Mageslayer (C/C Anti-Caster Kicker) Author: chaos9 Version: 1.10 Page 1 Navigation Part I: The Build Introduction Stats Skills Equipment Part II: Tactics Introduction to PvP PvP Tactics Part I: The Build Introduction This guide describes a specialized application of the c/c pvp kicksin to produce a very effective caster killer. As evident in the title (Mageslayer), this build started as a sorceress killing specialist, but I soon discovered that it was effective for other casters. In fact, I will argue here that the c/c kicksin is one of the few melee classes who can consistently defeat casters (including this dreaded bone necromancer). Why make an anti-caster build? Following the 1.10 update, dueling is dominated by casters (e.g., bone necromancers, fireball or blizzard sorceresses, Fist of Heavens paladins, wind druids, etc.). These are now the dominant builds and are not easily defeated by most melee characters. Thus, you see an increase in the number of “melee only” games because these players know that they have little chance against the modern casters. Three principles guided the development of this guide. First, most pvp guides attempt to create characters that will be equally effective against all classes and even all varieties within each class. Accomplishing this goal requires multiple outfits of godly gear, sacrifices in skill and/or stat points, and generally results in a character that will be very difficult to level. The build presented here is designed to specialize against casters. You will be able to duel some melee characters, but this is going to be fairly difficult. Second, I am often frustrated with pvp guides that seem to assume that nobody will start dueling until level 99. I started dueling with this build around level 30, and I decided to write this guide to focus on mid-level dueling. By following the recommendations here, you can be very effective as early as level 46. In fact, those of you wishing to duel melee characters will find that this build is going to be most effective at doing so in the mid level range. Of course, I will also provide recommendations past 46. I am currently level 76 and am having a blast in nightmare duels against many opponents. Third, this build is designed with public dueling in mind. Because the majority of public duelers seem to adopt an “anything goes” mindset when it comes to gear, I will do likewise. At the same time, I do not condone body guarding, town guarding, killing naked players, etc. If you do these things, watch your back because these are the types of players I will target. Disclaimer This guide is not intended to replace or compete with the other pvp kicksin guides. There are some excellent ones out there, and you are encouraged to review them all before beginning a new assassin. My goal here is to provide a specialized anti-caster alternative to what you have read elsewhere. Stats Strength is probably the most important stat for a kicker because it greatly enhances kick damage. Of course, strength must be balanced with vitality because your kicks won’t do much damage when you’re dead. Most of your stat points will be spent on strength and vitality. Strength: Initially, you will want to get your strength to 79 so that you can use Bartucs. This will be enough until you are around level 50, and then you will want to pump strength a bit. I suggest a minimum of 110 strength, with 150 being the number to shoot for late in the game. More strength means more damage, but I this shouldn’t come at the expense of adequate life. Dexterity: Like strength, you need to get your dexterity to 79 so you can use Bartucs. You probably won’t need much (if any) more than this. As you level, monitor your attack rating and chance to hit. With the gear I will be recommending below, you should be able to keep your dexterity fairly low and should not need more than 79 until late in the game (if ever). Vitality: This is pvp, so every point you can spare goes here. Energy: None. Skills To help in long-term character planning, the eventual skill allocation looks like this: Max Dragon Talon 8-15 pts in Weapon Block (enough to hit 60% blocking with gear) Max Venom 1 pt in Fade (or more as needed) 1 pt in Dragon Flight (or more as needed) 1 pt in Shadow Master 1 pt in Wake of Fire 1 pt in Mind Blast 1 pt in all prerequisites You will accomplish this skill allocation rather early (at least compared to what you find in most guides). This leaves you with some decisions about which should be the last skill to max. In keeping with the anti-caster focus, I believe that this choice will be between Fade and Dragon Flight. I will make an argument below for selecting Dragon Flight. However, this build is fairly flexible, and I do not want to give you the impression that no choice is involved. Thus, I will split my discussion of skills into two parts: core skills and secondary skills. The core skills are what makes this build and are strongly recommended. The secondary skills are where the flexibility comes in. I will present recommendations here, but there is some room for alternatives. Core Skills Dragon Talon - 20 points Dragon Talon (dtalon) is your main attack (just like in all pvp kicker builds) and should be the first skill maxed. The advantages of dtalon are speed and multiple attacks. First, it gives you the fastest attack available in the game (7 frames for the first kick and 2 frames for following kicks). Second, for each 6 points in dtalon, you gain an additional kick. Because of the speed and multiple kicks involved, dtalon is a great way to apply damage modifiers (e.g., crushing blow, chance to cast, open wounds, etc.). Thus, when trying to estimate the damage you will do with dtalon, you must remember to take into account the number of kicks and the modifiers that can be applied. Weapon Block - 8 to 15 points (enough to hit 60% blocking with gear) While dtalon is the offensive basis of this build, Weapon Block (WB) is the defensive basis and the primary reason this build excels against casters. Yes, it is that important. WB permits you to block melee and most elemental/magical attacks at a rate of 60% (at slvl 26). 