Spirit vs Stormshield

[Tom Sawyer]

Spirit vs Stormshield

This is for my meterorb sorc at level 89

I am currently using a Monarch runeword spirit for my primary shield with an occy for a weapon. On the switch I use ali baba's blade and a rhyme shield for MF

However I just found a Stormshield (normal, not ethereal) last night and reread the Meterorb guide.

Simple question is the spirit with its faster cast rate and +2 to skills a better shield than the stormshield?

Just curious to know what you all are using and whether I should keep the stormshield or trade it off

Cheers!

 

[Antonio]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

Stormshield is a good shield for blocking and damage reduction, nice resists are also included. Spirit on the other hand has skills, good fcr and fhr as well as good resists. Decide what you need more and use the appropriate shield.
If you don't have enough dexterity to obtain 75% block with stormshield there is no reason to use it, you'd be better of with spirit.

 

[Uncle_Mike]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

I'd use spirit for PvM. Stormshield is a great blocking shield but max block doesn't seem to be a must for PvM IMO.

2 skills, fcr, and massive FHR are invaluable.

 

[sirpoopsalot]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

... Stormshield (normal, not ethereal)...

FYI, there's no such thing as a (legitimate) ethereal Stormshield. Items with an inherent "Indestructible" mod can't spawn ethereal, unless "ethereal" is also inherent (Shadow Killer assassin claw, etc.).


To answer your question, I'd pick Spirit any day of the week (and twice on Sunday, as the saying goes).

 

[guface]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

I would actually go for storm contrary to everyone else here. I use a meteorrb (well more FB/orb) and if you're teleing around meph and WSK you want to halve the damage u get. Those times you're getting to 30% health due to one doll explosion makes u appreciate SS. Also remember meteorb doesnt need FCR except for teleporting. The other advantage is of course you dont need to reach 156 str or whatever it is. SS allows u to str bug with 30 extra.

With shako and SS you're getting 45% DR which is just immense. I use a gull/rhyme on switch. You can also socket a SS - rbf/pdiamond is quite useful. With tal ammy, armor, belt, occy, shako, ptopazed, you're getting 316%mf. On switch this changes to 391.

With perfect chancies, WTs, gheeds, 5x7mf scs, this goes up to 165 extra - 481/556. AND you're getting 45% and max block. Only thing you have to be weary of is gloams as they still hurt with maxresists. You can always put on Tgods/wisp in hard areas.

 

[Akse]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

I've used spirit now and ** level atm with my hc cb/orb sorc.. I've had no situation where storm or block would have been usefull..

 

[Hypnosx]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

"doesnt need FCR except for teleporting"

I'd disagree with that, since fireball is your primary damage spell and its not timered?

With stormshield and max block you'll be able to take alot of punishment, but you're losing killing power... my last char I made originally to use max block with stormshield and I just found that it was overkill... I now always use spirit.

 

[Robobaby]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

Those times you're getting to 30% health due to one doll explosion makes u appreciate SS.

They shouldn't be exploding. The fact that they are means that in all liklihood your merc has a high damage polearm equipped and is killing them.

If you are MFing Meph and find yourself blind teleporting Durance 2 alot then you really don't want your merc to be holding a CV Insight and doing 2.3k damage per hit. Your a2 defensive will be able one shot stygian dolls which can and probably will turn both of you into chunky salsa.

 

[sangvantue]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

sorry for this noob question, im a newbie with sorc.
But someone pls tell me how i can get enough streng points to use spirit monarch, cuz its required 156 strengs too, and no streng extra. My streng now is 110 ( i think based is 116 ).
Sorry for my bad english. Thank you

 

[DH Amazon]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

sorry for this noob question, im a newbie with sorc.
But someone pls tell me how i can get enough streng points to use spirit monarch, cuz its required 156 strengs too, and no streng extra. My streng now is 110 ( i think based is 116 ).
Sorry for my bad english. Thank you

If you don't have items (twinked) already just use hard points to get 156 str.
If you have anni, torch etc... then you can safe some hard points.

Thunder Belt is good (+20str), IK belt (+25str), IK gloves (+20str). Amus can give +30str, rings +20str, BUt use these kind of items only as temp solution until you get lvls and put more points to str.

Don't use +str charms (can use as temp), as life charms etc.. gives more.

Travs boots give +str, Shako (a little), Pamethyst in shako is lousy, but can you as temp solution, replace with better when you reach str req with hard points.

And even eth monarch (146str req) is one lousy fix, but replace with normal later.

 

[guface]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

They shouldn't be exploding. The fact that they are means that in all liklihood your merc has a high damage polearm equipped and is killing them.

If you are MFing Meph and find yourself blind teleporting Durance 2 alot then you really don't want your merc to be holding a CV Insight and doing 2.3k damage per hit. Your a2 defensive will be able one shot stygian dolls which can and probably will turn both of you into chunky salsa.

partizan insight, actually, non eth. I mf WSK a lot though, killing all rather than teleing to throne room. The dolls there in the throne room I try to kill too and those are nastier than durance. Remember it may be nice on paper to have this idea that you'll never get hit by a doll and that one would never explode on you if you play in a certain way, but in game chaos and lag etc means thats never completely true.

