Hiya dudes. After reading some recent posts on the Codemasters DDO EU forum, I've started to wonder if any members of the guild would consider migrating to a US server (probably Thelanis), should DDO Europe become a desolate place.
Although I have no intention of leaving Devourer at this point, I have to admit that I have not seen many new players since the launch of DDO: Unlimited in the US, except a short period after the release of Module 9. It seems that even European newbies are attracted by the Free to Play (F2P) option that DDO Unlimited offers and - whether I like it or not - the DDO Store as well. The american servers seem to have a much bigger population, too.
My point of view: I honestly don't like the idea of DDO Store and I like playing with European people on a European server, even though it's a small one. I love The New Blood and its members. However, one can't help but think that Codemasters don't have much interest in DDO Europe anymore, even though they claim otherwise. Whether or not it's their fault or whether Turbine are helping it is another discussion, nevertheless, it seems that things are not going to get much better in the foreseeable future, unless Free to Play is introduced in Europe, and the population of Devourer is going to either stagnate or slowly decrease. As it stands, there is no word on if and when F2P will make it to Europe and it might be that Turbine doesn't want it to happen at all, even though Codemasters are keen on the idea. Who knows? As there's no communication from either of the parties involved, we are left to speculate.
Every now and then, somebody I know disappears and quite a few people who still play on Keeper or Devourer have alts on US servers as well, "just in case" Europe is closed down. Quite a few people have made it clear that they're only staying in Europe because they can't face re-grinding all their precious loot.
My plan is to play on Devourer for as long as it's fun. It's where it all started for me. I've been here for 3 years, my friends and my guild are here and I will stay faithful as long as it makes sense. Patience might pay off and chances are Devourer will see better days again. Some people have left but others have come back and I've even heard about US dudes who have come to play in the EU because they couldn't face the hordes of clueless newbies attracted by Free to Play: :p If things continue getting worse - most notably if there are no new players on the server - I will consider moving the guild to the US, if the game will still be attractive enough for me at that point.
I'd love to know what you people's opinion is on this. Please use the poll on the left and feel free to post comments to this entry. We can also start a thread on the guild forum if anybody would like to discuss things in more detail.
Thank you,
Micron :)
Thursday 29 October 2009
Saturday 24 October 2009
This weekend and Monday
Waterworks elite, Saturday 5pm UK time, 6pm CET.
STK hardest we can incl. Sacred Helm, later on Saturday evening or Sunday (will update).
Both level 3-6 or 4-7 depending on who wants to come.
EDIT: Tangle elite on Monday night if an opener shows up! Apply here or on the forum or shout in game. :)
Possibly slow Shroud for newbies on Sunday evening but no promises :)
Shout in game, comment here or post on the forum if you want to come (reposting this thread on there in a sec).
STK hardest we can incl. Sacred Helm, later on Saturday evening or Sunday (will update).
Both level 3-6 or 4-7 depending on who wants to come.
EDIT: Tangle elite on Monday night if an opener shows up! Apply here or on the forum or shout in game. :)
Possibly slow Shroud for newbies on Sunday evening but no promises :)
Shout in game, comment here or post on the forum if you want to come (reposting this thread on there in a sec).
Monday 19 October 2009
This blog
Yeah so I've sort of scrapped the old website. There wasn't much justification for its existence anymore. The FAQ was too long and the member list was useless and a nuisance to update anyway, what with all the altoholics in our guild. :)
I get to ramble on this blog when I feel like it and the links (basically the only useful feature of the old website) are going to be in the left panel, as soon as I've worked out how to do that. I'm pretty new to Blogger so feel free to come up with suggestions. And of course everybody is welcome to comment on whatever ramblings I post here, provided they're coherent enough to be commented on, which I can't guarantee.
The forum is still where it's always been and even if it's usefulness is questionable, it's gonna be there in the unlikely case somebody else than me actually wants to say or discuss something.
I get to ramble on this blog when I feel like it and the links (basically the only useful feature of the old website) are going to be in the left panel, as soon as I've worked out how to do that. I'm pretty new to Blogger so feel free to come up with suggestions. And of course everybody is welcome to comment on whatever ramblings I post here, provided they're coherent enough to be commented on, which I can't guarantee.
