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Topics - botebote77

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31
can we have a 6 player difficulty challenge? actually i haven't tried the mod yet but full xmax (x10) is too laggy for my rig especially in act 5.. which mod spawns more monsters anyway?

personally i would take it one notch harder: the hybrid stat 6 player difficulty HC challenge :) .. take any class you want so long as you invest on all 3 stats

but i imagine most people would find the hybrid part unnecessary  C:-)

32
Greetings TQ players. This thread, well I guess I’m just here to say that you, you have fire. You have bolts like Zeus’ to throw. And I.… i…. I woke up at 3 in the morning with nothing to do so decided to write this instead.

This is about my tips for starting with a mage and playing it classic caster style. What do I mean classic caster style? Simple. A true spellcaster and kill before you get killed type of toon. Now isn’t that fun? I know it sounds bad for hardcore players but trust me, I hate deaths. And I find playing this way safer than playing classic close combat melee.

I will be covering early game tips for storm, earth, and dream. Early game only because if you want mid to late game, you might as well look for class guides. This is no theorycraft. This is based from personal experiences that started from failures and little by little made it effective that finally suits me. Of these, I have most experience with storm.


Storm

Start with squall. Get your mastery bar to tier lvl 10 just enough to unlock squall. You will need to use a staff this early so also put 1pt on storm nimbus and heart of frost (this will help if your staff is cold based)

https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc0c9a0c9a0c9a.html?mastery=Stormcaller&master1=8&master2=0&sa=0&m1=10-0-1-0-0-1-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0&m2=0b

Put all succeeding points to squall. This will start weak but when you finally max it, It’s OP for this stage of the game.

https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc0c9a0c9a0c9a.html?mastery=Stormcaller&master1=8&master2=0&sa=0&m1=10-0-1-0-0-1-0-0-12-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0&m2=0

After that, climb storm mastery until tier lvl 24. Put 1 pt on lightning bolt because it will help against bosses

https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc0c9a0c9a0c9a.html?mastery=Stormcaller&master1=8&master2=0&sa=0&m1=24-0-1-0-0-1-0-0-12-0-1-0-1-1-0-0-1-1-0-0-0&m2=0

After that, take all the points from squall and transfer it to ice shards, only 1pt on the first 2 and maxing the last

https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc0c9a0c9a0c9a.html?mastery=Stormcaller&master1=8&master2=0&sa=0&m1=24-1-1-0-0-1-0-1-0-0-3-0-0-1-0-8-1-1-0-0-0&m2=0

Unlike squall, ice shard is very mana hungry. So don’t put additional points on the first 2 yet. Instead, your next target is lightning bolt. Just the base skill because you will need a good long range single target damage skill for bosses

https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc0c9a0c9a0c9a.html?mastery=Stormcaller&master1=8&master2=0&sa=0&m1=24-1-1-0-0-1-0-1-0-0-12-0-0-1-0-8-1-1-0-0-0&m2=0

When you’ve done this you’re good for a long time already so you have some leeway. What I usually do is I max storm mastery to unlock eye of the storm. Then finally get a 2nd mastery and just put points on the mastery bar. That is so I get higher life and energy. Good items here are the oracle set. Just the helm and torso works well enough for me. When you’ve grown tired of those, a very good torso armor is bai hus mantle socketed with golden fleece relic. Ice shard is very mana hungry so you can delay getting it but if you have these items, mana won’t be that annoying. Spellbreaker is a good skill but early game, I find that i can get by without it.

late edit: probably the best artifact early game for this build is touch of the fool

Earth

I’m going to jump straight to tier lvl 24. You also have to use a staff early game. The popular choice is of course staff of the magi

https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc9cdc9cdc9cdc.html?mastery=Pyromancer&master1=1&master2=0&sa=0&m1=24-1-0-1-1-0-1-1-1-0-0-1-0-1-0-1-0-1-0-0-0&m2=0

Don’t go straight to eruption yet. Eruption is very good but you need lots of skill points just to unlock it. Max Fragmentation instead

https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc9cdc9cdc9cdc.html?mastery=Pyromancer&master1=1&master2=0&sa=0&m1=24-1-0-1-1-0-1-1-1-0-0-1-0-1-0-1-0-12-0-0-0&m2=0

I tried going straight to eruption before and when I got to the gorgon queens (9 of them because I always play x3), it took an eternity to kill them because eruption was just at low lvl (maybe lvl 1) when I got to them. I started a new char and put the points on fragmentation instead and it went so much smoother
After that you can max earth mastery then max eruption.

https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc9cdc9cdc9cdc.html?mastery=Pyromancer&master1=1&master2=0&sa=0&m1=32-1-0-1-1-0-1-1-1-0-0-1-0-1-0-1-0-12-1-1-12-0&m2=0

After this, I usually also just put points on my 2nd mastery to increase my health and mana. This is very good if you have recharge items.

edit: or you could max VO first before going for eruption

https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc9cdc9cdc9cdc.html?mastery=Pyromancer&master1=1&master2=0&sa=0&m1=24-1-0-1-1-0-12-1-1-0-1-1-0-1-0-1-0-12-0-0-0&m2=0

the kill speed will be faster but mana cost will also get higher.. either way should be fine


Dream

I will also jump straight to tier lvl 24

https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc38b838b838b8.html?mastery=Seer&master1=9&master2=0&sa=0&m1=24-0-0-1-0-1-0-1-1-0-0-1-1-1-1-0-1-1-0-0-0&m2=0

No psionic touch? No phantom strike? I told you this is a true spellcaster
Max Psionic Immolation

https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc38b838b838b8.html?mastery=Seer&master1=9&master2=0&sa=0&m1=24-0-0-1-0-1-0-1-1-0-0-1-1-1-1-0-1-12-0-0-0&m2=0

The first 2 skills of Distortion Wave scales with str and at this point, I usually don’t have str yet. So I usually max dream and put a few points on Temporal Rift (not max yet, like 5 pts). This will be useful against tough mobs *cough* Dragonians *cough*. I also get a 2nd mastery around this time which I won’t show on this titancalc

https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc38b838b838b8.html?mastery=Seer&master1=9&master2=0&sa=0&m1=32-0-0-1-0-1-0-1-1-0-0-1-1-1-1-1-1-12-0-0-5-0&m2=0

You can put points on sands of sleep, freddy krueger style. Or you can get CC from the 2nd mastery instead (e.g.: core dweller, monster lure, throwing knife with envenom weapon)


So the trend is I tend to largely ignore my 2nd mastery at least early game. This is what I find effective for a caster. If I get nature, I get my nature bar to tier lvl 4 and put 1pt on HoO and regrowth (for pet or for self healing). But then I ignore it for a long time. I usually stop my int at about 400 and save it. This gives me the option to equip a shield or go true hybrid. Wait, a shield for a caster? Yes of course. and many regulars of this forum probably know I always do that. I just said it in case someone reads this 5 years from now. Because 5 years from now TQ will still be alive  O0

33
Defense AE / Journal Thread: Hybrid Stat Melee Conqueror
« on: 17 February 2019, 00:39:50 »
Because the best things in life are hybrids!!