Its also not only the dolls but everything else. Everytime i go below 30% - from some nasty frenzied extra strong blood lords or a single nasty pack of convi aurad gloams, this is where SS saved my life.

"doesnt need FCR except for teleporting"

I'd disagree with that, since fireball is your primary damage spell and its not timered?

With stormshield and max block you'll be able to take alot of punishment, but you're losing killing power... my last char I made originally to use max block with stormshield and I just found that it was overkill... I now always use spirit.

Well i have other sources of FCR - and I dont need to pass the 105 BP. Occy/HotO, tal x 3 set and say 1 FCR ring or arachnid, or mage/TO gloves puts you over the 63. When you're doing 7k fireballs it doesnt really matter whether its 8 or 7 fps. Again here the killing power is enough - I prefer to stay alive and kill rather than squeeze out another 2k on top of your 14k meteor.

 

[sangvantue]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

Thank you DH Amazon, i will try. Im gonna use tal's set ( not full yet ). So i think i have to look for a ik glove then.

 

[Robobaby]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

partizan insight, actually, non eth. I mf WSK a lot though, killing all rather than teleing to throne room. The dolls there in the throne room I try to kill too and those are nastier than durance. Remember it may be nice on paper to have this idea that you'll never get hit by a doll and that one would never explode on you if you play in a certain way, but in game chaos and lag etc means thats never completely true.

You will never die to exploders in durance 2 if you teleport through it and your merc doesn't have a high damage polearm.

You may have to kill exploders (like undead soul killers) to clear Throne in which case max blocking gives you a 75% chance to block half the damage of the explosion (which is 50% physical and 50% fire). I believe the other half can be resisted.

I dont even have 1k life on my Light Sorc and I haven't died to an exploder in what seems like forever though admittedly my sorc is twinked to holy crap and back.

 

[Akse]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

The dolls are no problem to kill even naked.. you have the merc in LOD which will tank them and you can just blast them from range.

 

[FoxyG]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

Unless you're a melee sorc, I see no real reason to use Stormshield. You really shouldn't be getting close enough to be getting hit a lot. Spirit gives +2 skills which is invaluable for such a skill-based class, up to 35% FCR which is huge for a shield and very useful for lightning-based sorcs in particular. The resists admittedly leave a big fire gap but an unsocketed Stormshield does too.

If you really don't believe +2 skills will help you, and you're not using Fire Ball, (Chain) Lightning, Ice Blast, Glacial Spike, Charged Bolt, (Frost) Nova, Teleport or Static then you might as well use Stormshield.

 

[Robobaby]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

The dolls are no problem to kill even naked.. you have the merc in LOD which will tank them and you can just blast them from range.

The point is that if you are teleporting Durance 3, your merc is going to be on top of you the entire time. So when you blind teleport next to a doll or worse still into a mob of dolls and your merc blows one of them up when you teleport lock or something then theres really no way to avoid taking a tonne of damage. If you are max blocking you have a good chance to block the physical half of the explosion though.

 

[Akse]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

The point is that if you are teleporting Durance 3, your merc is going to be on top of you the entire time. So when you blind teleport next to a doll or worse still into a mob of dolls and your merc blows one of them up when you teleport lock or something then theres really no way to avoid taking a tonne of damage. If you are max blocking you have a good chance to block the physical half of the explosion though.

Well then you have too powerfull weapon on your merc.. Even if I would use storm.. I wouldn't take the chance of 25% to get instagibbed if I happen to not block the explosion.

 

[Robobaby]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

I wouldn't either. A Meph MFer is one of the few times I would actually use Kelpie Snare on my merc. Does totally crap damage ( and slow is useful for Meph himself). As long as you dont upgrade it and its not eth you wont be able to one shot anything which is great when teleing Durance 2.

You would need to be able to play without Meditation aura though which means you need a decent amount of mana. If playing a zero energy build then its going to have to come from items and/or charms.

 

[Hypnosx]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

with the 105% FCR breakpoint my merc never pops a skelly when I go down to meph... he's using an eth infinity and doing up to like 3k damage... I just never seem to have a problem with it, and I'm using a spirit with my only DR% coming from enigma and like 9% chance to block just from base dex + items

it shouldnt insta gib you if you're put all your points in vit (except the maybe 40 you need in str)... if one does happen to pop just drink a pot and keep going

 

[Robobaby]

Re: Spirit vs Stormshield

I'm guessing that your gear setup is better than the average bears since you have an Enigma. Mostly I assume people have the bare minimum with regards to gear hence why I'm even mentioning Kelpie Snare in the first place. If your gear is better than the bare minimum then sure, feel free to disregard anything said above since it won't apply. When your gear is good enough you can get away with practically anything anyway.