Sneaking back into epics and raids

So, I have been on the TR train with Sinfully for awhile now and really have not done much raiding or epics, so last night after bowling, I was only one on so I jumped on Canttouchths and joined an Epic Chrono.  I just joined to run the quest, but I ended up being the tank which is no big deal as that is what Cant was built to do.  My healer last track of me in the first mini boss fight and that cost my ship buffs, but hey, we did things before ship buffs.

We get to the end fight and I have solid aggro on the boss but an intimidate pulls trash on me as well and I go down as the damage incoming is more than my healer can keep up with.  At this point, all could go screwy, but a barb takes over until I can get raised and rebuffed.  I was then able to hit intim and take aggro back.  Then it is just a beat fest until he runs out of HP.

So how did I do on my pulls, well, probably one of my best Chrono runs.  A scroll of Docent of Diabolist, seal of Helm of Frost and finish with a shard of the Charged Gauntlets.  Maybe I need to run more Epic Chrono's.

OK, so I don't blog often

Yes, I am lazy so I don't blog that often.  Unlike Samius, I don't get a chance to blog from work, so when I get home, it is DDO time, but hey, I am on vacation this week and something kind new happened to me last night I had to mention.

So, I am on life 6 or so of Sinfully's march to completionist.  As Samius has mentioned before in his blog, I have been doing more of the classes I don't like to solo with while running the train with him and the group when they are with us.  This life is something I can solo, but I hate.  Yes, I hate Paladin's.  I have never gotten a Paladin past level 8 before because they are such a pretend to do everything class.  They do none of it well, so I am not a fan.  To help, since this is TRs runs to get to 20, notch a class and move on to next life, I am not doing a pure Paladin, not even close.  At 20, Sin will be 6 Rogue (for evasion, UMD and open lock, no thief skills as Samius has that with his Arty), 6 Fighter (Kensai for Falchon to play with my Lit II Falchon) and 8 Pally (Knight of Challice, just to get Pally out of the way).

Here is a couple things that happened this weekend, first was a run thru Object of Blood. Single run, two pairs of Spectral gloves.  I have pulled the gloves numerous times of the years, but don't remember pulled 2 on the same run before.  Next was a Maid to Order run.  Samius is pure on his Arty, also known as no evasion.  So I played trap detector.  Using my best Barbarian impression, I ran down the middle tripping the traps so Sam could jump around and disarm them.  I think I got hit once the whole run, so my evasion/reflex was working pretty well.

Also this weekend, began the respecting of Canttouchths.  Cant is my tank and I tweak him here and there and eventually plan to TR him (third life) to a Helf Stalwart Defender.  He has a lot of epic gear, including the Chimera's Fang, so I switched out a feat to get a Dragon Mark.  Cant is 2 monk/18 fighter wis/dex based AC Stalwart Defender.  He was set up as 2 weapon fighting when that was way to get AC and so forth, but I am switching out those feats to make him better sword and board.  I also reset his feats today, so what does he get right now.  I can self/my boat buff his AC to 83, can hit 70 on intim.  When I get that TR in, it will go higher, but I want to wait until after the expansion to see what all changes.

OK, time to go back to work.  Need to do some raiding during the days while Sam is at work.  Need Epic Tokens for more TR woods.  Need more Epic tokens for Cant's gear.  NEED MOAR!

So life 4 begins

During a TR train, you get plenty of time to talk about various things, but one thing always happens toward the end of a TR life, you begin talking and planning for the next life.  So last life on Sinfully as a barb, her saves were not great.  Samius suggested a Bard next life to help with the saves, so Sinfully is now a level 4 Bard. 

So the plan this life is a 12 Bard/6 Fighter/2 Rogue.  She will be doing War Chanter/Kensai using Falchons.  Have to get all the use out of that green steel falchon I built that I can.  She is a Half Elf with the Artificer Dilly.  Mainly, I wanted to see what I could accomplish with the Arty Dilly, with an option to switch to Favored Soul if needed later, but so far, fun playing with scrolls and seeing them extended.

