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3 years ago ::
Jun 25, 2010 - 7:40PM
#31
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Date Joined:
Mar 15, 2001
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Swordmage at-will - You have access to Swordmage at-wills. This is kind of a good-news, bad-news thing. Mostly bad.
Aww, c'mon. You're gonna be using Winged Horde 99% of the time. Trading Thunderwave for Sword Burst Rolling Thundered isnt that much of a change.
Swordmage enc,util,daily - This is a stretch but you have the um... opportunity to choose an encounter power, daily, and utility from Swordmage. The utility might be nice, but you are almost guaranteed to get shafted on the daily and encounter picks.
The utility switches are sky blue, there are some decent encounter options....dailys? Well, the Swordmage 19 dailys can be competitive with WIZ 19 dailys...course WIZ 1-15 dailys blow them all away.
1) Avoid weapons - You have even worse AC than the baseline build thanks to loss of Staff Mastery. Therefore being close to the bad guys is a terrible idea. Also, you will likely use a staff of ruin and an offhand orb of nimble thoughts, which you have to stow to even MAKE a passible melee attack (for 1d8 W damage with +2 proficiency which is lousy).
Or you could just take Staff Mastery and save your money instead of keeping up a second implement. This also makes the Janissary encounter a viable power.
These are my quick picks
at-will: Swordburst - Implement party-friendly close burst 1 attack. This is similar enough to thunderwave, minus the push and Promise of Storm benefits, but a lot safer to aim. Lightning Lure looks good at first, but is dubious because you have to teleport a bad guy right next to you! It does trigger promise of storm though and with the right party it might work.
Enc 1: Falcon's mark - Range 5 attack. Weapon-based throw-attack vs Reflex for extra accuracy.
Daily 1: Frost Backlash - Immediate Reaction weapon vs reflex attack against a foe that hit you. It is an out of turn attack that is very accurate and hits hard.
Util 2: Mythal Recovery - Enc util to make a saving throw.
Enc 3: Dimensional Vortex - Imm Interrupt when a foe hits an ally. You can 'hit' to force the foe to teleport somewhere and hit their ally instead of your ally!
Daily 5: This level just sucks.
Eh, Lingering Lightning is effectively Close Burst 5 1d8+INT+Ongoing. Not great, but serviceable, especially with PoS.
Util 6: Unicorn Touch - daily minor util touch for you or ally to make a save. It is pretty lousy compared to Mythal, but at least you can assist another player with it.
What? You dont like a Teleport power?
You should not for any reason take a swordmage power at higher than level 22. The wizard spells are just WAY superior.
Agree here.
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3 years ago ::
Jun 28, 2010 - 6:31AM
#32
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Date Joined:
Apr 10, 2008
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I agree that winged horde will be used most of the time. Id rather have thunderwave than a swordmage at-will though. Hence it is a rather dubious advantage.
Utilities are sky blue? Wizards have some very nice utilities which formed my rating. You aren't gaining a utility, you are sacrificing a known-good wizard utility for a swordmage one. Even getting a good swordmage utility is a break-even and thus a purple or red (because your net gain is zero).
You'd have to find a really friggin awesome utility to come out ahead. I found some decent ones sure, but not much that is obviously superior to what the wizard already gets, which is how I arrived at this rating. It does open up your power selection though which is always a good thing.
(maybe I mis-read the unicorn one?)
There are some decent powers for swordmage though. In fact I do like that you can take a level 7 out-of-sequence attack, vs the wizards level 13 one. There are many more out-of-sequence choices too, at the cost of being 1-target. Also, you lose your empowerment bonus with all swordmage powers.
The dailys are a problem, but I friggin love that level 15 interrupt one. In fact, since you are NOT a defender, you can really abuse the heck out of certain powers which expect that you are in melee forcing enemies to attack you. By hiding in the back you can really boost how good these powers are.
Take staff mastery? Hmm? Yeah you could spend a hybrid talent feat to get it back, but its only a +1 AC, so I didn't feel it was worthwhile. The idea is to have 2 implements, a main one, and a +1-less powered one for Dual Implement Spelclaster. You could take Staff Fighting and do this with a staff of ruin, but I prefer the second implement's cool bonus over having to take another feat. Feats are pretty tight.
