Matt
11-01-2005, 00:20
The idea here is to be able to beat up on Oath barbs with reasonable consistency, and not horribly expensive gear.
I think a 1handed Fury wolf or zealot is probably the way to go (outside of a smiter, who will win all the time, and never kill anything)
So, my thoughts are:
An oath weapon, the level of the dueler will be somewhere between 47 and 54, 47 being the lvl req on Gore riders, my minumum level therefore, and 54 the highest I'd conscider, the level on a Phase Blade.
I'll be using an Oath weapon, thanks to its indestructable mod, 50% IAS, and great ED, its other mods are very nice too, but those are the most important ones, as we all know.
For my amulet, I'm thinking Cats eye, or POSSIBLY a tele ammy (who expects a tele-zealot?)
Rings: 2 ravenfrosts
Belt: String of ears
Boots: Gore Riders
Hat: Guilliames Face, or on the druid, Jalals.
Shield will be a HoZ on the paladin, or an AToD on the druid
Gloves will be, depending on my IAS needs, IK, Bloodfists, or possibly some 20% IAS pair.
Thats what I'm relativly sure of.
What I'm not so sure about are:
Armor: Probably Shaftstop on the druid, however, having holy shield, and HoZ, I was thinking an eth Stone armor might be an option on the zealot, in order to load up on defense.
The main problem i see is that the rest of his gear is relativly low on str reqs, I dont want to so much higher just to get to an eth stone armor.
So PROBABLY shaftstop, though an eth stone is an option as well.
Now, what weapon would be ideal here?
Phase blades are possible, because they are the fastest of the lot, though I would only use those if I needed the extra speed on them to hit 4 frame zeal or fury, because being non eth, the very nice indestructable mod would go to waste on a phase blade, and its the highest lvl req of the lot, and its damage is also lower.
Small crescents are also an option, coming in at [10] speed. They are level 45 req, and would get 4 sockets by default with a socket quest. They have higher damage, though they are slower. If I decide to go level 47, this looks like the best bet.
So, I see those as my 2 main options, the phase blade needing 40% less IAS per breakpoint, and having 11 less average damage, and being level 54, the Small crescent would be what I'd use if I decide its not practical to go for 4 frame zeal, and stay at a lower level, and have more damage.
I figure I would have level 22 Fanatacism at level 50, so level 19 at 47. (the only +2 coming from HoZ)
Assuming that is correct, the IAS calculator says I would need ZERO %IAS to hit 4 frame zeal with the Phade Blade, and 86% to hit 4 frame zeal with the Small Crescent, and 19% to hit 5 frames with the crescent.
So, at this point, I lean towards the paladin, because he can hit 4 frames using an Oath weapon, the Druid cannot (he can hit 5, using the phase blade)
The paladin seems more versatile, having higher defense, FAR better blocking, I could probably keep it near base dex, and having holy shield and 40 dex from the ravens, and 20 from IK, plus 20 cats eye, hit max blocking with a HoZ.
In addition, the paladin will have a point in charge, making him quicker to move around, and in and out of whirling barbs. The druid will have higher life, however, he will also have to spend more points outside of vitality, namely in dexterity, due to his lesser blocking.
Also, the paladin will have 30% more deadly strike, since he will use guilliames, and the druid will use jalals.
Basically, the druid seems a bit better at taking damage, however the paladin seems like he can dish it out faster and harder than the druid.
Both should have 45% damage reduction, and well over 1000 life, which I hope should let them take a whirl from an Oath BB barb, when their blocking is included. Of course, I wont stand there and take whirls, I'll be charging in and out, taking a minimum of hits while I jump in zeal them at the end of their whirl.
So, I guess I lean towards the 54 zealot, using the Phase blade, simply because it can hit 4 frames with no outside IAS other than from fanatacism. I think this will offset the somewhat significantly lower damage than with the small crescent, both because its faster, and because I dont have to worry about IAS on my other gear to bump up his speed using the phase.
