Deathdefy
08-10-2012, 10:25 PM
I'm finally coming up on Aggrim's final life. I will be parking him at level 11 until Druid is released, then ploughing through the last 9 Druid levels to TR immediately upon hitting 20.
Warning: this post is long.
My final build will be an Artificer as it has:
-Respectable ranged damage (Repeater + Rune Arm)
-Pet (With consequent excuse to get Augment Summoning)
-Fun spells
-Party buffs
-Scroll use (Yay Enervation scrolls)
-Wand use (Yay Phantasmal Killer wands)
-Pimp capstone, amongst other things, means constant Divine Power and Divine Favor is possible given my propensity to forget renewals (Hence no splashing).
Incidentally, I like that artis can get traps and single-target scroll heal main tanks in some raids – and I'll spec into those things fully – they're just not drawcards of the class for me.
The build's goal is to be able to do Epic Elite in groups. I'll also try soloing them, but I'm pessimistic about it since soloing epics isn't my cup of tea.
The build:
H-Elf, all +3 Tomes:
STR 8
DEX 16 (+2 Level-Ups: 20,24) (+3 Tome) = 21 for Combat Archery at level 24, also has 19 for IPS by level 15
CON 16
INT 18 (+4 Level-Ups: 4,8,12,16)
WIS 8
CHA 8
Feats:
Past lives:
3 x Fighter, Monk, Ranger, Barb, Sorcerer.
2 x Artificer,
1 x Rest.
NB. Arti gets Rapid Reload and X-Bow Proficiencies for free. [] denote Artificer bonus feats.
1 – Toughness, Rogue Dilettante
2
3 – Completionist
4 – [Point Blank Shot]
5
6 – Precision
7
8 – [Precise Shot]
9 – Past Life: Wizard
10
11
12 – Spell Focus Evocation, [IC: Ranged]
13
14
15 – Improved Precise Shot
16 – [Augment Summoning]
17
18 – Greater Spell Focus: Evocation
19
20 – [Maximize]
21 – Epic Spell Focus: Evocation
22
23
24 – Combat Archery
25
Note the absence of: Rapid Shot, Insightful Reflexes, Empower Spell.
Enhancements:
7/1/1 Force,
7/1/1 Lightning,
3 Arti Int,
1 H-Elf Int,
1 Rogue Dil Dex,
Improved Sneak Attack from Rogue Dilettante x 2,
Battle Engineer + Pre-reqs,
Wand/Scroll Mastery IV,
Max Rune Arm Use + Overcharge,
Toughnesses,
Capstone.
End of list – if I can even manage all of that. Bonus points into Wand DC increase.
If I can't get all of that, Arti Int 3 will go if I can avoid dropping a DC without too much gear change hassle, if not I'll lose Rune Arm Overcharge II and be sad.
There's an enhancement change coming in any event, so I'm infinitely more concerned about race, stats and feats.
Gear:
No idea. Spider-Silk Robes for +8 Int. Maybe Planar Focus for +3 Insightful Int. Beyond that, I have both Toven's and Lucid Dreams and a sizeable arsenal of repeaters.
Epic Destiny:
Final Epic Destiny unknown at this point. I'll be giving all of Magister, Draconic Initiate, Shadowdancer and Shiradi a serious burl, and fully intend to take all destinies to at least level 5 for fate points regardless.
Some figures:
HP will be fine given 3 Barb PLs, Completionist and 16 Base assuming I gear reasonably, which I intend to. I'm not enormously worried save about Epic Elite raids, having seen Shade's LoB post mentioning dps deaths. I'll see I guess. There's not much more I can do in the HP department that isn't a radical build change.
I think my Dex ends up as:
16 (Base) + 3 (Tome) + 2 (Level-Ups) + 2 (Ship...) + 1 (Exceptional) + 7 (Item) + 1 (Rogue Dil Enhancement) + 2(Completionist) = 34
My Dex may end up being only 32 if I feel like copping out even more on Dex items - or as high as 37/8 if I'm really struggling with to-hit in the hardest content and need to gear out. Just trying to hash out ballpark figures.
