07-17-2003, 11:27 AM
I tried out a uber-gear vulpine Energy Shield sorceress. She was amazing! :D
I'd already read about the huge help given from Telekinesis, but what I didn't realize is that the % absorb from ES gets much, much higher than before. Indeed, even at high levels every point in the skill gives at least +1% to the absorb, until it maxes out at 95% absorb at slvl 40! Combined with 50% damage reduction, that's 1/40th of normal damage!
Obviously if you go all the way to 95% vulpine items are of almost no help, but it would be a viable strategy if combined with items of +%mana. Also, with buyable mana potions giving mana back at a much faster rate than the rate for health potions, and high Warmth, damage can heal exceptionally fast.
But I wanted to try out the vulpine gear, so I lowered the +skills down to get a slvl 24 ES with "only" 78% absorb. With 185% damage to mana, and with the help of high warmth, my mana ball wasn't lowering even a single drop. And with 50% damage reduction and max resists I was only taking 11% damage from physical attacks, and even less from elemental (except for poison, which ES doesn't work against).
I don't know that this type of Sorc would compare all that well to a well-equipped Werebear or Barbarian as a pure tank, but it sure was amazing compared with what ES used to be able to do.
- Dagni
I'd already read about the huge help given from Telekinesis, but what I didn't realize is that the % absorb from ES gets much, much higher than before. Indeed, even at high levels every point in the skill gives at least +1% to the absorb, until it maxes out at 95% absorb at slvl 40! Combined with 50% damage reduction, that's 1/40th of normal damage!
Obviously if you go all the way to 95% vulpine items are of almost no help, but it would be a viable strategy if combined with items of +%mana. Also, with buyable mana potions giving mana back at a much faster rate than the rate for health potions, and high Warmth, damage can heal exceptionally fast.
But I wanted to try out the vulpine gear, so I lowered the +skills down to get a slvl 24 ES with "only" 78% absorb. With 185% damage to mana, and with the help of high warmth, my mana ball wasn't lowering even a single drop. And with 50% damage reduction and max resists I was only taking 11% damage from physical attacks, and even less from elemental (except for poison, which ES doesn't work against).
I don't know that this type of Sorc would compare all that well to a well-equipped Werebear or Barbarian as a pure tank, but it sure was amazing compared with what ES used to be able to do.
- Dagni