Monthly Archives: March 2013

What a Night

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430 rolls around and I am practically running to my truck to get away from work, it was like 70 fahrenheit, hmm 21-22 celsius for not Americans, aka amazing. So back to working on the green house, if it would just stay like yesterday for the next few months I wouldn’t need a green house but the forecast says amazing again today then rain on Sat and SNOW on Sun…

Any way yesterday I needed supplies. TO THE HOME IMPROVEMENT STORE! I start in the lumber department, getting one of those little trollies for holding wood I start to load it up. I need a base to sit on the ground so I can build the walls for the not curved walls. Presser treated 2×4 about 16 foot long will do nicely (I am not sure how to convert that for metric peoples… other then fucken long). Then two 1x6s 10footers for the curved walls to run along the ground, these are so I can have an place to attach the plastic. Then I start hunting up 2x3s 7footers so I can actually frame the walls. Add in a few flexible brackets so I can bend them over the former trampoline frame to give the top of the walls some structure and screws and I am ready to head home.

Get everything loaded up and it dawns on me that the bed of my truck is like 8 feet and I am going to have a lot of hang over on these boards. But I use my bungy cords very creatively and I think we will be okay. But I still have 9+ feet of board hanging over the back. Now this will sound strange but a few years back a friend of Tobril and I bought us matching Lucha Libre Masks. They are super bright pink and I just so happen to keep mine in my truck. What better way to let people know that I have a LONG load? Nothing!

We make the drive home hoping that no one runs into us or that a nasty bounce doesn’t break my boards in half but we make in home in one piece and I get some work done until dinner happens.

After dinner I am done with not playing DDO and I long on my Rog and start rocking a few levels. I take MnaSidhe’s advice and use the fighter bonus feet for Weapon Focus: Ranged Weapons and waited on toughness until level 3. Over all I am really digging this guy. I am almost lvl 4, I feel slow with out big striders or the monk/barb speed but I can deal for now.

After an hour or so of play time Comic Book men had recorded watched it and slept like a baby. Well a nightmare having getting up more then once to piss baby anyway.

Tonight? More of the same I think, see what I can make happen before the rain and snow locks me in my basement to play ddo all weekend long. Yeah, it is the rain and snow fault that I will be gaming all weekend….

<3s

Mcplunderer Gurobo

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People paying attention know that I have been mulling over making a rogue for a while now thanks to seeing how amazing they can be when a good player is behind them. So I have done what I always have done let my mind wonder, ask twitter and looked at the forums for rogue builds. And while I got some good replies I got a lot more information that was opposed to what i felt i wanted to do. Also i wanted to get away from using a monk shell, i know it is amazing and i really liked my 11/9 rog/monk life on Samius but i want something different…

Anyway I have a work in progress for the build I TRed (an unloved Clr) into last night. Yes I am leveling this guy with a fairly rough plan and hoping that my instincts are simi close on this one.

Before I post the build and show the changes that have been made even as early as this morning, I want to say for some reason I am super excited about this side project. More so then Java even who I am super pleased with and really liked how is turning out. The last project I was this excited over was Darth Samius my DPS project.

The build:

Bowassin (Working Title)
18 Rogue 1 Artificer 1 Fighter Helf Assassin/AA
Str 14, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 16, Wis 8, Chr 8
+2 tomes for all stats, +3s for some maybe +4s in a few… All level ups currently in Int but there is some possible room for a few points in Dex if decide to max ranged dps (Not currently planned)

Skills: I think this build has like 12+ish points a level most levels think I can work in all the different skills I want as a rogue.

