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Poison Mist Trapper Guide


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Pure Poison Mist Trapper

 

Skills

 

Before you make a new Dark Elf, you should open up your 'settings.cfg' file and change one line. Look for the line "Default Skills: 1" and change the '1' to a '0'. This will allow you to select your 2 starting skills. Otherwise you're stuck with Concentration which is not used in this build.

 

You don't have to select your skills in the exact order I have, but you should have Weapon Lore and Trap Lore selected by level 6.

 

Level 1: Weapon Lore*

Level 1: Trap Lore*

Level 3: Blade or Dual

Level 6: Constitution

Level 12: Armor

Level 20: Ballistics*

Level 30: Agility or Parry (Agility if dual wield and Parry if single wield)

Level 50: Your Choice

 

* Must have skills for Trapper DE

 

Weapon Lore: Increases damage for both traps and melee - max points

 

Trap Lore: Lowers trap regeneration time - max

 

Blade Combat: Select only if going with blade/shield setup. Only need Blade Combat if you really want to equip a set or unique blade - max 6 points

 

Dual Wield: Select only if you really want 2 blades/swords. Other than mods on weapons, DW adds no benefit to a trapper - max 1 point

 

Constitution: Increases Hit Points - 1/2 your character level for points

 

Armor: Increases resistances: 1/2 level

 

Ballistics: Reduces regeneration time and trap animation (animation means how long your DE takes to actually 'cast' the trap) when around level 50-75 towards. Increases trap damage - max

 

Agility: Select if Dual Wielding - 1/2 level

 

Parry: Select if using weapon/shield - 1/2 level

 

Trade: Requires a heavy investment in points but you can really find gear that is far superior to sets. Only take if you plan on doing a lot of shopping. Using Trade to find poison damage rings/amulets can be extremely helpful.

 

When I refer to either max points or 1/2 level it just indicates a general method of how I assigned my points. For instance you may have several +Weapon Lore items equipped and may want to assign points differently. So remember it's just a rough guide to how I assigned points.

 

Attributes

 

Physical Regeneration: Lowers trap regeneration time

 

Dexterity: Increases trap damage

 

Combat Arts

 

Mongoose: Only one rune. Used just for jumping rivers/cliffs.

 

Cobra: *Plus only*Up to level 10. Cobra at level 10 can stun any enemy (including dragons, big spiders). Only drawback is you have to be next to enemy to execute. Haven't fully tested in UW but looks like Cobra will need to be much higher to stun champions/dragons/ Big Spiders etc reliably.

 

Poison Mist: By level 50 (or earlier) this is your main attack. Ideally you want a regeneration time of 1.0 seconds or less. Almost impossible to do while character is under level 30. I will keep it at 2.5-3.0 secs early on and use it to leech/support melee'ing. PM has a max duration of 50 seconds.

 

Testosterone: As high as you can get it, as long as regeneration time is shorter than duration time. Max duration is approximately 9 minutes.

 

Adrenaline: Same as Testosterone. Keep regeneration less than duration. All my DE's do not use Adrenaline. Simply the damage/leech from Poison Mist makes it unnecessary for me. But for those who want extra defense, then Adrenaline is what you want.

 

How do I increase Trap damage?

 

Read/socket runes (only socket runes at lower levels)

Increase Weapon Lore

Increase Ballistics

Increase Dexterity

Use Blacksmith Arts or Dwarf Forging

Look for rings/amulets/equipment with this mod: "poison(or physical) damage +xx%" (it cannot say 'weapon poison/physical damage')

 

Most damage listed on equipment has no affect on Poison Mist damage. The equip must have 'poison damage +xx% or physical damage +xx%'. Poison Mist is both poison and physical damage. But try to concentrate on + Poison damage gear so you can take advantage of Testosterone's poison damage modifier. If socketing rings and amulets, I prefer amulets due to the extra defense found on them.

 

How do I reduce Trap regeneration time?

 

Increase Trap Lore

Increase Ballistics

Equip items with +RSM (Regenerate Special Move)

Increase Physical Resist

 

Should I pump Poison Mist or Testosterone?

 

Try to keep PM regen low and instead pump Test's level. It will allow you to 'spam' PM more effectively. Because enemies move around (and if using split, they will appear directly next to you), so you need to be able to quickly cast PM in order to react to changes in battle. Having a high PM does deal a lot of damage but splitting 5 Frost Giants behind you and a high PM regen means a lot of running around. Pump Test instead and only increase PM when regen is below 1.0-1.5 seconds.

 

As you get higher in level, you'll find it impossible to increase Testosterone to a level where regen exceeds duration. PM will be hard to keep up also as you'll need a lot of runes and +PM gear. Hopefully you have a couple friends that can donate runes or have a character that can find runes quickly. If all else fails, do a lot of quests. Saying a PM trapper is a 'rune hog' would be a vast understatement. With PM and Test maxed-that's at least 510 runes not including any other Combat Arts. And yes, maxing out both is very realistic. My Niobium DE maxed out runes at about level 175 for both PM and Test.

 

Crit/Split/Leech

 

PM will crit, split and leech per second per trap. If you have 12 % leech and 10 traps actively damaging monsters then you get 12% leech x 10. Other mods like 'chance to find gold' will work similarly.

 

 

SIngle or Dual Wield?

 

It really depends on your playing style. If you just have to be waving 2 blades around then go for DW. If you're new to trapping or want to err on the side of caution, then pick weapon/shield. Shield is much better for defensive purposes. Remember you won't be melee'ing at all after level 50 so the extra defense is always good.