I don't really know where to post this.. whether under warfare AE or defense AE.. but i saw there are no topics yet under defense AE so defense AE it is

I started this accomplished hero because i can't spend that much time playing
Recently I've been talking about elemental casters investing on str.. And how a good shield and helm of the mammoth are reasons enough to get str.. So now how about the opposite? Physical Melee toons investing on int.. And i want 2 masteries as far away from int as possible: warfare and defense



First of all, i don't plan to nerf this just because i have int.. I know 80% CDR is possible even for a str + dex build and much of the reason is tracker's hood.. Well, i happen to think there are many helms much better than tracker's hood.. Like the helm shown above.. No, not the wizard hat.. The helm of valholl of the mammoth.. And i 99% believe archmage's clasp + corselet of f^(k!n freyja makes int worth investing on for just about any character.. But as much as possible i would like to avoid corselet of freyja (it's too OP)

by the way it's fun to see a lightning strike fall down from the sky especially if you're a conqueror.. And i chose it to make my conqueror look hybrid as early as possible

more to come

34
THQ Nordic / Closed Beta Program
« on: 06 February 2019, 19:23:20 »
just saw this on steam few minutes ago

https://steamcommunity.com/app/475150/discussions/0/1776010325116361217/

i don't think i can join right now but maybe some of you can.. and hey be quick about it

35
i haven't put much thought into this until recently, and I've put probably 2000+ hrs in this game

but passive skills with proc chance: distortion field, storm surge, battle rage, and death ward.. probably also adrenaline (not sure i haven't played defense mastery since long ago from TQIT).. they go well with high CDR

distortion field in particular, i used to leave this at 1pt because the 5% chance proc is too low.. but if you have very high CDR, it actually becomes worth maxing.. just compare it with a dream char with no CDR and one with high CDR.. distortion field will proc more often

battle rage too, it will noticeably proc more often with very high CDR

death ward may actually become more useful.. don't know i don't play my bonecharmer anymore

storm surge will noticeably proc more often with high CDR

of all these though, maybe only distortion field is worth maxing if you have high CDR.. but maybe the upgrades of battle rage becomes worth more than 1pt?

ah just give this mechanic a chance if you play CDR builds

edit: just to be clear, it procs more because the cooldown is lessened with CDR.. my distortion field cooldown from prophet is now only 6 secs instead of 30secs.. storm surge is now only 1.2 secs instead of 6 secs

passive skills with no cooldown, like volley, are not affected

36
If you're tired of playing, some are worth the read.. though most of these I've just skimmed and scanned

just click on the name and it will redirect

Gram - sword

Tyrfing - sword

Neith (Neith's Will) - thrown weapon

Brisingamen - amulet

Gungnir - spear

Mjolnir - thrown weapon, hammer

Hrunting - sword

Agris Helmet (Golden Agris Helmet) - helm

Hati - thrown weapon

Jarnvid (Jarnvidja Nails) - thrown weapon

Ladon (Ladon's Maw) - thrown weapon

Naglfar - thrown weapon

Hofud - sword

Laevateinn - sword

Mistilteinn - thrown weapon

Brokkr (Brokkr's Gift) - axe

Leucetius (Fervor of Leucetius) - axe

Starkad (Starkad's Wife) - axe

Brynhild (Brynhild's Helm) - helm

Urd (Cap of Urd) - helm

Prosopon - helm

Cernunnos (Guise of the Horned God Set) - set

Triteia (Triteia's Coral Crown) - helm

Volund (Volund's Masterpiece) - helm

Skuld (Shield of Skuld) - shield

Skadi (Pendant of Skadi) - amulet

Svalinn - shield

Belenus (Glory of Belenus) - shield

Ran (Ran's Favor) - amulet

Ryggknappsspanne (not really a myth but the name sounds interesting.. the name Ryggknappsspanne is also translated) - amulet

Torc of Lochar Moss - amulet

Arubianus (Arubianus Helmet) - helm

Epona (Epona's Horses, Epona's Hog Mane) - relic, helm

Gutuater (Gutuater Cap) - helm


safe to say, devs did their research
if you have anything to add, please feel free to do so

37
I've always wondered about this but didn't know how to properly test it:

Does physical damage from spells go through enemy armor?

for sure it doesn't go through enemy DA.. I'm just curious because i have 2 spellcasters that deal good physical damage: mage haruspex (distortion wave and sometimes distort reality) and mage summoner (VO and eruption).. both have at least 500 str and 500 int.. on my mage haruspex, EBD still seems to deal higher damage than physical.. but it's DoT and physical is instant damage.. it's harder to tell on my mage summoner.. EE boosts fire heavily but brimstone + strength of the pack also boosts physical heavily.. plague strips both elemental and physical resists.. i just don't know if physical damage from spells go through enemy armor

someone know how to check in-game mechanics?

38
Rogue AE / Dreamkiller: A Hybrid Shoddy
« on: 21 December 2018, 00:18:23 »
Now doesn't this sound like @CrocMagnum 's Avenger: A Hybrid Study?

har har har! Btw for those who haven't read it yet, i encourage to read it. It's here in this forum and also in KP

Now just from reading comments from different forums (though some of them are dated), i have come to the understanding that:

1) People are divided on their opinion of Dreamkiller (Dream + Rogue). Some people think it can be good while some think combining the 2 doesn't make sense

2) Many people are still not comfortable playing a hybrid

So i introduce now a quite safe hybrid to build


items:
Spoiler for Hiden:

Rogue is my favorite mastery in AE/R. I have paired rogue with many masteries already and i like to try with them just about any strategy i can think of. Although it can be considered a support mastery, this build is a good example of how to play rogue as a main mastery. Despite rogue skills scaling with str and dex, rogue works very well with int. Long before i wrote this, there have been int build assassins and int build illusionists. @icefreeze has a beautiful int build brigand. Actually also looks like a hybrid. None of those deal elemental damage but they all perform well with int. I hope to shed some light.

Why is it quite safe?
Small reason: Because all 3 main stats boost something in your skills.
Big Reason: Because it doesn't matter if you nerf your damage because most of your damage will come from traps. Traps don't scale with any of your stats, you only need pet jewelries to make it good. And that's why i call this a hybrid shoddy because it's a hybrid if you look at the stats, but it is mostly just a trapmaster.