Leveling order:

Level 1 (Rogue)
Feat: (Half-Elf Dilettante) Half-Elf Dilettante: Ranger
Feat: (Selected) Two Weapon Fighting

Level 2 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Toughness

Level 3 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Weapon Focus: Ranged Weapons

Level 4 (Rogue)
Level 5 (Rogue)
Level 6 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Point Blank Shot

Level 7 (Rogue)
Level 8 (Rogue)
Level 9 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Two Weapon Fighting

Level 10 (Rogue)
Level 11 (Rogue)
Level 12 (Rogue)
Feat: (Rogue Bonus) Improved Evasion
Feat: (Selected) Rapid Shot

Level 13 (Rogue)
Level 14 (Rogue)

Level 15 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Manyshot
Feat: (Rogue Bonus) Opportunist

Level 16 (Rogue)
Level 17 (Rogue)
Level 18 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Weapon Fighting
Feat: (Rogue Bonus) Slippery Mind

Level 19 (Rogue)
Level 20 (Rogue)

Epic Feats:
Precision
Improved Sneak Attack (need to play with dex to be able to take this)

Feat Comments:

Again like most of my AA builds my feat order is to work in AA as soon as possible. In this case we are looking at level 7 or 8 depending on if I want to take AA or Assassin first.

Also the “rogue bonus feats” I am not sure what ones to take OR the order to take these feats but this is my best guess.

Finally I can move Precision up in the feat list at anytime if I am willing to move Manyshot up into post 20 level area, which right at the moment I am not willing to do but if I starting hitting heavy forted guys stopping my sneak attacks I will move as needed. Right now I hope Black Dragon armor from 14-20 will cover most fort bypass needs.

Projected Enchantments:

Rogue Damage Boost I
Rogue Damage Boost II
Rogue Haste Boost I
Rogue Haste Boost II
Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Acid Arrows
Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Explosive Arrows
Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Force Arrows
Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Force Burst Arrows
Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Slaying Arrows
Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Terror Arrows
Improved Ranger Dilettante I
Improved Ranger Dilettante II
Human Adaptability Constitution I
Human Greater Adaptability Intelligence I
Human Improved Recovery I
Human Improved Recovery II
Human Versatility I
Human Versatility II
Rogue Subtle Backstabbing I
Racial Toughness I
Racial Toughness II
Racial Toughness III
Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +2 Arrows
Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +3 Arrows
Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +4 Arrows
Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +5 Arrows
Elven Arcane Archer I
Rogue Assassin I
Rogue Assassin II
Rogue Assassin III
Rogue Sneak Attack Accuracy I
Rogue Sneak Attack Accuracy II
Rogue Sneak Attack Accuracy III
Rogue Sneak Attack Accuracy IV
Rogue Sneak Attack Training I
Rogue Sneak Attack Training II
Rogue Sneak Attack Training III
Rogue Sneak Attack Training IV
Improved Hide I
Improved Hide II
Improved Move Silently I
Improved Move Silently II
Artificer Energy of Creation I
Fighter Toughness I
Rogue Wand and Scroll Mastery I

Now there is a little play here, not a ton but some. I could pull Haste boost 2 and some human versatility for Improved Ranger Dilettante 3 for 8 points of bow strength.

Goals/Thoughts:
I want a high DC Assassin guy, DC 10 + Rogue Level (18) + Int Modifier (base/lvl ups +4 tome 25+ 1 enchantment + 8 item +3 item +1 item +ship = 40 or +15) + EMG 45 + 6 Shadowdancer Stealth == 51 fairly easily. Add in Yugo pots as needed.

Massive burst DPS Sneak attack + Manyshot aka make the tank work at the moment this build has 13d6 of sneak attack dice + that possibly Improved Sneak Attack and who knows what from Shadowdancer…

I don’t have any real long-term gear plans or destiny plans other then Stealthy.

So there you go my rogue build, feel free to comment via the comments/email/twitter or whatever.

<3s

Little Rituals

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Like most of you (I am guessing) my life is filled with little rituals. Wake up, do my morning business then sit in a wet coma for 20 mins with the TV on watching what ever I have recorded that I haven’t seen. If I am lucky it is something like Swamp People or Suits that helps jump start my brain. At 10 to 15 past the top of the hour I yell at the boy to get dressed and so the same. 5 mins after that I yell to start the truck and 2-3 mins later we head out to school/work.

At work I check my emails, make Tea, then I hit a list of web sites that I check every weekday like Woot.com and Teefury.com. Then I check my show email box and catch up with Twitter from the night before, skim the different ddo/tech blogs that I read then I like to start on working on my own post. Some mornings work pushes back getting started this post after all work comes first but unless there is a fire I need to knock this out or have it raddling around in my head all day.

