Questions about TR Artificer Life

[bando]

So I'm getting ready to TR Purr into his artificer life (I miss blade barrier), and I had a few questions going in:

1) I'm thinking warforged for soloability. I'm not crazy in this, right? warforged and artificers are like hot dogs and twinkies, yeah?

2) I'm planning on mostly doing casting and ranged attacks. Should I bother with mithril or adamantine body?

3) Any docents I should make sure I grab before I TR?

4) Same thing with crossbows. I think I have a Storm(?) or something laying about. How necessary is it for me to build a lit2 heavy repeater?

4b) Same with rune arms. Which are the best ones to have?

5) Is there a way to get my INT to be used for attack and damage with crossbows? If I stick my dex at like 19 for improved precise shot, is that going to be a high enough attack bonus at end game? or will I just be blade barriering and flame turreting at that point?

6) How many bolts am I going to need at any given time? I have the one that ****s out arrows and junk from harbinger of madness. Is that pretty much going to be enough?

7) I saw a suggestion to going 6roguemechanic/14artificer. Any huge benefits in doing this instead of going pure artificer?

8) In my mind I will be running around crappin' out blade barriers and casting repair spells on myself and sometimes shooting stuff with my boomstick. This is how artificers work, right?

Since I'm not going to be playing this guy at level 20 forever, it doesn't have to be purrfect (get it?! ha! never gets old!). Mostly I'm looking for something for speedy levelling purposes.

[goodspeed]

You could give up 6 levels of arti to basically use the int mod for dmg and hit but theirs 2 problems.

One no matter what IPS sucks because you need a base of 19 dex to get it. Meaning while you in no way need dex, you still need it. Unless you give up ips but that would cut dmg down in the situations where you could just kite them in a line.

Personally im on the fence for either or. Rarely in my epic groups is there any time where the monsters are going in a straight line. Usually they're all over the dam place.

Now the second problem is what you give up. By going to 14 you would only get 2 lv 5 spells to slot. You would not get any lv 6 spells. Which is where Blade barrier tactical and deadly weapons as well as reconstruct lye.

So ya ud basically cut ur spell dmg down. Then Your also giving up all the feats and abilities that those 4 or 6 levels net.

Then ud have to decide on giving up the capstone. Which in itself is just a nice thing to have for longer timers. However I do gotta say cutting scrolls out was a big letdown. But lots of clickies out there. Or you could do the 18/2 split of say monk or rogue for evasion and more feats or SA and whatnot.

As for which race that is a very tough decision. An arti can jack up a heal scroll so much it's just amazing. But being able to heal in a pinch is nice to. But the human/helf race offers versatility which is 20% more dmg on all bolts streaming out of that repeater DURING fausade.

Plus theirs talk that the construct essence might be tweaked to turn full metal basically making you a robot while human. If that ever happened hands down human. Especially since the human will get the choice of what prestige to take.

So i'd say for survivability (and trust me the power pool does not allow for spamming of BB everywhere and hella self heals for very long) i'd say WF. For more dmg i'd go human/helf.

[wax_on_wax_off]

So I'm getting ready to TR Purr into his artificer life (I miss blade barrier), and I had a few questions going in:

1) I'm thinking warforged for soloability. I'm not crazy in this, right? warforged and artificers are like hot dogs and twinkies, yeah?

Warforged is a very good race for Artificer as it really helps the almost complete lack of survivability that Artificers have with their d6 HD, no evasion and bad saves. However, this is exchangeable with gear and at cap you're losing a significant amount of DPS.

2) I'm planning on mostly doing casting and ranged attacks. Should I bother with mithril or adamantine body?

No. You shouldn't bother with mithral or adamantine body on just about any build.

3) Any docents I should make sure I grab before I TR?

Invulnerability of Lifeshield and/or lifeshield of superior stability. Bladesmarked Docent is an easy solution.

4) Same thing with crossbows. I think I have a Storm(?) or something laying about. How necessary is it for me to build a lit2 heavy repeater?

LitII Heavy Repeater is required sooner or later, yes. Storm is not a repeater so is rubbish.

4b) Same with rune arms. Which are the best ones to have?

Flamewarden was my first rune arm from WW. Chimera's Breath is a really excellent rune arm and Pea Shooter is pretty good. From there I upgraded to Turmoil Within and Arcing Sky both from Gianthold Tor. I have Tira's Splendour waiting for Necro 4/Temple of Vol and Lucid Dreams waiting for level 17. Lucid Dreams is one of the best rune arms, Toven's Hammer is the other. I'd want to have 1 of these 2 at level 17, if not both.

5) Is there a way to get my INT to be used for attack and damage with crossbows? If I stick my dex at like 19 for improved precise shot, is that going to be a high enough attack bonus at end game? or will I just be blade barriering and flame turreting at that point?

19 dex is enough to hit everything with appropriate gear. You can get int for both att and dam but it gimps your build, see below.

6) How many bolts am I going to need at any given time? I have the one that ****s out arrows and junk from harbinger of madness. Is that pretty much going to be enough?

