Restarting Bard - Need Advice

[Stark_Atl]

Hi everyone. I've recently returned from a long break and I'm working up a mage/bard that I never finished. Here's where I'm at:

Music 101 / 110 (locked until other bard skills get worked up)
Peace 101 /110
Disco 56 / 100
Provo 54 / 100
Magery 100 / 100
Med 94 / 100
Eval 70 /100

I'm still trying to decide my final template. If I get enough 120s I may stone Peace and do the 6x 120 thing.

Str 82 | Dex 40 | Int 108

I only have 230 Stat points right now. Should I drop Dex or Str to get more Int?

As far as equipment goes, I have a crappy LRC 100% suit. No arties or anything special yet.

Currently I'm working Ogre Lords in Despise Lvl 2. My tactic has been basically Peacing and summoning EVs to do the dirty work. The gold is okay, but the loot sucks... I was hoping someone may have some advice on hunting spots to make better money or get good loot to sell. I need to raise quite a bit to afford all the 120s I'd like to buy.

Anyway, any advice or pointers would be greatly appreciated. I'm having a lot of fun right now... Not sure why I never focused on the bard before!

 

[Jermosh]

You could drop EI and just use summons, your at 100% area peace so I would try out Miasma. You would basically want to aggro it by being in attack mode and dbl clicking it, then lead it down towards the entrance and area peace it and drop EVs. You will get decent gear and para chests that you can get Lvl6 maps from it that spawn marties. http://uo.stratics.com/database/view.php?db_content=hunters&id=2500

As for OLs for training, they are great for that. I would recommend going to lvl1 and spam kill lizard men as much as possible, then go train on OLs. This gives you a higher chance to score a marty as well. http://www.uoguide.com/Artifacts_%28Virtue%29

Oh and Disco is just as important, you can use the Satyr trick and not lose Karma by aggroing him and wait till he discos you, then leave or hide. He will no longer be aggroed, but his disco will still be current. So your skills are lower meaning higher gains, you can do this to train with all kinds of skills. Also don’t forget you need to move with him, you need to stay within bard area to keep disco alive. http://uo.stratics.com/database/view.php?db_content=hunters&id=2441

 

[Kellgory]

As far as stats go, I would go ahead and drop dex down and raise strength some since none of your skills have any use for dex.

 

[Stark_Atl]

Great, thanks so much for the input!

 

[Stark_Atl]

So I've been trying to take Miasma, but I must be doing something wrong.

I can peace him all day long with area peace, but he chews through my EVs so quickly that I run out of mana summoning them and end up just sitting there invis trying to regain some mana to summon another one.

When I run out of mana, Miasma is still around 75% life.

I guess I am doing something wrong... any more advice? I'm rusty and this is a new playstyle for me... I always played melee before.

Thanks!

 

[Lord GOD(GOD)]

Discord & EV's or Discord & Provoke on Rend. If you're not using Firehorns theres not much point having Peace.

 

[Stark_Atl]

Sadly my Discord and Provo aren't up to snuff yet. Still working those skills...

I will look into Firehorns, thanks, but I think for now I'll just forget Miasma and concentrate on bringing up my lagging bard skills. =)

 

[Miriandel]

Most likely, your problem is that you don't have Lower Mana Cost items (max is 40%) and Mana Regeneration (you can get up to 12 with imbuing and no artefact if you are a gardener and farm seeds of renewal).

I found the hard way it is impossible to play a mage like we did 10 years ago, the game has turned item intensive...

 

[mutau]

Cheap items with LRC, LMC and MR are:
Boomsticks
Brightsight lenses
Some spellbooks that are crafted have LRC on them too.
And they might be cheaper than some gear.

Those 3 items alone could help you get 3 slots on your suit for more MR and LMC.

 

[Stark_Atl]

Thanks, I grabbed a Boomstick and some Brightsight Lenses.

But don't you have to be holding the spellbook to gain the bonuses from it? Or does it just have to have the spells you are casting?

 

[mutau]

you do need to be holding the spellbook. but if you are holding a boomstick, you can't hold a book at the same time. But the boomstick is much better.

