Post #2
I doubt i'd have a preview ready in time. The main reason is that i'm attempting to grab a lot of screenies to show what it is i'm talking about. They are what are taking the time. I could talk of some of the skill investment plan content here and now, i suppose.
The leveling of any of the trapsins varies very little in the initial stages. For the basic template, at level 24 I'll have the following points spent:
1 point into Sweb, CM, PH, BoS, WB, CoS, Fade, SWarrior, and MB
6 points into Fireblast
7 points into CBS
1 point into LS
This plan assumes having done the den of evil and radament, but not Izual yet. It also leaves 2 skill points unspent for getting SM and DS at level 30. From here, just get those skills when you get to them and invest a point every level into LS. The 2 points from the Izual quest will go to DS. At level 43 this plan would put us here:
1 point into: Sweb, CM, PH, BoS, WB, CoS, Fade, Swarrior, MB, and SM
6 points into fireblast
7 points into CBS
20 points into LS
3 points into DS
Not bad, let's move on. Counting the NM skill point quests, we'd have this at level 56:
1 point into SWeb, CM, PH, BoS, CoS, Fade, Swarrior, MB, and SM
6 points Fireblast
7 points CBS
20 points LS
20 points DS
From here, we alternate between CBS and Fireblast. We'll set our target level for entering hell at level 74 (it's doable to enter hell much earlier, but being a HC player myself i'd say it's not reccomendable). So, at level 74, our skills look like this:
1 point CM, PH, Sweb, BoS, CoS, Fade, Swarrior, MB and SM
15 points Fireblast
16 points CBS
20 point LS
20 points DS
I'd figure on 10 + skills at this point. With shadow and cunning claws, armor, helm, and ammy i'd say that's more than possible ( i have a gambling hab....er a very intelligent idea that the gambling screen is a logical means of aquiring nice equipment). Also, dedicating those slots to skills still leaves gloves, belt, boots, rings and charms to make the resists fade won't give. I also look for +assassin skills rather than +traps in all but the claw slots. Let's look at the numbers for entering hell taking the + skills into consideration.
Fireblast 996-1247
LS 5-3557
DS 3-1992, shoots 10 times
Fade (cast at level 11) +56 resists, 240 second duration
WB 42 percent chance of blocking
SWarrior and Master being cast at level 11.
I mention both shadows because i'll tend to solo with the warrior while questing and the master while mf'ing.
The stat point investment plan is the same as i listed in the guide. From levels 2 to 11: 2 str, 2 dex, 1 vit. That leaves us at level 11 with 40 str and dex and 30 vit. From here give 1 to str and dex and 3 to vit every level. Counting the tome quest, we'll hit the 79 str/dex req for greater talons at level 49. At that level our stats would look like this:
str 79
dex 79
vit 147
energy 25
Beyond level 49, everything will go to vitality leaving us with 277 vitality on our entrance to hell.
She's not ready to carry the load in 8 player baal runs, but she's more than ready to face the first three acts of hell at least. Once fireblast is at level 18 and CBS is maxed, we can bring our shadow of choice up to the target of casting her at level 18. If we count the hell skill quests, that would mean we'd be at level 83. This is still low enough to be able to gain decent experience in any of the level 85 areas. From here, we just pump Shock Web.
Just for fun, here's the numbers for our traps at level 90 with the same 10 + skills.
Fireblast 1562-1918
LS 6-4421
DS 3-1992, shoots 11 times
With her level 18 shadow and merc in tow, she's ready for act 5 hell. wink.gif
I'd better end this post, i'll post another one to bring up the differences between this trapper and the more MF oriented trapper i talked of earlier.
Post#3
Sorry to be spamming posts in your thread, future. Hope you don't mind too much.
For our eldritch/shenk/pindle focused trapper, we'll adjust our leveling skill and stat point plan slightly.
