Looking for character specs

[CerberusPuppy]

When it comes to character specs for what to do with my skill points, do I need to worry about finding builds that are made for the Xbox version, or will builds that PC players made work exactly the same? Where are the best places to look for builds? My next character is going to be a Vanquisher on Normal, but I have no idea what to do with the build. After that I have to start thinking more about what I do with those points, because I'm going to start playing on Hard. Thanks.

[jamesL]

its been a while since I've played (and I've only played the pc version) but normal on the pc was pretty easy.
You could put 4 points in dex, 1 in defense and do pretty well.
You'll have a shared stash. So anything you find in normal mode can be used in hard mode.
And you'll find WAY more stuff than you'll ever need.
The only thing is that normal, non-skill attacks will do mana leech and life leech, but skill attacks won't.
So I just ran around using the exploding arrow (I think that's what its called) and occasionally switching to normal attack to replenish mana

[CerberusPuppy]

Okay, so all the health steal I have built up on my Destroyer doesn't work when I slash or stampede? I thought that might be the case. Thanks for clearing that up.

To be clear, I'm not worried about playing the Vanquisher on Normal. That's been pretty easy. My Destroyer is dual wielding and my Alchemist is a summoner. Both of those seemed pretty straightforward. But I don't have any idea of what to do with the Vanquisher build. I guess I'll just ask on the class forum or do a couple more Google searches. Or I could just experiment and take whatever looks good. The builds will be more important later when I start playing on Hard.

[dreamrider]

Typical Vanquisher builds are Attributes either 3Dex / 2 Def, or (my preferred) 4 Dex / 1 Def. You will probably want to put a few of the early Attribute points (one at a time) into Str, and maybe a few but less into Mag, to make early gear use easier. But don't go over ~15 real points in either. Instead rely on gear bonuses over time to push those Attribute. Personally I pump Dex, while slowly bringing everything else to just 7, then pump Dex and mini-pump Def forever after.

For a ranged Vanq, you do NOT need to build up Mag to get enhancement of your elemental damage. The Dex Attribute will pump all your ranged damage by the very same amount, so its a zero sum game. Higher Dex is a more flexible, powerful use of the points on a ranged Vanq. Even when using pistols at 1 meter range.

For Skills for a first-time Vanq, choose either Ricohet or Explosive shot for your primary mana-Skill, and focus on maxing it out when you can.

Ricochet is somewhat harder to master, but is available and completes quicker, and is ultimately more powerful vs single opponents. And it is very mana efficient.

Explosive Shot is the ultimate crowd control Skill. Once you max it out, and start using it against borad-edge areas where you even suspect ambush bad guys, you are near home free. It will clear the trash players from around a boss on the first 1-2 shots. It is =reasonable= on mana use.

You will ultimately want a little Arrow Hail for clearing out of site areas.

In the early game, you can use a Fireball spell to burn off behind walls / doors, as well. Later in the game it is less useful compared to Explosive Shot and Arrow Hail.

You may want a bit of Seeking Shot as well, just to experiment with. Many people swear by it for single big Bosses, but if they have any armor value, max Ricochet is more powerful.

The ice projectile Skill is the least of the Marksman mana Skills. Ricochet is superior for almost anything you would use it for. Few people put any points into it.

Builds focused on using Seeking Shot or Arrow Hail as primary Offensive tools are a bit more difficult, but quite possible. I focus on Arrow Hail myself.

Of the other Skills, max Ranged Weapon, max Crit Strike, max whichever flavor of Spell Mastery you choose to favor. Or at least take them to 8; in the later game you may have some +Skill bonuses that will make up the other 2 ranks; they are wasted if the Skill is already pumped to 10.

Put 1 or 2 points into Advance Spellcasting as soon as it is available; 2 if you are focusing on Arrow Hail as a primary tool.

Put at least 1 point into Wind of Justice, and learn to use it. BTW, if you make later swings through respawned low level dungeons to visit Shrines and pools, or just to grind experience, WoJ 1 or 2 may be the only weapon you need, and it lets you move fast. Great crowd control!

