Sage Archer

[Daddy John]

Is a Bow with the Storm Nimbus buff a viable build? Will focusing on Int increase the damage done by storm nimbus?

[Swirls]

VIII] Questions for Veterans

Q1: Does Call of the Hunt have any boosting effect on Eruption when facing Beastmen? I’m asking because when I farm Legendary Secret Passage the Huge Anteok (Ben) goes down faster when I cast Call of the Hunt + Study Prey + Eruption.

A1: Yes! The +33% extra damage is for everybody, at the price of 1 point. That is one of the "hidden" mage synergies. (thanks to Violos)

Q2: What’s the difference between some Vitality Damage Types some bosses use? I’m talking about the Red Wave of the Grey Sisters vs The Blue Wave of Hades. I’m asking because my Core Dweller is quite impervious to Blue Wave attacks whereas the Greys with their Red Waves can kill my Dweller if I don’t dance him around. Aren’t they all Vitality Damage?

A2: The Greys mainly do lightning damage. (Violos)

Q3: Does Herbal Remedy have any boosting effect on the Core Dweller? I always cast it on him anyway. Is it a shameless behaviour?

A3: Your CD is already poison immune, but the regeneration works. (Violos)

Q4: In Poinas Guide for all Skill “Heat Shield” is said to give 245 Fire Damage absorption at level 12. I seem to have much more damage absorption than that and I haven't maxed the skill at all. How so?

A4: You're right! It actually absorbs 650 at 12, and 850 at 16.
Still, you usually want to keep it at 1 point for the 15% physical reduction and keep it away from fire. (Violos)

Q5: Legendary Stonebinder’s Cuffs vs Archmages’ Clasp? What would you wear? I’m asking because the Clasp didn’t drop for me.

A5: Both are great. I'd prefer clasps for mages that need their Eruptions, and SBC fow bowies.
If you still want to do a "true" hybrid and spread your points over the phys, pierce and fire themed skills, you will need the +3 to all. (Violos)


IX] Avenger vs Sage (Hunting + Storm)

Big match here. Because if you want to do Elemental Damage with a Bow you’ll have to consider either Earth or Storm. But to cut it short (I need some sleep) Storm wins easily:

- Storm slows down monsters naturally with the skill “Heart of Frost”. This is invaluable. On the other hand my Avenger can thank his Might of Hephaestus Artifact which granted him a 50% Slow as a completion bonus. This was invaluable!!

- You should also factor in Spellbreaker / Spell Shock which stripes monsters from their auras. What is a Melinoes Blade Dancer or a Phalanx Formicid Captain without onslaught? A ♥♥♥♥♥!!

- a Sage gets 2 debuffs instead of one! And what debuffs!! Squall & Study Prey will multiply your damage by a phenomenal margin! An Avenger can't possibly compete in this regard. The only thing that might turn you off is this: casting Squall & Study Prey constantly might cause your fingers to explode !! You've been warned!

- With Eye of the Storm (synergy of the Wisp): a Sage can benefit from a + 100 % Elemental Damage! That’s crazy!

Cons: but when your Wisp dies your DPS drops heavily,

Pro Rebuttal: Yes but it just takes 20 seconds to recast a Wisp. And with some - recharge gear that problem is out of the way. On the other hand when the Avenger’s Core Dweller dies it’s a Tragedy! (90 sec to recast!). It just feels like shopping naked in the middle of a Walmart!!

Now an Avenger doesn’t need a Pet to get increased Fire Damage. With Volatility and some + Skills he can attain a + 200 % bonus to Fire Damage. Ok It’s just a 33 % chance to proc. But believe me when you have maxed Eruption and Fragmentation (synergy of Volcanic Orb) you are guaranteed to benefit from it seeing the sheer number of fragments you get with higher levels.

So between Avenger and Sage it’s a trade-off. Pick your Poison.


X] Goodies that dropped in my game

Foreword: As said above my Avenger is an overall bad looter, but when it drops, it’s brilliant. I noticed something about drops: He seems to drop lots of high-end Rings & Amulets (chests or shops).

Fingerbone of Boreas (Aktaios Telkine, first run) / Hesperas Greaves / Phorkos Trident/ Archimede’s Cogwheel (Hydra Chest) / Vestment of the Overlord (Megalesios) / Apollo’s Bow / Ring of Gaia & Odysseus Armor (Library Scarab, first run) / Seal of Hephaestus / Adroit Loop / Bow of Herakles (from a skeleton inside Wusao Mountain) / Artemis' Silver Bow /Athena’s Battle Greaves…

Legendary Secret Passage (4 nights of serious farming):

Cerberus Bite / Visor of the Shadowlord / Athena’s Mirror Shield / Myrmidon's Pendant & Amulet of Morpheus, on the same run!) / Bracers of the Argonauts / Agamemnon Scepter & Appollo’s Will & Mark of Ares, same run) / Legguard of the Flameborn / Pendant of Immortal Rage / Aphrodite’s Favour / Sapros the Corrupter…

Hephaestus Molten Shield (from a simple Bone Pile near the Lurker Beast, Act IV) / Peleus Ashen Spear / Archmage’s Mantle / Pagos / Folg (with of Devouring affix, I was happy, d**n I need to make a screenshot) EDIT: for the screenshots look here) /

Note 1: things that didn't drop: Thorny Maul / Archmage's Clasp / Alexander's Cuirass / Tracker Set / Aionios...