The lingering Lightning was decent, but it was not party friendly. I wanna keep this build out of melee as much as possible and therefore try to stick to party-friendly blasts/close-bursts. Hence, I preferred the out-of-sequence attacks as I'd rather spam Winged Horde than use a sub-par blast where I don't get empowerment.
My Sorc Guide Link:
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19649162/Joes_Sorcerer_Guide_AP_update_51509
My Genesi Wizard Blaster Link:
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/25082729/Miniguide_to_Genesi_LightningThunder_Blaster_Wizard_%2806-2010%29
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3 years ago ::
Jun 28, 2010 - 8:17AM
#33
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Date Joined:
Mar 15, 2001
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The advantage of Swordburst is that it ends up a party friendly burst 2 vs an unfriendly Blast 4 with a push(with little-to-no WIS). I think "break-even" should measure a black in this section.
Swordmages have quite a few very nice utilties themselves. Even one level of Swordmage Utility outshining a Wizard equivalent puts the option to take it at sky-blue.
Unicorn is probably the worst of the level 6 swordmage utilitys, which include an encounter teleport, fly, defense booster, double speed move and a daily save penalty power all of which are on-par with Wiz utilities at that level.
Along with using the powers in unintended ways, you take being a "chicken-defender" to a whole new level. Drop your Aegis on a mob with no range and then duck behind the rest of your party. You've just boosted all the partys defenses by 2 and you have the option to apply your aegis effect if it looks like a good idea. I'd suggest shielding, unless you plan on going assault and using those out-of-sequence attacks alot. Your defenses arent going to be that bad.
Oops, meant to say take "staff fighting" instead of mastery. Your one Staff of Ruin is now a full strength off-hand implelement, your AC is +1 for the defensive property and you now have a viable melee attack to use with the Jannisary powers. Your off hand slot can still be filled with a second option that you can drop/switch out at will, but your primary pick is full DIS.
Lingering Lightning is Range 5, One, Two or Three targets. The only thing unfriendly about it is it draws OAs if you're not careful. Not a great option, but its not a wasted slot for a blaster with PoS available.
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3 years ago ::
Jun 28, 2010 - 11:17AM
#34
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Date Joined:
Apr 23, 2005
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Ive heard both ways regarding the multiclass feats. Especially with the new wording which simply says that you can use bla-class implements.
Check out the FRPG FAQ. That should remove any confusion.
Also, it's a moot point, because you can just take a lightning quarterstaff--according to the example in the errata and PHB3, that works just fine.
The whole issue of whether adding a damage type adds a keyword is also still up in the air. It seems that even the dev team is giving inconsistent clarifications on that one.
"Edison didn't succeed the first time he invented Benjamin Franklin, either." Albert the Alligator, Walt Kelly's Pogo Sunday BookThe Core Coliseum: test out your 4e builds and fight to the death.
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3 years ago ::
Jun 29, 2010 - 6:34AM
#35
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Date Joined:
Apr 10, 2008
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I thought the keyword adding was pretty much a done deal. Much talk about this has already been done. I know ybberium thought it was so, along with everything Ive seen about whetstones, eldritch gloves, etc. I have heard nothing to the contrary.
Marshall, I think I do agree regarding swordburst. I like Twave early because of its damage and ability to trigger Promise. But at later levels, swordburst is definitely superior when you can resound it and thunder it. At epic with spell mastery, Id probably prefer TWave again though.
I agree about the chicken-defender. It can cause some marking issues with the real defender, but would be a fun playstyle and can be advantageous.
My Sorc Guide Link:
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19649162/Joes_Sorcerer_Guide_AP_update_51509
My Genesi Wizard Blaster Link:
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/25082729/Miniguide_to_Genesi_LightningThunder_Blaster_Wizard_%2806-2010%29
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3 years ago ::
Jul 20, 2010 - 1:22PM
#36
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joemama, i am glad to see you writing again. good guide. still not sold on the thunder plan vs standard cold builds but i does look good just the same.