I also spent some time last night running challenges.  I have not done many of these, but decided to work on my favor some as I still do not think buying Arty's should be required for VIPs.  I did some solo runs, sort of learning some of the challenges.  I was able to 2 star a couple and 1 star some others.  I then joined a group and did some Epic level runs and was able to 3 star an elite.  The TR Train group keeps talking about challenges, so some of those may be in the future.

Pofo has set-up his next TR

OK, I might still want to farm some epic gear, not sure, but last night definitely made a good dent in a possible TR run. So, I have been kind of out of the playing mood lately. It happens, can't get items I want, friends are off doing things I am not interested in, just in a mood or whatever. So I was sitting on Pofo last night watching the LFM's and Quiz puts up a Elite VOD run and I thought, what the heck, do it now before they up the bosses again and there is that slim chance of tomes. Quiz was picky on the group, but I know him and we got going and it was a strong group. We had to wait on DPSing the boss just to not have Orthons and devils at same time. So we finish and I open the chest to find a +3 con tome. I don't even have a +3 on Pofo now, but thought, maybe I should hold for that last TR to get my last stacking 10 hp from TRing.

Then I saw a shroud up, not that I shroud more than once a week anymore, just so bored with it, but I noticed Pofo was on #19. So easy normal run through and yes, +3 Str tome in the reward list. Yes, Pofo is sitting nice for tomes to TR now. Maybe a little Von 6 EPIC action to see if I can pull some +4's, but since I have only ever pulled one, not going to wait forever for that.

Been a while

Has been a little while since I blogged but a nice thing happened this weekend I thought I would mention. I was running an Epic Devil's Assault with guys and pulled a nice set of handwraps, +5 Silver Threaded Handwraps of Pure Good. I thought at first that I would put them on my monk Chowonthis, but then Tobril mentioned I could ask what I wanted for them. So I decided to put them up on the marketplace and currently I have an offer of 4 FRDS and 2 LDS. Unfortunately as of the posting of this entry, Turbine appears to be down so I can not verify a potential higher bid. After getting my Red Armor Shard the other day, I am only 5 FRDS's away from finishing my Red Dragon Robe, so it is possible that I will get to craft it tonight.

And another EPIC item down.

OK, yesterday was interesting. I learned how to efficiently scroll farm Epic Chronoscope and pulled my first scroll, Charged Gauntlets. A quite nice scroll to pull. So last night, I was running with friends and they wanted to run Epic Chrono. I had not run it with Burradrow since getting her ready, so I said might as well try her out.

She did pretty good with crowd control, so I am still pleased with how her build came along. So we are in the bank after the Razor Arm fight and I pull the Seal for the Charged Gauntlets. I had thought about changing toons at the end to keep Burradrow off timer for farming, but now I have to try to get all three pieces in the same day.

We do the final fight and open the finally chest. No, I did not pull the shard, but I do have a Boots of Corrosion shard in there. Another player has the Charged Gauntlets shard and I offer to trade. She already has 6 shards for the boots, but she does put the shard up for roll. You guessed it, I out rolled 5 others to win the shard. So, I jump over to Pofo after the quest and built him some Epic Charged Gauntlets. Adds that extra kick to using the Epic Antique Great Ax I built him the other day.

Delightful into the mix

Back when Epic Von 5 traps were actually Epic, I built my rogue Delightful. My whole goal was a mechanic rogue to get those traps. So, she might not do a lot of damage with her repeating crossbow, but she disarms pretty well. So, after the trap nerf, really haven't played her much. That changed today. I saw a group looking for a rogue for Epic party crashers and I switched and jumped in. She did the traps easily, no boosts even. Was the bluff for the names even. So, I even went and ran Snitch and Big Top with her. She might not be my strongest toon, but she does what she was built for well.

I ran a few other epics today on various toons, including my first Epic DQ on Burradrow. Still no torc, but another Epic quest down for her. Then I jumped on late tonight and Tobril got me into the Hard TOD they had going. They kept loosing members, so I jumped in. Was a real smooth run until the last part. We had some deaths healing up Horoth, but 4 pots later for me and many pots for the healers, we beat it anyway. No PM ring yet, but hey, not every toon can get it their first run like Canttouchths.

