Template suggestions? Been a while since I played anything else besides a tamer

[LeBaiton]

Howdy everyone,

Have decided to redo my crafters because I'm going to turn my main crafter into a gargoyle...

After switching around skills I reckoned I might aswell turn one of my current crafters into a full blown PvM caster. Am building a suit and template, and I have some ideas of where I want the template to go, but would like to hear from the experts here... *points towards the regulars*... and listen to your advice

The suit I'm building looks like this:

Head: Hat of the Magi, int 8, MR4, SDI 10%, 0/5/9/20/20
Neck: Pendant of the Magi, Int 10, MR 3, SDI 5%, LMC 10%, LRC 30
Chest: Protector of the Battle Mage, CF 3%, MR2, SDI 5%, LMC 8%, LRC 10%, 10/16/10/8/8
Arms: Not crafted/Imbued yet
Hands: Not crafted/Imbued yet
Legs: Not crafted/Imbued yet

Ring: Not decided yet
Brace: Ornament of the Magician, FC2, FCR3, LMC 10%, LRC 20%, ER 15%

Robe: Conjurer's Garb, MR2, Luck 140, DCI 5%
Cloak: Shadow Cloak of Rejuvenation, HPR1, SR1, MR1, LMC 2%
Talisman: Not decided yet

Weapon (right): Not decided yet
Shield (left): Not decided yet

Stats so far:

FC: 2 (cap: 2)
FCR: 3 (cap: 6)
LMC: 30 (cap: 40)
MR: 12 (want: 16)
DCI: 5 (cap: 45)
SDI: 20 (no cap)
LRC: 60 (want 100)
Resists: 10/21/19/28/38 (will be able to craft and imbue the rest of the resists on the three remaining pieces, and possibly on the ring)

Template idea:

• 120 Magery
• 120 Evaluate Intelligence
• 120 Resisting Spells
• 120 Spellweaving
• 100 Inscription
= 580

Questions:

• Ofcourse I'll need mana and mana regeneration, so logically Meditation will also be on the template. The reason I haven't listed it yet is because I'm not really sure on the Meditation / MR balance. What would be the best Meditation / MR ratio? This suit has 12 MR at the moment, but I could up that on the three remaining armor pieces.

• Talisman: Totem of the Void vs. Frostguard?

• This character has GM Alchemy at the moment, but I am unsure if that would give me any advantage in PvM besides greater effect. I'm thinking of switching that one over to another character. Opinions on that?

• Resisting Spells... Should I bother, and if so, how much should I take?

• Without Alchemy I'll have 140 skill points to fiddle with (and possibly more depending on the ammount of resisting spells you'd advice me to get) for Meditation and another skill. Very temped to opt for Mysticism and add it to this template, Mysticism sure looks powerfull, but would Necro add to Spellweaving better (corpse skin)?

• DCI as PvM: do I really need it?

• With GM Inscription, a decent ring and a scrappers, I'll end up with about 67 SDI. Would that be enough or should I focus on more SDI items?

• Should I try and fit in a crystalline ring? Was thinking adding the 1/2 chaos shield from the Library to get another 2 FCR, but would 2/5 be sufficient enough for PvM? It would save me 20 Magery on the template, and would add another 20 focus, plus MR3 and a lot of SDI.

• Human or Elf? Was thinking human, but not sure.

Thanks in advance for any advice you guys can give me

 

[Lord GOD(GOD)]

The suit I'm building looks like this:...
Template idea:...

Obviously its up to you, but I would strongly advise you to KNOW the full template (skills) and intended skill levels before even looking at how to build the suit.

• Ofcourse I'll need mana and mana regeneration, so logically Meditation will also be on the template. The reason I haven't listed it yet is because I'm not really sure on the Meditation / MR balance. What would be the best Meditation / MR ratio? This suit has 12 MR at the moment, but I could up that on the three remaining armor pieces.

With 12 MR I would suggest a minimum of 80 Med. I would also suggest getting Necro/SS on your template so that you can use Wraith Form and drain mana from opponents. That could be full Necro 100 (100% success at Wither and below), 105 (100% success at Strangle and below), or 40-60 JUST for Wraith Form/Omen. SS is needed to make the drain effective, 60+ works, though I usually aim for 100-120, it also affects the damage from Wither. High damage spells with slayers/scribe etc and the drain from Warith Form means you'll rarely run out, though it isn't a substitute for Med/MR.

