windy questions - merc and shield

[FrozenSolid]

windy questions - merc and shield

Whats a better shield for winddruids ; storm or sanct?
What merc is better to use; hf or defiance?

Is max block worth it or is all vit better? It seems he needs too much dex for it...

 

[det]

I am quiet happy with a RHYME Grim Shield.

Cannot be frozen, Res all, Mf, Increased block, faster block. Takes the best of both worlds.

Quick rundown on my setup: PTopaz Skulders, PTopaz Shako, Wizspike, RHYME Grim Shield, Tals belt, Aldurs boots, Chancies, Crafted Ele ammy, ..

350 mf and pretty safe at killing things. Merc with Reapers Toll, Shafz and Tals Mask (HF merc)

Playing Hardcore and still alive and kicking at lv 91...

 

[FrozenSolid]

Finally someone who doesnt suggest the whole enigma and co setup
You still aim for max block with grim rhyme? It takes about 240 dex at lvl 91

 

[det]

Hahaha..Enigma, moi? No way.

Actually I am really proud of that Windy...proud to the point where I say if you Need Enigma, CTA and stuff to beat the game, you are a bad player (imperative word : "need")

No, he lived his first 85 levels of his life in an untwinked group...KTA. We made Guardian by playing only with what we found, getting all WPs and Quests (including Nihlatak on NM and Hell).

After that he used his GUL rune from Hellforge to buy a Ani and a few elemental skillers and the merc setup. Skullders and Shako were found later.

Actually I do use Stormshield on a Meteorb sorc, but only because she is so frail and doesn't have Oak or several tanks. On a Windy...dunno...it could work as well..if you have it. You can HEL it and need only 133 str...and it has more block than a RHYME. But at the time when I build the Windy I didn't have a SS.

Indeed, he has 220 dex (+20 from Tals belt). Enough str to wear his items (Skulders is the heaviest at 91 str IIEC) and about 1100 HP. With Oak its about 2400.

So...2400, max block and a lot of Elemental absorb from CA. The last scary moment I had was when I helped some people do Izual in Hell and ran into packs and packs and packs of Gloams.

Not a character to rush people, but safe for the "casual" player, who thinks Necros are to passive and Melee builds to dangerous. And it has great possibilities to be customized.

 

[jgreg7]

What merc is better to use; hf or defiance?

So far no one has answered the merc question. From what I've seen it seems to be mostly dependent on your playing style and preference. I'm using a defiance merc right now, since my windy is still leveling through normal. However I'm beginning to think I will keep him throughout. Anyone else have thoughts on the wind's merc?

 

[Zekiel]

Is there a specific shield I should aim for to make RHYME in? Something that will allow me max block with a lower dex investment?

 

[FrozenSolid]

If you dont mind the low defense and slower r/w I would suggest tower shields since they have only 75 str req and 44% chance to block (highest for druids).

 

[jgreg7]

If you dont mind the low defense and slower r/w I would suggest tower shields since they have only 75 str req and 44% chance to block (highest for druids).

Bone shields can have higher defense and almost the same chance to block (40%), but no r/w penalty and only 25 str requirement (58 str for grim shield).

 

[Gore_Nutling]

If you want to, you could use a Gerke's Sanctuary. I don't think it is very expensive, it has some nice mods and has 74% block on Druids.

I like my Defiance merc a lot. He gives me a comfortably high defense rating which along with my Cyclone Armor makes me nearly impervious to both physical and elemental damage. Excellent for a caster that has to stay in the fray to hit stuff. However my base defense itself is relatively high from the items I use (my armor has about 1370 defense and my shield about 500), so other people might not have the same results.

 

[FrozenSolid]

Bone shields can have higher defense and almost the same chance to block (40%), but no r/w penalty and only 25 str requirement (58 str for grim shield).

Scratch my last suggestment.
I forgot that the dex difference needed for 64% block shield and 60% block shield is only about 20 at lvl 99. And with only 25 str req you would save 50 pts that would do better in dex and vit. But since you probably need more str for other equip I would suggest a grim shield also
I use a troll nest but only because the str req is the same for verdungos

 

[Darknicrofia]

So far no one has answered the merc question. From what I've seen it seems to be mostly dependent on your playing style and preference. I'm using a defiance merc right now, since my windy is still leveling through normal. However I'm beginning to think I will keep him throughout. Anyone else have thoughts on the wind's merc?

Personally, I rarely use my mer at all, (my char is mostly pvp) but in the occasions in which I do feel like reviving him and doing something, I equip him with a special doom eth crpyic axe ( does around 1k damage) so he automatically gets HF, so I guess if u can afford a mer doom for him, make him a defiance mer

 

[Roar]

wouldnt teh Spelndor runeword be a good idea? you wont need much resist cause there is cyclone armor:
Eth + Lum
+1 To All Skills
+10% Faster Cast Rate
+20% Faster Block Rate
+60-100% Enhanced Defense (varies)
+10 To Energy
Regenerate Mana 15%
50% Extra Gold From Monsters
20% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
+3 To Light Radius

i like this shield very much, but for hardcore a storm would maybe be better

 

[Zekiel]

I like that runeword, but it'd take sick amounts of dex to raise your block %age and windy's (imho) need to be right in the thick of things to hit stuff.