Melee High Elf = I WIN Button?

[Purdymouth 0]

Alright, first of all, let me be clear: I'm not trying to praise myself here. I'm ligitimately asking some questions, and hoping for a bit of feedback. After a few false starts with various classes and builds, I did some research on these forums as well as the main Wiki, and decided to give a High-Elf Melee build a try. I got some build concepts from here, and factored in some of my own ideas an opinions. It's going well... way, way, way too well.

 

During my Silver play-through (335 quests solved, all bosses and mini-bosses slain, 0 deaths) the only time I ever needed to drink a potion was during a couple of the toughest boss fights (ie Nameless). (Excluding Escort quests - so annoying). It's not that I'm amazingly tough - in fact, I'm quite soft and squishy. It's just that I kill everything so quickly, they never get a chance to hurt me! Entire swarms of non-elites (I kite/herd them) die to a single Shadow Step Explosion. I one-shot all elites with Magic Coup, without exception. I down mini-bosses in three shots, average. I smoke bosses in under 10 seconds, always. The ONLY exceptions were Miasma Cloud (since you have to wait for creature spawns), and Nameless Guardian. Every single dragon was an utter pushover, no potions required.

 

I've started a Gold playthrough, fast-tracking though only Main Quests, Class Quests, and Unique Mount Quests in order to rush to Platinum. So far (Just entering Dragon Caves under Seraphim Island), things are *slightly* tougher than in Silver, but I'm still one-shotting almost everything I encounter. I'm still not using *any* potions. All bosses up-to-date downed in under 10 seconds. The game is genuinely boring!

 

I've played with friends of various clases, and they don't have *nearly* so easy a time. All the heavy-hitting melee classes do about a third to half the damage I do, so everything is a 30-50% greater challenge. They get annoyed seeing a mage walk up and one-shot elites with a staff while they have to hack away for 5+ seconds or more with twin swords of pwnage. What I'm getting at is this...

 

Have I come across a build synergy that's truly over-powered? Is the game meant to be this easy, and I'm just playing with people who's builds utterly suck by comparison? I'm going to lay out my stats in the next post for your consideration.

 

In case it isn't clear, the key factors of this build revolve around Crystal Skin and Magic Coup. More specifically, their Modifications. With Feel Cold and Frosty Breeze on Crystal Skin, enemy Ice Resistance is reduced, while my Ice Damage is increased. Many gear buffs allow my ice damage to be substantially increased. Target Focus and Steal Mana on Magic Coup ensure that every swing hits, and every hit zero's out the regen timer. So the regen rate of Magic Coup is limited only by my attack speed. Using an Intrinsic Ice Damage Staff, with Magic Staffs skill, chance to hit and bonus to damage are determined by Intelligence, which I have plenty of. In short, I swing for an average of 3,500 damage, every second, and never miss. Healthy Grand Invigoration and a few support skills along with a bit of Life Leech ensure my health bar stays maxed out during those couple seconds I actually fight.

 

Is this the ultimate build? Or do plenty of people find thigns this easy, at so low a level (I'm only 70!)? Will it get substantially harder past Gold? Or will my level gains between now and then keep things at more or less this difficulty forever? It sounds silly, but I'm finding the game is losing it's appeal, becauser I steamroll over everything...

 

Any insight, information, or advice is greatly appreciated.

[Purdymouth 0]

Character Name: Nipply

Class/Race: High Elf

Diety/Devotion: Forens - Inspiration

Chosen Path: Light

Difficulty: Gold

Build Spec: Frozen Monk

 

Level: 70

Gold: 60 million

Enemies Slain: 25 thousand

Weapon: Rancuil's Dark Flame

Shield: Glacial Defender

Gear Set: Adornments of the Ancestors

 

Attributes

Strength: 178

Stamina: 308

Vitality: 259

Dexterity: 217

Intelligence: 433

Willpower: 265

 

Notable Stats

Survival Bonus: 90%

Died: 0

Experience Per Kill: +36.9%

Chance to find Valuables: +47.2%

Evade: +69.5%

 

Hit Points: 6390

Regeneration: 479.2/s

 

