Ettin Farming still viable?

Drop Shield Stance. Never found it all that good.

I love it for the fact you can use other skills/spells without breaking it. Not many other stances allow for that.

--The Shim

1) Cyclone Axe (Build up Adrenalin Quickly)
2) Dismember (Deep Wound [Target loses 20% of max health])
3) Executioner's Strike (Strong Attack 10-40 damage)
4) Bonetti's Defense (Build Energy for Glad's/Cyclone/Healing)
5) Gladiator's Defense (75% chance to BLOCK attacks, missing enemies get hurt for 5-35 Damage)
6) Dolyak Signet (To keep from being knocked down by Ettin's Irresistible blow)
7) Healing Breeze/Mending (Healing/ Mending for the Shield's Special)
8) Endure Pain/Defensive Stance (Survival Skills. Endure for more HP fast or Defensive for 75% chance to EVADE attacks [No Knockdown from Irresistible Blow])

Attributes
------------
12 Axe Mastery (+4 [Executioner's Help + Superior Axe Mastery])
10 Tatics (+1 [Minor Tatics])
10 Strength (+1 [Minor Strength])
8 Healing Prayers
1 Unassinged Attribute

Runes
------------
Superior Axe Mastery
Minor Tatics
Major Vigor
Minor Strength
Minor Absorption

Weapons + Shields
------------
{Cruel Chaos Axe of Fortitude}
6-28 (req 9 Axe Mastery)
Damage +12% (<50% HP)
Lenghthened Deep Would Duration
Health +25
Damage +20% (Customized)

{Eternal Shield}
Armor 16 (req 9 Strength)
Recieved Damage -2 (While Enchanted)
Health +34 (While Hexed)

It's worked for me at least.

Enough builds have been posted that I won't bother listing mine. Apparently it's not too hard to come up with a build that works.

Take them in groups of 2 or 3 (4 max) at a time and you shouldn't have any problem. Run past the bog skales, mergoyles, etc. Disrupt their healing. Use mending.

Some runs are good (several superiors) and some runs are crappy. Actually got two sickles in one run last night, one from an oakheart that I at first wasn't going to bother with.

I just started farming with my W/M and have been running Augury. Whats the best location to get to prime Ettin hunting the quickest? I guess I would have to tweak my build for the knockdown.

Current Build
Riposte
Deadly Riposte
Glad's Defense
Bonetti's Defense
Endure Pain
Vigorous
Live Vicariously
Mending

Which should I drop for sprint and Dolyak or balanced.

Thanks in advance.

meh.. i farm them even without healing i find no need to sicne i kill the group before my hp runs out anyways..

If you really want to avoid being knocked down, stop using a skill thats going to block. I've tried watch yourself, and it seems to be the best IMO if you are having problems taking the shots.

1 day I got 2 sup vigor runes there and another day I got 1 sup absorption and 1 sup vigor, too bad there's a gap of 1 month between these 2 days, so the best farming place is still HoH.

Yeah, it's viable. Atleast for me it is.

In the last 3 days I got 2 superior vigors, 2 superior absorbtions and 10-something major vigors and absorbtions.

So I'm most certainly getting closer to my Fissure armor.

As a strength based W/Mo the only healing I use is mending.Try using Endure pain or my favorite Defy Pain[elite]


I use the same set of skills for the desert hydras only sprint is replaced with Dolyak Sig

That is true. I'm not saying it doesn't have its uses- I just always found replacements.

I'll give you your due, there are better skills in its stead, but I like stancing, as I'm not one to "hurry and kill" farm an area. I like to make sure I can kill my target objective with sustaining as little damage/mana depletion as possible <less downtime>

--The Shim

ok now i can farm them, but frist i got 2 crappy sup on the first run. then i'd only get a rune every other run, is this normal? i also heared there is a way you can got to 3 different areas , that way you dont get less drops the more you farm, is that true?

It's usually a good idea to rotate your farming areas (rotating crops?) as it seems the longer you stay in one area the fewer drops. Let it rest for a while then come back in a few days.