Note 2: curiously enough from the moment I got my Sapros from SP, the chest refused to grant me purples for around 10 runs. Strange.

XI] Quotes concerning the Core Dweller

- “The Core Dweller is the best tanking pet in the history of gaming. It's by far the smartest and most effective pet I've ever seen.” (ruinx a fellow member of titanquest.net)

- “What'cha gonna do brother, what'cha gonna do when the Dweller runs wild on you?” (Hulk Hogan)

- “Cory is without a doubt THE most electrifying pet in entertainment today!” (The Rock)

XII] Personal Data

Name: Ion Storm.

This calls for some explanation. At first I wanted to make a Sage: I started with Hunting, was about to chose Storm at level 8 and then change my mind… I opted for Avenger. Ion Storm is the company which made Deus Ex. A favourite game of mine.

Sex: Female

Current Level: 63

Number of Deaths: Err! That’s classified…

Fun on Normal: scarce! You’ll curse the day you’ve rolled an Avenger. Constantly recasting your Core Dweller is not fun.

Fun on Epic & Legendary: a blast! Seriously an Avenger rocks late game, especially against bosses. Now I believe what Irma2 said about a certain rule in Titan Quest: If a character is weak on Normal, he can rock on Legendary! And if he rocks on Normal he may suck on Legendary.

XIII] Conclusion

Well! What can I say? I hope you enjoyed the read. It’s fun to play an Avenger and sometimes you’ll feel awesome. But that’s definitely not a class for beginners. I hope now you feel what is it to play a Hybrid. A blessing and a curse. Have a nice day!

[Wasserblaffer]

Originally posted by Swirls:

Interms of End Game Gear for a Bow Sage there is not much, but for an Avenger, there are appropriate rings, amulets, and bows for it. However, the armor will only buff piercing, but thats okay. It's okay to have a split normal, pierce, fire. I saved a guide from Titanquest,net a long while back on the Sage build. Give me 10 minutes and I'll find it. Be aware, it is terribly out of date, but the gist of it still stands. It has a sub section with a Sage / Avenger comparison, and you should be able to use some of what is said in the Avenger guide on your Sage.


Edit:It's super long and will take up a few posts.

Thanks. Yeah, I know that guide. It has been edited since to accomodate the AE changes, and end with stating that both Sage and Avenger are about equal, though in a different way.

I also feel that Avenger is safer, especially when it comes to gear, and Sage even with the right gear is still boring in this respect. However, gear aside, I think Avenger is more boring gameplay wise than Sage. It doesn't have the lengthy debuff combo's, Sage's animations and audio are much nicer, and most of the time a bow Avenger just pisses fire arrows over Corey's shoulder.

This is my dilemma really: I'd like an Avenger's flexibility combined with a Sage's gameplay.

[Swirls]

Originally posted by The Masked Muchacho:

Originally posted by Swirls:

Interms of End Game Gear for a Bow Sage there is not much, but for an Avenger, there are appropriate rings, amulets, and bows for it. However, the armor will only buff piercing, but thats okay. It's okay to have a split normal, pierce, fire. I saved a guide from Titanquest,net a long while back on the Sage build. Give me 10 minutes and I'll find it. Be aware, it is terribly out of date, but the gist of it still stands. It has a sub section with a Sage / Avenger comparison, and you should be able to use some of what is said in the Avenger guide on your Sage.


Edit:It's super long and will take up a few posts.

Thanks. Yeah, I know that guide. It has been edited since to accomodate the AE changes, and end with stating that both Sage and Avenger are about equal, though in a different way.

I also feel that Avenger is safer, especially when it comes to gear, and Sage even with the right gear is still boring in this respect. However, gear aside, I think Avenger is more boring gameplay wise than Sage. It doesn't have the lengthy debuff combo's, Sage's animations and audio are much nicer, and most of the time a bow Avenger just pisses fire arrows over Corey's shoulder.

This is my dilemma really: I'd like an Avenger's flexibility combined with a Sage's gameplay.

I whole heartedly agree.

[Wasserblaffer]

Originally posted by Swirls:

I whole heartedly agree.

That ain't helping, lol =P

[Vio]

Note that A4 above is outdated with how Heat Shield works nowadays.

[Drinkcup]

All builds are good