|
|
Post by rossgarner on Apr 18, 2018 15:36:44 GMT -5
Hi All, I'm just returning the game after a long break and trying to respec some part members that are sub-optimal. I am running the standard team on Hard. My team is the standard lineup of Vraes, Khartjan, Kyera, and Tamilin. I am currently level 45 and just completed the first Weaver fight in Act IV. I am quite happy with the build for Tamilin, she is my primary damage dealer and is carrying my team with maxed Aimed Shot, AoE and Bonus Critical Skill. The other three characters are causing me heartburn though: - Vraes: I have built Vraes as my primary tank, secondary damage dealer. I have him using a 3AP polearm, but have considered swapping him to a 1H weapon and shield. I have maxed Stone Skin, Natural Mastery and then some in his boosted attack, Ferocity and Juggernaut. I'm unsure what direction to take Vraes in, whether to go full tank with him or to respec him and focus on his basic attack spell (I cannot remember its name). His damage is much, much lower than Tamilin as he has no AoE, but his single target is also much lower than her regular crits. Should I just go full tank with Vraes and let Tami carry us?
- Khartjan: He is the hero I have had the most issue with. I originally built him as a pure curse / buff character maxing Burning Swords, Pureflame shield and Choking ash. I decided to start leveling his AoE fire spell, and it seems useful but he can never sustain himself through lengthy dungeons. His SP steal is pitiful compared to the rest of the team even when hitting 10-15 enemies at a time and he's currently drinking almost all my potions. Should I refocus him just around buffing / cursing and leave AoE to other team members?
- Kyera: I originally built Kyera as my secondary frontline hero, but when I picked up the Heartbeats of Summer I couldn't resist making her into a spellcaster. I maxed Retribution, Warding Shield then I have a bit of healing, Sacrifice and 1 point in a few other skills. I've kept her in medium armor, hammer and shield though to have some semblance of melee ability. She is pretty self sufficient as she can refill her SP easily through melee attacks and does excellent healing or damage with Retibution.
Long story short, what would you do with this team?
|
|
|
|
Post by fallen on Apr 18, 2018 16:34:27 GMT -5
I cross posted this in Discord  discord.gg/nPZS8Notably, SP Drain only works on the primary target in AoE spells and attacks. If you are high leveled in Burning Blades, you may find that Immolation is better as it curses as well as dealing damage and is a bit more conservative on the AP/SP. For Vraes, I would not suggest having 2 Attack Talents. That is a waste of a lot of Vraes' Talent points when you only really need one. Juggernaut is one way to help Vraes overcome the lack of AoE, when you get him on a roll there is just nothing like it. He's everywhere killing everything. |
|
|
|
Post by contributor on Apr 18, 2018 17:01:01 GMT -5
To be honest there are few ways to match Tamilin flinging spikes at crowds for damage. So you'll probably never get Vraes up to her level. The point though is to make him fun and the drill who can hammer into those single high hp enemies. Working on his critical and getting him Juggernaut should help make him more fun. I would also recommend Immolation for Kj if you're going to make him more offensive (which seems like more fun). The -crit vulnerability pairs well with Burning Blades and will help Vraes kill and complete Tamilin's transformation into Hela from Thor Ragnarok.
As for SP for Kj are you using some of the big SP boosting gear to help him have a bigger tank? Also strategic position can help to reduce Ash usage. Always try to draw the enemy into a nice formation instead of dropping it on one at a time.
As for Kyera, I don't know. I've always wondered about making a Kyeampire. With the Heartbeats it would be awesome to see her sucking the SP out of the enemy and transferring it to her team, but I'm not sure the dream is really possible. Give it a try and report back?
|
|
|
|
Post by rossgarner on Apr 18, 2018 18:39:10 GMT -5
To be honest there are few ways to match Tamilin flinging spikes at crowds for damage. So you'll probably never get Vraes up to her level. The point though is to make him fun and the drill who can hammer into those single high hp enemies. Working on his critical and getting him Juggernaut should help make him more fun. I would also recommend Immolation for Kj if you're going to make him more offensive (which seems like more fun). The -crit vulnerability pairs well with Burning Blades and will help Vraes kill and complete Tamilin's transformation into Hela from Thor Ragnarok. As for SP for Kj are you using some of the big SP boosting gear to help him have a bigger tank? Also strategic position can help to reduce Ash usage. Always try to draw the enemy into a nice formation instead of dropping it on one at a time. As for Kyera, I don't know. I've always wondered about making a Kyeampire. With the Heartbeats it would be awesome to see her sucking the SP out of the enemy and transferring it to her team, but I'm not sure the dream is really possible. Give it a try and report back? My Kyera is as you describe and it works pretty well. Ever with zero strength and no points of melee skills at all she regularly steals 30-40 SP per smack with her hammer. This is literally the way I'm keeping my Kjartan casting Firestorm, since his SP steal is so low when he casts it. So it seems like making Vraes into a Crit focused build with Sword / Shield, Rage, Natural Mastery, and Phalanx would be a better fit. I guess the big decision is Savage Sweep or Juggernaut. I lean towards Juggernaut as the cleanup from Tamilin's AoE bombs. With Kjartan then I'd remove the Firestorm and a focus just on Burning Blades, Immolation, Choking Ash and Pureflame Shield. That makes sense. Burning Blades and Immolation has such good synergy. He'd be primarily a buffer / debuffer. The real question then is Kyera: do I keep her as an AoE Retribution caster or do I turn her back into my secondary melee combatant. Her damage against the Weaver's units was excellent with retribution, and she's fully capable of sustaining her SP, but running only a single frontline hero seems fraught with danger. What do you think here? |