Canttouchths is a little happier

So today, I ran a few epics on Pofo and did decent, pulled a few seals I needed.  So then Tobril came on and we decided to hit up all the Red Fens again and I jumped on Burradrow.    Burradrow picked up a couple things, but the real kicker was Into the Deep.  Canttouchths has been needing the shard for the Gloves of the Claw for a while now.  The end fight ended up a little messy, but we succeeded and low and behold, the Gloves shard drops.  So, after that, of course Cant had to go make some new gloves to sport around.  +5 stacking intimidate is nice and 30% healing amp don't hurt.  Couple more items I want to get him and he is pretty set.  Seal of the Silver Concord cloak here I come, and I haven't forgot you shard and helm for the Mroranan Helm.  Those should make him pretty solid for that next life as a Half Elf.

Another EPIC item down.

So, logged on tonight and Tobril is on and wants to run some EPIC fens.  Since I need all kinds of EPICS, I am up for it, so I take Burradrow on out to Red Fens.  First, we run Last Stand.  First try went south, as they can occasionally do, but we go back in and complete.  Tobril is on Holybott, his FVS healing the group, minus the PM Burradrow and still gets second most kills.  Burradrow, the Crowd Controller has third most.  Still trying to determine how the sorc was not blasting away everything, but hey, we completed.  So we hit the chest and low and behold, there is my Twisted Talisman seal.  So before I logged off, I got to go epic my Talisman.  Sure, it is not the greatest epic item out there, but it cost me nothing to do and gives me 100 more mana from clickies.  That is two casts of Death Aura to keep Burradrows healing ticking, so I'll take it.  

We ran Claw and Into the Deep as well, but nothing special happened in either of those.  I just got to keep working on getting a bauble and the stuff to epic my spell storing ring to make the extra spell points all there.  And of course that elusive Torc, but she will come.

Burradrow is mostly EPIC good

So, why do I say most Epic good.  Well, she is not really ready for Epic Chrono yet.  The DCs are super high in there and well, I need a few more things to be ready for that.  I need to get my Yugo favor done for yugo pots.  Honestly, I don't usually worry about yugo pots, but they will add +1 to her DCs and can pick up a few more HP.  I need to start grinding TOD to get my Pale Master ring.  Won't change my DCs from what I currently have with Epic spyglasses, but will open that slot for a Litany which can help.  Then there is always store pots.  These I can guarantee I will use sparingly.  I don't have the funds to pump a bunch into the DDO store,

So, with all that said, I ran Epic "Into the Deep" and "Bargain of Blood" runs last night.  Both were smooth and pretty easy.  Picked up a shard for the Boots of the Mire from the Deep.  Not the Glows shard I need, but at least I am starting to get back into running Epics.  If the BYOH channel pursues their goal of growing a group of good dedicated players for Epic running, then I should see all I need in no time.

Quick, almost a rant

As most DDOers that read the DDO forums know, there is always someone ranting about one thing or another on the forums, but last week, one caught my eye.  I am home doing training today, so I have some time to finally get around to commenting.

Ok, the rant was a rogue complaining that he likes his build that essentially did nothing but assassinate and did not need Strength.  While he is absolutely correct, there is some things he did not seem to want to consider.  He was talking about how many Epic runs he had done and oh my god, kill count.  DDO is famous for the last person to hit gets the kill, so I have never found kill count to be any measure of a toon or player.  You want to impress me, show that you can survive in any situation.  What happens when the cleric is down and you are only one left?  Can you live long enough to get the healer back up?

Those that have ran with me over the years on Sarlona knows I am a big believer in survivability and I am still one of those suckers trying to build AC based toons, ala Canttouchths.  I still think it does not matter what else you can do, how hard you hit, how bad you are sneaking up hitting something, if in the end, you are dead and in the survivors pocket.

