Arti Help requested

[96th_Malice]

Evening all

I have sorted through post after post of "Arti build" material and I am officially more lost than I was at this time last night.

First off a bit about my other 18 toons. All are elven ranged builds with maybe 2-4 being a copy of another. I have everything from Bards / Old school bowbarians / Kensaii 3 Longbow users.

Here I am looking at Arti now for a ranged specced too with the full understanding that Xbow is the way to go with Artificers.

I am of the belief that a ranger has to dump all of his eggs into the ranged pot OR the melee pot to be genuinely "good" at his weapons

Here is my question

Can an arti be good at Ranged damage / trap skills / AND spells all within the same toon OR do I need to pick which route I want to go with the toon ?

Any current ( and viable ) build help would be greatly appreciated.

The only thing I will say ( and may get grief for is the toon will be an elf ) ... and 32 point.

Thanks for any help.

[smeggy1384]

Nothing wrong with an Elf arti... And they actually get racial enhancements to Spot and Search, though i am not sure if tier 1 and 2 of those is any cheaper than grabbing tier 3 and 4 of the class versions. Or that you would actually need either as an arti. There are better races though, human being my favorite due to skill point bonus and extra feat.

Can you build for good repeater and spell damage? I believe so. On my first arti life i had augment summon, point blank shot, toughness, precise shot, empower, maximize and improved precise shot. ~500 on a normal blade barrier, and very powerful shots with a tier 5 force runearm.

Now with epic levels you get a bonus feat or two, if you happen to re-arrange so that you can grab some spell focus evoc (covers most arti spells, especially blade barrier) or an epic destiny to boost DCs you should be fine.

Artis tend to carry a lot of various weapons, or at least mine did, so i'd say no less than 12 strength. Unless you like being enfeebled early on, or encumbered and unable to catch up to the group to kill things... 14 con minimum, 14 or 15 dex (depends on race and tomes) and the rest in Int. For stat levelups aim for Int unless you have a low dex(and no +2 or +3 tome) and need higher for improved precise shot, which requires 15.

[Loriac]

Evening all

I have sorted through post after post of "Arti build" material and I am officially more lost than I was at this time last night.

First off a bit about my other 18 toons. All are elven ranged builds with maybe 2-4 being a copy of another. I have everything from Bards / Old school bowbarians / Kensaii 3 Longbow users.

Here I am looking at Arti now for a ranged specced too with the full understanding that Xbow is the way to go with Artificers.

I am of the belief that a ranger has to dump all of his eggs into the ranged pot OR the melee pot to be genuinely "good" at his weapons

Here is my question

Can an arti be good at Ranged damage / trap skills / AND spells all within the same toon OR do I need to pick which route I want to go with the toon ?

Any current ( and viable ) build help would be greatly appreciated.

The only thing I will say ( and may get grief for is the toon will be an elf ) ... and 32 point.

Thanks for any help.

Virtually all of the ranged/caster arty's abilities work off Int, so it is possible to make a very good build by max'ing out that stat.

Dexterity is not an issue as such except that you have to hit a base of 19 for IPS (21 for combat archery, but thats bugged so I wouldn't bother tbh).

Con is an important stat for an arty as you will draw aggro, particularly early on. This can be mitigated to an extent by the fact that you're ranged, but you also have to factor in that a pure arty doesn't have evasion so often hp is your best defence. High hp is also helpful for trapping situations where it allows you to survive the odd hit from not having evasion.

Str, Wis, and Cha are essentially dump stats for a pure arty.

Spell penetration is a complete non-issue for an arty, as virtually all their key spells are evocation and not subject to SR. That fact takes away another advantage you could get from being Elf.

On a TR3+ life, I would suggest drow is better than Elf. On a 1st life, its probably a wash. HElf would be your best option for a fleshie arty, but I know a lot of players don't like them cosmetically.

If making a 32pt Elf, my suggestion would be a stat breakdown similar to:

Str 8
Dex 16 (6 build points)
Con 14 (10 build points)
Int 18 (16 build points)
Wis 8
Cha 8

This base would require you to eat a +3 Dex tome for IPS, and they are fairly easy to get hold of these days. Max Int is definitely key to a good arty build. Con at 14 is a touch low for an arty imo, but thats the price for playing an elf.

[96th_Malice]

That's a great start on info for me

Thanks !

[96th_Malice]

Con at 14 is a touch low for an arty imo, but thats the price for playing an elf.

Haha .... yup BUT with all my toons being Elf .... I am used to this being low !

Lotsa wands and pots carried !

Thanks Loriac !

[96th_Malice]

Sorry one other thing

I am going to presume we are talking all 20 lvls being Arti ?

[Loriac]

Sorry one other thing

I am going to presume we are talking all 20 lvls being Arti ?

This is an ongoing discussion I think, and depends on race and playstyle preferences.

The key splash choice is whether to take 2 levels of rogue or monk for evasion.

On a WF arty, best option is to go pure, as you need at least 3 of your 4 possible level 6 spell slots. On a fleshie arty, you can get by with just deadly weapons and tactical detonation (in groups) or deadly weapons and blade barrier (when solo'ing).

