Best item independent build

[イチゴパンツ]

Hi guys,

Got this game as a gift and am pretty amped up bout it. However, since im new, would like to know which build is the best to farm for items as i will be playing purely self-found. Will want to farm items for my other characters.

Thanks in advanced!

[Mivo]

I'm not sure it really exists. In Legendary, the later part of it, it's really all about gear if you are looking for fast and efficient farming.

I think a good choice is a conqueror (defense/warfare), because it gives you quite a bit of versatility. You can focus on dual-wield (I wouldn't) or 1H/shield, decide how offensively or defensively you want to play/build the character (and you can adjust it depending on gear and area), have very powerful cooldowns for bosses, and you have a wide choice of weapons that will work. It's also one of the most powerful classes, so it will scale with your gear.

Pet builds seem item-independent, but for boss farming they do need gear, and often very specialized stuff.

[Sebastian]

as a rule of thumb, no hybrids. they tend to rely on specific gear to make them work.
casters are good for normal, but afterwards melee tends to outperform them.
so I would take from dream, warfare, defense, hunting and rogue.

[J0ker]

I started playing AE as a petmancer and it was really easy. All you need are items with pet bonuses and + X to all skills or just Nature. I was using Beastcaller's amulets and rings with + X physical damage, staff +1 skill to Nature, then I found Bone Bracelet and Vest of the Wandering Goat somewhere in act 3. Later on you can get better prefixes like Spiritcaller's. I made an artifact called Razor Claw. Last act was significantly harder, but I was expecting something much worse.

I finished normal as a solo Nature champ and then I added Dream.

[Sebastian]

Originally posted by J0ker:

I started playing AE as a petmancer and it was really easy. All you need are items with pet bonuses and + X to all skills or just Nature. I was using Beastcaller's amulets and rings with + X physical damage, staff +1 skill to Nature, then I found Bone Bracelet and Vest of the Wandering Goat somewhere in act 3. Later on you can get better prefixes like Spiritcaller's. I made an artifact called Razor Claw. Last act was significantly harder, but I was expecting something much worse.

I finished normal as a solo Nature champ and then I added Dream.

normal isnt the issue, any class can finish normal with even just yellows. legendary is where things really matter.

[イチゴパンツ]

I see. So in general, all builds are item reliant at least in legendary.

Would mages do good? I usually prefer to play as mages. I've looked around and EBD prophet seems fun.

[Mivo]

It's worth noting that you usually won't just find yourself in legendary difficulty without anything. So you just need a character that can farm in act1-2/epic, act4/epic, and act1/legendary, and improve your efficiency gradually.

I haven't really played caster characters in TQ:AE yet, but when the game came out I extensively played an Oracle. It was nerfed a few times, but I believe it is still a strong caster.

[J0ker]

Originally posted by Sebastian:

normal isnt the issue, any class can finish normal with even just yellows. legendary is where things really matter.

Overall you're right, but petmancer is a different case. Normal is the hardest for him. On later difficulties pets are getting significantly stronger and game becomes much easier, especially bosses.

Oracle is fine, dmg is really high, but imo it is a boring champ - basically you use 2 skills: Ternion Attack and Squall. Also combination of Spirit and Storm makes you quite fragile and you can die easily. I remember those charging dragons who killed me in a blink of an eye at the end of act 3.

[Wasserblaffer]

In general, anything with Dream mastery works. Harbinger (Dream + Warfare) is just easy mode, as long as you make the right choices. If not, it will still work out in the end, but you might have a harder time levelling; it's tempting to go for the fancier Dream skills and Dual-Wielding procs, but you should invest in Onslaught and survivability first.

With Templar (Dream + Defense) managing survivability is easier, at the expense of mid-game DPS. Early-game Templar's focus on a single heavier weapon means Phantom Strike can take care of almost everything. Mid-game though Templar lacks Onslaught's attack speed bonus and suffers. Late-game Templar's skills are more in balance again.

As J0ker suggested, a petmancer is also an interesting choice, as long as you don't mind grinding your way through Normal. Especially Act IV Normal has had a terrifying reputation, ever since Immortal Throne was originally released, and it affects petmancers the most.

Originally posted by J0ker:

I started playing AE as a petmancer and it was really easy. All you need are items with pet bonuses and + X to all skills or just Nature. I was using Beastcaller's amulets and rings with + X physical damage, staff +1 skill to Nature, then I found Bone Bracelet and Vest of the Wandering Goat somewhere in act 3. Later on you can get better prefixes like Spiritcaller's. I made an artifact called Razor Claw. Last act was significantly harder, but I was expecting something much worse.

I finished normal as a solo Nature champ and then I added Dream.

One way around it, is to go for a Ritualist (Dream + Nature) like J0ker, but rather pick Dream first. Go for melee, then start developping your pets only when yo u're approaching Epic (and they actually become usefull). A good sample build, with Str.2:Dex.1 would be:

https://www.kirmiziperfect.com/titancalc-anniversary-edition/TitanCalcd6f4.html?mastery=Ritualist&master1=4&master2=9&sa=21&m1=32-0-16-1-0-1-0-0-1-0-1-0-0-16-6-12-1-0-1-0-1-0&m2=32-0-12-0-0-8-12-6-1-8-8-0-12-1-1-1-6-0-0-8-1-0

[J0ker]

I totally forgot about Templar and I must agree, that he is also viable without good items. Probably one of the most durable class, not so good in terms of single target DPS (if we compare with Conqueror or Warden maybe), but he has awesome AoE with Phantom Strike and Distort Reality (great panic button with its stun and really high dmg).

Also it's a great idea to respec later and finish normal with Dream. The only reason I was playing as a petmancer from the beginning is the achievement "I have minions for that".

[Mivo]

Originally posted by J0ker:

Overall you're right, but petmancer is a different case. Normal is the hardest for him. On later difficulties pets are getting significantly stronger and game becomes much easier, especially bosses.

It's not my experience with pet builds. Yes, Epic is easier than Normal, at least in some parts, but Legendary is not. Most builds sail through Epic (except act 4, which is also horrible for pet builds, even more so). Pet builds are very item dependent in legendary, more so than some other builds.