BUT...
This ain't easy to build. Consider these things first:
1) Both dream and rogue can be considered support masteries. Starting with either isn't as simple as starting with warfare, hunting, earth or storm.
2) What makes hybrids easier to build are socrates and hale rings. But with this build, you can't go with either because you lose the power of traps. You have to be very stingy on spending your stat points, just enough to equip items you need.
you probably see now why i didn't put this in guidesAE. no matter what i say about building hybrids, nothing beats experience

About this build
This is a late bloomer. The build only takes shape in the level 50s but once the build takes shape, it really is a well balanced build. This is neither glassy nor cannony. The main skills of this build are traps and knives and they both scale with cast speed and all skills. In my opinion, both work best with 180-300% cast speed. Distortion wave is my support attack. It also scales with cast speed. If you focus on traps and knives, they can really outperform calculated strike and lethal strike especially on xmax. This is only true in AE/R because traps and knives have been reworked since AE. I know it sounds weird but it really works well if you also use wraithlords/allfathers jewelries socketed with monkey kings trickery. Get 3 of those if you can. I only have 2 but it's still good. The resistance reduction procs off throwing knives. When monsters get debuffed, traps deal more damage along with your other attacks. This caster can stand up against mobs just fine. Against bosses i have traps that i can just throw at them while i keep my distance.

So what are the advantages of making this a hybrid?
Str and Int boosts distortion wave. Dex boosts poison, bleed and DA. But more importantly, if you look at my pic, i have:

1k DA
a bit of recharge
a good shield
a good amount of cast speed
+4 to rogue
+6 to dream
good enough resists
life leech
energy leech

It's true i have lots of good items but i couldn't wear all of those if I hadn't built this a hybrid. I would've liked to get more recharge actually but my extra archmages clasp is reserved for my elementalist in xmax HC challenge. Archmages Clasp has high cast speed too but it doesn't have life and energy leech. I don't really know which is better, that or Twisted Coil. Maybe even The Frail?

very late edit:
The best synergy for this build is traps + nightmare mastermind. Mastermind is total damage which means it will boost the base damage of traps (pierce), as well as any pet damage you have. So if you have 2-3 pet jewelries, traps will get massive additional damage. The only thing lacking is reduced resist. That's why i suggested to socket your pet jewelries with monkey kings trickery or wear twisted coil of the parasite if you have.

My skills at lvl 70 (with +6 to dream):
https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc41c841c841c8.html?mastery=Dreamkiller&master1=6&master2=9&sa=20&m1=32-0-1-12-12-1-8-1-0-1-16-0-0-8-12-8-8-0-0-6-8-0&m2=32-0-0-10-0-6-0-4-1-0-0-6-10-1-1-1-4-10-0-6-1-0





few notes:
Spoiler for Hiden:
in this case, life leech is actually better than ADCtH because i don't deal big damage with throwing knife anyway. but life leech stays the same no matter how low my damage is. ADCtH will be better if you can somehow up your throwing knife direct damage (not DoT). life leech is pretty good with throwing knife actually because it procs from every projectile

i don't enjoy playing this character. don't know why :/    but it is pretty good performance-wise

few things about building a hybrid:
https://titanquestfans.net/index.php?topic=355.0

is another allfather's amulet better than sacred amulet? with a good suffix and a few gear changes, that's possible

which is better, physical or elemental allfather's ring? hard for me to say because i only have 1 elemental allfather's and it's for 1 of my other characters. but when i tried with wraithlord's, elemental seem to perform better consistency wise. this is because traps on its own (they deal pierce) are already good except against undeads and constructs. elemental works very well against undeads and constructs. this is only for traps and my reduced resists probably played a big factor

9 deaths so far (currently in act 4):
normal: 5 deaths. because i started this untwinked. who the hell plays hybrid untwinked? stupid mistake.
epic: 0 deaths
legendary: 4 deaths. 2 against toxeus the green (the one in labyrinth, Mumm-Ra spawned, so much harder than toxeus in SP). 1 against x3 Bandari, 1 against x3 Dragon Liche - Lord of Undead

for curiosity's sake, anyone knows where i got my character name?

39
General Discussion / One Class, Two Different Builds
« on: 20 November 2018, 23:15:09 »
It's TQ appreciation day.

This is one  area where TQ separates itself from other games imo. A class doesn't determine what build you are going to make. You choose how you build it based on your imagination. And fortunately, i have 2 characters to show this. Two characters with same class but different builds.




why does greatest monster killed say Ormenos-Telkine instead of Typhon? was it because i was too far away from Typhon(x3) when i killed them? regardless, the quest completed.

And dreamkiller isn't even limited to these 2 builds. This is the beauty of TQ. The sky's the limit.

Obviously this isn't meant to be a guide. In fact, i don't recommend either of the builds because both require advanced knowledge of the game. But just to highlight the differences of the 2 builds, I'll try to explain each build in few short sentences. Both are played xmax x3 as usual. The 2 armors shown are blacksmith upgraded. CC is great for both builds.

The first character is a trapper/caster. Throwing knife is used for CC, resistance reduction, life leech and energy leech. Resistance reduction (-40 flat) to boost just about everything, including traps. Strength to boost distortion wave and to equip a shield. No weapon attacks, just traps, throwing knife, and distortion wave.

The second character is a poison elemental archer/trapper. It relies on elemental conversion items. This is even harder to gear. No pet jewelries, no throwing knife, no str.

Spoiler for Hiden:
first build better.. just tricky to build because of stat distribution.. those 5 deaths all came from normal.. second is just too glassy it's as tough as paper

40
Yeah just as title says.. and if possible, stats, skills, and playstyle included.. mages are my thing but i been theorycrafting for an elementalist ever since TQAE so that's about 2 years now.. and i still can't think of a good build for an elementalist. Just theorycrafting because me not playing now. I'm just curious.

In this game i don't believe one class is better than others.. some are just easier to build but i believe each class has its own advantages over others

This class i just think it's all offense and no defense.. that's not for me.. And what's worse is it excels in 3 elements but you don't really need 3 elements.. 4 damage types if you include physical but you don't really need 4 damage types.. Well, some of theorycraft builds i came up with

1) int build - squall + VO, eruption.. maybe lightning bolt later.. but meh this is all offense and no defense

2) int build - squall + flame surge.. ice shard is better than flame surge.. but for an elementalist, i think flame surge is better

3) int build - 3 elements.. lightning bolt + ice shard + eruption.. but this is also all offense and no defense

4) hybrid stat style caster - elemental + physical.. then loading up on %total damage.. maybe freezing blast.. squall + freezing blast + VO/eruption sounds good.. this would be hard to build and gear but i think I'm favoring this one.. but i still think it's an inferior version of physical + fire summoner.. and that bugs me

5) int build - thunderball + VO + eruption.. would this give enough survivavility though?

edit: forgot to include this but i also thought of this at one point
6) hybrid stat style caster - reflect build.. stone form + energy shield - reflection.. str to wear the shield that gives good reflect damage, what's that again? throw in eruption for good measure.. yeah i favor this over (4).. sigh an elementalist reflect build.. would the core get too much attention though?

7) hybrid melee elementalist - oh right the old melee elementalist.. I'm skeptical of this though.. i mean this can't be better than a conqueror.. maybe throwing weapon + shield? chakram of the sun?