The forum is still where it's always been and even if it's usefulness is questionable, it's gonna be there in the unlikely case somebody else than me actually wants to say or discuss something.
Sunday 18 October 2009
Self-healing THF kensei with saves
I've been playing this character for two years now and just decided to reroll him again, for the second time - the previous version didn't have UMD and I kept having bad dreams about getting neg levels and not being able to remove them. So I remade the build and thought I'd drop it here for you guys to giggle at.
I wanted to play a fighter that runs about and hits stuff with a big weapon but I can't stand having to be babysat and not being able to heal myself. This bloke meets those requirements and on top of that can tank in most situations if needed, except the most demanding ones. He's primarily a tier II THF kensei though. Tier III can't be reached because of the 4 pally levels. The trade-off is:
Naturally, the general agreement would be that I should go TWF instead of THF.. I've already got a TWF melee character and I really don't fancy playing yet another khopesh dualling toon, there are way too many around already. Instead I want to try something else and see for myself if the Kensei THF benefits are any good.. And I really like seeing a lot of red numbers all around me.
Nevertheless, the build could be converted to TWF by dropping Con and Cha by 2, putting those points into Dex instead and replacing THF line with TWF. Force of Personality could be replaced with Khopesh if you so wish and another feat could be swapped out for OTWF, although with Kensei II it shouldn't be necessary.
If this character ever finds a +3 Int tome, I will consider replacing Force of Personality with Combat Expertise. With the Weapons Focus and Kensei to-hit bonuses, it might actually be possible to have both CE and Power Attack on at the same time and still hit (if these two can be on at the same time that is - need to check). I could also put the last ability raise in Int if I somehow get a +3 Str tome before level 20. I would however have to eat a +2 Wis tome and free up the cloak slot to put a Wis +6, +3 exceptional Will save cloak in it to maintain a respectable Will Save. With the Mineral II and Cha skills items already in place, this would require 40 Shroud runs because two Cleaning Essences will be needed.
Figures reached after a couple months of grinding follow. Everything is self-buffed, feel free to add the usual extra bits you get when you've had half the server come over and buff you up.
Base Stats:
Str 16, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12
End Stats:
Str 32 (40 with Power Surge on) = 16 base +5 level +2 tome +3 fighter +6 item
Dex 18 = 10 base +5 spectral gloves +2 tome +1 halfling enhancement
Con 24 = 16 base +2 tome +6 item
Int 12 = 10 base +2 tome
Wis 8
Cha 20 = 12 base +2 tome +6 item
Hit Points:
517 hp = 200 base +140 con +20 heroic durability +30 gfl +10 draconic vitality +22 toughness +30 fighter toughness +20 halfling toughness +45 min II goggles
To hit THF:
40 = 20 base +1 size +11 str +5 weapon bonus +4 gh +2 weapon focus +2 competence (spectral gloves) -5 power attack
(+ Kensei bonus)
AC THF:
41 = 10 base +1 size +12 DT breastplate +4 dex (armour mastery I) +5 protection +3 barkskin pot +2 pally aura & tier 1 enhancement +1 armour ritual +3 chattering ring
49 = 41 see above +4 shield clicky/wand +4 insight bonus or armour or weapon
AC shield mode:
55 = 41 see above +9 mithral tower shield +1 shield ritual +4 insight bonus on armour or weapon
Saves:
Fort 40 = 14 fighter16/pally4 +2 pally aura & enhancement +5 divine grace +7 con +1 halfling racial +5 resistance +4 gh +2 head of gf
Reflex 31 = 6 fighter16/pally4 +2 pally aura & enhancement +5 divine grace +4 dex +1 halfling racial +2 halfling luck +5 resistance +4 gh +2 head of gf
Will 33 = 6 fighter16/pally4 +2 pally aura & enhancement +5 divine grace +5 charisma force of personality +1 halfling racial +3 halfling luck +5 resistance +4 gh +2 head of gf
Additional +2 with Pally Saves boost on.