Why does this matter?

Well I was playing with some lower experienced guildies last night and I couldn’t happen to notice that they hadn’t had time or experience of developing in game rituals.

For example, if I am on a trap skilled alt when I ship buff I check my tool stack and if low I grab some from the guild chest. Then I leave not +5 tools in the chest as to not end up using lesser tools. I also check my search gear and stock Int pots for hard to find trap boxes. Last night my bard was burning her heroism scrolls and songs trying to buff up the rogue so he/she could do the traps.

Also I noticed people talking about not having gear for X. One of the first things I do as a little new alt ritual is pick a weapon type and go get a Flametouched Iron base item (normally a hammer of some sort) and use the cannith crafting to add ghost touch later around level 7or8 I add everbright and return my muck weapons to the bank. This is a find is a great mutitool for low level questing. Even if it is not optimal for any of the places I need it for one pack slot it more then makes up for not being optimal when I have a really limited pack.

I am also very picky about how I spend my ship time between quests. First I nab the +4 haggle buff and then I repair and then sell to clean out any junk loot from the last hour of questing. Once clear I start rebuffing with all useful buffs for that built starting with the training dummy and ending with resists and the xp shrine. Honestly the kobold is last as he stands by the caption/squidface… Anyway back to buffs, if I am on a caster I do not need the training dummy unless there are people around to help AND I plan to use a web beat down dungeon plan same thing for the plus to melee damage. My melees do not need the INT shrine unless they are skilled and so on. Get only what you need and move on.

Anyway, have you noticed that you have any in game rituals? Maybe you always check for a list of items on the AH, or back in the day hit the House D vendors?

Well see you tomorrow, time to start that getting things done ritual.

<3s

Melee Weapon for a Ranged Build

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So Monday afternoon, on twitter, I started asking about rogue builds and was debating pausing Samiusbot for some other easier to level sans invis build. I have been really inspired by a few of the Brits to try my hand at a full time rogue. But I was mentally building and gearing out this for fun build I started wondering if there was something I could do to push Samiusbot on into the post BB/Recon levels. And I started thinking about pasting on some mild melee skills for some encounters…

So I started looking at weapons, focusing on the Sora Katra stuff at first. I had a few reasons; first I had a ton of the different items clogging up my TR cache on more then one alt making it hard to find items in said caches. And second I know that at some point real soon I will be ready to go back to more of a ranged arty (maybe) and I want to be able to throw everything away at any moment.

So after much debate with myself and looking at the mats I had on hand I made a Maiming Rockspliter and a Petrifying War Axe. I wanted both a one handed and two handed weapon, my thought was the Rockspliter would be good for most of my melee needs, leaving me a trail of numbers behind it and using insightful weapons an elemental d6 as needed for monster type the force rune arm it would be good enough for solo work. Where the War axe would be more for times when I have one or two guys to clear and I want to use the axe for more of a CC weapon. If I could have made a Petrifying Rockspliter (which you can’t) I would have made one of those. But over all I really liked how they handled.

What was funny was I took all that time and made those weapons and half the time I ended up using the xbow for the quests I was doing. (Attack on Stormreach chain) but when I did use them they worked as intended. Well enough I have even been thinking about making a main one handed dps weapon for this guy.

Now that I am 14 and Tome turn ins are both so much better/ easier to get I am thinking about making Samiusbot one of them for leveling. No one a Skiver, believe it or not there is more then one option in Tome weapons now depending on your needs. I am leaning towards making a Phosphor.

+5 Heavy mace (1.5[2d4], 18-20×2): Sun Burst, Righteous, Coruscating, Red Slot

I can add a spell power boost to it and make a fairly solid melee/caster stick or go more damage and add an d4/d6 of some other element. I also really like how it has an extended crit range with out being keen so I could work in IC:B and have a simi solid dps simple weapon that can grow with my guy. Also the artwork is Bad Ass!

