Team: Two Tanks and a Wasp

[dagger]

So, I just got done running gundamgoth's Heavy Metal build and my Selen got taken out by a Cultist at Talia.  I've never been partial to Selen but she's definitely a more durable character than Tam so since she was part of that team, I took her.  But, she died the same way Tam would die and I like Tam a lot more so I'm restarting with Tam instead of Selen.  I'm also changing Vraes back to a Phalanx Shield, 1H weapon build.  I was very happy with Heavy Metal's version of Vraes but I just don't enjoy only getting two whacks a turn, even with 500pt+ crits (those were actually pretty fun, I'm not gonna lie).  And, if I'm going to use a 2AP weapon, then it's almost impossible NOT to go Phalanx Shield, especially since the crafted shields are so awesome.

Basically, the goal is here to get Vraes and Fyona as tanked up as possible and make Tamilin as durable as I can make her and still have her be fun. KJ will again focus on Choking Ash and Pureflame but this time, since he has Tam hitting up to 20-25 targets per turn, I'm going to add Burning Blades and also get him some Immolation.

Vraes is going to focus on Stoneskin and Phalanx Shield to start with a drop of Burst of Speed, Natural Mastery, and probably Berserk Rage although I reserve the right to go Juggernaut later if it feels right.  

Fyona is going to work on maxing Shield of Cortias and will prioritize Righteous Fervor as well.  But she will ultimately be a jack-of-all-trades character as I plan on giving her a little bit of everything at some point.  She will take at least one point in Consecrated Defense and Battlefield Devotion.  She will also definitely take at least one in Reckoning for the AP curse.  Because of Burning Blades, Strickening is also a possibility.  In total, she will mostly be a second tank and participate quite heavily in melee but, healing, curse debuffing, AP cursing, and resistance cursing will probably all come into play, not to mention the buffing she does with Shield of Cortias and Righteous Fervor.

Tamilin is the "wasp" and is the wild card as always.  The key to her is simply keeping her alive to do what she does, namely a truckload of damage while cursing AP, dodge, and resistance.  Safety first is my motto with her and that should be doable with Vraes and Fyona tanked up.  Her number 1 focus will always be Stealth on all of her crafting and gear.  Blacknight will go to 8 for sure at some point and Torrent will go to at least 8 for the -2AP fairly early on.  Deadly Intuition will get points tossed into it along the way.  Silent Stalker and Ranged Onslaught will also be developed down the road but the immediate focus will be Torrent and Stealth.

That's a brief synopsis.  Hopefully I don't die in Ep1 making all of this academic.  :-)

As I did in the Heavy Metal thread, I'm going to post progress reports along the way.  Here is the first:


_Oskahold_  Team points:  6,114,710

                        Lvl/XP           HP          SP                                                Stats:   If the Talent, Skill, or Attribute is not mentioned, it is still where it started

Vraes:               6/862          278        134                                        Stoneskin 3, Burst of Speed 1, Phalanx Shield 1.                     INT 5, CON 7.        Leadership 2, Lore 3, Polearms 6
Kjartan:            6/852           160        230                                        Choking Ash 4, Burning Blades 1.                                          CON 7                   Conjuring 5
Fyona:              6/849           282       146                                         Shield of Cortias 3, Consecrated Defense 1.                            CON 8                   Leadership 3, Hammers 5
Tamilin:            6/893            224       126                                        Torrent of Steel 2, Blacknight 2                                              CON 7, DEX 7        Thrown Weapons 5, Stealth 4 

_Killed the Great Shaman_  Team points:  55,070,510

Vraes:                13/8590        526        162                                     Stoneskin 4, Burst of Speed 1, Phalanx Shield 3.                      INT 5, CON 8, STR 9.    Polearms 11
Kjartan:             13/8450        294        359                                      Choking Ash 6, Burning Blades 2, Immolation 1.                      CON 10.                      Conjuring 9, Sorcery 5
Fyona:                13/9051        447        268                                     Shield of Cortias 7                                                                 CON 8, STR 8.              Hammers 10
Tamilin:              13/8610        331        175                                     Torrent of Steel 5, Silent Stalker 1                                           CON 9, DEX 8              Thrown Weapons 9, Bows 4   
 
