Returning "old style" hybrid looking to optimise (Full Version)

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RollandJC -> Returning "old style" hybrid looking to optimise (6/22/2020 8:20:47)

Hi everyone,

Hello, I'm recently getting into the game again and am shocked to see the changes. (stats can now go up to 250, werepyre subrace, etc)
I'm hoping to get some tips on how to optimise or what direction to take my character in.

I was aiming for a hybrid around 2 years ago, with eventual Poelala pet and guest (have the Boxes), so I was going to max STR, DEX, INT, put 50 in END (cause I'm scared of dying XD) and dump the rest in LUK, but now I don't know...
Character page here.

From what I've read on posts and comments, the optimal way to play hybrid now is using the werepyre subrace and armours, going STR, INT and LUK, as well as using magical weapons. This is a bit discouraging, as all of my weapons are melee, but I can always hunt for new ones.

I read that werepyre armours cover all elements, which is nice, but I was rather fond of my Taladosian and Horrowshow armour skills/nukes, and of armour variety in general.
Is there a way/build to keep using those? As such a hybrid with 0 DEX I imagine it would be quite difficult...

Would appreciate any recommendation, thanks! [:D]




joac1144 -> RE: Returning "old style" hybrid looking to optimise (6/22/2020 13:49:23)

quote:

[...] as well as using magical weapons. This is a bit discouraging, as all of my weapons are melee [...]

If you were going to use Poelala, your Melee weapons would be irrelevant anyway - unless you'd be using Dunamis too.

Using other armors than the Werepyre armors with 0 DEX is going to be a challenge. You'll need several Bth boosting items in order to hit reliably.

You can still play as an old-style Hybrid. 250 STR/DEX/INT. This is less optimal than a Werepyre Hybrid as it doesn't have the initiative, Bth, blocking and LUKy strike damage from LUK. It is still a usable build, though.




Primate Murder -> RE: Returning "old style" hybrid looking to optimise (6/22/2020 14:05:31)

What Joac said.

Str/Dex/Int (classic hybrid) is still a very viable build. You'd be highly versatile, able to use nearly any armor and weapon in the game, but you'll have to sacrifice initiative. To fair though, it only makes a large impact in a few challenge fights, like Carandor or Starslayer, and even those can be beaten with the right set-up. Hell, Cray (the current AQ writer) uses a classic hybrid character!

Werepyre hybrid is more optimized, but also much more restrictive. When not using werepyre armors/weapons/spells (which, to be fair, cover every element and have the strongest Beast Form), you'd be loosing roughly a quarter of your accuracy at 0 Dex, so you may need some bth boosters to retain your versatility. Still, high Luck does make it better suited for the current meta.

Basically, both builds can be used - choose the one you like, the one you can live with, the one you'll enjoy playing.

After you make your choice, I'll gladly provide you with a rating to fully optimize your character.




RollandJC -> RE: Returning "old style" hybrid looking to optimise (6/23/2020 3:10:11)

Thank you for the kind replies!

You are absolutely right about magic weapons, I probably thought Poelala only boosts spells and not weapon attacks back in the day...
I would like to be able to use a variety of armours (mostly for armour skills but also the different attack animations), so that means no werepyre for now. Looking at the classic hybrid, having no LUK for LS would take some of the fun away for me.

It seems I am (surprisingly) going to try going for a FO Mage instead, with INT, DEX, LUK (I am still so scared of going 0 END, haha).
I get to use spells and armour nukes, I get LS and with Poelala my magic weapons should also deal decent damage with normal attacks (I hope).

Any particular items to look out for besides first changing my weapons to magic ones? from reading some more it seems 0% proc ones are still the way to go.
I would also appreciate some guidance on what my Giftbox priorities should be, once I get Poelala.

Cheers [:)]







Primate Murder -> RE: Returning "old style" hybrid looking to optimise (6/23/2020 5:33:00)

Ok, here we go!

First of all, I suggest familiarizing yourself with the current meta strategies, particularly the Purple Rain loop. The basic idea is to stun-lock the monster, then crush it with powerful elelocked skills - maximum damage at minimum risk.

