Curse

Asrial · Dec 31, 2005, 05:29 AM // 05:29

Whirling Defense, yah. Was posting from work and the picture makes me think of Whirling Dervish from Magic: The Gathering

Furious, there's a specific path that if taken, and if you get a proper creature spawn, you only encounter one group of creatures in Tasca's Demise.

Yolanda Kai · Jan 03, 2006, 11:27 AM // 11:27

I didn't have the problem before, but tonight it seems like the Heretics cast Crippling Anguish way more than they used to, which usually results in me getting squished by their backup... no way you're gonna escape with 50% speed instead of 125%.

Initial reaction was to swap out a skill for Shatter Hex because it casts really quickly, but if they layer a few on you then this doesn't do any good either.

Ice prison form the Titans is a bitch too. Any ideas?

<edit>
Duh! Turned off the Titan quests. Much better

Only thing I'm still having a bit of trouble with is the Imps just in side the mouth of the cave... they always seem to spawn like 5+ in extremely tight packs and when I fling an arrow from outside the bubble, a few always run up close and use the good spells. Any advice for singling them out better?
</edit>

f0s · Jan 03, 2006, 04:32 PM // 16:32

thx

im using a bit different skills ang go the southern way ..

it works fine

just one question.. how to beat the Azure Shadows in the cave? and whats the sense of the statue?

Yolanda Kai · Jan 03, 2006, 07:35 PM // 19:35

f0s: Going the south way, how do you deal w/ the Worms in the mountain passage? Anything that knocks you down that rapidly can't be good

For those that go the normal route (as in the original map) how do you deal with the group of Avicara on the last bridge w/ the Elemental boss? One of the Wise hit me with the slowdown spell and I'm lucky to escape with 50 health. There's got to be an easier way!

Oh, and I'm using a build most similar to Valerius.

Dual Shot / Poison Arrow / Kindle Arrows / Dodge / Storm Chaser / Troll Unguent / Mantra of Frost / Power Leak

f0s · Jan 03, 2006, 07:50 PM // 19:50

this way i go ..

there arent any worms ..

Yolanda Kai · Jan 03, 2006, 08:27 PM // 20:27

That's strange, I had somebody show me that route and twice in a row the mountain pass was full of worms. Went back to the tried and true... but if this is easier then I'm all for it

Anyway I seem to have figured out most of the little glitches in my planning, I got the dreaded mixed spawn and killed all but 2 of the imps outside... and like the third one dropped an IDS

There was an absolute wall of them though, at the top of the hill. Like 12 Imps plus the Avicara. Not easy to agro a couple Imps and not take the entire lot with me when they had that bad a height advantage. The rest were a waste of time but that's okay!

Valerius · Jan 03, 2006, 09:12 PM // 21:12

Quote:

but tonight it seems like the Heretics cast Crippling Anguish way more than they used to, which usually results in me getting squished by their backup

yeah sometimes u'll have a bad spawn like that where u have no chance in getting by... just die... u'll respawn right next to the tp to MS... u can work off some of the dp when u kill the Ice Imps ( if u go the north route )

Quote:

they always seem to spawn like 5+ in extremely tight packs and when I fling an arrow from outside the bubble, a few always run up close and use the good spells. Any advice for singling them out better?

try shooting an arrow then running... they should chase u then start running back... go back in a lil' more so that they come back to u... now they'll just be using their wand attacks and u can easily take em' out one by one ( i've taken on a group of 13 doing this /flex )

Quote:

how to beat the Azure Shadows in the cave? and whats the sense of the statue?

take out the shadows one by one... anymore then 2 and ur screwed :P ... the statue gives special powers when we have favor... try kneeling in front of it to make the avatar appear when ur region has favor

Quote:

how do you deal with the group of Avicara on the last bridge w/ the Elemental boss?

the ele boss is always hard to pass... theres a 1/3 chance he'll be on ur route if ur taking the north pass... and even if he is... u can always try and interupt his MF

Druids Arrow · Jan 04, 2006, 09:38 PM // 21:38

Tried the build, worked flawlessly. The only tricky part was as Kassad said by the entrance to Mineral Springs with the heretics.

Mantra of Frost worked a charm, tried Elemental resistance, but Mantra is much easier and the energy helps a fair bit.

Yolanda Kai · Jan 05, 2006, 10:37 AM // 10:37

Question: Does the DP go down faster if you use a scroll to increase your XP rate? I keep getting scrolls that I never end up using but if this works, then it'd be an ice way to bounce back from DP.

For a complete list of my current skillset:
Savage Shot / Cry of Frustration / Poison Arrow (E) / Kindle Arrows / Dodge / Stormchaser / Troll Unguent / Mantra of Frost

I've found Cry of Frustration handy since it interrupts over an area... handy if you get more than 1 guy casting the real spells on you.

One thing I've been meaning to try is using Choking Gas instead of Kindle Arrows, and combining it with a Fire bow (I basically have a gold version of Forgerunner). Again my biggest concern is staying alive, and letting the poison do its thing. Biggest problem here is simply the fact that it doesn't last as long as other preparations... but hopefully taking one of the quicker recharging distraction shots will make up for that. I'll let you know how it fares compared to the Kindle option.

