Kodiak Talk

[TheDarkSide]

Kodiak Talk

So I finally got around to making me a PvM Kodiak and just for conversation purposes I'll ask a few questions and tell ya my plans .. I figure he'll be a hybrid of sorts .. I should have around +5 total skills ..

Im going to use Hunger as my main attack skill but Im also wondering about going the Cyclone Armor / Hurricane route for a secondary attack .. Or maybe Armageddon / one synergy maxxed . Was curious if a 20/20 - Ca / Hurricane or 20 Geddon / synergy will be able to kill anything . I realise I wont be able to fully synergise either one ...

I'll have Maul as a one point charge up before switching to Hunger as well .

So far Iv'e maxxed Oak Sage , because my friends trapper likes it and with Bo we've got crazy life .. Iv'e placed 1 point in all the summons to get the 1 point Grizzley Bear .. I went ahead and took a 1 point Poison Creeper as well ..

I'll probably drop 10 points into Lycanthropy and let + skills boost it , Werebear , and Hunger ..

Im going to use the follwing items ...

Shield - I found a 19 % Dr Spike Thorn and I can finally put it to use . Bad blocking but its ok as Im gonna use a 6 os phase blade and can leech back my life fast . With the 19 % Dr and a 14 % Dr String of Ears I should be ok there .

Weapon - 6 os phase blade for 4fps Hunger

Armor - just found an UM and made a nice 1300 defense Duress Great Hauberk

Gloves - not sure using Bloodfists atm

Hat - Im gonna use this Cerebrus Bite thats been on a mule for months . Its +4 to shapeshifting and 9 % life leech , 75 % bonus to AR !!

boots - Goblin Toes at the moment , hoepfully I can Mf some Goreriders ..

rings / amulet - rare +1 druid skills prismatic , ravenfrost , and rare resists / whatever I need

So basically the layout is

20 - oak
20 / 20 - Geddon / synergy - Cyclone armor / Hurricane
10 - lycanthropy
1 - shockwave cause its the best
rest of points into prereqs / 1 points wonders and finish up on either Hunger or a secondary synergy ..

Viable Hell killer ? SSOG's guide is where Im getting my info from and it looks solid ... Comments / Suggestions welcome ...

:thumbsup:

 

[superjayson]

the cyclone armor/hurricane route wont be that good. hurricane wont do any decent damage, but it will slow your enemies down when it hits them. also you cant cast hurricane in werebear form so its going to be a pain unshifting to cast it all the time.

armageddon wont do much damage each with one synergy, but you can at least cast it in werebear form so if you reallllly had to choose id go for armageddon over hurricane. it will be a nice fancy effect for your bear.

bloodfist = best armor for a werebear. whats your ar like ? sounds like its going to be really weak.

 

[Verashiden]

Or Max Twister and use Rain Armor for the CtC CA

 

[Ed from Russia]

There are a couple of options for you, as SSOG incidates in his Mighty Kodiak guide. I'll cover them below.

My favorite is the pure Mauler/Hunger bear, and I've built one over the last 2 weeks. My experience is that a 1-pt Hunger (plus equipment bonuses) is enough; one or two hits recovers your life. I normally use Maul as my primary attack, and switch to Hunger whenever my life is down. I've maxed Maul, Lycanthropy, Werebear and HoW, and put the rest of my points in Hunger. My (reasonably cheap) gear is also aimed at boosting my damage: Duress, Jalals, Highlords, 2xRaven, and the IK set (maul, boots, belt, gloves). All together this gives my (roughly) 5K damage, 55% CB, and 50%+ DS.

The Armageddon Kodiak is a fun build that wins you points for coolness but is less effective. You spend the minimum on your Kodiak build (1 pt Maul/Hunger, 10 pt Lycanthopy), and the rest in Armageddon and its synergies (put only 5 points in Fissure; a 20-seconds Armageddon is plenty). You can consider taking Oak Sage but that will limit your Armageddon output. It's a really fun build to play, and it does OK in Nightmare and lower Hell. At the last 2 acts of Hell your Armageddon damage becomes a problem (while it's already erratic), though your Crushing Blow still takes care of monsters effectively.

