Caster Seraphim still looks viable :)

[Dobri 55]

Well, preliminary analysis shows that a caster seraphim still looks like a viable build. Regretfully, if one wishes to try one, he/she must conform to some of the restrictions imposed by Ice and Blood.

 

First of all, it's the deathblow problem. In Ice and Blood, a caster Seraphim has only 1 skill that utilizes the deathblow%, and that's Archangel's wrath (which is still affected by weapon damage and as such, is still considered weapon-based attack), which means the player will be hard pressed to select Revered Tech as his/her main aspect, backed up by Celestial. Although a Celestial build looks somewhat viable too, the lack of decent deathblow and the nerfed +All Skills and +Combat Art will surely result in a slower killing speed in Platinum and Niobium.

 

Then, it's the global nerf. Now we can utilize way less Combat Art levels, lower +All Skills and +Combat Art's, which seriously impacts any caster char - particularly the Seraphim, because she needs to strike a good balance between survivability and damage, as she is nothing like the High elf, who usually counts on buffs and sheer damage as a shield.

 

Main Combat Art's should be: Archangel's Wrath, Flaring Nova, Radiant pillar and maybe Divine Protection for added defense. Baneful smite is good, but without deathblow it's a slow killer.

 

However, I think there's still some light in the tunnel. I'm working on this build in the meantime:

 

level 2 - Revered Tech Lore

level 3 - Armor Lore (while waiting for points to open up the focus)

level 5 - Revered Tech Focus

level 8 - Celestial Magic Lore

level 12 - Celestial Magic Focus

level 18 - Combat Discipline

level 25 - Constitution

level 35 - Toughness

level 50 - Ancient Magic

level 65 - Shield lore

 

It's close to soldats' 1-buff build, but it's much more revered lore oriented. Masteries can be taken in this order:

Revered focus (since we'll still use +Combat Art amulets, focus is necessary to keep low regen)

Celestial Focus (same reason)

Constitution (survivability in the first 100 levels or so)

Armor Lore (damage mitigation for the win)

-> this is achievable by level 80 or so, and by this time the character is relatively safe and can still hunt without a mastery in the lores without sacrificing too much damage.

 

and then we'll see. In any case by niobium, masteries in toughness, shield lore and revered lore are needed, and maybe almost done with Celestial lore. Toughness and Shield lore will provide great Damage mitigation and good reflection, while Revered lore will boost AW well. The thing is, there is no bad skill in this build and they all must be mastered sooner or later... In any case, it will be a fun playthrough.

Edited March 15, 2010 by Dobri

[locolagarto 15]

I like to see your guides and posts coming back alive and kicking'! One thing to consider is RPH, which is new for the PC world with Ice and Blood. and I will double check but I believe AW is affective with RPH. Which mean much higher Combat Art levels than before. Sadly, RPH makes the BFG build act like Internet lag has attacked your toon. But your BFG is still viable as well although maybe a little nerfed. ( is still manage +87 allskills).

[chattius 2,526]

AddOn

8 pieces of Celestial set to get x% life leech, archangel wrath will use it and RPH, ...

 

AW used in closed combat with double shots and explosions is nice. I prefer close combat because so I get a high possibility that both shots hit. Single shot is way more NORMAL damage, but double shots is double x% life leech and there is a high chance that the first hit brought the target already in deathblow health so that double shots actually may do more damage.

 

On another topic:

Currently I am trying out staff lore with attack series. It seems that the staff is considered a close weapon and the seraphim runs to nearest enemy and bashes, but once the near enemies are dead the seraphim will do undelayed hits with the rest of the attack series on targets in shooting range of the staff.

Edited March 15, 2010 by chattius

[Dobri 55]

So this is the staff thing everyone's talking about! I am interested in trying it someday, but that looks like something that will be fixed sooner or later, but even so, it might be fun to try. I just need to come up with a decent build to incorporate that in it.

 

BTW, what is RPH? I'm not exactly privy to the newest Ice and Blood additions and terminology, although I'm slowly coming to terms with the all the new additions

[Barristan 14]

Heya,

 

RpH = Regen per Hit. Found mainly on rings and pieces of gear. Regen per hit cuts said number of total Combat Art regeneration time per actual hit. Multi-Hit Combat Art's are therefore now way more powerful. A level 200 Soul Hammer Pelting Strikes combo is instantly regenerated with a little RpH.

 

Greetz

[Dobri 55]

Thanks mate, I got it. Much appreciated.

[chattius 2,526]

I think RpH was discussed here

Reg Per Hit discussion thread