Greataxe Kensai Gear Set

[Rogann]

Is there anything essential that I am missing? And what type of GS HP item should I make? I was thinking triple air for haste guard, but I dunno. Thanks in advance.

Its a little late but Haste guard is rather useless when Madstone gives 20% attack speed bonus(compared to 15% from haste). They don't stack.

[Rogann]

Helm: PDK
Necklace: Silver Flame/Smoke HP(swap in this necklace when swapping in Dunrobar)
Trinket: Litany
Armor: Embrace of Spider Queen (PDK)
Cloak: Addy Wolf
Belt: Spare Hand
Ring1: Ring of the Stalker (GFL)
Ring2: Seal of Avithoul/Seal of Dunrobar
Bracers: 20% heal amp/superior parrying
Gloves: PDK
Goggles: Smoke HP GS/Tharne's Goggles(swap in this goggles when swapping in Dunrobar)
Boots: Madstone/other useful stuff
Weapon: EAGA

Compared to your build, just dmg wise:
-4 seeker
-1 prof str
-1 focus str
+3ab/dmg
+1 profane dmg
+5 exc SA dmg


Of course this is about OP, and you'd have to conform to his guidelines for the setup he's looking for.

The issue here is does the OP have Litany, addy wolf cloak or even avithoul ring?

Litany is extremely hard to obtain(worse than tod rings).
Addy wolf cloak is a massive grind.
Avithoul ring is extremely rare. I don't even think I've seen one before.

I won't be planning a gear set around them until I actually get them.

[CThruTheEgo]

If you're not going to use any TOD rings (or sets) then the best rings would be Ring of the Stalker and Seal of Dunrobar/Avithoul.

Another possible armor is Hide of the Goristro for tactics. (Keep in mind making Embrace part of the PDK takes what a red armor would take minus the 20 reds)

Yeah I'm leaning toward the stalker/seal rings combo. If I happen to get some nice ToD rings, then great, but I'm not counting on it. I'm not sure I'd go with Goristro for two reasons, less PRR and no set bonus. I'm not worried about the grind for the PDK set as it is a grind I will be making anyways. CitW is still run, I still need to run it for the weapons and commendations, and I'll need to do the same grind (favor and coms) to upgrade the weapons when I get them. Not having to farm 20 red scales is nice time saver though, even if they are more readily available than they used to be.

Head: Purple Dragon Helm
Eyes: Tharne's Goggles/Greensteel +45 HP, Blur
Neck: Epic Grim's Bracelet (Greater False Life)
Trinket: Planar Focus of Prowess (Str +8)
Back: Adamantine Cloak of the Wolf
Belt: Epic Spare Hand (Heavy Fortification, Exceptional Str/Con +1)
Wrists: Greater Convalescent Bracers of Superior Parrying
Hands: Nether Grasp's
Ring: Seal of House Dun'Robar (Con +7/Stunning +10)
Ring: ToD ring with Exceptional Str/Con +1 (Healing Amplification 20%)
Boots: Treads of Falling Shadow
Armor: Hide of the Goristro (Exceptional Str +3/Vertigo +10)

Thanks for the setup Nitesco. I see that a lot of these items are intended to take advantage of the high dex bonus available with the Goristro Hide. But I'm not inclined to go with the Goristro Hide for the reasons I mentioned above. Which means that Grim's doesn't offer anything but the green slot with GFL. Since that's the case I'd rather craft GFL with a large guild slot for 20 more HP. It also takes a lot of the power out of the cloak. I made a Dragon Cloak for my artificer and I am NOT doing that grind again unless it is the perfect piece of gear for a build. I don't think either the Wolf or Bear Cloak is worth that mind-numbing grind, imo. I'll have to consider the Greater Convalescent bracers/Nether Gloves combo vs. Twisting Shade bracers/PDK gloves to see which is better. Losing the gloves means losing the set bonus and it would be nice to have permablur, but I can also get that from GS which can be slotted anywhere.

Helm: PDK
Necklace: Silver Flame/Smoke HP(swap in this necklace when swapping in Dunrobar)
Trinket: Litany
Armor: Embrace of Spider Queen (PDK)
Cloak: Addy Wolf
Belt: Spare Hand
Ring1: Ring of the Stalker (GFL)
Ring2: Seal of Avithoul/Seal of Dunrobar
Bracers: 20% heal amp/superior parrying
Gloves: PDK
Goggles: Smoke HP GS/Tharne's Goggles(swap in this goggles when swapping in Dunrobar)
Boots: Madstone/other useful stuff
Weapon: EAGA

Of course this is about OP, and you'd have to conform to his guidelines for the setup he's looking for. (No tod sets-even though ravager is probably the best dps belt+ring combo if it still works like it did preu14, off glancing blows)

Greater Bold would probably a better trinket for your setup too.

EDIT:
To OP: do you have or can you care to get Claw set?

Don't have Litany, never run Abbot, never even been flagged for it, hehe. Will NOT grind another cloak unless it is an essential item and perfect fit for a final gear set. I'll still run ToD when I see it, but I don't expect that I will run it enough to end up with that perfect set. Who knows, maybe I'll just be one of those lucky ones who gets it in 3 runs. And I don't plan on grinding for the Claw set, especially now that the PDK set is a much more easily obtainable and comparable replacement.

I think your cloak and helm slot is the weakest slot and could be transformed easily into a hot swap slot for handy guards and other named items according to situation.

The helm offers +2 insightful con an the PDK set bonus, so I don't think that is a very weak item. I realize the Mabar cloak is a bit redundant with the current setup in the OP and basically only offers DR10/good, which is nice but I agree that this could be a good swap slot.