The last option is the Summoner Bear, see the guide by Safetypro (in the stickies). Your Summons are effective attackers beside yourself and the Merc,

Some additional comments
- I never liked the idea of Cyclone Armor for a Shapeshifter; you lack the synergies to make it effective.
- I am not sure if the effect from Maul keeps working when you shift to Hunger. The visual effect stays, but I'm not sure if the damage is increased. My feeling says that it isn't.
- A 1-pt Poison Creeper is pretty useless; use the Carrion Wind ring if you want a PC. Instead, consider investing another point in Carrion Vine; the life replenish is pretty handy and since he doesn't attack anyone is and under the ground most of the time, he doesn't die much.
- I much prefer Ribcracker as a weapon over a 6os PB. You need the CB. the PB is really for a Fireclaws bear. With a Shaeled Ribby and Highlords you reach (I believe) 5 frames with Hunger, which is (I think) top speed. But this is pretty expensive.
- Otherwise your best choice may be the IK set, as Safetypro suggests in his guide (stickies).
- The rest of your equipment seems fine

 

[TheDarkSide]

Ok sounds like I might just go Maul / Hunger and max those + Lycan and rest into Werebear ...

:thumbsup:

 

[MYK]

Get a Shaeled ribby, dude. Hunger requires damage and the phase won't have too much on it's own.
Or level up and slap on an azurewrath.
Save the speedy phase for a FC bear/wolf

 

[EpicDevia]

hi,

Ed from Russia , nice. i agree with you.
i have notice, if TheDarkSide needs max speed, go with hunger, but... life leach is a problem, because most bosses have reduced Drain Effectiveness, sometimes - even 0... go with draculs - much more efective for life leaching.
upped shaeled ribby is very fine.
armor? treachery - must have on a switch, i even use it as my main armor on pvm, on ubers - as a prebuf for additional res from fade.
boots - gore riders.
helm - 15ias jwled guiliame face, because u need that additional ias and cb, if u go with upped ribby.
belt - some with dr, verdungo or strings.
ring raven frost - must have, because chilled bear is soooo slow
and last... ar would be the issue. better go with how for greatly incresed damage and atack rating.
thats my opinion. good luck

EpicDevia

 

[TheDarkSide]

Thanks for the replies so far , here's how Im progressing along at the moment . Im currently level 51 and cruising right along in Nm act 4 .. Iv'e maxxed Oak sage , Lycanthropy , 10 points in Maul , 10 in Hunger , 1 pt poison creeper , and have 1 point in all summons up to Grizzley Bear .. Im going to max Maul next and then the rest of my points into Werebear ..

Im curently using the Black Bogs Sharp / Tiamats shield with a 15 ias jewel in my rare pelt and its does fine for Nm .. My friend has a chanter and the elemental damage from Tiamats and AR from chant is just fabulous . I'm highly considering keeping the Tiamats over that Spike Thorn for the elemental damage . !9 % DR on the Spike Thorn is tempting but Im going to have to wait until Hell mode and see how it feels .My ar is around 6k with chant on and no problems connecting just yet . I easily leech back any lost life / mana with a couple hits of Hunger ..

One reason Im leaning towards the Phase blade / Shield combo is repair costs and the resists issue . A phase blade doesnt need repairing and at a 4 frame attack any other weapon busts rather quickly . That and the fact that Iv'e pumped my Dex to 100 already makes the phase blade my choice . I always prefer the shield in Hell mode for resists purposes and the items Im choosing doesnt have a lot of resists .

I was tempted to make a Cresent Moon Phase Blade but it only has 20 IAs and it wont reach a 5 frame attack without other OIAS and I dont wanna mess with other equipment ..

Having fun with the Kodiak build so far . Im looking forward to seeing how he fares in Hell Mode ..


:thumbsup:

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,

Speed is of the essence when using Hunger & Fire Claws, but while on the subject, Wizardspike is base -20 and a Shael puts it at -40, which is faster than a stock phase blade. It's not a bad choice if you wanna get a crap ton of resists while using an attack like Fire Claw that doesn't care what your weapon's damage is anyways. You're slower ultimately using the spike, but.... maybe it's my HC survival is more important attitude kind of thing that makes me think that way...

Just thinking out loud.

And how, for Hunger, check out "Famine." You know they named it that specifically due to, well, Hunger existing. Also look at the Daemon's Arch & Gimmershreds. Gimmers has over 1500+ elemental damage and already has 30% ias built into it. Arch has a little less, but has more range.

Oh and while Hunger is fantastic for leech, if you just want to take advantage of speed and crank out more elemental juice, check out Voice of Reason in a phase blade. It lowers enemy cold res, offers a generous chunk of cold damage, and spams ice blasts and frozen orbs while you snack.

