42 réponses à ce sujet

[T0rin3]

swk3000 wrote...

Those stats obviously have the Fade Essences included, but do they also include your equipment? And how did you develop your stats? Also, how did you get 45 armor? I didn't think it was possible to get it even that high.

They do have the fade included, I am pretty OCD about getting all that stat increases early, or at least early enough to use them to meet talent/skill requirements. (namely Persuasion and Shield Mastery)

My base stats are: 56 str, 26 dex, 14 will, 13 magic, 16 cunning, 15 con. I believe that also includes a level up (and thus 3 more base str) than my previously posted stats. I raise dex (as needed by early shield talents) and strength early on, and try to make my way to the Fade as quickly as possible, as advancing persuasion is dependant on getting the 5 cunning from the fade for the 2nd-4th persuasion skills. I get dex to 22 relatively early on, at least by level 9 for Shield Tactics, and for the defense. I get the extra 4 dex needed for Shield Mastery from the fade, so I don't have to take any excess stats away from str.

5 of that 45 armor is from Shield Wall (+5 armor), the rest comes from my equipment:

Bergen's Honor: 3.75 + 2 armor
Gloves of Diligence: 2.10 + 4 armor
Knight Commander's Plate: 18.90 armor
Boots of Diligence: 2.63 + 2 armor
Bulwark of the True King: 1 armor
Lifegiver: +3 armor

Removing all armor shows an armor value of 1 (buffed), not sure exactly where that 1 armor comes from. In the long term, I'll have 2 less armor when I switch to Helm of Honnleath (I seem to need the +6 attack from Bergen's for now) and Either Howe's Shield or Duncan's Shield (when I get them), as I'll need the extra defense or stamina regen, depending on whether I choose Champion or Berserker for my second specialization.

[swk3000]

I wanted the Collector's Edition, but was told there was none. Now, I can't get the code for the Collector Edition items, and I'd love to have them. As for the Bulwark of the True King, that's a PC only item, and I'm on the 360. None of those items factored into my math.

[T0rin3]

Well, both of those items are just placeholders for now, I'll cease to use them (and the +2 armor they add collectively) once I get a bit further into the game.

Edit: For fun, I used Morrigan to make a greater warmth balm (yeah, I know, against the rules, but this wasn't going to be part of my playthrough) to see how hard it would be to solo Flemeth in melee. Honestly, I don't know how I'm EVER going to be able to do that. Keeping to her flank to avoid Overwhelm, she still hits me for 60+ damage with each "massive attack" leg kick, not to mention the knockback. I've got 71.7 damage with Berserk on, and will have poison making soon so I can use poisons, but I still have no idea how I'm going to be able to deal enough damage in time to kill her before she kills me. Most of my talents (Assault, Shield Bash, etc.) get interrupted a half second into them by the knockback, and I can't knock her down or stun her. I'm at a loss, as I don't think any amount of strength is going to make the difference.

Modifié par T0rin3, 19 juin 2010 - 02:46 .

[Last Darkness]

T0rin3 wrote...

Well, both of those items are just placeholders for now, I'll cease to use them (and the +2 armor they add collectively) once I get a bit further into the game.

Edit: For fun, I used Morrigan to make a greater warmth balm (yeah, I know, against the rules, but this wasn't going to be part of my playthrough) to see how hard it would be to solo Flemeth in melee. Honestly, I don't know how I'm EVER going to be able to do that. Keeping to her flank to avoid Overwhelm, she still hits me for 60+ damage with each "massive attack" leg kick, not to mention the knockback. I've got 71.7 damage with Berserk on, and will have poison making soon so I can use poisons, but I still have no idea how I'm going to be able to deal enough damage in time to kill her before she kills me. Most of my talents (Assault, Shield Bash, etc.) get interrupted a half second into them by the knockback, and I can't knock her down or stun her. I'm at a loss, as I don't think any amount of strength is going to make the difference.

Switch your gear out?
Also poison may make it easier I know for a fact the stun proc will hit the High Dragon, not sure if Flemeths considered different.  You may wanna try Cailens set with a warmth balm (You can buy those though I forget where) Also not 100% sure but what happens when you go behind Flemths hut? does it break LOS to regen up maybe?

[shree420]

Nice thread. Though soloing High Dragons sounds tough like you mentioned. From my own fight against the High Dragon yesterday( 4-member party, Alistair as tank + my PC as asssassin rogue), stunning poisons and paralyze runes are par for the course. They work, but not as often as you would like. Besides you're not playing a quick-striking DW or rogue, so how useful it could be is up to actual play.

Would Reaver's Frightening Appearance help here? It's a mental check, which the dragon is low on. You've ditched Reaver for Champion's all-around utility, but I'm curious.

And regards your other problem, vs. ranged attackers, have you considered switching to Shield Cover for better missile deflection, giving up melee defense instead and keeping melee enemies tied down with talents?

Modifié par shree420, 20 juin 2010 - 03:34 .

[T0rin3]

shree420 wrote...