Oh, are ed or max jewels better for zealots? Max damage, correct?
Thanks.
-Matt
I think a 1handed Fury wolf or zealot is probably the way to go (outside of a smiter, who will win all the time, and never kill anything)
So, my thoughts are:
An oath weapon, the level of the dueler will be somewhere between 47 and 54, 47 being the lvl req on Gore riders, my minumum level therefore, and 54 the highest I'd conscider, the level on a Phase Blade.
I'll be using an Oath weapon, thanks to its indestructable mod, 50% IAS, and great ED, its other mods are very nice too, but those are the most important ones, as we all know.
For my amulet, I'm thinking Cats eye, or POSSIBLY a tele ammy (who expects a tele-zealot?)
Rings: 2 ravenfrosts
Belt: String of ears
Boots: Gore Riders
Hat: Guilliames Face, or on the druid, Jalals.
Shield will be a HoZ on the paladin, or an AToD on the druid
Gloves will be, depending on my IAS needs, IK, Bloodfists, or possibly some 20% IAS pair.
Thats what I'm relativly sure of.
What I'm not so sure about are:
Armor: Probably Shaftstop on the druid, however, having holy shield, and HoZ, I was thinking an eth Stone armor might be an option on the zealot, in order to load up on defense.
The main problem i see is that the rest of his gear is relativly low on str reqs, I dont want to so much higher just to get to an eth stone armor.
So PROBABLY shaftstop, though an eth stone is an option as well.
Now, what weapon would be ideal here?
Phase blades are possible, because they are the fastest of the lot, though I would only use those if I needed the extra speed on them to hit 4 frame zeal or fury, because being non eth, the very nice indestructable mod would go to waste on a phase blade, and its the highest lvl req of the lot, and its damage is also lower.
Small crescents are also an option, coming in at [10] speed. They are level 45 req, and would get 4 sockets by default with a socket quest. They have higher damage, though they are slower. If I decide to go level 47, this looks like the best bet.
So, I see those as my 2 main options, the phase blade needing 40% less IAS per breakpoint, and having 11 less average damage, and being level 54, the Small crescent would be what I'd use if I decide its not practical to go for 4 frame zeal, and stay at a lower level, and have more damage.
I figure I would have level 22 Fanatacism at level 50, so level 19 at 47. (the only +2 coming from HoZ)
Assuming that is correct, the IAS calculator says I would need ZERO %IAS to hit 4 frame zeal with the Phade Blade, and 86% to hit 4 frame zeal with the Small Crescent, and 19% to hit 5 frames with the crescent.
So, at this point, I lean towards the paladin, because he can hit 4 frames using an Oath weapon, the Druid cannot (he can hit 5, using the phase blade)
The paladin seems more versatile, having higher defense, FAR better blocking, I could probably keep it near base dex, and having holy shield and 40 dex from the ravens, and 20 from IK, plus 20 cats eye, hit max blocking with a HoZ.
In addition, the paladin will have a point in charge, making him quicker to move around, and in and out of whirling barbs. The druid will have higher life, however, he will also have to spend more points outside of vitality, namely in dexterity, due to his lesser blocking.
Also, the paladin will have 30% more deadly strike, since he will use guilliames, and the druid will use jalals.
Basically, the druid seems a bit better at taking damage, however the paladin seems like he can dish it out faster and harder than the druid.
Both should have 45% damage reduction, and well over 1000 life, which I hope should let them take a whirl from an Oath BB barb, when their blocking is included. Of course, I wont stand there and take whirls, I'll be charging in and out, taking a minimum of hits while I jump in zeal them at the end of their whirl.
So, I guess I lean towards the 54 zealot, using the Phase blade, simply because it can hit 4 frames with no outside IAS other than from fanatacism. I think this will offset the somewhat significantly lower damage than with the small crescent, both because its faster, and because I dont have to worry about IAS on my other gear to bump up his speed using the phase.
Oh, are ed or max jewels better for zealots? Max damage, correct?
Thanks.
-Matt