40 réponses à ce sujet

[Elhanan]

For each class per Act?

I already completed my Rogue run, and did not have enough gold to aquire the Tomes & elixers that added stats, maybe from purchasing too much from Merchants in the various Acts.

Any decent tips for gear & gold?

Thanks!

[aethernox]

Most gear is easier found than bought. Always buy the tomes and elixirs from the normal merchants, though. In act one, my major purchases were Ring of the Fallen, Silverite Chain Belt, which are both excellent for all characters. In act 2, unless you're playing a warrior or force mage, I strongly suggest that you buy yourself an Etched Ring of the Twins, from the Nexus Golem.

Act 1 warriors should stick to Hayder;s Razor until they get Oath-Breaker. If they're going S&S, they should pick up Desdemona's Blade from the Black Emporium.

Act 2 warriors have more choices. It takes a while to find a good replacement for either of those weapons, and so I generally just let them or minor upgrades walk me into act III. During this act, I would honestly suggest that you buy King Something the Forgotten's Armor. It will take the majority of the gold you receive in this act, but you should be able to buy it and finish with about 50 gold left over, tomes included. If you're going S&S, you should upgrade your shield to the Shield of the Knight Herself as soon as possible.

During act 3, I would suggest switching over to Bloom or the Celebrant. Or Blade of Mercy. Whatever floats your boat. A lot of your equipment is going to switch over to the Champion's Set. If you're siding with the mages, I suggest that you use Garahel's Helm rather than Helm of the Champion, but those siding with the Templars can't get it. There's a new ring in the Nexus golem shop, Bardin's Folly, which may be the last major purchase that you make. Replace your amulet with the reward for the last Herbalist's Tasks quest, and you should be good. Be sure to slot a Rune of Valiance into your gloves and all of your companion's armor.

I didn't spend enough money in my first playthrough. I had ~300 gold end-game.

[Elhanan]

Thanks! Any tips out there for Mages?

[aethernox]

Act 1 mages should use the Staff of Parthalan, Stone's Breath, or Valdasine. They should also buy the Silverite Chain Belt (Bonny Lem's Wares) and the Fallen Star (BE). If you're planning on going Blood Mage, be sure to buy two Rings of Minor Cantrips (with Improved Blood Magic) from the Trinket Emporium in Lowtown, and to get the Talisman of Saarebas from Shepherding Wolves.

In act 2, you have some choices to make. There are two major items in this act, and they both have very prohibitive costs. The first is Cold-Blooded, a staff for blood mages that you can purchase in the Wounded Coast for 130 gold. If you're using Blood Magic and the elemental tree, it's quite possibly the last staff you will ever need. Don't forget that the +6 Magic that Cold-Blooded grants effectively increases the staff's base damage by 3, so its actual base damage is 40, which compares well with other end-game staffs. If you aren't using Winter's Grasp (it is a great spell, but mages are tight for skill points until act III), then I'd pass for a later, free blood magic staff, such as Voracity. Voracity is received at the end of the Forbidden Knowledge quest, so be sure that you never read any of the Evil Tomes until you follow the quest to the Fell Grimoire.

If you aren't a Blood Mage, I would suggest using Allure's Crook, from Sebastion's personal quest.

The second major purchase in this act is for spirit healers and/or blood mages. If you don't plan on going force mage, you must have the Etched Ring of the Twins for the knock-back immunity. Nexus Golem, around 90 gold. I'm not sure if you can purchase both in one playthrough, but I'm fairly certain that you can, if you're careful with your money.

Most of the good mage armor is dropped. You won't have to worry about buying any until act 3, and that's only if you'd rather use the Robes of Unblemished Cleanliness than the Champion's Armor.

During Act III, there are only a handful of remaining purchases. If you bought Cold-Blooded, keep rocking it. Otherwise, you'll probably just want to either keep Voracity or pick up the Corrupted Acolyte's Staff. You can find it in the Lowtown Apparel shop. It's very cheap, and it is an excellent choice for blood mages who focus on the Primal Tree, because of the nice +16% electricity damage.

Spirit Healers/Force Mages should pick up The Final Thought or Bassrath-Kata. The Final Thought is prohibitively expensive, but it has the highest base staff damage in the game (50, taking the magic bonus into account), and a few other useful bonuses. Bassrath-Kata is received from the Lost Swords quest, as long as you find every sword and never ask for a reward when you turn them in. Its main selling point is that it is both free and has a large bonus to Healing By This Character. The Torch of Falon'Din is another option.

For armor, you have two main choices: The Robes of Unblemished Cleanliness or the Mantle of the Champion. The robes are among the most expensive items in the game, but it grants a gigantic bonus to all elemental damage.

