[Treasure Hunting] Melee Template

[Dizzy]

Treasure Hunter #1 is a Mystic, and #2 is a Tamer. I need a 3rd Treasure Hunter with a different skill set, so I'm making a melee hunter from an old thief and adding melee to him.

I'm having a lot of fun with this one, even though I can only do up to Supply. I hope to get up to cache maps. Currently
100 Lockpicking
100 Remove Trap
90 Macing
60 Tactics
60 anatomy
80 chivalry

The rest is still in focus and meditation. With gargoyles and ogre lords, I do a lot of running around and screaming. I'm learning new tricks, like a set of mage jewelry and a +20 mage book so I can mark runes. Notice I don't have any useful healing skills, just the chivalry (which is still pathetic healing with all that old negative karma).

Besides lack of good healing, weight is another problem since I'm hauling around some slayers, but I'll probably trim that down to 3 weapons eventually.

It's amusing.

 

[Dizzy]

I did my first Supply Ilshenar chest with him today. The paragon hell hound was very exciting.

 

[DreadLord Lestat]

Since you cannot mark a rune a couple screens away and use sacred journey to get out, I would carry heal pots. With my tamer t-hunter and mystic t-hunter, I recall as they pop then invis and go back and pull a couple at a time. There is a modified way this could work for you though. Once everything pops, run off screen and use the invis pot. Give it a minute, and then you can go back and pull things one at a time. Doing it this way, it should be quicker for you with less running and screaming.

Make sure you don't have your weapon in hand when digging the treasure so you will have hands free to chug invis pot. I never tried digging with something equipped so maybe you have to have your hands free to dig anyways.

 

[Dizzy]

Right now, I taking the brunt of the initial spawn, hoping I can kill 1 or 2 before running off. No invis, no pots, though my chiv heals are too slow. I may have to use pots for that.

And being human, +40 magery on jewelry and +20 magery spellbook, I can mark runes. I just don't use them for that purpose, just for rune book library.

 

[Kylie Kinslayer]

Right now, I taking the brunt of the initial spawn, hoping I can kill 1 or 2 before running off. No invis, no pots, though my chiv heals are too slow. I may have to use pots for that.

Can also try to take casting up to 4/6 to help. That make close wounds dang near insta-heal.

 

[Dizzy]

Yeah, I'm a little low on mana since my stats are in str/dex. I may lower dex and give me some more mana to heal. I might also switch from an ethy to a beetle, that would still let me carry a set of slayers and have room for the gold.

Also thinking about dropping chiv altogether and use healing instead. I can use runebook charge to navigate.

 

[DreadLord Lestat]

I am telling you, run a couple of screens away after initial guardians spawn, chug invis pot and let them go back to chest. Then you can go near chest and pull one to two at a time. I solo'd 6 and 7 level chests before the change and 4 & 5's since the change with that little trick. As a group, they easily overwhelm pets and people. One or two at a time and it is no different than going to a dungeon only there is a chest added to it.

 

[Basara]

Use a mage to mark a rune atlas of general locations around Tram (and one in the smae spots in Fel), and you can Sacred Journey way from the initial spawn and only be a few screens away. (I have an atlas for the mainland, and a book of the islands, for this). I did this for my melee TH (at least for Tram - I usually use my tamer for Fel maps) and also have a Malas book, but Tokuno and Ter Mur might be as dangerous to make the book as it is to do the map.

Depending on which mastery you go with (Weapon, Parry or Chiv), you can often find +skill equipment to raise the other skills (especially now that the Tactics real skill requirements for special moves were lowered a few years ago). My melee TH has close to 100 points in extra skills, which allows him to have Chivalry AND Healing.

 

[Dizzy]

I'm discovering the flexibility of marking my own runes with my melee t-hunter, carrying the mage spellbook, jewelry, and mark scrolls. That's working well.

I'm using the melee TH for L2 and below, regardless of location, but many locations are problematic because of surrounding spawn. I don't have any problem doing fel, haven't seen anybody there in the remote t-hunt locations.

I use the tamer TH for Ilshenar since the beetle comes in handy for the gold. I farm the greater dragons for their barbed leather, many times that's the most lucrative part of the treasure chest. :/

 

[Dizzy]

Here's the goal, but like I said, I rethinking. I'd like to be able to do cache. I'm thinking the "enemy of one" is less useful than just healing. Faster healing, more points healed, don't have to pause fighting, etc. I'd use mark scrolls for navigation. Might also drop tactics/anat to 100 each. What do y'all think?

 

[DreadLord Lestat]

Have you tried running a couple of screens off and popping an invis pot? EoO is nice for single target kills and once you invis, you can go back and pull one at a time. You should be able to do cache's as you are now.