Skills:
Level 1 (fighter): Intimidate full rank, UMD half rank
Level 2-5 (paladin): Indimidate half rank, UMD half rank
Level 6-7 (fighter): Intimidate full rank, UMD half rank; nom nom Int tome
Level 8-9 (fighter): Intimidate 2x rank, UMD half rank
Level 10-11 (fighter): Intimidate full rank, UMD half rank, Tumble half-rank
Level 12-20 (fighter): Intimidate full rank, UMD half rank, Balance half-rank
Intimidate 57 = 23 ranks -4 halfling +4 fighter +5 charisma +15 item +4 gh +6 cha skills necky +2 head of gf +2 kensei
UMD 31 = 11 ranks +5 charisma +4 gh +6 cha skills necky +2 head of gf +3 cartouche/abbot gloves
Tumble 1 rank
Balance 4.5 ranks
Feats (Level 1 fighter, 2-5 paladin, 6-20 fighter):
1 Least Dragonmark of Healing
3 Toughness
6 Lesser Mark
9 Greater Mark
12 Empower Healing Spell
15 Maximize
18 Force of Personality
F1 THF
F2 ITHF
F4 Improved Critical Slashing
F6 Power Attack
F8 GTHF
F10 Weapon Focus Slashing
F12 Weapon Specialization
F14 Greater Weapon Focus
F16 Greater Weapon Specialization
Enhancements:
Halfling Dex I
Extra Dragonmark IV
Hero's Companion II
Halfling Luck Reflex II
Halfling Luck Will III
Fighter Armour Mastery I
Fighter Attack Boost II
Fighter Critical Accuracy II
Fighter Haste Boost I
Fighter Intimidate IV
Fighter Strategy Trip I
Fighter Strength III
Fighter Toughness III
Halfling Toughness II
Paladin Bulwark of Good I
Paladion Devotion II
Paladin Extra Lay on Hands I
Paladin Resistance of Good I
Paladin Saves Boost I
Kensei II + Weapon Mastery II (GS or Falchion, yet to be decided)
Self-heals:
Dragonmarks can be cast immediately in the heat of battle, can't be interrupted, can be cast while quelled or feebleminded.
5x 459 hp Heal - Greater Mark (7x with dragonmarked set)
7x 150 hp CSW - Lesser Mark (more with dragonmarked set)
9x 50 hp CLW - Least Mark
Above figures include +20% bonus on incoming heals from Hound bracers, divide by 1.2 to see how the marks will heal
2x 70 hp LoH
Desired gear (Bloodstone, Spectral Gloves and Intimi helm ready and waiting, rest to be farmed):
Head: Intimidate
Necklace: Charisma skills / Silver Flame / Cartouche / Dragonmarked necky / Sup Pot VI
Goggles: Mineral II (Heavy Fort, Protection +5, +45 hp)
Trinket: Bloodstone / Head of Good Fortune
Cloak: Charisma (+6 Wis +3 exc Will Save Shroud cloak later)
Armour: Dragontouched Breastplate, Tier 1 +5 resistance, Tier 2 True Seeing, Tier 3 +4 Insight if lucky, otherwise a decent guard
Belt: Con +6, GFL (Knost/Vorne/DoS)
Bracers: Levik's Bracers (+6 Str, +20% Incoming Heals)
Gloves: Spectral Gloves (GT, +5 Dex, +2 competence to-hit)
Ring 1: Resistance / Dragonmarked set ring (Charisma) later
Ring 2: Chattering Ring / Energy resistances
Boots: Striding / Anchoring / FF etc...
Notable weapons to be farmed:
Mineral II two-handed weapon, Good Burst & +4 AC or Good Burst & Acid Blast if I win a lottery and get Insight on armour
Lightning haste / air guard +4 AC scimitar for shield mode
That's about it. Summary:
Neat:
Hits a lot of things at the same time with a big sword and self-heals while doing so.
Can DPS, tank and heal others as required depending on quest and group setup, even though he doesn't excel at any of the roles.
Undispellable immunity to fear, disease and 95% things that require a Fort save (the remaining 5% are 1s on dice).
Can chuck halfling companion bonuses on main tank when being an off-tank.
When I'm not drunk, usually outlives everybody else when things go pear shaped (except the clerics if they're decent).
Not so neat:
No capstone and no Kensei III.
Can't reach enough Intimidate and AC to be a proper main raid tank.
5 feats sacrificed to healing that could be invested in DPS and/or AC.