So the choice is:
capstone, plus all key level 6 spells, but no evasion, slightly better runearm damage vs.
evasion, only 2 level 6 spells slotted at any time, possibly haste boost if you take rogue 2.

I would suggest trying out the pure arty if this is your first such character. Once you get it capped and have a feel for how it performs in different situations, you can decide if evasion is in fact a big deal for you.

Finally, pure artificers do have the option of going shadowdancer for their ED (requires you to level up fatesinger if you're taking EDs for the first time), and that ED gives evasion as a level 5 innate ability. Shadowdancer is actually a very good ED for an arty, so its not a big opportunity cost to stay in it if you need evasion. Many max'd out artys go down this route, and change their ED depending on whether they need evasion for a given quest (in which case shadowdancer), dps (in which case draconic or shiradi) or cc (in which case shiradi).

[smeggy1384]

Sorry one other thing

I am going to presume we are talking all 20 lvls being Arti ?

Did pure 20 on my 3 arti lives and loved it. I could see maybe rogue mechanic, ranger deepwood sniper (for increased point blank range) or fighter kensai, and probably some more good ideas out there i have not considered. You can get by without evasion or disable almost all traps in the game of knowledge of how to do so and no lag as you do it.

Build to have fun. And of course fill countless kobolds with bolts.

[ka0t1c1sm]

My Artificer is currently a 2nd lifer. First life was an Elf Wizard/Pale Master and I enjoy being an Artificer so much more. Elves are absolutely capable as Artificers. I didn't build for full range spec because I wanted a couple of points in STR (I hate getting enfeebled), WIS (for Spot checks), and CHA (for the small boost to UMD). I should still have my free LR floating around so I might re-spec, but he does just fine without IPS.

Can an arti be good at Ranged damage / trap skills / AND spells all within the same toon OR do I need to pick which route I want to go with the toon ?

Max INT, depending on tomes available to you 15-17 DEX (to hit the 19 needed for IPS), and the rest in CON. All level-ups go to INT. Insightful Reflexes is nice to have. Spell Focus Evocation, Greater SF Evo, and Epic SF Evo. Any Artificer spells worth a **** that have a save, are Evocation. Tactical Detonation can be great crowd control with good DC's, although it WILL draw aggro to you. With your Force damage line maxed, your Blade Barriers will do a lot of damage and crit for big numbers, not to mention Lucid Dreams (which at higher levels, your Rune Arm can account for a large part of your ranged DPS). Rapid Shot is a must. I also went with both Empower and Maximize. As an Artificer, you have no shortage of feats.

Pure or Rogue splash is your call, but my Artificer does just fine without evasion and, as mentioned previously, you can get that from Shadowdancer. I am also a big proponent of the capstone. Arguably one of the best capstones in the game. As versatile as Artificers already are, this adds a whole other level to it. Being able to use Stoneskin and Energy Resistance wands at caster level 20 can save a lot of SP and allow you to buff the entire party without spending a single spell point (as long as they'll sit still for all the wand whipping anyway) as well as the Deathward clicky from the Visor of the Fleshrender Guards. With Deathward potions from Mabar or Cleric Commendations, the only thing you won't be able to self-buff is Freedom of Movement.

At lower levels, your Flame Turret will be your best friend. It is an aggro magnet. Drop it in front of a door before a big fight, and pick them off as they swarm all over it. Unfortunately, it does not scale with you as you level, nor is it effected by metas or Combustion spellpower.

Prismatic Strike is great against enemy casters.

Inventory management can be a pain, because as the best UMD class in the game, you can use any scroll or wand you come across. This means you'll be carrying a lot of stuff. Heal scrolls, Resurrection scrolls, Restoration scrolls, Greater Heroism scrolls, Teleport scrolls, Greater Teleport scrolls, the list goes on and on. You'll be able to heal, raise the dead, and remove negative levels. Don't forget Halt Undead scrolls as well. Mindless undead like your standard zombies and skeletons have no save against it so that makes it 100% effective even when cast from a scroll. Those were a huge help while running Crystal Cove and clearing the undead.

Don't neglect your Iron Defender as well. I've found mine to be a lot more capable than people think if you can learn to manage the wonky AI. They can use ship buffs so don't forget those. Properly buffed and with a good Docent, they can be very hardy and useful.

Oh, and if you really want your Artificer to be a beast? Grind 3 Ranger and 3 Sorcerer past lives. LOL. A guildmate of mine did and his Artifcer (Warforged) is just sick.

TL;DR: Ranged + Trap + Spell = possible. Elves do just fine.

[CThruTheEgo]

Elf is not an optimal race for arti's, but it can certainly work. I would go with Loriac's starting stat distribution. Trap skills are mostly about gear, it's not dependent on the arti (or rogue) levels. The link in my sig is to an arti that emphasizes casting, ranged, and survivability, so it is possible to have it all. In the OP in that thread you will find comments on racial options as well as a link to a later post that discusses the trade-offs of a 32 pt build. I would also recommend a similar feat list. If going elf, I would drop quicken for augment summon and probably take precision over epic toughness. Quicken and epic toughness benefit WF specifically, but all the other feats emphasize casting and ranged and are pretty standard if you want an arti that can do both. Check it out if your interested.