But I will hold off making anything that is not super easy to replace for a little bit as I have lots of old Reaver loot to look at and possibly use as a make shift melee weapon… although none of them are as smexy as the Phosphor….

And yes I would just try making a green steel xbow, but I hadn’t picked which one to make before TRing but I did check that I had everything to make a double shard green steel weapon before TRing but the middle shard is either hiding in the TR cache or got lost in the TR possess. I have lost many items in while tring, but most of the time missing items are just hiding in a full cache and as the bot had all my scrolls/dragon shard stockpile his cache is super full. Much time will be wasted soon digging through the bank…

Anyway back to work,
<3s

When it Rains it Pours

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So as most weekends this one was too short, but we got a lot of stuff done in and out of game. But man with the time change and everything I am just wiped for Monday. Btw, going to ramble some so if your one of those people that always vote down the ramble posts, leave a comment also just so I know. Cool, Thanks.

So sometime last week the truck stopped starting. I had the feeling that the battery had crapped out on me you know with it being over 5 years old and been spending some cold overnights parked in the driveway as my side of the garage is full of love seats that need taken to the dump. Or is the bike shop during the non-winter months…. But this last week I have been driving the wife’s car and really falling for it, more and more I think that when the truck finally starts to die I might be doing some Subaru shopping. I had plans to run over to the Autozone on Sat once the Brits when to bed but it was raining and Tobril and I were playing so I pushed it to Sunday after the brits died for the night, which in normal fashion the rain turned to snow… But it was just a battery so thank you for small favors.

Lets see what else…

The DG/HoDW started our weekend lob runs. This was a raid I have been putting of for a long time as the crafting hasn’t been that exciting to me. But now Java has the need to make a shield to make some gear swaps happen. That or I need to farm up the EE WoW. So running Lob is more likely… Took us two runs to win. Which is not bad as I have done it twice before and everyone else maybe once expect Tobril who was the tank and trying to lead the raid. Now normally I like the raid leader being the tank, but not on training runs. The tank has his hands full doing the tank job and trying to teach and do all those jobs can be tough. And lets just say some times Tobril has “anger management issues” that some people that don’t know him as well might over look or miss but I pick up on. That and he doesn’t like the pets, but he had better warm to mine, because as long as Fin Fang Foom can be a helper he will be, he as doing fairly well dpsing the lob until one of the spin attacks where I jumped back and called him but ran to be and back at the lob like those hires can do and took a few to many hits. I just need to learn the tells a little better and then I think I can pull him out and set to passive for the spins.

Over all that little guy is rocking as an off tank dps. Each hit is around 50 or so with crits in the 130 range. He has well over 1100 hp unbuffed and I can boost him some more with animal growth. I would totally be able to boost him even more with Pack Aptitude if I could fit it in, but level 5 druid spells are super tight at least the way I am playing, in wolf form. Guess in raids I could trust others for my DW and take Reincarnate or my Pack Aptitude, or better yet if I could just decide forever to give up Wall of Fire…

Oh btw that first run fail was partly my fault as at the time I only had one res and I had used it already. I had never needed more then one res on Java this life but I went to the TR cache and pulled out 2 more clickles. I would really like it if res dead was on the druid list or that they sold Reincarnate scrolls. I could swap from to res people most of the time…

Okay, looks like I did my normal length post wise. Hope I didn’t ramble too much on you.

<3s

So I hear you have an …

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So the other day I got a random tell from a guy more or less asking if I had an EE Iron Beads for sale/trade. Turns out that I do have one, it was passed to my by a guildie that was/had no plans for it and knew that I had a tone of casters that could put it to good use. In fact I have plans to make it a swap slot for Java on EEs or times I am in “caster” mode.

I did offer it up on the trade forums mostly in jest to make a point about people’s price gouging or I should say one or two person’s price gouging but I was never serous about trading it. Don’t get me wrong I would have traded it in a heart beat had said person gave an otto’s box or two but for general whatever items???

But as we sent tells back and forth I warmed to the idea of trading it away if this guy had one of the hard to get items I was looking for but after I listed a few of the items I have been looking for he jumped to how much plat?

