My Werebear can hardly hit anything

[Fragbait]

Hi,

I have a lvl 36 Werebear in act 5 normal (world stone keep / throne of destruction) who has trouble hitting the tougher foes. Succubi are ok, but the blood lords I hardly hit with 70% cth, which is a p.i.t.a.
He might be a bit low on the lvl-side for these maps, but I think he should do better.

[EDIT]He's clvl 37 now. Forgot to mention his main skill is lvl 16 (14+2) Maul. It's that high 'cause I noticed I have problems with the ToHit.[/EDIT]

[EDIT2]His Dex is at 114 (!). For a minion, I have lvl 4 (1+3) Oak Sage at the moment. @ Pakman: Yeah, I thought I could do without Heart of Wolverine. If I can't, then I will have to invest in it, thanks.[/EDIT2]

I'm not wearing any piece of the angelic set, but my rings have over +100AR each,
[EDIT3](actually, one has 112, and the other has only 10, so that IS a point were I could improve)[/EDIT3]
and I already looked out what to improve, but found nothing. Any ideas, besides 'wear the angelic set, two rings'? Because that cannot be the only way to make a WB work.
I'm as desperate as having a +69AR large charm in my inventory. Weapon is The Chieftain at the moment, and I muled over a Ginther's Rift for later on.

Also please bear in mind (:blush:) that I'm not rich. The Ginther's is about the top of the pops for me at the moment, and runes above Shael aren't an option either. I don't wan't to go and use Larzuk's quest to eth (or socket otherwise) a temporary weapon neither. If you've got a suggestion for a good druid wereform midgame-weapon that helps my AR problem, go for it.


Thanks, Fragbait

[pakman]

Not being that avid of a wereform player, I'd suggest to drop some points into HoW. Maybe look for some charms with +to attack rating. You could also try doing some crafts that give you +AR

EDIT: The Basin has some good suggesstions in the Druid forum.

http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/in...showtopic=67455

I'd start looking over there, too. I'm currently working on a summoner druid.

[Munkay]

A cheap way to increase AR is to get a 4 socket gothic plate and throw in 4 perf diamonds (trading for a few of these may be a little work but it shouldn't be too hard). If you do the math out it may be better doing that and investing in Oak Sage than investing in HoW. It's not the best option, but it may work well for you:)

Cheers,

Munk

[Fragbait]

A cheap way to increase AR is to get a 4 socket gothic plate and throw in 4 perf diamonds (trading for a few of these may be a little work but it shouldn't be too hard). If you do the math out it may be better doing that and investing in Oak Sage than investing in HoW. It's not the best option, but it may work well for you:)

Cheers,

Munk

Hi,

That sounds like a good idea. Well - it would, actually, because I forgot to mention that this is singleplayer - so no trading for me. And without trading, I only got ONE perfect diamond that I can be proud of.
Now you could say - just mule 'em over (the pdiamonds), like you did with the Ginther's, but then again, I don't exactly want to hardcore-twink.
He should be able to cope alone, especially after I handed over the Ginther's.
Which kicks ass by the way. My Werebear attack (maul) went down from 19 frames to 13, according to TheDragoon and his calculator, and it really shows.:w00t:

But still, I continue to have trouble hitting the strong foes. I checked, and I only hit those hell/death lords at 63%, and a merely acceptable 78% with maul. But since maul costs a bit mana, I can't just stand there and maul forever, which renders the situation difficult. Ah well.


Greetings, Fragbait

[EDIT]
I changed the weaker ring. Am now wearing:
left hand: +83AR, 5%ll
right hand: +112AR, 4%ll
It has become slightly better. Maybe that's because I'm playing act 1 nightmare now...
CTH versus nightmare dark hunter: 63% (normal attack) / 83% (maul). Not quite overwhelming!
[/EDIT]

[librarian]

Heiho,

any chance to convince you to use a Malice weapon?
Not the best damage in %ED, but nice other modifiers, and cheap runes. Maybe you've found a 3sock stave/axe/hammer weapon as well by now.

[Fragbait]

Heiho,

any chance to convince you to use a Malice weapon?
Not the best damage in %ED, but nice other modifiers, and cheap runes. Maybe you've found a 3sock stave/axe/hammer weapon as well by now.

Hi there,

If I didn't play a wereform druid, I might have followed your kind advice. After all, these three runes even I can afford! I may generally not be too convinced by the 'Drain Life -5' mod, but why this rune word fails to get my attention is something different.

