Hello everyone, after bouncing around on various profession and race combinations i have finally setted on my character. A Dwarven Empath. This has now led me to wanting to ask a few questions.
1. I have put myself in GoS, currently character level 9 and society level 10 - should i try to put 3x PF in my training plan or will 2x be okay?
2. Should i be going for any specific lore options early on? I do plan on doing some healing between hunts but being a good hunter / skinner / forager is more important to me than healing.
3. What would be the typical progression for spells? Once i max out GoS i will be going pure. Im thinking pure CS to save on some points early on.
4. This may be odd but i was thinking about having my empath train forging as an artisan skill. Would the profession handicap be too large to actively pursue this?
5. When i do move over to pure i am looking at double leather and a runestaff, are there any specific flare types that are recommended? Im anticipating to have about 1.5 to 2 million silvers for gear by the time i swap.
6. Having the desire to be a strong skinner and forager i have currently opted for 2x FA and 1x Survival and 1x Perception, is this good enough or should i change something?
7. Is there a reason to sway me over to the spell aiming route early on? If its that much more viable im not opposed to taking that route as well.
Thats all i can think of at the moment - thank you in advance for any answers i receive!
WITHE
OM1E5GA
Re: New Empath Guidance
08/03/2021 12:50 PM CDT
1. If you can afford 3x PF without sacrificing anything in your core training, go for it. Otherwise 2x is plenty enough, empaths are hard to kill as long as you keep your wits about you.
2. At low levels, focus on the lores that affect the attack spells you use. If you mainly use CS spells you'll prolly be better off forgoing lores completely until later levels, using the TPs you would have put into them to get extra spell ranks.
3. This really depends on what spells you use to hunt and, to a lesser extant, what town you're in. Never let the empath circle go below 1x regardless.
One route for the other two circles is once you have 103/202 work up the Minor list until you have 107, from their work up the Major list til you have 215 before switching back to the Minor list til you have 120, then finally get the Major circle to 219. Those targets can be moved around depending on how/where you hunt though. If you're more of a bolter you might want to pick up 111 sooner, if you're in River's Rest you'll wanna make sure you get 112 by level 30, etc.
4. If this is you're only character, don't let that handicap stop you from learning forging with them. If you have a warrior, rogue, ranger, or monk you'd be better off forging with them though.
5. This depends on where/what you anticipate hunting. If you're going to be hunting trolls at all get a staff that has fire flares. Outside that vacuum, disintegration, and plasma are all good options and fairly easy to come by. Cold flares tend to be bottom of the barrel in all but a few specific hunting grounds and lightning flares are strong but will injure you in any room that has standing water.
In all honesty, I'd get a basic 4x flaring runestaff for 100k or less (look in playershops or ask around) and use the rest of that 1-2 million to find a low level sorcerer to put a couple tiers of Ensorcellment on yer staff. That should do good til cap if you want it to.
6. That's over-kill. Stick with the 2x FA cause it's so cheap and will allow you to be good at skinning all on it's own. If you're not in Icemule, the points in Survival would be better be spent on extra spells or lores. Perception interacts with so many systems it should never be below 1x for any character though.
7. 2x in spell aim or don't train in it at all. Be warned that if you don't have spell aim, you'll be limited to hunting with 1106 and 1115. These aren't bad spells, but it will limit where you can hunt (anything that doesn't have bones is immune to 1106, for example). I always advocate for having as many options in combat as possible. Training in SA will expand your arsenal to include 1110, 111, the bolt version of 1118, and any wizard wands you get your hands on... all of which are powerful attack options.
Starchitin, the OG
A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.
2. At low levels, focus on the lores that affect the attack spells you use. If you mainly use CS spells you'll prolly be better off forgoing lores completely until later levels, using the TPs you would have put into them to get extra spell ranks.
3. This really depends on what spells you use to hunt and, to a lesser extant, what town you're in. Never let the empath circle go below 1x regardless.
One route for the other two circles is once you have 103/202 work up the Minor list until you have 107, from their work up the Major list til you have 215 before switching back to the Minor list til you have 120, then finally get the Major circle to 219. Those targets can be moved around depending on how/where you hunt though. If you're more of a bolter you might want to pick up 111 sooner, if you're in River's Rest you'll wanna make sure you get 112 by level 30, etc.
4. If this is you're only character, don't let that handicap stop you from learning forging with them. If you have a warrior, rogue, ranger, or monk you'd be better off forging with them though.
5. This depends on where/what you anticipate hunting. If you're going to be hunting trolls at all get a staff that has fire flares. Outside that vacuum, disintegration, and plasma are all good options and fairly easy to come by. Cold flares tend to be bottom of the barrel in all but a few specific hunting grounds and lightning flares are strong but will injure you in any room that has standing water.