|
|
|
Post by rossgarner on Apr 18, 2018 18:47:33 GMT -5
I cross posted this in Discord discord.gg/nPZS8Notably, SP Drain only works on the primary target in AoE spells and attacks. If you are high leveled in Burning Blades, you may find that Immolation is better as it curses as well as dealing damage and is a bit more conservative on the AP/SP. For Vraes, I would not suggest having 2 Attack Talents. That is a waste of a lot of Vraes' Talent points when you only really need one. Juggernaut is one way to help Vraes overcome the lack of AoE, when you get him on a roll there is just nothing like it. He's everywhere killing everything. Yeah, the SP Drain thing took a little while to figure out. When Kjartan was dropping 100-200 damage on 10-15 enemies and getting 10-15 SP back, I guessed it had to be just a single target drain. Maybe Immolation is the right solution for me. I had wanted to make Kjartan contribute a little more direct damage, but I'm not sure that's a viable build for him with what I have. I think I'm going to respec Vraes into a full Juggernaut, Crit hit build. I'm a little concerned I won't have much in the way of tankiness in my party though. Do you think I should convert Kyera back into a melee frontliner to compensate? |
|
|
|
Post by fallen on Apr 18, 2018 18:58:07 GMT -5
rossgarner - if you go Crit Build but need tank power, don't use Berserk Rage. Just load up on the gear and rely on Kjartan's help. Then, have Tami throw one or two daggers and then look for targets Vraes can one-hit. Juggernaut them. Whoever it left gets another Tami blast. And then Vraes can come back with his extra AP to clean up. Sounds like so much fun I want to make this group!
|
|
|
|
Post by rossgarner on Apr 18, 2018 22:40:38 GMT -5
rossgarner - if you go Crit Build but need tank power, don't use Berserk Rage. Just load up on the gear and rely on Kjartan's help. Then, have Tami throw one or two daggers and then look for targets Vraes can one-hit. Juggernaut them. Whoever it left gets another Tami blast. And then Vraes can come back with his extra AP to clean up. Sounds like so much fun I want to make this group! I tried this build with Vraes, Tamilin, and Kjartan, an accurate summary: imgflip.com/i/28o212 |
|
|
|
Post by fallen on Apr 19, 2018 11:25:56 GMT -5
LOL Oh Tami, do we need to nerf thee? |
|
|
|
Post by crimsonking on Apr 19, 2018 11:51:41 GMT -5
rossgarner - if you go Crit Build but need tank power, don't use Berserk Rage. Just load up on the gear and rely on Kjartan's help. As I am reading this, is there any advantage in having more than 100% crit probability? Like the overflow going into crit damage or something like that. |
|
|
|
Post by fallen on Apr 19, 2018 13:52:31 GMT -5
There are two stats -- Crit % and +Crit Dmg %. Having over 100% Crit guarantees crits no matter what. So no, no reason to go over. Having +200% Crit Damage just adds MOAR damage, so yes, great thing to have.
|
|
|
|
Post by fallen on Apr 19, 2018 13:52:45 GMT -5
Oh Tami, do we need to nerf thee? Silence from the crowd ... |
|
|
|
Post by En1gma on Apr 19, 2018 14:22:27 GMT -5
Could give that boost to PS or Darting Steel to compensate?
I don't think things need to be down-balanced. The trend in the game rn is making everything more powerful (through crafting alone) so adding an earlier boost to some things could keep things moving forward.
|
|
|
|
Post by John Robinson on Apr 19, 2018 14:59:14 GMT -5
Could give that boost to PS or Darting Steel to compensate? I don't think things need to be down-balanced. The trend in the game rn is making everything more powerful (through crafting alone) so adding an earlier boost to some things could keep things moving forward. Sooooooooooo! Right! More challenge does not always equal more fun. Right on En1gma +1 |
|
|
|
Post by rossgarner on Apr 19, 2018 15:17:57 GMT -5
After playing around with the team for a bit, I think I'm going to skill like this: - Kyera: Warding Shield 10, Heal 6, Banishment 8, Ethereal Anguish 6, Purify 1; I'd complete Banishment before maxing Ethereal Anguish. I wanted to get Piety Ward to partner with Pureflame, but it just seems pretty weak overall.
- Vraes: Juggernaut 10, Berserk Rage 10, Burst of Speed 1, Phalanx Shield 8; I'll max Phalanx before deciding between Stone Skin or Natural Mastery.
- Kjartan: Burning Blades 10, Immolation 10, Pureflame Shield 6, Choking Ash 5; I'll complete Pureflame Shield, then consider Meteoric Shockwave or maxing Choking Ash.
Do y'all think this lineup will work? Vraes would be a hammer and shield crit stick, Tamilin my primary damage dealer, Kjartan a buff / debuff with some damage, and Kyera would be a healer / AoE damager / debuffer. Are there any holes here that maybe I'm not seeing as I head to the games final dungeons?
|
|
|
|
Post by crimsonking on Apr 19, 2018 16:05:00 GMT -5
Oh Tami, do we need to nerf thee? Silence from the crowd ... Tam is a twig in the wind. That compensates for her damage dealing abilities. |
|
