Sorc: surviving Harry's fire ball

[Mubjon]

I took my sorc into the shroud tonight and it was the first time that there was not enough melees to hold aggro. So as I was dishing out 800+ dmg at each cast I would get smashed with a fireball or maybe it was meteor swarm, not sure just know that it would deal about 250+ dmg to me each time, I have 274 hp at level 17 I think if I remember right cannot log in to check right yet.

So what are other Sorcs doing to survive those hits? I could go and get a minos helm I suppose that would break up the Wrath of Korrel set, but it would put me closer to 300 hp at level 17. What other things can I do to survive his attacks when I am in a group where I am dishing out the most dmg?

By the way it is not as if I was trying to pour it on either But I am an Air Savant and the lighting bolts, balls, and electric surge are very nice against Harry. Cycling through my spells I easily outperformed the others in the group, even waiting about 15 to 20 seconds for the melees to grab the aggro as I have done in previous shroud runs.

Does fire shield help much here? I could scroll it I suppose. Before the start I did have 30 pt fire resist applied, but did not have the 120 protection from elements.

[sirgog]

You can cast Fire Shield: Cold, which halves all fire damage you suffer.

As a Sorc you can't easily take the spell (level 4 has high-quality stuff), but you can use scrolls of it, which can be purchased from vendors.


Also Harry's Fireballs and Meteor Swarms have nothing to do with aggro. He casts them at random party members. It's good to have a high HP character between Harry and you for this reason, but Fire Shield will make sure that one mistake will not kill you.

[Jaid314]

You can cast Fire Shield: Cold, which halves all fire damage you suffer.

As a Sorc you can't easily take the spell (level 4 has high-quality stuff), but you can use scrolls of it, which can be purchased from vendors.


Also Harry's Fireballs and Meteor Swarms have nothing to do with aggro. He casts them at random party members. It's good to have a high HP character between Harry and you for this reason, but Fire Shield will make sure that one mistake will not kill you.

this, plus use of fire resist and protection. again, you can basically scroll protection; it's only 108 points instead of 120, so it isn't quite equal, but most of the time it'll get the job done. alternately, there are level 10 wands you can buy iirc.

[Hathorian]

this, plus use of fire resist and protection. again, you can basically scroll protection; it's only 108 points instead of 120, so it isn't quite equal, but most of the time it'll get the job done. alternately, there are level 10 wands you can buy iirc.

Better to buy Prot from Elements Mass and you get 120 pts of protection (equal to spell!) and longer duration (less than spell). and, oh yeah, you also buff the whole party!

[MRMechMan]

The best defense is being WF and popping a recon right after he unloads on ya.

RAWR.

[tinyelvis]

The best defense is being WF and popping a recon right after he unloads on ya.

RAWR.

With my WF I dont even waste spell points casting recon against easy foes like Harry. Heck, he doesnt even move. A scroll will perform more than adequately. When you are in the situation where Harry has singled you out for most of his attention, then more than likely you are one of the few DPS'rs left alive and potentially need all of your spell points to finish the job. In those cases, I switch to scrolls.

Besides, I don't see how healing is a defense. When it comes to a point where your skill is lacking or the foe is totally dominant and you need to resort to spell healing, then you have past the point of defense and entered the realm of damage control.

Defense is blocking or dodging damage. Lack of defense, for whatever reason, requires damage control. If you need to play a WF to fight Harry, then reconsider your occupation choice. Maybe consider playing a barbarian melee and let someone else handle healing you.

[goodspeed]

The best defense is being WF and popping a recon right after he unloads on ya.

RAWR.

The best defense is splashing evasion levels!! But then ud cripple. Now if aN insightful charismatic feat ever popped out then we'd have something going on.

And about the 2700 that was the first reply. After adding it up on the planner with the ap and whatnot I found I think a lv 17 first life would get about 2300 Or something like that. But by lv 20 definitely 3k

[Havok.cry]

I prefer hitting my bluff button that makes him face away from me whenever I can, In addition to real defenses like fire sheild cold, resists, protections, moving etc.

[ferrite]

Well I'm sorta surprised no one has mentioned this yet but..