This was easy in TQIT.. just gear up for CDR and you're good.. But i think this got more difficult to build in TQAE.. some DA is a must i think.. Core dweller also is a must.. What do you guys think?

I been googling and youtubeing but i haven't seen a build that shows the strength of elementalist over others.

very late update: i ended up turning my stormcaller in the xmax HC challenge into an elementalist

another late update: some answers
https://titanquestfans.net/index.php?topic=786.msg9781#msg9781

41
Storm AE / Mage Prophet - Lightning and EBD Build
« on: 02 November 2018, 13:15:57 »
I said on my Bonecharmer CDR thread that i wanted to write this, so here it is :P . Like i said on that thread, this is my nephew's character and that we played this LAN multiplayer vanilla self-found. This and my Bonecharmer were our first characters in AE and we lost all our saves from TQIT. Well, since the owner doesn't play TQ anymore, i decided to re-gear this updated to ragnarok. I've also said before in another thread that if it's me, i might not be able to resist equipping it with a shield. (Of course i couldn't)

This is also not a guide. I again just want to show the finished product. And mostly to share this build because this build got better in AE/R, except if you factor the broken mechanic 100% CDR.

Storm Nimbus ~ Static Charge:
+ Now also increases Electrical Burn Damage

+ Elemental Damage % bonuses now also boost fire, cold and lightning DoTs

Nightmare ~ Hypnotic Gaze:   
+ Now also causes 6-50% Reduced Resistances for the duration of the Confusion   

+ Cooldown Reduction now caps at 80%

The first 2 are big pluses for this build. The first change means EBD from dream now scales with static charge from storm. The second means EBD now scales with eye of the storm. The third, well you can't really rely on nightmare for reduced resist but hey, a plus is a plus. The fourth is a necessary nerf to a broken mechanic that needed to be addressed imho. Heck, the best petmaster back then was a 100% CDR spellbreaker (permanent ancestral warriors and outsider).

So the main synergy is static charge now boosts both lightning bolt and EBD from dream. And fortunately, no monsters in this game are immune to lightning. The owner of the character chose distort reality and i do too. Distortion wave is good too but i feel distort reality offers better survivability and is less mana hungry. But feel free to get distortion wave if that's your choice. Both lightning bolt and distort reality have 12 sec recharge which goes down to 2.4 secs with 80% CDR. 80% CDR is a must for this build. Though it's not necessary from normal to epic, and early legendary because early to mid game everything dies quickly you don't need to chain cast yet. This was played self-found and iirc, 80% CDR was only reached in act 3 legendary. With ragnarok though there are more CDR items so it wouldn't be too difficult to reach sometime in epic. ToC to help with mana regen and added survivability.

Targets for items:
80% CDR
+4 to all skills
cast speed
resists
DA (it's much safer if you have some DA even if you have petrify)

As with most casters, gearing becomes easy if you have archmage's clasp and aphrodite's favor. This was what it used to look like:

Spoiler for Hiden:

items at 6:37

I wasn't able to find an old pic but fortunately i was able to upload a video before on YouTube.

But when i entered this character, it doesn't have archmage's clasp nor aphrodite's favor. So i had to get creative with the help of new ragnarok items



I see Tiresia's Guide has -10% requirement reduction, resists, and some DA. So the owner must've chosen it because it's actually pretty good and not just to look cool :) . Together with rings of the rhine, i now have -25% requirement reduction. Because i didn't have archmage's clasp, i wanted to equip the next best bracers which is imo SB cuffs (I didn't have another SB cuffs so i had to farm for it, it took like a hundred labyrinth runs with this char). But since ragnarok it now requires higher dex, but fortunately there is also a ragnarok relic that gives 9% dex. I put it on my boots. So to cut the story short: Tiresia's Guide + Rings of the Rhine + Occult ring of Grace + Incarnation of Sigurd's Courage. It also helped that when i entered this character, it has 14 unused stat points (i spent 9 of those).

Tiresia's Guide and Rings of the Rhine already provide some CDR. To close it to 80% i chose Polaris, Neith's Will and Cestus. Wheel of Taranis may be the best artifact for this build. That or Talisman of the Jade Emperor. You can't go wrong with either. Apollo's Will is just for positive resistances. I again fell short of my target 1k DA but came close enough.

I remember the secondary of this was Boreas staff (reduced resist). I have extra winds of asphodel so i went with it + another rings of the rhine. The game offers a secondary slot, so might as well use it.

Starting with either Dream or Storm is fine. Dream is less mana hungry and probably more beginner friendly. But experienced caster players know storm can rule early game.

At lvl 74, skill distribution was:
https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc464c464c464c.html?mastery=Prophet&master1=8&master2=9&sa=21&m1=32-0-1-6-0-0-8-0-12-0-12-0-6-12-7-0-1-1-12-8-8-0&m2=32-0-0-0-0-8-0-6-9-0-0-0-12-8-8-12-6-0-0-1-12-0

Buuuut, this character has now fallen to me. I tried this:
https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc464c464c464c.html?mastery=Prophet&master1=8&master2=9&sa=21&m1=32-12-1-6-0-7-8-8-12-0-12-0-6-12-1-8-1-1-12-8-1-0&m2=32-0-0-0-0-8-0-6-1-0-0-0-12-1-1-12-6-0-0-1-12-0
then 1 lvl up later i maxed heart of frost and put 2 more pts on reflection

If you do this, you might hate it quickly you might revert to original build. At least that's what happened to me. It became much more difficult to control and more mana hungry. But it kills quicker that i decided to try it more and get myself more used to it. Playstyle got a little bit different: cast squall and lightning bolt first, then as mobs get to you, cast ice shard. Then when they are already near you, cast distort. Ice shard is not used as a spam skill here but more like an in-between cast so it doesn't drain that much mana. You become a little bit like a piano caster. Also, lightning imbued undeads in the snowy areas (stolen bundles quest) in act 5 are the most lightning resistant monsters I've seen in this game, but they are vulnerable to ice shards. Just keep this in mind as an alternate build at higher levels.

late edit:
i wrote something about starting with mages
https://titanquestfans.net/index.php?topic=908.0

Extra info:
squall vs ToW
Both reduce resists but unfortunately, they are both percentile. And %reduced resistance doesn't stack. Obscured visibility reduces resists by 30% at 6/6 while ToW by 32% at 12/12. Only 2% difference but ToW would require you to get near mobs. But with squall, you can cast it anywhere on your screen. It also reduces enemy damage by % and causes 100% impaired aim.

Stat Distribution:
This is where it gets interesting. Save the best for last.

1)  The simplest way is all int. But me don't like all int casters. I think it's a gimp to your character.