Don’t think I have to tell you that I hit the breaks real hard just then. Would I sell some thing I had gotten from a friend for plat? And I started to wonder if I was willing to trade it for an item why not plat? Why is plat a no zone, where a +8 int/wis Dragon helm or a handful of other EH/EE items some how okay but plat is dirty???

The other thing that I started to realize is that these EE Iron Beads might be one of the more rare/had to come by items out there right now. Sure EE Tor Items are hard to come by but more people are running Tor then EE Madstone. Tor Assuming you complete all the dragons is about as long as EE Madstone but has the ability to drop a hell of a lot more quality loot then Madstone. Tor has what 3 quality chests per run Madstone has 1.

So when asked to put a plat value on said item my brain started to jump to BIG numbers. Big enough that I wouldn’t be comfortable even saying it, mainly because I don’t know the relative value of the item compared to other like items. But if forced to put a sale value right now I would have to say 3 mil plat or so. Now here is the reasoning behind that hinges on Zonixx. He is a young man that is a farmer in the true sense of the word. While I believe that he over values some items and gouges a little more then I would like he values the other Madstone items at about 2.5 mil plat. But he has 0 Iron Beads in stock atm, telling me that they are rare. And if I were to cash out for plat I would want enough to buy one of the items I have been hunting myself off him.

Anyway, I left this person with my email address and he said he would send me a list of trade items but unless there is just the perfect item I feel that I should (will) use the item as intended to honor the gift I was given.

<3s

As Promised More Gear List

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This last week in my “spare” time I have been looking at and planning a gear list for Javabot and to some extent Samius. But today I want to share where I am at on Java’s possible gear list. Let me just post the SS from my Google doc and then we can jump into the list.

Javabot gear

Okay so number one, right off the bat, what is the best way to fit in wisdom and matinee as much dps as possible? Last night I picked up a pair of Intricate Field Optics (3 Ins Wis) so that leaves a few options to round out wisdom. We could do an 8 trinket from the Demon web but I swap trinkets a lot and there is that whole cleaned Litany Java happens to already have… We can do a dragon helm and that might be one of the better options but I can’t rule out using a colorless slot like the one in the Field Optics and being 1 down from an 8 item.

Lets look at gear set-up for Spellpower, in order of importance Java needs cold, devotion, elec then the rest… Using this I want to use a 24/7 item for cold to me the least likely item to get swapped around would be the shield. So it is easy to fill the red slot on a LoB shield. But after that things get fuzzy, I could break the Claw set and make Bracers of Air and use one of the devotion trinkets then start on the rest. OR I could wear a Loth trinket, keep the claw set use the Darkstorm Helm, Rock Boots and find a EE Belt of Seven Ideals. Keep in mind that swapping belts would loose my con6/gfl back up and the Barb set… But hey Green and a colorless slot…

Any way the options are getting huge that is why I made a spreadsheet right? To try and hit a moving target…

Well as always leave thoughts or suggestions in the comments.

<3s

Maken’ Gear Lists

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I know everyone has their own method for planning out gear lists, but as I am currently looking at a few of my gear lists I want to share how I do mine or at least how I have been or a while now.

A few years ago I would draw on my dry erase board a rough body sketch and then going around list a few items for each slot. Using different colors for different priorities levels and perma locked item slots. That system had lots of positives and negatives but today I think I have a better method.

I started using Google doc spreadsheets. I have a few of them that I now use for DDo, but the one I am talking about today is for my gear lists. I run down all the gear slots from head to boots as they appear in the inventory tab separating sections of the body from each other with empty rows.

So for example down the A column starts like this
Goggles
Helm
Necklace
Trinket

And so on.

Then I take and list in the B column all the items that mostly go in that slot. So like on Java, who I have been focusing on, has a cordOp in the goggles slot, seeker 6 cove hat on and so on. In the C I list an item I want in that slot and in the D column I copy over the stats of said item then in the E column I slot any augment slots. It keeps things simple.

This is where things start to get complex, if there is a question on what item to use I add another row and start making more entries for that slot. I use the order for weighing and color-coding for symbiotic gear slotting.