Vampire is the best subrace for FO mages. It has Int and Cha drives, an Evolved Form for high damage with lifesteal and, most importantly, a 2/turn qc control status - something that goes great with the current meta.

Finally, before you go do anything else, I suggest buying the Essence Orb misc. It allows for qc conversion of hp into sp, allowing you to spam stuns and skills pretty much every turn.

Now, without further ado:

Weapons

All the best energy weapons are currently rare, so I suggest making Energy your no-drop element. It wouls also be a good idea to align your Awe special to PWD for that 3% chance of insta-death. (also, don't forget to switch to staff of awe once you go full mage)

Bloodblades and Bloodzerker Blades from the rare GGBs are some of the best weapons in the game. They pay a small hp cost to give you +25% damage, as well as give a 10% damage bonus to spells of their respective element. For fire, ice and earth elements, they're pretty much undisputed as the best weapons available.

Water also has a zerker sword, but you may want to take a look at the revamped Kindred sword. Its chargable autohit gives you some very useful utility.

Switch your class title to Mage or Wizard and grab a Magestave for wind to get a little extra damage from your Warmaster's Burst.

Light also has a Bloodblade, but I'd suggest going for Occult Morningstar Cross. While not an exceptional weapon by itself, it can be clicked on for a 2x damage skill - which has great synergy with Bloodzerker armor toggles or Vamp's Evolved Form.

Voidsplinter Tether or Sunderer give you a source of harm damage.


Armors

The meta makes an emphasis on powerful elecomped armor attacks. The strongest of those are the old standard ones - Horo Show, Taladosian and Solaris (to be replaced with WKZ at top levels).

Next up on the power ladder are the Bloodzerkers, especially when combined with Morningstar Cross. They pay a small hp cost to deal +20% damage and have a toggle that locks you to 2x armor element damage. They would cover your fire, water and earth elements.

If you don't have the URs for three bloodzerkers, Torontosaurus Rex (high-cost 1.5x damage fire skill) and WHEEL (old standard armor with weaker elecomp because compression) should cover those elements. For earth nuke just use your Transformation's Evolved Form with Terrazerker Blade.

Your no-drop Vampire Transformation is darkness element with a good enough wind secondary that you don't need another wind armor.

The last slot should go to a utility armor - Kindred (chargable 6x damage weapon element skill), Whispering Raiment (bonus initiative once you reach lvl 5 assassin) or Wizard Robes (Lore Imbue is great for farming and nuking).


Shields

Cerberus Ward compresses fire/dark to fit in Irnothorn from your Vault, for 35% extra damage on weapon attacks, old standard and Bloodzerker skills.

If you find yourself with a spare UR, get Golden Dragon Head shield for a boost to your LS rate. Until then, just use your Solaris shield, with a switch to Scarab Shell at lvl 105 (toggle to lower monster MRM, increasing the accuracy of all your attacks).

The rest of your shields are actually pretty good.


Spells

Your strongest nukes are compressed in your armors, with the sole exception of Wind and Dark, which can be covered with D-Burst and Warmaster's Burst.

If you don't have a spare UR for Voidsplinter weapons, your Archmage Research or the more recent Runic Binding spell give you a source of harm damage.

Poelala guest is among your first UR priorities (with the Poe pet).

Purple Rain is incredibly useful for the meta. It acts as a save point - cast it once to save your current sp/mp/hp, then cast all your buffs (like Moonwalker's Grace) and debuffs (like Mesmerize), then cast Purple Rain again to return your sp/mp/hp back.

Moonwalker's Grace. Qc Dex boost for some extra accuracy.

If you have some tokens stored, Imbues are certainly worth a look, They change the element of your next weapon attack or skill (not spell!) to a different element and often come with other nifty benefits. For example, you can use Fire Dragon Talon on Horo Show nuke to deal fire element with +50% damage bonus, Dragonslayer Aura to deal Void damage against dragons (great synergy with Dracomorgify), or use Terror Fist with Solaris to get a powerful darkness nuke with some CC utility.

Some other options worth checking out:

- Sizzler 'Splosion sacrifices some damage, but autohits - useful against high MRM wind mobs.

