Basic builds & gameplay tips

Nivarian99

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Joined
09/03/2023
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59
Alas!! It will take me a while before I can get combustion! Not until I can do Cold Trail, and that is def nowhere now!

Playing Elementalist is great fun, but just so skill point expensive! to have to build up 3 basic skills - strike that - 4 including staff mastery! aint easy! Just managed to get to lvl 9 with Lightning 2, Fireball 1, Ice 2 and Staff 3. Oh, I did get mage armour 2 just to get the resistances, although i have seen it being said that even 1 point in that is enough, for traps.
 

Kakost

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06/12/2022
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375
Alas!! It will take me a while before I can get combustion! Not until I can do Cold Trail, and that is def nowhere now!

Playing Elementalist is great fun, but just so skill point expensive! to have to build up 3 basic skills - strike that - 4 including staff mastery! aint easy! Just managed to get to lvl 9 with Lightning 2, Fireball 1, Ice 2 and Staff 3. Oh, I did get mage armour 2 just to get the resistances, although i have seen it being said that even 1 point in that is enough, for traps.
It's not that much once you understand that you cant take a bigger step than what's allowed by the lenght of your legs. If you were to, say, try to rush Lightning 4 at a low lvl, you would absolutely suck, because it will drain a mana that you just simply cannot afford at your lvl. So, indeed the best thing to do is to gradually increase them sequentially one by one, and they'll be optimal at the lvl you're at.

One tip on traits, I consider Mage Staff the best because it is the most round out in terms of traits.

It has 3 traits that add damage (!!!). Int, Agi and Awa all increase your damage.

Sure thing Int gets the preference, but always improve the others when increasing the previous would cost more than double of the next.

Example: before buying Agi 3 (which costs 3 points), get Awa 2 (from 0 to 2 it costs 3 points). Awa 2 is also good for a few places with gas traps, so that you dont have to take Adaon with you for that single purpose, so I suggest getting it early. And each 2 Awa will give you +1 damage. No need to get Awa past that thou, since you can get Amulet of Dark Whispers at the early mid game (I did at lvl 13 but I dont recommend, I almost died on IM), which will give an extra +2 Awa (thus giving an extra +1 damage and +1 armor).

My Agi I settled at 4, and my Int at the end of the game (lvl 25) at 8 or 9, I dont exactly recall. Push Agi and Int to 2 (because it's cheap), than go Int 5, Agi 3, Int 6, Agi 4 and then put all you have on Int.

End I kept at 0 during a good chunk of the early game, when for 2 at mid game and kept it at it all the way, I dont exactly recall but I believe I went with End 3 only at late game. Str is 0 for the entire jorney (I believe I got it to 2 after getting End 3, Im not exactly sure).

With extreme Int, Awa 2 and Amulet of Dark Whispers, I never need scrolls to find secret doors (save for 1 at the Abbey of St Admus which is a spoiler, and there may be one or another that you need a scroll for, I dont remember by now). Each 2 Int increases 5% perception, so with Int 6-8, Awa 4 (2+2) you'll always find all.

Also, get Per to 4, both for a bigger mana pool and also for passing skill checks on conversations (and with Bishop ring giving +2, you'll pass ALL skill checks in the game).

Int 5, Agi 3/4 (+1 with the gloves you can buy early on with the Golden Hand), Awa 2 (+2 from amulet), Per 3/4 (+1 from ring you also buy with the Golden Hand) and you'll be able to pass all trait checks in the game by the mid game already. (Only at late game there will be some that will require Per 6, but by that time you'll already have Per 4 and +2 Bishop Ring, so it's also fine).

And, with Awa 2 (+2) and Per 3/4 (+1/+2), even your Gossip percentage will be incredibly high, there aint no way you'll ever miss a town hall quest or rumor boss. I never even ever needed to store items with the Gossip trait for that, I just go into the Taverns and Im universally loved.

And for Mage, there's no "useless" traits - Int gives ton of damage and mana, Agi and even Awa gives damage and armor, even Per also gives mana.

There's no going wrong here. Mages are just simply speaking, good at EVERYTHING
 

Nivarian99

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Joined
09/03/2023
Messages
59
Here's my mage....wait..i dont know how to insert a screenshot!!!

well, anyway, yes, have followed the instructions to a Tee! but am still amazed by the willingness of @Kakost to share his knowledge with us on this Forum!! you rock!!
 

Neponde

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Joined
27/03/2022
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157
combustion or Death Cloud? Whats better?
For elementalist, combustion will definitely win.

For summoner, death cloud is likely better. Reason: this becomes insanely powerful on enemies not heavily resistant to death, and you can stay ranged. (Combustion range is similar to a fireball explosion centered on yourself.)

Death cloud also becomes a very effective "Fly, you fools!" skill on Ironman when your summon and companion go down on a hard boss. (Post-ark, there are many hard bosses that you will encounter.)
 

Kakost

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06/12/2022
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375
For elementalist, combustion will definitely win.

For summoner, death cloud is likely better. Reason: this becomes insanely powerful on enemies not heavily resistant to death, and you can stay ranged. (Combustion range is similar to a fireball explosion centered on yourself.)

Death cloud also becomes a very effective "Fly, you fools!" skill on Ironman when your summon and companion go down on a hard boss. (Post-ark, there are many hard bosses that you will encounter.)
Post ark you can have both
 

Neponde

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27/03/2022
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157
So that's the main difference. Fire & Flames vs. Wolf & Summoner. The rest is more play style to support yourself or your party.

...

The Skill points needed to combine Summon offense with Casting offense makes this a sub-optimal build.
Altered the Cleric of the Three build to reflect this. Thanks for the input.
Post automatically merged:    

the only thing missing is that Infantry Training has Per 3 as a prereq, so I would add that too.
Added.
Post automatically merged:    

-Added a companion write-up in the introduction.
-Tweaked the "traits" subsection.
 
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Gr8Scott

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Joined
06/01/2022
Messages
66
Altered the Cleric of the Three build to reflect this.
I like your Cleric in 2 Categories by guild. Then listed sub options for play style. That really is the best way to think of it. I've always kept Intervention at 1 mainly for traps. But an immortal Paladin would be interesting. Relying on Intervention feels like cheating or an exploit to me, even though keeping you alive IS the intended design.

Suggestions to consider:
I would remove Holy Shield under helpful skills as it does not stack with Battle Prayer.

For Paladin I consider critical skills:
1)Arbenos Might 1 (1 SP for +7 damage),
After an intervention, 1 lesser mana potion(20) conveniently gives you a heal and Arbenos 1 refesh
2)Crusader 2 (3 SP for 4% stun, undead). Lvl 3 isn't worth 3 SP for +1 stun.
3)Holy Shield 4 (6 Mana for +10 armor, +80% death resist) can be used constantly for the armor bonus alone. If you're not using a fighters basic skills, more damaging weapons, or higher HP, the 1 offset you have is a spell Shield better than resilience or a potion.
4)Personality as a Mid stat trait. You are right that mana isn't as necessary as with Cleric of the Three as all advanced fighter skills are passive. But the 8 mana(Arbenos + shield) refreshed a time or 2 in battle add up with your 18 heal.

FYI- I leave Duel at 2 as Heal breaks it. The 3 skill points for Duel 3 can be better used elsewhere. And a potion of might can make up more than the (lvl 3) +4 damage if you need it.

Just my thoughts on the Paladin. You may not agree and that's fine.
 
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