Asar, my Utility Temple Guardian Guide

[Immali 2]

The idea behind an utility Temple Guardian came in my mind when I realized how important socketing was in the game. Well, you have so many good items that are there waiting to be enhanced and it took me some time before I recognized their value….but finally I saw the light!!

So I looked at all the characters available and was thinking about an Inquisitor….I’ve read about their power and the ability to have Bargain and Blacksmith. But I then noticed that, having a character able to buy incredible things and not having uniques or set to be smithed was a real shame.

So the Temple Guardian seemed a good choice. Never played one but looking good.

Now my Asar is level 140, reached niobium and fulfilled his duties perfectly. Especially the fun one! I entered niobium last week but, after some thinking, it seems a good thing to share my thoughts with you because this is a really nice build, funny to play and very useful for your future characters.

My deity was Testa. Not very important.

All my point points went to strength. It gives betters attack bonus and higher damage.

Now to skill selection:

1- Blacksmith

2- Enhanced Perception

3- Bargaining

4- Devout Guardian Focus

5- Tactic Lore

6- Concentration

7- Warding Energy Lore

8- Armor Lore

9- Constitution

10- Sword Lore

 

This is how I picked the skills. If I had to rebuild him, I’d take Sword Lore at 9 only to kill faster for a few more levels.

My buffs were T-Energy Shroud (power, recharge, reflection) and Battle Aura (barricade, riposte, permanent).

My only attack was a sword (left click) with the Battle Extension passive bonus for double hit. This way I didn’t have to worry about casting times and buffs levels (always at max).

One important notice is about the mount…the wonderful Mobiculum: it will be your best friend! The choice is very important and I suggest taking the neutral one, the one that gives a bonus to shield recharging….later on it will be incredible.

I’ve kept Enhanced Perception and Bargaining at level until 75 then only Bragaining. I’ve put points in tactics lore and Devout Focus to mod both the buffs.

Then pumped Consitution to gain the mastery bonus at level 75.

It is very important to socket +all skills in every socket available and have 3 pieces of two sets of your choice in order to gain the +all skills bonus there. One of the goal of this build is to find, so having EP maxed at all times is very important.

It was incredible when, at level 65 I’ve put one point in sword lore and my attack went from 100% (was a little more from items) to 150%!! In a single click!

Same goes for Armor Lore and WEL. At level 75 I started pumping Blacksmith to level 75 in order to gain mastery.

I mentioned earlier about the fun part of this build. I’ll explain better. With Asar I was able to kill, not super fast but good enough, and then I explored the world a bit, searching for chests. When tired Asar looked for shops and items. In cities there were happy chest opening all the time!!

I think I’ve enjoyed a lot of the things the developers had in mind when making the Temple Guardian.

I’ve stopped him at level 140 because I never played niobium. But I had only one red health message before 140, when surrounded by demons in wastelands. If you put some rings with evade chance you’ll become even more powerful. The energy shield is great, the passive double attack from Battle extension is wonderful, the fun of playing Asar was priceless

Edited August 2, 2009 by gogoblender

[Schot 415]

Awesome work Imalli and congratulations. You my friend are set for life with that lil utility TG. I wish I had of followed a similar outline as you with my utility TG but when I started it I was just too excited to try everything at once, hehe. Mine is at 82 and he'll be parked at level 100. I would prefer to take him to 140 but I'd rather not take the chance of losing him. But the next one!

 

Utility TG's are by far an amzing asset to any other characters one may plan to play. Kudos Imalli and gratz on Niob.

[Viper007 1]

Nice job Immali! 3 general skills and in niob.... Wow^^

[Epox 2]

thx immali he seems like a blast im gonna start mine as soon as my coup hits level 100 or maybe before I need ya doggy to resocket my shield

 

alredy made a tg he is still level 1 he is known as Wonderdog

[Dobri 55]

Well, I suppose great minds think alike That's the port from Feb 15,2009.

 

http://darkmatters.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=9517

 

It's nice you took the utility skills first, but I guess it took time to master them. I'm sort of the opposite... I make the core of the build first and then start pumping up the utility skills like crazy.

Edited April 2, 2009 by Dobri

[Epox 2]

sofar he is fun

 

and how do u take conc as 4ed skill I can't its a second tier skill

Edited April 4, 2009 by Epox

[Epox 2]

your mastery lvls I s that naked skills without + and such or with +skills

[Dobri 55]

Devout guardian focus opens it As you can see, the post hasn't edited since Feb 16.

 

If you don't pick it, the build changes, but the original build is based on devout guardian as level 5 pick.

 

Unless you're referring to Immali's build. It indeed can't be picked as 4th skill.

Edited April 9, 2009 by Dobri

[Immali 2]

Yeah, I've seen there's an error...tomorrow I'll look at my Asar and let you know

About the mastery it's hard point mastery.