In all honesty, I'd get a basic 4x flaring runestaff for 100k or less (look in playershops or ask around) and use the rest of that 1-2 million to find a low level sorcerer to put a couple tiers of Ensorcellment on yer staff. That should do good til cap if you want it to.
6. That's over-kill. Stick with the 2x FA cause it's so cheap and will allow you to be good at skinning all on it's own. If you're not in Icemule, the points in Survival would be better be spent on extra spells or lores. Perception interacts with so many systems it should never be below 1x for any character though.
7. 2x in spell aim or don't train in it at all. Be warned that if you don't have spell aim, you'll be limited to hunting with 1106 and 1115. These aren't bad spells, but it will limit where you can hunt (anything that doesn't have bones is immune to 1106, for example). I always advocate for having as many options in combat as possible. Training in SA will expand your arsenal to include 1110, 111, the bolt version of 1118, and any wizard wands you get your hands on... all of which are powerful attack options.
Starchitin, the OG
A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.
WITHE
Re: New Empath Guidance
08/03/2021 12:58 PM CDT
Thank you for the response, as for item 6 though.
You state 2xfirst aid is plenty but what about survival for foraging?
Currently i am hunting in icemule but my understanding is that survival is directly related to foraging as well so it seems to me like something that would be required. If im wrong then fantastic! That would clear up a ton of points.
You state 2xfirst aid is plenty but what about survival for foraging?
Currently i am hunting in icemule but my understanding is that survival is directly related to foraging as well so it seems to me like something that would be required. If im wrong then fantastic! That would clear up a ton of points.
OM1E5GA
Re: New Empath Guidance
08/03/2021 01:19 PM CDT
<Currently i am hunting in icemule but my understanding is that survival is directly related to foraging as well so it seems to me like something that would be required. If im wrong then fantastic! That would clear up a ton of points.>
Survival and FA count equally towards skinning and having 2x between the two allows for good skinning. For most professions I'd recommend 1x in each for skinning purposes, at least until higher levels when there are more TPs to spread around. For empaths FA is so cheap compared to Survival that I suggest 2x FA and forgoing Survival for most.
For empaths there's really no point to foraging unless you want to do the tasks from the adventurer's guild (since they can always just use their spells to heal), but if you're patient and use 213 you can find most of what you need for guild tasks without any survival training at all.
With being in Icemule, you'll prolly want to go ahead and keep the Survival though (unless you decide to relocate).... since there are so many room conditions around that town that make it a good idea. If you need the TP's you can drop FA down to 1x.... it won't save you as many TPs but empaths really have no use for FA beyond skinning anyway.
Starchitin, the OG
A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.
Survival and FA count equally towards skinning and having 2x between the two allows for good skinning. For most professions I'd recommend 1x in each for skinning purposes, at least until higher levels when there are more TPs to spread around. For empaths FA is so cheap compared to Survival that I suggest 2x FA and forgoing Survival for most.
For empaths there's really no point to foraging unless you want to do the tasks from the adventurer's guild (since they can always just use their spells to heal), but if you're patient and use 213 you can find most of what you need for guild tasks without any survival training at all.
With being in Icemule, you'll prolly want to go ahead and keep the Survival though (unless you decide to relocate).... since there are so many room conditions around that town that make it a good idea. If you need the TP's you can drop FA down to 1x.... it won't save you as many TPs but empaths really have no use for FA beyond skinning anyway.
Starchitin, the OG
A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.
RATHBONER
Re: New Empath Guidance
08/03/2021 06:02 PM CDT
25 ranks in survival is nice to have because it lets you see everything available to be foraged. How fast to get there depends just how important foraging/skinning is to you.
25 ranks in trading is nice to have because it lets you see how good your skinning is as well as getting more value from it. Again, how fast to get there depends on just how important skinning is to you.
213 is nice for foraging.
I tend to go up MnS earlier than MjS on a pure CS build, but 211/215 are a pretty chunky amount of AS for a bolter.
25 ranks in trading is nice to have because it lets you see how good your skinning is as well as getting more value from it. Again, how fast to get there depends on just how important skinning is to you.
213 is nice for foraging.
I tend to go up MnS earlier than MjS on a pure CS build, but 211/215 are a pretty chunky amount of AS for a bolter.
WITHE
Re: New Empath Guidance
08/04/2021 04:49 AM CDT
I love the idea of variety. This is part of why i went with sunfist. Also this is whats making my spell aiming decision so hard.
Having the ability to hunt, skin, forage, warcamp and heal to get exp is something i really like.
I would love to be able to grab first aid, survival, spell aim and lots of spells but i have a feeling i will need to cut something out to make it all work.
I know that if i go with spell aiming i will need to fit lores in as well for web bolt. I will also need to ensure i get 211 and 215 asap.