_Baron=dead_  Team points:  138,682,110

Vraes:                18/21,812        778        182                                  Stoneskin 6, Burst of Speed 1, Phalanx Shield 5.                             INT 5, CON 10, STR 10        Polearms 15, Leadership 3
Kjartan:              18/22,953        382        446                                  Choking Ash 8, Burning Blades 3, Immolation 2.                             CON 13                              Conjuring 9, Sorcery 8
Fyona:                18/22,177        770        298                                  Shield of Cortias 10, Consecrated Defense 1, Battlefield Devotion 1. CON 10, STR 9.                   Hammers 13
Tamilin:               18/21,821        414        210                                 Torrent of Steel 8, Blacknight 2, Silent Stalker 1.                             CON 10, DEX 10                  Thrown Weapons 13, Bows 5

_Cleared Orcin/Entering Underforge_  Team points:  333,362,910

Vraes:                24/52,953        1030        236                                Stoneskin 7, Phalanx 7, Burst of Speed 1, Nat Mastery 1, Berserk Rage 1        INT 5, CON 11, STR 12     Polearms 16, Lead 5, Lore 5
Kjartan:              24/53,635         448         464                                Choking Ash 10, Burning Blades 3, Immolation 3, Pureflame Shield 2              CON 16                           Conjuring 9, Sorcery 12
Fyona:                24/52,945        1024        254            Reckoning 1, Shield Cortias 10, Con Defense 2, Battlefield Devotion 1, Righteous Fervor 2    CON 11, STR 11               Hammers 16, Lead 4
Tamilin:               24/53,062         630         252                                Torrent of Steel 9, Blacknight 6, Silent Stalker 1                                            CON 11, DEX 12              Thrown Weapons 16, Bows 7

_Underforge Complete_   Team points:  495,154,510

Vraes:                27/77,369        1104        248               Stoneskin 8, Phalanx 8, Burst of Speed 1, Nat Mastery 1, Berserk Rage 1                INT 5, CON 12, STR 12        Polearms 16, Lead 6, Lore 6
Kjartan:              27/77,855         512        555                Choking Ash 10, Burning Blades 3, Immolation 3, Pureflame Shield 4                      CON 16, INT 6, KNO 5        Conjuring 9, Sorcery 13
Fyona:                27/78,569        1093       272                Shield of Cortias 10, Con Defense 2, Reckoning 1, Righteous Fervor 4, BF Dev 1       CON 12, STR 11                 Hammers 16, Leadership 5
Tamilin:               27/77,517        687        273                 Torrent of Steel 9, Blacknight 8, Silent Stalker 1                                                    CON 12, DEX 12                 Thrown Weapons 16, Bows 9, Stealth 4

_Episode 2 Complete + Granthorn_  Team points:  728,195,810  (pts were 40M higher but I spent a bunch of gold at Wyatt's....) 

Vraes:            31/117,148        1128        234                Stoneskin 9, Phalanx 10, Burst 1, Nat Mastery 1, Berserk Rage 1                            INT 5, CON 12, STR 14        Polearms 18, Lead 7, Lore 7
Kjartan:          31/118,251         584         817                Choking Ash 10, Burning Blades 3, Immolation 3 Pureflame Shield 7                       INT 6, CON 16, KNO 7         Conjuring 9, Sorcery 16
Fyona:            31/118,014        1273        296                Shield of C 10, Con Def 2, Reckoning 1, Right Ferv 6, BF Dev 1, Zealous Strikes 2    CON 12, STR 13                  Hammers 18, Lead 5, Invocation 3
Tamilin:           31/118,616         757        301                 Torrent of Steel 9, Blacknight 8, Sil Stlk 1, Deadly Intuition 1, Ranged Onslaught 1   CON 13, DEX 13                 Thrown Weapons 18, Bows 11, Stealth 4