2)  Another option is like what i did. A little bit str, a little bit dex, then int the highest. It's a bit complicated but if you are used to keeping 10 unused stat points for long periods of time, it becomes a lot easier. (Hint: use the undo trick)

3)  Hybrid stat style caster. Actually, there are some veterans that play casters investing on all 3 stats, even though they know they will only deal elemental damage. Self-proclaimed mage boy has learned many things from at least one of those crazy guys. Sadly, they are not around anymore so the things you'll get from me is mostly theoretical and i can't give any assurances:
At 400+ int, you can already wear most high end mage items except staves. If you invest another 400, you get about +61% ele damage. But if you put all those on str instead, you can get your str to about 500 - 600. At 500 - 600 str, you can equip items like Lykaion Malleus and Visor of the Shadowlord, plus high end shields. See the lightning and EBD damage? With the right items, it's possible to get back the damage you lost, and also gain way more survivability. The main goal though of course is to have enough survivability. I've said this before somewhere: "less running equals more attacks, more running equals less attacks". You might need 1 socrate's ring and 1 hale ring (maybe). But it'll probably be worth it. Or maybe the 10% str from jade emperor artifact will suffice. Don't know but eh experienced hybrid players will know what to do once they play it. If you want to try this for the first time, do at your own risk.
if i am to re-run this right now, 90% chance i would've taken this route.

42
Hunting AE / Bonecharmer CDR Build
« on: 28 October 2018, 09:18:07 »
Greetings Foreign Warrior. Who says that again? A merchant somewhere in act 5? Ok, so I've longed for a collection of builds updated to AE/R. I think the admins of this forum still remember me pleading for a page dedicated for updated character builds :D .  I'm happy with how the forum is right now, and since more and more players of the community are sharing their builds, i figure why not share another one? But at this point, i really don't see myself creating another character. So i just dug through my retired characters i haven't played since ragnarok. This one happens to be my very first character in TQAE. Longtime members of this forum probably know I've mentioned this build before.

Being my first character in AE, this was played self-found and just vanilla. Me and my nephew started AE as LAN multiplayer. Him as prophet and me as bonecharmer. It was years ago since we last played TQIT and we already lost all our saves. I started this the usual str + dex melee build. Just the usual spear + shield build but with Lich King. Nothing special. And indeed, if played as a self-found str + dex spear build, it's probably the most optimal way. But every time I've played this i kept saying i should've created a Warden instead. Possibly better survivability and better kill speed because of shield attacks. The one advantage spirit has over defense (Lich King) isn't much of an aggro and it's damage isn't much either. But months after i created this character, i thought maybe I'm just building this like how i would a Warden. I finally decided i can't keep wishing my character was a Warden instead. I have to come up with a Bonecharmer build that i think would at least be on par with the best Wardens, so i would finally be content. That's when i came up with a bit of a curveball build. More gear dependent, but one that i think could be just as good as any spear + shield builds.

This is not a guide btw, i just want to show the finished product. An alternate way of building a Bonecharmer

So i also play non-caster characters lelz. But i only created this character because my nephew said he was gonna play a caster so i should play a melee toon. And he told me to play a spear melee. It's probably because back from TQIT, we weren't fans of spear melees (probably because scatter shot was so OP back then that 1 or 2 hits of bow marksmanship can kill a whole mob). We started AE as LAN multiplayer and of course he ended up as the killer and me the aggro. We also played PvP, this and the prophet and he always beat me it always looked like a bully beating up a younger kid. Caster Prophet is just too difficult to beat in PvP. I also plan on writing a thread of it if i can write it good enough.

So this was started as a spear + shield build with a bow on secondary. When ragnarok came though, i decided to go with throwing weapon + shield, and a bow on secondary. I treat throwing weapon as a melee weapon for this build. I don't even press shift as i do with my ranged builds. When mobs get to me, i don't kite. I play this like a melee character. I tried this with all 3 weapons. Spear deals the most single target damage. Bow is of course the longest range and is AoE. Throwing weapon is like the in-between, it's like a ranged melee. I fell a little short of my target 1k DA, but still close enough.







spear is also good. it's just single target bums me. the only difference aside from weapon is the shield. for throwing weapon, i use blacksteel bulwark of annihilation. for spear, blacksteel bulwark of alacrity. ring is hale of adroitness with demons blood.

Please ignore the death count, this was played self-found with no proper strategy build in mind. Back then i still didn't have trackers hood and myrmidon's pendant. So iirc, i went with pelaron and polaris. Of course i also didn't have those ragnarok items. Talisman of the jade emperor may be the best artifact for this build

Pros and Cons of this build:

Pros:
*  permanent call of the hunt, permanent unearthly power, study prey spam, can abuse monster lure, can summon outsider more often

Cons:
*  casting call of the hunt every minute and unearthly power every 30 secs can make you crazy

*  this is a melee character and melee characters are always at a disadvantage imho. many players will probably disagree with me but the ability to attack monsters before they even get close to you is always a big advantage. throwing weapons can do that but the range is not much, it's nowhere close to the range of a bow or long range spells

Bonecharmers were known as great archer builds back in TQIT. It's still good in AE/R, but i recommend you get a shield on your secondary. 1k DA is not nearly enough to keep you alive anymore, but if you use a shield and have ADCtH, you should be ok especially that spirit has deathchill aura. Marksmanship has big energy cost for a LMB skill but mana shouldn't be a problem because of Dark Covenant. Yes i recommend maxing dark covenant for energy gain and the longer duration of Unearthly Power. At 10/6 Dark Covenant, It's just enough to keep Unearthly Power permanent with 65% CDR. The health cost isn't noticeable when your HP is already above 5k and your life steal will be doubled by Necrosis. Herbal Remedy is also there to counter some of the health cost. But yeah, i don't recommend maxing Dark Covenant early. Hunting has too many better skills. Also don't ignore monster lure, it becomes very good at 10/6. It's great against archers but is also useful when mobs get too heavy. Just step back a little after casting it.

Gear:
As mentioned above, 65% CDR is the target. 65% also happens to be the right amount of CDR needed to keep CotH active all the time. I only have 64% but it's enough. And like all characters, having at least +4 to all skills is very good.

Stat distribution is str + dex. Veteran players can play this hybrid, after all necrosis boosts vit damage greatly and flush out reduces elemental resist. But shhh no. Unless you know what you are doing, don't. But hey, i won't be surprised if veteran players can make a superior build by going hybrid. With ragnarok, it may also be possible to play this int + dex with just enough str to equip rings of the rhine, then converting your damage to elemental. Interesting? I'm thinking blessed of the moirae + 1 eitr + gambanteinn. You lose on the pierce damage though.

My skill distribution at lvl 74:
https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc239e239e239e.html?mastery=BoneCharmer&master1=2&master2=7&sa=21&m1=32-6-0-0-8-0-1-0-6-16-1-0-8-0-1-8-1-0-1-13-16-0&m2=32-0-0-6-1-12-6-0-8-0-6-8-12-1-8-10-1-1-6-1-6-0

Don't know why it says 75. I lack the 6 skill points quest rewards from normal and epic act 5. Flush out is worth maxing even if you don't deal bleed damage. For spear builds, it will make you crit more often. But even if you don't use a spear, it's very good with Lich King - Arcane Blast. The lich now cast it more often than it does in TQIT. And together with perma unearthly power, Lich King noticeably does better damage, even in legendary. Also, Outsider deals elemental damage. And you can summon outsider more often for this build.