60% might not sound like much when you are used to 75% with a shield. However, note that WB lets you block many attacks that are unblockable with a shield (e.g., bone spirit, frozen orb, fireball, etc.). As if that weren’t enough of a reason to use it in an anti-caster build, WB remains at 60% even when you are running. This makes the c/c sin one of the most mobile characters around. The goal is to reach slvl 26 after all +skill items, giving 60% block. Figure out how many +skill items you will have, and determine the exact point investment accordingly. Dragon Flight - 1 point+ Having at least 1 point in Dragon Flight (dflight) is essential. This is the only way you are going to be able to reach most casters, and it is a great skill for hitting moving targets. Maxing dflight results in a considerable boost to its damage, and a case can be made for maxing this skill after your build is otherwise complete. Assuming you can hit your target, maxed dflight (especially with venom and open wounds) will put a serious dent in the opponent’s life. Unfortunately, there are some important problems with dflight than you should be aware of. First, even with dflight maxed, you are only going to hit 25% of the time against someone with max block and a shield who is standing still. Of course, the second your target is running, everything changes, and your odds of hitting with dflight go way up. Second, dflight is interruptible, meaning that if you are hit during the brief casting hesitation, it may be cancelled out. Third, dflight misses often due to desynch issues. In fact, it is not uncommon to click on your target, hear the sound that dflight makes when you teleport, and realize that you haven’t moved. Fourth, it appears that the south bug has still not been resolved. This means that when your target is running south, it is generally not possible to land a dflight attack. Experienced opponents know how to exploit this bug. Despite the shortcomings, dflight can be a great skill for killing those opponents who realize they underestimated you and try to make a run for it. My recommendation is to start with 1 point and hold off on any more until your other skills and gear are complete. At that point, I have decided to max dflight. Limitations aside, this skill is wonderful for the true anti-caster specialist. It won’t always hit, but when it does, look out. Shadow Master - 1 point Little more than a distraction in 1.10, Shadow Master (SM) is still useful enough for 1 point. It is in the core skill section because it the distraction it provides is invaluable. SM can draw trap fire, fist of heavens, and other powerful ranged attacks. Also, many players actually attack it because they think it is you. This may provide just enough distraction for you to get the kill. Additional points add life and resistance, but are probably not worthwhile because you can always recast it. Burst of Speed - 1 point One point in Burst of Speed (BoS) should be plenty with +skills. I predict that you will end up using this skill the majority of the time, even over Fade. Why? At level 65, my resists were maxed in nightmare. So, all Fade gives me is added PDR. In contrast, BoS gives me a significant boost to both attack speed and r/w speed. The added r/w speed you get from BoS is invaluable and can often keep you out of range until the right moment. If you are fast enough, it becomes very difficult for the opponent to even hit you with fireballs, bone spears, arrows, etc. In fact, I tend to start every duel with BoS and find that I need Fade a fraction of the time. Secondary Skills Secondary skills include: Mind Blast - 1point+ In the first version of this guide, Mind Blast (MB) was in the core skills. I said that I felt MB was one of the most important strengths of playing a sin. After many more duels against a variety of character classes, I no longer feel this way for martial arts builds. True, if we were making a kicksin for taking on melee characters, a high level MB would be critical (but so would a shield and a ton of damage reduction gear). However, for the Mageslayer build, I suggest that 1 point here is likely to be enough. While MB is nice in certain situations, I find that I rarely need it. In fact, the only time I used MB was in team duels where I was attempting to help out against melee characters who were more than 20 levels higher than me. Fade - 1 point+ Fade can be incredibly useful in certain situations. What’s not to like about enhanced physical damage resistance, shorter curse duration, and improved elemental resists? The only limitation is that using Fade means you do not benefit from the enhanced speed of BoS. I find that most of the time, this extra speed more than makes up for the loss of Fade’s benefits. However, you will probably need Fade against some sorceresses, trapsins, and