A side question, i hit level 10 and was looking at various pairs of double leather. If the armor is lightly padded is that added to the gos heavy padding?
Having the ability to hunt, skin, forage, warcamp and heal to get exp is something i really like.
I would love to be able to grab first aid, survival, spell aim and lots of spells but i have a feeling i will need to cut something out to make it all work.
I know that if i go with spell aiming i will need to fit lores in as well for web bolt. I will also need to ensure i get 211 and 215 asap.
A side question, i hit level 10 and was looking at various pairs of double leather. If the armor is lightly padded is that added to the gos heavy padding?
OM1E5GA
Re: New Empath Guidance
08/04/2021 11:34 AM CDT
<I would love to be able to grab first aid, survival, spell aim and lots of spells but i have a feeling i will need to cut something out to make it all work.>
Probably less then you think. My empath has more forgiving training then any of my other characters, though in the early levels there will need to be something that lags a bit. If you wanna do a copy/paste of your training I can give more specific advice.
Starchitin, the OG
A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.
Probably less then you think. My empath has more forgiving training then any of my other characters, though in the early levels there will need to be something that lags a bit. If you wanna do a copy/paste of your training I can give more specific advice.
Starchitin, the OG
A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.
WITHE
Re: New Empath Guidance
08/04/2021 12:32 PM CDT
I dont have any training done yet. Im only level 10 using UAC to get through GoS.
I still havent discovered stats or a training plan.
Im thinking something like
6 ranks armor use
2x PF
2x HP to 40 ranks then drop to 1x
2x spell aim
1x smc
1x mmc (may cut this out)
1x lore
2-2.5x spells
2x first aid
1x survival
1x perception
0.5 swim
0.5 climb
Again im not sure of my stats or tps per level yet so thats just my ideal training plan.
OM1E5GA
Re: New Empath Guidance
08/04/2021 03:32 PM CDT
That looks decent for what you've said you wanna do... and should be doable.
I'd drop PF to 1.5x or even 1x before dropping MMC... esp at low levels you want yer mana regen to be as high as possible (not to mention earlier access to MANA PULSE and MANA SPELLUP). 2x PF is nice to have but it's more a perk then a necessity, and you can always work up to 2x when you let HP drop to 1x.
Also, don't feel like you regularly need to train in Climbing or Swimming, just get 5-10 ranks in each then just get ranks in batches as you need them to get into hunting grounds. None of my characters have had more then 15 ranks in either until they were in their 70's.
Starchitin, the OG
A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.
I'd drop PF to 1.5x or even 1x before dropping MMC... esp at low levels you want yer mana regen to be as high as possible (not to mention earlier access to MANA PULSE and MANA SPELLUP). 2x PF is nice to have but it's more a perk then a necessity, and you can always work up to 2x when you let HP drop to 1x.
Also, don't feel like you regularly need to train in Climbing or Swimming, just get 5-10 ranks in each then just get ranks in batches as you need them to get into hunting grounds. None of my characters have had more then 15 ranks in either until they were in their 70's.
Starchitin, the OG
A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.
WITHE
Re: New Empath Guidance
08/05/2021 04:50 AM CDT
Im very glad to hear that i should be able to pull it off.
However i feel that being in sunfist at least 2x in pf is almost mandatory. Im now character level 10 and rank 15 (ive neglected absorbing in favor of recognition gain) and i use the sigils like crazy now. I believe if i were to go to 1x id have difficulty upkeeping what i want to use.
However i feel that being in sunfist at least 2x in pf is almost mandatory. Im now character level 10 and rank 15 (ive neglected absorbing in favor of recognition gain) and i use the sigils like crazy now. I believe if i were to go to 1x id have difficulty upkeeping what i want to use.
RATHBONER
Re: New Empath Guidance
08/05/2021 05:01 PM CDT
>However i feel that being in sunfist at least 2x in pf is almost mandatory. Im now character level 10 and rank 15 (ive neglected absorbing in favor of recognition gain) and i use the sigils like crazy now. I believe if i were to go to 1x id have difficulty upkeeping what i want to use.
Try it and see. You get almost instant migration of skills until level 20. I'd expect it is making a lot less difference than you think it is. Dwarfs are the race with the highest baseline stamina and as long as you haven't set stats in a way that cripples stamina, a lot of your stamina will be the baseline from your stats and the difference between 1x and 2x training will be a pretty small fraction of your total.
Try it and see. You get almost instant migration of skills until level 20. I'd expect it is making a lot less difference than you think it is. Dwarfs are the race with the highest baseline stamina and as long as you haven't set stats in a way that cripples stamina, a lot of your stamina will be the baseline from your stats and the difference between 1x and 2x training will be a pretty small fraction of your total.