[Antitrust 32]

This looks very tempting, I could use a smith once in a while

 

I also enjoy popping chests and containers

[Dobri 55]

I still maintain that especially in HC, it's better to give your build a main skill start rather than picking the utility skills from the beginning. It's good to have the utility skills at your level, but this weakens the char itself.

 

For that reason in my build I proposed I took the main skills first. In the beginning, a char may easily die, unless you watch it and care for it like crazy You can always compensate the setback by adding more points in the utility skills later on. Besides, although bargaining is important from the very beginning, smithing isn't that big of a deal, but it indeed should be equal to 75 by level 75.

 

In addition to that, I don't like that sword lore is taken as 10th skill is at level 65. In my opinion that would weaken the build big time. The chances to hit will be very low unless you eat a lot of combat alert runes, but that would burden the CA regeneration times dramatically, because you will be using T-Shroud with it all the time.

 

I hope you can strike a good balance... or you'll be level 65 with level 2-3 Combat Arts.

Edited April 9, 2009 by Dobri

[Immali 2]

I've modified my frist post....now there's the right skill selection

@Dobri: regeneration times are not a problem in this build, since the only attack is a left click using the double hit passive bonus from Battle extension

Rarely I've used a CA, only for a little change

[Dragonsblade71uk 0]

These builds are similar to what I have been doing on my TG. I took Hardcore so prefered to build up my mods for better defense, and more damage output, then get the utility skills in the middle. Due to the lack of money for myself, mainly playing solo, there is little money to spend at low lvls, making bargaining pointless below about 15. Anyway my main point for making such a build was mainly for a triple buff, Low CA use char.

1. Devout Guardian Focus

2. Tactics Lore

3. Concentration

4.Warding Energy Lore

5. Sword/Hafted Lore

6. Amour Lore

7. Blacksmithing\Enhanced Perception(took EP in my build, although for Closed net HC BS would be better)

8. Bargaining

9. Constitution

10.Source Warden Focus\Enhanced Perception(Personally I will take SWF to mod untouchable force and keep as high as possible)

 

So far I`m at 54 on SP HC, annd in gold in the caverns below the islands. Have killed all the bosses I could find the quests for, even the banshee. (can`t find the quest giver for Daloriel the Depraved, or Bloodclaw so far)

Modded Combat Alert as a buff, as I`m not a great fan of remember to recast things, and T-energy shroud, as main 2 buffs till get the 3rd. Obviously taken shield regen mod, and mainly using battle extention, modded for double attack. (not sure how much use taking both is, as I`m assuming they don`t stack but give 2 single 15% chances), therefore taken the increased crit chance.

The reson for going for the 3rd buff and SWF for the mods is Mind control( if there stunned they can`t hurt you), Calm (Less attack speed means less damage), and Crumble (chance to destroy projectiles, again less damage). shame not a reflect, but better than nothing.

[gogoblender 3,305]

Congratulations on making it ton Niob, Immali! I enjoyed the leveling with you in Plat, and great seeing you got a doggie up so high with all utilities picked.

 

A great accomplishment.

 

 

gogo

 

p.s. sigh...lol, sooner or later, I guess I'll have to make a utility thingy too

[Dusty 0]

im using this build now on my TG feralfox and it works very well : )) you should try it too gogo ^^

[merihim 0]

This is a very nice and easy build to understand and play. Thank you for this utility build

 

one question though... I have noticed that the level of items at the traders adapts to the characters level, so I guess that means that you´ve got to grind in low level areas to find items for a new character, right?

[Dobri 55]

It is preferable to set up a shopping network of chars. In SP you have no problem. Online, there are 6 chars, but it's still enough. If you have a good shopping network for all your chars, like:

 

level 5 - for starter chars

level 35 - for advancing chars

level 65 - for advanced chars

level 100 - for chars of level 100+

you will have few to no problems with your equipment.

 

It takes time, but drops get reduced when the enemy is too weak for you and may take some time to get the items, but they are nothing without proper socketables - like + all skills, deathblow, +xp per kill, etc., and for that, you need a proper shopper at that level.

[ka243 3]

Because playing on XBOX and smith can't be used (sucks), thinking about the following skillset:

 

1. Swords/Hafted/Ranged - Which weapon skill is the best choice?

Related question: What would be the best set or unique sword, hafted or ranged weapon for this build?

 

2. Tactics Lore

3. Bargaining

4. Devout Guardian Focus

5. Concentration

6. Warding Energy Lore

7. Amour Lore

8. Enhanced Perception

9. Constitution

 

Last skill: Undecided between source warden to mod the extra buff (very good I think), speed lore (very good since we will be left-click attacking a lot?), or damage lore.

What do you think?

 

Is killing bosses really slow since mostly attacks are left-click? Any particular strategy for bosses/big mobs other than just left-click?

 

Where do you think the stat points should go and what mods have you been choosing for the buffs/Cas that you use?

What equipment (any set equipment?) is particularly good for a build like this?