poison necromancers. For example, Fade is very helpful in dealing with those town guarding sorceresses. How many points to put here will depend on what your resists look like in whatever difficulty level you plan to duel. Thus, I suggest waiting on fade until your gear is finished and you have a sense of how much you will need. At level 76, I duel in nightmare, and 1 point is plenty. Venom - 20 points This is the most controversial sin skill, and you have probably already many debates about the pros and cons of venom for pvp. I too have been following these discussions, and it seems clear that the majority recommend it for pvp kicksins. Not everyone has high poison resist, and venom boosts your damage (especially with Trang’s gloves). My recommendation is to max venom, however, you can still be successful without it. The real question becomes what skill you would develop in its place if you chose not to max it. Some argue for maxing one unsynergized trap, but testing that others have done reveals that Venom is superior to an unsyngerized trap. I suppose you could max both Fade and Dragon Flight, but I suspect you will get more use out of Venom. Wake of Fire - 1 point WoF is superior to LS for stun-lock, and this is the only reason you are using it. It may be necessary against amazons with high passive skills and other sins using WB as a means to trigger their dodge/block and permit you to attack in between blocking cycles. Against others, you will rarely use this skill. Thus, there is no harm in waiting until after level 50 to invest in it. Equipment Now for the fun part! I am going to focus on providing mid-level (say around level 50) recommendations because I assume that you will want to start dueling early. At level 46, I found this build to be amazingly effective, often able to bring down characters 5-10 levels higher. Of course, I will also make recommendations about some higher end gear for later levels. Before we get to the specifics, let me remind you that I really don’t care about the whole “bad manners” argument. I duel only in public games and I usually end up on the 1-end of 2 vs. 1 or 3 vs. 1 situations. I assume that everyone in this environment will use whatever they can get their hands on, and I don’t have a problem with that. Personally, I don’t think that using a little absorb (as long as it isn’t excessive) as any worse than wearing Enigma. At the same time, duels that aren’t challenging are a waste of time - so you will not see me advocating for mass absorb, and I refuse to wear Enigma. Claws There are a few options to consider, and the good news is that some are very affordable. At lower levels, it is hard to go wrong with a Malice claw as your primary claw. It will help you level and can be quite effective in pvp due to the 100% open wounds mod. The real drawback of malice is that its life drain will require you to use another piece of gear to counter it. Another option would be a strength claw (+strength and crushing blow). Once you hit level 42, use a Bartucs as your secondary claw. The +skills and +stat mods make this an ideal choice. My personal choice is to wear 2 Bartucs beginning at level 42. This provides a significant boost in skills and stats, and this is what I continue to use at level 76. Your kick damage will benefit from the +strength, and the +skills will help boost your venom, weapon block, BoS, etc. Make sure you socket a shael rune in your primary Bartucs claw to benefit from the enhanced speed. If you are severely lacking in resists or plan on doing hell duels, you may want to consider using a Jade talon as your secondary claw. If you can find them, using a pair of +3 shadow skills claws on weapon switch to boost your venom, fade, etc. before the fight can be helpful. During leveling, you might also find that having a claw that grants you death sentry can be useful. Helm Many options to consider. Guillaume’s Face is simply awesome for leveling, but it isn’t worth much for pvp. Rockstopper is a good bet for those needing more resists, and the PDR is a nice touch. My recommendation for low levels is Peasant Crown. The +skills and vitality boost is nice, but the r/w is my favorite mod. At higher levels, you will probably want to upgrade to Shako or Crown of Ages. I use Shako in all situations, but you might want to consider keeping a Gaze in your stash in case you want to do more melee dueling. Belt I wear a crafted blood belt that gives me 8% open wounds, a nice strength boost, and some useful resists. I keep a T-gods in my stash for the lighting resist/absorb when necessary. You will want this against Fist of Heavens paladins and lighting trappers. I also keep a Snowclash on hand for fighting certain cold sorceresses. String of Ears is an option for leveling or fighting melee chars. Verdungos is probably the belt of choice if you can afford it (I can’t). If you don’t have these yet, look for +strength and resistances. Gloves Venom users will probably want 1.10 Trang’s gloves for the 25% poison damage increase. If you can’t afford these, Venom Grip are cheap and better than nothing at low levels. Dracul’s Grasp are great if you can afford them but require you to be level 76. I just switched to Dracul’s, and the added open wounds is nice. Crafted gloves are another option. Look for crushing blow, resists, and/or leech. At lower levels, Bloodfist are nice, and I recommend wearing these against trappers who use MB for the fast hit recovery. Boots Because this