08-22-2013, 03:02 PM
I figured, I would just go ahead, and make myself another thread about my observations of a class, that way I wasn't cluttering up the "main" thread, and it's not really about my ranger.
My first char in PoE was a 2h'd Marauder. Pretty Standard stuff, with lots of life leech. I died. A lot. I had a bad build.
My second char in PoE was a 1h'd + Shield Templar. I had a better build. I died. A Lot.
After that, I sort of said "F*** MELEE". I was frustrated. I'm a melee guy at heart. In WoW, I played a Rogue, and then a Paladin, and then a Death Knight. I had a few ranged Alts, and while they were fun, it wasn't the same as SMASHING THINGS IN THE FACE WITH THIS STICK I HOLD IN MY HAND
The same has held true in PoE. I have a low 70's summoner witch. She's fun to play, and I "Map" with her, and all, but it's still not the same. I have a high 60's Ranger. I've mapped with her, and it's fun, but it's a little more.... "OH NOES RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! DON'T HIT ME!" than I'm in to.
So, in my free time, I've been working on going through Builds, seeing what works, seeing what I like, seeing how I can adapt. The changeover to Monster Damage and Health values, really had me itching to make another Melee'er. I wanted something that was the closest thing I could get to my Death Knight in WoW, which in the end was my favorite class to play. Don't get me wrong fellow "WoW'ers", I still love paladins, but they just weren't that much fun to play in the end.
So, I spent a lot of time looking at what works, and what I could do. First, you should know, I'm not a huge fan of Avoidance. It's probably the one fatal flaw my ranger has for me, and what drew me to the Paladin and DK in WoW. I like steady, predictable, damage intake. I'm an Armor / mitigation Junkie. As a tank in WoW, I wanted to find the way that my healer didn't have to go "OH HOLY S***!" because of my damage intake. Not surprisingly, my favorite time to be a tank was ICC in WotLK.
So, in all the work I've done, I decided that I wanted to do Armor. Lots of Armor. Stupid Amounts of Armor. I watched a Youtube Video of a high end marauder running a Map with Vaal Oversoul as the boss, and he NEVER MOVED from the smash. He hit the Granite Flask, and stood there and took it.
I wanted that much armor. And I started Tailoring the build towards that.
I also remembered my original Marauder had DPS problems. Sometimes, I wasn't taking much damage, but I wasn't really dealing that much either. Part of that, was that I had locked myself into one weapon type pretty early on, and went through long periods of time where I just wasn't getting weapon upgrades that were a DPS upgrade.
So. Weapon flexibility, was also something that I wanted to address. No More using the "Mace" or "Axe" or "Swords" etc... nodes. I'm going 2h'er, and so any DPS nodes that I pick up will be weapon neutral. I can live with that.
Always Hitting. I despise hit / miss. I like PoE's system a lot more than what WoW had when I left. You have accuracy. That's it. No Need for Expertise, and soft and hard caps. You just have to hit. I can live with that. Well, I don't like not hitting, so Resolute Technique was a must.
Resists. I'm not a huge fan of Resists. This is probably the WoW Player in me, but I just don't find it to be compelling gameplay choices. Now, I know the opposite of that, is that there is no Risk to defensive stats, and resists in a game like this are somewhat necessary. So, let's say I'm not a "huge" fan of the resist system in PoE. I wanted to be able to get a lot of resists that felt "Worth it" from Passives.
So, I started working up some builds, and I realized something early on. If I wanted to go Armor, Marauder or Duelist had the best / quickest access to Armor, Templar has some good choices, but I felt that Marauder / Duelists had "better" Armor nodes, while the templar Nodes were more all encompassing.
Well, I have never really played a duelist, so I started working up builds in that area. And I realized something as I was going along. I always ended up in the Marauder tree to get more of what I wanted, and I was getting things (Res Tech, and a few other things) later than I wanted. So, I started working it back up as a Marauder. I ended up with the same build that I had before, just... working in reverse. And then I started tweaking the build. Working things in, and out, and finding what was worth it, and what wasn't.
So my Marauder Build is now "pretty" set in stone. I say "pretty", because I'm not sure what I'll decide as I actually implement it into gameplay.
How it plays:
I'm blowing through content far better than I ever did before. I settled on the Skills Heavy Strike, Sweep, and Leap Slam, as my main offense. I'm going to integrate a totem in when I can (devouring totem most likely), Warlord's Mark, and we'll see what else.
from my previous marauder, I realized that taking the Blood Magic Keystone is a mistake. Auras make your life so much easier. I'll just end up using Blood Magic Supports. Yes, the skills cost more than they do with the keystone, but I'm pretty sure that I'll be ok. Right now, I'm running a couple of DPS Auras, but that's mainly because I don't need the Defense yet. As I need the Defense, I'll start running more defensive Auras.