• Talisman: Totem of the Void vs. Frostguard?

Depends entirely on what you need to make up on the suit and what you can Imbue, if you aim for 24 LMC from artifacts, then you only need 2 pieces with 8 LMC Imbued to make up the 40. (Though 8 LMC is 110% intensity, so sometimes going for 7 is better.)

• This character has GM Alchemy at the moment, but I am unsure if that would give me any advantage in PvM besides greater effect. I'm thinking of switching that one over to another character. Opinions on that?

It enhances stat pots, heal pots and explosion pots mainly, it also gives you 30 EP and increases your EP cap to 80 (so you only need to put 50 on items to have 80). I wouldn't bother with it, you can use potions with or without it.

• Resisting Spells... Should I bother, and if so, how much should I take?

Yes, 100 or 120.

• Without Alchemy I'll have 140 skill points to fiddle with (and possibly more depending on the ammount of resisting spells you'd advice me to get) for Meditation and another skill. Very temped to opt for Mysticism and add it to this template, Mysticism sure looks powerfull, but would Necro add to Spellweaving better (corpse skin)?

Mysticism needs Focus (or Imbuing), so would need 240 skill points. Mysticism isn't very powerful (offensively) in PvM other than Colossus. Spellweaving kinda sucks, Necro or not, Necro adds more to Magery than Spellweaving. Sure you can WOD at the END of somethings life for 300-600ish but you can hit well over 300 with Flame Strike on a Necro/Scribe/Mage using Wraith Form & Omen/Slayers THROUGHOUT a fight without running low on mana. Necro and Magery also complement each other the best, Necro has the Cold/Poison damage spells that Magery doesn't and Magery has the Fire/Energy spells that Necro doesn't.

• DCI as PvM: do I really need it?

Yes. Though you need a form of melee defense for it to work at all, otherwise it does nothing, those being all weapon skills, Wrestling, Defensive Wrestling or (most likely) a Mage Weapon.

• With GM Inscription, a decent ring and a scrappers, I'll end up with about 67 SDI. Would that be enough or should I focus on more SDI items?

Its likely going to need coordinating with making up your casting to 2/6 and needing 20 Magery on items for a Mage Weapon. (15 on ring, 5 on the Treatise on Alchemy Talisman - or Crystalline Ring with Inquisitors Resoloution or Night Eyes)

Slayers are better than Scrappers.

• Should I try and fit in a crystalline ring? Was thinking adding the 1/2 chaos shield from the Library to get another 2 FCR, but would 2/5 be sufficient enough for PvM? It would save me 20 Magery on the template, and would add another 20 focus, plus MR3 and a lot of SDI.

If you're human the 20 Focus won't go over what you have from Jack Of All Trades anyway. Personally I'd go with a 1h Mage Weapon set up so you can use potions in emergencies.

• Human or Elf? Was thinking human, but not sure.

Human.

Also, have an EquipLastWeapon macro so you can change instantly between Mage Weapon & Slayer books when you're getting hit.

 

[LeBaiton]

Obviously its up to you, but I would strongly advise you to KNOW the full template (skills) and intended skill levels before even looking at how to build the suit.

Point well taken, I'll do some research, thanks

With 12 MR I would suggest a minimum of 80 Med. I would also suggest getting Necro/SS on your template so that you can use Wraith Form and drain mana from opponents. That could be full Necro 100 (100% success at Wither and below), 105 (100% success at Strangle and below), or 40-60 JUST for Wraith Form/Omen. SS is needed to make the drain effective, 60+ works, though I usually aim for 100-120, it also affects the damage from Wither. High damage spells with slayers/scribe etc and the drain from Warith Form means you'll rarely run out, though it isn't a substitute for Med/MR.

80 Meditation would free up some more skillpoints. Thanks for that. I'd have to see where the balance regarding more MR lies, I still have a few pieces of armor which I can imbue with more MR if need be.

Depends entirely on what you need to make up on the suit and what you can Imbue, if you aim for 24 LMC from artifacts, then you only need 2 pieces with 8 LMC Imbued to make up the 40. (Though 8 LMC is 110% intensity, so sometimes going for 7 is better.)

