Coming back to the game. Why is everyone running around with crossbows now?

[TehLexinator]

What did I miss? Any catch up guide on crossbows and why they are melting mobs so fast?

Thanks.

[rabidfox]

It's because of the new(ish) universal tree for Inquisitive. https://ddowiki.com/page/Inquisitive_enhancements When the new Alchemist class launches sometime in new year then that'll probably become all the rage.

[TehLexinator]

It's because of the new(ish) universal tree for Inquisitive. https://ddowiki.com/page/Inquisitive_enhancements When the new Alchemist class launches sometime in new year then that'll probably become all the rage.

Aah cool, thank you.

[lyrecono]

What did I miss? Any catch up guide on crossbows and why they are melting mobs so fast?

Thanks.

because the dev's failed at balancing the game and the population took the easy route to combat that, it's not just that the tree is powerful, it's better suited for the harder content, unlike say, 2hf melee combat.

[janave]

Aah cool, thank you.

It is like dual wielding halfling shooter kensei's, except it stacks on kensei xd.

[TehLexinator]

It is like dual wielding halfling shooter kensei's, except it stacks on kensei xd.

Yeah, I'm seeing that. Killing things faster than my level 19 Sorc... And I have spell points to deal with.
Did they nerf PM?

[HungarianRhapsody]

Yeah, I'm seeing that. Killing things faster than my level 19 Sorc... And I have spell points to deal with.
Did they nerf PM?
Just the opposite. PM is better than ever. It can reliably self heal even in Reaper with just a little gear. Also, if there is any build that can whoop an Inquisitive’s butt in leveling, it’s a Sorcerer. Once you hit 20, you’ll be able to completely ignore elemental resistance/immunities. Even golems will fall before your element of choice. Also very little gear needed. A caster set from Sharn or Ravenloft plus a caster scepter from Keep on the Borderlands.

[TehLexinator]

Just the opposite. PM is better than ever. It can reliably self heal even in Reaper with just a little gear. Also, if there is any build that can whoop an Inquisitive’s butt in leveling, it’s a Sorcerer. Once you hit 20, you’ll be able to completely ignore elemental resistance/immunities. Even golems will fall before your element of choice. Also very little gear needed. A caster set from Sharn or Ravenloft plus a caster scepter from Keep on the Borderlands.

Ok, good to know. Thanks.

3 groups I was in so far, everyone but a warlock and myself were using crossbows. And mobs were melting.

[Fenrisulven7]

I'm still trying to figure out how you reload dual crossbows. I'm an expert archer in RL and I would probably shoot myself in the face LOL :cool:

[fatherpirate]

They created the Inq E. Tree so some people would start using Xbows.

It worked too well.

Merry (whatever holiday you do)

[unbongwah]

Yeah, I'm seeing that. Killing things faster than my level 19 Sorc... And I have spell points to deal with.
Inquisitive is overperforming due to what I suspect are a couple of bugs / not-WAI mechanics, which means they're due for a nerf, probably just in time for Alchemist to become the new hawtness. :rolleyes:

Did they nerf PM?
Pale Master (https://ddowiki.com/page/Pale_Master_enhancements) got an overhaul recently, making it both more versatile and more powerful. They also buffed Eldritch Knight in Update 41 (https://ddowiki.com/page/Update_41_Release_Notes#Enhancements) so a battlewizard is actually a viable option now. Or was until Inquisitive came along, at any rate. :p

[janave]

Just the opposite. PM is better than ever. It can reliably self heal even in Reaper with just a little gear. Also, if there is any build that can whoop an Inquisitive’s butt in leveling, it’s a Sorcerer. Once you hit 20, you’ll be able to completely ignore elemental resistance/immunities. Even golems will fall before your element of choice. Also very little gear needed. A caster set from Sharn or Ravenloft plus a caster scepter from Keep on the Borderlands.

Not perfectly true, Inq is not a class, we can toss Inq on any class or multi including Sorcerer or Wizard. Technically an Inq can be several rooms ahead of Sorcs backpedaling with IPS if the layout allows. Also, for a Raid role Inq is going to be easier than Sorc, taking a fresh caster into new raids is going to really hurt.

Wizard PM inq is quite good.

[SiliconScout]

Yeah, I'm seeing that. Killing things faster than my level 19 Sorc... And I have spell points to deal with.
Did they nerf PM?That should not be the case actually. Inquisitive is good and I am currently running to to get my 3rd Ranger life but that said my Sorc lives killed things far FAR FAR faster than my inquisitive and I never worried about SP at all as I was 80% using my SLA's which are basically free.