I think my Int ends up as:
18 (Base) + 3 (Tome) + 4 (Level-Ups) + 2 (Ship...) + 1 (Exceptional) + 3 (Insight) + 1 (H-Elf Adapt) + 3 (Class) + 8 (Item) + 2 (Completionist) = 45
I know it's odd – that might mean freeing up the trinket slot from the Planar Focus and using a ToD ring for just +2 Insight instead... or something. I'm happy to play with this given I'm not set on final gearing beyond Spider-Silk Robes, just trying to get a reasonably accurate number... though I concede including ship-buffs is probably shamelessly optimistic.
I think my Rune arm DC ends up as:
10 (Base) + 5 (Charge) + 1 (Bonus for Max Tier) + 17 (Int 45) + 1 (PL: Wizard) + 3 (Sorc PLs) + 3 (SF: Evocation feats) + 2 (Draconic Evocation DCs Thing. Will always at least twist it.) = 42
Standard Artificer Playstyle of:
-Rad II Crossbow unless yelled at by party, then Lit II or an epic.
-Toven's with Lightning Motes on non-evasive trash.
-Lucid Dreams on evasive trash and red / purple nameds.
-Crossbow with enervation and other debuffs + Scroll enervation + Wand of Phantasmal Killer where viable on orange nameds.
-Non-max-emp Tactical Detonation for knockdowns if things are looking crazy.
-BB kiting if everything has already gone to hell or it makes sense in that particular situation.
-Spot heals where appropriate via infusion or scroll.
-Hand out Deadly Weapons to everyone without asking since people will lie through omission regarding their inability to break DR without assistance.
-Put pet on aggressive and tell it to 'defend' (aka follow at extremely close range) the most irritable party member with voice.
-Ooze II crossbow on tedious bosses like Reaver for my own amusement
Justifications:
I wanted to ensure I could use every facet of artificer well, since its diversity is a large part of what appeals to me about the class.
DCs:
Spell and Rune Arm DC should be great - for an artificer - with an effective +4 on top of what is usually achievable from the 3 Sorc PLs, Completionist and Active Wizard Past Life minus 1 for the 2 level-up points into Dex instead of Int. Hopefully Blade Barrier and Tac Det DCs get regular failed saves against non-reflexy mobs. I'll see though. I think level 6 spells work out to be = Rune Arm DC + 2 from evoc item = 44, which sounds just 'okay' to me.
Empower Spell is so U13. No one's defended it for a while save re: SLAs and DoTs, of which, I have neither.
Crossbow:
Crossbow damage should be top notch for crossbow damage. A bonus 9 from PLs, 10.5 SA from Rogue Dilettate, and varying amounts between 5.5ish and 8ish per hit depending on the crossbow from Combat Archery should mean the bolts hurt enough to matter. I struggled here with taking Combat Archery and the consequent necessity to put 2 level-up stat points into dex not int, but my desire to keep the raw crossbow damage portion as solid as possible won out.
On crossbow damage, to me, Rapid Shot never seemed to do anything even with Divine Power active at level 20. On the forums, I've read it's 3% damage with a heavy repeater, and I can believe that since 3% is so marginal it isn't something I would naturally perceive. However, that's sufficiently small that I feel every other feat I've taken, and several I haven't, justify a feat place ahead of it.
Pet:
The dog was useful pre-expansion if you took Augment Summoning - able to tank Judge part 1 elite ToD if I babysat the heck out of him. Having a tank-in-a-pinch is a huge boon to me, especially one I can call “HelpHeDoesntFeedMe” for Marketplace lols. However, with the changes to AC, exponential difficulty of Epic Elite relative to old epic, and PRR issues, I'm unsure the dog will be as useful.
That said, given I enjoy the dog aspect of artificer, I'm going to do everything I can to see if I can make him work out in some capacity greater than lever-puller extraordinaire. I have some +3 Nightmare handwraps of Radiance I intend to give him that hopefully will increase his survivability since he'll be doing negligible damage (and thus threat) save insta-kills, and blinding will mean he gains 50% misses.