Blood Mages should stick to their Improved Blood Magic equipment. Spirit Healers should use the Lifestone or something similar until they get the +1 to all attributes amulet from the final Herbalist's Tasks. For those going for maximum damage with Electricity/Fire spells, the Ring of the Ferryman should be your last purchase. It and the Robes of Unblemished Cleanliness cost over 200 sovereigns combined, but provide an additional ~50% damage with fire/electricity spells.

[Elhanan]

Great info! Thanks!

I had seen Cold-Blooded earlier in my prior run, and the +10 Mana Regen kinda stood out for me, But I could have attested it was seen in Act 3?

Any more from anyone? Pls keep such helpful info flowing !

Modifié par Elhanan, 15 avril 2011 - 08:29 .

[brazen_nl]

Cold-Blooded is only available during Act 2.

[Elhanan]

brazen_nl wrote...

Cold-Blooded is only available during Act 2.

Thanks for confirming! While I wish this were another type of dmg (Undead may be Immune to Cold), the bonuses seem to make up for it. Plu I have taken advice and stored away one staff per type, so when I run into Dragons I ain't stuck using a Fire staff.

[ezrafetch]

My opinion? Don't use your money on mage staves unless you're rolling around in sovereigns. Usually a waste of money, because the majority of your DPS gains come from switching to the right damage type. The only stave I would consider buying would be the Final Thought and that's if I had no better use for my 152 or however many sovereigns it costs (and there are tons of better options, the big one being the Robes of Unblemished Cleanliness). Typically your best staves will drop (i.e. Torch of Falon'Din) and your random drop staves will begin to out-DPS your unique staves in late Act 3. Meaning that staff itemization in DA2 is abhorrent.  And that you can really just finish the game using dropped staves.

Modifié par ezrafetch, 10 avril 2011 - 08:43 .

[Elhanan]

I apologize for the *bump*, but have found this info extremely helpful, and do not wish to lose it to time.

[Mocker22]

For mages there are 2 very important act 3 purchased, which are COSTLY.

Robes of Unblemished Clealiness(140G!) and Ring of the ferryman(109G). Nte: only get ferryman if you use a lot of fire or lightning stuff.

Mage staves you can just use whatever you find. The best staff is going to be whatever element your current enemy is weak too. Preferably staves with +%dmg type. Cold-Blooded is amazing on the outside, and I forked out money for it on my first Elementalist BM, and really wished I hadn't. Using a fire staff and buying ferryman would've been smarter. Falon'Din's is great for your fire staff, won't find a dropped staff with 2 rune slots.

[thendcomes]

This information is out of date. The guidance given above for mages is particularly untrue. Feel free to browse the mage guide or DPS spreadsheet in my sig for best gear choices for a mage.

For a mage, Ring of the Ferryman is not only not required, it's a waste of money. It's worse than both Puzzle Ring of the Black Fox and Etched Ring of the Twins, and also Graven Circle if you have Legacy.

Modifié par thendcomes, 21 août 2011 - 07:03 .

[Mocker22]

I disagree, especially for a mage who is gong to have fire spells. Although you can use crit gear, that bonus dmg is only going to apply on crits. 24% elemental dmg is every single attack/spell if its the right dmg type. Maybe I'm out of date but I havn't really come around on mages that are completely geared for crits. Crits are all well and good but I really like geting lots of elemental dmg bonuses and huge magic score.

Modifié par Brock22, 21 août 2011 - 08:05 .

[Elhanan]

^ am guessing said out of date statement was offered for the entire thread. But I still use it, as I am generally not into stats. I like Immunities and defensive builds, so I often go this route, but use this material to help me recall where it may be located.

[thendcomes]

Best gearing options are talked about in the Mage DPS spreadsheet thread. 

Brock22 wrote...
I disagree

I'm not really sure what you're disagreeing with. If your goal is to wear the gear that gives you the best performance, it's not a matter of opinion.

Brock22 wrote...
especially for a mage who is gong to have fire spells.

This is just a strange platform. Obviously if your mage is not going to use Fire spells, you would never consider the Ring of the Ferryman to begin with. And if he does, Fire is less improved than Electricity.

Brock22 wrote...
Although you can use crit gear, that bonus dmg is only going to apply on crits.

What does this even mean? Increasing crit chance and damage improves your average DPS just like +damage%. Suggesting one is more useful than the other in Act 3 is meaningless. By the time you reach Act 3, you'll have access to enough gear to substantially boost your criticals, and you'll be tossing out plenty of attacks and crits.

Brock22 wrote...
24% elemental dmg is every single attack/spell if its the right dmg type.

First, 24% damage is not a flat 24%. +damage% gets affected by diminishing returns like everything else. You can easily accumulate over 100% fire damage by Act 3, at which point an additional 24% fire damage is only worth 12% more damage.