The fire shield/resist ideas are all good, but the best way to avoid Harry's ranged attacks is to realize they all require REFLEX saves. So that's what you must improve. Even without evasion, a good reflex saves means half damage, a necessity for your situation.

You can add an extremely nice +10 reflex save to your setup with the Xoriat Madness: Uncanny Awareness upgrade on the Infused Chaosrobe/Docent, which is just made for sorcerors and fits beautifully on there.

[MRMechMan]

Well I'm sorta surprised no one has mentioned this yet but..

The fire shield/resist ideas are all good, but the best way to avoid Harry's ranged attacks is to realize they all require REFLEX saves. So that's what you must improve. Even without evasion, a good reflex saves means half damage, a necessity for your situation.

You can add an extremely nice +10 reflex save to your setup with the Xoriat Madness: Uncanny Awareness upgrade on the Infused Chaosrobe/Docent, which is just made for sorcerors and fits beautifully on there.

Right, that's a big one, potentially. The save DCs range from low 30s to mid 30s for nomal-->elite.

20 sorc can get an OK reflex, enough to mitigate damage at least. But is it worth it?

Little/No work:
6base
4GH
=10

A bit of work:
6base
5resist
4 GH
4holy aura (ask a divine for it, it's pretty good spell still and very few seem to use it. STACKING +4 saves)
3dex
=22

A lot of work:
6 base
10 madness
4 GH
3 exp (shroud crafted probably)
4 holy aura
4 insight (Eswashbuckler)
6dex (8+7item+1exp+2exp+2tome+2 ship)
1alchem
=38 reflex (overkill for shroud, but very nice for epic comefalls which are becoming rediculously common)

That's a *lot* of slots to take up and you are better off just fireshielding, fireabsorb items, learning to dodge, etc for shroud.

[tinyelvis]

You can cast Fire Shield: Cold, which halves all fire damage you suffer.

As a Sorc you can't easily take the spell (level 4 has high-quality stuff), but you can use scrolls of it, which can be purchased from vendors.


Also Harry's Fireballs and Meteor Swarms have nothing to do with aggro. He casts them at random party members. It's good to have a high HP character between Harry and you for this reason, but Fire Shield will make sure that one mistake will not kill you.

I find the best defense is constant motion coupled with the fire shield, resists and protection. If you are not slowed and are in motion transverse to Harry when he casts, his spell will miss you. There may be a random aggro component to targeting, but I know for a fact if you are currently the high DPS fellow, then you will be the main target of many more of Harry's ranged attacks. I have found myself in this situation many times. So i vehemently disagree with "nothing to do with aggro" comment.

If you end up in this situation, its a good idea to re-apply protections after every successful hit. These can be scroll cast too (see mass protection from elements scroll).

[MsEricka]

Fire resist plus fire shield cold and his meteor swarms turn into mosquito bites.

A little DR/ wouldn't hurt against the bludgeon damage either.

[TheDearLeader]

I will echo what Sirgog said, with a bit more.

Fire Absorption 50% - Fire Shield (Cold)
Fire Absorption 33% - Cannith Crafted Trinket, or Firestorm Greaves.
Fire Absorption 20% - Epic Cloak of Flames, or Dream Edge, or Shroud weapon's Tier III.
Fire Absorption 15% - Shroud weapon's Tier II, or ToD Ring
Fire Absorption 10% - Shroud weapon's Tier I

That's an abbreviated list. There is more out there.

Also, yes, his spells are random aggro. You can stop patting yourself on the back because he DBFed you.

Furthermore, since he *is* random aggro... don't wait 15-20 seconds to unload, like you say you've been doing in the past. Curse/DPS as soon as he drops, and do not stop for anything.

[Mubjon]

I will echo what Sirgog said, with a bit more.

Fire Absorption 50% - Fire Shield (Cold)
Fire Absorption 33% - Cannith Crafted Trinket, or Firestorm Greaves.
Fire Absorption 20% - Epic Cloak of Flames, or Dream Edge, or Shroud weapon's Tier III.
Fire Absorption 15% - Shroud weapon's Tier II, or ToD Ring
Fire Absorption 10% - Shroud weapon's Tier I

That's an abbreviated list. There is more out there.