A funny thing happened.  While i was seeing how this fares in act 5 legendary x3, and while i was still writing this article, this spear dropped:



Is the game still telling me i should've played a warden instead? :D  dem that DA boost. combined with wood lore and battle awareness, that's a whole lotta DA

bonus info:
*  one of the great things about a bonecharmer is it's great against undeads and beasts/beastmen. and there are many undeads and beasts/beastmen in the game

*  i chose jagged silk because it has been tested by at least 2 members of this forum that volley from items seem to stack with volley from skill

*  dark covenant is an aura that your pets and allies also get but without the HP drain penalty. so with all these auras and debuffs, it's not hard to picture that this build is great for multiplayer. doesn't matter if your buddy is a caster or a weapon user

Spoiler for Hiden:
i think i also played this a bit online before.. anyone remember the name? meh probably none :)

43
Ragnarok has insane OP items.  I think we can all agree on that. But this topic is different. This is about the items that are probably overlooked because of seemingly better items. There are items like Nerthus Armbands that are only blue but obviously very good for a Summoner (Nature + Earth). I'm not talking about those items.  This is about the ragnarok items that are probably discarded as "not good items" at first look, but are actually great even for endgame.


Neith's Will

First is the purple throwing weapon that drops in any of your character playthroughs even if you don't look for it. But this is actually one of my favorite caster weapons. The base damage is low but it doesn't matter for a caster. The recharge and the %total damage are important for casters, throw in the resists and this is just perfect. The requirements are not that high too. Plus if you play a caster with hunting, you get the huge bonus to DA because it's a throwing weapon, even if you don't use it to attack



Marbod's Mask

This one i completely overlooked when i first found it. "Meh not good, probably never going to be used. put it in tqvault just for collection". But days, weeks, or maybe months later when i was trying to gear my str + dex assassin for 80% CDR permanent battle standard, i saw this on my tqvault and i saw the -50% int requirement for armors. There, it's possible for a str + dex character to wear archmage's clasp

and archmage's clasp is just perfect for this build because it solves my CDR problem, it gives me 40% attack speed, it solves my slow cast speed, and it even has a small chance to reduce resistances, which applies to both weapons and knives.


Dagger of Basbona

It looks like a good early epic item. Only early epic because the base damage is low. But wait, the %proc chance is total damage. So if you use it for multi attack AoE spells like ice shards, VO, and eruption, that %chance proc is sure to trigger every time. Add in the 20% recharge and this is really good for a caster even in endgame. The thousand cuts granted skill triggers upon taking damage but the 75% chance of impaired aim, 75% chance to fumble attacks, 30% chance to avoid projectiles should give you a little bit of extra survivability.  I also did not see this item's true worth when i first saw it in tq database.


Rings of the Rhine

I really see this as the devs' gift to casters or petmasters/trappers. It's only a blue item and the damage blocked is low so it's probably overlooked. But it gives a bonus DA of 300. It has a str requirement of 284 but is only really 241 because the -15% requirement also applies to it. And it also applies to other items including weapons. That 241 str req is easily reachable for characters in legendary even for toons that doesn't invest on str. And yep 15% recharge. A combination of this and a good throwing weapon is a good substitute for a staff.



Carnyx Staff

Now this one i admit i haven't tried on an actual character so this is mostly theoretical. The base damage is only 100 but this staff has a hidden attribute: 100% chance to pass through enemies. So combined with ternion, it would be great AoE. The damage is physical so this could be good for a str + int ternion spellbreaker or soothsayer
edit: wolpak and icefreeze tested ternion with carnyx. it seems ternion does work with carnyx but it works differently. and it's weird so just read the comments. headscratching. devs have weird imagination.

I realize most of the items are for casters but that's really how i play so those are the things i see. If you have other items that fits this topic, please share in the comments.

44
Earth AE / Mage Summoner (Earth + Nature)
« on: 02 October 2018, 02:11:43 »

no, this is not melee

Greetings everyone. I got back to playing TQ again and this time made a mage summoner (earth + nature). The build turned out to be strong, fast paced, and flashy enough that i thought i wanted to share it. This is a full mage and only for the wise and powerful. Are you sure you should be shopping here? But hey this build is no ordinary mage because you should also visit the dude that sells swords, shields, helmets of all kinds. Sounds complicated? Not really. Or maybe a little. But that's why i decided to write this. I'll try to make this simple enough that beginners can also follow. This is like a mixed journal and a partial guide.

The two attacks of this build are Volcanic Orb and Eruption. Both deal mix physical and fire damage and that's what this build is all about. Now i can't really say if this build deals more damage than a pure int summoner simply because i haven't tried a full int summoner before. But i can say that this build does not lack in damage and there are 3 reasons for that:

1) physical damage from spells now scales with str

2) strength of the pack + brimstone gives 120% physical damage (at ultimate max)

3) plague reduces fire and physical resist

Let me explain this a bit; physical damage resistance is usually low or at zero. That's why most weapon users are ok even if they don't have reduced resists. But that doesn't mean the reduced physical resist from plague is now useless. Reduced resist from plague is absolute meaning you don't reduce resists by percentage but by the exact amount listed on the skill. So if a target's physical resist is at zero, it now comes down to -39% if your susceptibility is at 8/8. If you have +4 and your susceptibility is now at 12/8, your target's physical resist comes down to -54%. And we all know how hard it is to survive with negative resistance, especially as low as -54%.

i rushed this simply because it kills fast. I finished the first 4 acts of normal in just a little over 20 hrs and for a completionist playing xmax x3, i think that's pretty fast. At around lvl 10, i stopped picking up stuff except blues and greens and those i can get with the quick pick up button. I sold relics and charms so i still get some gold to buy energy pots. I didn't have many low level items so this was semi self-found. By lvl 34 though i was able to wear vestment of aericura, then 1 lvl up later, arcane bindings. Those 2 helped a lot with recharge. But for those playing this full self-found, I'll try to suggest some early game items to farm. My game speed is set to fast btw. And yeah i remember using the orb * at act 1 normal specifically against 3 cyclops and 3 shadowmaws. Yep, * can handle them if you let the frostburn damage do its job.

What to look for from items:
The biggest decision here is whether to focus on pet items or mage items. Choosing mixed pet and mage items would make it more complicated than it should be. And in games like this, you want your toon to have a strength it can rely on so i advice you choose mage items or pet items. This is for a mage build, if you want petmaster, you should look for another guide :p . But i can assure you this build is very good for mobs as well as killing bosses repeatedly (farming) even with xmax.

main targets:
* all skills - +4. i initially thought i needed at least +5 but somewhere in epic i realized +4 is good enough. makes your spells stronger.