So what does all this mean in a nutshell per see, you can build your toons anyway you see fit.  The game is about enjoyment and running your play style is what you will enjoy.  Samius and I disagree all the time on how to build something, but we have different play styles and both seem to be very successful.  But keep in mind, when you go far outside the norm, you are limiting your grouping potential.  People are going to use MyDDO (Trust me, I think it is worst tool Turbine every built), or they are going to remember what they saw when they played with you (How I prefer to learn as a great player on a weird/poor build is still better than a poor player on a great build).  So, get a tough skin and don't go ranting to the forums when you built something unusual, because you will not get much sympathy from the rank and file.  Go play and show them you are a great player with a different build.

If you have to spout in the forums, in LFMs or in group how great you are, then a little secret for you, you probably are not that great.  Keep working at it.  The best players get known on the servers and get groups because they can show how good they are by action, not bluster.

Burradrow, my PM is back to cap.

OK, tonight saw Burradrow return to cap.  So, how will my tr'd Pale Master do in epics.  Well, time will tell but a few things I can tell you now.  She has a Necro DC of 42 when holding my greater necro weapon and a Enchantment DC of 41 when holding the correct weapon.  Of course, both of these are in Lich form.  Her intelligence is at 44 in form, and I only have a +2 tome at this point.  So, I should be able to eventually get her to 46.  Epic spirit glasses eventually will allow me to have Greater Necro and Enchantment at the same time.  So, back to the epic grind for now until the TR bug hits me again.

Epic Claw Solo: Still doable

OK, Update 9.1 put a kink in soloing Epic Claw, but Turbine still hasn't won because it is still doable.  Is it harder, yes, but my Water Savant Sorc, Soulful, just did it.  Can Burradrow, my Pale Master do it when she returns to level 20, well, we will see.  I am sure there will be a way, but again, not like there used to be.

Joy in Mudville

OK, we all know that the thing Turbine is best at is taking away tactics we come up with to do quests.  Well, the changes in update 9 have had tremendous negative effects to using the life stealing property to solo Epic Claw.  Well, I am not one that likes being defeated, so tonight, I took my new Water Savant spec'd sorc, Soulful in there and solo'd it.  To be honest, in some ways it was easier, others tougher, but in general, probably equaled out and I got my fragments.

While I am sure new videos will hit youtube (assuming they have not, because I didn't look), but I was happy that I figured it out myself and did it.  I am sure that a few more tweaks to Soulful's feats and spells will make her stronger,  but after I get Burradrow (my Pale Master Wizzy) back to cap.  I might TR Soulful into Wizzy and then back to Sorc to get those DCs up and all.  But, the point of this particular post was that stick to it and you will find another way to do what you were doing before.

Is Zombie form worth it?

OK, the TR train made it to level 6 last night for Burradrow and she got to take the new Pale Master form of Zombie.  First issue I have with it is that she now runs around like she has a stick stuck up her A@@.   Second issue is that the 20% swing speed makes it near impossible (in any useful way) to melee.  Lets face it, at lower levels, melee is how to level a wizard as they don't do enough damage with spells, with their mana pool, to try to kill stuff with mana.  Guess it is a good thing I have the Defense Guild guys to level with, as I am pretty sure I would struggle to solo level her and PUGS, well, we know how I feel about PUGS.

I also decided to see how much the changes in Update 9 effected my soloing of Epic Claw.  Well, it seems it totally killed it.  I took Soulful, my sorc in and never got past the first giant before I was out of mana.  As usual, the Turbine nerf bat was too big.

Success, it is sweet.

OK, after getting my Pale Master wizard, Burradrow soloing Epic claw, I couldn't stop.  So, I spent last couple days grinding the ingredients to make another petrifying staff for my Sorc Soulful.  Tonight, I got the final ingredient and make her staff.  So tonight, she join her wizard cousin and soloed Epic Claw.  So this means I can make between 1 and 1.5 EPIC tokens each night solo which is easier than pugging sometimes.  Not sure any other of my toons can solo it, but knowing me, I will keep trying to find ways for them to do it too.