And regards your other problem, vs. ranged attackers, have you considered switching to Shield Cover for better missile deflection, giving up melee defense instead and keeping melee enemies tied down with talents?

I did some experimenting with shield cover, and it seems pretty useless, I get hit just as much with it on as without it, and of course I'm far worse for it in melee. (no immunity to knockdown, no armor, no defense)

[swk3000]

The best Shield and Shield Cover only gives +29% chance to avoid Missile Attacks. It's a pretty weak boost.

[Last Darkness]

I just thought of it but I cant seem to find it but theres a armor combonation you can try that gives you something between 40% to 60% dodge if that may help. I wish I could find that gear setup but I cant for the life of me.



Theres also the slow method of switching to a Crossbow and doing ranged damage or moving in and out of melee since she dosnt move to help you regen up. I can only imagine how bad it is when she eats you.

[swk3000]

Last Darkness wrote...

I just thought of it but I cant seem to find it but theres a armor combonation you can try that gives you something between 40% to 60% dodge if that may help. I wish I could find that gear setup but I cant for the life of me.

Theres also the slow method of switching to a Crossbow and doing ranged damage or moving in and out of melee since she dosnt move to help you regen up. I can only imagine how bad it is when she eats you.

Evon the Great's Mail, Cailan's Greaves, and the Spellward give a grand total of 40% chance to dodge attacks. There's no other items with that ability that I can find. However, Evon the Great's Mail takes the same slot the Knight-Commander's Plate does, and the OP is quite set on having that (and for good reason), so the best he can do is 30%.

[Last Darkness]

swk3000 wrote...

Last Darkness wrote...

I just thought of it but I cant seem to find it but theres a armor combonation you can try that gives you something between 40% to 60% dodge if that may help. I wish I could find that gear setup but I cant for the life of me.

Theres also the slow method of switching to a Crossbow and doing ranged damage or moving in and out of melee since she dosnt move to help you regen up. I can only imagine how bad it is when she eats you.

Evon the Great's Mail, Cailan's Greaves, and the Spellward give a grand total of 40% chance to dodge attacks. There's no other items with that ability that I can find. However, Evon the Great's Mail takes the same slot the Knight-Commander's Plate does, and the OP is quite set on having that (and for good reason), so the best he can do is 30%.

Im confused so you need spell resitance for the Flemeth fight instead of fire restiance from a Balm?

[swk3000]

I'm not really sure, actually. I don't know if the game counts Flemeth's Flame Breath as a Magic attack. However, the Spell Resistance is so generally useful that I don't think that the extra 10% chance to dodge attacks is worth dropping down to 60% chance to resist spells.

[swk3000]

T0rin3 wrote...
Removing all armor shows an armor value of 1 (buffed), not sure exactly where that 1 armor comes from.

I just found out where that comes from. Picking up Master Combat Training gives +1 Armor. In fact, if you focus on the right skills, you get:

+0.5 Combat Stamina Regen
+1 Armor
+6 Attack
+25 Nature Resistance
+2 Physical Resistance

You get all of that simply by maxing out Combat Training and Survival.

[Last Darkness]

swk3000 wrote...

T0rin3 wrote...
Removing all armor shows an armor value of 1 (buffed), not sure exactly where that 1 armor comes from.

I just found out where that comes from. Picking up Master Combat Training gives +1 Armor. In fact, if you focus on the right skills, you get:

+0.5 Combat Stamina Regen
+1 Armor
+6 Attack
+25 Nature Resistance
+2 Physical Resistance

You get all of that simply by maxing out Combat Training and Survival.

But no one maxes survival lol

[DWSmiley]

Last Darkness wrote...

But no one maxes survival lol

I have a few times.  Once I've maxed combat training and coercion, plus a level in stealing and poison making, the only thing of any use is the resistance bonuses of survival.  For a warrior that requires buying the skill tomes but I usually have money to burn at the end.

[Last Darkness]

Hows it coming along T0rin3 ?

[swk3000]

Last Darkness wrote...

swk3000 wrote...

T0rin3 wrote...
Removing all armor shows an armor value of 1 (buffed), not sure exactly where that 1 armor comes from.

I just found out where that comes from. Picking up Master Combat Training gives +1 Armor. In fact, if you focus on the right skills, you get:

+0.5 Combat Stamina Regen
+1 Armor
+6 Attack
+25 Nature Resistance
+2 Physical Resistance

You get all of that simply by maxing out Combat Training and Survival.

But no one maxes survival lol

Not necessarily true. After my PC maxes Combat Training and Coercion, I generally go after Survival, if only to have somewhere to throw my Skill Points.

[T0rin3]

I won't have enough points to max it on my Warrior, but I would max Survival if I had the skill points. I have on every Rogue I ever made (to solo NM), and just the minimap information alone proved useful enough. Warrior just don't get very many skill points, and I took Poison Making at 15, so I won't be able to max out Survival even if I wanted to.

