missed attack the normal sword swing could hit and regen the CA.

 

With or without buff suits , what would be the ideal regen percentage I should keep my buffs at (for both GR and RE)?

Well that almost depends on the amount of regen per hit that is in use. Basically under 30% is good. but if Regen Per Hit is in the build the regen times on buffs don't matter much.

 

General information about my play style, I like to have have demonic blow regenerate right after I use it. I have no idea what the animation time is, but I guess 1 second or under. What do you think about this philosophy?

Very good practice. Smart thinking!

 

I apologize if my post is a little incoherent, it's just that I have little understanding of when I should raise the levels of the Combat Arts. In fear of making a mistake I just leave everything at 1. I have no idea what to do with other combat arts and how I should level them. Demonic blow is simple, just keep the regen times under 1 second, but what about killing spree and rousing command?

For the Mini Buffs ie: Killing Spree, Rousing Command, Ruinous Assualt, and Augmenting Guidon you can eat as many as you can. Because these have cooldown times, and when using Regen per Hit the over-Malus penalty is wiped clean. So eat to you hearts (bank roll) desire and reap the benefits.

I have read the wiki on runes, and highest level without penalty but with little experience playing the game I don't know how the regen times will affect how I play. I guess what I am looking for is a little insight. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

Oh and one more question, does the Highest Combat Art Level Without Penalty apply to the entire focus tree of the that aspect? Yes. Or is it for specific combat arts. For example if my HCALWP is 24, and I put 24 points into grim resilience can I then put points into demonic blow or will I incur a penalty? 24 into each and every CA in that Aspect

 

That's all the questions I have for now. Thanks again.

 

Hope that helps ya. Have fun with it!

[Trac Ali 0]

Wow, I did not expect such well written and thorough responses.

 

You guys really helped me a lot. I cannot even begin to express my gratitude. Thank you.

[Furian67 14]

Wow, I did not expect such well written and thorough responses.

 

You guys really helped me a lot. I cannot even begin to express my gratitude. Thank you.

 

Hey hey no worries. I'm thrilled that both Scott and I could help. Now then.... I didn't notice before but..... Welcome to the forum!

[dagonite 0]

thx a lot for that build :-D

 

one question though, I'd really like to have a shopper or gearfarmer for future chars, but I dont want to gimp a toon

what would you suggest I switch out for bargaining ? ( or maybe enhanced perception ? dunno :-s)

could I be both a good shopper/gearfinder and still kick awesome ass ?

thx in advance

[Furian67 14]

thx a lot for that build :-D

 

one question though, I'd really like to have a shopper or gearfarmer for future chars, but I dont want to gimp a toon

what would you suggest I switch out for bargaining ? ( or maybe enhanced perception ? dunno :-s)

could I be both a good shopper/gearfinder and still kick awesome ass ?

thx in advance

 

Well, first the only issue here is that the SW cannot be a shopper. No Bargaining skill but he can take Riding, Blacksmith, or "that other skill noone uses". That being said the second tier is Enhance Perception. This the SW is awesome at. And you could easily drop the last 2 skills of Combat Discipline and Damage lore to put a first tier skill and then Enhanced Perception in.