Single aspect characters

[Capt.Smack87 0]

Can tactics lore be picked for a GI only build? If so then its too easy.Anyone think using NN only could be possible?When I get off work I'm going to find out...

 

NN aspect only in the Hard challenge would make for difficult challenge indeed. certainly would be interesting to give it a try. Boss fights are going to be the big hurdle to over come.

I finished the easy challenge last night(ended up at 102),I found bargaining to help out quite well with this challenge.I'm gonna start the hard part later this week,the thing that has me worried is the damage output will a lot lower.Plus side I guess is I already have all the gear I need to get started.

[claudius 104]

Can you say something why most of the easy challenges are done rather than hard? I usually never use combat arts when I don't have an espect lore or focus. I have leveled in niobium but I don't know how hard the campaign is. Is this hardcore mode?

[chattius 2,526]

Easy challenges allow for example the usage of unmodified weapon attacks (still a better hit chance than normal attacks) and using Regeneration per Hit. Several spells were designed in a way that the modifiers raise damage and you could keep the regeneration low by going low combat arts levels. But Reg per Hit allows going high levels and so the low ca-level idea is obsolent at hybrid builds.

 

In easy challenge you can do an Inquisitor which uses a half-circle attack to hit every enemy you bundled with Clustering Mahlstrom. Since the weapon attack is a combat art combat discipline can replace most of tactics lore.

[JKtheWonderguy 3]

Can tactics lore be picked for a GI only build? If so then its too easy.Anyone think using NN only could be possible?When I get off work I'm going to find out...

 

NN aspect only in the Hard challenge would make for difficult challenge indeed. certainly would be interesting to give it a try. Boss fights are going to be the big hurdle to over come.

I finished the easy challenge last night(ended up at 102),I found bargaining to help out quite well with this challenge.I'm gonna start the hard part later this week,the thing that has me worried is the damage output will a lot lower.Plus side I guess is I already have all the gear I need to get started.

 

Cool.

Bargaining is so powerful, sometimes I think it should be it's own aspect.

 

I've started a coupla challenges for myself (including yours), but I think the hardest one is gonna be no bargaining at all. I'm gonna use EP to help, but it'll be ugly I think.

[Ysne58 236]

I'm experimenting with what I call my risk taking Seraphim. First skill is EP, second is concentration, third is Bargaining. It is not possible to go straight through the campaign quickly with this one, have to do lots of quests and exploring in order to have any hope of surviving, even in bronze. I'm trying Silver for the exploring and then Bronze for the campaign just to see if it's possible to get her through without dying. Her CA is pelting strikes, with one handed staff and shield. Buffs are Battle Stance and Cleansing Brilliance. Not quite single aspect, but definitely a challenge.

[super-avianti 1]

After messing around with various ideas, I gave some extra play time to my first real Inquisitor build which was a Ranged GI only build. After all my weird tries it (as well as this thread) convinced me to give another try to a single aspect Inquisitor in "hardcore" mode (ie not Hardcore but without learning any CA from other aspects).

My previous suffered from quiet some design flaws:

*I didn't not take Bargaining

*I spend most of my attribute points into Dex which scale damages, defense but pump attack value slowly.

*As result I took both speed lore and ranged weapon to pump my attack rating.

*I pass on the "resolve" mod for FF which did not help the aforementioned issue either...

*It was really fragile I took Constitution as my last skill and spent no point in vitality... (unwise I died 9 times I'm in gold ~level 70)

*I overall spend my skill points unwisely, I pump to much skill too early instead of being focused

 

*But the mother of the design flaw is linked to ranged per self. They can be great, in place where enemies tend to run away from you or in region that are not densely populated and vs bosses it makes battle a lot safer (I happen to suffer more in some Boss battles with Inquisitor that where better designed, overall more powerful). The real problem with ranged weapon is when you're surrounded your damage output crumbles, at best you hit three critters at a time and damage are lower anyway than with two handed melee weapons.

 

I thought a bit about that, in a first time I considered going the DW route = more damages, more sockets that sounded nice. But I decided that it was not really my play style, I like range build and the safety during Boss battles appeals me (With only one aspect there is not much between your Inquisitor and the fury of some Boss/Elite critters... Distance in those situation is a good start.

Overall I made the following arbitration, I'll pass on weapon lore and pump Speed lore (even if I've to pump some more skills point into it to achieve the same attack value). So I'll be free to switch between range and melee weapons without suffering a penalty to hit chances. I trade attack speed and some skills points for greater flexibility as well as higher defense (nice side effect but not the reason behind my choice).

 

I also changed my skill points distribution I plan to keep vitality, dex and strength even. Extra hit points are the best thing in the world (as well as constitution @ character level ) and strength pump my attack rating higher than Dex and boost my melee damages.