_Storm Bastion/Blossoms Complete...into the City of the Dead I go..._   Team points:  988,752,010

Vraes:            34/160,201        1036        486            Stoneskin 10, Phalanx 10, Burst 1, Nat Mastery 1, Berserk Rage 1                                INT 5, CON 12, STR 16       Polearms 18, Lead 8, Lore 8
Kjartan:          34/159,521         568         890            Choking Ash 10, Burning Blades 3, Immolation 3, Pureflame Shield 8                           INT 6, CON 16, KNO 9         Conjuring 9, Sorcery 18 
Fyona:            34/161,165         918         474            Shield of C 10, Con Def 2, Reckoning 2, Right Ferv 6, BF Dev 1, Zealous Strikes 2         CON 12, STR 15                  Hammers 18, Lead 7, Invocation 3
Tamilin:           34/161,345         694         342            Torrent of Steel 9, Blacknight 8, Sil Stlkr 1, Deadly Intuition 3, Ranged Onslaught 1      CON 14, DEX 14                  Thrown Weapons 18, Bows 12, Stealth 4, Lore 3

Two Tanks and a Wasp II
This is the team I have made it the furtherst with on Nightmare Ironman.  So....I'm trying it again.  Two Tanks and a Wasp II.  Just finished everything leading up to the City of the Dead.  Here are the stats:
Team points:   949,659,110   Definitely lower than last time....

Vraes:            34/159,917     908     324          Stoneskin 8, Phalanx 9, Burst 3, Nat Mastery 1, Berserk Rage 1, Savage Sweep 2                          STR 14, CON 14, WIL 6, INT 4              Polearms 18, Lead 8, Lore 8
Kjartan:          34/158,063     700     972          Choking Ash 10, Pureflame Shield 10, Burning Blades 4, Firebolt 1                                                CON 16, WIL, 8, INT 8, KNO 6              Conjuring 9, Sorcery 18
Fyona:            34/159,607     1442   314          Shield of C 10, Con Def 1, Reckoning 1, Right Ferv 1, BF Dev 1, Zealous Strikes 5, Strickening 4     STR 13, CON 13, WIL 6, INT 5, KNO 4   Ham 18, Invo 6, Will 6, Int 5
Tamilin:          34/159,363      694     343         Torrent of Steel 8, Blacknight 8, Sil Stlkr 1, Ranged Onslaught 4, Farsight 2                                   CON 14, DEX 13, WIL 4, INT 5, KNO 4   Thrown 18, Bows 12, Lore 3, Stealth 3
             
As always, numbers are geared up but not buffed.


Comments always appreciated.  I'm no expert at this game so I'm sure there are holes but...I love playing it and, like your favorite sports team, it's actually fun to talk about.  :-)




 

[CdrPlatypus]

Interesting. I'm not a fan of polearms myself. Also when I go phalanx shield I usually rush that up to 10. Let me know how it goes

With the combination of phalanx and stone skin I would definitely go for beserk rage. You will have more than enough tank to compensate for the penalties for a few ranks

[fallen]

Very interesting group, I like the setup. Those two tanks should be able to hold the line and let Tami fire with short-range impunity.

[dagger]

For whatever reason, it always feels more satisfying to me when I stab them as opposed to squish them. lol I'm sure the sounds are the same but...there you have it. Plus, I like the higher accuracy and higher minimums on them.

As for phlx vs stoneskin....I really enjoyed playing your Vraes with the early Stoneskin. Saves on healing, running to camps, etc....plus it gives you the luxury of running him out early. While the Phlx bonuses are obviously really nice, what is REALLY sweet are all the stats you get on the crafted Shields. Lots of Parry, lots of HP, or SP or Drain, whatever. The two things I really missed with the 2H Vraes were the extra attack and the flexibility to add different stats. Seriously, shields can bump like 4 or 5 stats. The auto-block is just a bonus in my mind. He should already be a monster once I get the Spiked Shield, and that comes early. The one-handed weapons aren't that much worse for damage or their other stats....