is a kicksin, your boots are the primary factor determining how much damage your kicks inflict. Use the highest damage boots you can wear for your level and don’t forget to upgrade as you level. Although some boots have great mods (e.g., goreriders), maximizing your kick damage is the most important consideration. A great example of this was provided by clsurfer. He compared regular (non-upgraded) gores with rare scarabshell boots and made a convincing argument that the extra damage gained from the scarabshells makes up for the loss of mods from the gores. Eventually, you will want rare/imbued myrmidon greaves, as these will give you the highest possible kick damage. Upgrade your gores or switch to myrmidon greaves. Armor Duriel’s Shell is one of the best mid-level armors you can find for this build because of the resists and “cannot be frozen” mod it grants. Another great choice (actually a better one if you have another source of cannot be frozen) is Lionheart (resists and open wounds). For the rich, Guardian Angel is nice. Also consider Toothrow or Crowcaw as another source of open wounds. If you don’t have any of these, look for armor that gives you resists, +skills, and/or damage enhancing mods. I wear Duriel’s against characters with elemental attacks and Natalya’s armor against necromancers, amazons, and melee characters. Amulet At mid levels, I wore a crafted +2 shadow skills amulet that features +resist all and r/w. Look for +skills and resists here. Around level 70, I switched to Mara’s. Highlord’s is another great choice. Also keep a Nokazan Relic in your stash in case you meet a fully synergized fire sorceress and need a quick boost to your fire resist. If you plan to duel melee characters, you will also need the Angelic amulet and rings to boost your attack rating to acceptable levels. Rings Ravenfrost is highly recommended for one slot. You will need the “cannot be frozen” mod if you don’t have it elsewhere. Even if you do have it on other gear, the cold absorb can be a lifesaver. For the other slot, it really depends on who you are dueling. At lower levels, I wore a Manald Heal for the mana leech and restore life (which countered the Malice claw I was using). Now, I wear a Dwarf Star for fire sorceresses and a good resist/attack rating/life leech ring the rest of the time. Charms Quite simply, you need resists, +shadow skills, life, strength, and r/w here. I don’t believe that huge numbers of shadow skill charms are necessary. In fact, I only use two. This gives me much more room for resist and strength charms. In a 1 vs. 1 duel, switch out your charm selection to meet the demands of the fight (e.g., resists for elemental characters, strength and life for melee characters, etc.). Part II: Tactics Introduction to PvP For those of you new to dueling, please realize that it is simply not possible to make one character who will win all the time. With this build, you will find that some types of characters will be easier than others, but you will also discover that a skilled player of any class can be difficult. Dueling is about how best to utilize your strengths in a way that exposes the weaknesses of your enemy. The primary strengths of this build are: (1) mobility (you can block while running); (2) speed (you can run fast and kick fast); (3) the ability to block magic/elemental attacks; and (4) the fact that you will be consistently underestimated by your opponent. Of all the pvp characters I have played, I have been called “hacker” with this one the most. Why? Inexperienced necromancers and sorceresses don’t understand how you can block their attacks and kill them so quickly. Those who have encountered this build before are reluctant to even fight. It is so rewarding to have a high level bone necromancer (the undisputed king of pvp) refuse to fight because “Those kicksins kill me every time.” PvP Tactics The core tactics around which all class-specific strategies revolve are: (1) cast BoS, SM, and Venom before the fight; (2) never stop running; (3) run in random patterns around the target until you see an opening for dflight; (4) dflight in and either dtalon or repeat the run/dflight. Casters Sorceress I developed this build as an answer to the townguarding sorceress, and I have been extremely happy with its success here. The only kind of sorceress that will be a consistent threat is a cold sorceress with maxed cold mastery. Be prepared to stack cold resists to prevent 1-hit kills. When fighting any sorceress, make sure you have something equipped that will give open wounds. Open wounds will continue to do damage after the initial attack, and this is critical for fast-teleporting sorceresses. In fact, open wounds delivered via dflight will often be the only way to kill skilled sorceresses. Before going through the common sorceress variants, let me tell you about the things to watch out for in all types. First, good sorceresses will have max block and may use PDR gear as well. In fact, this is their only hope of surviving your initial attack. With max block and PDR gear, the sorceress will have a decent chance of teleporting away from your attack to plan her next move. Second, good sorceresses will have a fast cast rate, meaning that their teleport will usually be a step ahead of your dflight. Again, this means that they may be able to teleport away from you before you can complete your dtalon kicks. Third, good sorceresses will make you pay for each dflight by casting blizzard, hydra, or meteor