Also, yes, his spells are random aggro. You can stop patting yourself on the back because he DBFed you.

Furthermore, since he *is* random aggro... don't wait 15-20 seconds to unload, like you say you've been doing in the past. Curse/DPS as soon as he drops, and do not stop for anything.

did someone **** in your cheerios?

I unloaded on him with a complete cycle and then I see the blast coming at me, well guess what? I would say I got his attention as he had to turn around and fire it off at me as I always stand behind him when he first comes in. If that is not grabbing his aggro then what is? Especially with others attacking him?

[good_ole_corwin]

did someone **** in your cheerios?

I unloaded on him with a complete cycle and then I see the blast coming at me, well guess what? I would say I got his attention as he had to turn around and fire it off at me as I always stand behind him when he first comes in. If that is not grabbing his aggro then what is? Especially with others attacking him?

Did he continue to cast on you after that and noone else? No? Then its random aggro. "Random aggro" means that he does not follow a regular hate list mechanics, which can even be caused simply by his hate list resetting too often. Perhaps you hit him at just the right time. And also, one instance of him turning on you is hardly proof of anything. Repeat it several times with the same effect, then we can talk.

Well apparently it does not matter because he is random aggro So I can stand pretty much anywhere and the healers still have a chance at getting a fireball to the face just because.

Fireball is an AoE spell. Stand near healers = healers (and you) will get hit by it whether it is you being targetted or the healers, effectively doubling the chance of "getting a fireball to the face just because" for both you and the healers.

EDIT: Also, Id love to see the 274 HPs breakdown, because the only way I can figure out a lvl17 pure sorc could have exactly that number would be 26 total con, toughness item, GFL item, no toughness feat/enhancements. You said you werent sure in the OP, but the way you put the new post seemed like you already confirmed the number, so just curious.

[Missing_Minds]

Think he used a +3 tome and dragontouched acceptional Cha (+1) to shove up the Cha to the next bonus?
Doubt it would be enough to help though.

[TheDearLeader]

Think he used a +3 tome and dragontouched acceptional Cha (+1) to shove up the Cha to the next bonus?
Doubt it would be enough to help though.

Each +2 Charisma is 26 SP gained. To make up a difference of 300 SP, he would require 24 additional points of Charisma.

Also, the context was originally as a first-life toon. Can I see more SP at level 17? Sure. 3x Sorc, 3x Favored Soul, Sorc PL Purchased Feat, Both Mental Toughnesses, +4 Tome, Bracers of the Glacier, Large Augment Slot instead of Medium, etc. etc. etc... But almost all relatively unavailable for a "new caster", and definitely not ideal due to poor feat choices.

[MrFister]

I was by no means saying it was likely, or in any way a good idea. I was providing the highest SP possible for a level 17 first life Sorc given TheDearLeader's constraints.

As for the cove trinket, 30 SP is a UI typo/bug, it actually grants 50 SP (100 for Sorc/FvS).

I agree, never take mental toughnesses or SP enhancements beyond level II. Also, don't go Drow.

[TheDearLeader]

I was by no means saying it was likely, or in any way a good idea. I was providing the highest SP possible for a level 17 first life Sorc given TheDearLeader's constraints.

As for the cove trinket, 30 SP is a UI typo/bug, it actually grants 50 SP (100 for Sorc/FvS).

I agree, never take mental toughnesses or SP enhancements beyond level II. Also, don't go Drow.

Gotcha on the trinket, thanks.

[TheDearLeader]

did someone **** in your cheerios?

I unloaded on him with a complete cycle and then I see the blast coming at me, well guess what? I would say I got his attention as he had to turn around and fire it off at me as I always stand behind him when he first comes in. If that is not grabbing his aggro then what is? Especially with others attacking him?

I see by the post below this one it has more firmly sunk in that you understand that Arraetrikos is "random aggro", and not Hate-based in any manner or fashion. Now that you understand this, perhaps you'd like to reevaluate what you've said?

You've taken offense to the slightest statement, while failing to take away what was the more important message of my post : Do not wait to start DPSing on Arraetrikos, like you would with other Red/Purple names. Begin DPS "Nuking" immediately.