Insightful Reflexes:
Insightful Reflexes is something I'd like to have squeezed in, and would be my next feat in line had I the space. Going human and dropping the 3d6 SA from H-Elf Rogue Dilettante with the side benefit of freeing up some enhancement points is an option I considered. That said, 34 dex vs 45 int is only a difference of +5 to the save, which isn't that massive.
On this, I know the forums scoff at the "I'm ranged so I don't need HP or saves since I'll dodge the spells" ethos, but ranged characters played conscientiously can avoid large portions of incoming damage while still dps-ing at near full capacity. I don't post in the threads on this because usually the poster is taking their build to Con dump levels they need talking out of. But:
There's something to be said for a ranged character's capacity to detect and dodge a cometfall/meteor swarm/flamestrike/disintegrate in the heat of combat, while maintaining dps, relative to a melee's ability to do the same.
Having said that, I care about HP and am worried about my saves since I believe unavoidable damage happens to the best of us. I'm unconvinced though, that Insightful Reflexes' +5 reflex save gain is important enough to drop a DC feat or Augment Summoning for.
Conclusion:
Any thoughts/feedback are welcome, though I'm particularly interested in thoughts on the non-changeable sans lesser heart stuff like base stats, level-ups, feats and race choice.
EDIT: Leaving the above, but having had a good look now, I think my Epic Destiny plan will be:
Shiradi as main
Tier 3 Twist (Magister) = Evocation Augmentation: Evocation spells have 15% chance of reducing Reflex saves by 10 for 30 seconds. (The big caveat here is seeing if this works on rune arm blasts from Toven's or not) Else, maybe Grim Precision (Tier 3) from Shadowdancer.
Tier 2 Twist (Magister) = Evocation DCs +3
Tier 2 Twist (Draconic) = Evocation DCs +2
So end DCs will still only be 45 (Rune Arm) - 47 (BB / Tac Det). Incidentally, a 3 2 2 Twist split requires max destinies and a Tome of Fate +2. Fun times ahead!
Warning: this post is long.
My final build will be an Artificer as it has:
-Respectable ranged damage (Repeater + Rune Arm)
-Pet (With consequent excuse to get Augment Summoning)
-Fun spells
-Party buffs
-Scroll use (Yay Enervation scrolls)
-Wand use (Yay Phantasmal Killer wands)
-Pimp capstone, amongst other things, means constant Divine Power and Divine Favor is possible given my propensity to forget renewals (Hence no splashing).
Incidentally, I like that artis can get traps and single-target scroll heal main tanks in some raids – and I'll spec into those things fully – they're just not drawcards of the class for me.
The build's goal is to be able to do Epic Elite in groups. I'll also try soloing them, but I'm pessimistic about it since soloing epics isn't my cup of tea.
The build:
H-Elf, all +3 Tomes:
STR 8
DEX 16 (+2 Level-Ups: 20,24) (+3 Tome) = 21 for Combat Archery at level 24, also has 19 for IPS by level 15
CON 16
INT 18 (+4 Level-Ups: 4,8,12,16)
WIS 8
CHA 8
Feats:
Past lives:
3 x Fighter, Monk, Ranger, Barb, Sorcerer.
2 x Artificer,
1 x Rest.
NB. Arti gets Rapid Reload and X-Bow Proficiencies for free. [] denote Artificer bonus feats.
1 – Toughness, Rogue Dilettante
2
3 – Completionist
4 – [Point Blank Shot]
5
6 – Precision
7
8 – [Precise Shot]
9 – Past Life: Wizard
10
11
12 – Spell Focus Evocation, [IC: Ranged]
13
14
15 – Improved Precise Shot
16 – [Augment Summoning]
17
18 – Greater Spell Focus: Evocation
19
20 – [Maximize]
21 – Epic Spell Focus: Evocation
22
23
24 – Combat Archery
25
Note the absence of: Rapid Shot, Insightful Reflexes, Empower Spell.
