The Totally NEW Team Corwin Thread

Hey mate, 3 of my chars are still only level 9 which means you can run most of yours with them. Just give me a holler on Skype; I always have it ON!! :)
 
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I ran my half orc up for the purpose of being available to run with Bot. Granted RL has kept us both out of the game recently, but just yell and we can get some xp for Bot or whoever. Level 10 (give or take a level) is hard to find quests to run at. They seem to start the "challenging and requires a balanced party, hirelings may not work" stuff on most of them.
 
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Actually Dte, Phurry is easier to heal than either of Peter's Paladins. While you take a ton of damage, thats the basic barbarian design: soak damage with high hp and a bit of dr. Thing is I never need to worry about seeing out of range or blocked on you. Whereas Peter is usually hollering for a heal and is off out of range, around a corner, or is wandering by himself again.

I have a bard at 7 who has done nothing but play "The Watchwood Melody" over and over for 6 months.

I think boosting our healing amp is really necessary to not be a sponge. Humans and Half Elves both have racial amp, while Monks and Paladins can get more from enhancements.
 
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My paladins can self heal so they can dare running through the enemy lines to get at the spellcasters. It's only when they're out of lay on hands they have to stay close to the cleric. This is one of the advantages of a paladin. You can actually dare to run after a spellcaster trying to get distance to the battle and finish him off before he gets his nasty spells out.

My paladins usually focus in battles on harming the most dangerous foes and looking where the cleric is gets second priority unless the monsters inflict so much damage so it's not possible surviving the melee for long.
 
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Level 10 (give or take a level) is hard to find quests to run at. They seem to start the "challenging and requires a balanced party, hirelings may not work" stuff on most of them.
Exactly. That's what's got Wouldii in a bind these days.
Actually Dte, Phurry is easier to heal than either of Peter's Paladins. While you take a ton of damage, thats the basic barbarian design: soak damage with high hp and a bit of dr. Thing is I never need to worry about seeing out of range or blocked on you. Whereas Peter is usually hollering for a heal and is off out of range, around a corner, or is wandering by himself again.

I have a bard at 7 who has done nothing but play "The Watchwood Melody" over and over for 6 months.

I think boosting our healing amp is really necessary to not be a sponge. Humans and Half Elves both have racial amp, while Monks and Paladins can get more from enhancements.
Phuury ends up as a bit of a resource hog, but (as you say) that's sorta the way it's supposed to work. That boxes him in a little in that he can't solo well since hirelings don't supply those resources efficiently, if at all. It also scares me off of PUGs a little since I envision more than a few comments about " *sigh* f'in barbarian needs healed again", particularly given my rather...ummm... blunt strategy of jumping into the crowd and hitting great cleave until my finger bleeds.
My paladins can self heal so they can dare running through the enemy lines to get at the spellcasters. It's only when they're out of lay on hands they have to stay close to the cleric. This is one of the advantages of a paladin. You can actually dare to run after a spellcaster trying to get distance to the battle and finish him off before he gets his nasty spells out.

My paladins usually focus in battles on harming the most dangerous foes and looking where the cleric is gets second priority unless the monsters inflict so much damage so it's not possible surviving the melee for long.
This is exactly what I'm talking about that makes PUGs a scary proposition, but makes the group work so well. We know that Peter is utterly incapable of staying with the group and he'll tend toward zerging since he'll have the map in front of him. We know that Az will wander off on occasion because Peter's zerging leaves bits of the map black and that's just completely unacceptable. We know that we'll have to backtrack at least twice in every quest because Corwin can't jump over a paperclip. We know we'll get at least one green dungeon alert because the stupid barbarian is overly optimistic about the party's killing power and couldn't resist taking a couple extra steps down the hallway before everyone was ready. We know jm will already have the map memorized and be terribly frustrated when the stupid barbarian and wandering paladin don't take advantage of her knowledge. We know cm will be stuck being the glue...again, doing her best to keep all the lunatics pulling in the same direction.

It's crazy, but it works. I just don't see that happening in a PUG with a bunch of strangers.
 
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I play differently in PUG's. There I usually have a hard time just keeping up with everyone who knows the quest. So I just try to follow around and hit at the same monsters the others do. I let the group leader decide what to do next.