Thanks for all the advice... if only I was a bit better at employing it then we'd all be laughing

With me it's always a case of pilot error.

Yolanda Kai · Jan 05, 2006, 11:40 AM // 11:40

Choking Gas is a bust... doesn't last long enough and the damage hurts as well

GLOCK · Jan 06, 2006, 04:56 PM // 16:56

Awesome build here mate. I had gone on about a dozen group runs and never even saw one drop for any party member. I went up there on my first try and there one is. Sweet! I've only been back up solo once, but nothing on that try. Works like a charm though. Only problem I had was facing the azure shadows. I was able to kill 2 of them by dancing with them. But 4 spawned at once after that and crushed me.

Nice build though. And thank you for helping me get an IDS.

Yolanda Kai · Jan 07, 2006, 08:24 PM // 20:24

OK so now that they fixed the golems (no longer 12 levels under the Imps, but fullblown level 24 Siege Golems) do you find any changes are necessary to solo it? I've only done a couple 2-man runs since the change took place. They still die easily to Kindle even with regular attacks, but not like they used to!

fiery · Jan 07, 2006, 08:43 PM // 20:43

haha is so kewl GJ

Yolanda Kai · Jan 07, 2006, 09:26 PM // 21:26

Another IDS today, I swear 75% of the drops were Frigid Hearts tho. Never seen so many drop one after another.

So I've been running 2man with a W/Me a lot and loving it, way the heck faster and I don't have to be quite as careful timing everything.

Distracting Shot / Cry of Frustration / Poison Arrow (E) / Kindle / Dodge / Storm Chaser / Troll Unguent / Mantra of Frost

Domination: 2 (remainder, it does slightly more dmg for Cry but mainly just points I couldn't use)
Inspiration: 5
Expertise: 11+1
Wilderness Survival: 11+1+1
Marksmanship: 7+1

I still flip flop around a bit on the skills setup, sometimes going Apply Poison/Penetrating Shot/Power Shot instead of Kindle/Poison Arrow/Cry of Frustration combo. Changing around the Elite skill also lets me take Escape which is way nicer to supplement Dodge than Stormchaser. Some times keeping Escape for getting there without a scratch is nice, but it doesn't make a huge difference once you get past melee enemies.

Anyway I'm having fun and being quite successful with the build, and that's the main thing. Thanks again for the great idea, it's paying for my new Warrior at the moment

<edit>
Using the above build for solo, working well and now 2 straight runs with IDS drop

Makes up for the rest of the week!
</edit>

<edit #2>
Figured out the thing with the Worms. If you go too far Southeast in the Giant zone, into the cave thingy specifically, you spawn worms that will follow you all the way down the pass with knockdown. Not pretty.
</edit #2>

Kassad · Jan 17, 2006, 03:05 AM // 03:05

Well, today I got my first IDS out of so many runs. Someone whispered me asking for help killing the imps, so I went with him on a run. 2 IDS dropped, 1 for both of us.

So if you havent got one, keep trying.

Silent_Hope · Jan 18, 2006, 12:40 PM // 12:40

I want to start off by thanking everyone for their input on this thread! Tried this and was able to get to the cave entrance but was over whelmed by the imps and golems. I used a combo of the different builds posted and really liked the idea of using Cry of Frustration. I tried everything in my power to pull in small groups but was unsucsessful. I guess I need to work on my pulling skills! If anyone wants to run this with me let me know. I am welcome to any suggestions as well. Hopefully it was just a bad roll with the numbers at the entrance.

IGN: Silent Hope

Makkert · Jan 18, 2006, 12:53 PM // 12:53

Kassad, nice build.
But please, don't ever mention Power Shot again. That skill is so terrible compared to other shots (just compare to Penetrating Attack to know what I mean) that nobody should run Power Shot.

greets Makk.

Kassad · Jan 18, 2006, 12:59 PM // 12:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Makkert

Kassad, nice build.
But please, don't ever mention Power Shot again. That skill is so terrible compared to other shots (just compare to Penetrating Attack to know what I mean) that nobody should run Power Shot.

greets Makk.

Yea, I just put it in because most rangers run marks, I run Exp, so thats why I put Point Blank Shot in their first.

Rem · Feb 20, 2006, 05:52 AM // 05:52

Thanks a lot for this build, worked very well for me though i haven't got any drops yet. I use the exact same build as kassad's except that i replaced antidote signet with whirling defence for the trolls.
This build takes a bit of getting used to though and it took me around 10 tries to finally get it up and running

Yolanda Kai · Feb 20, 2006, 09:05 AM // 09:05

Thought it might be worth mentioning, there's a quest reward bow with 10% dmg in stance and -2 dmg taken in stance. It's 26 dmg I think, but not a huge deal if you're doing a DoT build with Poison Arrow and Kindle being your main sources of damage anyway. Mod up the bow however you want, and you should be in really good shape. Their little wand attacks and stuff should be nothing but a cloud of -0's and even stuff like Maelstrom is taken down considerably by this.

I don't bother with IDS runs anymore (Warrior Farming is often quicker and easier, couple k every 10 mins versus ~25k every couple hours), but I imagine this would make life a lot easier if I was to go back.