Enhancements:
7/1/1 Force,
7/1/1 Lightning,
3 Arti Int,
1 H-Elf Int,
1 Rogue Dil Dex,
Improved Sneak Attack from Rogue Dilettante x 2,
Battle Engineer + Pre-reqs,
Wand/Scroll Mastery IV,
Max Rune Arm Use + Overcharge,
Toughnesses,
Capstone.
End of list – if I can even manage all of that. Bonus points into Wand DC increase.
If I can't get all of that, Arti Int 3 will go if I can avoid dropping a DC without too much gear change hassle, if not I'll lose Rune Arm Overcharge II and be sad.
There's an enhancement change coming in any event, so I'm infinitely more concerned about race, stats and feats.
Gear:
No idea. Spider-Silk Robes for +8 Int. Maybe Planar Focus for +3 Insightful Int. Beyond that, I have both Toven's and Lucid Dreams and a sizeable arsenal of repeaters.
Epic Destiny:
Final Epic Destiny unknown at this point. I'll be giving all of Magister, Draconic Initiate, Shadowdancer and Shiradi a serious burl, and fully intend to take all destinies to at least level 5 for fate points regardless.
Some figures:
HP will be fine given 3 Barb PLs, Completionist and 16 Base assuming I gear reasonably, which I intend to. I'm not enormously worried save about Epic Elite raids, having seen Shade's LoB post mentioning dps deaths. I'll see I guess. There's not much more I can do in the HP department that isn't a radical build change.
I think my Dex ends up as:
16 (Base) + 3 (Tome) + 2 (Level-Ups) + 2 (Ship...) + 1 (Exceptional) + 7 (Item) + 1 (Rogue Dil Enhancement) + 2(Completionist) = 34
My Dex may end up being only 32 if I feel like copping out even more on Dex items - or as high as 37/8 if I'm really struggling with to-hit in the hardest content and need to gear out. Just trying to hash out ballpark figures.
I think my Int ends up as:
18 (Base) + 3 (Tome) + 4 (Level-Ups) + 2 (Ship...) + 1 (Exceptional) + 3 (Insight) + 1 (H-Elf Adapt) + 3 (Class) + 8 (Item) + 2 (Completionist) = 45
I know it's odd – that might mean freeing up the trinket slot from the Planar Focus and using a ToD ring for just +2 Insight instead... or something. I'm happy to play with this given I'm not set on final gearing beyond Spider-Silk Robes, just trying to get a reasonably accurate number... though I concede including ship-buffs is probably shamelessly optimistic.
I think my Rune arm DC ends up as:
10 (Base) + 5 (Charge) + 1 (Bonus for Max Tier) + 17 (Int 45) + 1 (PL: Wizard) + 3 (Sorc PLs) + 3 (SF: Evocation feats) + 2 (Draconic Evocation DCs Thing. Will always at least twist it.) = 42
Standard Artificer Playstyle of:
-Rad II Crossbow unless yelled at by party, then Lit II or an epic.
-Toven's with Lightning Motes on non-evasive trash.
-Lucid Dreams on evasive trash and red / purple nameds.
-Crossbow with enervation and other debuffs + Scroll enervation + Wand of Phantasmal Killer where viable on orange nameds.
-Non-max-emp Tactical Detonation for knockdowns if things are looking crazy.
-BB kiting if everything has already gone to hell or it makes sense in that particular situation.
-Spot heals where appropriate via infusion or scroll.
-Hand out Deadly Weapons to everyone without asking since people will lie through omission regarding their inability to break DR without assistance.
-Put pet on aggressive and tell it to 'defend' (aka follow at extremely close range) the most irritable party member with voice.
-Ooze II crossbow on tedious bosses like Reaver for my own amusement
Justifications:
I wanted to ensure I could use every facet of artificer well, since its diversity is a large part of what appeals to me about the class.
