Vallin
12-13-2010, 09:02 AM
This will be a lengthy post and intended only for those interested in some analysis on this much-debated build and my recent experiences.
The Build:
I am not putting the character planner together because I think there is small room for deviation and I honestly don't know what is best as I have not completely looked at all options. This thrower is 12 fighter 8 rogue. The purpose of the 12 fighter levels is to get Kensai II and the 8 rogue levels are for as much sneak attack increase as possible. This halfling thrower is dex based, but strength, con, int, and cha can not be dumped. I received a lot of in game opinion to go strength based/brutal throw oriented but this build is more about maxxing dex.
Strength can not be dumped.
Intelligence can not be dumped because this character also functions as a serviceable rogue.
Con can not be dumped for obvious reasons.
Charisma can not be dumped because you will need enough to functionally use blur wands and heal scrolls as you level.
Feats that I found to be important are thrown weapon specialization, quickdraw, improved precise shot, toughness, two weapon fighting, and UMD skill.
Level progression is a tough call. Having Kensai early has its allure, but the character functions better as a rogue so it is tough not to get all the rogue levels out of the way.
________________________
Performance while leveling: This was a painful build to level and I did so almost entirely within guild. There were some levels (especially low levels) where this build was simply not contributing as compared to all his half orc barbarian compatriots that were leveling at the same time. Having good weapons is critical and can not be underestimated in importance. As soon as a plain +1 holy throwing weapon can be achieved that begins to make a huge difference. If you can ever find a rr: weapon like this it would be even more helpful.
This build REQUIRES that someone else gets primary aggro. This character is the largest aggro magnet I have ever played, and I have capped an arcane archer. You need to have A LOT of experience in knowing how to manage and control aggro if you want to play this kind of character. Even after investing some enhancement points in subtle backstab this character generates aggro like mad. It became a running guild joke, because mobs would literally bypass the raged barbs to find the irritating little halfling with the throwing axe. You need to avoid aggro at all costs because you need sneak attack to max your dps contribution.
Alternately, if you have a quest that requires kiting, this is the perfect build. Again, you have to understand when to turn off improved precise shot and how to use greater range to eliminate the extra sneak attack at times to make sure you aren't pulling aggro from the group. This is also why you MUST NOT dump con, because mobs WILL try to find you and WILL try to kill you. If you don't want the group to hate you, you have to be prepared to turtle up and take some pain.
Improved precise shot and ranged vorpal axes were a big boost to performance and were critical in terms of improving the character's party contribution. Again, knowledge of ranged play is critical. Character positioning to line up mobs, to control amount of dps output, and mitigation of aggro generation will all be required. If you play this character well, no one will ever know where you are in the environment, but things will be dying all around them and they won't have the kills!
As with all ranged characters, you need to know when to put away the throwing axe and when to melee. This character (using fighter haste boost) will be a vorpaling machine for trash mobs. As would be expected of any twf melee, this character performs well in these situations. In VoD she ruled the trash kill count and disabled the traps with no difficulties.
However, I have found this character to be largely useless against constructs (smiting is a horrible strategy with a thrower). Dual wielding greater construct bane weps is the only viable contribution for Shroud portals, etc. The only time I found range to be helpful against constructs was in Von 3 where an anarchic throwing axe of greater construct bane can be used to take down the marut while other party members control and limit the mob's movement.
____________________________
UMD:
I just want to mention that you NEED THIS. In my opinion, any toon with this many rogue levels has to use heal scrolls and having overall party utility helps to improve party contribution when you don't have a primary dps build.
___________________________
Hatred:
You will generate a lot of player hate for even showing up in a quest with this build. In fairness, I understand this to a certain degree and that is precisely why I mostly leveled this character within the guild. In the aforementioned VoD run the group was very kind when at the end I said "I will now admit to everyone that this is a halfling thrower build!" It got a lot of laughs and people saw the contribution in the stat sheet.
However, this is not the kind of character that you should be joining speed shroud runs with, because it is not a max dps machine - plain and simply put. I also have some reservations about ToD because of my experience with ranged aggro when that quest first came out. I haven't ranged with any character in that quest since the first wipe when it was first released! However, I am fairly certain that this character could kite the shadows with no problem.
In a recent Shroud run this character did its usual twf portal beating with melee, vorping efficiency on trash in parts 2 and 3, went unnoticed in part 4 - but was called out for ranging in part 5. The hatred was intense, even though I linked a Lightning Two throwing axe that was obviously working and the kill count demonstrated that there was obvious trash mob contribution. The visceral hatred was more than I have ever received before - and I have been playing this game for 4 years and have capped every class.
For the hatred alone I am not sure that I will be taking this toon outside of guild runs ever again. That makes me sad, because this was all a large and fun experiment and it was a tremendous challenge to find ways to make this build contribute in a meaningful way.
