Author Archives: samiusgurobo

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

Random Thoughts

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So lately I have been wondering about the next project. You know the one that is still in the edge of my brain just poking is head up long enough for me to go hmmm and then it is gone again… I have a few thoughts noting real clear but as always I like to share with you my thoughts at every level of my process so get ready for a real good look at my brains….

Tobril has been going on and on about the WF Arty build the Juggernaut. And while I really like it a lot I just don’t know if that is something I need once I have the main account arty built/leveled to epics. But I have been thinking that I could maybe TR one of those unloved clrs that I was thinking about making into a bowonk and making a dual weilding halflling version. How BA would it be to try to heal via the marks and a clr past life feat on a two fighting Halfling the dps would be so qute… Okay maybe not my best plan but still might be worth a char slot and a vet 2 test?

At the same time I have been watching the rogues that the HoDW have been bringing to the party on the weekends and I have been super impressed. Makes me want to give one of them a try… Maybe a Halfling two fighting using the marks/past life feats?

Okay maybe not…

I have another epic level clr that I don’t want to TR but I am not sure if I want to take the time to get him ready and able to heal in EEs. I have talked about healzyounot a few times he is more or less a healbot but I think I could find a feat for him to lose and pick up the mark of finding feats and with his simi high Chr I think he could be healbot/chest buffer… That could work with the feats granted for epic levels.

The other thing I have been debating is 2 more TRs on Samius for Druid lives turns out that a stacking +6 to all stats on your summons are good depending on what your summons are…

Well sorry I don’t have a more exciting post for you all today. I fully expect to have a few stories from game this weekend.

Speaking of weekend have a good one and see you on Monday. Also if you missed it, Lessah and I got a new Cocktail hour recorded and out yesterday. So if you haven’t heard it yet go do so.

<3s

The Mast Plan as it is Today

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One of the things I get a lot of positive feed back from you readers on is gear and build thoughts. Well them and tv/movie talk. Know your readers I guess… Anyhow I took 15-30 mins while waiting for an email reply at the office and fiddled with the new Giant Hold gear and my tank. Sure I could have done some “work” but you know, make the day fun when you can. ☺

For the record this gear list is set up for a few things but mainly max out those big hits on Darth Samius and gear out as he is mostly wearing junk/easy to get loots.

Epic Marith Chain: My seeker, Shatter, some DR, and a blue slot (PRR)

EE Bracers of the Twisting Shade: Disable Device +20, Search +20, Exceptional Seeker +5, Blurry, Resistance +7

Together these two items are the cornerstone of my set up. I need to look at the math but I think with a big Int tome and a lesser heart I should be able to work in rog skills, I might have to give up a lot of points in UMD which I will miss but I can live with a it in the middle to high 20s. I just will have to rely more on clicklies.

Now we/I start to add in the gear to finish fleshing out missing abilities like Fort and key stats.

EH(planed)/EE Ancient Band Protection +7, Heavy Fortification, Yellow Slot (Fear Immunity)
EH Dream Visor: Dream Vision +4, Spot +20, Colorless (EXP STR)

Planar Focus: Prowess: Int Str 3

Okay these last three items round out the main DPS bonuses even if that means I need to complete the Purple Knight favor to unlock my axe…

EH (planed)/EE Girdle of Giants’ Brawn: +8 str, green (goodluck+2), colorless (INT)

EH (planed)/EE Helm of the White Dragon Con 8, green (HPs), Colorless (Chr)

EH (planed)/EE Jorgundal’s Collar: Melee Alacrity 14%, Striding 30%, yellow (Feather Fall), Colorless (Chr)

EH Jeweled Cloak: Inherent (10) Elemental Resistance, Spell Absorption (20 charges), Green (Death Block), Colorless (INT)

We leave the Purple gloves on for now, Con, Amp30%

2 pair of GS boots. 1, all HPs! 2, chr skills
Think that covers the main “should be fairly simple grind list”. Don’t think I am using anything that I would need to pull a second copy of before passing it down to Darth I think I am covering every key stat with as many bonuses as I can work in. The only EE item in the list is something that I can get the Brits to help me farm up easily enough I think. Over all everything else is while farming for Xps or other items nab them.

So what did I miss?

<3s

Minor Victories

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So the last few weeks I have a few minor goals. Get Javabot into epics, 4 more red scales to repay Grim, find the Shard of the Red Dragon to make said Red dragon armor, get the Marith Chain blank for Darth Samius and get Samius at lest 3 in every epic destiny. Oh and the best one take back the lead in the niceness war between Grim and myself.

