Builds and items

[stoopid_cowboy]

I just have a few questions I would like somebody to answer for me.

Let me start by saying I read a LOT of character builds on the forums. But there is some thing I see over and over again that I just don't understand. In nearly EVERY build posted the "proposed" character's are equipped with nearly unobtainable gear. Is this to point out what the "maximum"potential is for the character? Or is it to dream of what you want to build?
Why don't people post builds that are possible to build? I mean it would be great if everyone could use a +4 int tome and a +4 con tome on their Wiz build, but how many people actually pull those? Many builds use a Litany to help stats, but like bloodstones they are haaaaard to pull.
I dont have an issue seeing +2 tomes on all stats. For about $20 you can buy the TP for a +2 Supreme tome. Also, after a little time you can pretty much pull a full set of +2 tomes (I have).
Does anyone else get turned off by reading builds that can never be completed? I sure do! I am currently working on run #40 for the ToD ring I want on one character, almost made run #20 for another. In all those runs, I have seen 1, count them 1, +4tome drop. Many of the runs have been on hard or Elite.
So please, someone. Please explain the purpose for posting impossible to complete builds!

Thank you
yuda

[PopeJual]

I just have a few questions I would like somebody to answer for me.

Let me start by saying I read a LOT of character builds on the forums. But there is some thing I see over and over again that I just don't understand. In nearly EVERY build posted the "proposed" character's are equipped with nearly unobtainable gear. Is this to point out what the "maximum"potential is for the character? Or is it to dream of what you want to build?

Partly that. Partly because everyone else does on their builds.

If you want to be able to compare builds to each other, then it's important to compare apples to apples. It's possible that people have different ideas of what is obtainable, though.

I think that
Any amount of Greensteel is eventually obtainable
Any item in Hound, VoD, Reaver, VoN or ADQ is obtainable, but you might not see it for several months.
Any Amrath belt or necklace is obtainable within a week at most.
Two upgraded VoD rings are obtainable, but maybe not the particular ring you want
Loot from The Titan Awakes is not obtainable because it is run so rarely (even though it isn't particularly hard). Don't count the Chattering Ring in your AC.
Epic gear is obtainable, but particular Epic gear shouldn't be counted on if it is exceptionally desireable (i.e. you're going to have a hard time winning the roll for that shard of the Sword of Shadow when there are 7 or more other people rolling for it every time it shows up in the chest)
Bloodstone, Firestorm Greaves, Docent of Defiance are all obtainable even if you have to trade a large scale or two for them.
An upgraded Ioun Stone is obtainable - just expensive.

[unbongwah]

Is this to point out what the "maximum"potential is for the character? Or is it to dream of what you want to build?

It's both. Experienced builders will usually point out which items or tomes are required to make a build work (e.g., +2 DEX tome on most TWF builds) vs "best case" scenarios (e.g., +4 CHA tome on a paladin to hit base CHA 20 and get Divine Might IV - gives a bit of extra DPS but isn't make-or-break for the build).

Why don't people post builds that are possible to build?

There are plenty of newbie-friendly / gear-lite builds out there, such as the ones in tihocan's thread. I usually try to flag my builds which are intended to be newbie-friendly; and as a general rule I never make a build require more than a +2 tome to work.

[Quikster]

Most of the builds I ever post I either cut and paste from my guild forums, or am posting so I can get feedback and eventually reference (which is also why I post them on the guild forums).

This gives me an easy way to quickly find if I want to roll on a paticular tome that drops (unlike some I dont roll on a tome simply because I havent eaten one)

That said, the gear and tomes I show on builds that I post are goals to shoot for. It never means that they are required. If its required then a note is made (+2 dex tome required for this feat)

I also dont post builds for newbs generally, so i figure I can post it with or without the gear I want, and the reader can decide for themselves what gear/tomes they are willing to grind for, and what they are not.


Oh and any gear on a raid loot table is obtainable. It simply depends on how much you are willing to do that raid and yes this includes the chattering ring and the lotd. So to say its unobtainable or will never be finished because of this is incorrect. Counting on +3 or +4 tomes however is much more difficult. That said, I have a number of alts with multiple +4 tomes or +4 tome pulls, so it is possible.