Anyway, that is my Halfling Thrower report from the field.
Out.
Tousle
(Vallin)
The Build:
I am not putting the character planner together because I think there is small room for deviation and I honestly don't know what is best as I have not completely looked at all options. This thrower is 12 fighter 8 rogue. The purpose of the 12 fighter levels is to get Kensai II and the 8 rogue levels are for as much sneak attack increase as possible. This halfling thrower is dex based, but strength, con, int, and cha can not be dumped. I received a lot of in game opinion to go strength based/brutal throw oriented but this build is more about maxxing dex.
Strength can not be dumped.
Intelligence can not be dumped because this character also functions as a serviceable rogue.
Con can not be dumped for obvious reasons.
Charisma can not be dumped because you will need enough to functionally use blur wands and heal scrolls as you level.
Feats that I found to be important are thrown weapon specialization, quickdraw, improved precise shot, toughness, two weapon fighting, and UMD skill.
Level progression is a tough call. Having Kensai early has its allure, but the character functions better as a rogue so it is tough not to get all the rogue levels out of the way.
________________________
Performance while leveling: This was a painful build to level and I did so almost entirely within guild. There were some levels (especially low levels) where this build was simply not contributing as compared to all his half orc barbarian compatriots that were leveling at the same time. Having good weapons is critical and can not be underestimated in importance. As soon as a plain +1 holy throwing weapon can be achieved that begins to make a huge difference. If you can ever find a rr: weapon like this it would be even more helpful.
This build REQUIRES that someone else gets primary aggro. This character is the largest aggro magnet I have ever played, and I have capped an arcane archer. You need to have A LOT of experience in knowing how to manage and control aggro if you want to play this kind of character. Even after investing some enhancement points in subtle backstab this character generates aggro like mad. It became a running guild joke, because mobs would literally bypass the raged barbs to find the irritating little halfling with the throwing axe. You need to avoid aggro at all costs because you need sneak attack to max your dps contribution.
Alternately, if you have a quest that requires kiting, this is the perfect build. Again, you have to understand when to turn off improved precise shot and how to use greater range to eliminate the extra sneak attack at times to make sure you aren't pulling aggro from the group. This is also why you MUST NOT dump con, because mobs WILL try to find you and WILL try to kill you. If you don't want the group to hate you, you have to be prepared to turtle up and take some pain.
Improved precise shot and ranged vorpal axes were a big boost to performance and were critical in terms of improving the character's party contribution. Again, knowledge of ranged play is critical. Character positioning to line up mobs, to control amount of dps output, and mitigation of aggro generation will all be required. If you play this character well, no one will ever know where you are in the environment, but things will be dying all around them and they won't have the kills!
As with all ranged characters, you need to know when to put away the throwing axe and when to melee. This character (using fighter haste boost) will be a vorpaling machine for trash mobs. As would be expected of any twf melee, this character performs well in these situations. In VoD she ruled the trash kill count and disabled the traps with no difficulties.
However, I have found this character to be largely useless against constructs (smiting is a horrible strategy with a thrower). Dual wielding greater construct bane weps is the only viable contribution for Shroud portals, etc. The only time I found range to be helpful against constructs was in Von 3 where an anarchic throwing axe of greater construct bane can be used to take down the marut while other party members control and limit the mob's movement.
____________________________
UMD:
I just want to mention that you NEED THIS. In my opinion, any toon with this many rogue levels has to use heal scrolls and having overall party utility helps to improve party contribution when you don't have a primary dps build.
___________________________
Hatred:
You will generate a lot of player hate for even showing up in a quest with this build. In fairness, I understand this to a certain degree and that is precisely why I mostly leveled this character within the guild. In the aforementioned VoD run the group was very kind when at the end I said "I will now admit to everyone that this is a halfling thrower build!" It got a lot of laughs and people saw the contribution in the stat sheet.
However, this is not the kind of character that you should be joining speed shroud runs with, because it is not a max dps machine - plain and simply put. I also have some reservations about ToD because of my experience with ranged aggro when that quest first came out. I haven't ranged with any character in that quest since the first wipe when it was first released! However, I am fairly certain that this character could kite the shadows with no problem.
In a recent Shroud run this character did its usual twf portal beating with melee, vorping efficiency on trash in parts 2 and 3, went unnoticed in part 4 - but was called out for ranging in part 5. The hatred was intense, even though I linked a Lightning Two throwing axe that was obviously working and the kill count demonstrated that there was obvious trash mob contribution. The visceral hatred was more than I have ever received before - and I have been playing this game for 4 years and have capped every class.
For the hatred alone I am not sure that I will be taking this toon outside of guild runs ever again. That makes me sad, because this was all a large and fun experiment and it was a tremendous challenge to find ways to make this build contribute in a meaningful way.
Anyway, that is my Halfling Thrower report from the field.
Out.
Tousle
(Vallin)