Java has been in epics for a while now. He has done a lot of the Tor flagging quests on EE and has been making his way threw the web flagging. I really do like how he is playing, although I have noticed some loss in over all goodness since moving out of Sentinel and in to GMoFs. All those Hps are gone. ☹ Last life I had started leveling the Exalted Angel destiny but didn’t like it and then TRed before moving out of the divine circle. Guess Java will have to share Samius’ goal of 3 or 4 ranks in all destines fairly soon. I am not sure where Java will land final destiny wise but I can see twisting in a ton of Draconic Incarnation stuff if he doesn’t just land in that destiny.

So the other day due to a client crash the DG/HoDW ended up doing a second Von run for the weekend netting me my 4th bonus red scale to repay the loan from Grim. Took me a week to get them all together and catch her to return them but I finally did last weekend.

Running as many Vons as possible also allows me to keep trying to get a Shard of the Dragon. Which I am rounding 20 completions on my piking account just since the brits joined us and yet to have seen a shard drop.

Darth has it Epic Marith Chain now, I used a few bypass timers I had in the bank and soloed a few hards to get to a 19th and then with the brits we did a 20th and it was in the list. Thank goodness. Now that I have it and the Epic GH gear is around I will need to work out a new gear list and plan out my slotting some before I can really get into using it full time. Right now its equipped and ready to go but I lost my SFL (40 hp) and my heavy fort so until I get the list reworked I need to keep the purple set running.

I am glad to say this weekend will start the last destiny push on Samius. I am just a hair short of wrapping up my currently last level in Fury of the wild and will be switching to Primal Avatar to round out its 3 levels and with that I will have at lets 3 in everything. And that is more then enough points to twist in everything I have in mind at the moment (although I would like to twist in wings) Right now I have Specialist (necro), Echoes of the Ancestors Arcane (Magister) and Brace of Impact as my twists. Thinking about swapping Echoes for Endless Faith. As an AM I can run a long time on echos but I have had to drink a pot or 2 in the GH epics to put us over in some places where 10% more sp or a deeper echo pool would have gotten us to the end. Once I get another regen clickly from Abbot or make an Epic SSR or Epic TT so I can carry a second sp clickly then I don’t think it will be an issue. But for now I hope the Int/spell pen loss will hurt less then drinking pots.

And finally the other day, Grim was on her tank and we were about to head in to EE Tor when I asked what weapons are you using. And she links a lot of Eh good weapons. She said she has been sitting on a pile of good loot gen Bswords but she kinda wanted the EE Charoush’s Inferno until she could farm up a Nightmare. Well EE Pop’s fire room has been kicking our butts unless we have heavy evasion group. But once everyone logged for the night I thumbed the AH for level 25 items, just looking mostly. When I see an EE Charoush’s Inferno for a song. I nab it and mail it to her tank. I am so winning again. Best part this is totally a win win for me. She is better geared then she was making my weekend EEs way smoother if she has to tank and she will be looking for a way to repay me to try and get back in the nice off we have going on. I swear I am going to start more of these who is nicer pissing contests. ☺

Oh Sarlona, Your Item Values are Soooo Funny/Sad

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So as you know, unless you have been hiding under a rock or just started playing DDo, epic Giant Hold has been released. And people really like it. Well I do anyway and I see a lot of others running around, so I am going to stick with my people like it.

But I have questioning the prices for some of the loot. As you know or you should from keeping up with this blog (scroll down like 2-3 posts) I am not super impressed with the minor upgrades to the gear in GH. Don’t get me wrong there are some really great winners, but a lot of stinkers. And for some reason we are letting hand full of people control the prices in a super negative way. Now I know there will be some “new” thing inflation but there is a point where people need to just hold on and say wft?

Case and point, EE Dream Visor. Now it is a fairly good item, Dream Vision is +3, 4 or 5 damage depending on what difficulty item you find. But Yellow slots are not as amazing as they were now that false life has moved to the blue slot. Guess you can put your striding in some strange places now if you can’t pull your abbot quiver in 20/40 runs. But other then that I think most yellows will be used for stat boosts.

Anyway I don’t mean to get into the item but what some people are asking for it. There is at least one post looking for 2 Otto boxes. YES TWO aka 100$ US give or take. Amazing…. Almost all the rest of the trade forum/trade channel posts I have seen seem to have landed at about one Otto box… Really? Come one people I understand trying to get the most from what is a good pull from a very hard quest to do on EE, but really? You want a 5K tp cost item for something farmed in game? WOW.

Looking at some other items and just mostly the AH because the trade forums is full of people saying make me an offer and then saying well I was looking for an Otto’s box… Most of the EE items are 2millon plat buyout if they have a buyout, which is the max amount… Are you going to tell me that the GH epics are so tough that any given item in from one of them and yes I mean the bad items, are worth the maxim buyout in the AH? Aka an amount of plat that takes me at least a month to farm up, sure I know I am not the best savor and I take a lot of renown from reward lists but really? A +7 orb with 120 Nullification and a purple & orange slot is worth a month of farming? I am glad I pulled on from the chest on one of the EE runs we did.

