New player with questions!

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WhiskeyGuy
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Joined: Thu Aug 03, 2017 9:49 pm

New player with questions!

Post by WhiskeyGuy » Fri Aug 04, 2017 2:46 pm

Hello everyone,

I'm very new to Arelith, and still getting adjusted to the changes. I'm familiar with NWN, and have been playing for about 10 years, but, Arelith's systems have me wondering a few things.

1) Typically, what is the "best" gear you'll find/get or produce? +3 Armors, +4 weapons? This seems to be the highest I've seen mention of.

2) What is considered a good AB range? I've seen 43 as being subpar in some posts... This has me very confused since a 30 fighter gets +3 STR and +3 AB. If I assume starting with 18 STR, and a GR STR in the epics, that's 26 STR. -IF- they can max out their STR (see question #4), and took all the focus feats for their weapon and epic prowess and have a +4 weapon, they get 49 AB. To me, that wouldn't be a simple thing on Arelith to do. And that's the absolute highest then can achieve without minmaxing your STR to 20 or 22 with gifts/race/etc. So I wonder how anything that is not a caster or full BAB class gets anything not "subpar" or, were those posters merely thumbing their noses at a very tiny difference?

3) What is considered a good AC range? I can't see meleers breaking 50, and yet, in the Spellsword build talk they were hitting nearly 70. I can use my imagination to figure out how, but... for a meleer, what is generally accepted as "good" or "good enough" or... "achievable"?

4) Ability stacking. Can you wear two items that raise STR and have them stack? Also, in that same vein, what is the most ability you will find on items?

Sorry for all the questions, but, some of this is helpful to determine a build and it's potential. I'm well aware that rp is first, and I plan to contribute with rp (played faction leaders on other servers) but... no one wants to play gimped or broken builds that shouldn't be.

Thanks in advance!

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gilescorey
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Re: New player with questions!

Post by gilescorey » Fri Aug 04, 2017 2:56 pm

1) Typically, what is the "best" gear you'll find/get or produce? +3 Armors, +4 weapons? This seems to be the highest I've seen mention of.
There are a few racial weapons that are +4, but most weapons are going to be +3 ab +6 damage. The top of the line crafted gear is +3 AC, and really rare artefacts have +4 AC.
2) What is considered a good AB range? I've seen 43 as being subpar in some posts... This has me very confused since a 30 fighter gets +3 STR and +3 AB. If I assume starting with 18 STR, and a GR STR in the epics, that's 26 STR. -IF- they can max out their STR (see question #4), and took all the focus feats for their weapon and epic prowess and have a +4 weapon, they get 49 AB. To me, that wouldn't be a simple thing on Arelith to do. And that's the absolute highest then can achieve without minmaxing your STR to 20 or 22 with gifts/race/etc. So I wonder how anything that is not a caster or full BAB class gets anything not "subpar" or, were those posters merely thumbing their noses at a very tiny difference?
"A very tiny difference" doesn't exist at that sort of range. 43 AB versus 44 AB can equal 5% more chance to hit considering that's definitely in range of player-character AC. Not to mention that you'll have 3 more attacks not at full AB. 43 AB might be fine, but 37/33/27 are borderline an automatic miss.

Also, pure fighters are garbage.
3) What is considered a good AC range? I can't see meleers breaking 50, and yet, in the Spellsword build talk they were hitting nearly 70. I can use my imagination to figure out how, but... for a meleer, what is generally accepted as "good" or "good enough" or... "achievable"?
Ye olde 20 7 3 weaponmaster:
10 base + 1 dex + 8 full plate + 3 enchantment + 3 deflection + 3 tower shield + 3 enchantment
+ 2 armour skin + 6 tumble + 1 boot ac + 3 fighter bonus + 4 haste + 4 barkskin = 51 AC. You can add improved expertise for 61 if you want.

For meleers, things really only get higher from there.
4) Ability stacking. Can you wear two items that raise STR and have them stack? Also, in that same vein, what is the most ability you will find on items?
Yes. +4 is the maximum for artefacts, but they're as mentioned earlier, really rare. Most items will have +1, there's the occasional crafted piece with +2.

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Artenides
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Re: New player with questions!

Post by Artenides » Fri Aug 04, 2017 3:01 pm

Hey, welcome here! :)
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"I am a software developer and a DnD nerd. That means I am equally qualified to deal with bugs and bugbears!"

Orian_666
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Location: Ireland

Re: New player with questions!

Post by Orian_666 » Fri Aug 04, 2017 3:08 pm

1) You can find some +4 weapons, but most people tend to strive for Masterly Damask which is +3attack and +6damage. As for armor Adamantine is the top at +3.
Beyond that there's Artefacts but the stats on these are random so getting a good one is a matter of luck. They do also have limits.