The lack of ias. Weapon-ias is mighty mighty helpful for shapeshifter druids, much more so than off-weapon-ias. Thus, if you have a decently fast basic weapon, all you need is 30+% ias on it (preferably enough for the next break point), and the druid is rocking the boat. Of course the damage must be decent, too, and other nice mods are helpful.

That's why I don't consider a Malice weapon. The fastest 3-socket exceptional melee weapon is a Cinquedeas, I think. And according to the Wereform Central, I'd be at a 15 frame attack with a Malice Cinquedeas. Now, with Ginther's, I'm at 13 frames, and if possible, I don't want to give up the roughly 2 attacks per second.:whistling: If I find a nice 3 os Cinquedeas however, I'll try Malice out.

Now what could be nice, and help my AR problem, is Boneslayer Blade (Gothic Axe). Its required level is 42, though. Buriza would be godly, of course. Perhaps I'll find something the like...
A Fool's Grim Scythe of Quickness would be nice, too :D.

I just hadn't expected to run in such problems without a gear that's specifically geared towards AR / negating enemy defense.


Greetings, Fragbait

[librarian]

Heiho,

speaking about your company:
a Rogue does wonders to your CtH, especially with a fast bow, and when you're using a char who doesn't run around like a headless chicken (that to say, she's pretty bad company for a Frenzy Barb, but ok for a WB)
Otherwise there's always the Blessed Aim guy. Note that it isn't so tedious anymore to level your hireling to your own level. So you can almost always change company without regret.

And, as was mentioned before, there is always HoW.

BTW there's a lot of the low set stuff giving AR/cLvl boost, just Angelic is well-known.

[Fragbait]

Heiho,

speaking about your company:
a Rogue does wonders to your CtH, especially with a fast bow, and when you're using a char who doesn't run around like a headless chicken (that to say, she's pretty bad company for a Frenzy Barb, but ok for a WB)
Otherwise there's always the Blessed Aim guy. Note that it isn't so tedious anymore to level your hireling to your own level. So you can almost always change company without regret.

And, as was mentioned before, there is always HoW.

BTW there's a lot of the low set stuff giving AR/cLvl boost, just Angelic is well-known.

Hi,

Thanks, pretty good stuff there. Maybe I could use Hsarus' Iron Stay (Belt) and Hsarus' Iron Heel (Chain Boots) for 400 more base AR...
Also, I'm still waiting for Sigon's Sabot (Greaves) to drop.

I do have a rogue as a hireling, at least until I get to act 2 nightmare ;).
You're referring to her casting of Inner Sight, I guess. Maybe that has helped, me, but still. Versus a nightmare Returned (Skeleton) I had a chance to hit of about 61%, and a just about sufficient 82% with maul. Not much, eh? :blink:

If I'll go the HoW route, that'll be my last resort. I had originally planned to go the Oak Sage route, for the massive life boost. But I guess I could revert to HoW if everything else fails. I'm aiming at about >73% cth with my normal attack, and >88% or so with maul against all monsters, including death lords (but excluding act bosses of course). I will sooner or later also invest heavily in Fire Claws, but then my AR won't be a problem, I guess (hope).

I'm seriously considering to get myself a Blessed Aim merc when I get to act 2. Seems like I need it.
Has anyone else a Werebear druid, who would like to share some experience? Is AR a general problem of bears, or did I screw him up?

Greetings, Fragbait

[librarian]

Heiho,

I think I've lost a bit your progression ... do you use Ginther's already or do we speak about stuff to wear till you can use it?

Do you plan to socket a Shael in it? Otherwise the mighty Eth Rune would be a noteworthy fill-in.

Blessed Aim Guy is hireable in Norm, the offensive one.


AFAIK especially bears are most of the time a bit on the low side regarding AR, that is why the Angelic Combo is mentioned so often.

On the long run, is a Passion weapon considerable? (Phase Blade, if you're keen on being fast, but it' socketable in any weapon)

[Fragbait]

Heiho,

I think I've lost a bit your progression ... do you use Ginther's already or do we speak about stuff to wear till you can use it?

Do you plan to socket a Shael in it? Otherwise the mighty Eth Rune would be a noteworthy fill-in.

Blessed Aim Guy is hireable in Norm, the offensive one.
AFAIK especially bears are most of the time a bit on the low side regarding AR, that is why the Angelic Combo is mentioned so often.