DCs:
Spell and Rune Arm DC should be great - for an artificer - with an effective +4 on top of what is usually achievable from the 3 Sorc PLs, Completionist and Active Wizard Past Life minus 1 for the 2 level-up points into Dex instead of Int. Hopefully Blade Barrier and Tac Det DCs get regular failed saves against non-reflexy mobs. I'll see though. I think level 6 spells work out to be = Rune Arm DC + 2 from evoc item = 44, which sounds just 'okay' to me.
Empower Spell is so U13. No one's defended it for a while save re: SLAs and DoTs, of which, I have neither.
Crossbow:
Crossbow damage should be top notch for crossbow damage. A bonus 9 from PLs, 10.5 SA from Rogue Dilettate, and varying amounts between 5.5ish and 8ish per hit depending on the crossbow from Combat Archery should mean the bolts hurt enough to matter. I struggled here with taking Combat Archery and the consequent necessity to put 2 level-up stat points into dex not int, but my desire to keep the raw crossbow damage portion as solid as possible won out.
On crossbow damage, to me, Rapid Shot never seemed to do anything even with Divine Power active at level 20. On the forums, I've read it's 3% damage with a heavy repeater, and I can believe that since 3% is so marginal it isn't something I would naturally perceive. However, that's sufficiently small that I feel every other feat I've taken, and several I haven't, justify a feat place ahead of it.
Pet:
The dog was useful pre-expansion if you took Augment Summoning - able to tank Judge part 1 elite ToD if I babysat the heck out of him. Having a tank-in-a-pinch is a huge boon to me, especially one I can call “HelpHeDoesntFeedMe” for Marketplace lols. However, with the changes to AC, exponential difficulty of Epic Elite relative to old epic, and PRR issues, I'm unsure the dog will be as useful.
That said, given I enjoy the dog aspect of artificer, I'm going to do everything I can to see if I can make him work out in some capacity greater than lever-puller extraordinaire. I have some +3 Nightmare handwraps of Radiance I intend to give him that hopefully will increase his survivability since he'll be doing negligible damage (and thus threat) save insta-kills, and blinding will mean he gains 50% misses.
Insightful Reflexes:
Insightful Reflexes is something I'd like to have squeezed in, and would be my next feat in line had I the space. Going human and dropping the 3d6 SA from H-Elf Rogue Dilettante with the side benefit of freeing up some enhancement points is an option I considered. That said, 34 dex vs 45 int is only a difference of +5 to the save, which isn't that massive.
On this, I know the forums scoff at the "I'm ranged so I don't need HP or saves since I'll dodge the spells" ethos, but ranged characters played conscientiously can avoid large portions of incoming damage while still dps-ing at near full capacity. I don't post in the threads on this because usually the poster is taking their build to Con dump levels they need talking out of. But:
There's something to be said for a ranged character's capacity to detect and dodge a cometfall/meteor swarm/flamestrike/disintegrate in the heat of combat, while maintaining dps, relative to a melee's ability to do the same.
Having said that, I care about HP and am worried about my saves since I believe unavoidable damage happens to the best of us. I'm unconvinced though, that Insightful Reflexes' +5 reflex save gain is important enough to drop a DC feat or Augment Summoning for.
Conclusion:
Any thoughts/feedback are welcome, though I'm particularly interested in thoughts on the non-changeable sans lesser heart stuff like base stats, level-ups, feats and race choice.
EDIT: Leaving the above, but having had a good look now, I think my Epic Destiny plan will be:
Shiradi as main
Tier 3 Twist (Magister) = Evocation Augmentation: Evocation spells have 15% chance of reducing Reflex saves by 10 for 30 seconds. (The big caveat here is seeing if this works on rune arm blasts from Toven's or not) Else, maybe Grim Precision (Tier 3) from Shadowdancer.
Tier 2 Twist (Magister) = Evocation DCs +3
Tier 2 Twist (Draconic) = Evocation DCs +2
So end DCs will still only be 45 (Rune Arm) - 47 (BB / Tac Det). Incidentally, a 3 2 2 Twist split requires max destinies and a Tome of Fate +2. Fun times ahead!