2) Depends on what you're building. A fighter based build can strive for a decent 48-50AB. A buffed Cleric can hit around 55. All of this is subject to the +20 cap of course. I think the highest i've gotten in tests, with the cap, was +52, but that wasn't a fighter based build. I think with TS pots they can hit 65+. Tiny differences will be pointed out regularly, lol.

3) For a standard Melee 50 is a decent number to hit, 60 with Imp Expertise. Some build can reach much much higher amounts. Palemasters, Battle Clerics, the new Spellsword etc etc, but they generally have a weakness to their class/build to counteract this. In most cases it's that they simply can't deal as much damage as your standard fighter Melee.

4) You can have multiple items with +str and have them stack. It's entirely possible to hit the +12 cap on your main stats through gear/wands/pots.
The most you'll find, I think, is +4 on artefacts. I think artefacts stat bonus' potential caps at +4. The very odd crafted item too. There are a few +2 items around the place, a small few. But for the most part expect to use enchanted +1 stat, +1 sta, and then +2 to two or three skills. Until you find really good artefacts that's the standard for most people.

WhiskeyGuy
Posts: 61
Joined: Thu Aug 03, 2017 9:49 pm

Re: New player with questions!

Post by WhiskeyGuy » Fri Aug 04, 2017 4:15 pm

Wow, thanks folks... I can see it's a very active community, something I wanted in a server.

Also, seems midrange for magic. +3 seems to be the best -most- will get, unless you're lucky. Good.

Skills... since most things are 1-3 skill additions... and this might be a meta type question but, what is considered "good" hide and move silently scores? Even spot?'

I know that some places spotters have the advantage, others sneakers do, was wondering about Arelith.

Also, can I just say that finessing a katana sounds like the most awesome thing ever? I've wished for this on every server I've played.

Last question, for now :) Is the dex wm build viable here? 13 rog/10 ftr/7 wm with Epic Dodge. I'm considering one that uses a katana. Just for the ninja lols (yes, I know ninja didn't use katana, but, we don't have ninja-to in NWN).

Thanks again!

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Baron Saturday
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Joined: Mon Sep 08, 2014 4:34 am

Re: New player with questions!

Post by Baron Saturday » Sat Aug 05, 2017 3:11 am

First off, welcome!

Regarding stealth, a few things you need to know:
Spawns will randomly have have enemies with greatly enhanced listen/spot scores, to the point that no amount of hide/ms will be enough to go completely undetected. Also, True Seeing hard counters stealth, and pretty much any character built for PvP will have access to it through wands.

Dex WMs do fine in PvE (most builds do fine in PvE...) but might struggle in PvP because of lower damage output, depending on the matchup.

When it comes to gear the big thing you need to know about is the enchanting basin. Most characters will have all slots except weapon/armor/shield/helmet filled with enchanted items that have +1 to two stats (in your Dex WM's case, Dex/Con) and +2 to several skills (discipline, spellcraft, concentration, hide and MS are all popular choices, depending on build), so you're looking at +7 to two stats and +14 to your key skills. Then you'll use potions or wands to hit the +12 cap on Dex/Con. Your final buffed Dex score should be at least 38.
Rolled: Helene d'Arque, Sara Lyonall
Shelved: Kels Vetian, Cin ys'Andalis, Saul Haidt
Playing: Oshe Jordain

WhiskeyGuy
Posts: 61
Joined: Thu Aug 03, 2017 9:49 pm

Re: New player with questions!

Post by WhiskeyGuy » Sat Aug 05, 2017 2:45 pm

Thank you, very good information in there.

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Peppermint
Posts: 1860
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Re: New player with questions!

Post by Peppermint » Sat Aug 05, 2017 4:20 pm

DEX builds are fine. Decent in PvP too.

I prefer STR, because it's a little more rounded. But you won't be shooting yourself in the foot by going DEX.

CoastalSurf
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Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2015 7:06 pm

Re: New player with questions!

Post by CoastalSurf » Mon Aug 07, 2017 7:49 am

consider parry as a skill on a dex wm http://wiki.arelith.com/Skill_changes

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Cortex
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Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2015 10:12 pm

Re: New player with questions!

Post by Cortex » Mon Aug 07, 2017 8:16 am

Things to note for DEXers:

•Epic Dodge.
•Uncanny Dodge.
•Parry optional, works well on monks and DEX WMs. Also great synergy with EDodge

If you do a DEX build without Epic Dodge, you'll be mediocre.
:)

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