To play through multiple times as you build up all the skills 2-3 classes at a time via multiple NG+ runs? (once a file can NG+ it can be reset as another NG+ without having to beat the game again - I just reset my current on from lv12 because I maxed all the DEX based classes, got bored of archering around, and now need to polish off the INT ones).
So, a few pages back it was expressed that would should spend some time discussing builds that aren't "Arena" oriented or NG+ focussed. Having now played the game through several times, both NG+ and vanilla, I think we could distinguish between three broad categories of skill load outs - each category could be divided into two subcategories (Vanilla and NG+; where NG+ builds allocate stats without considerations for acquiring skills and Vanilla is a build that could be achieved by around level 33 on a new character): Arena These are the ones discussions have tended to gravitate towards (probably because they are the most flashy and "powerful"). The goal is to clear as many waves of arena as possible. Skills like Impending Doom (Ninja) and Aura of Light (Paladin) tend to be present in most of these builds because they lend consistency to the play style across waves and minimize downtime (because the arena doesn't wait for your cool downs). One could also call these "End Game" builds because pushing your limits in the Arena is all that's left for you once you've finished the game if you don't want to reset your character to level 1 using the NG+ feature. Arena builds are measured by how many waves they can clear and, if you are interested in acquiring Legendaries effectively, how fast they can clear 20 waves (to guarantee the legendary item reward). Dungeon Dungeon builds are made for clearing dungeons. Dungeons tend to be made of sequential rooms with different groups of monsters in each room. Different rooms will necessitate different capabilities and so these builds need flexibility. While Arena builds can work here, if you're trying to clear dungeons quickly it can be useful to include skills like the Spirit Trance (Monk) which increase movement speed or Stealth (Rogue) to skip rooms that contain groups of monsters your build isn't adept at clearing. These builds tend to "grow" as your character gains more skills, although NG+ dungeon builds could also be a topic of discussion (as grinding dungeons is a different experience than grinding arena - some players may prefer to get their NG+ characters to level 25/30 using a Dungeon strategy instead of an Arena strategy to keep the game fresh and for a different kind of challenge. One notable challenge is clearing a high level dungeon with a low level NG+ build; specifically a minimum stats build where your stats are the bare minimum require to equip the gear you need). Dungeon builds are measured by how quickly they can clear near-level dungeons or the difference between the recommended level of dungeon it can clear (in a reasonable time), and actual level. Boss Bosses, especially the final 4 Bosses (the three Chaos Towers and the end Boss) are very different battle than what you find in the Arena or a Dungeon crawl. Skills such as Aura of Light (Paladin) can be less reliable than its fixed value counter parts Healing Word (Paladin) or Spirit Trance (Monk) because it depends on dealing enough damage in a short window to replenish your health; and most bosses tend to be evasive single targets (lowering the effectiveness of Aura of Light if you use it and the boss teleports away, or hasn't summoned a small group of minions for you to increase your overall damage with). Single target, high damage skills can be useful such as Reckless Blow (Barbarian) and crowd control abilities are less useful (since Bosses are immune to most forms of crowd control, such as Charm (Bard) and Lullaby (Bard)). Boss builds are measured by how quickly they can clear a near-level Boss or the difference between the recommended level of the Boss it can clear (in a reasonable time), and actual level. I suppose we could also define a fourth category, the Thematic Build (which can be evaluate for Arena, Dungeon and Boss competency and may also have Vanilla or NG+ variations). A Thematic Build is a skill load out with some predetermined theme (A True Ninja, for instance, might rely on a mix of Rogue and Ninja powers, that aims to do large spikes of damage to single targets while controlling the battlefield to avoid damage). Finally, another interesting dimension are Challenge Builds. These builds are designed to meet community driven challenges (usually because the community notices a skill or strategy that seems to be unviable for one of the above categories). Examples would be a Monk Arena Build, a Vanilla Bard Dungeon/Boss Build (I have noticing community members commenting that such builds seem impossible).
Curse you Battleheart Legacy for crashing during my epic arena run... still why can't I quit you?!? It's also a pet peeve that you actually have to exit the Colosseum to save your progress after a bout; it doesn't autosave between trials otherwise. ...Evil super boss here I come!
Noob question. It says dexterity affects dmg of light melee weapons. What constitutes as a light melee weapon? I'm planning on going ninja/barbarian.
I'm not certain, but I am confident that it probably doesn't include Colossal weapons. It definitely includes Daggers, and maybe swords?
Ninja Barbarian should be strength based. Dex will add to daggers bow fists and duel wield. The prob with that build is that their ults require either duel wield or colossal. You'll have to choose but the ninjas blade rush is the bomb
To add on, I was thinking of the idea of stock character build templates to showcase a sample path a player could take when levelling up. For example, levelling a knight to lv8 for grit, then go pure paladin until wrath, maybe splash barbarian for frenzy and pounce. The sort of of thing which gives newer players a general idea of how to advance their character. Eq to look out for. Some battle strategies. Or level a knight to lv8 for grit, take battemage for flame weapon and manastrike, train barbarian skills until whirlwind, splash paladin for aura of light (again), then continue building up battlemage skills until lightning weapon, go back to barbarian for death wish. This build starts to come together at lv12, and finishes at around lv18-19. I know some of these practically build themselves, but I think it would be useful to discuss lower to mid-level tactics nonetheless.