I think one issue we have is that for some of us (Jm, Az and me) the map is very familiar while for you and Cm it's new. For Corwin it's both new and confusing. He will get lost if there is a possibility to turn anywhere. :)

If you know where to go you can move more efficiently. I noticed that I move faster than e. g. Corwin without my striding boots than he doesn with his striding boots and haste. The reason is that I move in a straight line to the target while travels like a bumble bee. :p
 
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Hey! I like my maps cleared! I usually stay pretty close though, though in RR I was having to run back and forth between two groups trying to heal both. And I think Corwin was lost. :p Had to jump a paperclip and fell off a cliff, even though the map was rather flat.

Around level 10, the best XP comes from VoN series, and Tempest Spine. Tempest Spine can be run in under 30 mins with a solid group, and can net upwards of 15k per run. VoN Raid alone nets about 30k xp first run on each difficulty. The flagging quests are also excellent xp, though they're a bit lower level. Necropolis 2 is also good, though you'll have to hit it on elite or at least hard.

You can bank xp for a level, so if you really want to you can remain 10, and have up to one xp short of level 12. Mirys went from 9 to 11 in one sitting that way.

As far as Pugs go, that's generally expected. Again, you're expected to carry healing amp, doing high damage, and occasionally yell out "Crom!" on a Barbarian. Some divines expect you to carry potions for various things as well, particularly Fvs, who don't always have the spell slots for everything. Fighters are much in the same boat; unless you're a Halfling who can take the Dragonmarks of Healing, you're expected to be a bit of a sponge.

As long as you play smart, don't rush through traps, and don't grab more aggro than you can handle, don't worry about it.

Some few Fighters and Barbarians can scroll heal with UMD(!), but I'm really not sure what they did to get it that high. I wouldn't even believe the DDO forums, except I've seen a couple pull it off. You remember when you see a pure Barbarian pull out a scroll and Raise someone.

The only classes that have issues with pugging are Clerics and FvS. Particularly in the low levels. A lot of people think that those playing a cleric or FvS should only heal and do nothing else. In DDO, build determines the role you can play, not necessarily the class. There are Bards who can heal through raids. That said, Clerics and FvS should heal, but they do much, much more than that. And a pure heal bot is wasting the slot and potential for the character.

For my money, when I'm pugging I'll take the Warforged Favored of the Lord of Blades over the healbot Cleric any day. A Capped WF FvS can have 15DR, 600+hp, and some damn good damage output. All while being just as capable a healer as Aerii.

So when I do swap from my Magi mace to Carnifex on Mirys, I get snide remarks almost every time. They end when they realize I'm knocking down just as many kills and keeping the group up at the same time. I'm good enough that I get tells from people I've raided with asking if I'm up for something or other, every time I'm logged in and not in a group. Even so, I've had some tell me that I'm a wasted slot, simply because I fight as well as heal. I've been cursed at while on Aerii for using CC spells before. Heck, I've been cursed out when I was added to a group in progress, and they all died before I got to the quest entrance. It's not an easy task, pugging as a divine.

Melee going Sword and Board are looked down upon, but that's another issue. Mostly, AC is so hard to get relevant that it's looked upon as worthless. You need about 75-80 to make a difference in RR, from what I've read, and over 100 in Epic mode. Since S&B means bottom-rung DPS, it's very, very few who will pull off an AC tank. DPS is simply the easiest way to go.

Corwin should load Expeditious Retreat. IIRC it stacks with Striding and Haste.

TR = True Reincarnation. Basically you restart at level 1, with a 34 point (instead of 32 or 28 point) build, and a free passive past life feat which has different effects depending on your prior class. A seconds TR brings you to 36 point builds. you keep all your gear and money, so you only have to level back up.

The passive past life feats can be stacked up to 3 times, so taking three TRs, each through Barbarian, would net you 3 Barbarian Passive past life feats. You can TR into other classes, and get their benefits, but only up to three times for each class.

Some of the ones I know are Paladin, which gives 5% Healing amp, Fighter gives +1 to-hit, Monk gives +1 damage, and Wizard +1 Spell Pen. Barbarian I think gives +10hp. Sorc and FvS both give +10sp, and Clerics I'm not really sure.

The draw back is 75% more xp to level for the first TR, and another 75% more xp on top of that for the second on. Some people can level a 2x+ TR in under two weeks though, so it shouldn't be an issue.