 

I was looking at set equipment and noticed the lumen's servant and shadow servant sets. Can you only get the light set if playing the light campaign and only the dark guardian set playing the dark campaign? Anyone used either of these?

Edited August 21, 2009 by ka243

[Dobri 55]

Bosses are always hard. However, your TG will be able to kill them - although a bit slowly. In your position, I would have taken Blacksmith rather than EP though. If you are bent ot taking this char to niobium, you will rue the fact that you don't have a proper blacksmith, as youw own blacksmithing skill will outclass the NPC blacksmithing skill.

 

Last skill, in your position, take source warden and mod untouchable force. Play with Battle Aura-T-Energy-Untouchable force buff combo (requires you to have mastered concentration by level 75) and you should be fine. Just stay away from the debuffing bosses and you should be all right.

 

The second option is Toughness. I would never forgo this skill on any build if I'm planning to have it last a long time. If you go for this option, you can skip constitution.

 

As for the equipment, as soon as you hit level 80, start shopping for a torso armor and shoulders with all channel damage mitigation unlocked by armor lore mastery (requires that you have armor lore mastery by level 80) and combine it with the greaves of demiurge. Then ensure you have the most sockets on your other set items. If you have picked toughness in advance, with these 4 things (armor, shoulders, greaves of demiurge and toughness). With proper equipment over 60% of the incoming damage will be nullified in that case.

 

As for the attributes, since this build is counting on buffs and damage mitigation to keep it alive, there are 2 options. If you decided to omit constitution, add every single point in vitality. If you decided to play with constitution, put the points according to your weapon preference (STR/DEX) and add a point in stamina from time to time to improve the regeneration times of your combat arts like this: 1 STR till level 49, 1 STR/1 STA from level 50 to 149 and 2 STR/1 STA from level 150 upwards.

 

If you haven't started this char, I would propose that you pick one of these 2 builds:

 

1. With Constitution

 

Bargaining - keep at char level till 75 (we will add more points later)

Blacksmith - keep at char level till 75

Armor lore - keep at char level till 75

Tactics lore - your 4th mastery - put points here to mod the devout guardian based CAs

Toughness - your 5th mastery

Devout Guardian Focus (you don't really need more than 1 buff - battle aura by level 18) -keep at 1 point

Concentration - keep at 1 point

Sword lore - your 7th mastery

Constitution - your 6th mastery (the shield should be fine to keep you alive)

Warding Energy Lore - keep at 1 point

 

All the skills at 1 pt will be boosted by + all skills. After ou have mastered all the 7 skills (should be done by level 122), every other point goes into blacksmith and bargaining - 3 bargaining, 2 blacksmith. Because this is a utility build, it is a little underpowered. It is no surprise that it may get tough time later on. The only thing you need to do is to get it to niobium and leave it there.

 

2. Without constitution.

 

Substitute constitution for a skill of your choosing - you can decide to play this as a 3-buff build, in which case pick warden focus and master concentration in the following manner:

1st mastery - bargaining

2nd mastery - concentration

3rd mastery - armor lore

4th mastery - tactics lore

5th mastery - toughness

6th mastery - Sword lore

7th mastery - blacksmith

Then all points go as before - 3 bargaining, 2 blacksmith till you match the skill level with char level.

[ka243 3]

Thanks for the feedback, its food for thought.

 

I would love to take blacksmithing but on the console its totally broken and doesn't work at all. It seems likely that there will not be any fixes of this nor any future patches for console versions.

Any ideas about which weapon to pick?

 

So I'm thinking this now:

 

1. Swords/Hafted/Ranged - Which weapon skill is the best choice?

Related question: What would be the best set or unique sword, hafted or ranged weapon for this build?

 

2. Tactics Lore

3. Bargaining

4. Devout Guardian Focus

5. Concentration

6. Warding Energy Lore

7. Amour Lore

8. Enhanced Perception

9. Constitution

 

Last skill: Source warden or Toughness, or take both and not constitution.... [Edit: Toughness seems pretty important if you get debuffed....] So the question is source warden or constitution.

 

Levelling up may be slow due to lack of Area of Effect. I haven't started this character yet, I'm actually trying to determine the build that I will be able to level fastest with bargaining and EP together.

 

Think I've narrowed my choice down to a temple guardian build like this or a Dryad like this one:

http://forum.sacredeng.ascaron-net.com/sho...ead.php?t=53315

Edited August 21, 2009 by ka243

[Dobri 55]

It's up to you on the weapon choice. Sword weapons are the easiest to use because of the Officer's Saber - the best customizable weapon is Sacred 2. As for hafted weapons, I would recommend the Memetar's Protector - nothing much, but it does have a scaling physical damage mitigation trait. Ranged... the TG has a built-in ranged weapon, so in a way, ranged isn't that important, but a TG with a gun and Battle extension or Dedicated blow is an interesting sight (and effective). There aren't many unique guns, but the Death's Chirr has 1 gold, 1 elemental socket, and %deathblow.

 

That should do it As for the other answers... Think long and hard.