Conjure Bolts will summon 100 bolts with level appropriate enhancement up to +6 at level 20. Grab about 3000 +3 sturdy deneith bolts before you TR (if not more).

7) I saw a suggestion to going 6roguemechanic/14artificer. Any huge benefits in doing this instead of going pure artificer?

This gimps your build. At cap 40-50% of your DPS comes from your rune arm and any splashing will significantly reduce your rune arm DPS without significant enough returns on damage.

8) In my mind I will be running around crappin' out blade barriers and casting repair spells on myself and sometimes shooting stuff with my boomstick. This is how artificers work, right?

Artificers have a very limited SP pool, blade barriers are somewhat special occasions, depending on gear. Upside is that you'll be hitting for up to 1000 damage when you do let loose with a big one.

Since I'm not going to be playing this guy at level 20 forever, it doesn't have to be purrfect (get it?! ha! never gets old!). Mostly I'm looking for something for speedy levelling purposes.

Warforged is definitely a solid choice in this case. I just like fleshies

Comments in purple. I'm currently leveling a fleshy melee artificer and having a blast. It's more party friendly with spare spell slots for cure infusions at low levels so I can fill a healer spot without gimping my own DPS (as I could scroll insightful damage/weapons/elemental weapons on myself). Now the melee damage from various bastard swords are starting to catch up. Higher con, higher overall intelligence from dumping dex. I just worked out that I can have 90% heal scrolls too so self healing isn't an issue (got lots of heal amp too so pots/wands have been fine up to now: 1.1*1.1*1.1*1.2=over 160% heal amp with only first tier in human).

[voodoogroves]

Wax hit most of the points I would; however...


Lucid Dreams (Mindsunder) is pretty solid as is Glorious Obscenity (Madness?). If this is a bridge life and you won't stay at cap, those may get you as far as you need.

Go pure.

You don't NEED to craft a Lit2 if you're not staying for long and this is a drive-by life. A holy/good is probably ok, plus some other specials (wound/puncture, paralyzer, etc.)

[dmslasher]

oh dont forget the rune arm from tangleroot http://ddowiki.com/page/Khyber%27s_Fury it give mod fort witch is a nice thing for WF arti's(giving you heavy fort) if you go that way plus it shoots out fire balls for AOE dmg. it was a fav on my WF arti till i got some higher lvl items.

lit2 is amazing on my arti but is the expense of the scales worth one life? only you can answer that. conjure bolts = unlimited ammo its sp cost is low enough that you can cast it even when your OOM and they stack up to 1000 so you can make 3 stacks of them in a tavern and run all night(atleat untill you get addicted to endless fusillade ~80 bolts per click dont quote me on that number tho.)

also something most ppl dont mention is the reworking of FLAME ARROW buy a wand in house j buy a stack of basic bolts and you get 50 flame bolts per click, or you can sit in a tavern and cast away b4 a quest. extra d6 fire works nice with your other weapon buffs (this can get time consuming after a point and they only stack up to 100.)

also if your a cannith crafter you can make yourself a really nice repeater to last you thru out the game holy/bleeding or acid/bleeding

[Cardtrick]

So I'm getting ready to TR Purr into his artificer life (I miss blade barrier), and I had a few questions going in:

1) I'm thinking warforged for soloability. I'm not crazy in this, right? warforged and artificers are like hot dogs and twinkies, yeah?

Not crazy. This is by far the easiest type of artificer to level up solo, which is important on a multi-TR. Quick, easy self-repairs for you and your pet goes a long way, and the immunities are always handy. Helf with rogue dilettante is significantly better DPS, due to the sneak attack damage and the ability to combine Endless Fusillade with Human Versatility: Damage Boost.

2) I'm planning on mostly doing casting and ranged attacks. Should I bother with mithril or adamantine body?

Absolutely not. They are totally useless (except adamantine on a warforged LOB favored soul, since the DR stacks at cap).

3) Any docents I should make sure I grab before I TR?

I like a crafted Fearsome of Invulnerability for both you and your pet when soloing, possibly swapped for Lifeshield of Invulnerability or Lifeshield of Superior Stability in parties. Fearsome is fantastic on a ranged character and procs all the time at low levels.

4) Same thing with crossbows. I think I have a Storm(?) or something laying about. How necessary is it for me to build a lit2 heavy repeater?

Crafting is really nice here, since you can get away from having a '+' value (since your bolts will have one), which lets you get useful effects at low levels. I like a crafted +0 Holy of Bleeding heavy repeater (ML 5). You'll want all the usual suspects, too -- ghost touch of righteoussness or pure good for Delera's, screaming of construct bane for constructs, etc.

Lit 2 is not necessary but would definitely be nice. Triple pos is quite a bit cheaper and would actually be better against undead (who are painful to deal with on an arti).

4b) Same with rune arms. Which are the best ones to have?

Lucid Dreams is crazy easy to farm now and is fantastic at cap, since it lets you focus primarily on the Force line to boost both your rune arm and your blade barriers. Toven's is probably the best endgame choice, but it requires running raids and is probably not worthwhile if you're going to be TRing. At lower levels, I really like the various exploding fire shot options -- it's easy to aim and great for blowing up lots of crates for extra experience (since my dog bugs out too often to reliably do that).

