Artificer Rune Arm Choices

[Traltwin]

I've got a lvl 16 Artificer (Caster mainly) and was wondering if I should be getting the normal and epic version of Dumpster Fire or if there's a potentially easier one to get where I don't have to swap them around... I'd like one I can equip and leave it.

[Toramino]

https://ddowiki.com/page/Rune_Arm
For me it was Whirling Worlds or Tira's Splendor. Trash shot travels slowly.
If you go Shiradi in epics Book Shot is 5 time Prism trigger.

[Traltwin]

Originally posted by Toramino:

https://ddowiki.com/page/Rune_Arm
For me it was Whirling Worlds or Tira's Splendor. Trash shot travels slowly.
If you go Shiradi in epics Book Shot is 5 time Prism trigger.

I mean I knew about the Wiki page, I just remember hearing Dumpster Fire was like one of the best ones ... but also heard there was a rework of their damage and stuff.
Haven't heard of Book Shot. Looking :-).

[Doug]

They've reworked the damage on the runearms so that all are more equivalent. There are still shot type differences that can matter in various circumstances. The fireball-type shots break boxes in a decent radius, for example.

But if you're primarily a caster, get the runearm that provides spellpower for the element of your most common spells. Having that in your runearm is convenient and leaves another gear slot open. Artificers are usually electric casters, but whatever your primary element, it's a good idea to get a runearm that boosts it. But be ready to switch to a different one when fighting mobs immune to that damage type.

Also, consider the saving throw on the runearm's damage. If the spells you cast mostly have Reflex saves, you might have trouble doing full damage to ranged toons and roguish ones with them; a runearm with a Fort or Will save would give you options that hit the weak spots of different mobs than your spells.

[Traltwin]

Originally posted by Doug:

They've reworked the damage on the runearms so that all are more equivalent. There are still shot type differences that can matter in various circumstances. The fireball-type shots break boxes in a decent radius, for example.

But if you're primarily a caster, get the runearm that provides spellpower for the element of your most common spells. Having that in your runearm is convenient and leaves another gear slot open. Artificers are usually electric casters, but whatever your primary element, it's a good idea to get a runearm that boosts it. But be ready to switch to a different one when fighting mobs immune to that damage type.

Also, consider the saving throw on the runearm's damage. If the spells you cast mostly have Reflex saves, you might have trouble doing full damage to ranged toons and roguish ones with them; a runearm with a Fort or Will save would give you options that hit the weak spots of different mobs than your spells.

I see you're all over the DDO Discussions :-)

TY for the advice.

[Doug]

Originally posted by Traltwin:

Originally posted by Doug:

They've reworked the damage on the runearms so that all are more equivalent. There are still shot type differences that can matter in various circumstances. The fireball-type shots break boxes in a decent radius, for example.

But if you're primarily a caster, get the runearm that provides spellpower for the element of your most common spells. Having that in your runearm is convenient and leaves another gear slot open. Artificers are usually electric casters, but whatever your primary element, it's a good idea to get a runearm that boosts it. But be ready to switch to a different one when fighting mobs immune to that damage type.

Also, consider the saving throw on the runearm's damage. If the spells you cast mostly have Reflex saves, you might have trouble doing full damage to ranged toons and roguish ones with them; a runearm with a Fort or Will save would give you options that hit the weak spots of different mobs than your spells.

I see you're all over the DDO Discussions :-)

TY for the advice.

And yet, more than once I've been accused of trolling. Online discussion forums are strange places. ;)

[Doug]

Note also that some runearms can be Cannith Crafted. When you Disjunct them, they retain their basic functions, but you can add a prefix and a suffix (and, if they're ML10+, an Extra slot/shard). The shards available to put on runearms are limited, but you can still improve some of them quite a bit that way.

For example, one of the easiest low-level runearms to acquire (if you have Three Barrel Cove) is Strinati's Hand Cannon (from the redname of the same name in the bay between Two-Toed Tobias and Garl's Tomb, who almost always spawns).

Strinati's Hand Cannon fires a shot similar to a Fireball (but fire AND bludgeon), and by default comes with Wizardry II, which is not particularly useful. Disjunct it and it retains its Fire Imbue II and Max Charge Tier III and you can add a Prefix and Suffix. Combustion 59 of Fire Lore 9% increases the runearm's own damage as well as that of any other fire spells you might cast, making the runearm even more useful. A good choice for a runearm with an Extra slot is Insightful [Element], so that you wind up with [Element], [insightful Element] & [Element Lore] effects to improve the runearm's damage (and your spells of that element) even further.

