lvl 27 feat ??

[kendo]

rather stuck on what to take for my level 27 feat. running pure Barb, twf. possible choices I see are: blinding speed, a weapon focus (assuming it still grants a little MP), a secondary improved crit (using war hammers, could add piercing for some hvy picks)

with the orc boots from 3 BC, blinding speed no longer adds much. looks like 5% attack speed, 2% run spd, 1 % dodge and +1 reflex save. I seldom switch weapons but might do so a bit more if they had expanded crit ranges. a little MP is always good but not sure how that stacks up against a little more attack spd

any suggestions on something I overlooked that would be better than one of the above three would be appreciated, thanks

[CThruTheEgo]

Epic damage reduction is usually my default level 27 feat on a melee. Speed can be found on so many items now, many with other useful properties, that I consider blinding speed to be a bit of a waste. I wouldn't stick with the Orcish Privateer's Boots though, as another 5% attack speed is pretty significant. The Epic Boots of the Innocent or Epic Ethereal Bracers are much better options imo.

[unbongwah]

Have you already taken heavy armor prof (and want it)? That's the only other option which comes to mind, if you're planning to use Shadow Guardian armor.

[kendo]

Epic damage reduction is usually my default level 27 feat on a melee. Speed can be found on so many items now, many with other useful properties, that I consider blinding speed to be a bit of a waste. I wouldn't stick with the Orcish Privateer's Boots though, as another 5% attack speed is pretty significant. The Epic Boots of the Innocent or Epic Ethereal Bracers are much better options imo.

probably going to have to stick with the boots for a while as I don't have either of those items and can't really count on ever getting either of them. but will consider the damage reduction idea. thank you

[kendo]

Have you already taken heavy armor prof (and want it)? That's the only other option which comes to mind, if you're planning to use Shadow Guardian armor.

I haven't taken heavy armor, hadn't really considered it but will have to see if I have 100 shadow scales banked. if so, that might be a good option. thank you. that is a lot of DR

[CThruTheEgo]

probably going to have to stick with the boots for a while as I don't have either of those items and can't really count on ever getting either of them. but will consider the damage reduction idea. thank you

Epic Necro IV items are actually incredibly easy to obtain. The chain reward guarantees one named item, sometimes two, so you can run the chain on casual in under 30 minutes if you really wanted to. I've run the Three Barrel Cove wilderness for hours looking for a specific item, so the epic Necro gear is no more of a grind than that.

[kendo]

Epic Necro IV items are actually incredibly easy to obtain. The chain reward guarantees one named item, sometimes two, so you can run the chain on casual in under 30 minutes if you really wanted to. I've run the Three Barrel Cove wilderness for hours looking for a specific item, so the epic Necro gear is no more of a grind than that.

can that chain be run solo? from what I have read on the wiki, at least a couple of the quests have places where you have to kill multiple mobs within "x" time frame or hit several runes within a very short time. with my work / family schedule, I generally solo more than not. so I can get things like the 3 BC items, even if that takes several days, or more, playing in small chunks of time

[CThruTheEgo]

can that chain be run solo? from what I have read on the wiki, at least a couple of the quests have places where you have to kill multiple mobs within "x" time frame or hit several runes within a very short time. with my work / family schedule, I generally solo more than not. so I can get things like the 3 BC items, even if that takes several days, or more, playing in small chunks of time

Fleshmaker's Lab requires five runes to be hit. The reset time for them in heroic is very short and it can be quite difficult to solo that as a result, although it is still doable. However, I don't even think there is a reset timer for them on epic. If there is, it's very long. So that one is no problem.

Ghosts of Perdition requires two mini bosses to be killed within a short time frame. I've not soloed it myself, mainly because I just don't enjoy soloing, but I know others have so it can definitely be done. There are some mobs in the hallway between them, and they will each rubber band back to their starting points if taken too far. So you can ignore the first one, clear out the hallway between them, then return to kill the first and have a clear run to the second. Maybe someone who's actually done it can offer a better strategy. It can be done, but that one might require a bit of trial and error to get it down.

EDIT: Inferno of the Damned can be confusing if you don't know it. Just follow the wiki the first few times and you'll be able to run it blind with no problem after that.

[Garix]

Epic Necro IV items are actually incredibly easy to obtain. The chain reward guarantees one named item, sometimes two, so you can run the chain on casual in under 30 minutes if you really wanted to. I've run the Three Barrel Cove wilderness for hours looking for a specific item, so the epic Necro gear is no more of a grind than that.

Pardon my ignorance: There's a chain reward? Never actually ran the epic versions, I've normally TR'd well before I get anywhere near them.

[kendo]

Fleshmaker's Lab requires five runes to be hit. The reset time for them in heroic is very short and it can be quite difficult to solo that as a result, although it is still doable. However, I don't even think there is a reset timer for them on epic. If there is, it's very long. So that one is no problem.

Ghosts of Perdition requires two mini bosses to be killed within a short time frame. I've not soloed it myself, mainly because I just don't enjoy soloing, but I know others have so it can definitely be done. There are some mobs in the hallway between them, and they will each rubber band back to their starting points if taken too far. So you can ignore the first one, clear out the hallway between them, then return to kill the first and have a clear run to the second. Maybe someone who's actually done it can offer a better strategy. It can be done, but that one might require a bit of trial and error to get it down.

EDIT: Inferno of the Damned can be confusing if you don't know it. Just follow the wiki the first few times and you'll be able to run it blind with no problem after that.

thank you so much for taking the time to reply in detail. may have to give it a try, especially Fleshmaker's. depending on just how closely they have to be killed, doing Ghosts on casual may be possible as well. but if I can get all but 1 solo, I can watch for a team to run one quest a few times.

[CThruTheEgo]

Pardon my ignorance: There's a chain reward? Never actually ran the epic versions, I've normally TR'd well before I get anywhere near them.

For the epic versions, yes.

thank you so much for taking the time to reply in detail. may have to give it a try, especially Fleshmaker's. depending on just how closely they have to be killed, doing Ghosts on casual may be possible as well. but if I can get all but 1 solo, I can watch for a team to run one quest a few times.

The boss in Ghosts does significant con damage, enough to put you into a helpless state pretty quickly. Not having someone else there to throw you a restoration is probably the biggest threat to soloing it. I believe that scales with difficulty though, so it may be easier on casual. Check out the wiki for more info about it as well as possible strategies to deal with it.