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Building my sampire, mana issues... help please.

Ruckus

Visitor
It's been about a month that I got back into the game, quit in 2000-2001.

I managed to kill my first champ solo (Mephitis). Not without difficulties, but I managed. I have not tried the others yet. I had a ton of mana issues maybe someone can help me out with? I am constantly out of mana when I fight anything for a prolong period.

I've watch Sampire videos and they do not seem to have any Mana issues that I have been having. Mana and stam is perfect during spawning phases with whirlwind. Boss fight one on one my mana is an issue. What am I missing? People seem to be able to use double strike or armor ignore non stop. I definitely cannot.

Went with a pretty common template i found here:

120 Swords
120 Tactics
120 Bushido
100 Necro
80 Chiv
60 Parry
100 Resist/Anat (either on stone)
I still have 20 skillpoints I have not decided what to do with. 100chiv? 80 parry? I also have 80 parry on another character I can swap over. Any suggestions?

Stats
146str
150dex
20int

143hp
183stam
58mana

45hci
45dci
42lmc
100di
30ssi
30%HLD
max resists

Using the warrior's gift passive
I got the Swordsmanship mastery for defeating Mephitis, working on killing Dreadhorn for the Bushido one. I have crafted 100% elemental weapons with the proper slayers and HML 62%, HSL 50%.
I open the fight with honor, EOO.

Where and how can I get better mana leech/management? Is there something I am missing?

Maybe a skill I am not using? or a build issue? a mastery i need to use? a stance or mana recovery skill?
Do I need more LMC? I am using a combo of 3 pieces crafted woodland, 2 peices heavy valorite crafted/imbued and M&S glasses. Now that I got the warriors gift passive I can redo my suit for more LMC or higher mana? I currently have 42LMC
Should I redo with all studded for more LMC?
I seen people with higher HML % weapons. Is that what I need? my imbuing only allows me 62%, is there a way to go higher like some of the weapons I seen?
I am able to go either Bladed staff or double axe... I have crafted a set of both elemental with slayers. What weapon would you suggest in my overall template that may help with my mana issues?

Appreciate any help from the experts here.
 
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PlayerSkillFTW

Babbling Loonie
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
With that extra 20 skillpoints, you can go 120 Resist/120 Anat.
You can imbue up to 81% HML on Double Axes if you don't imbue any SSI on them. Bladed Staffs are usually reforged "of the Vampire" for 100% HML with no SSI, the Damage Type doesn't really matter with them since they're used to spam Armor Ignore, which ignores Resists anyways.
But yeah, have 4-5 pieces of Studded/Hide/Bone Armor for 53-55% LMC would definitely help too. For the other 1-2 pieces i'd go with Mace & Shield Metal variant from Blackthorn's Dungeon, and Gloves of Feudal Grip if you want (will want 10% LMC on other Studded/Hide/Bone pieces if running this).
 
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Cork

Sage
Professional
Stratics Veteran
UNLEASHED
I run 45 lmc because I use metal armor for the stam loss protection. I don't have any mana issues. You definitely need higher ML on your weapons.
 

MoonCres

Sage
UNLEASHED
I would say if you got the money get all your di and ssi needed on suit 100/30 on suit then weps should be all max HLL,HML,HSL then either HLD/HLA for boss or Hit areas for spawn rounding it off with appropriate slayer. Paired with cameo or whatever that new talisman is that is almost same thing.. I'm also curious to what kind of dmg your doing because the idea is that usually if you AI or WW/DS you will say miss leach but when hit leach its overwhelming more mana then used.... or you my friend are just possibly an unlucky leecher? Haha jokes aside. I would push for suit to hit over 50 lmc atleast. I also stone chiv I mean EoO does nothing for me unless they have no slayer, concentrate wep does nothing cus i use dmg type wep, divine fury does nothing cus im capped...
 
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MoonCres

Sage
UNLEASHED
Sry missed few things when read through first time but I'm still questioning dmg output and think lmc should be improved. Keep in mind there is dmg increase cap 300 and damage modifier cap 300
 

Merlin

The Enchanter
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It's been about a month that I got back into the game, quit in 2000-2001.