Some effects on runearms don't go away when Disjuncted. This can include positive effects (Smiting Weapons on The Disciplinator) or negative ones (Mind Turbulence and Taint of Chaos on Glorious Obscenity). Aside from finding out by trial and error, your best bet is to look up the runearm on DDOWiki; in most cases, there's an image of both the base runearm and its disjuncted version.

Other considerations: Some effects are short-ranged and best to use on groups of mobs that have closed to near melee range (e.g. Electrical Blast), whereas others have a moderate or even fairly long range (e.g. Book Shot). Some effects travel almost instantaneously, while others are quite slow (e.g. Trash Shot). Some work better in narrow corridors than others. And some track their target, while others continue on a straight trajectory where they're aimed (Strinati's Hand Cannon and Hand of the Tombs are very similar, but Strinati's shot targets, while Hand's does not, iirc).

To sum up, even after the damage rebalancing, there are quite a few differences between runearms to make one better than another either overall or in specific circumstances or against specific enemies. Even their power can vary some. The two last-named examples (Strinati's at ML5 and Hand of the Tombs at ML9) have the same Charge Tier III and Fire Imbue II.

[Traltwin]

Originally posted by Doug:

Note also that some runearms can be Cannith Crafted. When you Disjunct them, they retain their basic functions, but you can add a prefix and a suffix (and, if they're ML10+, an Extra slot/shard). The shards available to put on runearms are limited, but you can still improve some of them quite a bit that way.

For example, one of the easiest low-level runearms to acquire (if you have Three Barrel Cove) is Strinati's Hand Cannon (from the redname of the same name in the bay between Two-Toed Tobias and Garl's Tomb, who almost always spawns).

Strinati's Hand Cannon fires a shot similar to a Fireball (but fire AND bludgeon), and by default comes with Wizardry II, which is not particularly useful. Disjunct it and it retains its Fire Imbue II and Max Charge Tier III and you can add a Prefix and Suffix. Combustion 59 of Fire Lore 9% increases the runearm's own damage as well as that of any other fire spells you might cast, making the runearm even more useful. A good choice for a runearm with an Extra slot is Insightful [Element], so that you wind up with [Element], [insightful Element] & [Element Lore] effects to improve the runearm's damage (and your spells of that element) even further.

Some effects on runearms don't go away when Disjuncted. This can include positive effects (Smiting Weapons on The Disciplinator) or negative ones (Mind Turbulence and Taint of Chaos on Glorious Obscenity). Aside from finding out by trial and error, your best bet is to look up the runearm on DDOWiki; in most cases, there's an image of both the base runearm and its disjuncted version.

Other considerations: Some effects are short-ranged and best to use on groups of mobs that have closed to near melee range (e.g. Electrical Blast), whereas others have a moderate or even fairly long range (e.g. Book Shot). Some effects travel almost instantaneously, while others are quite slow (e.g. Trash Shot). Some work better in narrow corridors than others. And some track their target, while others continue on a straight trajectory where they're aimed (Strinati's Hand Cannon and Hand of the Tombs are very similar, but Strinati's shot targets, while Hand's does not, iirc).

To sum up, even after the damage rebalancing, there are quite a few differences between runearms to make one better than another either overall or in specific circumstances or against specific enemies. Even their power can vary some. The two last-named examples (Strinati's at ML5 and Hand of the Tombs at ML9) have the same Charge Tier III and Fire Imbue II.

I've been afraid to Disjunct Runearms ... especially if I only have One of them. I'll have to look into this. :-)

[Doug]

Originally posted by Traltwin:

Originally posted by Doug:

Note also that some runearms can be Cannith Crafted. When you Disjunct them, they retain their basic functions, but you can add a prefix and a suffix (and, if they're ML10+, an Extra slot/shard). The shards available to put on runearms are limited, but you can still improve some of them quite a bit that way.

I've been afraid to Disjunct Runearms ... especially if I only have One of them. I'll have to look into this. :-)

Can't say I blame you. I shared that fear for some time. Not knowing what would disappear in a disjunct and what would stay was .. concerning.