Monthly Archives: May 2013

School is out and do I Have a Summer Job for you: MY Personal Plat Farmer!

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I know buying plat, gear or grinding xp from strangers with real world money is wrong… but what if I make my son do it? And I just happen to give him an allowance this summer with incentives based on how much plat/gear/xp he earns me? What if I “trade” him a longer curfew this summer? You know things that don’t have real world value for my DDo desires?

Well I guess it doesn’t matter I have a short list of DDo chores he is going to be doing for me anyway if we come to some like of plat/xp/gear arrangement I guess that is between him and me… And I guess you lucky readers and the wife…

But lets say you had a little person that you could farm out some tasks for you what would they be?

Here is my list:

  • Move all epic mats to my epic mat alt and check/update the epic mat spreadsheet.
  • Sort the stored gear, Guild slotted items on alt X, items with the new augment slots on Y, Icy rit low level items on Z and so on.
  • Sort the collectibles and bound/unbound mats. Example Samius is the master crafter and gets all the Cannith mats and collectibles moved to him. All those bags should be emptied (as much as possible) fairly often and those items given to Sam.
  • Put the haggle and decon guys to work and clear that old janky doomsday gear. I was looking for some mid level items for my rogue. I found 5 banishing rapiers of different pluses and trailing powers, why? Because they were money! Just think about all the old stat items I have horded away? I don’t need any of those items any more. Hey RR +4s at level 7 were sexy, oh and lvl 11 +6s…. Now that is all janky.
  • I do have items to be ground out. I still don’t have a 3BC or sub-terrain rune arm.
  • Guild renown and Plat to be mindlessly ground, it doesn’t take a ton of skill to do the IQ solo quest until ransacked on ever character flagged for it.

Wonder if I get the boy rocking some of these things for me, how long until he tries to farm these jobs out to one of his friends…

<3s

Pew pew, Pling pling pling, Swish Thunk thunk thunk?

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If a Bow goes Pew pew pew and a repeating xbow goes Pling pling pling; then a thrown weapon has to go Swish Thunk for each star, right? Seems right to me…

Oh yes by the way swapped that pesky mirthal body feat for Shuriken Expertise and picked up a normal level 1 +1 ninja star and while the damage is a little less then the bow it is more attacks per min then a bow any time manyshot is off. Feels very close to the repeater (if not slightly head) with out using any Endless Fusillade boosts with a 25ish dex and a maxed out Whirling Wrist. Sure if you need big burst damage pick up that repeater EF, swap to that bow and Manyshot then repeat step one but if the thing is not dead and you don’t want to close you can do worse then throwing a few stars around. Add in the Shiradi Champ stance proc %s and you can have a real mean toy.

Mostly for fun mind you…. But this weekend when my head was trying to talk me in to a dirt nap I tried to distract myself by having a little more fun then I maybe should have for EE quests… Ie there were lots of times I was totally ranged on my Juggernaut. Meaning other then those times when burst dps was needed my main weapon was a level one star and my Tovin’s Hammer…. I am not completely nuts…

On a none-crit hit I was getting about 45-55 points on the first number some times a little more but 2[1d2] doesn’t offer up a tone of damage range so most of that was putting my arm in to the damage. The Tovin’s helped a lot + it seems like there was always some kind of extra damage proc but still I was playing with a non-named-epic diced +1(+3 with the Arty Pre) weapon.

So clearly if I am going to keep fiddling with shuriken I will need a better toy to play with. So I do what I do when I want to find a better toy in DDo, I hit the ddowiki. Know what I found? There are 3 named shuriken 4 if you count crafting a greensteel shuriken.

BTW the plural for shuriken is shuriken…. From what I am reading making the plural the same as the single is a Japanese thing…

Anyway, other then the crafting option you have the Shadow Star, keen/deception and the Snowstar +2/Icy burst … Wow! But that is still more named weapons then the throwing Hammer….

What to do? Well I think with my options being two low level named items, crafting a Greensteel, working on an Alchemical, looking at Cannith crafting or rocking one of the 2 named items… the cheapest/best way to go is to look at using the Cannith crafting system….