Cheers, :smiley:

 

[Ed from Russia]

Heya,

Speed is of the essence when using Hunger & Fire Claws, but while on the subject, Wizardspike is base -20 and a Shael puts it at -40...

Just thinking out loud.


Cheers, :smiley:

I don't agree. If you want to use Hunger effectively, you really need a lot of Crushing Blow and/or elemental damage. Your other damage is reduced to 1/4 and the only elemental damage you get comes from your weapon. You can use Gore Riders, Jalals and Duress if you like, but the easiest way to get it is from your weapon. Wizardspike and shaeled phase blades are mega-fast, but don't have either CB or elemental damage. Ribby gives you lots of CB. The IK Maul gives you CB plus nice elemental damage, and is your cheapest option. Famine is an option as well, for the elemental damage. There are a few other runewords with CB and some IAS that are useful. IMO Ribby is still your top choice.

 

[MalVeauX]

I don't agree. If you want to use Hunger effectively, you really need a lot of Crushing Blow and/or elemental damage. Your other damage is reduced to 1/4 and the only elemental damage you get comes from your weapon. You can use Gore Riders, Jalals and Duress if you like, but the easiest way to get it is from your weapon. Wizardspike and shaeled phase blades are mega-fast, but don't have either CB or elemental damage. Ribby gives you lots of CB. The IK Maul gives you CB plus nice elemental damage, and is your cheapest option. Famine is an option as well, for the elemental damage. There are a few other runewords with CB and some IAS that are useful. IMO Ribby is still your top choice.

`Tis true,

But you can get Crushing blow elsewhere beyond your weapon. It's not ideal for raw damage output, but if you're interested in more survival in terms of elemental resistance, it's an option. After all, all the leech in the world doesn't help when you get zonked by a super concentrated LE unique that you just bit into thinking +200 life gain will save you from, that is, unless you have serious lighting resistance.

Not all biters have to be raw damage dealers. But again, HC roots may make it seem `silly' to others.

Cheers,

 

[TheDarkSide]

Well I finally equipped my phase blade and this Kodiak is kicking serious arse now in Nm Act 5 .. Iv'e equipped Guillaume's Face , Goblin Toes , and Duress and have 75% CB which seems to be plenty . I maul and hunger so fast nothing stands very long . I have a lot of elemental damage and cb and its working well in Nm mode .. I'll probably attack Hell tonight sometime and then I'll re-evaluate and adjust if neccessary .. Good fun so far though ...

:thumbsup:

Btw - I only play Hardcore so survival is what Im after .. And this Kodiak is proving to be well capable of survival --- so far !!

 

[Jary]

I'd try to stray from using PB if you can, its speed is good but it's physical damage is so low you might as well not have any leech at all.

Hunger is only proportional to the damage you can dish out, therefore what you want is AS MUCH physical damage charged up possible, that way you'll have greater returns...aka survivability. This is why generally ~10 points in maul is suggested to not only charge-up 3-4 sec stun each attack, but also improve your leech capabilities.

elemental damage is completely sorbed in hell... monsters resists, life, toughness are all higher, as well as monster heal, which basically just nerfs any pety ele damage. Your CB is very nice, but it basically works like static... very effective against bosses, but you'll struggle in normal play against average life swarms...without a descent physical damage from maul or magic damage from azure to balance it out you'll kill very slow.

 

[TheDarkSide]

Ya'll are just trying to make me rebuild aren't ya !! As I said before I've pumped Dex to 136 in order to use the phase blade .. Im level 58 at this point and getting to 225 str for a 2 handed maul is not an option . I could go with an upped rib crackker though but I really want the benefit of +50 resists Im getting from my Pdiamonded Tiamats ..

I do agree the PB damage is rather low but man its so fast (4fps) it seems to be working quite well . I know Hell is gonna be more difficult but thats why Im traveling with a trapper and we seem to be doing well .. As long as she keeps those traps away from my hind quarters I think we'll be fine and I wont have to biotch slap and make her a snack ...

If only I could find a 4 Os Eth Scourge - Id make him a Oath .... Someday I'll find one , but Iv'e been looking for one since the ladder reset for my Zerker too ..