 

[Poo]

depends.

i prefer the general invasion spell books.

mana regen 3
with 30 SDI

and then what is it?
LMC and defence chance?

either way they are way better then a boomstick.

 

[mutau]

true, overall, those spell books are much better, i would use them on all my mages if i had the gold to spend on them, but if i don't have the gold, i'd still go with boomsticks.

 

[Poo]

if ya dont need the LRC that the stick gives ya then why not go with a scrappers?

LMC with SDI and FC/FCR

 

[mutau]

True again. Basic scrappers would do the job too, if the MR and LRC in the suit was finished.

 

[Poo]

i like you.

you agree with me on things!

 

[Rainfo X]

how is it going op? i have some advice i guess i could drop. i havent really played much since august or september but unless the game has changed significantly i found miasma a piece of cake except for the ocassional slipup. **** happens.

anywayz. like i said, how is it going? i suppose theres no need to offer you advice if youre already kicking ass and taking names...and training up hope that is going well for u. i hope that leveling up is the hardest part for you.

for what its worth here is my input on how to go about it:

the easiest way to take out miasma for a bard/mage is simply discord and drop EVs. it doesnt dispel them which is my biggest pet peeve. peacemaking wont help you kill it. i cant remember if i have it stoned off but imo ive come to the realization that peace is a waste of points on a mage/bard; there are simply other skills valued more. peacemaking only allows you to be a pacifist and battles are not won with peacemaking; sure, you could escape if you wanted, but it sounds like your goal is to win battles.

so anywayz. like i said, that scorpion goes down hella easy when its disco'd with two EVs sucking its pitiful little soul out of its pixels.

like i said, peace wont help you there.

if its targeting me hardcore i provo the evs onto it or invis if im still on a cooldown. reveal before disco wears off. if a reptalon or something else shows up, provo 'em together.

i was in the habit of cursing the mob and keeping myself blessed, im not quite sure just how much those spells actually matter in this circumstance. it really couldnt hurt, though.

i know this is a lot to read, but i have faith that you can do it if you keep trying.

also, i brought one of those rechargeable flutes of arachnid slayer, and disco is truly key.

i hope this helps u.

 

[Rainfo X]

Hi everyone. I've recently returned from a long break and I'm working up a mage/bard that I never finished. Here's where I'm at:

Music 101 / 110 (locked until other bard skills get worked up)
Peace 101 /110
Disco 56 / 100
Provo 54 / 100
Magery 100 / 100
Med 94 / 100
Eval 70 /100


I'm still trying to decide my final template. If I get enough 120s I may stone Peace and do the 6x 120 thing.

Str 82 | Dex 40 | Int 108

I only have 230 Stat points right now. Should I drop Dex or Str to get more Int?

As far as equipment goes, I have a crappy LRC 100% suit. No arties or anything special yet.

Currently I'm working Ogre Lords in Despise Lvl 2. My tactic has been basically Peacing and summoning EVs to do the dirty work. The gold is okay, but the loot sucks... I was hoping someone may have some advice on hunting spots to make better money or get good loot to sell. I need to raise quite a bit to afford all the 120s I'd like to buy.

Anyway, any advice or pointers would be greatly appreciated. I'm having a lot of fun right now... Not sure why I never focused on the bard before!

Im gonna try and respond to your questions a bit more directly... Okay so you have two options: you could either continue to try to find good places to hunt, have fun and feel like you're making decent games in skills; or you could tweak your character by developing his or her skills in the fastest, most efficient way possible. You should be a fun information about in this forum. It seems like you've chosen this route. Everybody knows that the secret to musicianship is practice, practice, practice anyways, and I think this also applies to UO.

I like the Yomotsu mines or whatever for training, but my character was a advanced character from one of the boxes, so I was already well on my way to becoming a grandmaster (in the harder to level skills). Obviously you're already one but not in the skills that count in the heat of battle. The thing is, peacemaking is a crutch. It shouldn't be your primary tactic. Trying to gear up, have fun, and it definitely seems like you that the person who will be good once your character is up to snuff.

I'd definitely like to hear how you doing these days.

edit- sorry for all the typos. i was using voice recognition software, i wasnt trying to mess with yall.