I have several builds planned for Rachail's TR, including a Half-elven Bard, Half-Elven Avenger FvS, Warforged Soul Survivor, Warforged wizard, and Halfling Fighter.
What I go with depends on what everyone else does; I can play almost any role, so I'll have no problems acting as a Bard with a Rogue splash, or even a pure melee (even though I'm not as fond of pure melee characters).
 
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Hang on, the reason I keep getting lost is that you guys race ahead (usually while I'm in my inventory screen or similar) and then you're all in a black area of my map. I'm a SLOW player, always have been (which frustrates my son the uber zerger) :)
 
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The repair shop just started looking at the old girl, so I'm not overly optimistic for tonight. Perhaps I'll get a pleasant surprise, but much like Az I'm probably in the "don't wait up" category. :(
 
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If we have to fake it we will. (If you say one word Corwin you will die!):cm:
 
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Hey, dieing is one of the many techniques I use to achieve our in-game goals!! :) It's the motto of our guild remember. :p And anyway, you're much more of an expert on faking than I am!!!! :D :p
 
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In the ongoing saga...

Apparently my video card went doink, so $100 later I'm back in business and thinking I'll make the Friday session after all. Joy! So I bring the rig home and get everything hooked up and....no internet. @#$!#&$*%&(&%)@#($ F'in Frontier has screwed up my internet a 4th, count them 4, time. So they supposedly (I'm so past thinking it's true) seperate my account from the lady down the street....again....but it won't be until Monday until they switch the wiring at the local station. But, lo and behold, I'm roused from my NyQuil slumber this morning by the Wild Dogs telling me the phone guy is here. Evidently, they're feeling sorry for me over there and pulled a guy to tackle my wiring issue today. So here I am, a couple days early. I asked the guy to duct tape my wiring in place or something so my new neighbor doesn't get it switched right back.

We'll see, but for now I'm in business.
 
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Great to see you back online again. I will be logging in with my cleric soon so if Phuury wants to do something then you can get nice company. :) Maybe others will be online too.

I just got my paladin to level 19 by doing the Hound of Xoriat raid and getting to 750 slayers in necro 4. So now I will be working to get my first cleric to level 19.
 
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Your internet mishaps are becoming stuff of legend. If you have any other provider around you can use their name and the recent mess-ups and get 6 months free service. Or at least shoot for it. You could have done the job yourself and it would have been done right if they gave you access and duct tape. ;)
 
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Well you did it to me Dte.....(I have to blame someone)...........I caught your dead graphics card syndrome. This thing is working for the moment but looks like a bad dream.

I have been looking at new pc's but for what I want so far the costs are a bit out of range. Not sure if I will have a pc by Friday. None of the games I have will run on here atm. I may also be out of town and not able to join in. So as we have said several times in the past few posts........Don't wait up guys. :)
 
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At least new graphics cards aren't as expensive as they used to me. My new one was actually quite reasonable!!
 
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Actually, they're quite a bit higher now. To get a decent card is costing me $160 for the card, plus a PSU (which, with shipping and taxes amounts to another $100).

Last time I bought a card (mind you, a 7800GT was good stuff back then) it was less than $100. Granted, I wasn't needing a PSU (because I was building the system and had just bought one, which turned out bad and fried my new system). This was, of course, before the 9000 series nVidias were launched, and a 512mb 7800GT was strong enough to run anything I wanted out of box without issue.

Thursday updates DDO for the new anniversary event. It's built sort of like Mabar, with items we can craft from it. It's also not undead, so Radiant Servant Clerics aren't able to dominate the entire event (and it's not more friggin' undead).

U9, I have only found out that the Elven Arcanum line is getting a much-needed boost, adding +1 to spell pen per tier. This is in addition to the Elemental Savant lines for Sorcerers.
 
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I have been doing my homework on getting a new pc that will last me a few years and not be out dated next week. So will see what happens. Hopefully I can get a new card for this one by Friday. I am going to do that no matter and if I can swing a new rig give this one to my daughter so grandkids have one they can play on.
I have a nividia 8600 gt in here now so if nothing else I will get that or a step up and should be quite reasonable. I checked the PSU specs and it should not be an issue to get a 9000 for it. But to be safe I will take all the specs with me and show them to the guys at BestBuy. Anyway, Friday is still a ? depending on if I blow up the rig trying to install the new card. (That might be one way to get a new rig.) :cm:
 
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