Remember that runearms are craftable. You can put Masterful Craftsmanship on them to lower the ML by 2. That gets you things like Hand of the Tomb at level 7, which is just awesome (disrupting weapons, fireball, and +2d4 fire damage are all glorious for all the undead in that level range).

5) Is there a way to get my INT to be used for attack and damage with crossbows? If I stick my dex at like 19 for improved precise shot, is that going to be a high enough attack bonus at end game? or will I just be blade barriering and flame turreting at that point?

The only way is splashing 6 rogue levels for Mechanic I which is a bad idea, especially on a TR. Yes, the dex required for IPS is sufficient to hit quite well, although you will need gear. At some point, you may want to craft ATtack Bonus on your runearm (it acts like a trinket for crafting purposes). At cap, you can use Divine Favor and Divine Power clickies as if casting the spells at CL20, which is certainly nice. There are situations (mostly epic bosses before you're fully geared) when you'll do better DPS by switching from Insightful Damage to Insightful Strikes, which changes the int bonus from damage to attack -- that's easy, and just requires casting a spell.

6) How many bolts am I going to need at any given time? I have the one that ****s out arrows and junk from harbinger of madness. Is that pretty much going to be enough?

Bad news: that does nothing for you, since it only gives bolts.
Good news: You'll be conjuring your own bolts most of the time with a cheap (5 sp) spell that can be cast out of combat and gives you 100 at a time. They're just plain +X (the X increases as you level up) bolts, but that's fine for most purposes.
Ugly news: You'll use a ridiculous number of bolts. Based on the number of times I conjure them, I seem to average about 800 bolts per hour, and I'm not much of a zerger.

7) I saw a suggestion to going 6roguemechanic/14artificer. Any huge benefits in doing this instead of going pure artificer?

Do not want.

8) In my mind I will be running around crappin' out blade barriers and casting repair spells on myself and sometimes shooting stuff with my boomstick. This is how artificers work, right?

You'll be shooting your bow more than blade barrier (fairly low SP) and should be using your boomstick constantly (no cost, doesn't even interrupt attack chain, quite solid DPS). Otherwise, mostly right.

Since I'm not going to be playing this guy at level 20 forever, it doesn't have to be purrfect (get it?! ha! never gets old!). Mostly I'm looking for something for speedy levelling purposes.

Artificer is a great leveling character. You will cackle madly at how ridiculously overpowered you are at low levels, especially. And then you get every zerger's favorite spell, blade barrier, right around the time that your runearm/crossbow lose some of their awesome.

[Deathdefy]

It's all been pretty covered. One thing I do before every life I intend to use a x-bow in is stock up on house D Sturdy + 3 Bolts.

Specifically, I fill 4 deneith thin quivers (with 1000+3 Sturdy Deneith Bolts and 1000 Sturdy Bolts) and the quiver of alacrity (with 1500+3 Sturdy Deneith Bolts and 1500 Sturdy Bolts). This is usually enough +3s until I can make and use a crafted +3 Holy Repeater of Bleeding at level 9 with Masterful craftsmanship.

From there, that's usually enough Sturdy +0s to make it to enough House D favor to buy more.

I can't handle the pain of casting Conjure Bolts and using Flame Arrow wands often. It worries me immensely that using conjured bolts at cap might be optimal (unsure how +2 from Battle Engineer works).

[Brennie]

Others have sufficiently answered you other questions, so I'll just chime in on this one:

5) Is there a way to get my INT to be used for attack and damage with crossbows? If I stick my dex at like 19 for improved precise shot, is that going to be a high enough attack bonus at end game? or will I just be blade barriering and flame turreting at that point?

You still want 19 dex for IPS, but at level 16 you can get the DOUBLECROSS BOW, which uses the higher of your dex or Int for to hit. Combine with stupid high int and Insightful Damage for a big bump is to-hit. the only downside is this crossbow isn't all that spectacular, especially given how many enemies resist or are flat out immune to poison.

The EPIC DOUBLECROSS BOW steps it up a notch by adding enervation in addition to the "Standard Epic Package", but obviously would require a bit of farming. The good news is, however, scrolls and seals are actually functioning correctly in the u13 content...

[wax_on_wax_off]

Others have sufficiently answered you other questions, so I'll just chime in on this one:



You still want 19 dex for IPS, but at level 16 you can get the DOUBLECROSS BOW, which uses the higher of your dex or Int for to hit. Combine with stupid high int and Insightful Damage for a big bump is to-hit. the only downside is this crossbow isn't all that spectacular, especially given how many enemies resist or are flat out immune to poison.

The EPIC DOUBLECROSS BOW steps it up a notch by adding enervation in addition to the "Standard Epic Package", but obviously would require a bit of farming. The good news is, however, scrolls and seals are actually functioning correctly in the u13 content...

I never noticed that property on the new crossbows, I'm totally getting one for my dex dumped melee artificer.