Crossbow Arti Pastlife Build Questions

[Shaitaan]

Hey.
I am planning to do my first Arti pastlife (up to level 30), which will probably played in elites solo a lot, in the next days and want to do a ranged build.

My idea is to take at least 5 rogue levels for the Tier 5 Mechanic enhancements.

Now im torn in a lot of other points. Is it woth it to take a 3rd class for proccdamage? I was thinking warlock for the scaling 3d6 lightdamage and additional defenses or ranger for 3d8 elemental arrow but without the defenses of warlock.
Any recommendations which would fare better? Would you advise repeaters for better procdamage or great xbow for better synergy with the mechanic enhancements?

The next thing is the race. Warforged would have the advantage of being able to repair itself through the artificer spells, human would get an extra feat and easier epic healing options through twisted cocoon.



So would a human 10 Arti/6 Rogue/4 Warlock with great xbow be good enough to solo on elite to 20, or is there something which I should definitly improve or which I have overlooked?

[Wh070aa]

I recommend splashing ranger, for free feats, but that will leave you kinda meh in ealygame.
Arcane archer does not work, or is buggy with Repeaters tho (only special shots work "reliably"). Deepwood stalker is pretty great IMO tho. I would recommend repeater, since there are more repeaters in game, and they are generally better. However difference between great and repeater is like 2 or 3 enchantments, so you can change it at any time. Rune arm should cower most extra damage whatever you need (+hand of tombs disruption or whatever), and you do get free fireballs, as long as you move slow/stand still (only viable in some quests).

Artificer has those infusions, that let you heal fleshies. They are pain to target, but they give enough healing, when combined with artificer scroll and wand mastery (UMD healing on artificer is AWESOME).

That said I would go 6 roge,6 ranger, 8 artificer, since arti 10 does not give you all that much in comparison. (Armor of Speed is nice, but potion mastery+haste pots work well enough). That or rogue 5 arti 15 to get deadly weapons (but that is more for endgame(level 20+), or party based builds, since deadly weapons is way better as party buff, and takes forever to get).

The biggest problem will be getting BAB for feats, and lack of enchantment points. remember you need to invest in Harper for KTA, and preferable int to hit and damage (damage can be taken from mechanic) mechanic, Preferable get assassins trick for fort bypass, preferable get Sniper Shot(guaranteed sneak attack, and massive damage) from DWS, (also emphatic healing. that stuff is great), and Slaying arrow( if you use adrenaline and furry as epic destiny).

So you got plenty of good choices. I would personally go Harper/DWS/Mech. Ranged power is great endgame, but in heroics its not as great (still pretty good tho, especially with sneak attack).

Also get giantcraft armor at level 10, from gianthood. Front load 1 level of rogue, 2 arti(rune arm), then 4 ranger (for Precise Shot), then 1 rogue (evasion), then take whatever order of rogue/ranger and finish off with rest of arti levels.

At least that's what I would do.

That said if you want to go to level 30 I would recommend 15 arti/5rogue, to get deadly weapons (+1W) is huge, and more arti spells, also remember to have enough dex for combat archery. Artificer will have bit of a hard time in levels 20+, in comparison to other classes. Ether way works, but 3 class splits are not recommended if you are not sure what you are doing.

Also I dunno about warlock, I have not played Warlock/arti, or seen one. A lot of warlock things look good on paper, but don't work as well when actually done, so I would use caution (an make an iconic on another server for testing, before TRing into it, or having a heart prepared).

Be warned that feats and BAB Will be a problem when leveling, and not hawing IPS for long time will makes this kinda frustrating to play.

Remember UMD is artificers best friend, so use ALL THE SCROLLS/WANDS/CLICKIES/POTIONS (and wands stone skin, flame arrow, heal, Sleet storm/ice storm, jump/haste potions and so on). Also Glitterdust traps. Blindness for sneak attack, and 50% miss chance everywhere! And web traps for CC reasons.

That said any build with repeater, and 5 rogue does work endgame, so you can make it work.

[C-Dog]

My idea is to take at least 5 rogue levels for the Tier 5 Mechanic enhancements.

... is there something which I should definitly improve or which I have overlooked?

Unless you're in love with Harper Enhancements, taking Rogue 6 gives you cheaper +Int Damage (via Mech Core 6) and saves AP's (vs. Harper Tier 3 Strategic Combat, which costs 12 AP min, at least 4 over Know the Angles).

Rog 6 also is needed to get you to Assassins Trick (Assassin Core 6), mentioned above.

[unbongwah]

I am planning to do my first Arti pastlife (up to level 30)
If this is just for a HTR, why are you going all the way to 30? :confused: Or do you mean you want an EPL and an HPL - in which case, which EPL do you need? That determines what Sphere you'll use in epics, which has build implications.

I was thinking warlock for the scaling 3d6 lightdamage and additional defenses
From a DPS perspective, Spiritual Retribution isn't worth it, IMO - at least not if it means giving up a better tier-4 ability like Killer due to AP shortage. You'll likely spend 35-39 APs Mechanic and at least 7 or 8 in Harper for Know the Angles, which constrains your remaining APs. Realistically, you'll only be able to add one other set of tier-4s to T5 Mechanic, so choose it carefully.

Whether the defensive benefits of ES are worth the DPS sacrifice is up to you.

Would you advise repeaters for better procdamage or great xbow for better synergy with the mechanic enhancements?
The big advantage to gt xbows over repeaters for Mechanics IMO is Sniper (+2[W], +4d6 SA, double vorpal range) and Expert Builder (+2 crit multiplier). Unfortunately, on a heavily-MCed build like this, you won't get Expert Builder, so gt xbow DPS takes a hit. My hunch is that repeaters will be better DPS - particularly if you load up on proc-on-hit effects due to higher RoF - but free knockdown from gt xbows is pretty nice too. So...use whichever you like better, I guess? :p

[Wh070aa]

The ting about repeaters over great crossbows, IMO goes down to procs. more bolts=more hits=more procs, and more crits. More procs means more effects, meaning you kill things faster, stun things more, more stacks of things or deception/bluff/blind things more. Especially when combined with IPS. Sneak attack, rune arm, and other effects (Wind Howler Bracers, Quiver of Poison, Flame arrows(from spell) and so on) that do not scale with weapon damage, so you are better off having extra bolts, at least IMO. It kinda depends on your build, play stile and epic destiny what you will find better. In my experience, unless you have a great bow from TOEE, have huge crafting level, or extra tunderforged parts, you are unlikely to get great crossbow worth using. That said you can get big numbers is you use one, and some people really like their big numbers.

[Shaitaan]

Mh yeah I should probably plan the feats to see if I need the ranger feats or not.

Are these extra shots from deepwood stalker etc. really that strong? I thought (without testing it) that the passiv damage from elemental arrows etc. would be more useful versus groups of enemys when I can only shoot one with sniper shot or something like that.


Yes I want to get an epic pastlife too. I still need all of them, so it doesn't matter too much which one I get. My first idea was to go Legendary Dreadnaught for Blitz. Are there better destinys for crossbow users?

Edit: Since I haven't played a char with a repeater yet: is there any reason to use a light repeater when you can use a heavy repeater?