Second, you're increasing 2 elements at the expense of all the other elements. It's just not efficient. A mage has every element at his disposal via staves, and by Act 3 you're working with 20+ skill points to invest in an array of spells of different elements. You could increase all elements by 10-12% with PRotBF, or a similar or slightly larger % to only fire and electricity. Mages only have 2 fire spells and 2 electricity spells which can't be spammed, so you're reducing your overall damage by neglecting your other elements.

Third, RotF is situational. Against, Fire or Electric immunes, or enemies weak to Nature/Spirit/Cold, your 100g ring is not doing you a whole lot of good. The PRotBF does not have such limitations since it is "strong" against every enemy. If you had infinite gold, RotF would be well worth buying for use in fights against fire-weak or elec-weak enemies. But you don't.

Modifié par thendcomes, 21 août 2011 - 10:49 .

[thendcomes]

Elhanan wrote...

^ am guessing said out of date statement was offered for the entire thread. But I still use it, as I am generally not into stats. I like Immunities and defensive builds, so I often go this route, but use this material to help me recall where it may be located.

The information regarding mages is out-of-date or was never right to begin with. eg. Staff of the Primal Order is the best Act 1 staff, and the Fallen Star is a huge waste of money. 

Modifié par thendcomes, 21 août 2011 - 10:51 .

[Elhanan]

thendcomes wrote...

The information regarding mages is out-of-date or was never right to begin with. eg. Staff of the Primal Order is the best Act 1 staff, and the Fallen Star is a huge waste of money. 

That said, I tend to use the ring with Hawke or someone, and leave the staff unpurchased. Think I went with Parlathan until 10th+, then with Malcolm's Honor for the remainder of game. As mentioned, I do not always go with stats, and do not use Rune slots at ll until Act 3.

[thendcomes]

You can do whatever you want. You can beat the game without following any of my advice and using all terrible gear. But you revived this old ass thread full of misinformation, and when given correct information with better gear choices, you say you're not into stats and don't go with stats? Then what's the point of asking for recommended gear?

[Elhanan]

thendcomes wrote...

You can do whatever you want. You can beat the game without following any of my advice and using all terrible gear. But you revived this old ass thread full of misinformation, and when given correct information with better gear choices, you say you're not into stats and don't go with stats? Then what's the point of asking for recommended gear?

Terrible gear? You recommend the Staff of Parlathan in your own links.

Simply because it may not be the best items, or we as sheep do not wish to be herded into what one person else recommends does not make this old thread invalid. While I thank you for the links, I actually prefer the gracious info offered from the previous poster; the humble one.

[thendcomes]

Sheep? lol jesus christ, what's the matter with you...

[Mocker22]

Some of it's gonna come down to playstyle I suppose. If your master plan in 90% of the battles is to drop Grav Ring and Firestorm then ring of the ferryman seems pretty solid. There are not so many fire immunes that you can't spec in fire dmg and just have a plan for the couple fights you need too.

[thendcomes]

The lack of challenge in the game provides a huge amount of flexibility so you're not limited to doing things one way or the other. Trying to squeeze every last ounce of efficiency and productivity is not even remotely necessary with a party. My experience with a solo mage has demanded a higher level of optimization, so I benefited more from figuring out what's "best." But for example, if you're playing with a party on Normal, would you need to do much more than just dropping a Firestorm and watching everything die? No probably not, so a RotF is fine. But then again, so is anything else.

[Elhanan]

thendcomes wrote...

Sheep? lol... what's the matter with you...

Evidently a rather immodest member of the community with feelings of grandeur, and several links as part of a sig, as a guess....

[ripstrawberry]

I would listen to what theendcomes recommended. I've also double-checked his computations and the most efficient way to increase mage dps is to combine +crit%, +crit dmg and +X% elemental dmg. Since mages can have +x% elemental dmg to begin w/ via masteries, +crit% and +crit dmg is the way to go. It's also more efficient as it affects all your dmg, not just 1 type. In fact the best second-stat for non-blood mages who are in a party w/ a rally source is dex. If you ask for something recommened, why dismiss the guy that gives out what's best? i don't understand it.

[AreleX]

Elhanan wrote...

Evidently a rather immodest member of the community with feelings of grandeur, and several links as part of a sig, as a guess....

you rang?

[AreleX]

i'm also not sure what the argument in this thread is about.

thendcomes wrote...

You can do whatever you want. You can beat the game without following any of my advice and using all terrible gear. But you revived this old ass thread full of misinformation, and when given correct information with better gear choices, you say you're not into stats and don't go with stats? Then what's the point of asking for recommended gear?

this sums up how i see it. it has nothing to do with being a sheep, it has everything to do with what's good vs what isn't. unlike the rest of the boards in the da2 section, HERE, 'good' and 'bad' aren't opinions to bicker for pages and pages over, but rather are things that can be proven, and arguments only spring up when someone is needlessly stubborn or completely misses the point.

which has been happening an awful lot lately...

Modifié par AreleX, 22 août 2011 - 06:41 .