I mean I just have to try and find and craftable epic blank and go +5/Holyburst and Righteous, that is the best we can cannith craft isn’t it?

Tobril said why not make a Pos/Pos Greensteel and if I don’t like it then I still have a rez clicky…

Can’t argue with his logic. I mean does 1.5[d2] vs 2[d2] make that big of a deal??? Guess I will be farming up some shards….

Unless I can find a shuriken with a red slot then shit gets real funky…

You know a Earth/Water Alchemical looks fairly solid on paper also…

<3s

National Masturbation Day

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Today’s update has nothing to do with NMD, but seems like a holiday that I should throw my support behind. No this is the second time I started this update the first post I cried about how a killer migraine hit me all weekend but that was too whiney even for me so lets try topic number two: I enjoy assassinating mobs.

Oh do I like cutting mobs heads off, it is amazing. My DC right now is only 33 or so but other than a +6 item and my level ups going into Int there has not been a lot in the way of maximizing my Dc yet. This is by far the funniest build to level up since I leveled java as a druid. And I have done a pure arty (lots of fun) and Tred Java into a Jugg (fairly fun (getting better now that I am fiddling with ninja stars some.)). I think it comes from still being effective and useful at all times even if I am not a main melee dps role. Not that I couldn’t be more dps but I am doing a few different things in this build that I think will really shine in the end game even if that makes the now game harder.

But this weekend was the first time I really got to use assassinate, the wife and I were dong eyes of stone and she would be fighting like a room of trash and I would assassinate the caster and then move to the trash mob with the most HP and work my way around just sneak attacking my little heart out. Good times. Then later in the quest I was able to use my assassinate to drop the mini boss in each room when they awoke leaving us with just the elemental to clean up. Made things very nice. In the final room there was more then a few times I wished the assassinate ability would work with a bow but that is no joy.

Real fast speaking of joy, you have no idea how much I loved it when I first bluffed and then entered sneak mode to assassinate a mob that was hurting me. I was giddier then a schoolgirl. I tried to explain it to the wife, but she just didn’t see the funny. He was stabbing me, I told him I wasn’t a bad man and I would hurt him and then I cut his bitch head off when he turned his back…. So classic.

Anyway I have a meeting about maybe picking up some classes for a few months. It can be hard for me to get into something that I am not excited about. Like rapid development php environments and whatnots… Maybe pick up some new letters my title and find a different JOB where I can do more then crank away on old shit while being told I need to be the futurist but no one wants to have the birthing pains of what the future brings… Anyway this is not the time for that kind of bitching either.

Have a wank and rock the day..

<3s

Challengebot is Operational

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Yes I know I wanted to do a Green House update, but I wanted to wait for some new pictures and I forgot my phone in the house when I went out to get things rolling and when I was done I didn’t feel like going in and out again…. Lazy as hell I know.

But that gave me 10 more mins of DDo time and I used that time to finally take a look at the Bladeforged. Now thanks to Melkior I decided to set up my first Bladeforged as a 12/2/1 sorc/monk/pally. And have to say it was fun jumping to 15 even if there were some race/class/alignment restrictions.

I took my xp and ran to the market place, no sir I was not about to be drone 10392775903 for the LoB…

Leveling I just went Hps, Combat feats and spell damage boosting metas. Oh and the evoc feat for the Sorc pre line. I went fire and force, by the way. Think it will do well enough. Then I hit the gear cache… Wow there is some good stuff in there. Not anything to go crazy gagga over, but some good stuff. Good enough in my mind other then a weapon think I am good to smash challenges, maybe a fire and force sp boosting item some place… Maybe I can craft a great sword with a red slot for damage and fit in some SP???
If I could TR into or out of these guys I would swap Java to a bladeforged more often then not. They look fairly badass. And the cosmetic docents with the Shredder hand blades look amazing. I might even make another one up to play around with some as a pally/monk just to fight unharmed and have it look like I am punch/stabbing people in the face. Have to say I wasn’t excited about them but after rolling one up I totally feel like having another to fiddle with.