the second before you dflight in. Fire Sorceress. The fire sorceress is one that you will encounter often. I would say that 80% of the townguarders I have seen have been fire sorceresses. They can do insane amounts of damage and can kill players without max fire resist in one hit of almost any fire attack. Before attacking, make sure your fire resist is maxed and consider wearing one source of fire absorb. I keep a Dwarf Star for this purpose, even though I rarely end up needing it. Most fire sorceresses are going to have trouble hitting you, and this is where you have the advantage. You can run fast enough to avoid their attacks, and you will be able to block their fireballs enough to survive. Never stop running until you are ready to dflight in. Dflight to them and dtalon. If they stand their ground and fight, they will die quickly. If you suspect max block and high PDR, increase your open wounds and add some elemental damage charms. If they teleport away, be careful because this is when they are likely to set a trap with one of the high damage spells (usually meteor and sometimes hydra). If your resists will permit you to survive 1-2 hits, you should get the kill rather easily. If their teleport is fast enough to escape your full dtalon attack, you will need to rely on dflight as your primary attack. Again, this is where open wounds really shines. Of the two primary sorceress builds (fire and cold), fire is by far the easiest to defeat. Cold Sorceress. Initially, I used to think that blizzard sorceresses were much harder than all other varieties. Although blizzard is harder than the other types, I have learned that it is cold mastery that can really cause problems for us. You see, maxed cold master can negate your cold resistance. This was the one sorceress who was able to kill me with ease. My max cold resist was worthless, and I died in 1 hit of any cold spell. The key here is to stack your cold resist. Max cold resist, 1 Ravenfrost, and Snowclash will not be enough. Get some 4-socket armor and put 4 Thul runes in it. If you have extra cold resist charms, equip them all. This will give you enough of a cushion to survive. Because I like the challenge, my goal is not to negate their damage but to let me take 2-3 hits before dying. Start with BoS and never stop moving. Try not to get hit, but don’t be afraid to get in their face. Again, the good ones will be able to teleport very fast, and you will often dflight in and have them disappear before you can land more than a single dtalon hit. When this happens, dflight will need to become your primary killing skill. Wind Druid Wind druids are interesting because most of players controlling them seem to have no idea how to play them. Thus, 90% of the wind druids you will encounter are a joke and will be among the easiest fights you will have. They will try to tank you without realizing that you can dflight through their hurricane and kill them before they get off a tornado. In fact, I have beaten many wind druids who were 10-20 levels higher with relative ease. On the other hand, skilled and well equipped wind druids can be tough because they can dish out massive damage and take way more hits than sorceresses. They will have max block, 50% PDR, and Enigma. They will never stop teleporting, and a tornado can kill you easily. Make sure you have decent cold resist/absorb. Dflight to them so you won’t get hit with hurricane/tornado on your approach and dtalon them to death as quickly as possible. In most duels, I found that as long as I could talon them to death before they hit me with a tornado, it was easy. Because tornados don’t hit all the time, it is all about whether you can kill them before they get a couple off. The success I have had against the good ones seems to depend on whether I can kill them quickly enough to prevent the mass of tornados from being launched. Not an easy task, and I would put these guys right up there with bone necromancers for difficulty. If they are skilled players, it will be very hard to defeat them. Necromancer A good bone necromancer is the undisputed king of pvp. The good news is that at least 95% of them are clueless and will attempt to tank you. Because you can block their attacks, the goal is getting a quick kill. The more spirits/spears/teeth they can launch, the less likely your victory. Play them like the sorceress, but know that they can take some punishment due to their bone shield. Dflight in and dtalon. The Enigma users may be able to teleport away, so be prepared to chase them and repeat the dflight/dtalon attack. The only difficulty I have had with necromancers comes against the few who know how to use bone wall and bone prison well. If you get stuck in a bone prison without a teleport amulet (I refuse to wear Enigma), you are dead. Skilled necromancers have all sorts of tricks. My favorite involves waiting for you to dflight in, casting bone prison around the two of you, and then quickly teleporting out and spamming spirits/spears/teeth. Unless you can escape quickly, you have no chance. The point is, effective use of these skills is what makes necromancers difficult. I have been surprised by the number who don’t use wall/prison. Fortunately, they can usually be killed, even with Enigma. The few poison necromancers I have faced were fairly easy as long as you see it coming, stack your poison resist/reduce poison length gear, and use fade. At high levels, their nova will hurt no matter what you wear. However, you