On the long run, is a Passion weapon considerable? (Phase Blade, if you're keen on being fast, but it' socketable in any weapon)

Hi,

I'm using Ginther's already. I actually don't plan on socketing it - if it's just a temporary weapon, that seems kind of like a waste.

Yes indeed! I totally forgot that Blessed Aim mercs are hired in normal or hell! Man, I was so focused on nightmare...:wacko:

I don't have even one piece of the angelic set, but I actually found a Dol rune yesterday! Now I didn't know that passion was quite affordable... Hm. Sounds really nice. I could mule over the Lem - I should have at least one stuck on one of my chars.
I'll have to seriously consider this as soon as I get into spheres where Phase Blades or other adequate weapons (Giant Thresher etc.) drop.

Right now I'm in act 1, nightmare, and I just hit clvl 40 after rescuing Deckard Cain.
Thanks a bunch!


Greetings, Fragbait

[Zingydex]

Somehow, I doubt it would hurt to go back to Normal Worldstone and gain a few more levels - personally I don't touch Nightmare before level 50.

The clvl/mlvl ratio has quite an impact on your chance to hit.


[Edit] Oh, and some mana leech wouldn't hurt any - it'd allow you to keep Mauling for longer at a time.

[Fragbait]

Somehow, I doubt it would hurt to go back to Normal Worldstone and gain a few more levels - personally I don't touch Nightmare before level 50.

The clvl/mlvl ratio has quite an impact on your chance to hit.
[Edit] Oh, and some mana leech wouldn't hurt any - it'd allow you to keep Mauling for longer at a time.

Hi,

You're probably right about the mana leech. That'd be fine - I have to use mana pots until then.

I don't know about monster levels being to high for me in nightmare: At the moment they're at about lvl 38-40 (e.g. Griswold is 39), and I just turned 41.

Oh, and I went back to get myself a Blessed Aim merc. Might as well turn this thread into a
"how should I distribute my stats and my skills, I put a couple aside"
- thread, since the initial problem seems solved for the moment:
The cth against a Vile Hunter for example has gone up from 62% / 83% to 85% / 90% (without maul / with maul)!:w00t:
That's great, finally I hit my foes like I wanted to! :)
I felt a bit sorry for my act 1 hireling, but - oh well. I had to do it!

Thanks for the input, folks.

Greetings, Fragbait

[pakman]

I was going to ask: isn't the weapon of choice for the blessed 4-frame attack a phase blade? I'll have to check ATMA to see how often they can drop, but later on, I'd suggest grabbing one of those if you can find it. I don't know what the damage would be like, or if you're going for high damage or just being able to kill things eventually and tank. The phase blade can come with up to 6os so you can stuff some PGems into it to get some nice elemental damge to deal with PIs. Also, look for a stick with nice elemental damage for your merc to poke around with. I find that rares seem to drop much more often now than they did "back in the day." Or you could cube a hit power stick for your merc and see what you get.

[mikeandroe]

If you've got a suggestion for a good druid wereform midgame-weapon that helps my AR problem, go for it.
Thanks, Fragbait

Hwanin's Bill features 40% IAS, along with +330 AR
Out of the box it will give you an 11 Frame Maul, 8 when shaeled.

It will easily carry you through the rest of NM, and you could even start Hell with it. However, you'll be feeling the crunch by that point. If only sets were upgradeable.

Skill-wise, you could drop a few points in Shockwave for pre-melee spamming. Stunned enemies can make up for lowish AR. This tactic helped with my recent Werebear when I was toiling through NM and Hell.
I'll also second (third?) calls for HoW.
As for Mana issues, one point in Hunger can go a loooong way. While you'll likely only have 1 point plus adders in it, you can use Mauls carry-over AR and Dmg to help.

I'm surprised you had trouble with the A1 Rogues Inner Sight. One would think the base defense reduction of IS would help more than Blessed Aim's % increase of your current AR (which was already lower than desirable for you). While I know the Rogues can be finicky at times in casting the darn spell (compared to BA's always-on state), I've found IS to be more reliable for scoring a hit than BA.

I was going to ask: isn't the weapon of choice for the blessed 4-frame attack a phase blade?

Yes, along with a few other weapons. However, the Shaeled Phase is more appropriate for Fireclaws, in order to deal your vast quantities of Fire Damage as rapidly as possible. Unless you have a lot of Crushing Blow, swinging a 4 frame Maul with a Phase would be a long drawn out affair.