Okay, back to work, if I can nab a few pics and a short video at lunch I will have that garden update for you, if not maybe on Tuesday.

<3s

Xpac Purchasing Options

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So unless I am your only source of news, you know that DDo opened up sales to pre order for another expansion pack. Like Turbine is good at doing there are perks NOW when you pre order. And I am sitting here trying to work but I am mulling over my options for the pre order, hence the bonus post. I need to make up my mind as to not keep finding myself distracted.

So I know I want the collector’s edition, I think I can use the bladeforged and make a Tucaw like build for farming challenges. All the unlocks for the collector’s ed are solid. Hell for 50$ the collector ed of the xpac is a steal. Throw in the order before Aug 19th perks I need this to happen now.

The question in my mind is to get the TP bonus pack and do the legendary upgrade or just one or the other or neither.

I have to say my first gut feeling is to get them all. But looking at the cost of all three that is 150 bucks, which not a bad deal really. But we are a family of DDo players. That means at least what ever I do for myself take that times two and maybe times three. And that is a lot of cabbage…

Okay so the son/my alt account (we share) doesn’t need anything right away, so lets sit that guy on the back burner. But I still have 2 heavily played accounts to make plans for, the wife’s and mine. What one gets the other normally does too.

Thinking to the last xpac I passed on the TP bundle and I have been kicking myself almost ever since, Otto’s boxes are not cheep but for 60$ I can buy points for 2 and have left over Tps? Sounds good. But then if I do that can I really afford to get the legendary upgrade times two?

Okay so lets slow down. Is the legendary upgrade any good to me?

Gold seal Hires… Good. I don’t use them a ton; but there are times when I am alone and I am in over my head and another body wouldn’t suck. Have to assume they are different skinned Panther hire and I tend to use the panther to protect streak in some quests when solo TRing. A free gold seal 17 would be okay…

+3 Skill Tomes x2… I know I said they were not all that great or that big of a deal when talking about them earlier today stands out to me. But having a total of two +3s and a +2 is very interesting…

Tomes of learning, Do I want all my guys to have the epic tome of learning? Yes. Would I buy them all one? No.

I think I went from the xpac+Tp bundle to xpac+ legendary… It is cheaper while I might not get as much bang for my buck today it will me better in the long run.
As for the TP bundle I think in a few weeks I can do a little saving and when I pick up the xpac for the boy’s account I can nab the TP bundle and use the code on my account. Not that his account can’t use the TP also but hey if he wants more Tps he can pay for them!

❤

Posted in DDo.

Reflections: Druid/Skullsmasher, Skill Tomes and Cranes?

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Today’s blog topic/s are a suggestion from the twitterverse, because I have tomorrow Green House update on the brain and I want to take some video/pictures for that post, I needed something else to ramble on about for a bit. And asking twitter is an easy way to get reader interaction.

“Follow up to your Druid and skullsmasher. How did it work out? What do you think of Skill Tomes? :)” – Untitled of Orien

Thanks Untitled, It is not like I am trying to give up on the druid goodness or anything…. But while this is a place to wine, now is not the time. How did the Skullsmasher do? It was amazing in everyway but proficiency. Yep, druids are not proficient with light maces, which sucks! The non-proficiency penalties regardless of what it says in game is -25% to hit vs the -4 that it was/still claims in game. Loosing a quarter of your attack bonus is a big deal in today’s environment.

But lots of casters can cast Master’s Touch on you as well as you can buy scrolls in the portable hole. Thankfully the Skullsmasher is a one handed weapon.

Other then that one down side it was all upside, the damage on normal hits was stellar 3.5[d10] 17-20 X3 is real hard to beat, want to say my max Wisdom druid was still doing about 90-120 on non spell attack/non crit hits and crits were in the 300-400s. Add in that my double strike wasn’t maxed out but was still at least 20-30% or so, making chaining attacks not uncommon. Right before TRing I saw more then one 4 hit double strike chains go off.

The holy Tod ring did its job well, allowing me to slot adamantine for the complex DR issues I was having at the time.

Overall, I liked the Skullsmasher enough that when I saw the hEpic verson being given away I nabbed it up. Originally I thought I might want it for my rogue’s off hand but now I am thinking it might be better used on another character.

