My Main TSCC Beef//Rule 14

[thegnomeherder]

I've been playing for a few months and have a few characters who are low/medium Level.

I've made a DrowRogue(9), A Warlock(9) Druid(18) and a Drow BlackGuard(11)

I've never been a fan of powerbuilds and never make powerbuilds even when not forbid to:

Anyway heres my point- The server states we can't make powerbuilds and I've heard many talks about if sombody has random levels in a class they need to have a Significant RP reason for doing so.(I'm confused on this because everyone always seems to have levels in bard for no Bardly reasons)

I understand this to keep the RP element of everything in play but its my belief that the creatures are too hard! I like to make well rounded characters and dislike Stat dumps and Stat neglecting because I like to adhere to the general RP standards that you're a dumbass if you have Int Under10 and shouldn't be able to speak normal and are Ugly as sin with low Charisma(so on)

This usually makes it so my characters have medium/low Attack ratings and the creatures on this server are virtually impossible to hit for me! The only reason my Druid is 18 is because of his 900 Buffs before every battle and the classes I've played without buffs suffer greatly. My PVE battles are loooong and usually leave my characters wounded- money is low- healing is expensive- and Rest times are crazy! I often avoid these issues by partying but sometimes theres simply nobody to party with...

All in all I'm always having fun here and I'm not complaining. I think the monsters are power build worthy to be defeated. Maybe Lower the AC and Up their hit points?

Discuss?

[broham2]

Anyway heres my point- The server states we can't make powerbuilds and I've heard many talks about if sombody has random levels in a class they need to have a Significant RP reason for doing so.(I'm confused on this because everyone always seems to have levels in bard for no Bardly reasons)

You have to remember, bards come in many stripes.. The Complete Bards Handbook, as well as a few other older sources, show bards to be anything from the typical minstrel, to a blade dancer, a juggler, etc. NWN2 has one way of being a bard.. taking bard levels. A poet, a singer, an actor, and a side show artist are all forms of being a bard. Unless you know everything there is to know about a PCs RP history, etc. you dont really know if levels of anything are actually powerbuilding.

I dont play actively in the UD, so I dont know about the mobs there but from what little I've seen and some that I've heard.. they are hard on low levels. So I won't argue you there if that is what your main concern is..

But I dont think any mobs on the surface need to be made easier to hit... and I am a Rogue build.

[thegnomeherder]

How did you manage to overcome the ability to attack things?(aka the LOW Attack Rating, The 1 Sneak attack(without hips) And the low low amount of damage simple weapons deal?)

With my rogue I used a short bow and had to group until I got HIPS then it just got too boring to play period so I had it deleted.

[lorgin2003]

melee and feint. most of the monsters seem to use their dex for a good chunk of their AC. once you hit with a feint, they become a lot easier to hit, and each attack for a full round are all sneak attacks. plus, it benefits a group as well, since they also get the lowered AC to hit and sneak attacks if they have them.

however, as an archer, i've found a little remedy with zeb. summon a creature to use as a distraction, then move to attack the creature from the side or behind. all the attacks become sneak attacks. while not useful against large groups, you can pick off smaller ones fairly easily.

[DM Sir Carnifex]

Jan 22, 2009 0:25:38 GMT -5 thegnomeherder said:

How did you manage to overcome the ability to attack things?(aka the LOW Attack Rating, The 1 Sneak attack(without hips) And the low low amount of damage simple weapons deal?)

With my rogue I used a short bow and had to group until I got HIPS then it just got too boring to play period so I had it deleted.

My first character (mainly a rogue) I leveled by just walking back and forth to Beregost. I never used HIPS. He's now at 14.

[thegnomeherder]

Jan 22, 2009 1:36:05 GMT -5 DM Sir Carnifex said:

Jan 22, 2009 0:25:38 GMT -5 thegnomeherder said:

How did you manage to overcome the ability to attack things?(aka the LOW Attack Rating, The 1 Sneak attack(without hips) And the low low amount of damage simple weapons deal?)

With my rogue I used a short bow and had to group until I got HIPS then it just got too boring to play period so I had it deleted.

My first character (mainly a rogue) I leveled by just walking back and forth to Beregost. I never used HIPS. He's now at 14.

Wha??

Like doing the Maltz quest a bunch? Or killing the random spawns back and forth? ...Confuzled

[broham2]

Archery builds are tough right now IMO, and Rogue archery builds are even MORE difficult. My first primary character, Kahlen, fell into this pit and is probably one of the reasons I drifted away from him as my main character. Especially once we switched to hardcore rules (which I think were needed and am thankful for) the attacks of opportunity on my archery build were like a thumb in my eye. Being horrid at melee it had me really hoping I killed them before they got to me!

Now, playing with a melee rogue build I did have some difficulties at lower levels.. but I party up as often as possible and pick my battles wisely. I kill the ones I can, and help maim the ones I cant. Eventually the sneak attacks become lethal, and as a two weapon fighter I can get some decent attack combos.

Gathering enough gold for good gear (or having an adventuring party that works together for things like that) will have to be a goal early on I think.

[DM Sir Carnifex]

Jan 22, 2009 1:38:35 GMT -5 thegnomeherder said:

Jan 22, 2009 1:36:05 GMT -5 DM Sir Carnifex said:

My first character (mainly a rogue) I leveled by just walking back and forth to Beregost. I never used HIPS. He's now at 14.