I recommend you do a very Marksman oriented build initially. Later you can experiment with a Trapper, or a Melee Vanq. So I won't go into those styles in this rather long post. However, I will say: Buy yourself 1 level of Flechette Trap with any Vanq build, and experiment with it when you approach a crowded room; its your pet's best friend.

Lastly, focus your gear grabbing / purchasing/ managing on having the hunkiest, followed by fastest main weapon you can. Don't mess with the Slowest class weapons until you have some experience with the type, but among the other speed, favor power over speed. Not that fastest isn't nice when it has significant power pasted to it <grin>. Rifles / crossbows have more range than pistols / bows, and it makes a difference, an extra shot or two at the approaching tangos.

Armor is not unimportant, but overall it is less important for your Vanq than weapon power.

There - does that help?

[CerberusPuppy]

Much, thanks.

So rifles have more range than pistols. I have seen some gear that adds to range. How helpful is that stat? Are there any advantages to 2 pistols as opposed to 1 rifle? Is there anything special about bows and crossbows? Are bows just faster? Is "pirate style" (pistol and sword) viable, or just too hard to build? In the Xbox version it seems that I can't equip a rifle and a melee weapon at the same time. I guess I just have to work around that.

I'll give it a shot tonight.

Spoiler: show

Yes, pun intended.

[dreamrider]

Yes, pistol and sword/axe/mace/etc in two hands is viable. Be sure to put the whacker in the right hand though, so that you will whack at close range and shoot when all targets are a little further out. Pistol and shield is a more popular build, however.

X-bows have the longest range in the game, '12 meters' nominal. rifles 10. Bows 9. Pistols 7 (a very few at 8).

Speed is variable a lot. For instance, both the fastest and the slowest ranged weapons in the game are rifles. That said, commonly available bows tend to average a little fast, rifles a little slow, and crossbows and pistols in the middle.

There are no terribly slow crossbows, but no terribly fast ones either. There are no Unique crossbows, but the high level Rares are plenty good enough. Crossbows tend to hit quite hard per shot compared to rifles available in the same timeframe. Crossbows are hard to find though, after the one that you get ~50% of the time from the miner's chests.

If you get the range stat long enough, you can get the first shot on a lot of critters that have not even noticed you yet. The 12 meter max range of crossbows is just enough to do this from time to time, but enhanced to 14-15 meters makes it much more common. Much beyond 15 meters is not worth specifically seeking, because you are beginning to range off the screen. Also long range gives you time for extra shots as a mob approaches you.

Note that most mana enhanced Shot Skills have an inherent range from 13 - 15 meters on the effect, so weapon range only comes into it when firing standard shots.

No, you cannot equip any additional 1-hand weapon into the deceptively open facing slot when you are already equipped witha 2-hand weapon.

Initial Casting speed seems to be based on either character or what Skill, rather than on weapon speed.

dreamrider

[Eloquius]

Ricochet is somewhat harder to master, but is available and completes quicker, and is ultimately more powerful vs single opponents. And it is very mana efficient.

Explosive Shot is the ultimate crowd control Skill. Once you max it out, and start using it against borad-edge areas where you even suspect ambush bad guys, you are near home free. It will clear the trash players from around a boss on the first 1-2 shots. It is =reasonable= on mana use.

(...)

You may want a bit of Seeking Shot as well, just to experiment with. Many people swear by it for single big Bosses, but if they have any armor value, max Ricochet is more powerful.

I would argue that RICOCHET is an *outstanding* crowd control skill. Unlike your normal shot, the ricochet keeps going after it hits an enemy (into the next one, and the next). Also, it bounces off walls (of course. lol) so it can hit multiple enemies, multiple times. And, with just a FEW points in it, you're doing more than your weapon DPS per shot, again: on multiple enemies. And I agree: its extremely mana efficient. However, I disagree that it's harder to master. Find multiple targets. Aim. Shoot. Kill.

EXPLODING SHOT *is* very good on crowd control, but in different situations. It does better in open areas (like Tu'tara Caverns) or when firing down stairs. BUT, if just one little enemy is leading the pack, it will hit that enemy, and the rest barely get touched. The damage it deals drops off outside the impact point. AND it chews through mana pretty fast ("reasonable" is... polite). No doubt, it has its place in crowd control, but Ricochet is better in many situations.