Attack: 397, +39, +25.2%

Defense: 577, +83, +32.2%

Magic Attack: 433

Magic Defense: 265

 

Damage: 482-570

Physical: 285-337

Ice: 197-233

Bonus: +125.8% Ice Damage

 

Armor: 2751

Physical: 1627

Ice: 555

Bonus: 31.1% Ice Mitigation

 

Combat Art

Magic Coup: Target Focus, Steal Mana, Stray Damage

Crystal Skin: Glacial Mirror, Feel Cold, Frosty Breeze

Shadow Step: Phase Shift, Sanctuary, Explostion

Grand Invigoration: Mystic Stormite Expertise, Life Energy, Resilience

Cascading Shroud: Faint, Inconspicuous, Steam

Expulse Magic: Expansion, Pentagram, Protection

 

Skills

Concentration: 50

Delphic Arcania Lore: 65

Delphic Arcania Focus: 70

Armor Lore: 10

Magic Staffs: 10

Mystic Stormite Focus: 50

Shield Lore: 5

Tactics Lore: 5

Constitution: 5

Bargaining: 1

 

Combat Arts that Matter

Magic Coup: Level 41, 33 Runes

Crystal Skin: Level 37, 35 Runes

Shadow Step: Level 41, 29 Runes

 

Practical Damage

Via Magic Coup with Crystal Skin Synergy

3,500 damage per swing, 1 swing per second

Via Shadow Step Area of Effect Explosion + 5 second Stun

1,500 damage to all targets in range

[Jrmoore2 0]

Ah, Melee HEs Are Greatly Overpwoered, But Only If You Make Them Right, Which you Did!

 

I Am Using Niolvaes Mystery,(Or Whatever That Staff is), Even Though I Dont Really Use Any Spells, Its A powerful One Handed Weapon!

 

-Jamie.

[the1youh8 0]

Ah, Melee HEs Are Greatly Overpwoered, But Only If You Make Them Right, Which you Did!

 

I Am Using Niolvaes Mystery,(Or Whatever That Staff is), Even Though I Dont Really Use Any Spells, Its A powerful One Handed Weapon!

 

-Jamie.

 

I dont want to sound mean but why do you make it seem as if your an expert on the matter. When looking at your characters you seem to me as any other beginner. You also joined this forum in June 2009 and speak like a veteran. Seems odd. 400+ posts in 1 month seems kinda of obsesive too.

 

no harm intended just observational comments

[Erling 3]

haha, thats alot of info you put there some stuff might be a little over the top ^__^ like how much money and so on.

 

one thing I notice is that you should put more defensive points in.

Armor Lore: 10

Shield Lore: 5

Constitution: 5

 

 

and maybe more into tactics would be a good idea?

Tactics Lore: 5

and maybe take trading at a earlier level and put in one point each level to keep it useful

Bargaining: 1

 

 

btw I know epox made a powerfull melee build, you might want to look into it. http://darkmatters.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=9458

 

Is this the ultimate build? Or do plenty of people find thigns this easy, at so low a level (I'm only 70!)? Will it get substantially harder past Gold? Or will my level gains between now and then keep things at more or less this difficulty forever? It sounds silly, but I'm finding the game is losing it's appeal, becauser I steamroll over everything...

well, on PC anyway HC at around level 70

Armor: 2751

and

Hit Points: 6390

sounds a little dangerus in a dangerus region with many on the server

 

edit: ..oh, right there isnt a raised difficulty with many people on the server on ps3 maybe?

Edited July 3, 2009 by Erling

[the1youh8 0]

mobs are tougher, give more xp when more than 1 in server

 

but our defence and hitpoints also go up

[Zinsho 0]

Tactics Lore doesn't affect Magic Coup, so unless you're using Left-Click attacks on your HE (if on PC that is), there's no need to boost it.

[Purdymouth 0]

haha, thats alot of info you put there some stuff might be a little over the top ^__^ like how much money and so on.

Fair enough - though in my defense, I just found other STAT posts from various threads, and used one as a template to post my own data - I didn't put a lot of thought into it.

 

one thing I notice is that you should put more defensive points in.

and maybe more into tactics would be a good idea?