Btw- nice video Jary ... :thumbsup:

edit - ewww ewww ewwwww and more ewwwwww - I just ran the little blue staff through the speed calculator and it only Mauls at 8 frams with a Shael (70% ias) and 6 frames Hunger Shaeled .. Im gonna need at least a 5 frame attack - so Im not sure I can do the shieldless / slow Kodiak build ...

 

[TheDarkSide]

Ok now Im brainstorming and Iv'e been at work for 12 hours now - 4 more to go so here we go . If I use a Shaeld Lightsabre (40ias) with Ik gloves (25ias) + boots , and socket hat and armor with a 15 ias jewel that wil get me to a 6 frame hunger / 7 frame maul ..

Pros - the damage is much better increasing my leech and magic and lightning damage added to my attack , Ik boots give ar , life , and speed boost . I get to keep my shield for additional elemental damage and the +50 all resists ..

Cons - I lose a couple frames attack speed , I lose 25% CB from Goblin Toes reducing me to 50 % CB ..

Viable or Not ? My friend does have an Azurwraith that I found and let him use on his Uber Pally . Id hate to ask for it back - maybe I can Pk him on accident ...

:evil:


edit - grumble grumble I forgot - Im wearing Duress - cannot socket armor with Ias jewel ...

edit again - Ok I checked the calculator and I'll still get 6 frame hunger and 7 frame maul . In fact I dont need Ik gloves or boots to do that as I can only get 6 frames with the lightsabre ..

Too Slow or good nuff for Pvm ??

 

[sirmessbu]

Azure/ lightsaber with shael will both net you 7fps maul and 6fps hunger. As far as pvm goes thats enough.


Don't get useless ias from gear, while shifted a druid attack speed only rely on weapon ias.

Tiamat is nice and offer decent damage for normal and nightmare but in hell don't rely on it too much with the resistance monster have any damage lower then 200 is pretty weak. But of course every bit helps.

Azure is the fastest sword you can get that has good damage, the aura it grant would also allow you to hurt and leech off from undeads, may they be immune to physical or not.


As long you play with your assassin friend all should be good in hell, you take care of the bosses and high life mobs with your crushing blow , while his traps will rip trough every other mobs.


Good luck whatever choice you make and :thumbsup: props for making an out of the box character :thumbsup:

 

[Verashiden]

Azure/ lightsaber with shael will both net you 7fps maul and 6fps hunger. As far as pvm goes thats enough.


Don't get useless ias from gear, while shifted a druid attack speed only rely on weapon ias.

Tiamat is nice and offer decent damage for normal and nightmare but in hell don't rely on it too much with the resistance monster have any damage lower then 200 is pretty weak. But of course every bit helps.

Azure is the fastest sword you can get that has good damage, the aura it grant would also allow you to hurt and leech off from undeads, may they be immune to physical or not.


As long you play with your assassin friend all should be good in hell, you take care of the bosses and high life mobs with your crushing blow , while his traps will rip trough every other mobs.


Good luck whatever choice you make and :thumbsup: props for making an out of the box character :thumbsup:

Partly incorrect. Bears benefit from OIAS, Wolves don't (it's not fair T-T)

And +1 for Azure Wrath Shaeled.

 

[TheDarkSide]

Ahh yes - I was thinking Bears got the benefit of OIAS ..

:thumbsup:

Level 68 as of tonight ..

I switched out the 4 shaeld / one jewel phase blade and replaced with a Lightsabre . Damage output is much better even though its not quite as fast -but I guess I can live with it ..

Changed out the Guillaume's for Cerebrus Bite which totally sucks so I then changed that out for good old Jalal's . I cant find any benefit of NOT using Jalal's at this point and Im sticking with it . This knocks my Crushing Blow down to 40 % but Im finding that seems to be plenti in Nm Baal runs ...

A couple more Baal runs and Im hitting Hell at level 70 where the true test begins . So far Im having a blast playing this Kodiak !!

:jig:

 

[TheDarkSide]

Died in act 4 to a NM FE !!

:cry:

Got looted though so now the rebuild begins ...

Learned a few things along the way .. 1 point summons suck and are a waste of points . Im gonna try the Ik maul , boots , gloves, belt this time around and see if I like it better ..

 

[Ed from Russia]

Learned a few things along the way .. 1 point summons suck and are a waste of points .

True for all except the Grizzly, and only if your equipment bonuses gets your skills up to about lvl 8. Get a cheap Druid Torch, wear Jalals and if you can afford it Chains of Honor.