* cooldown reduction - 80%. with 80% CDR, cooldown of VO becomes just 1 second, and eruption at 4 seconds.

* cast speed - preferrably 250-300%. makes hit and run better. and plague + eruption + VO in quick succession is deadly.  you also need high cast speed if you need to cast stone form in emergency. strength of the pack gives +15%

secondary targets:
* anything that boosts fire and physical damage by percent

* resists. bleed usually ends up negative on my builds and i usually get my bleed res on secondary. i probably have to find a better secondary shield, one that gives me better resists

early game items to look for:
staff of the magi - you can find this from act 1 mage satyrs (those that use staff). i used this all the way until chang'an normal, where i switched to a self-found blue dragons scales and a green shield.

diogenes ring/amulet - you can find these from trash mobs but imo you'll have better chance of finding some from merchants. replace later with plato's, then socrates after that.

oracle's wreath - act 1 normal bosses i guess. this is a lvl 10 item that grants recharge. if you have other set pieces of the oracle's set, wear them. the set bonuses are great for a caster.

robust ring/amulet - same as diogenes but you need diogenes first. replace with hale later.

occult ring - this has a lvl 35 requirement. act 4 or 5 merchants

helm of the magus - i think this is more common in act 4 or 5. trash mobs or merchants

the owl - one of my characters found this before in normal act 5. grants recharge and big boost to int. you can use this even late game if you have trouble getting 80% CDR. it has a study prey proc but it only triggers upon getting hit by ranged attacks. but when it triggers, even melee mobs caught in the radius get debuffed

dagger of basbona - i found this on epic act 1 with this same character. it grants 20% recharge and 20% chance of 100% total damage. the 20% chance proc also applies on spells and trust me, when used with VO and eruption, it procs every time because the fragments also get the 20% chance proc. this is also a good endgame weapon. it has 185 dex requirement though so you have to get some dex from items (not too difficult)

reginn's hammer - i found this on normal act 5. grants 40% physical and fire damage. the 50% damage to constructs and 33% armor protection (increased armor) are not to be taken lightly. constructs are the type of monsters that seem to be most resistant against physical. it's not a problem with reginn's hammer. and because the 33% armor protection is from a weapon, it is global meaning all your armors get the bonus. this was my weapon of choice starting epic all the way to endgame. and how fitting is it that my Totosai is using a hammer? get it?
*(needs confirmation on constructs' resists/but i do kill constructs quickly with this weapon)

a simple but very good weapon is a green axe or club with a tyrant's prefix. you can find that in shops if you're persistent enough (I'm not). you're lucky if you find it with a good suffix like of havoc. socket that with Prometheus flame

bonus: if you can somehow find mbuti's advocate with very good affix, both VO and eruption triggers the study prey proc (I've tested it). it is dex based though so you need requirement reduction but you can use normal version because the base weapon damage doesn't matter for a spellcaster

santa's chest armor has 10% recharge. it has lvl 35 requirement. you can use it late normal if you are playing twinked

rings of the rhine has a chance to drop in normal act 5 but it's easier to find in epic. it's a shield that grants recharge, high DA, and requirement reduction

mid to late game items:
weapons - any of the early game weapons i mentioned are good even for late game. figurehead of the naglfar, flakes of muspelheim, ra's touch (though it requires a bit of dex), fafnir's teeth. giant's tooth is so OP that it's good even for a caster.

shields - golden shield of pelaron, flowing shield of the euphrates, rings of the rhine, deimos, priam's gate, aionios (i don't have 1)

bracers - nerthus armbands, arcane bindings, adept's clasp, archmage's clasp. archmage's clasp is BiS but i don't have a spare. the poison res from nerthus armbands is huge

rings - seal of hephaestus, occult/hale/socrates of something, sindri's loop, ring of the three, ring of taranis, celestial band, cartouche ring

amulet - polaris, polydegmon, torc of cernunos, torc of the ancestors, aphrodite's favor, myrmidon's pendant, brisingamen (OP, don't have).

helm - preferably something with recharge

greaves - athena's battle greaves, leggings of the flameborn, boots of the alfather, boots of freyja, leggings of the defiled, demonskin walkers, blacksteel greaves

artifact - talisman of the jade emperor, thoth's glory, eye of ra, gambanteinn, symbol of the polymath

torso armor - many options here. there are only few dex based torso armors and you probably won't need them. cestus, tunic of the magi, blacksteel plate

Synergies between earth and nature:
Do i even have to spell it? :)
I mean virtually every skill from one mastery seem to compliment every skill from the other. The problem is there are too many good skills that you don't know if you'll have enough skill points to take them all. But is that really a problem? If that's a problem i call it a good problem to have. How many of us have put points than needed on nightmare pet just because we don't have anything else to spend our skill points at? Maybe even wisp? battle rage? At least on summoner, you know you'll spend your skill points on a good skill, even when you reach endgame.

Stat Distribution:
This is str + int but don't just spend them 1pt on str per 1pt int. You have to gear for CDR as early as possible. And you won't have strength of the pack until much later so fire is your early game damager. Start all int first then after you reach about 300-350 int, go all str until about 400-450 str. Then go according to your needs based on gear requirements. It's also good if you keep about 5 unused points just in case you find an item you want to wear and you don't meet the requirements yet. If you have reached gear requirements, try to keep str and int balanced. If you need to put points on dex, it should only be to meet requirements. I did this with no dex at all.

Early game leveling:
Start Earth. Earth is very good early game whether you choose volcanic orb, flame surge, or even ring of flame. Since volcanic orb will be my main attack all throughout the game, i started with volcanic orb. it's very good early game even with its 5 sec cooldown. Early game, set this as your RMB so your attacks will be VO, eruption, and staff attack. But later on when you already have high CDR and using a shield, you might want to bind VO to LMB. Volcanic orb + Eruption will allow you to farm bosses repeatedly with not much difficulty even if you play xmax. 1st level up put 2 pts on earth mastery and 1 pt on earth enchantment. Continue climbing earth putting only 1pt on volcanic orb, brimstone, core dweller, and stone form just in case. When you reach lvl 7, just keep your 3 skill points. Why? So when you reach lvl 8, you'll have 6 skill points to spend on nature. You're not in delphi yet at this point. Put 4pts on nature mastery, 1pt on HoO, and 1pt on regrowth so you have something to support core dweller. But after that, we will ignore nature for a very long time. And 1 more thing, don't set your core dweller to aggressive. Not yet because we will leave it at lvl 1. It will just die quickly if it's set to aggressive. Continue climbing earth putting only 1pt on conflagration and also 1pt each on the synergies of core dweller. When you reach fragmentation, max it.

https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc44c344c344c3.html?mastery=Summoner&master1=4&master2=1&sa=0&m1=4-1-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0&m2=24-1-0-1-0-0-1-1-1-0-0-1-0-1-0-1-0-12-0-0-0