I managed to kill my first champ solo (Mephitis). Not without difficulties, but I managed. I have not tried the others yet. I had a ton of mana issues maybe someone can help me out with? I am constantly out of mana when I fight anything for a prolong period.
First off, congratulations on returning and already completing champ spawns by yourself within the first month of being back. You’re already off to a good start and must be doing something right in terms of your mechanics because Mephitis is no picnic.

Having said that, here are my thoughts to some of your questions:

I still have 20 skillpoints I have not decided what to do with. 100chiv? 80 parry? I also have 80 parry on another character I can swap over. Any suggestions?
I would put the extra 20 points into Resist Spells. 120 resist goes a long way when fighting a spawn with lots of casters OR if you get raided by PVPers. Especially if you’re still starting out here and re-learning some mechanics or building up your suit, this will be very helpful for you.

A 120 Resit Spells power scroll is expensive, so if that's out of your range, I would instead suggest putting the extra points into Parry. Especially if you already have it on a soul stone. It will help with survivability, which is always helpful on the tough spawns and soloing bosses.

I play two sampires...

Sampire #1
1648756693879.png
(column on left is real skills, numbers to the right are skill bonuses from items and jewels)

Sampire #2
1648756703412.png

The first sampire is a much more defensive build, uses a plate mail suit and the bushido mastery. Emphasis on the higher parry and max resist spells, plus chivalry for utility spells to maximize my survivability.

The second one is a much more offensive build that uses the swords mastery, with a bone/studd suit, and replaces chivalry with anatomy for higher damage out put (at the expense of RS and parrying).

There is certainly no right or wrong answer with playing a sampire, as you can adjust to whatever style you want to play.

Where and how can I get better mana leech/management? Is there something I am missing?

Maybe a skill I am not using? or a build issue? a mastery i need to use? a stance or mana recovery skill?
Do I need more LMC? I am using a combo of 3 pieces crafted woodland, 2 peices heavy valorite crafted/imbued and M&S glasses. Now that I got the warriors gift passive I can redo my suit for more LMC or higher mana? I currently have 42LMC
Should I redo with all studded for more LMC?
I seen people with higher HML % weapons. Is that what I need? my imbuing only allows me 62%, is there a way to go higher like some of the weapons I seen?
I am able to go either Bladed staff or double axe... I have crafted a set of both elemental with slayers. What weapon would you suggest in my overall template that may help with my mana issues?
As far as your mana management and leach goes… based on the little information we have on your suit, I think you simply need more total mana and more LMC.

For LMC, if you have an all plate/chain/ring suit and you remove the mage armor property for each piece, you get +1 LMC over the cap up to 45 LMC (plus stamina protection bonus). For Bone/Studded, you get +3 LMC bonus for up to 55 LMC.

The other thing you want to be doing is swinging at maximum speed. The faster you’re swinging, the more you’re leaching back. With a double axe and 180+ stamina, I would suggest aiming for 35 SSI, that way if you get damaged and you stamina goes down a bit, you will still swing at max speed as long as your stamina is above 150. It looks like you’re close to the 35 SSI… are you utilizing the town bonus through the citizenship loyalty? (I am the Governor of Vesper and Trinsic on Atlantic, I can help with this if needed.) This should help with some of your mana management.

As others have pointed out, you can get a 81% Mana Leach on your weapons if you’re not putting SSI on there. Consider trying to get SSI on your jewels, talisman, the morphius epps and the town bonus. That will free up a mod on your weapons and allow you to get better leaches on them, too.

In terms of total mana, 58 total mana is a bit on the low side. You’re probably going to need to start looking for some better gear than crafted pieces. This will take time to find them and/or gold to buy them. A good suit isn’t built over night, so don’t be worried if you’re not up to top tier gear status in your first month.

If you don’t need the swords mastery, the bushido mastery is very good and has a passive +15 mana bonus. Playing as an elf instead of a human gives a +20 mana bonus. Again, it might take time to update your gear so you no longer need the warrior’s gift passive, but I think it is worth it in the end.
 
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Ruckus

Visitor
@Merlin thank you for the reply, the knowledge is appreciated. Really like your defensive sampire template and direction.... I will be leaning towards that when I have the gear to properly utilize it.

