Thane Tips Thread (Storm + Warfare)

[spaceman]

Hi all. I'm new to the game but think I understand the basics. I know Thane is not a popular build but I thought for my first character I want to play around a bit and have some fun, so I want to make a dual wielding elemental warrior. So far it's going good (apart from that rock-loving Cyclops who kicked my a...), though of course I do get overwhelmed quickly if I lose concentration.

Anyway, I'm looking for tips as I don't want to screw up too much while assigning my attribute points, since I can't reassign them later. I have read a couple of guides but they mostly focus on the endgame.

Playstyle I have in mind (and have been practicing) is running into a crowd, stunning them and then going into Donnie Yen mode, trying to do as much damage as possible and throwing out a stun every now and again. If I get in trouble, I hit an Oh S... button and run away. So far, I'm focusing more on Health Regen, rather than a large pool.

I'm level 14 at the moment, and my main concern is where to assign my points. Do I try to keep my STR and DEX about equal? Should I invest some in Health? And should I max out my Masteries before investing too many points in skill trees?

Any tips/feedback would be welcomed and appreciated.

"Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything."
Xenophon
Historian of the 4th century BC

[Terotrous]

Had to look it up, Thane is Storm / Warfare.

Storm's best skill for this build is Squall, which you can cast on top of yourself to deal constant damage to enemies that melee you while also reducing their damage and hit rate. When paired with Battle Standard this will give you excellent survivability in melee combat. Storm Surge is also a useful skill (though probably only 1 point in it) to punish those who attack you, and Spell Breaker trivializes some enemy types. You'll also want Storm's buff, and Freezing Blast might be useful as a panic button. Most other points will probably go towards Warfare abilities, you'll want pretty much all of them.

The one downside to this build that I see is that you don't have an easy way of closing in on annoying enemies. If you can find it, it might be worth having your alternate weapon set equip Herod's Reach, which allows you to use Take Down (just swap to the weapon, use the skill, then instantly swap back). Alternatively, you could invest in Lightning Bolt and use it to stun annoying enemies from a distance so you can run up and stab them.

For stats, mostly Str and Dex. You probably don't need any Int beyond what Storm Mastery will give you. Possibly some health depending on how much you get from gear.

[Raziel]

I suggest 2:1 STR to DEX ratio (no points in INT at all), you do not need HP on normal difficulty, just prioritize maxing masteries over skills - that way you will have enough health, you can for example add 2 points into mastery and 1 into skill per level. If you feel that you need more HP at some point, do not be afraid to do so - you will need more later anyway, but what is most important are your resistances - especially pierce.

[spaceman]

Originally posted by Terotrous:

Had to look it up, Thane is Storm / Warfare.

Storm's best skill for this build is Squall, which ...

Thank you!

The one downside to this build that I see is that you don't have an easy way of closing in on annoying enemies. If you can find it, ...

Good tip, I'll keep that in mind.

For stats, mostly Str and Dex. You probably don't need any Int beyond what Storm Mastery will give you. Possibly some health depending on how much you get from gear.

That's what I though too. Thanks again!

[spaceman]

Originally posted by Raziel:

I suggest 2:1 STR to DEX ratio (no points in INT at all), you do not need HP on normal difficulty, just prioritize maxing masteries over skills - that way you will have enough health, you can for example add 2 points into mastery and 1 into skill per level. If you feel that you need more HP at some point, do not be afraid to do so - you will need more later anyway, but what is most important are your resistances - especially pierce.

Ah, that's really useful. Okay, from now I have more confidence in my build. Thank you!

[spaceman]

Hi guys! Your advice have been really helpful and now I have a fairly decent lvl 33 dual-wielding elemental warrior (or at least, I'm having fun playing him).

Here is a screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/9ttkbrK.jpg

Anyway, my question is what do I do with my Att points? Do I keep dumping in Str? How much Str do I need?

My tactics most of the time, especially with the little mobs, is to run in, stun with War/Doom Horn (1 pt each) then start swinging.