Occassionaly runs out of marks and LoHs and has to resort to wand healing.
I wanted to play a fighter that runs about and hits stuff with a big weapon but I can't stand having to be babysat and not being able to heal myself. This bloke meets those requirements and on top of that can tank in most situations if needed, except the most demanding ones. He's primarily a tier II THF kensei though. Tier III can't be reached because of the 4 pally levels. The trade-off is:
- no fighter capstone (-10% attack speed)
- loses 2 bonus feats
- no Kensei III
- divine grace and aura (+7 to all saves + boost)
- +2 AC (aura + enhancement)
- access to metamagic feats and Paladin Devotion II that make the marks worthwhile
- perma immunity to fear and disease
- a lil' bit of LoH
Naturally, the general agreement would be that I should go TWF instead of THF.. I've already got a TWF melee character and I really don't fancy playing yet another khopesh dualling toon, there are way too many around already. Instead I want to try something else and see for myself if the Kensei THF benefits are any good.. And I really like seeing a lot of red numbers all around me.
Nevertheless, the build could be converted to TWF by dropping Con and Cha by 2, putting those points into Dex instead and replacing THF line with TWF. Force of Personality could be replaced with Khopesh if you so wish and another feat could be swapped out for OTWF, although with Kensei II it shouldn't be necessary.
If this character ever finds a +3 Int tome, I will consider replacing Force of Personality with Combat Expertise. With the Weapons Focus and Kensei to-hit bonuses, it might actually be possible to have both CE and Power Attack on at the same time and still hit (if these two can be on at the same time that is - need to check). I could also put the last ability raise in Int if I somehow get a +3 Str tome before level 20. I would however have to eat a +2 Wis tome and free up the cloak slot to put a Wis +6, +3 exceptional Will save cloak in it to maintain a respectable Will Save. With the Mineral II and Cha skills items already in place, this would require 40 Shroud runs because two Cleaning Essences will be needed.
Figures reached after a couple months of grinding follow. Everything is self-buffed, feel free to add the usual extra bits you get when you've had half the server come over and buff you up.
Base Stats:
Str 16, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12
End Stats:
Str 32 (40 with Power Surge on) = 16 base +5 level +2 tome +3 fighter +6 item
Dex 18 = 10 base +5 spectral gloves +2 tome +1 halfling enhancement
Con 24 = 16 base +2 tome +6 item
Int 12 = 10 base +2 tome
Wis 8
Cha 20 = 12 base +2 tome +6 item
Hit Points:
517 hp = 200 base +140 con +20 heroic durability +30 gfl +10 draconic vitality +22 toughness +30 fighter toughness +20 halfling toughness +45 min II goggles
To hit THF:
40 = 20 base +1 size +11 str +5 weapon bonus +4 gh +2 weapon focus +2 competence (spectral gloves) -5 power attack
(+ Kensei bonus)
AC THF:
41 = 10 base +1 size +12 DT breastplate +4 dex (armour mastery I) +5 protection +3 barkskin pot +2 pally aura & tier 1 enhancement +1 armour ritual +3 chattering ring
49 = 41 see above +4 shield clicky/wand +4 insight bonus or armour or weapon
AC shield mode:
55 = 41 see above +9 mithral tower shield +1 shield ritual +4 insight bonus on armour or weapon
Saves:
Fort 40 = 14 fighter16/pally4 +2 pally aura & enhancement +5 divine grace +7 con +1 halfling racial +5 resistance +4 gh +2 head of gf
Reflex 31 = 6 fighter16/pally4 +2 pally aura & enhancement +5 divine grace +4 dex +1 halfling racial +2 halfling luck +5 resistance +4 gh +2 head of gf
Will 33 = 6 fighter16/pally4 +2 pally aura & enhancement +5 divine grace +5 charisma force of personality +1 halfling racial +3 halfling luck +5 resistance +4 gh +2 head of gf
Additional +2 with Pally Saves boost on.