I just looked into the town buff, that would help greatly actually. Resisting spells might be exactly what I am looking for in my build, spell caster spawn are giving me loads of trouble.

Looks like the next steps I need to take is grinding the gear drops to get SSI off my weapons. As well as swapping out the woodland pieces for studded for more LMC.
 

MoonCres

Sage
UNLEASHED
I just looked into the town buff, that would help greatly actually. Resisting spells might be exactly what I am looking for in my build, spell caster spawn are giving me loads of trouble.
RS is undoubtedly the way to go with high casting mobs also when I first run into those mobs I make sure to hit evasion to help dodge some of the spells while I knock down a good amount of them lessening their numbers. Evasion is godly unfortunately cool down takes awhile (I think 20sec) I always save it for emergencies or scenario just stated.
 

Ruckus

Visitor
Just a quick update @Merlin @MoonCres @PlayerSkillFTW @Cork

Thanks to your advise I got SSI off my weapons... farm and camped the Abyss and got the Tinker legs as well as getting SSI on rings instead of having it on my weapon. Allowed me to get 81% HML on my weapon as well as an extra weapon imbue slot. Also made adjustment to my armor and have both a plate set 45LMC and studded suit 55LMC.

With the above changes I solo'd Rikktor, Neira, The piper.... Mephistis has also become MUCH easier. I have yet to try the other champs.

I visited Dreadhorn previously and got spanked before I made my changes, I will revisit soon after my changes.

I tried the Putrefier and got spanked.... any advise? I just got a swamp dragon that I am waiting to be bonded with, I'm sure the 20% damage decrease will help. Is HLA needed? I have HLD on the mace and shield glasses.

What is the next progression after champions? Doom gauntlet? would you consider my character Shadowguard/roof ready?
 

MoonCres

Sage
UNLEASHED
Just a quick update @Merlin @MoonCres @PlayerSkillFTW @Cork

Thanks to your advise I got SSI off my weapons... farm and camped the Abyss and got the Tinker legs as well as getting SSI on rings instead of having it on my weapon. Allowed me to get 81% HML on my weapon as well as an extra weapon imbue slot. Also made adjustment to my armor and have both a plate set 45LMC and studded suit 55LMC.

With the above changes I solo'd Rikktor, Neira, The piper.... Mephistis has also become MUCH easier. I have yet to try the other champs.

I visited Dreadhorn previously and got spanked before I made my changes, I will revisit soon after my changes.

I tried the Putrefier and got spanked.... any advise? I just got a swamp dragon that I am waiting to be bonded with, I'm sure the 20% damage decrease will help. Is HLA needed? I have HLD on the mace and shield glasses.

What is the next progression after champions? Doom gauntlet? would you consider my character Shadowguard/roof ready?
I honestly never do Putrefier or see need to unless someone knows reason? Doom ugg i get the itch to try my luck somedays but its worse drop luck then roof and less good stuff imo. Roof I'm too lazy to play samp and waste my durability on it so always tamer/bard mixes. So end samp game for me has always been for champ spawns. Adjust as needed for Champs. I'm sure others have other opinions I will like to here some. I'm glad your back on track with mana again. Samps are always fun to discuss and learn new things.

Edit I forgot about Paroxysmus haven't done it in forever and I mean forever... my bad no idea on Putre for that still.
 
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PlayerSkillFTW

Babbling Loonie
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
I honestly never do Putrefier or see need to unless someone knows reason? Doom ugg i get the itch to try my luck somedays but its worse drop luck then roof and less good stuff imo. Roof I'm too lazy to play samp and waste my durability on it so always tamer/bard mixes. So end samp game for me has always been for champ spawns. Adjust as needed for Champs. I'm sure others have other opinions I will like to here some. I'm glad your back on track with mana again. Samps are always fun to discuss and learn new things.