[anrdaemon]

I suggest Silent Stalker early, just a few points behind thrown if you plan to rely on knives.
It's a nice headway into the fight, as well as a necessary curse on those tougher to beat.

[contributor]

This is pretty much the team I'm running now, though I've got Vraes going 2H Spear. So no Phalanx for him. So far just Stone Skin, Burst of Speed, Mastery and 1 Juggernaut. He will focus on Jugger and Mastery now that BoS is up to 3. My Fyona is a little more focused than yours too. At level 22 now she has maxed Cortias and is now working on Righteous Fervor with one point in Reckoning. The plan is to complete Righteous Fervor and then go into Strickening. KJ is getting a little Immolation just to give him something to do when he's not Ashing. He's maxed Ash and is working on Pureflame mostly now. I did give him one point in Warding Words for Redhill because I was concerned about Tam, who I am leading with. She's pretty high on Stealth/Dodge, but she actually missed a stealth roll in Darkmoss against a nasty group of Ratkin, but she managed to dodge all hits but one from three of their swordsman. I really thought that was the end, but she managed it. Because of that I'm just pumping her Black Night like crazy now. I'm wanting to go into her +crit buff, but haven't gotten around to it. Late game this group will be crit monsters though.

At the moment, I just need to clear to Vlotgar and them I will go get E3 equips. We're struggling because I've been holding off on gear until we can get to the Ember camp. I may we regret this if we die on the way to Voltgar. I've only bought Tam a bow and KJ a robe so far in E2. Vraes is still rocking his E1 Hooked Poleaxe.

[dagger]

Crafted the 22 Leather Jerkin into the +2 Parry, +2 Dodge, +8 Resistance version using the +1 Parry, +2 dmg bracers. Used the same bracers to craft the Bladesman Knives for Tam into the +10 Fire dmg, +3 Parry, +3 Dodge, +4% SP drain version. That 4% should be just enough to get a point back with every throw now that I've added the fire dmg and I'm running Burning Blades2. INto the rathole we go.... Oh, yeah, I want to craft another 22 Jerkin but I want the +MP version which means I need either a piece of drain gear or a +MP piece of gear. Neither of which I have right now so I'm going to wait and hopefully loot one here shortly. That extra MP really comes in handy for Fyona.

I forgot to hit post so that last paragraph didn't post. I have now tried to find something to use to craft the MP but had no luck. So.....I went for a random result instead (I used a piece of gear where the stats have no bearing on the result, namely bracers with +melee accuracy and +dmg)  . What do you know? I got the +1MP, +60HP, +3% SP drain. Nice!

[contributor]

I have to say that this build and probably CdrPlatypus's related Heavy Metal group are pretty bad at SP usage. With the heavy buffs and small tank for Vraes I really struggle to keep them going for long. If the fight is bad and Tam is spamming Torrent of Steel for 1 ap she can go through SP like crazy, but it's great to have when you really need it. [SPOILERS ahead if you haven't done the CoD Boss fight yet.] I'm already dreading the first COD boss fight without her, which is still a long ways off. I'm starting to think about how I need to build this team to deal with that. At level 23 we're just starting to get on top of it with more SP drain gear, but that is partly made possible by having E3 equips.

[CdrPlatypus]

Apr 27, 2018 5:09:53 GMT -5 contributor said:

I have to say that this build and probably CdrPlatypus's related Heavy Metal group are pretty bad at SP usage. With the heavy buffs and small tank for Vraes I really struggle to keep them going for long. If the fight is bad and Tam is spamming Torrent of Steel for 1 ap she can go through SP like crazy, but it's great to have when you really need it. [SPOILERS ahead if you haven't done the CoD Boss fight yet.] I'm already dreading the first COD boss fight without her, which is still a long ways off. I'm starting to think about how I need to build this team to deal with that. At level 23 we're just starting to get on top of it with more SP drain gear, but that is partly made possible by having E3 equips.

