Songs from the Slums

[Saekee]

[Heroic full nude run. No items ever to be equipped or carried in pack (not even spell components); no guild ship buffs, leveraging power from PLs, EPLs & a specific build to make this possible. Screenies will feature sometimes stats as I level to give people an idea of progressions. This thread will feature excerpts from this book.]

Edit: this run is finished! Analysis is here.

Part I: The Rebirth

[Saekee]

...But here there are slippery streets, which never are dry;
They are lined with open sewers, where rats come out to die...
- Kagawa, 'Shinkawa,' from Songs from the Slums




Lars Heyton can die...

[Saekee]

"Tattered paper doors stand wide to winds that beat;
The houses are all of a reddish black, like the hue of stale whale meat;
Filth on the flimsy ceilings, dirt in the musty air"
- Kagawa, 'Shinkawa,' from Songs from the Slums

[Saekee]

"If only there are stars,
I have my friends.
But in the dark
I think upon my fate,
And all
My spirit sickens
And the hard tears fall."

[Eryhn]

so does it lag less w/o all the bling on the status bar?

[Saekee]

so does it lag less w/o all the bling on the status bar?

hard to say--I have had little lag but have been solo, duo and low level harbor, so not a good test for it

[Saekee]

"Penniless
A while
Without food
I can live;
But it breaks my heart
To know
I cannot give."

[kanordog]

Great idea, I bet it's a lot of fun.

[Saekee]

Great idea, I bet it's a lot of fun.

hi & thx! Yes, it has made heroics like playing EE. I get one shot by champs with damage boosts on crit & many mobs feel like hp bags. I find myself
on par with geared new players. I can solo quests but it is nice to rely on others again.
Also, I find myself intensely attuned to game mechanics & active combat. No min level 3 bracers of wind--I need to do the monk finisher. No heal pots so halfling dragonmarks, EPL fast healing & monk finishers. I even use shrines in quest now. And every point of damage adds up. Crazy stuff!

[Saekee]

"Strange that the spring has come
On meadow and vale and hill,
For here in the sunless slum
My bosom is frozen still."

[Saekee]

Reflections and analysis
The screen shot shows my best self-buffing. Paladin light damage (1d4) and EK (1d6) have been very helpful. EK does not work when you have no weapon equipped so I needed to do a workaround by equipping disjuncted blank handwraps. Oh Well.

Getting one-shot by champions sometimes.

Maximized feat useful on first two tiers of dragonmark (does not work on the third, Heal) makes them heal really well. CLW hits for 25ish; CSW about 70ish!

SP is not a big issue since all my self
buffs use under 10 sp (magical training regen). Only Blur costs too much but I can use the monk finisher to have it.

Ki use requires expert use, from finishers to form switching.

Otherwise, all well so far. The big boost will come at level 12-13 in which I will get tier 5 Harper--that will let me use eschew & extend, and I will have enough wiz levels for vampire form (100% fortification).

I have adjusted the original build post here to reflect how this could have been done a little better.

I am able to zerg Heroic Normal and often heroic hard. My only challenge has been champions and the occasional swarm of mobs, in particular ones with knockdown (like wolves). I get knocked down and then, stuck there, I cannot cleave or heal my way out. That is how I have typically died, other than a magic-using champ blitzing me with lightning bolts or something similar.

[Saekee]

". . .Up and up,
Up to the world of light
I go bounding;
Farewell, O earth, farewell,
What need I now of your freedom?"

[Saekee]

"The fault is mine;
I cannot pray
In this dark place.
But when I raise my eyes
The form of my
Own formless God
Is here,
And I
Can look unto His face."
("My Cross")

[Enderoc]

Question...why did you choose Paladin? There are numerous cleric spells that do not need ingredients.

[Saekee]

Question...why did you choose Paladin? There are numerous cleric spells that do not need ingredients.

That is a good question. Healing has not been an issue; just survivability when surrounded or knocked down. Paladin gave me some key boosts:

1. a boost to saving throws, which let me take Power attack over resilience
2. free cleave from its enhancements, giving me 2 (EK, pally)
3. light damage on hit (veeery nice for a low dps weaponless build)
4. full BAB for qualifying for ITWF. The wiz levels mess with the BAB
5. access to defensive stance for cheap PRR

[Enderoc]

So death Aura will be how you will be self healing? Does that defeat the purpose of the Dragonmark? And if you chose the light path in Monk, that also will not be able to be utilized as a form of self healing correct? I am assuming no pots, no wands, nothing in your pack. At least Cleric will give you infliction spells to heal in undead form. I understand you want to do damage...but survivability is a good way to make sure you deal it. You are relying on Dex, Wisdom, with feats and enhancements for Resistances and Damage mitigation and avoidance. That wont be enough unless you never have aggro, or are a capable self healer imo.

Its a tough call, you need the fort...to get the fort from an undead form you need to nullify all positive healing. That would be hard even for an equipped player. Naked and mostly melee classed Palemaster MC would feel like purgatory. Especially since Harper int to damage does nothing for unarmed.

[Saekee]

So death Aura will be how you will be self healing? Does that defeat the purpose of the Dragonmark? And if you chose the light path in Monk, that also will not be able to be utilized as a form of self healing correct? I am assuming no pots, no wands, nothing in your pack. At least Cleric will give you infliction spells to heal in undead form. I understand you want to do damage...but survivability is a good way to make sure you deal it. You are relying on Dex, Wisdom, with feats and enhancements for Resistances and Damage mitigation and avoidance. That wont be enough unless you never have aggro, or are a capable self healer imo.

Its a tough call, you need the fort...to get the fort from an undead form you need to nullify all positive healing. That would be hard even for an equipped player. Naked and mostly melee classed Palemaster MC would feel like purgatory. Especially since Harper int to damage does nothing for unarmed.

yes to all points, it will be tough. This is meant to be a challenge since I would otherwise sleepwalk heroics.

Fists of light gives the finisher align the heavens which has great synergy with wizard as it saves 25% on SP.

Had I done cleric levels instead of pally I would have poor dps & saves and missed qualifying for twf feats (so even worse dps). Cleric would make sense if I had flameblades (druid past life feat), elf & used it as the religion weapon. Then warpriest and all wisdom. I could do 6-7 wiz, 3 monk, rest cleric. My current split will give me a wizard past life which I want for the MM feat.

Harper will give me 15 mp & bonuses to hit and damage (weapon enhantment, righteousness & extra damage against evil) & I will swap out the halfling dragonmark for something else, maybe stunning fist (but it will have a poor DC). Free extend & eschew is also

I might do tier 5 PM from levels 12-15ish for vamp heal on hit.

The death aura will be the prime healing but my defenses will be solid--PRR plus displacement. Remember that AC bonuses in heroics from EPL stacking (passive) as well as other AC bonuses (monk wisdom & ofc dex, improved mage armor etc) also mitigate, plus evasion.

note: A week after this post my RL health collapsed & I have been too weak/sick to play (or do much of anything). Alas! I hope to heal soon since I was having much fun here.

[Saekee]

Back after break from illness! Level 10 elite Fathom the Depths

[janave]

This thread is 100% win,
and you are my favorite DDO player right now.

[Saekee]

This thread is 100% win,
and you are my favorite DDO player right now.

thanks Janave! I got sick some months ago (in RL; still recovering) and my main has not progressed much in her efforts, but I have not broken the vow. I intend to make it to 20 sans gear. Am level 12 now which is a little rough since AP is too tight to really do vampire form successfully; I will get Greater Death Aura at level 13 so just need to slog through level 12.

I really, really want to play my new Prowler build so I need to get this done.