I just am shaking my head, but at least I can understand asking for huge amounts of plat. Plat can be farmed in game at least. Last I checked one could farm TP and get to 5k points but that would take a long long time at 200ish a pop TP farming.

Anyway if you have something you are looking for and your on Sarlona keep me in mind, I am willing to help people out and I will kiss you after we make a deal unlike some people…

Oh and a lot of the Eh versions are almost as good as the EE versions with a lot less pain to farm alone or in pugs.

<3s

EE Fun Vs Soloing E Fun

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This weekend was a hard one. The weekend started out running EE GH with the guys in the morning. Doing the flagging quests on EE and whatnot. We had some deaths but as we were just finding our footing it was “all good”. I mean we completed after all, what is a few deaths between frends? Then I went to see my family at a dinner party for my mother’s Bday in Oklahoma City about a 4 hour trip one way… Drove back because of Sunday morning plans and then I jumped back on to DDo for more EEs until I was totally wiped out. Well at least until I got my second wind right before bed time, were I did 30 mins of xp on my Arty.

It just so happens that by doing both a super intense session and then a much more laid back session of play I really picked up on the massive difference of the type of fun I was having.

The EE runs we did were great, high stress massive risk with huge pay offs and good people to have in group. Later that night it was just my robot dog and I doing some Sands walkups/slayer hunting. Aka 0 stress other then it took about 10 times longer to do the walkups then it should with Invisibility porked like it is.

Thing is they both were super fun and just what I needed from the weekend. The time I got running Epic Elites with the brits/guild this weekend got me totally ready for more of the same next weekend. Were the time before bed gave me time to clear my head before hitting the sack and has gotten me pumped to keep playing him. I really am looking forward to seeing what a fully geared up Arty can do in the end game. I know my off account arty has some good dps for not a lot of work/gear.

Okay, think I am going to call this post with a few questions and a thought:
What kind of style do you enjoy the most?
Do you think that style effects how you think others should play?

I have made a lot of posts in the past about intense xp/min play and a more laid back style of play. But every time I talk about how I enjoy xp/min running I get a huge list of people telling me to relax and take my time. Where when I talk about enjoying a slower pace I get way less replies. Wonder if that is a thing?

<3s

Worth farming for?

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I am not a huge farmer, don’t get me wrong if I want something I will chase it hard until I decide it is just not happening or I find a better replacement. Point I wanted a Breach from Web on my Dps guy. Got the greataxe and said good enough. I am still slowly grinding out the my 20th DQ on that guy hoping almost against hope for that base Marlth Chain to epic up…But is there any real chase items from epic Gh for me?

The main item is the Int Cloak for sure, that is where I want my Int 99% of the time. Happens to have 8 chr and Spell pen (once fully upgraded), Samius current stats wet dream. Although how many more +8 stat items can we have laying around before a +9 happens?

All the other raid loot seems, blah…

The Crucible has the Skullsmasher that I talked about a while back; want one of those for Java for sure.

Madstone has what I think is one of the best items in the set, Girdle of Giant’s Brawn. 8 str and 2 slots… I can make that work nicely.

PoP is kinda a loot fail. Dream Visor has the potential to be really good. Mainly because of the set changes, can I assume this will stack with weapons and ship buffs?

Cry and Discord, Arkat’s Cord is a must have for my Druid. I don’t want to use wraps for Reinforced fists and my as a WF I can’t use an outfit. So this is one of my only options for that kind of boost. Not sure it is going to work even…

Cabal and Feast might be the best solo runs for loot as even the eN one are okay. But I can see hunting up a few pair of wraps for my dogs. ☺ But I could see my PM using the Madstone Orb….

Maze/Trial the Jeweled cloak is not bad at all…

But as always it looks like Tor is where it is at! Almost all the items have uses even if you have to build around them I can see some builds using the Field optics full time and the gloves from the white dragon are sweet also.

The blue dragon has some tasty loot options, including the best rune arm I have seen so far after the unlocked Tovin’s. And I could “could” see myself putting my GS/robe for a blue set if “IF” I got the right blue hat. Maybe. I would have to use an armor with a good PRR…

The black has some good drops also but mostly I want the +1 all stats augment… That would make sloting a lot easier.

Over all the loot is a 7 out of 10. The last gear I was really excited about was the purple set and the EE bastion. Since then the new gear has been fairly flat…

Back to work and mail unloved EE GH loot to Samius on Sarlona.

<3s