I didn't design heavy metal to be sp efficient. But their are strategies to squeeze an extra fight out before camping. If I know I'm at a point where I can win a fight without having to use abbilites I'll just swing with basic attacks to re up on sp. Vraes becomes self sufficient with about 10% sp drain gear

Fyona uses very little sp outside of the initial buff so I really don't have any problems with her

Selen has to chug potions if you want to spam pinning shot, but after you have enough plus mp she can move in and shank things to get sp back. CA + immo + frenzied blows even with frenzy at lvl 1 is a fun combo

KJ ends up being the bottleneck, but I would rather raise his hp then sp because I like to play nmi.

[contributor]

Yeah, there are definitely strats for dealing with it, but it's still something you have to think about. The team is also very capable of doing double, triple or quad pulls. Now that we're in the Underforge and there is loot-a-plenty it's also less of an issue. I was doing a lot of low level respawn levels that have very limited rewards in them and pots were in short supply.

...and Vraes critting a Bladed Cultist for 806 damage is just PRICELESS!

[CdrPlatypus]

Apr 28, 2018 7:22:44 GMT -5 contributor said:

...and Vraes critting a Bladed Cultist for 806 damage is just PRICELESS!

 My Version 2 of Heavy Metal Just had Vraes crit an Ice troll for 402 (lvl 19) One hit kill after the setup. Ash + pinning shot + immo + goodbye

[dagger]

Well, I'm inching my way through this round. Real life has been getting in the way but...I'm still moving. The weapons upgrade from Oskahold was very necessary. I was having a little trouble doing much damage in the final Vermin Caverns but the Krete have not been an issue so far. Vraes is starting to reach his potential. Not there yet but many damage blows are in the teens so the Stoneskin is starting to soak a bunch. I really haven't found hardly any good gear so I've basically just got him in +armor gear right now, which is working. I'm probably going to level Phalanx Shield and Stoneskin 1:1 moving forward with Burst of Speed 3 a target at some point as well. I have to compute where he'll be at some point before I decide when I want to do that. Poles I'm taking straight to 16 and CON and STR will probably alternate two at a time.

Fyona is not the greatest tank yet but she's working on it. She does good damage with her new hammer and is fairly good at dodge/parry. The damage rolls she gets are a little high for my liking so if I ever find some better gear, she'll probably get it. IIRC, she get's a +MP hammer in Riven Field so once I get that for her I can craft her some better armor, which will help. Rolling her towards Shield of Cortias 10 and then Righteous Fervor, Battlefield Devotion 1, a point in Reckoning and then we'll see. Hammers, CON, and STR for her for a while.

KJ just got his point of Immolation, and, as gundamgoth has said, it makes a big difference. He's just more fun now that he can participate in things. Working on getting Ash to at least 8 for the range bump and then will probably add a couple more to Pureflame and Burning Blades before running Immo to maybe 6.

Tam is Tam. Starting to do lots of damage. Need to get her some drain gear at some point but she's been doing okay nursing it along. Going to stay at ToS 5 for a little while as I add another couple pts to Blacknight and at least one more on Silent Stalker. She's running a 3AP bow right now, mostly for the extra range. I'll be getting a nice 2AP bow in Riven Field so I'll probably carry both and switch them out depending on terrain situations.

Overall, I'm liking where I'm at right now. I'll just keep plodding along and we'll see how things transition once we get through RedHill.


Made it to Riven Field where I did some crafting.

Crafted an Oxenbone Bow (6 Acc, 17-50 at 6 range; +10 Fire dmg, 5% Crit, +10% crit dmg, +5 Stealth).  This isn't much of an upgrade except the 5 Stealth which is still my number one priority with Tam.  It is also a 2AP bow rather than the 3AP I was carrying.  I also crafted her the Bandit's Garb (16 Armor, +3 Evasion, +4 Stealth, +30HP, +2 Parry, +4 Dodge).  Just more survivability.  Holding off on her throwing knives until Advanced Siege Camp at RedHill....