Its a little late but Haste guard is rather useless when Madstone gives 20% attack speed bonus(compared to 15% from haste). They don't stack.

Good point. Triple Air GS is out then.

The issue here is does the OP have Litany, addy wolf cloak or even avithoul ring?

Litany is extremely hard to obtain(worse than tod rings).
Addy wolf cloak is a massive grind.
Avithoul ring is extremely rare. I don't even think I've seen one before.

Never done, and won't be doing, Abbot. NOT grinding another cloak. And I've got a couple of Avithoul rings actually, they're not that rare.

[Nitesco]

Its a little late but Haste guard is rather useless when Madstone gives 20% attack speed bonus(compared to 15% from haste). They don't stack.

Doest that actually work though?

Thanks for the setup Nitesco. I see that a lot of these items are intended to take advantage of the high dex bonus available with the Goristro Hide. But I'm not inclined to go with the Goristro Hide for the reasons I mentioned above. Which means that Grim's doesn't offer anything but the green slot with GFL. Since that's the case I'd rather craft GFL with a large guild slot for 20 more HP. It also takes a lot of the power out of the cloak. I made a Dragon Cloak for my artificer and I am NOT doing that grind again unless it is the perfect piece of gear for a build. I don't think either the Wolf or Bear Cloak is worth that mind-numbing grind, imo. I'll have to consider the Greater Convalescent bracers/Nether Gloves combo vs. Twisting Shade bracers/PDK gloves to see which is better. Losing the gloves means losing the set bonus and it would be nice to have permablur, but I can also get that from GS which can be slotted anywhere.

Well you definately want 20%+30% healing amp if you're getting it all through gear. I'm with you on the grind, I have yet to make 2 cloaks for my characters. I like to take the conservative path with gear, The Epic Spare Hand is easier to get than the cloak and you can probably live with -1 to tactics DC's as a Kensai, plus it gives 3% doublestrike. Greensteel is almost always a good option, but I consider that an annoying grind too (plus gear changes too quickly to justify the expenditure). Don't underestimate dodge though, you can easily have ~10% on a Fighter. I wouldn't worry about small incriments of damage from set bonuses and gear, as most of your DPS will come from LD, so the only thing you really need to care about is a decent amount of HP, as much healing amp as you can slot and high enough tactics DC's to work in whichever content you play.

[zwiebelring]

The helm offers +2 insightful con an the PDK set bonus, so I don't think that is a very weak item. I realize the Mabar cloak is a bit redundant with the current setup in the OP and basically only offers DR10/good, which is nice but I agree that this could be a good swap slot.

I don't think, those +2 insight are difficult to replace by other items. ToD ringsare not difficult to get It is a matter of time.

But here it seems weak to me because 2/3 set items are used. Why not 3 for full set bonus? I think there is much room for customized guards without losing any bigger benefit.

- Wolfcloak for bossfights and when you are not the tank to minimize threat

- elemental resistances with nice guards, such like freezing ice, earthgrab or ash2.

- Smoke2 hp helmet or min2 helmet, using the latter you could use PDK armor for full set bonus, or you simply slot heavy fort. into your spare hand and had full PDK bonus.

But if you like it, nvm.

[karl_k0ch]

I don't think, those +2 insight are difficult to replace by other items. ToD ringsare not difficult to get It is a matter of time.

But here it seems weak to me because 2/3 set items are used. Why not 3 for full set bonus? I think there is much room for customized guards without losing any bigger benefit.

You will be pleased to hear that Embrace of the Spider Queen can be made a set item for the PDK items, provided you have 375 PDK Favor.

I agree that +2 Insight Bonuses aren't as hard to get as pre-U14, and especially +3 Str can be taken from the planar focus, and +7 Str is also redundant with the +8 from the armor. But then, since the new epic items don't have slots, epic items with multiple slots like the eStalker Ring become more interesting, thus making ToD rings less interesting.

[zwiebelring]

Ah, ok, I really didn't think about that option. Then we have a complete set . All fine.

[Rogann]

Doest that actually work though?

It would appear they nerfed Madstone boots. 3-4 months ago I know for a fact it was 20%.

Madstone buff:


Haste buff:


Rather unfortunate they nerfed the boots :/ Might have to re-evaluate boot slot.

[Cetus]

The helm offers +2 insightful con an the PDK set bonus, so I don't think that is a very weak item. I.

The helm is con7/ insightful str 2

[HalfORCastrator]

Litany is extremely hard to obtain(worse than tod rings).
Addy wolf cloak is a massive grind.
Avithoul ring is extremely rare. I don't even think I've seen one before.

I agree with Litany, but the cloak is a known quantity(know how long it takes, and you always progress towards it instead of relying on luck) and can be done in 10-20 mins stretches even if it takes a while. Avithoul rings are not so rare, they're just not nearly as farmable as Dunrobar/Szind.

While these are a bit harder to get than most, I listed them because he has ESOS. If he has it then even if he doesn't have the same time he used to he still has a network of guildies and friends that are high calibre. Which means he can get Abbot done or 5-6 star challenges.

Yeah I'm leaning toward the stalker/seal rings combo. If I happen to get some nice ToD rings, then great, but I'm not counting on it.

Only worry about Ravager set if you decide on tod sets. 2dmg/ab from Shintao set isn't worth the 2 equip slots.

It would appear they nerfed Madstone boots. 3-4 months ago I know for a fact it was 20%.


Rather unfortunate they nerfed the boots :/ Might have to re-evaluate boot slot.

Apparently this is a bug. They did a quickfix for Madstone boots, just made rage work for it, and boosted it a bit by allowing most clickies. That said, how they "fix" bugs is changing the item text and saying it's WAI. Still very good boots.