Aboslutely true - however, I posted my points as they stand CURRENTLY. there's only so much to go around per level! I plan to put Delphic Arcania Lore and Focus both to 200, and every other skill to 75. But it takes time.

 

and maybe take trading at a earlier level and put in one point each level to keep it useful

I see why you'd suggest this, but to be clear, bargaining is just a junk stat for me. It doesn't directly benefit the build in any way, so I take it cause I have a free tenth skill slot. I boost it with all 6 relics of +7 Bargaining, and leave it at that. Just a small little perk for the character that has no real impact or bearing.

 

btw I know epox made a powerfull melee build, you might want to look into it.

I have seen his contributions, thank you. It was very helpful in both inspiring me, and answering some questions!

 

Armor: 2751 and Hit Points: 6390 sounds a little dangerus in a dangerus region with many on the server

edit: ..oh, right there isnt a raised difficulty with many people on the server on ps3 maybe?

Yeah, I play on Xbox 360, with friends. No PvP at all, as yet. Only Co-op. There is no such thing as HC mode on 360. So all my experiences relate to PvE exclusively.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, btw.

 

 

 

 

mobs are tougher, give more xp when more than 1 in server

but our defence and hitpoints also go up

Do you know if this is true on console as well? Because we don't have servers, per say, just hosts and clients. And everytime I've played with friends, either as host or client, I've seen the mobs scaling up, yes, but I haven't noticed any scaling up of the players to compensate. My Hit Point total, for example, doesn't change.

I'm refering in this case to Xbox 360, btw.

 

 

 

 

Tactics Lore doesn't affect Magic Coup, so unless you're using Left-Click attacks on your HE (if on PC that is), there's no need to boost it.

Are you aboslutely sure about this? Because I tried hard to find reliable information about exactly what does and doesn't boost Magic Coup. My understanding is that Arcane Magic doesn't, Speed Lore does, Damage Lore does (for triggering DoTs). Tactics Lore I couldn't find reliable data. So I tried it just with 5 points, and I swear I saw an instant improvement! IF you're telling me I'm wrong I'd be grateful for any data you could back it up with.

 

 

 

 

First of all, thanks to those people who took the time and effort to reply. That being said, I think the point of the thread may have been lost. It's probably my own fault, since people were stunned by the wall-of-text I critted them with.

 

The build listed above, as of half-way through gold, works amazingly well. Too well, in fact. I don't much need critiques to improve it, though I am grateful to those who offer them. Really, I'm looking to find out if it's worth playing on, or if I'm going to continue to be bored through all the difficulty levels as a result of being able to walk over everything without breaking a sweat? If I know it's never gonna get much more challenging, I'd sooner start a new character.

Edited July 3, 2009 by Purdymouth

[the1youh8 0]

im on the PS3 and when I mentioned the mobs scaling up to the number of players in games. check you're hitpoints in solo than join a public game with many ppl.... u will see, check also you're attack and defence.... should be affected also

[LordRaviel 0]

I also started a Melee High Elf recently, mine is a little different but is still killing everything without difficulty I am currently just finishing the desert on gold at level 50 and haven't died yet.

 

The main differences are these:

 

1) I chose Arrant Pyromancer Focus and use Incandescent Skin as a second buff modded for Block Ranged and Reflect Melee this should become very effective later on. I also occasionally use Incendiary Shower to Stun bosses and kill them before they recover.

 

2) I chose Sword Weapons over Magic Staffs, they generally have Higher Damage making Magic Coup stronger.

 

3) Although I never tested it myself I read many times that Tactics Lore does not affect Magic Coup so I chose Combat Discipline which definitely does.

 

4) I modded Magic Coup for Damage and Life Leech and have not had any problems with accuracy.

 

5) I had some spare runes so I have 570 Grand Invigoration used which means at 50 I have about 700/s HP regen

 

 

One other thing to note, My Dual Wield Seraphim was reaching the end of Platinum at your level. You may wish to progress to Platinum and Niob and then see how well it holds up.

Edited July 4, 2009 by LordRaviel

[Purdymouth 0]

1) I chose Arrant Pyromancer Focus and use Incandescent Skin as a second buff modded for Block Ranged and Reflect Melee this should become very effective later on. I also occasionally use Incendiary Shower to Stun bosses and kill them before they recover.