I'm investing points in Storm Nimbus, Heart of Frost and Static Charge, plus Batlle Rage, Onslaught, Ardor, etc, so I do a fair bit of damage and I want to build up the Wisp and Eye of the Storm too. I have Thunderball/Concussive Blast to help with stuns, and Lightning Bolt/ Chain Lightning for those big bastards, plus the Battle Standard.

By Lvl 80 I want my character to look like this, more or less. https://imgur.com/2h84day

Do you think this build will survive? Or is too much of a glass cannon?

As always, any and all feedback gratefully accepted.

[76561198019218082]

Uh... in your final build you're not using Squall and DW passives have 1 point in each. I'd suggest you to remove points from Doom Horn completely and leave 1 point in War Horn, which will save you 16 points. Put one point in War Wind for charging. If you're not dealing cold damage you might as well drop points from Heart of Frost. Probably won't need Storm Surge at lvl 12 either.

[spaceman]

Originally posted by NetHack:

Uh... in your final build you're not using Squall and DW passives have 1 point in each. I'd suggest you to remove points from Doom Horn completely and leave 1 point in War Horn, which will save you 16 points. Put one point in War Wind for charging. If you're not dealing cold damage you might as well drop points from Heart of Frost. Probably won't need Storm Surge at lvl 12 either.

Hi! Thank you for the tips. Where do you suggest I use the points then? I haven't really used Squall yet - you want me to put 1 point in that for ranged attacks, right? And then DW - is that the DW tree? Is that where you want me to put the points? I see where putting points in Cross Cut and Tumult makes sense, as it increases damage and channce to be used, but Hew only increases the chance to be used while the damge stays the same.

That's why I though those points in Doom Horn and War Horn made sense, because it increases the stun period as well as the amount by which enemy armour and health is reduced. But you don't recommend that?

I appreciate the feedback!

[76561198019218082]

Yeah, I suggest max out dual wield tree and put at least a couple of points in Squall and its synergy. See, with dual wield you get the benefit from the second weapon only when hitting with it. Now, every DW passive has a chance to proc - about 6% each. Roughly your other weapon will be used 1/3 of the time, while with maxed procs and +skills it will be swinging almost perpetualy, which will theoreticaly double or even triple your DPS.

While War Horn is a good skill, you won't be needing more than one (or couple) of points in it. I mean, you also have Storm surge, Lightning bolt and Thunderball for stuns. Doom Horn is okay I guess, but I think you get the most use of it as Spellbreaker - who reduces Vit res greatly and hence the damage dealt by this ability. The armor reduction should be of no great concern as well for Thane, since half of your damage would be lightning/cold.

[spaceman]

Ah, excellent - thank you very much for explaining! You're right - I have enough stuns, it would be nice to start increasing my DPS. Then, second question - do I keep dumping points into Str and Dex or do I start adding to Health?

I really appreciate the advice - it helps to bounce ideas of people who've been playing the game longer.

[76561198019218082]

It depends... I would say you only need as much Dex as to raise your Offensive and Defensive ability somewhere around 1000, which you should also get through your gear. 2 str:1 dex as advised above is the most optimal choice for this character. As for health... it also depends on your gear. To be honest, it's not the most important stat in this game. Every DW character should focus on raising their resists to a decent level, which sometimes can be a pain. But if you're not gonna have good resists on Legendary - you're gonna have a miserable time going through some areas and quests.

Warfare has some means of damage mitigation, which is Ignore Pain and most importantly - th Battle Standard, so don't forget to use that often. In Storm you have an Energy Shield (or whatever it's called) which will cover lack of light and cold res. Though usually it's not the case since most "storm-oriented" items have tons of above mentioned resists, so you'll probably end up with -100% fire res but +300% cold res. But that's another story.

Oh, and yeah: don't invest points in Counter Attack... it's pretty useless - let alone with one point.

[Raziel]

Your goal should be maxing Dual Wield tree and Squall (Obscured Visibility reduces damage and resistances), getting something with % of Attack converted to health would help you greatly, easiest is to socket weapon with Anubis' Wrath relic (from act II), Soul Shiver artifact is great.

[spaceman]

You guys are awesome - thank you very much!