Celestial caster Seraphim

[Three Stars 0]

I've got a Celestial Caster. At level 33-ish, she looks like this:

 

Celestial Lore

Concentration

Celestial Focus

Warding Lore

Armor lore

Rev Tech Focus

Combat Discipline (aka "ancient magic lite")

 

The biggest problem with a Celestial caster is damage, so I've filled almost every available slot with the blacksmith art that gives +%Damage. I've got about +160% Damage on board. It's forcing me to keep my natural CA levels small, as regen is also a problem for any character that doesn't have Grand Invigoration. I'm going full stamina, at least for now, to help fight that limitation. I'm also using the "single CA combo" trick for the extra 10% regen it's giving me. All's fair in Seraphims and war.

 

Of course, my main attack CAs are Baneful Smite (Laggard - Potential - Chain) for single/double kills and Radiant Pillar (Hypnosis - Brightness - Magnify) for Area of Effect. With that much +%damage on board, Baneful Smite is a one shot kill on most non-champion monsters. I prefer the increased Area of Effect over the duration for Pillar, since duration comes with increasing CA levels anyway. Cleansing Brilliance is my only buff at this moment (Distract - Purify so far), and in crowds of undead it's fun to watch the weaklings drop dead once they're in range. I'm likely to select the Illuminate mod so that the -Attack speed mod is spread over a wider area. The damage is basically a bonus. I have Divine Protection fully modded (Capacity - Boost - Mirror), so it will eventually be able to be up most of the time.

 

The question is...where to go from here? The original plan was to stick Rev Tech Lore in there and have two Aspects worth of CAs to kill things with, but I'm not sold on the idea. There's still debate about if Archangel's Wrath requires attack rating to hit, and I'm certainly not building with that in mind, or at least not yet. It also seems a little redundant, given that Baneful Smite can give me a guaranteed hit on 1 or 2 monsters without the need for homing or travel time. Flaring Nova is certainly a nice CA, but it will need significant investment in Rev Tech Lore to be right up there with my Celestial CAs, and points are always tight with a fully dual aspect character. Warding Energy is kind of weak this early in the game, and I can't spare the regen malus. That may change over time.

 

There's also a few fun possibilities in the Exalted Warrior Aspect for a caster, which make EW Focus a possibility. I have a few levels in Dashing Alacrity, which is like attaching rocket boosters to your feet. I'm 93.7% sure that it works when I'm on my tiger as well, and that's handy. Battle Stance could give chance to reflect. Assailing Somersault lets you look before and after you leap.

 

I also feel the need to have Combat Reflexes (the DP shield will eventually block most spells, so no Spell Resistance). Constitution never hurts when you're a squishy caster. I see there's a movement towards adding dual wielding capability for damage potential, which would of course necessitate points in Tactics Lore. Then there's all the general skill wackiness (Riding? EP? Bargaining?), but I feel like this build needs too much help from Defensive and CA-based skills to devote 2 or more skill slots to general skills.

 

So, that's 9 potential skills for 3 slots. My initial impulse is to go Rev Tech Lore, Combat Reflexes, and Constitution, but if someone in the crowd has a better idea, I'd like to hear it.

 

(Sorry, wall of text )

Edited June 28, 2009 by Three Stars

[Three Stars 0]

I see I have you all enthralled. zzzzzzzzzzz

 

I'm at level 45. I chose Combat Reflexes at 35. I plan on taking Rev Tech lore at 50, which will promote Nova to a primary damage skill and make my various energy shields more potent.

 

The level 65 skill is going to be interesting. I'm halfway considering taking Exalted Warrior Focus for modding Dashing Alacrity. The increase in running speed is handy, and the mod that decreases all CA regen would be even more handy for a caster. I would go Sprout/Delay/Ardor. Tactics Lore would do the same as far as modding points, but it wouldn't impact the CA level penalty. I could also find a use for Battle Stance in this build. The only other skill I would consider is constitution, but I figure I've got WE and DP to act as temporary hit points in a pinch.

 

I'm using a level 50 bargaining character that I've retired to load me up with +skill jewelry.

Edited June 28, 2009 by Three Stars