For the first time, I made it through Normal without dying. I'm in town in A1 Cruel, no deaths. That's huge for me. My Previous best was Vaal. But, I destroyed Vaal, and Piety rather quickly. So I'm feeling pretty good about that.
The Builds.
This is where I'm at, right now, at 37
During A1, with the passives / levels I get in A1, I will be immediately changing it to this.
Revised
My next "Stopping Point" is level 49. So we'll say that the revision above is level 38, plus the 2 passives in A1. So, from here to 49, I have 11 points.
Level 49 This gets me the Dex to use the super awesome Axe of Death in the Stash, and helps shore up some of my resists that are a little low. Normally, I hit the end of A3 Cruel at about 55. So I'll have 8 points between 49 and 55. (levels, killing piety, and the busts).
Level 55 Some Resists, and some Armor, and a DPS Node.
Now, I know that between 55, and my next break point (66) I will pick up 16 Passive. 11 from levels, and 5 from quests. This will be the first time that I kill all the bandits (Previously, I helped Oak, but I'm not building for Endurance Charges.)
66
Here is where it gets fun. Lots of armor. Lots and lots and lots of armor. 102% increased to be exact. Also, I'll be picking up the "Can't Be Stunned" Keystone, a lot of DPS, and rounding out the rest of the 'rauder resistance cluster. At this point, I'm HOPING I'm mapping. Everything past here, is just icing on the cake.
This is the "Final" version
As in, this is if I'm in the 80's, and I'm cruising around, and I've killed Piety in Merc, and I'm just having a grand old time.
Things that I'm not sure about.
1.) I wish I could figure out a way to improve the auras I'm looking to run, but I just haven't found a way to work out a trade off that makes me feel "ok" about losing something.
2.) THere are still 2 Armor Nodes that I didn't pick up. another 100% increase total, + 10% resists. I'm not sure if it's a big deal. I'm wanting the build to actually work as well.
3.) Is this a good enough balance of Offense and Defense spent in passives. I think so? I'm not sure, only time will tell.
4.) Will my lack of "this is the type of weapon I'm going to use" in my dps choice end up hurting more than it helps?
I have to say, so far? I love this marauder more than my first. I am moving along well, I'm making progress, I'm not dying. I'm not even really... in situations where I could die. I've had a few close calls, but nothing outright killed me, so I'm getting better.
I'd love to get to a point where I'm mapping on this guy. Running Maps on my Ranger is "fun", but there is a little lack of satisfaction in it, because it's really just a lot of kiting, and running, and general silliness like that. I'll keep you informed on what I see, and what I find as I go along.
My first char in PoE was a 2h'd Marauder. Pretty Standard stuff, with lots of life leech. I died. A lot. I had a bad build.
My second char in PoE was a 1h'd + Shield Templar. I had a better build. I died. A Lot.
After that, I sort of said "F*** MELEE". I was frustrated. I'm a melee guy at heart. In WoW, I played a Rogue, and then a Paladin, and then a Death Knight. I had a few ranged Alts, and while they were fun, it wasn't the same as SMASHING THINGS IN THE FACE WITH THIS STICK I HOLD IN MY HAND
The same has held true in PoE. I have a low 70's summoner witch. She's fun to play, and I "Map" with her, and all, but it's still not the same. I have a high 60's Ranger. I've mapped with her, and it's fun, but it's a little more.... "OH NOES RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! DON'T HIT ME!" than I'm in to.
So, in my free time, I've been working on going through Builds, seeing what works, seeing what I like, seeing how I can adapt. The changeover to Monster Damage and Health values, really had me itching to make another Melee'er. I wanted something that was the closest thing I could get to my Death Knight in WoW, which in the end was my favorite class to play. Don't get me wrong fellow "WoW'ers", I still love paladins, but they just weren't that much fun to play in the end.
So, I spent a lot of time looking at what works, and what I could do. First, you should know, I'm not a huge fan of Avoidance. It's probably the one fatal flaw my ranger has for me, and what drew me to the Paladin and DK in WoW. I like steady, predictable, damage intake. I'm an Armor / mitigation Junkie. As a tank in WoW, I wanted to find the way that my healer didn't have to go "OH HOLY S***!" because of my damage intake. Not surprisingly, my favorite time to be a tank was ICC in WotLK.
So, in all the work I've done, I decided that I wanted to do Armor. Lots of Armor. Stupid Amounts of Armor. I watched a Youtube Video of a high end marauder running a Map with Vaal Oversoul as the boss, and he NEVER MOVED from the smash. He hit the Granite Flask, and stood there and took it.
I wanted that much armor. And I started Tailoring the build towards that.
I also remembered my original Marauder had DPS problems. Sometimes, I wasn't taking much damage, but I wasn't really dealing that much either. Part of that, was that I had locked myself into one weapon type pretty early on, and went through long periods of time where I just wasn't getting weapon upgrades that were a DPS upgrade.
