04-24-2003, 11:36 PM
Despite the title, I'm not trying to claim a 'variant' idea or write a guide. The crux of the idea is: enough strength for armor and switch weapon, a little vitality to get by in early-mid levels, and pump dexterity as much as possible thereafter.
Basically, I like how druids can use bows/xbows in wereform, and have enjoyed using a Buriza (with a shael of course) on werebears and werewolves in the past. Not as cheeze as an Amazon using one, but still cheeze.
I'm fairly certain that wereform using Buriza uses dexterity instead of strength in damage calculations. That's based on the character screen, which I'm always hesitant to trust. I remember how CD2 amazons used to pump dex to insane levels to make their bow damage more effective (some bowazons probably still do), why not do the same on a werebear?
I have more charms that add to life than add to dexterity, and for softcore PvM, a werebear doesn't need all that much vitality to get by. I'm sure I'll put some points in vitality for the sake of dying less in mid-levels, but probably not more than the 50-80 vitality range. Strength, well I haven't totally figured out what other equipment I'll use (I may even play untwinked besides the Buriza for a little extra challenge).
Of course, a nice side effect of all this dex is I won't be hurting for AR like some werebear builds do. Also, if I do a shield / weapon combination on my switch (thinking 6 shael phase blade for the 4 frame attack+elemental charms - maybe baranar's if I find one), then my block % will actually be pretty good. If I do get a 4 frame attack on the switch, I'm thinking about wearing some knockback gloves and occasionally going into 'Leb disable' mode - another case where not missing very often is handy (gaps in 4 frame hits allow the LEB to finish its hit recovery anim and trigger a spark).
Anyway, I'm going to try this idea out starting tonight. Any thoughts / suggestions?
Basically, I like how druids can use bows/xbows in wereform, and have enjoyed using a Buriza (with a shael of course) on werebears and werewolves in the past. Not as cheeze as an Amazon using one, but still cheeze.
I'm fairly certain that wereform using Buriza uses dexterity instead of strength in damage calculations. That's based on the character screen, which I'm always hesitant to trust. I remember how CD2 amazons used to pump dex to insane levels to make their bow damage more effective (some bowazons probably still do), why not do the same on a werebear?
I have more charms that add to life than add to dexterity, and for softcore PvM, a werebear doesn't need all that much vitality to get by. I'm sure I'll put some points in vitality for the sake of dying less in mid-levels, but probably not more than the 50-80 vitality range. Strength, well I haven't totally figured out what other equipment I'll use (I may even play untwinked besides the Buriza for a little extra challenge).
Of course, a nice side effect of all this dex is I won't be hurting for AR like some werebear builds do. Also, if I do a shield / weapon combination on my switch (thinking 6 shael phase blade for the 4 frame attack+elemental charms - maybe baranar's if I find one), then my block % will actually be pretty good. If I do get a 4 frame attack on the switch, I'm thinking about wearing some knockback gloves and occasionally going into 'Leb disable' mode - another case where not missing very often is handy (gaps in 4 frame hits allow the LEB to finish its hit recovery anim and trigger a spark).
Anyway, I'm going to try this idea out starting tonight. Any thoughts / suggestions?