- Knife to Meat You is a qc earth spell, dealing damage without costing a turn. Comes back at Mogloween.

- Edoc Imanok. A qc MRM booster, good for PR loop if you couldn't stun the monster.

- Arms of the Dragonguard make your next attack an automatic Lucky Strike. Not qc.

- Angry Trobble. Can be clicked on for a bth boost. Not qc.


Pets

Poelala. First UR priority. Not much point in using anything else.

Kindred pet can gather charges for Kindred sword/armor.


Miscs

Resist miscs are not really meta anymore - the monsters tend to die long before they make any difference.

Essence Orb, mentioned in the beginning, is your first priority.

On lvl 101, pick up Rejuvenating Necklace - heals your mp based on damage dealt.

At lvl 105, grab SFP. By clicking on it, you can get qc celerity, which has great synergy with PR loop (and is unaffected by stuff like Boss Boost and Freedom).

When Snugglefest comes back, buy Love Potion. Stackable quickcast control is absolutely crazy and, again, great synergy with PR loop.

Taladosian Pendant gives Mental Potency, which increases your chances of inflicting Mesmerize.

Goggernaut Helm gives +10 bth to every attack on the field, without the usual /2 for spells.

There's a great number of damage boosting miscs, so I can't really recommend a single one. Your Irt has Int and bth. Warlic's Oblivion Sphere has Int and Luck. Grakma Warhorn has a Berserk toggle, providing the highest damage boost, but at the expenseof your accuracy.

Bell Shell heals a bit of your hp based on damage dealt. The heal is less than CoRS', but it also doesn't reduce your damage, so it's an overall better choice for FO builds.

Morningstar Helm gives immunity to paralysis. If you want something a little more sp-efficient, Blood Ruby and Liquid Courage give resistances to paralysis and fear respsectively.


Hope the info's useful and don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions!




RobynJoanne -> RE: Returning "old style" hybrid looking to optimise (6/23/2020 7:32:03)

Also, Lorekeeper's Oath is still in the LTS, so that could be a good harm option. Your darkness weapon could instead be Agony's Embrace.

With the advent of the Void Rotation, it is also possible to use Void Dragon Ambush for harm, though it is weaker than Archmage Research due to the lack of an hp cost and instead has a chance to autohit. You will have to wait for the Void Dragon Queen to return to the Void.




RollandJC -> RE: Returning "old style" hybrid looking to optimise (6/23/2020 7:36:56)

Wow, that's a lot of amazing information!

I expected a couple of lines with some general tips.
You are amazing, I have to say. I hope you're getting paid for this [;)], or at least really enjoy doing it.

Purple Rain seemed a bit hard to grasp at first, but with all these QC buffs I think I finally understand why I'd want to use it. Now I just need to take a look at the vampire skills and celerity again and learn how to use them properly.

With all the spells and Poelala also using MP, I also need to figure out how to not run out of juice XD but the damage is worth it.
Essense Orb also seems extraordinary, it means I could spam my armour nukes every turn. Busted!

A question I have is regarding the Bloodblades and Bloodzerker Blades. They have different names but seem to have the same effect. Most are unique, but the Water variants, Hydromancer's Bloodblade and Quenching Bloodzerker's Sword overlap. Is there a preferable one?

I can't figure out if they're just reskins like the Voidsplinter weapons or if one is a weaker variant of the other.
Thank you!







RollandJC -> RE: Returning "old style" hybrid looking to optimise (6/23/2020 7:47:57)

Hm, thanks for the suggestion.
Since it's available, I'll grab Lorekeeper's Oath just in case.

I remember how patient I was until May rolled around to get my Energy/Darkness Star Sabre (since all the other good compression weapons seem to be ice... I wanted to keep Horrorshow as the void damage). But now since I'm swapping to magic weapons, that goes out the window XD

Sadly I don't have any more Ultra boxes after buying Poelalas, but will keep Agony's Embrace on the list of eventual buys.
Thanks again, mate!