Edit I forgot about Paroxysmus haven't done it in forever and I mean forever... my bad no idea on Putre for that still.
Even for a well built Sampire, Putrifier is risky to solo. He has so much Wrest/Parry that you can easily see a string of misses/parries against him, and he hits so hard you really can't afford to be missing often. Even my Sampire with GM SS for Curse Weapon (70% Life Drain, 3.5x as much as most other Sampires and so a lot more survivability) can die to him from a string of misses/parries. He has so much Stamina, that even the Macing Mastery "Stagger" fails to slow down his attack speed. Best bet is to use a Leafblade (UBWS if you have to) for Feint+AI.

I usually kill Putrifier with my Disco/Tamer running Consume Damage on his high-end 120 Chiv+AI Triton. Reliable way to kill him then for Spleens. I'll sometimes use my Death Ray Tamer/Mage © and his 120 Disco+CB Triton at the same time to kill him faster. 120 Chiv+AI Triton tanks the Putrifier, while the 120 Disco+CB Triton debuffs him, and my Death Ray Tamer/Mage © runs Death Ray with a Demon Slayer spellbook to nuke him down.
 
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Merlin

The Enchanter
Moderator
Professional
Governor
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
UNLEASHED
Campaign Patron
Just a quick update @Merlin @MoonCres @PlayerSkillFTW @Cork

Thanks to your advise I got SSI off my weapons... farm and camped the Abyss and got the Tinker legs as well as getting SSI on rings instead of having it on my weapon. Allowed me to get 81% HML on my weapon as well as an extra weapon imbue slot. Also made adjustment to my armor and have both a plate set 45LMC and studded suit 55LMC.

With the above changes I solo'd Rikktor, Neira, The piper.... Mephistis has also become MUCH easier. I have yet to try the other champs.

I visited Dreadhorn previously and got spanked before I made my changes, I will revisit soon after my changes.

I tried the Putrefier and got spanked.... any advise? I just got a swamp dragon that I am waiting to be bonded with, I'm sure the 20% damage decrease will help. Is HLA needed? I have HLD on the mace and shield glasses.

What is the next progression after champions? Doom gauntlet? would you consider my character Shadowguard/roof ready?
There was a time when fighting the Putreifier with a luck suit dropped incredible gear, but it has since been nerfed. Definitely one of the toughest battles for a melee fighter. If I am farming down there for Paraxy keys, I will run my MysticMage, cast RCs and invis until its time for Word of Death. And even then, I have to be in a good position to make that happen and work out.

In terms of next progression, Doom guantlet a challenging one, especially the last fight with Dark Fathers. It's difficult, but not impossible. Same can be said of Roof, very difficult for a sampire... much more easy for a Tamer or Mystic Mage or some type of ranged fighter. Can't hurt to try if you're looking for a challenge.

Another progression would be doing Harrower. You would need to do that in a group likely for PVP protection and just the general nature of the fight, but its an encounter where sampires are definitely needed.

The current Fey Wrath event is another good challenge as some of the monsters there will beat you up pretty good. The rewards are worth it though.

100% on using Dragon Barding Deeds for your Swampy. The 20% damage mitigation is incredibly helpful. I will never go back to fighting without one at this point, so make that a priority in your build if you haven't already.

What did you decide to go with on your weapons?
 

Mayhem

Adventurer
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Sorry if I missed it while scimming thru this....make sure you are in Vamp form...cant tell you how many times I forget to recast it after a spectacular death. Insured Arcane boots are your friend.
 

Keven2002

Babbling Loonie
Stratics Veteran
UNLEASHED
Sry missed few things when read through first time but I'm still questioning dmg output and think lmc should be improved. Keep in mind there is dmg increase cap 300 and damage modifier cap 300
Not sure how the mana issue is going but this is a very good call out. You want to ensure you are maximizing your damage output. If you are fighting Meph, make sure you are using a spider slayer weapon and or arachnid cameo. Honoring Meph before the fight (or using EOO Chiv) will also help get you there.

If you are only doing like 50-60 damage per hit while spamming a special you will eventually run out of mana (might be able to power through with double strike if you are landing both hits). I also believe you should be fighting at 150 str (pedal/potion if not real) for max damage output as well. If you are able to get your damage for each special over 100 points (ie AI does 100+ or both DS hits total over 100+) then you should be ok assuming you have 75% mana leech and 45+ LMC.
 
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