Wha??

Like doing the Maltz quest a bunch? Or killing the random spawns back and forth? ...Confuzled

I just killed the spawns that happened to be on the road in front of him. That, plus a fair amount of events, and the last 6000 XP being from the RP script has gotten him to 14. BTW, he is part bard, part duelist, but I think the way I made him, he's a worse fighter than a straight rogue.

[broham2]

Lol, yeah when I first came to this server my brother and I basically did this over and over and over again (along with the rest of OG Weave Masters) and I personally didnt go out of those main cells for a VERY long time. It was like a whole new world when I finally braved the Sharpteeth, the Cloakwood, and south of Beregost.

So maybe the key is, if you have a rogue, do a lot of walking? Haha.

[DM Sir Carnifex]

Jan 22, 2009 1:43:17 GMT -5 broham2 said:

Lol, yeah when I first came to this server my brother and I basically did this over and over and over again (along with the rest of OG Weave Masters) and I personally didnt go out of those main cells for a VERY long time. It was like a whole new world when I finally braved the Sharpteeth, the Cloakwood, and south of Beregost.

So maybe the key is, if you have a rogue, do a lot of walking? Haha.

I assure you it was RPed out. Besides, he can't stand fighting, so why go in the woods? lol

[DM blessedone]

I have a melee rogue build and focused on Feint as well as heavy defense....sure, some fights may take longer, but, the mobs have a hard time trying to hit him...I have learned that a good offense sometimes start with a good defense. I also follow what broham2 said as well, be smart about what you attack and when you attack. I have not used one single buff while solo, and only a couple of buffs during a LONG event that led to the UD.

My main PC does have a LOT of buffs, but, his main source of XP is RP and he is FAR from a 'powerbuild' and has made it to 18 going on 19 now....

[hnefi]

I find that currently, low-level rogues are a PITA to level. But once you get that second attack (third if you're using two weapons) around level 8, things really start getting easier. You don't really need HiPS if you have Feint, which will let you do lot of sneak attacks. But yeah, the low AB, few attacks (which makes the one sacrificed attack for Feint very expensive), low HP and low damage makes it hard to solo anything except bandits for the first seven levels or so.

So at low levels, just party up. This is the complete opposite to a warlock, who can pretty easily solo Gnolls at level 2 if he's chosen the right invocations. But then, warlocks tend to suffer a lot at higher levels, so it all evens out, I guess.

[Zealote]

Jan 22, 2009 5:44:00 GMT -5 hnefi said:

But then, warlocks tend to suffer a lot at higher levels, so it all evens out, I guess.

ROFL, its a joke right?
I feel so sorry for them too, with the 90 dmg hits from downtown.

About UD mobs: Well guys, I gotta agree with some of that. I made a drow and man...its hard to lvl up. The bats start giving 20 xp a kill, which was kinda awesome, since the wolves give like 6 xp. So, I began to kill a few and quickly got a good xp. And then all the sudden, the bats began to give me 12 xp, after I got 3k xp, as I've noticed. The problem is, that leaves me with 3k left to lvl 2, and I suspect the xp will drop again after 4k xp. I mean, im not against that, but again, I tried to buy a couple of Cure Light Wounds Potions and....they dont have that! All I found in stores was the Cure Moderate Wounds, at 138gp each or something. Now, why would I buy that with 8 hp? And thats expensive! To my luck, someone had sold a few Light Wounds potions to Gloura's Wings, and I could buy them there. But they were not a regular object selling there since I bought them in the Misceallaneous part of the Shop. And they came in a pack of 8 potions for 168gp. Now why dont we have Light Healing Potions in the UD? This needs to be added quickly please, because people stay lvl 1 for a long time, and with low cash.


PS: Now, dont think im complaining about the low xp, im loving it. Keep it like this. ;D

[DEV Jlf2n]

It has been stated several times now that the Underdark mobs will be toned down a little. This is the initial round of them so there are going to be some gaps. Have patience, and please no off topic discussions in this thread.

[hnefi]

Jan 22, 2009 7:38:09 GMT -5 Zealote said:

Jan 22, 2009 5:44:00 GMT -5 hnefi said:

But then, warlocks tend to suffer a lot at higher levels, so it all evens out, I guess.

ROFL, its a joke right?
I feel so sorry for them too, with the 90 dmg hits from downtown.

Sure, but they have no protection worth mentioning and that 90 damage is the only attack they get each round. A cleric or warrior might "only" do 35 or so damage with a hit, but they get five to eight attacks every round. And they don't have to worry about SR, which is pretty much synonomous to warlock immunity due to the nasty SR bug.

Still, warlocks were never made to take down bosses. They were built for attrition warfare and artillery support, and they fill those roles well. They'll fill it even better once the warlock patch finally arrives. And what is grinding if not attrition warfare?

By the way, how hard are blaster wizards and sorcs to level up around here? I've no interest in playing one atm, but I'm curious because some PW's tend to force them to use polymorph and go into melee by giving mobs a lot of HP, making blaster spells useless. I haven't seen any polymorphed mages so far though, which means either they tend to not walk down the road when under the influence of Enlarge and Polymorph, or it's actually worth it to use damage-dealing spells to kill stuff here.