Romalar
5126
That makes sense in general. I would say that finding a few rewards you’re really interested in and targeting just those and doing what you say for the rest works really well. Some of the rewards are very valuable.
The easy one is Intervention. Scarabs are in demand and also nice to have. Most of the Syndicate give some kind of scarab, so remembering the few you like in Intervention and watching for them is helpful.
So it turns out there’s a guild member limit! Hadn’t thought about it. I kicked a few people that haven’t been online in many leagues, so far as I know. If I kicked anyone who is still actively playing, just let me know and I’ll add you back in!
I use 2 strategies for Syndicates (keep in mind I did not play in that league)
- if they are especially insulting to me when I’m fighting them I kill them… it’s all about respect!
- I want to get Aisling to head of Research because that will open up the crafted +1 minion stuff on shields… I think. No idea how to really do that but if I can ever get Aisling to transfer to Research I will do it
I realize SSF is a challenge in and of itself. All I will say to that is if I was playing in SSF (and I haven’t played in a while) I would pick a build that doesn’t require a bunch of special gear to succeed - for example, most spells scale based on the level of the gem and supports as opposed to a melee build which is gear dependent. So if I was doing SSF I’d look for some good spell-based builds (off the top of my head I’m thinking totems or a summoner or maybe Storm Brand, which I have never played but I hear is pretty good nowadays). If that wasn’t the build I wanted to end up with then after that character has farmed some currency I would start a second toon as the build I really wanted to play.
I almost never play bow builds so I have no idea how bow gems scale!
Spect
5129
Bow is always challenging because you have very little survivability. Most builds end at less than 6k life pool IIRC.
DPS is a combination of Atk speed, crit, and spell dmg.
Mana can also be an issue.
All that said though, I just love bow builds. To me, they are just a fun way of playing.
Your point about a spell caster is probably very valid. Before I give up on this league (SSF anyway) I’m going to try 1 or 2. Probably a lightning build (spark > arc) or a summoner build.
ZeTh1
5130
One sure fire setup for SSF is essence drain. Requires no drops, can clear all content and do all maps, except that unique one where you fight other players’s characters, one of which usually has chaos immunity.
True about an Essence Drain build. The one singular reason I hate ED is because it’s a two-step process (uh, Contagion then ED a mob, which kills the mob and spreads Contagion). I would guess I miss the ED bullet about 50% of the time, which frustrates and infuriates me at the same time!
Piemax2
5132
I can’t even tell when mine hits but the character is melting stuff pretty well so far. That said, for anything more than a drive-by I use not two button pushes but three: when I want to stand and fight blight works very well.
I dunno… I pretty much always essentially play SSF until finishing act 10. I play builds from those requiriung uniques, to those that don’t and I pretty much never have issues completeing the story content. There will always be one two bosses that give me grief, but that’s usually because I am just rushing to endgame.
Builds absolutely requiring specific uniques aside, it is completely possible to farm and craft your way through Acts 1-10 in SSF. There are heaps of builds that will put out the DPS on a 4L and they drop like candy. Other than that it’s usually a matter of paying attention to life and resists on gear.
In other words…git good! :D
Wait up - most (all?) bow skills are attacks, spell damage will not scale them!
Gem tags are your freind:
Anything that matches a tag will effect the gem. ie a suport gem with a similar bow or projectile tag will work with the gem. Passive nodes on the tree with matching tags will work with the gem, etc.
For Rain of Arrows, for example, you want to scale damage on the passive tree with attack nodes, bow nodes, projectile nodes and AOE nodes. Spell nodes will not help.
Spect
5136
I’m sure I meant to say +elemental damage, not spell. Sorry!
Also, You’re talking about killing bosses in the past? Have you played SSF in 3.10 yet? There is a significant buff to boss HP, so it’s taking a lot longer to kill them. I also never had issues with most of my builds prior to this season.
Yeah, played SSF until 60 with Holy Flame Totem/Avatar of Fire.
At 60 I bought the unique to switch from Holy Flame Totem to Elemental Hit Ballista (Frostferno).
So up until Act 8ish? Mind you, totems have always been a relatively safe playstyle. Mind you, I had a very low life pool, but solid resists. Resists are super important.
Delirium changes round 2!
Another bunch of damage reductions. I guess they’re not out to kill us after all. :) At least, not as much.
Reemul
5139
Well I am really struggling on Act IV the mines, escorting the crawler I am totally getting my ass spanked.
You can always link your character if you want some input.
I’ve been doing some Delving with my character and it strikes me that when you delve, you are passing up on the Delirium rewards, so that makes delving feel less rewarding. Also, I ran across my first Metamorph in a map yesterday and it was like seeing an old friend! I love seeing the metamorph icons on the minimap so I know where to head, and talking to Tane and fighting the Metamorph boss gave me warm fuzzies.
Delve can be tricky if you’re not used to it. Your character’s clear speed has to be pretty good, and there’s some dangerous stuff (like the frost bombs that some mobs leave on death) which take some getting used to.
I usually don’t bother doing the Delve content until later. Sometimes Act 8-ish when I have a Lab under my belt and my gear is fairly solid for pre-maps, and sometimes not until maps. The main reason for doing Delve is getting the crafting recipes, and those aren’t really needed until you’re getting your late game gear set up.
That reminds me - I was looking at a leveling guide for my build and one of the things they said was “do first lab before leaving Act IV” - doing your first Lab before you leave Act IV is a good way to power up your character, since your first ascendancy points are usually pretty powerful.
Reemul
5143
OK thanks, I didnt look to see if I had anything else to do, I shall go look
Every once in a while, Zana is helpful.
Not the greatest div card drops, but considering it was free, I’ll take it!
I’ll take that jewelers Boon! J/k… I would like one but they are still too expensive for me. I just saved up 30 chromes so I can get the cluster jewel I want.