Gonne guess you are missing some meta-magics on there and have sub par gear. My gear was far from optimal (Cannith crafted for the most part) and I easily out killed my Inquisitive.

PM just got a buff actually and they are better now, not META but not horribly far behind. By and large though they are DC casters so you need to deal with the Mob Saves creep that has happened to balance against Reaper (and I know they said they would never balance to reaper, but I think we can all agree that they have). So DC casters for sure have a bigger hill to climb than a straight up DPS sorc. I would recommend Lightning or Fire if you are Tiefling as the more effective sorcs but any of them are very viable.

[Clemeit]

Inquisitive builds are leagues ahead of melee right now (except in niche situations like raid-boss DPS) due to their high damage output, CC abilities from Shiradi like Nerve Venom, and damage mitigation techniques - namely, the ability to kill mobs from a safe distance.

However, for the purposes of leveling, Inquisitives are still usually outpaced by Sorcerers who, with a single spell, can clear entire rooms. In fact, a well-built Sorcerer will still lead Inquisitives in end-game, high-skull content through tactical use of mass hold / energy burst / breath, which is usually enough to kill entire packs of mobs even in r10 content.

PMs are still an excellent choice. They're right up there with Sorcs and Inquisitives in terms of utility. A well-made PM has better survivability than an Inquisitive and, with the exception of a quest's end boss, will be able to kill mobs at a much quicker pace.

Inquisitives and casters are in the same league right now, and melee are largely left behind. The problem is that ranged characters can do just as much damage - if not more than - their melee counterparts all while staying at a safe range, and they're able to push out that damage long before most melees will even reach the pack.

This is why you see so many crossbow users. It's effective, efficient, and safe.

[GeneralDiomedes]

I dbox a sorc and an inquisitive, and the sorc hardly gets any duty now mostly because my rogue/ranger Inq build has it all - spot, disarm, dps, distance. The distance actually matters a lot - many things I can kill before they would even be in spell range, and spot makes the run smoother.

BUT .. I can still clear mobs faster with the Sorc if they are in range and I can see 'em.

[Jetrule]

Lex dont chase with a melee dps just stick close to the shooters and casters and play blocker or door blocker or body guard. Chasing will get you frustrated and maybe killed by agroing inactive monster groups.
Some times maybe most of the time this means no killing for you on monster packs. If that is a unacceptable result then dont pug or stay with that group. I have at cap a sorcerer a artificer inquisitive and a Barbarian two handed weapon user.

In groups the barb is often a laid back alternative play style, just playing body guard and door blocker. To be honest I remember playing in pick up groups as a melee playing like that 50% of the time over the years. Whether the ranged dps was a shuriken thrower or a shiradi caster or a favored soul caster or what ever. Its just more frequent than the 50% average now.

Solo the Sorcerer dps and cc castor mix is a bit faster as a killer than the inquisitive arti but the inquisitive arti is the better solo questor over all. Either one can do low skull reaper quests solo. The barb can't, not on most quests with me at the keyboard at any rate..

[HungarianRhapsody]

Not perfectly true, Inq is not a class, we can toss Inq on any class or multi including Sorcerer or Wizard. Technically an Inq can be several rooms ahead of Sorcs backpedaling with IPS if the layout allows. Also, for a Raid role Inq is going to be easier than Sorc, taking a fresh caster into new raids is going to really hurt.

Wizard PM inq is quite good.

I know that Inq is not a class. That’s why I said that Sorc 20 is a stronger *build* for leveling than Inq because of the ability to murder huge amounts of trash faster.

I’d rather have 6 Inq and 2 Sorcs in a raid instead of 6 Sorcs and 2 Inq, but if you’re leveling, then 2 presses of a key will kill all the trash you’ve rounded up on whatever difficulty level you’re comfortable with. All of the Inquisitives I’ve built have been sturdier than my Sorc, but my Sorc clears quests faster than my Inq and still doesn’t die any more than my Inq because trash just evaporated under DBF and Meteor Swarm and never gets an opportunity to hit me.

[Jango-EX]

It is like dual wielding halfling shooter kensei's, except it stacks on kensei xd.

If we could dual wield halfling shooter kenseis, however, it would be a **** fun game!

I suppose only dragonborns, warforged, half orcs and PDKs would be able to pull that off