Looking at the imbuing costs of LMC, it's very likely I'll try and keep those pieces as cheap as possible, hence the LMC from the arties I've gathered so far.

It enhances stat pots, heal pots and explosion pots mainly, it also gives you 30 EP and increases your EP cap to 80 (so you only need to put 50 on items to have 80). I wouldn't bother with it, you can use potions with or without it.

Good advice, and also in the line of what I was thinking. I'll shift it to another character then.

Yes, 100 or 120.

Ok, I'll fit it onto my template.

Mysticism needs Focus (or Imbuing), so would need 240 skill points. Mysticism isn't very powerful (offensively) in PvM other than Colossus. Spellweaving kinda sucks, Necro or not, Necro adds more to Magery than Spellweaving. Sure you can WOD at the END of somethings life for 300-600ish but you can hit well over 300 with Flame Strike on a Necro/Scribe/Mage using Wraith Form & Omen/Slayers THROUGHOUT a fight without running low on mana. Necro and Magery also complement each other the best, Necro has the Cold/Poison damage spells that Magery doesn't and Magery has the Fire/Energy spells that Necro doesn't.

I was thinking about the Colossus, but looking at the skill requirements (I didn't know about Focus and Imbuing being nessecary) I'm now starting to lean towards a Necromancy/Mage/Scribe build.

Yes. Though you need a form of melee defense for it to work at all, otherwise it does nothing, those being all weapon skills, Wrestling, Defensive Wrestling or (most likely) a Mage Weapon.

Roger. I'm pretty sure I'm not planning on adding any defensive melee skills, so I'll skip heavy focus on DCI for this PvM character's suit.

Its likely going to need coordinating with making up your casting to 2/6 and needing 20 Magery on items for a Mage Weapon. (15 on ring, 5 on the Treatise on Alchemy Talisman - or Crystalline Ring with Inquisitors Resoloution or Night Eyes)

Slayers are better than Scrappers.

Point well taken.

If you're human the 20 Focus won't go over what you have from Jack Of All Trades anyway. Personally I'd go with a 1h Mage Weapon set up so you can use potions in emergencies.

Will have to think this one through for a bit. Thanks

Human.

Thought so, thanks

Also, have an EquipLastWeapon macro so you can change instantly between Mage Weapon & Slayer books when you're getting hit.

Will do...

Thanks for the advice... Food for thought

Thinking about this setup now...

Template idea:

• 120 Magery
• 120 Evaluate Intelligence
• 110 Necromancy
• 110 Spirit Speak
• 100 Resisting Spells
• 100 Inscription
• 60 Meditation

Might go for 100 Magery with Magery capped at 120 and skill on jewelry/items. Would leave me another 20 skillpoints to fiddle with. I'll probably stick another 4 MR on my suit pieces with imbuing, reaching 16 MR, so I reckon 60 Meditation would be enough...

 

[Odin of Europa]

I'm no expert, but heres my necro/mage/weaver template and stats, it might help you a bit

Eval int 110
Inscription 100
Magery 120
Med 100 - 110 with scrappers
Necro 90 - 102 with ring
Spellweaving 120
Spirit speak 80

I used to have GM resist, but stoned it for inscription.

Str 120
Dex 22
Int 133
HP 129
Mana 148

Human

61/70/60/70/70 - with protection, reactive armor and magic reflect

Hat of the Magi
Gorget - MI 7, MR 2, 10/8/18/6/19
Tunic - MR 2, LMC 6, LRC 18, 20/8/7/9/20
Arms - MI 8, MR 2, LRC 16, 19/11/6/9/14
Gloves - HPI 5, MR 2, LMC 7, LRC 15, 9/18/6/10/8
Legs - HPI 4, MR 2, LRC 18, 5/18/9/7/9
Ring - Necro +12, Dex 7, FCR 3, LRC 15, Poison 13
Ornament of the Magician
Ranger's Cloak of Augmentation
Cloak of Death
Crimson Cincture
Totem of the Void
Shield of Invulnerability

I swap between a Scrapper's Compendium with +10 Med, an invasion book with MR 3, SDI 30, LRC 10 and slayer books.