Ninja Barbarian should be strength based. Dex will add to daggers bow fists and duel wield. The prob with that build is that their ults require either duel wield or colossal. You'll have to choose but the ninjas blade rush is the bomb
I hit 906 (wave 169) at level 78 >_< I leveled up 14 levels during the process, lol, so I'm level 92 now. It basically got to the point where I could not out-damage their healers, so it was just a matter of time before I made a mistake, and I did :/ If it was an NG+ character, I should be able to do it, sigh. Next time around I'll know to have Silence active. I need to figure out what combo has the best dps, whether dual wielding, or using colossal weapon. I don't really like casters, so I'll go with the melee guys.
Agreed. Here's one, my first character: FIRESWORD NINJA At level 30: Str 25; Dex 33; Int 8; Skl 34; End 7; Cha 10 Skills: Twin Strike, Blade Rush, Savage Pounce, Karma Kick, Expose Weakness, Aura of Light, Spirit Trance, Flame Weapon Passives: Deep Wounds, Impending Doom, Dual Wield, Dragon Style, Lethality, Lethal Edge Equip: Mercurial Blade x2, Battlemage Raiment, Black Lotus, Time-Lost Urn Progression/Strategy: Start with Rogue as I spent most of the game using Sneak Attack + Stealth (and dual wielding with a dagger in the main hand, sword in the off hand). Get Ninja trainer as early as you can to unlock Twin Strike and Tranq Dart. Your primary skills until around level 26 will be Twin Strike, Tranq Dart, Sneak Attack and Stealth (open every fight with Stealth, and use Tranq Dart to control tough monsters. One on one tranq dart will let you score extra Stealth attacks). Smoke Bomb is also crucial for drawing in ranged mobs, as is Shuriken (but don't use Shuriken if there is an enemy healer around, unless they are the only target). Charm (Bard) can be useful to grab early on as a useful Crowd Control skill to have until you get Tranq Dart (I recommend getting Charm as soon as you have Sneak). Once you have Dual Wielding and Twin Strike you'll need some mobility and healing. I put a few levels towards monk to get Karma Kick (this also gets you the passive Dragon Style, which is useful because you will eventually be wearing the battlemage armour which boosts magic attack). If this isn't enough mobility, also get Savage Pounce from the Barbarian (you'll want it eventually, but it's not necessary early on). Monk also gets you Spirit Trance, which was my healing skill until level 23/24 (when I picked up Aura of Light from Paladin - which I only needed when I started to run arena). Along the way keep an eye on other trainers and pick up skills that you qualify for. Of particular interest is Ranger as Premeditation and Summon Pet may prove useful for you as you level up (Premed. can let you unleash large spikes of damage against big targets, and the pet is a useful distraction that draws damage away from you, probably occupying your Smoke Bomb slot if you do use it). Finally, before closing out the ninja skill tree to get the key skill (Blade Rush) you will want to dip 3 points into INT to bring it to 8 and get the battlemage skill Flame Weapon (once you do this you should change your armour to the battlemage line). Discussion: The biggest advantage of this build is that by level 23 you (the latest you should get Blade Rush) you should be able to clear 17-20 waves of arena (depending on what comes out in those last few waves) letting you grind for Legendary gear to fight the final boss (and final chaos tower). The biggest drawback is that most of the game will be challenging as you have to rely on quick reflexes to Tranq Dart as many foes as you can while kiting and fighting the rest. You should freely adjust your skills for your playstyle as you level up, but keep the primary target in mind (outlined in the beginning) especially in terms of the target skills (some of the passives are a personal choice). You may also need to change your loadout to fight bosses. Caltrops and premeditation can be particularly effective, especially once you have Impending Doom as Damage over Time can crit! Or, more single target focus (Smoke Bomb, Frenzy, Twin Strike, Sneak Attack, Poisoned Knife, Power Attack, Cleave - are all good options for bosses that are just big baddies with minions).
It has a low stat requirement and boosts crit rate by 10%. That alone is a good damage boost; plus you get a small boost from whatever your magic attack is (which is nice too). I think flame weapon is the best of the weapon buffs from battlemage. However, it doesn't stack with some other skills (I believe it doesn't stack with wrath) so it's not always a good splash.
Oh, I was looking to play an NG+ character, so I was asking whether dual-wield is better than colossal because I get to start fresh. I'm trying to find out what's the best for dps.
I really haven't played any wizard/witch/necro combos, but I have played barb/battle mage and ninja/ranger combos. Dual wield will beat colossal, IMHO. In the arena with only auto-attacks I can do far more damage with dual wield and critical strikes (and chain lightning) than with colossal. I only have buffs and de-buffs for my arena dual wield.