This is an interesting choice. Overall, I see it as more defensive, so you might get more survivability in the long run - particularly the way you have modded it. I went with Crystal Skin modded to reduce oppenen's ice recistance, and increase my ice damage. As such, it's far more offensive, increasing my damage output. I *think* this damage would outweigh the fire damage that Incandescent skin puts out inately.

 

2) I chose Sword Weapons over Magic Staffs, they generally have Higher Damage making Magic Coup stronger.

Swords definitely do more damage - and there seem to be more interesting varieties of swords to choose from, especially compared to one-handed staffs. However, High Elves are not known for their strength, and staffs are improved through intelligentce instead, which we have plenty of. Intelligense also inherently imrpoves Magic Coup, so I think there's more synergy there. Not sure which would win out if stacked against each other.

 

3) Although I never tested it myself I read many times that Tactics Lore does not affect Magic Coup so I chose Combat Discipline which definitely does.

Yeah I'm annoyed about this one. I *might* have a useless skill on my hands, which is extremely disappointing. I'm still looking for proof/confirmation on this. As for Combat Discipline, I thought that only provided bonuses to combos? Magic Coup doesn't really work in combination with other arts, so I'm not sure how you're getting a benefit here.

 

4) I modded Magic Coup for Damage and Life Leech and have not had any problems with accuracy.

Modding for dmaage over accuracy definitely has some advantages - if you're not missing at all, then more power to you! However, I find the life leech redundtant with the regen you get from Grand Invigoration. And going with steal mana means you can afford to pump a lot more levels/runes into Magic Coup, because you can afford for the regen time to get as high as 5 seconds, since it still zeros out when you land a hit and steal mana. In other words, more damage.

 

5) I had some spare runes so I have 570 Grand Invigoration used which means at 50 I have about 700/s HP regen

This number is confusing me. Aren't you taking *massive* penalties for raising your Grand Invigoration higher than your Delphic Arcania focus level cap? I keep mine right at the cap... At level 70 with some gear bonuses, my cap was level 50, and I had Grand Invigoration right at 50. which gave just under 400/s regen.

 

One other thing to note, My Dual Wield Seraphim was reaching the end of Platinum at your level. You may wish to progress to Platinum and Niob and then see how well it holds up.

Until I read your message, I was *convinced* that the multiplayer level restrictions for the difficulty levels applied to single player as well! I've been grinding like mad through each difficulty in order to meet the minimum level restriction to enter each new difficulty. I feel like an idiot now (I didn't start Gold till I hit level 60).

[LordRaviel 0]

Yeah I'm annoyed about this one. I *might* have a useless skill on my hands, which is extremely disappointing. I'm still looking for proof/confirmation on this. As for Combat Discipline, I thought that only provided bonuses to combos? Magic Coup doesn't really work in combination with other arts, so I'm not sure how you're getting a benefit here.

The damage bonus from Combat Discipline applies to all Combat Arts even if they are not in a combo. The regeneration time reduction requires the Combat Art to be in a combo however you can put a single combat art into a combo and gain the reduction.

 

This number is confusing me. Aren't you taking *massive* penalties for raising your Grand Invigoration higher than your Delphic Arcania focus level cap? I keep mine right at the cap... At level 70 with some gear bonuses, my cap was level 50, and I had Grand Invigoration right at 50. which gave just under 400/s regen.

The best thing about Grand Invigoration is that these is no regeneration penalty (The only buff that doesn't have one) so the only disadvantage of using so many runes is the fact that they only give partial levels. With other buffs using so many runes would give partial levels but full regeneration penalties making it a bad idea. With 570 runes at level 50 My Grand Invigoration has reached 76.5 and the current maximum level without penalty with my all skills equipment is 47.

 

 

Until I read your message, I was *convinced* that the multiplayer level restrictions for the difficulty levels applied to single player as well! I've been grinding like mad through each difficulty in order to meet the minimum level restriction to enter each new difficulty. I feel like an idiot now (I didn't start Gold till I hit level 60).

You need to complete the Campaign on the previous difficulty but once that is done you can move on at any point.

Edited July 4, 2009 by LordRaviel