Peace and see ya in Storm Reach.

Nice start to the weekend

Just got back from a short vacation to visit family (and yes it sucked to not DDO while there).  So, first thing I did when I got home was to jump on Burradrow and solo Epic Claw.  I have it down pretty good now.  After that and a quick scroll farm of Von 1, the wife and I had our date night.


For those interested, date night was a trip to "Cooking at the Cottage" in Louisville Ky.  This is a place where you and your partner cook a 3 course meal with a chef teaching you what to do.  Last night was Lobster Ruzzoto, Chicken Cordon Blue (well, was a fancy version anyway) and Bourbon Chocolate Pie.  It was an awesome meal.

OK, back home and I jump on Canttouchths and run an Epic Von 6, and finally, I get one of the items I need, a belt of Mroranon.  That got made epic last night. Now I need the helm shard and helm, the seal for the silver concord cloak and shard for the gloves of the claw and Cant is basically done with equipment.

Next, Samius and Tobril had an Abbot going so I jump back on Burradrow, as she really needs to pick up a shroud of the Abbot.  Well, did not get the shroud, but all was not lost, picked up a Wretched Twilight.  Another very good item for a Pale Master.

So, a great start to the weekend.  See ya in Storm Reach this weekend!

Goal: Epic Claw Solo: Check

Ok, so a few days ago, I started trying to solo Epic Claw on Burradrow.  The one scorpion is a challenge, but tonight, I got it done.  No seal which stinks, but proof I can do it.  Keep practicing and I think I can get it down where I can do it on a more consistent basis.  Who says you need Sorcs to solo, Go Wizzy Power.

Solo, Not yet, but got some scrolls anyway

So, there was not much going on tonight.  Samius was off playing with Lessah, they try to say it was Cocktailhour, but you never know.  And I did not see much in LFMs that I wanted to do, so I practiced tonight.

My goal, to learn to solo Epic Claw.  I can get to the next to last scorpion, but I am still struggling to pull that one off.  Yes, I have watched the Youtube video and know what he does, but it still isn't easy, especially when your toon does not have points in move silently.  Note for next life, bump up that skill.  But even thou I did not succeed (yet), I was still able to pick up 3 scrolls on my attempts.  Also picked up another playing around in Von 1, so not an unproductive night and I didn't have to deal with pugs.

OK, Samius talked me into Pale Master

Been a little bit since I blogged, so I have to talk about this weekend.

I finished leveling Burradrow, my wizard, and second oldest toon this weekend.  I had her as an Arch Mage with Necro focus as I like to use Finger, PK and Wail.  I knew she was not going to do Epics and plan to TR her next.  But as I was talking to Samius, it hit me, she already had the feats to be Pale Master.  So I redid her enhancements and got a couple items and low and behold, she has 37 DC on her mass holds.  While not Chrono good, it is good for most epics and she has started grinding with the others.  Thanks to Samius, I have a Petrifying Shadow Staff to smack em while held.  I went into EPIC Claw tonight to fool around and with a little work on my sneaking, I should be able to solo that now.

So next piece, I have resisted Pale Master for a long time, as I am not one for the flavor of the month and everyone went Pale Master.  But Samius does know wizards and he kept telling me I got to go pale master.  Well, she is pretty awesome and the self healing is great.  But being my stubborn self, I will be TRing her next life back to Drow and full wizard, no rogue levels.  Trust me, Samius is probably right on splitting and getting evasion and more damage, but I figure if I get my DCs high enough, I can just level them down.  So if you look at the build Samius had on his MyDDO page, I plan on not doing the rogue and replacing the Power Attack and Insightful reflexes with Spell Focus and Great Spell Focus in enchantment.  And with drow intelligence bonus, I should be able to get both necro and enchantment DCs around 40.  Can always do another TR later if need be, but I think she will be pretty good after the first as I am liking the way she is playing now.  It is great to have resurrected a toon I used to love to play that no longer was really good enough to play and make her useful again.

See, I can do something besides complain about the client memory leak.