 

So here the build:

Attributes STR=DEX=VIT (more or less, I may module along the way).

Skills:

Bargaining

Tactic Lore

Speed Lore

armor lore

GI Focus

Constitution @character level

SR

CR

Toughness

Combat discipline (I might choose damage lore but I'm not sure it works on console but for PC players)

 

In regard to gear, well the Ilgard set is a good starting point as well as the best GI spider available.

For rings/amulet/sockets I'll see as I level, but expect the usual +x to all skills, +% deathblow, some +%XP, runes.

 

For gameplay:

*While surrounded change to melee weapons

*Depending your level and your luck (in regard to gear)or simply how steep is the leveling curve // whatever the reasons // adjust your play style if critters are not that easy to take down play it safe and avoid engaging in melee.

*Think to activate FF as you need to take your enemies fast. It's easy to forget and sometime everything looks fine till you take a bad critical right on the head...

* Keep plenty of different weapons (with %LL, boost to attack value, various elemental modifier, etc). You can adapt you need to make the most out of it, actually you will need. On console you should have 7 slots available for weapons

*Whenever the topology allows even if like me you favor Shuriken better use energy weapons, range change everything, RM will trigger more shots more often. Enemies will get hit more on their way to reach you.

 

For CAs:

*RM should be your main CA either ranged or melee: deprivation/petrify/frenzy

Deprivation is critical as along with speed lore it allow you to run circle around most critters. Petrify is better than LL and Frenzy grant double which you don't have otherwise (no weapon lore). Regen time should be pretty low so you can go with few regen per hit (best case only Ilgard gloves).

*CE Bleed/startle/judgment

*MP disgrace/proclamation/mortify <= the least important CA to mod

*FF Fanaticism/Resolve/relentless <= critical to boost your attack value swallow as much runes as you can.

CE Purge/Eradicate/Hallow or Irune <= Up to you. I almost always go with Irune but I'm not sure for this build, hallow would have a great synergy with damage lore for PC gamers (and pistols for example come with multiple elemental modifiers) hallow should bump your DOT consistently. Either 10% less damages for every blows you take or +20% on every hit you land, keeping in mind that as mitigation kicks in before other modifiers it saves more vs critical. As I've invest in quiet some defensive skills I'm tempted by hallow especially as my previous ranged build lacked in damage output (it didn't had access to melee weapon but it's still something to keep in mind). So far I'm more attracted to Hallow. I chose Purge as it bumps fire Dot, Dot are good for range player. Too bad PC doesn't offer a poison mod it would have made MP and ED more powerful CAs (and they kind of suck without it), choosing between magic and poison makes more chance for the an Inquisitor than fire/magic anyway... that's for modder

 

I started last Sunday I'm level 12, so far so good (I haven't play since then).

Edited May 17, 2011 by super-avianti

[chattius 2,526]

Dragon Mage - dragon magic - hard challenge

 

The character was speed-played with berzerker-transforms till level 120. To play in berzerker-form I read every rune and socket mainly +allSkills equipment. Started the niobium campaign at level 120 and finished level 132.

 

dragon magic lore 75

armour lore 75

dragon magic focus 75

combat discipline 1

tactic lore 5

damage lore 75

ancient magic 75

toughness 75

constitution 50

speed lore 75

 

+allSkills 138

regeneration per hit 7.1seconds

enemy can not evade 30.3

enemy chance to evade -37.1

 

Hitpoints 26623/42298 with companion

damage mitigation all channels 57.7% equipment, 26.5% toughness, total 84.2%

 

dragon strike 6760 damage, 2 ticks per second - 10065 with companion

 

Even it was planed for boss fights to use x% lifeleech weapons, they weren't used. All damage was pure weapon and spell damage. The character has a lot of real and virtual (damage mitigation) hitpoints, so it was possible to pull a lot of enemies to a place were the dragon could strike. Dragon strikes lower enemy attack values to real small numbers so shield lore wasn't needed.

 

Nameless Guardian had a hit chance of 23% and I had 60%. So with every second hit in average a dragon strike was called.

[JKtheWonderguy 3]

Wow.

 

That is impressive Chat.

I find it interesting you prepared for even more damage but wasn't needed at all.

Gotta vid?

[super-avianti 1]

My gave up on my Inquisitor and ran a DW GI only (hardcore). level 49 I'm 77.8% into the campaign in gold, 2 deaths... One I should have escaped the other against the Scorpion Boss (still there I've not given another try so far). I realize I miss the startle mod for CE against the kind of tough encounter and that Constitution mastery can't come soon enough.

 

I tried a NN only Inquisitor but it fails for many reasons (from gear to specific console problems).

 

I'm considering a Nature Dryad at the moment. But it still unclear how I'll do...

[Legend Aadil 4]

Elementalism for Dragon Mage looks do-able for both easy and hard.

I'm going to!