So. Weapon flexibility, was also something that I wanted to address. No More using the "Mace" or "Axe" or "Swords" etc... nodes. I'm going 2h'er, and so any DPS nodes that I pick up will be weapon neutral. I can live with that.
Always Hitting. I despise hit / miss. I like PoE's system a lot more than what WoW had when I left. You have accuracy. That's it. No Need for Expertise, and soft and hard caps. You just have to hit. I can live with that. Well, I don't like not hitting, so Resolute Technique was a must.
Resists. I'm not a huge fan of Resists. This is probably the WoW Player in me, but I just don't find it to be compelling gameplay choices. Now, I know the opposite of that, is that there is no Risk to defensive stats, and resists in a game like this are somewhat necessary. So, let's say I'm not a "huge" fan of the resist system in PoE. I wanted to be able to get a lot of resists that felt "Worth it" from Passives.
So, I started working up some builds, and I realized something early on. If I wanted to go Armor, Marauder or Duelist had the best / quickest access to Armor, Templar has some good choices, but I felt that Marauder / Duelists had "better" Armor nodes, while the templar Nodes were more all encompassing.
Well, I have never really played a duelist, so I started working up builds in that area. And I realized something as I was going along. I always ended up in the Marauder tree to get more of what I wanted, and I was getting things (Res Tech, and a few other things) later than I wanted. So, I started working it back up as a Marauder. I ended up with the same build that I had before, just... working in reverse. And then I started tweaking the build. Working things in, and out, and finding what was worth it, and what wasn't.
So my Marauder Build is now "pretty" set in stone. I say "pretty", because I'm not sure what I'll decide as I actually implement it into gameplay.
How it plays:
I'm blowing through content far better than I ever did before. I settled on the Skills Heavy Strike, Sweep, and Leap Slam, as my main offense. I'm going to integrate a totem in when I can (devouring totem most likely), Warlord's Mark, and we'll see what else.
from my previous marauder, I realized that taking the Blood Magic Keystone is a mistake. Auras make your life so much easier. I'll just end up using Blood Magic Supports. Yes, the skills cost more than they do with the keystone, but I'm pretty sure that I'll be ok. Right now, I'm running a couple of DPS Auras, but that's mainly because I don't need the Defense yet. As I need the Defense, I'll start running more defensive Auras.
For the first time, I made it through Normal without dying. I'm in town in A1 Cruel, no deaths. That's huge for me. My Previous best was Vaal. But, I destroyed Vaal, and Piety rather quickly. So I'm feeling pretty good about that.
The Builds.
This is where I'm at, right now, at 37
During A1, with the passives / levels I get in A1, I will be immediately changing it to this.
Revised
My next "Stopping Point" is level 49. So we'll say that the revision above is level 38, plus the 2 passives in A1. So, from here to 49, I have 11 points.
Level 49 This gets me the Dex to use the super awesome Axe of Death in the Stash, and helps shore up some of my resists that are a little low. Normally, I hit the end of A3 Cruel at about 55. So I'll have 8 points between 49 and 55. (levels, killing piety, and the busts).
Level 55 Some Resists, and some Armor, and a DPS Node.
Now, I know that between 55, and my next break point (66) I will pick up 16 Passive. 11 from levels, and 5 from quests. This will be the first time that I kill all the bandits (Previously, I helped Oak, but I'm not building for Endurance Charges.)
66
Here is where it gets fun. Lots of armor. Lots and lots and lots of armor. 102% increased to be exact. Also, I'll be picking up the "Can't Be Stunned" Keystone, a lot of DPS, and rounding out the rest of the 'rauder resistance cluster. At this point, I'm HOPING I'm mapping. Everything past here, is just icing on the cake.
This is the "Final" version
As in, this is if I'm in the 80's, and I'm cruising around, and I've killed Piety in Merc, and I'm just having a grand old time.
Things that I'm not sure about.
1.) I wish I could figure out a way to improve the auras I'm looking to run, but I just haven't found a way to work out a trade off that makes me feel "ok" about losing something.
2.) THere are still 2 Armor Nodes that I didn't pick up. another 100% increase total, + 10% resists. I'm not sure if it's a big deal. I'm wanting the build to actually work as well.
3.) Is this a good enough balance of Offense and Defense spent in passives. I think so? I'm not sure, only time will tell.
4.) Will my lack of "this is the type of weapon I'm going to use" in my dps choice end up hurting more than it helps?
I have to say, so far? I love this marauder more than my first. I am moving along well, I'm making progress, I'm not dying. I'm not even really... in situations where I could die. I've had a few close calls, but nothing outright killed me, so I'm getting better.
I'd love to get to a point where I'm mapping on this guy. Running Maps on my Ranger is "fun", but there is a little lack of satisfaction in it, because it's really just a lot of kiting, and running, and general silliness like that. I'll keep you informed on what I see, and what I find as I go along.
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