As it happens, when i came back to playing not long ago, this is the build i was using to gather items for other characters. I originally intended her as a nightmare runner who would never enter hell without being partied. She sits at level 64 right now awaiting her impending demise tomorrow. She killed baal in normal solo at level 35 with gear that some players wouldn't set foot into the blood moor wearing :lol: . Then did a few baal runs before entering NM at level 41. She began doing NM Andy runs at level 45. Basically, i sidetracked her in NM on countess, andy, and meph runs. She sits in act 5 currently. She runs meph easily if not quickly. Never had a close call with her in the durance. For anyone who cares, the gear she uses right now is:
Helm: bone helm with 2 Ptopaz's
ammy: magic +1 assassin, damage reduced by 3
armor: 4 P topaz gothic plate
weapon switch 1: 2 witchhunter's blade talons
weapon switch 2: gull dagger(thanks bremm) and rhyme bone shield
rings: two magic rings with +mana
gloves: chance guards (thanks andy)
belt: goldwrap (thanks again andy)
boots: rare light plate boots with MF and lighting/poison resists
charms: whatever life and mana charms i could find
her lightning and poison resists are close to max, the cold and fire resists sit at around 30-35 iirc. It's the playstyle that makes the runs easy for her. Well, that an her very large life ball. :thumbsup:
Never enter any room without having laid scouting traps there beforehand.
If you have to open a door, cast CoS first and look for the light circles that indicate monsters in the room. If those circles are close to the door, lay traps right in front of the door and open it with mind blast up and ready, not a trap. As soon as you have them blasted and stunned, lay traps inside the room.
Any time a ranged monster appears, cast CoS. It should become just instinct and reaction, no thought required.
The 2 LS 1 DS every screen or so works very well as you move down hallways. If they locate something, drop two more LS.
I don't think i've seen more than a handful of dolls in the durance actually still moving. They tend to be dead when i see them.
When going from one level of the countess's tower to another, always stop and recast fade, make sure mind blast is up instead of traps, if your shadow has gotten lost and disappeared recast here, and then take the stairway. Even if the stairway to the next level is right by the entrance to the level you're on, stop and do this. I've been amushed too often coming down the stairways to even consider anything else. I should also say that this 'sin has only once seen as much as a third of her lifebulb lost in one of these ambushes. That was to a dual boss pack of archers and goatmen. 2-4 mind blasts followed by CoS works wonders.
Enough of that. The skill and stat plans for this 'sin differ a bit. At level 24 her skills will look like this:
1 point FB, Sweb, CM, PH, BoS, CoS, WB, Fade, SWarrior, and MB
12 points CBS
1 point LS
Once again, this leaves 2 points saved for DS and SM at level 30. Next we max LS. The points from the Izual quest go towards DS again. Basically, this plan is less involved. Max LS, DS, CBS, then Sweb. You'll get to NM with a pretty strong lighting attack. Everything not LI will fall easily. LI monsters aren't really a big deal either as MB and your merc will handle them, they'll just cause you to pause a bit more.
For stats, I want to come up with more strength to wear some of the better MF gear should i find it. Skulder's Ire is nice for this build as we can get resists from fade. Instead of stopping your str investment when it gets to 79, keep giving it one or two points per level, depending on how fast you wish to get there, until str hits 95. That's 2 points shy of the req for skulder's, but one small charm of strength will do that for you.
I didn't add this above, but maybe it's worthwhile to mention it now. When my 'sin entered NM, she had a circlet with +1 assassin skills, two +1 traps claws and 2 +1 shadow claws. She was still using the leather gloves i'd found early in normal which had poison resist as their only mod. She wore a three socket armor with P saphires in it that Justify had given my sorc just before she was killed by bremm sparkfest and swapped between that and the 4 p topaz armor she built in act 1 NM. She didn't have the 'sin ammy yet and was using a rare ammy with resists and energy. She was using the same +mana rings that i mentioned earlier and some magic boots with lightning resist. I was lazy on shopping with her, so she didn't get her witchhunter's claws until act 3. The point being that a trapper really can be strong when built on cheap and, what some would call, very poor gear.
jrichard.