What do I think of Skill Tomes?

They are fine… If they can make skills more important in quests, say with some kind of skill challenge encounter (think about some of the random encounters in the kings forest or getting the collars of the slaves in FR) I think that they might be a fairly good seller. But I don’t think it will be a huge you are gimp unless you have +3 skill tomes in every skill kind of thing.

PS, there is a late entry for today’s topic to be about Cranes….. What I can I say? I am pro crane as long as they are pro me? Hell Idk, you can’t eat them or at least I don’t know if anyone that does. They take lots of marsh land (I think) and I live in Kansas other then Cheyenne Bottom which was not all that fair from where I grew up I don’t know of a natural marsh in Kansas and most of my life Cheyenne Bottom was dry…

<3s

Posted in DDo.

Needed: A Farmer for the Challenge Barter Gear

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With all my arty work and other side projects coming up the levels, I have been turning to the House C Challenge gear for simplicity of grinding to equip. Think that line made sense…. My point is the House C gear is solid and I need more of it.

As you all know I am doing this Rogue life with the wife and she is using a few House C items as she is leveling meaning that we are doing some challenges along the way vs using our 20-25s to grind out mats. I have to tell you at level it is both MUCH EASIER to do the challenges and you get a lot more mats per run. So I am thinking about making a House C Challenge runner.

That procs the question; “What does one want in a Challenge runner?”

First thought that springs to my mind is Dim Door. Fast travel is key in a lot of the challenges.

Next is max level 15… This is the butter zone for the challenges. You are at the lowest possible level for the higher runs like Time is Money and Short Cuts and at the middle or the top of all the other quests. Sure you still need an epic character for epic farming but for normal farming this is your min/max level for no penalties.

The last thing I think one needs is the ability to deal out constant damage and by that I mean there are short quests 5 mins, long quests 20min and variable mins quests not to forget to mention all the quests can be extended if you wanted/needed with help from the DDo Store. To me that means a melee for long lasting dps. But at the same time you need access to burst dps for random mini-bosses or optional fights. Big burst damage means caster…. Grumble…

Guess before I start outlining ideas for a possible build I should also bring up a now brainer self healing…

So my very first thought was a heavy melee warchanter bard; mass buffs, full UMD for things not on the list, DD, and stainable dps… But not a lot in the way of speed other then haste and DD and the dps doesn’t have a huge burst option.

Talking to Tobril he said a savant sorc of some kind? That is where I jumped to somekind of Tukaw like build. Not unlike 12/2/1 sorc/monk/fighter… Fair constant dps + good burst dps, a small speed boost + DD and haste options, enough levels in sorc for recon healing the only real weakness I see is no good way to heal kobolds but that is what a hire is for right?

So before I go nuts and roll up and gear a tokaw sorc that will most likely never hit 20, what do you do to farm challenge mats?

<3s

Reflections, Juggernaut

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I got to do watch the new Star Trek movie, eat really poorly for my health (but super tasty – Wendys) and gather the xp needed to hit 20 on Javabot last night. Over all it was a bang up night.

So now is as good as any time to talk about the build…. It is fine. Yep that is kinda how I feel about it at the moment, it is fine….

Not normally what I want in a build but I see why so many people are excited about playing a Jug, it is the embodiment of something I try to have in all my builds, flexibility.

That is the build in a word, flexible, and that is a great thing to have in a build in the world of min/maxing a role. But I haven’t fallen in love with it yet. But I do think it is super strong. I think had I not just tweaked my arty build to do a lot of the same things with out giving up some key things like the arty capstone and insightful damage I would be a lot more excited.

That said it is an amazing build if you think of it as a melee (like a fighter or a ranger) that can do other stuff. Maybe the next level of bard is more of where the Jug build should sit?

So lets look at things now, pre level 20. I got the xp but it was late and I didn’t want to make a mistake leveling because I was tired.