Skills:
Level 1 (fighter): Intimidate full rank, UMD half rank
Level 2-5 (paladin): Indimidate half rank, UMD half rank
Level 6-7 (fighter): Intimidate full rank, UMD half rank; nom nom Int tome
Level 8-9 (fighter): Intimidate 2x rank, UMD half rank
Level 10-11 (fighter): Intimidate full rank, UMD half rank, Tumble half-rank
Level 12-20 (fighter): Intimidate full rank, UMD half rank, Balance half-rank
Intimidate 57 = 23 ranks -4 halfling +4 fighter +5 charisma +15 item +4 gh +6 cha skills necky +2 head of gf +2 kensei
UMD 31 = 11 ranks +5 charisma +4 gh +6 cha skills necky +2 head of gf +3 cartouche/abbot gloves
Tumble 1 rank
Balance 4.5 ranks
Feats (Level 1 fighter, 2-5 paladin, 6-20 fighter):
1 Least Dragonmark of Healing
3 Toughness
6 Lesser Mark
9 Greater Mark
12 Empower Healing Spell
15 Maximize
18 Force of Personality
F1 THF
F2 ITHF
F4 Improved Critical Slashing
F6 Power Attack
F8 GTHF
F10 Weapon Focus Slashing
F12 Weapon Specialization
F14 Greater Weapon Focus
F16 Greater Weapon Specialization
Enhancements:
Halfling Dex I
Extra Dragonmark IV
Hero's Companion II
Halfling Luck Reflex II
Halfling Luck Will III
Fighter Armour Mastery I
Fighter Attack Boost II
Fighter Critical Accuracy II
Fighter Haste Boost I
Fighter Intimidate IV
Fighter Strategy Trip I
Fighter Strength III
Fighter Toughness III
Halfling Toughness II
Paladin Bulwark of Good I
Paladion Devotion II
Paladin Extra Lay on Hands I
Paladin Resistance of Good I
Paladin Saves Boost I
Kensei II + Weapon Mastery II (GS or Falchion, yet to be decided)
Self-heals:
Dragonmarks can be cast immediately in the heat of battle, can't be interrupted, can be cast while quelled or feebleminded.
5x 459 hp Heal - Greater Mark (7x with dragonmarked set)
7x 150 hp CSW - Lesser Mark (more with dragonmarked set)
9x 50 hp CLW - Least Mark
Above figures include +20% bonus on incoming heals from Hound bracers, divide by 1.2 to see how the marks will heal
2x 70 hp LoH
Desired gear (Bloodstone, Spectral Gloves and Intimi helm ready and waiting, rest to be farmed):
Head: Intimidate
Necklace: Charisma skills / Silver Flame / Cartouche / Dragonmarked necky / Sup Pot VI
Goggles: Mineral II (Heavy Fort, Protection +5, +45 hp)
Trinket: Bloodstone / Head of Good Fortune
Cloak: Charisma (+6 Wis +3 exc Will Save Shroud cloak later)
Armour: Dragontouched Breastplate, Tier 1 +5 resistance, Tier 2 True Seeing, Tier 3 +4 Insight if lucky, otherwise a decent guard
Belt: Con +6, GFL (Knost/Vorne/DoS)
Bracers: Levik's Bracers (+6 Str, +20% Incoming Heals)
Gloves: Spectral Gloves (GT, +5 Dex, +2 competence to-hit)
Ring 1: Resistance / Dragonmarked set ring (Charisma) later
Ring 2: Chattering Ring / Energy resistances
Boots: Striding / Anchoring / FF etc...
Notable weapons to be farmed:
Mineral II two-handed weapon, Good Burst & +4 AC or Good Burst & Acid Blast if I win a lottery and get Insight on armour
Lightning haste / air guard +4 AC scimitar for shield mode
That's about it. Summary:
Neat:
Hits a lot of things at the same time with a big sword and self-heals while doing so.
Can DPS, tank and heal others as required depending on quest and group setup, even though he doesn't excel at any of the roles.
Undispellable immunity to fear, disease and 95% things that require a Fort save (the remaining 5% are 1s on dice).
Can chuck halfling companion bonuses on main tank when being an off-tank.
When I'm not drunk, usually outlives everybody else when things go pear shaped (except the clerics if they're decent).
Not so neat:
No capstone and no Kensei III.
Can't reach enough Intimidate and AC to be a proper main raid tank.
5 feats sacrificed to healing that could be invested in DPS and/or AC.
Occassionaly runs out of marks and LoHs and has to resort to wand healing.
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