I posted this in the "So you want to be a rogue" folder a week ago, but there has been no reply. Either no one reads that folder anymore, or no one thethere knows the answer. Hence, I am posting it again here.
>>Just curious what direction to take with shield training. So far, I have the following:
Skill name Mnemonic Ranks
Small Shield Focus sfocus 3
Deflection Training dtraining 2
Deflect the Elements deflect 2
I have 6 shield points saved up. I was initially considering shield brawl, since I use UAC a lot, but eventually I figured I wasn't getting much hindrance since I was aiming my punches from ambush, which turns out to be pretty effective as is. Shield bash seemed a bit of a duplication; if I want to knock things down, I am training in sweep via the guild. I was pretty much decided to save up for the third rank of deflect elements, when I read the info on steady shield. I already have the needed 20 ranks of stun maneuvers via the guild. The big question is ... what are my chances, percentage wise, of blocking when stunned if I don't have this skill at all, and how much will my chances be improved (re percent chance) if I go for this skill? Basically, I'm asking for a cost vs benefit analysis, since going for the 2 ranks of this skill now will significantly delay my getting the third rank of deflect elements. <<
"So, what does that green line on the graph represent?"
"Oh, that's the projection of a hypothetical offspring from a union between Sauron and Cruella de Ville; we use that as a baseline for determining character alignment."
THROGG
THROGG
Re: help needed with shield skills
05/14/2014 12:50 PM CDT
And speaking of deflection, this happened today; it's the first time I have been hit by an elemental ball spell since I took up deflection training. This is with the two ranks shown above, and a small shield (targe).
>>A Taladorian spellweaver gestures at you!
A Taladorian spellweaver hurls a roaring ball of fire at you!
AS: +234 vs DS: +203 with AvD: +44 + d100 roll: +48 = +123
... and hits for 4 points of damage!
Flames tickle left arm. Hair singed.
The roaring ball of fire strikes you, blossoming into a much larger sphere of flame upon impact.
You manage to bring up your brown orase targe in time to deflect the elements harmlessly away from yourself!
A burst of flame from a Taladorian spellweaver's roaring ball of fire flies off and hits you!
... 20 points of damage!
Nasty burns to back. Won't be sleeping on that for awhile.
You are stunned for 3 rounds!<<
Ok, so if the maneuver was successful, why did I get hit and stunned by the ball effect? Is blocking only partially effective at 2 ranks?
"So, what does that green line on the graph represent?"
"Oh, that's the projection of a hypothetical offspring from a union between Sauron and Cruella de Ville; we use that as a baseline for determining character alignment."
>>A Taladorian spellweaver gestures at you!
A Taladorian spellweaver hurls a roaring ball of fire at you!
AS: +234 vs DS: +203 with AvD: +44 + d100 roll: +48 = +123
... and hits for 4 points of damage!
Flames tickle left arm. Hair singed.
The roaring ball of fire strikes you, blossoming into a much larger sphere of flame upon impact.
You manage to bring up your brown orase targe in time to deflect the elements harmlessly away from yourself!
A burst of flame from a Taladorian spellweaver's roaring ball of fire flies off and hits you!
... 20 points of damage!
Nasty burns to back. Won't be sleeping on that for awhile.
You are stunned for 3 rounds!<<
Ok, so if the maneuver was successful, why did I get hit and stunned by the ball effect? Is blocking only partially effective at 2 ranks?
"So, what does that green line on the graph represent?"
"Oh, that's the projection of a hypothetical offspring from a union between Sauron and Cruella de Ville; we use that as a baseline for determining character alignment."
PEREGRINEFALCON
Re: help needed with shield skills
05/14/2014 02:55 PM CDT
I don't use a shield on my rogue so haven't really looked at the shield options with a focus on rogues (and the reason I didn't respond to your initial post). It seems to me that it would be worthwhile to train your sfocus all the way to Rank 5 though.
With regard to Deflection Training it seems similar in function to shield spike mastery which I use on my paladin. If you hunt a lot of warcamps (where ranged attacks are fairly common) or similar areas then this may be a worthwhile skill to take. Otherwise it would probably have limited value.
Steady Shield looks like a good investment to me (especially for the low SP investment). You already rely on a shield for defense, why not make sure that defense is in place when you most need it (stunned) as well?
Deflect the Elements appears that it would work against similar mechanics as Block the Elements in which case you might enjoy this ability a lot if/when you go up against fire mages. With Block the Elements it mitgates some of the damage and I've found I am happy with 2 ranks worth of mitigation in the skill. Assuming that Deflect the Elements increases your chance to outright avoid the damage then I would say it is likely worth bringing this up to 3 ranks at some point in time prior to it being used heavily (e.g. before fire mages).
-- Robert
ROBLAR
Re: help needed with shield skills
05/14/2014 04:34 PM CDT
<<Assuming that Deflect the Elements increases your chance to outright avoid the damage then I would say it is likely worth bringing this up to 3 ranks at some point in time prior to it being used heavily (e.g. before fire mages).>>
It does do that, and they do work well together. I have 3 ranks in Deflect the Elements and 2 in Block the Elements. Very rarely has anything passed the deflect, but if it hits, eblock keeps things minimal.
It does do that, and they do work well together. I have 3 ranks in Deflect the Elements and 2 in Block the Elements. Very rarely has anything passed the deflect, but if it hits, eblock keeps things minimal.