Gear is kind all over, I am using a Terror because pre epic gear it is that or the Fire Greataxe which I didn’t take the time to dig out pre stone, or the pos/pos greatsword from my FvS life. What else??? I am rocking the lvl 4 bracers of air still for the blur effect I will swap to the claw set at 20 so why bother with finding something else? Speaking of the claw set I am currently using the titan’s gloves (unlocked) for the boost to the spell casting and the regen-repair effect. What else is important???? I am using the barb tod ring set for a little more damage even though my right is slotted for holy burst for my druid life.

I find it funny/disheartening that I was so focused on gear for live as a druid that I completely gave up in staying gear neutral so build changes are not super disruptive.

So lets look real fast how I might tweak the build to have a little more Samius flare…

1, I Have decided to swap out Mithral body for Shuriken Expertise, mostly just for fun.
2, Build a kick ass Shuriken again mostly for fun. ☺

3, Get the shard for a Souleater. I don’t think I will play centered all the time but I want it as an option.

4, Find some kind of DPS two-handed weapon for long-term use. Antique one of the normal standouts. The Great Axe of the Chained Solder is a solid option also; it has a red and orange slot and could be a good/reconstruct/dps weapon with out the epic grind (think I have one even).

5, Make peace with moving on the druid, I think I can be just as happy with the Jug build as I was playing the Druid, maybe more so as the Jug as some strengths over my Druid build. But right now I have a feeling of rushing to move on and that is causing me to regret moving on even thought is was clearly the right call to knock out another life and be that much closer to completionist.

Well I am already way long and I will just keep getting interrupted if I try to keep going. Better to break things off now.

<3s

TR Weekend Report, Milking the XPs.

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Yep, we did it. We did the TR to cap thing rocking an Otto box’s leveling stone to make a huge level jump, have to tell you it was very sweet. Levels 1through 8 took about 7 hours so a little slower then I would like but there was some little sister action, you know when you have to wait for your little sister to catch up, but that was 3/4s due to someone waiting until the last min to decide what to do. But wanting to partake of the TR Train. Hey I am all for leaping with out looking as long as there is a team of people willing and able to help you as you get your footing, which we all had.

I want to say I was death free until we were doing Elite Jeets, and only then I died when the kitter dropped and I rushed in to take kiting duty while the kiter got back on her feet. I took a finger of death and my DW had just run out…. But I had placed myself in a place were I could self-res via the shrine and took one or two more deaths while buffing/helping the kiter get control back. Over all for all the crazy that was fling around at the time I think we did fairly well. Tobril’s parents were punking him right at the moment claiming that they were mins away from a surprise visit when he was happily chilling in my basement 7 hours away from his house… The wife and I were trying and failing to not bust out into laughter. His frustration at his parents joke was complete. Don’t think things would have been that bad had they not actually surprised visited him once or twice…

The chest (via Tobril) was good enough to leave me a Terror, which I had just added to the gear list I should have moved over for post stone pre epic gear.

In the very next quest I just plain messed up and didn’t have quicken set up for all my repair spells and failed an important concentration check and fail to -1. Thought I would recover but the melee mob that I had been fighting ran off when I went down and then turned and finished me off…. Grumble. Followed not long after with death by slipping onto spikes to rescue a party member. I apologized to everyone and promised to stop being a fuck up while I rebuffed. Thankfully we had a few deaths in that quest and I was not the only one that needed to rebuff.

The rest of the afternoon went very smooth, including the back end of IQ and elite Kobold and Monastery. Then I needed to try and be a good friend and called it a weekend. Tobril had a 7 hour drive after all and it was already around 3:30 my time or 9:30 for the brits. Looking at twitter the brits kept going and hit 20+ last night. The wife is also at 20 on her fighter, so looks like tobril and I will need to rock a few things on Wednesday to put us all ready for epics this weekend.

Will save how I feel about the Jug build for later in the week. But I do have a lot of mindless Challenge grinding to do in the next few weeks I want to make a Master Artifice Ring and maybe a few of the Elemental weapons…

Also I will be swapping a feat or two and maybe working in the two weapon chain and or the Shuriken Expertise just to see if I can get the Stance/s proc % rate per min equal to or grater than my Evoc Archmage Wiz….

Well