For example I am debating on using Rock Boots or Epic Boots of Corrosion on Javabot. If I use the Rock Boots then the Epic Darkstorm Helm makes a really good pairing if I use the Epic Boots of Corrosion then not so much. So the Darkstorm and the Rock Boots are both colored blue. And I will color code pairings like that using shades of blues, greens well any colors besides yellow and reds…

Yellows and Reds are special colors, Yellows mean I have a said item but it is a burned item once used, so like all the new GH loot what I have would be yellow. Reds are don’t have and are key to making some build think work. Like on Darth Samius I have the EE Bracers of Twisting Shade in red because once I have then I could lesser and move some stats/skills around and get fairly passible trapping skills.

Well there is my system in a nutshell. It is 100% portable thanks to being a Google person, has the advantages of being shareable fairly easily, happens to look like work if I am working on it at work and I wont erase it at any given moment to doodle a UI or something. Over all it works a lot better then a lot of systems I have see other people use over the years.

Do you have a system to share for gear? Tips for improvement, use the comments.

<3s

I am Really Missing Invis

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So as I think most of you know, Invisibility is mostly broken as in not working. And there are builds at places that count on invis to maintain a healthy xp/min ratio. Case and point Samiusbot is now level 13 and is doing some sands/Attack on Stormreach work. I don’t know how you run those quests but the way I do them uses invis to skip a few pointless fights.

And while I can do the quests on Samiusbot solo on elite because I have been but the just take soooo long the go from amazing leveling quests and become once and done quests maybe walk them down quests.

It is just a pain.

That said I took the hour or so I got to play last night and just did rare/explorers in the sands and Gh can’t say it was good xp for the hour but it was really fun. The power of a ranged build in the open areas of an explore zone is unmatched by clearing room by room that is most dungeons in this game.

Shooting a mob at the edge of your draw range and watching him run in at you only to die waaaaaayyyyy over there is completely great.

Any way back to complaining that invis is missing again for a min.

Over the weekend the DG/HoDW did its normal team up for raiding and our normal questing. Normally we all just invis and run to the DQ 6 man for flagging but with invised some people just ran threw red skulled and others cleared the way for their piking accounts. Not an issue or a problem really more of an annoyance. Why should level 25s bother killing their way around a level 8-14 explorer zone? Doubly so when they all have access to invis of some sort.

I guess I just miss it not working, as it should. I don’t expect a bug free environment I know like every developer that bugs will happen and they don’t want bugs floating around anymore then anyone else. But man I hope it is fixed real soon.

I am almost to the point where I should just TR someone into a bowonk aka a build that doesn’t care if it can’t invis because it will just smash through the content anyway.

Well lunch time.

<3s

First Rule of Healing

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The first rule of healing is to heal yourself first; you can’t heal anyone if you’re dead. I know this. You know this. So why am I dying with my heal spell on cool down?

Because for some reason I believe that I can make it long enough for the regn/vigor to tick and get me back out of the danger zone and person that just got my heal would not have made it. Think most of the time I do make it and that is just normal happy questing but those times when I don’t make it I can’t help but wonder was there some sign that I missed letting me know that I should heal myself and try to save person X after I am safe…

This weekend is where I noticed a lot of getting in over my head to the point where I tweeted that I needed to stop taking Javabot into Madstone because I had now died for the third time in that quest. On Samius I have done a few two-man hards and no deaths and an EE also no deaths. So why is Java having so many issues?

Because he is more battle clr then healbot so he is in the action when he should be standing to the side. I really need to work those muscles.

But I was able to cap him last night and thanks to the keys of destiny being on sale I am over into the arcane destinies. Currently working my way out of the Bard line and into the Sorc line. Once the Sorc is maxed then I will take a look at making my way over into the primal destines mainly the sleeper Shiradi Champion.

Shiradi Champion is good enough that I am tempted to max it out on Samius and use it for Epics…

But will it help Java stay alive when I let myself fall in to the battle harder then I should? Only trying it will tell.

Well I want to do gear lists for the other main guys this week taking the GH gear into account.

<3s