RobynJoanne -> RE: Returning "old style" hybrid looking to optimise (6/23/2020 7:52:23)

There is very little difference between the Bloodblades and Bloodzerker Blades. They only differ in that each has an FSB with their respective type of armor. BloodBlades do slightly more damage when used with a Bloodmage armor and even more damage with a Bloodmage armor of the same element. Bloodzerker Blades are the same but with the Bloodzerker armors. It is up to your preference of armors which ones are better since mages can use both armors efficiently.

Voidsplinter weapons are indeed reskins, but one is a sword and the other is a staff. That can mean synergy with Sword Master Emblem or Staff Master Emblem respectively. It doesn't matter all that much since you're probably using another damage boosting misc, but since most of your weapons will be swords, Voidsplinter Sunderer will probably be better.




Greldracion -> RE: Returning "old style" hybrid looking to optimise (6/24/2020 0:21:30)

I would say grab the Bloodzerker blade if you want a more random damage range, you'll hit slightly harder, but can also hit lower than you would with a Bloodblade. Other than that, I would say another good weapon suggestion would be the Book of Burns. a tome from the "Arena of Enthusiasts" Mod challenge. It's a tome based weapon that compresses 6 different effects, a standard 5 hit fire spell, a single hit burn spell, a mana shield, similar to Gandolphin, a mana heal, and a spell that skips your turn and gives you 15 "fire charges" (you can gain fire charges passively by having fire spells in your spell slots, 1 per spell). You can spend 30 fire charges to gain an extra attack from the tome, and you can continuously keep casting spells so long as you have stacked enough fire charges beforehand. This could mean you can charge 30 turns worth of attacks and mana heals, and use all of them in a single fight if you wished too.




RobynJoanne -> RE: Returning "old style" hybrid looking to optimise (6/24/2020 0:56:29)

Do note that the Arena of Enthusiasts Mod Challenge is one of the hardest series of battles in the game. While doing hard mode isn't necessary for Book of Burns, it is still a good idea to read up on the bosses' mechanics and set up properly. The first two bosses were made to directly counter normal nuking strategies (thus disregarding Kindred, which is blatantly broken).




RollandJC -> RE: Returning "old style" hybrid looking to optimise (6/24/2020 1:30:15)

Thanks for all the attention on the post.
I think I just have one last question, and then I'll leave you alone XD (for a while).

Since werepyre seems so interesting, I'm thinking of getting a secondary character for that in the future.
I know the stats and the armours they would use (all werepyre), but I'm curious on the weapons.

Would they still be using the same magic weapons as a mage/vamp build? Any other changes in equipment?
Thanks for your time [:D]




RobynJoanne -> RE: Returning "old style" hybrid looking to optimise (6/24/2020 1:59:57)

The weapons should be the same for optimal load-outs because you'll primarily be attacking in Beast Form for the maximum damage. Werepyre does make items that boost Int and Str like Irt of Osiris and Murderator Gauntlet (gotten from Hard Mode Mod Challenge Gauntlet) far stronger. Magic weapons are preferred for Werepyres because Poelalas are available through in-game currency, and many things boost magic weapons more than melee weapons. The latter does not include Poelala, however.

I do think that Taladosian Pendant and Morningstar Helm will be far less useful for Werepyres since Panic is far weaker than Control for the former and Werepyre has a passive to grant immunity against stun status effects for the latter. You could replace them with other damage boosting miscs. Grakma Warhorn gives the biggest boost in the game to spells, for example, but the bth loss makes it suboptimal for attacks.

You also won't need Moonwalker's Grace for fairly obvious reasons. Do remember to cast spells in Beast Form to utilize hybrid stats.

Perhaps the most important thing to note is the utility armors you can use. Because you only need three armor slots, you have plenty of space for utility armors. Whispering Raiment and Wizard Robes are a given, but I also liked to use Geocastellum Robes for the QC damage reduction back when I was playing a hybrid. Just like Love Potion, it stacks and works very well with the PR loop.




RollandJC -> RE: Returning "old style" hybrid looking to optimise (6/24/2020 7:01:36)

Great, thanks for the reply :D
I'm getting more and more excited about this game and its depth.

And boy, the PR loop, the possibilities. Now I'm hunting for all the possible QC buffs I can find, to make myself invincible before even starting the fight. [sm=zorb_smilie.gif]
It's going to be a lot of fun!




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