I'm a noob still and I think I finally got my E/R high enough to where I can farm a bit. Could you guys please tell me where I can farm these ettins. The only place I recall seeing them in large numbers is in griffins mouth. Thanks.

I would say you/re lucky you got any sup at all.Many gold armors turn out to be majors.I get a ton of Me Superiors which are usless.As far as drops go- if you zone into an area and only kill two to three, then zone out and then back in then drops will stop all together.As long as you clear the majority of monsters out you should be fine. Don't expect to do this run a dozen times and find Sup Vigors and Absorbs.Its just not going to happen-why do you think these runes cost so much, because there RARE and hard to find.

Ettin farming is ridiculously easy once you figure out how to do it. I can cut my way through the area without going below 60%hp unless I take on 5+ at a time, which is also possible.

My build and AP distribution looks like this:

Sprint
Sever Artery
Gash
Distracting Blow
Galrath's Slash
Berserker Stance
Vigorous Spirit
Mending

Heal - 8
Strength - 9 (8+1)
Swordsmanship - 13 (12+1)
Tactics - 9 (8+1)

Get a good weapon and customize it, for that extra bit of damage output, regardless of what weapon type you prefer. I'd also recommend either a +hp or giant slaying mod on one end, and an elemental dmg mod of your preference on the other.


When I farm Ettins, I typically make 50k-100k, in anywhere from 1-4hrs time. In the time I've been doing it I've had more Superior Vigor drops than I can count, and more than a few Superior Absorbtions. It's a shame the FoW armor for Warriors is so ugly that I refuse to buy it... I have nothing to spend money on except weapons that I don't really need.

Nice build, but not effective when you have 5+ on you at one time.
Try a combination of watch yourself, doylak signet and perhaps a stance, they cannot touch you.

Actually, it is more than effective. Try it sometime. I have succesfully taken on 12 at once, but only 8 or so were hitting me. Between Mending, and 1 Seconds of 18 health per hit, I can stay over 500hp with a base of 560 for 1-3 ettins. The only time I take damage that isnt negated by Mending is Irresistable Blow.

I've tried Watch yourself, but I usually just take on 3-6 at once, and never have a need for a defensive skill. Dolyak was good, but how often do you acually get more than 6 in one spot?

Sequence: Regular attack until they use Endure Pain. They will then use one more Irresistible Blow, then Heal Sig. Use Dist Chop (disables, and doesn't use energy) on this one. Then go Executioners, Dismember, Penetrating, and if you missed the first Heal Sig, Dist Bow the second one. This will usually have Penetrating Blow back up again, so hit that, and they will almost always die.

Sometimes they use Heal sig early, in that case, use Dist Blow on the first one (nearly instant cast), then 3 more attacks (feel free to use skills), and then Distracting Chop. If on a normal sequence, it will 90% of the time hit the Heal Sig, and make the ettin toast.

now readin above posts, but this is my build, pretty much infallible (no elite required, but you can bring one if you want)

9 +1 Axe
9 +3 strength
9 +1 tactics
9 healing

Dolyak Signet
"Watch Yourself"
Cyclone Axe
Bonetti's Defense
Disrupting Chop
Sprint
Vigorous Spirit
Healing Signet / healing hands / gladiators defense

okay, start at beetletun, go out to nebo
sprint throught the first group of mergoyles and Caromi, right before second group of avicara heal sig, sprint again and continue.

when you reach ettins, cast vigorous, then aggro as many as you want, probably dont wanna do more than 5 or 6 at a time starting out though.

when fighting, first pick and ettin and start wackin him, use dolyak, cyclone, then watch yourself.

cyclone again, and then use bonettis.

keep repeating above cycle, keeping Watch yourself up all the time and dolyak signet as much as possible (they knock you down when your using bonettis defense) , recasting vigorous every 30 seconds, and if you get low on HP, which you shouldnt, use heal signet.

when the ettin starts gettin low on HP, wait till hes at 50% or less, wait for him to cast heal sig, disrupt, and he should go down real fast.

keep repeating this, and the only hard part is the original run through Nebo.

*you can also use this build to kill some trolls or avicara outside Droks, just get rid of sprint for endure and mabye disrupting chop for some healing or damage*