 

Horses

 

While on a horse, you can cast PM's even quicker. Plus you'll get the HP bonus from the horse. Horses work great for rounding up mobs like the Sakarras and Orcs in Khorad. That said, you can't use them in caves and don't pick Riding as a skill. You just want a horse with 220 speed and they can be found the earliest in game at Mascarell.

 

In-Game Strategies and Hints

 

First off, this build takes a little while to get going. So you need to be a little patient. This build won't really shine until about level 50. You will be melee'ing quite a bit while under level 20. Resist the temptation to pick skills or use runes that help melee only. The first 20-30 levels might take a bit but as you slowly near level 30 you'll be using PM more and more that by the time you're level 50 you shouldn't be melee'ing at all.

 

It's a good idea if heading for unfamiliar territory or if you know you have a big fight coming up to use the 'Throw-n-Go' technique. This means you throw a PM out ahead of you and then run to it. Then repeat process. It works really well on Cerebropods. Even if they freeze all your Combat Art regen timers, you'll still have a couple traps active which you can lead them to.

 

When fighting mobs you can prepare for battle easily before attacking. Just toss a few PM's in front of you then throw one at the mob. Let them come to you and die at your feet. Another variant also works well when rounding up mobs. I'll use the Sakarra area in the Valley of Tears for an example but works well in the Orc, Golem and Ghost caves and out in the Khorad Desert too. At the entrance to the Sakarra area throw down a bunch of PM's. If you have split, throw the PM's to create a circle (that way when they split you have a trap waiting for them). Then run/ride out and gather them up and head back to the PM's. They'll fall all over themselves dying.

 

Be careful in caves, along boundary edges and even trees/rocks/buildings. If you cast PM too close to an edge, or your DE is too close to one, the trap may not execute properly. You'll still get hit with the regen timer but no PM will be visible. If this happens just either move a bit or cast PM in a different spot.

 

There really isn't one set you should try to complete. While some have a useful piece or two, none of them give any useful bonuses for either a partial or complete set. The one possible exception may be the D'Braes set. There's a full set bonus called 'Soul Damage' which will cause an additional 10% damage that cannot be resisted. While it is nice, you can do much better by mixing and matching or trading. Also a full Ethan Rhys can be useful. You'll get Water Form (invisibility) while not attacking. So all you have to do is throw your PM's (you'll be visible while casting) then sit back and enjoy the show without worrying about defending yourself.

 

If you like fighting Dragons or Big Spiders than Cobra can really help. You can stun them with Cobra and then spam PM's. Cobra at level 10 has a duration of about 20-25 secs, so you might need to use Cobra again depending on how much damage PM is doing. One bit of advice-be careful when using Cobra especially if you're prone to lag or the server has a lot of people in it. By stunning with Cobra and then spamming PM, thus covering up it's life circle, you might not be able to tell if you're lagging. Have lost a couple Trapper DE's this way. Also in order to use Cobra you have to be next to opponent to 'cast'.

 

Doing some quests can be easy using PM. The 'Painting' quest in Mascarell is a great example. Once you talk to the thief and exit the house you're attacked by several soldiers. But if you drop a bunch of PM's outside the house before talking with thief, when you come out all the soldiers will already be taking damage. The 'Heroes' cave on the Pirate Isles is another. Drop a bunch near the grave then open it. Makes the battle incredibly easy.

 

Some monsters are highly resistant to poison. Undead and poison trolls come to mind. Luckily several popular leveling areas are great for a PM Trapper. These include the Ghost Cave, Orc cave, Golem Cave and Sakarra Area.

 

If you're still with me after reading all that, I just want to say this is intended as a guideline. Some parts you may agree or disagree with and maybe I've helped fill in the gaps for others. There really isn't one correct way to build a PM Trapper. Some may want to be a hybrid while others might want to use Bottomless Pit/Explosive Charge/Confusion/Battle Fog etc. to compliment their build. This is just a summation of how I built my PM DE's and can guarantee it will be a killing machine all the way through to level 216. Hopefully I've given you a guideline to start off with and Good Luck if you decide to give a PM Trapper a try

Edited by Knuckles
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dude you are the man, I never realized so much about my beloved Delf's skills... for instance, weapon lore affects trap damage? hmmm.... I'm pretty close to this build right now with my level 105+ DE... he's good. if you change your poison damage into fire damage and replace poison mist with explosive charge and bottomless pit, you have my beloved DElf. thanks for the advice though, I was actually thinking about my next elf focusing on poison.

 

-Total

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I don't play DE but I do like a well written guide. Great setup on this knuckles, especially regarding the reasons for and why you choose attributes. I bet because the damage is so poison-based it just sings in VOT?

 

:)

 

 

gogo

 

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  • 4 months later...

Um...mine loks like this:

ACCEPT_LICENSE : 1

AUTOSAVE : 0

AUTOSAVEDELAY : 180

AUTOTRACKENEMY : 1

CHAT_ALPHA : 0

CHAT_DELAY : 8

CHAT_LINES : 8

COMBINE_SLOTS : 0

COMPAT_VIDEO : 0

DEFAULT_SKILLS : 0

 

 

It's the 10. in my settings. If there isn't anything like that for sure, id say to

make a copy of the file somewhere else. (like on the desktop)

Then write in the settings manual this:

DEFAULT_SKILLS : 0

 

Then take a try.

Edited by tomi
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  • 3 weeks later...

Ahhh could happen!

 

Um, did you plan to get UW, or not...

If no, I think I'll check out wiki. Perhaps I can find there something about this problem.

 

Though I dont think there's any connect between Under World and the first 2 skills.

 

Edit: Check this out. Doesn't say anything about UW though.

 

Sacred Wiki: Default Skills

Edited by tomi
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