Crafted two Spiked Shields for Fyona and Vraes.  Again, these are no-brainers.  I chose the 5 Parry, 1 Acc, 3% auto-block, 120HP, +6 dmg, 2% crit, +14 All resists model for Vraes since he's out front.  His HPs are now up over 800 and his armor is over 60 fully buffed so the resists help soak and the extra point of accuracy will help him.  Fyona I gave the 6 Parry, +200HP, +6 dmg, 2% crit, +4 Dodge model again for survivability.  The extra HP and dodge will really help her.  She doesn't take a lot of shots because Vraes is usually out front but she gets enough that I want to make sure she's got some cushion.  Her HPs are now 686 so she's got some durability...

I also crafted Vraes the Leather Skin 28 Armor, +30HP, +6 Fire dmg, +4 Parry, +2 Dodge.  He's the one taking all the fire so the extra parry/dodge is nice and the added fire dmg will go nicely with KJ's Burning Blades 2.  That might just be enough to overcome the resistance soak and augment some crits...

That's it for now.....on to RedHill.

[contributor]

Ok, my group has cleared the Under Forge now. I have to say that in the mid 20s and with E3 weapons it was something of a romp. They were never really in any serious danger and damage output was high. A few times I left Tam exposed, but with the right gear, she was really hard for anyone to hit. For damage, Tam was truly the wasp, though she was actually more like a whole swarm of wasps with her AOE attacks. Vraes was great at drilling into high HP enemies and his crits at 500-800 were pretty much instant death even for Spider Hosts.

The group is starting to top out on defense, though Pure Flame and Righteous Fervor still have a bit further to go. The good thing is that once they are complete we still have the whole damage progression to work on with Strickening and Crit Building. Tam hasn't even started yet on her crit talent yet and when KJ starts investing in Burning Blades and more Immolation...!

[contributor]

Well the next thing on deck is Gholla. I'm a little concerned about the team. After getting out of the Under Forge and then clearing the Orcin Caverns I was hit with 4 level jump in Orcin on the route to the hunting lodge. I'm 27 and they were level 32. They're starting to drop real hits and are getting harder to hit themselves. Vraes crits are becoming invaluable against Berserks and War Trolls. I may go back to the Ember Lake camp and think about gearing up again. Tam could get a bow upgrade and Fyona I think could get a shield (still using a crafted Spiked Shield from Riven Field) and maybe a slightly better hammer. I've got cash to spend now, so that would get everyone into pretty much top tier gear for now.

EDIT: Well Gholla is done. It was a major slog but we kept our "Not Dead Yet" card. I did go and get some more weapons and a few shields in Ember Camp ahead of time. With the crafting results though, they weren't really significantly better than what I had, except for maybe Fyona's hammer. She is a major pain bringer now. Vraes was really struggling, getting hit for 300+ damage some times and not parrying very many hits. I had to switch all his gear over to +Parry, Dodge and/or Armor, which put him at 200 armor. In the end I still gave him a shield and 1 hand spear. That made him better at surviving on the front line, but dropped his damage and crit output. So he is more of the shield bearer for the moment for Tamilin and Fyona to bring the pain. The next things on the horizon are Talia and Druid! Terrifying!

[dagger]

Yes, Talia! That damn place got my last NMI group. Seriously, I'm sure you're aware of this but those cultists hit a LOT harder than they did in the UF. Nasty. I like your updates. Makes me excited to (hopefully) get there. I'm almost to the Baron. I'm surprised by your Vraes getting hit so much. I'm running Stoneskin and Phalanx in tandem right now. Both at 5. He's not doing nearly the damage yours is but he's at least starting to crit some, albeit for only just over 100. Just crafted Tam the Throwing Knives so that's already paying dividends. Using the +par/+dodge model because Stealth is still good with 24 at lvl 17. I actually crafted a second set with the +fire/+mp/+stealth because apparently I found a small bug with the tuner I used the first time. Fallen will be fixing it in the next update. It's talked about in the latest Discord conversation.

Still plugging away but I'm starting to get excited to get to Ep2....