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3 years ago ::
Jul 20, 2010 - 1:43PM
#37
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Date Joined:
Aug 22, 2005
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Hey joe, two things:
In your swordmage section, you forgot the close the color code tags for three powers. (Need to have "blue" rather than "blue).
Also, have you taken a look at the Heir of Siberys ED? Much like how Chosen = FR Demigod, it seems Heir of Siberys = Eb Demigod. The Mark of Storm choice (doesn't require the actual dragonmark) is kind of nifty - difficult terrain, anything that's flying you control their move, you fly, and +1d10 damage to lightning and thunder powers.
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3 years ago ::
Jul 22, 2010 - 2:30PM
#38
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Date Joined:
Apr 10, 2008
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Yeah I need to fix the formatting.
I don't have enough experience with epic to really offer recommendations. I mentioned that in the section and just tossed in a few that look good. That Heir one looks pretty sweet though. Ill have to look at it and toss it in too.
I need to update to include Arc Lightning from the wizard essentials. Its an at-will lighting 2 target 1d6 power. Crappy for the most part, but pretty nice for heroic tier wizards due to triggering Promise of Storm as early as level 1. It might replace Scorching burst early on, or thunderwave if they expect to be able to avoid needing Close powers altogether.
At level 1, Arc is a sick beating. Promise, and hit 2 dudes anywhere on the map for 1d6 +4INT +4STR +1d8 each! (16 ave dmg) for 2 rounds worth! And that is just using at-wills.
Once you hit paragon, you'd use Winged Win as your at-will of course. But Arc definitely helps those who try this build starting at very low levels.
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I see Cold being better for single target types. Since winterhoze was nerfed to 1 baddie that hurts the AoE cold users. Ease of conversion is definitely a plus, but I love being able to take advantage of Resounding Thunder for size increase and the free Promise of Storm damage.
My Sorc Guide Link:
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19649162/Joes_Sorcerer_Guide_AP_update_51509
My Genesi Wizard Blaster Link:
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/25082729/Miniguide_to_Genesi_LightningThunder_Blaster_Wizard_%2806-2010%29
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3 years ago ::
Jul 23, 2010 - 11:11AM
#39
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Date Joined:
May 17, 2008
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Any thoughts on the Simbarch of Aglarond Paragon Path? What about Illusory Ambush instead of Winged Horde? I know Winged Horde is very useful when you need to move around a lot, but what of the merits of a good Thunder Arcane Admixtured and Psychic Locked Illusory Ambush? Also I think the Shimmering Armor could be rated higher. Just because the other party members can handle enemies doesn't mean they'll be willing and/or able to handle all of them at once. Having it as a precaution against larger groups of enemies or foes that get by all your allies could prove useful. Also there was an update for the Gloves of Eldritch Admixture. You do have to be a warlock to use them. The Tattoo of the Wolverine gives almost the exact same benefit as Elemental Echo when you are first bloodied, stacking them seems like a good idea if you are willing to wait until you are bloodied to use Promise of Storm. Speaking of stacking bonuses the Bravo multiclass feat gives a minor action two turn +2 to attack and damage rolls for better nova-ing. I know most skill utilities are a bit less powerful than other class utilities, but seeing as you have so few hit points some of the higher level Endurance Utilities might come in handy. I think its also worth mentioning for those that might not know yet that Staff Fighting not only means a double weapon, but another free enhanced implement in your off-hand for Dual Implement Spellcaster. Speaking of Double Weapons what of taking Two Weapon Fighting and Two Weapon Defense? Just a few things to consider for this mighty wizard build.
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3 years ago ::
Jul 23, 2010 - 11:27AM
#40
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Date Joined:
Aug 22, 2005
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Illusory Ambush is a single target power. It kind of entirely misses the point of Winged Horde, which is a 5x5 enemy-only burst.
It is not a good replacement by any means, since it fulfils an entirely different role. It may be something to consider for your other at-will, but it does not replace Winged Horde.
Dear lord man, paragraph breaks! I can't make it through the wall!
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