After maxing fragmentation, max volcanic orb. So it's now max/1/max volcanic orb and 1pt each on other necessary skills. This will ensure you one-shot mobs early game.

https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc44c344c344c3.html?mastery=Summoner&master1=4&master2=1&sa=0&m1=4-1-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0&m2=24-1-0-1-1-0-12-1-1-0-0-1-0-1-0-1-0-12-0-0-0-0

Next, continue climbing earth again until you max it. Put 1 pt on volatility, eruption and metamorphosis. Then all succeeding skill points you get put them on eruption until you max it. You will have to drink mana quite a lot but don't worry you are going in the right direction and nature will help with that later on.

https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc44c344c344c3.html?mastery=Summoner&master1=4&master2=1&sa=0&m1=4-1-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0&m2=32-1-0-1-1-0-12-1-1-0-1-1-0-1-0-1-0-12-1-1-12-0-0

Now you have your main attack taken care of but it came with the cost of low health and energy. So the next step: Put every skill point on nature mastery. Ignore every skill in nature except tranquility of water. Put 1pt there then continue climbing nature mastery. You don't need plague yet and wolves will just be mere decorations. Low level wolves will just get murdered against high level mobs. But you still deal very good damage but with low health and energy. Thats why we put everything on nature mastery so every level up we get more health and mana. I know it sounds weird but trust me it's really effective. I killed 3 Barmanu and 3 Typhon pretty easily with shoot and retreat tactic. Even Dactyl and 3 Hades died quickly from volcanic orb and eruption. Same shoot and retreat tactic. I had 1pt on susceptibility by this time and it probably helped. Put 1pt on heat shield if you haven't yet. It's bothersome to cast again and again but you are much safer if you have it on. After maxing nature mastery, put 1pt on refresh just in case you have to resummon core dweller quickly. And also, if you don't have enough CDR yet, eruption - refresh - eruption is a good boss killer.

https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc44c344c344c3.html?mastery=Summoner&master1=4&master2=1&sa=0&m1=32-1-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0&m2=32-1-0-1-1-0-12-1-1-0-1-1-0-1-0-1-0-12-1-1-12-0-0

At this point, i found that I'm ok even if i don't spend my succeeding skill points so that means you can spend your skills on what you want and it wouldn't matter too much. I just put 1pt each on plague tree then maxed volatility and earth enchantment. But it's ok too if you want pets or tranquility of water.

Next is epic. Act 1 epic is far easier than late normal. This is the time to get wolves if you haven't yet. From this point on, I'll just keep it short. Put 1pt each on wolves tree and nymph tree (optional). Max wolves (base skill). Put points on core dweller tree except wildfire just until it doesn't die easily. Get plague tree then max strength of the pack. The way it happened with my character, the damage scaling was: Eruption and Volatility on normal, Strength of the Pack and Brimstone on epic, and Plague on Legendary.

suggested skill distribution (with +4):
https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalc44c344c344c3.html?mastery=Summoner&master1=4&master2=1&sa=0&m1=32-1-16-12-1-1-2-1-1-8-6-1-1-1-1-12-1-8-1-1-1-0&m2=32-12-0-8-1-0-12-1-6-0-1-1-0-8-0-1-0-12-12-8-12-0

I did not put anything on rewarded skill points so endgame, you should have more skill points than that. You might need more points on permanence of stone depending on your items. Points spent on pets are just so they don't die easily when set to aggressive. Core dweller at lvl 10 is tanky enough. It will die the most in act 5 but it's very easy to resummon with 80% CDR. And don't forget mastery shrines. Resummon every pet whenever you get a mastery shrine. And that's one of the reasons why i have regrowth so i can keep them at higher levels for longer periods of time. But late game you will have more points than i showed anyway so feel free to add more points on your dweller if you want. Briar ward even at lvl 1 serves its purpose but you can put more points on it late game. Briar ward was the main reason i survived Dactyl. For some reason, it decided to spawn once on my first run in normal, then 3x  also on my first run in epic. That's how much the big dude likes me (or likes to kill me). But he never did because i have briar ward. It will vanish with 1 wave but it allows me to attack then retreat. But you can use briar ward against ordinary mobs as well.

Eruption is great against archers because they usually don't follow you. So if you cast eruption then retreat, they just stay in their place and let themselves die. But if mobs are in front of you, cast VO instead of eruption. It lands faster if your target is in front of you and the damage is more instantaneous, plus it stuns. You might be tempted to cast VO then eruption immediately after. But actually it is safer if you cast VO, run back a little, then VO again. You can cast eruption on the ground before they even get close to you. Some mobs in act 5 don't get stunned, jotuns for example. Use briar ward against them. The most trouble I've had with this build is against the golem constructs in act 5. I don't know how high their reflect is but when they cast their thorns thingy they are more dangerous than yggdrasil creatures. And once eruption starts, there is no stopping it. So you continue getting damage until the duration is over. Also the area where i had to get the hand of balance (act 2). The skeletons there have thorns now? The green ones. Maybe they always had and i just forgot. Or maybe i just never noticed. The best counter i could come up with is the old trick stone form + eruption. They cost me some deaths. These are some of the things that i had to learn on the go.

Hiding in briar ward all day is good for this build. Eruption really goes well with briar ward. And sanctuary even gives -32% damage absorption and also -32% mana cost. But personally, i find it slow and clunky. I feel it takes away some of the fun of playing a caster. And most of the time i prefer being mobile than stationary. Also, it feels like briar ward takes away some of the range factor of being a mage. If i really have to I'll cast briar ward but I'd like to avoid it as much as i can. I'm not bashing it, it's just a matter of preference. Heck, on my skinchanger i cast briar ward all the time. I also tried it on this one but I just like it more if i just pew, pew, pew - boom! boom! boom!

I have one gripe in this build that i haven't thought of while theorycrafting: the range of plague is shorter than VO's and eruption's. It would've been so much better if the range of plague is just as far. Well, you can't have your cake and eat it too. One solution is to let your pets draw aggro first. Another is to cast briar ward. But it shouldn't matter much. As long as you get your resists up, this caster isn't as squishy as you might think. It might not look like it but i care about survivability as much as i care about offense.

For those who like to play mages, this is a beginner friendly build but make sure you don't spend your skills and stats all over the place. You will have to do some farming but the build also gives you the power to do so. The best low risk high reward farming spot for this build is the secret passage. Don't open the gates, press shift then cast plague and eruption from the outside. Everything there dies quickly. Just make sure to hide in stone form when toxeus spawns.

gameplay clips
Spoiler for Hiden:








45
Gaming / About diablo 20th anniversary
« on: 23 August 2018, 00:23:27 »
just saw this and since i know some people here are also diablo fans, can anyone here talk about #4? (3:41)



i didn't know this so i just googled but couldn't find anything except some comments saying the same thing.. me with one look also knows the images are not from official diablo games

but wow that's embarrassing

as for me i think the graphic designers of diablo 3 are different because graphics in diablo 3 is cartoonish imo

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