will usually be able to kill them with the standard dflight/dtalon attack before they can kill you. Trappers There are some misconceptions about trappers that must be corrected. First, many believe that if you wear T-gods you are somehow immune to lightning traps. Wrong! A fully synergized LS trapper can be lethal with or without T-gods. In fact, this is one of the times you may need Fade (or stacked lighting resist). Second, many believe that it is their traps that make them deadly. In fact, it is their skilled use of MB that presents the real problem. Good trappers who know how to use MB are extremely difficult. As an example, I recently dueled a skilled trapper at my level who used fire traps and MB. Despite my maxed fire resist, the combination of MB and WoF nearly killed me. I could run through his traps without taking much damage, but when hit with MB, I was stuck in a field of traps without being able to move. Dflight wouldn’t save me (remember, it is interruptible), and it was only through luck and a ton of fast hit recovery that I managed to get away. In terms of gear, the key is to get as much fast hit recovery as you can. In terms of strategy, you have to get in their face before they catch you in MB. If you can get to them before they lay all their traps and start spamming MB, you should be able to win. I found that once all their traps were down, I could sometimes win by casting shadow master to one side of the traps and then dflighting in. With a quick initial hit, I could usually bring down the trapper before I died. Against those who take full advantage of a high level mind blast, I usually died before I could do much damage unless I managed to dflight in before getting hit with MB. Fist of Heavens Paladins I know it is cheap, but Fist of Heavens can be negated by stacking lighting resist to counter their Conviction aura. Maxed lighting resist and T-gods will not save you against a synergized Fist of Heavens paladin. Using 4-Ort armor will help keep you alive. My goal is never immunity against their attacks (that would make dueling pointless) but just to prevent the 1-hit kills. As with all paladins, the real struggle is simply landing a hit. The Angelic amulet and rings may be necessary if their defense is too high. Hammerdins I have not found an answer for the Enigma-wearing, townguarding hammerdins yet. I have not given up, but they can kill with one hammer while managing to block almost anything I can throw at them. This is the one character build that can kill me almost every time. If anyone else has found a solution, I’m all ears! Bowazons Yeah, I know they aren’t really casters, but they are more similar to casters than to most melee characters. First, use BoS and never stop moving against a bowazon. With WB, you don’t have to worry about your block rate. Expect poison damage and adjust your resist gear accordingly. Guided arrow was nerfed in 1.10, but it still hurts quite a bit. Run around them in circular patterns, making sure to vary your course so it isn’t predictable. When you get them on the edge of your screen, dflight in and dtalon. You will be able to kill some amazons this way, but those who have high passive skills will be able to dodge well enough that they may escape. Try to get them on the run where their passive skills are less effective. If they prove to be too tough, use WoF to trigger their evasive skills and then dflight and dtalon again. This will help if you can hit them in between defensive moves. Bowazons are among the easiest kills you will have. Melee This guide was designed to maximize your ability to defeat casters. Even though it was never my intention, many have requested gear and strategy recommendations for melee characters. Although I really just want to refer them to the other sin guides, I have dueled enough melee characters to at least share some thoughts. This build does surprisingly well against melee characters at mid-level (30-50) wearing the gear I have listed here. At the mid-level stage, the strategy is similar to what was discussed above. The key difference is to spam mind blast immediately before you dflight in. This can prevent the target from attacking until after you have completed your dflight and initial dtalon attack. As for gear, even a little PDR can help. Since resists are less important, switch out your charms and other resist gear for anything to enhance your damage (strength, crushing blow, open wounds, etc.). Unfortunately, you are going to have a very difficult time competing with melee characters at higher levels (70+). Why? First, by going c/c, you sacrifice some blocking ability when standing still and a great source of PDR (Stormshield). Second, your attack rating is not going to be high enough to hit the mass defense builds. Angelic set is your only option here. However, you will not survive more than a hit or two from most good melee builds. Third, you simply don’t do enough damage to beat good melee characters. Wear as much PDR as possible, ditch your resist gear for damage enhancement (strength, crushing blow, open wounds, etc.), and avoid going toe-to-toe. By using mind blast, wake of fire, and dflight with high open wounds, you give yourself the best chance of success. Hit and run tactics become essential because you simply won’t live through their attacks. chaos9 0 Please log in to post... Please log in. Use your Diii.net Forum account. Username: Remember me? 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