LMC 34 - 44 with Scrappers
MR 14 - 17 with invasion book
FC 2
FCR 6
SDI 16 - 41 with Scrappers - 46 with invasion book
DCI 18
LRC 102

I use it for group hunts mostly: Doom, peerless, Slasher, Navrey, Tram/Ilsh champ spawns and the occasional Fel ones, events - I found it to be my best char for the Strangers event (other chars I tried were archer, sampire and disco tamer). But it is also ok for solo hunting too, collecting barbed leather, imbue ingreds - haven't tried to solo any of the renowneds with this char, but have no problems killing them with my bard mate though.

I hunt in Wraith form for the mana leech, and have a shadow wisp for the mana boost. I usually have no mana problems when hunting things that have lots of mana, and if I can use a slayer book the extra damage helps to leech even more.

With a level 6 focus and wraith form I can keep WoDing, normally getting off 5-10 on peerless, doing 400+ damage each WoD.

I can have problems with mana if what I'm fighting doesn't have alot of mana to leech or there are others in wraith form, Navrey for example, so I use lich form instead for the extra mana regen.

 

[NickyDishes]

Point well taken, I'll do some research, thanks

80 Meditation would free up some more skillpoints. Thanks for that. I'd have to see where the balance regarding more MR lies, I still have a few pieces of armor which I can imbue with more MR if need be.

Looking at the imbuing costs of LMC, it's very likely I'll try and keep those pieces as cheap as possible, hence the LMC from the arties I've gathered so far.

Good advice, and also in the line of what I was thinking. I'll shift it to another character then.

Ok, I'll fit it onto my template.

I was thinking about the Colossus, but looking at the skill requirements (I didn't know about Focus and Imbuing being nessecary) I'm now starting to lean towards a Necromancy/Mage/Scribe build.

Roger. I'm pretty sure I'm not planning on adding any defensive melee skills, so I'll skip heavy focus on DCI for this PvM character's suit.

Point well taken.

Will have to think this one through for a bit. Thanks

Thought so, thanks

Will do...

Thanks for the advice... Food for thought

Thinking about this setup now...

Template idea:

• 120 Magery
• 120 Evaluate Intelligence
• 110 Necromancy
• 110 Spirit Speak
• 100 Resisting Spells
• 100 Inscription
• 60 Meditation

Might go for 100 Magery with Magery capped at 120 and skill on jewelry/items. Would leave me another 20 skillpoints to fiddle with. I'll probably stick another 4 MR on my suit pieces with imbuing, reaching 16 MR, so I reckon 60 Meditation would be enough...

drop inscription and pick up spellweaving........inscription isnt needed for pvm.....u can get 100 plus sdi on ur suit....the 10% from inscription will not do much at all and its not worth the 100 skill points......pick up spellweaving.....sw coupled with magery eval necro and ss is rediculously devastating in pvm

 

[Lord GOD(GOD)]

Reaper Form or Arcane Empowerment on their own do slightly more, however, Reaper Form means you aren't leeching with Wraith Form, you also have a higher fire resist penalty, Arcane Empowerment has a short duration and a large mana cost so every few casts it would need re-casting to sustain its lead (which in other words it doesn't)

I tested with just Scribe 15 Corpse/FS/Omens on Arctic Ogre Lords, (all 1 hit kills) damage in the 600's.

Same test with no Scribe the damage was still mostly in the 600's but also dipped more into the 500's and took the total for all 15 kills to around 400 less damage.

Same test with no Scribe but in Reaper Form gave a slightly higher average but as above being in Reaper Form would mean on any long fights you would eventually run out of mana.

Same test with no Scribe no Reaper Form and using Arcane Empowerment was the same average as Reaper Form only but slightly higher max hit. Although you could sustain this in Wraith Form you would still lose out over time because of having to re-cast it every few combos.

Same test with no Scribe and using Reaper Form & Arcane Empowerment reached the 700's but suffers both the probems above.

(all tests were 1 - damaging - hit kills)

So while Spellweaving can do more in a few hits, in any long fight Inscribe is better and more sustainable. I didn't test with an Arcane Focus because it would obviously do more but doesn't change the problems already mentioned.

Inscribe also gives 5% Casting Focus (chance to not be fizzled) at GM.

You could of course do both and not have Resist but that often means less survivability.