As for SEEKING SHOT, it's awesome. It one-shots small to medium targets, and can do so before they've even spotted you (due to its long range). It's great for thinning the herd, or taking down that last straggler. It's also extremely powerful vs large targets, since it does roughly 1.5x your normal damage.

The TRAPS are a Must Have. They chew through enemies pretty effectively, and it's all free damage while you continue to shoot/cast. (Note: Skeletons are virtually immune to the Flame Trap)

WIND OF JUSTICE is a life saver. But, you don't get surrounded too often so don't put more than 1 rank in it. 50 knockback is plenty, and the chance to stun is an added bonus that works 55% of the time on the first rank (with only 3% increases per rank).

Lastly, 2 recommendations:

(1) Find a nice, POWERFUL, SLOW weapon. The sort of thing that takes down small targets in one hit. This will make your Skills (like Rico and Seek Shot) very Very effective. Also, this way your cast speed is roughly the same as your attack speed. I kinda feel like I'm wasting my time to fire ricochet when it only does 125% of my gun's damage, and takes 3 or 4 times longer to use. (Even with more ranks in Rico, it still has a dreadful RoF compared to a Fast weapon, and doesn't do the damage that it would if you were using a high powered Rifle.) Also, the slow powerful weapons have longer range. And did i mention they take down small targets in one hit?

(2) Don't worry about maxxing your abilities. Many of them are quite effective with 3 or 4 (or even 1!) rank in them, and a little variety helps keep things interesting. If there's one ability I can recommend pouring mad points into, it's CRITICAL STRIKES. Nothing beats taking down a Thorned Strider in one shot.

-Eloquius

[IalickI]

(1) Find a nice, POWERFUL, SLOW weapon.

This

On my lvl 45 vanquisher, I run with a slow firing 2handed rifle with 1000+dmg and a range boost that is so big I can shoot "off the screen", beats my fast shooting one easily.

[dreamrider]

Endorsed.

Then get as much Atk Speed boost on it that you can!

Many folks denigrate the value of +Atk Speed, saying that in high level combat you are always using Skills attacks anyway, and +ATK Speed does not boost the speed of mana based attacks. Completely ignoring the fact that +Atk Speed boosts DPS, which in turn boosts most of your Skills based attacks.

I have a 1200+ DPS Arbalest, with about +12% Atk Speed, and she is a joy to use.

dreamrider

[Vodage]

If you get the range stat long enough, you can get the first shot on a lot of critters that have not even noticed you yet. The 12 meter max range of crossbows is just enough to do this from time to time, but enhanced to 14-15 meters makes it much more common. Much beyond 15 meters is not worth specifically seeking, because you are beginning to range off the screen. Also long range gives you time for extra shots as a mob approaches you.

Note that most mana enhanced Shot Skills have an inherent range from 13 - 15 meters on the effect, so weapon range only comes into it when firing standard shots.

dreamrider

Not sure how this works on an Xbox, but I've tried adjusting FOV and Farclip, with only minimal gains in draw distance. My vanquisher consistently can shoot farther than she can see, even with pistols. It's no so much intentional as it's incredibly lucky that I found a bunch of range enhancement items. It just bothers me how the engine is running the enemy AI, but I can't predict it because it's out of my bloody draw distance. Even without adjusting my FOV, enemies simply do not 'appear' soon enough. I've actually taken up the habit of casting haste, then quickly running in and out of a room just to get the game to draw the mobs for me. Then of course they fall back out of draw distance and I have to guess where everything is all over again. Firing randomly into the distance will score hits, though, if your range is higher than your FOV. I'd really love to see a patch with better draw distance/faster draw, at least as an option for machines that can handle it.

As of now, the high-end ranged gear is writing a check that the game engine can't cash.

[Rusty]

That's been pretty easy. My Destroyer is dual wielding and my Alchemist is a summoner. Both of those seemed pretty straightforward. But I don't have any idea of what to do with the Vanquisher build. I guess I'll just ask on the class forum or do a couple more Google searches. Or I could just experiment and take whatever looks good. The builds will be more important later when I start playing on Hard.
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