 

[Dizzy]

Yes, I've done that, though I often can solo them without invising by running around. Right now the ogre lords beat me up pretty good, not possible to stand toe-to-toe, and my life/mana/stamina leech doesn't keep up. That's why I was thinking I'd be better off with heal instead of chiv.

 

[DreadLord Lestat]

Ok, I have worked some things in and I actually want to try this template. I have no idea about your UO knowledge so you may already know this stuff but just in case I will share with you.

Some things first, I did not add any jewelry with skill mods because some people like to have freedom with what they choose but you can always bump up macing to 120 and anat or tactics as well I did include the Soldier's Medal talisman with +10 tactics plus it has some nice mods but you can also use the Duelist's Edge for +10 anatomy instead. A Primer on Arms is decent but no skill bonus with it. I would drop the med and use focus but others might tell you the opposite. For me and this template, being able to use any armor vs it having to be mage armor is a huge plus and will allow you a larger selection of pieces.

1. HPR - Get this on anything you can
2. DI - I think the cap is 300 for PvE but not sure so go crazy with as much as you can.
3. HCI/DCI - Try to hit the max with those, maybe studded leather increases the max on one of those but it has been a long time so I don't remember for sure.
4. SSI - this really helps as well.

120 Chiv will boost the heals as well as do more damage with Enemy of One. I have never used the Chivalry Mastery but I am sure one of the Masteries will help as well. Mastery Information!
120 in anything else will be a nice addition but you may want to keep the jewelry free from skill mods for things like SSI, DCI, HCI, DCI, FC/FCR or stats.
Weapon you want normal and ogre slayer weapons. I would look at Hammer Pick for Armor Ignore and Mortal Strike. A little faster is the war axe with Armor Ignore and Bleed. Use Black Staves two-hand for whirlwind. DI and SSI are nice but so are Life and Mana leech. Macing Weapons!

I am sure that others much more knowledgeable can expand on this but this is an interesting template that I think I might try.

 

[Dizzy]

And if you allocated 100 to Cartography?

 

[DreadLord Lestat]

I haven't tried this since the changes but I would decode the maps and then stone off cart and put on Lockpicking. I think Cart has replaced mining so you should be able to dig them up still, just need to be closer to the exact spot. Try it on test and see how it works.

 

[Dizzy]

I get that, but I wasn't looking for the most efficient way - my tamer and mystic treasure hunters (each with cartography) do that well.

Traditional melee treasure hunter with LP, cart and RT. It's more fun because he's handicapped. :/

 

[Basara]

My Melee TH's current status (not had a chance to work on him lately)

STR 126 / HP 113
DEX 115 / STAM 125
INT 63 / Mana 67

Skill (Real (single value) or Real/with Equipment)
Anatomy 100
Cartography 100
Chivalry 46/71 (was higher at one point but I had a soulstone accident - will go back to at least 55/80)
Healing 91 (High enough to Rez, especially using enhanced bandages)
Lockpicking 100
Parry: 89/112 (dropping it down as I raise other skills)
Remove Trap 33 (not sure how high I will actually take it)
Swordsmanship: 105/120
Tactics: 56/93 (taking it back to 63/100)

HCI 15% before weapon added
DCI 26%
LMC 10% (from my current talisman, which will be changing eventually)
FC 1/FCR 2
DI 100%+
70s across the board on resists.
And, frankly, my current suit sucks, most of it being on the character since before SA launched (he still has brightsight lenses and an ancient Samurai do on)




Before the map changes, I was only able to do Level 6s (now hoard) when there were no Dragons (GD or AW) involved, or at worst 1 (One time, I had 7 dragon types and a Balron show on a map on Buc's den, and by the time I killed the initial spawn the chest despawned). Now, with the Frost Dragons involved even on Hoards (they used to be Level 7/Trove specific), Hoards and Troves are pretty much relegated to my tamer TH anyway, making Parry not as critical as it once was.

 

[Quickjohn]

Since you cannot mark a rune a couple screens away and use sacred journey to get out, I would carry heal pots. With my tamer t-hunter and mystic t-hunter, I recall as they pop then invis and go back and pull a couple at a time. There is a modified way this could work for you though. Once everything pops, run off screen and use the invis pot. Give it a minute, and then you can go back and pull things one at a time. Doing it this way, it should be quicker for you with less running and screaming.

Make sure you don't have your weapon in hand when digging the treasure so you will have hands free to chug invis pot. I never tried digging with something equipped so maybe you have to have your hands free to dig anyways.

I like this idea