I made my save at level 14 and decided I wasn't going to put my second specialization point in until I came across a fight I could not otherwise win. At about halfway through level 14, I was going through the Brecilian forest in order to get the scroll necessary to fight Gaxkang (I need more stam regen on my shield), and figured I would do the Revenant fights to make some gold.

Well, it turns out that the Revenant by himself (via the phylacteries) is a close enough call at level 14, and without a handful of skeletons to assist, well, it was impossible. I tried every trick in the book, and the plain and simple truth is I wasnt killing the 2 skeletons I needed to (the yellow and the archer, aka the 2 that could hit for more than 1 damage through my armor) fast enough in order to go toe to toe with the Revenant and survive.

So, I put my point into Berserker, hit the gravestone, turn on Berserk and start going to town. I was able to kill the yellow and archer a bit faster (it was somewhat noticable) than before, but still, once they were dead the Revenant was just faster than me. On my best attempt I was at abotu 75-80% health when I got the yellow and archer dead, and the Revenant just did a better job of racing me down to nothing. I tried about 10 different times, altering my strategy to mitigate damage leading up to the 2 being dead, and no matter what, that lost 20% health and the 2 (I think it was 2) skeletons constantly hitting me for 1 damage each was enough to negate my health regen and prevent me from outlasting the Revenant, which I know I can do without Berserk, and without all the skeletons around.

So, I reload my save, put my point into Champion, turn on Rally and hit the gravestone. My very first attempt, I killed the Revenant. The extra defense was enough to stop a couple of shots from the Archer that would normally hit me while I was meleeing the yellow down, and the extra defense coupled with War Cry was enough to make the Revenant hit me half as often as he was before. I was skeptical that 10-20 extra defense would be so noticable that I would sacrifice the damage from Berserker, but it was.

So, I reload my save before I put my 2nd point in. I admit, level 14 was a bit early to try to solo the Revenant fights in the Brecilian forest (I know I didn't do it that early on any of my rogue games), and I should probably not make this decision on 1 pre-mature fight alone. So I opt to skip the fight for now, and continue on with the Elves quest. I get down into the Ruins and come across the Dragon. Well, same deal as the Revenant. Without a second specialization, I just couldn't beat it. There isn't much to that fight, no real tactics to speak of. Knockdown really doesn't work, stun doesn't work (on him at least), so it's very much a race of his damage vs yours. I first try with Berserker, the added damage helps me get closer, but if I can't get him near dead before I hit 50% health, he grabs me and eats me, and I'm left with 15-20% of my life, unable to finish him off. I put my point into Champion, and the extra defense from Rally and War Cry let me kill him on my second attempt.

Well, that about seals the deal. I kept the points in Champion/Rally/War Cry and continued on. I do admit, I'm going to miss that extra damage from Berserker, but I'm starting to get this vibe that this build is not really suited for all of the challenges of an NM solo. While Champion helps me get through some of the tougher fights at level 14, what condition am I going to be in against the harder solo fights (High Dragon, etc.) or some of the harder group fights? (Jarvia, etc.) I just get this feeling that the strength of my defense is fine early on, but the further I progress, the more scenarios I run into that my defense just can't hold up to what the game throws at me. Since my attack is relatively static, and my defense is now about as good as it will ever be, my only means to beat harder fights will be tactics. As much faith as I have in myself about manipulating a fight, there is sometimes only so much you can do with a character that has to go into melee to kill.

So, I'm level 15 now (can't wait to get to 16 for Superiority!!) and have my aim on Gaxkang. I'm heading to Haven next to pick up the last scroll for the Unbound quest, then I'll be off to Denerim to claim my shield.

On the topic of the High Dragon fight, I'm thinking that I will need to pick up some different equipment to win that fight. The extra % chance to dodge is probably the best idea, aside from that, my goal will be to dish out as much damage as I can. I'm still not sure how possible it is, given the width of the gap between Flemeth's life and mine when I was killed during those "play fights", but I've almost got enough gold for Andruil's Blessing, and can then start saving up for spare item's like Evon's Mail.

And to clear up the issue of Spell Resistance vs High Dragon/Flemeth, I don't think it really matters. They get 1 shot to shoot fire at you while you're rushing them, and I never saw Spell Resistance stop it, I always relied on the Greater Warmth Balm to mitigate the damage. Once you get into melee, you're constantly moving around to their flank, and they never have a chance to do anything to you other than kick you with their hind legs. So really, the fight is just their hind legs vs your sword, and whoever has the better combination of defense and offense will win. I'm hoping that with high enough Defense (I'll probably be able to get it in the neighborhood of 123) and as much % chance to dodge as possible, I'll be able to withstand enough to kill them with poisoned weapons. Although, I don't even know for sure if that % chance to dodge or Defense will actually stop a "Massive attack" from the hind legs or not. I don't recall it ever "missing" me because of Defense, but that could be because 91 defense was just too low.

Modifié par T0rin3, 22 juin 2010 - 02:19 .

[mr.chicken]

Great info, T0rin3. Great to read about your solo NM warrior. Keep us updated!