Points in VIT or ENE for a Lightning build that uses Energy Shield

[raffster]

I had a heated debate with one of my bnet friends about where to put points on a PvP lightning sorc that uses energy shield: Vitality or Energy. My understanding is that all points after STR (to use equipment) go to Energy, but he thinks I should put into life.

Before I make another BIG mistake on this sorc I'm rebuilding, I want to know what you guys think and feel about where points really need to be assigned and why.

[Superhal]

the key is what slvl you can get es up to. the closer you get to lvl 40 (95%) the less vit you need, and vice versa.

however, low vit in pvp is not a good idea because this makes you susceptible to open wounds/poison.

imho, if you are willing to switch out cta/es prebuff eq on the switch, then you can get more life for less vit. also, if you have expensive charms you can put less vit. most people though can't afford the best charms, so you'll have to decide based on what you can afford.

[MonsterSlayer]

I had a heated debate with one of my bnet friends about where to put points on a PvP lightning sorc that uses energy shield: Vitality or Energy. My understanding is that all points after STR (to use equipment) go to Energy, but he thinks I should put into life.

Before I make another BIG mistake on this sorc I'm rebuilding, I want to know what you guys think and feel about where points really need to be assigned and why.

All energy and a prayer/meditation merc. You can keep the merc save by playing very defensively, not letting him get away, and then tele and fire lightning all the time. If you get hit by some poison use an antidote and let your merc heal the bit you lost, beside since everyone also uses mana pots, you can to. Actually the opponent will probably accuse you for healing, but then you can just say you've your prayer merc, which will be as hard to catch as you. :)

[raffster]

the key is what slvl you can get es up to. the closer you get to lvl 40 (95%) the less vit you need, and vice versa.

however, low vit in pvp is not a good idea because this makes you susceptible to open wounds/poison.

imho, if you are willing to switch out cta/es prebuff eq on the switch, then you can get more life for less vit. also, if you have expensive charms you can put less vit. most people though can't afford the best charms, so you'll have to decide based on what you can afford.

Thanks superhal, wow I didn't think I'd come across the great barb master in the sorc forums.

Anyway equipment wise i have 10 x Lite skillers with 25+ life each, 10 x 18+life/15+mana small charms. The sorc I'm retiring has base vit and close to 300 mana and with a +15 BO my life is ~1.2K and mana ~2.3K. So with this do you advice that I stick to dumping all points into Energy? I'm uncertain of how much better or worse I'd be if I reversed it 2.3K life and 1.2K mana. I get 80% DR from ES now @ L23 ES.

[MonsterSlayer]

Thanks superhal, wow I didn't think I'd come across the great barb master in the sorc forums.

Anyway equipment wise i have 10 x Lite skillers with 25+ life each, 10 x 18+life/15+mana small charms. The sorc I'm retiring has base vit and close to 300 mana and with a +15 BO my life is ~1.2K and mana ~2.3K. So with this do you advice that I stick to dumping all points into Energy? I'm uncertain of how much better or worse I'd be if I reversed it 2.3K life and 1.2K mana. I get 80% DR from ES now @ L23 ES.

It does also depens on who you're dueling e.g. you might need more vit versus fire sorcs than versus barbs due to more damage. (Makes ES go down a lot faster, so vit'll get important) On the other hand when ES is down then all points into energy would be wasted. So I'd still suggest all points into energy and deal with poison/OW in the best way. :)

[Verbatim]

I'd say there's no clear winner. There are really two ways to use energy shield, both with their advantages and disadvantages.

You can use energy shield as your first line of defense, in which case you'll want lots of mana and lots of life, max resistances, and absorb all the way around--in other words, a normal sorc build in terms of vit, res, etc. None of that res/absorb will make much difference until you meet a mana burn boss (mana burn + lit enchanted is the worst), or get in the middle of a ton of balrogs that all decide to breathe on you at once, and your mana shield pops. The idea is to make your sorc more survivable by giving an additional layer of protection. Eshield is very effective against physical damage, so if it pops, it's most likely to be against elemental damage. If you have maxed resistances and enough absorb to heal from elemental dmg, chances are *nothing* will be able to kill you in PvM.

The other way to go is pure eshield, in which case you dump everything into mana, nothing into vit., and don't bother about resistances other than poison. What you need to use instead of resistance is mdr/pdr...pop on a 20/20 mdr/pdr Gerke's Sancturay shield, and the damage won't reach your life very often. Frees up a lot of gear choices, but leaves you pretty vulnerable vs. mana burn monsters. Don't bother too much with +life charms either...try to find as many +mana charms as you can. You can get the most from Serpent's large charms (up to 59 mana, almost 20/square), small charms can have up to 17 mana, medium 34 (17/square, like the sc). If you're wearing frostburn, 2x soj, and an arachnid mesh, you'll have +95% to mana, almost doubling the mana you get from each 17 mana sc...so a mana sc gives a lot more life than a 20 life sc would if you have a high eshield...of course, if you can get a nice 17/20 (mana/life) sc, that's the best.

Also...I don't think it's absolutely necessary to reach lvl 40 eshield...the question to ask before plunking in an extra point into eshield is "did I have mana when I died last time?", or, for hardcore players, "does my health go down faster than my mana when I get hit?" If the answer to either is yes, then go ahead and put the point in (or increase your mdr/pdr)...if it's no, you won't get any benefit from putting in another point...you'll just run out of mana sooner, pop your eshield more often, and, consequently, get killed more often...so unless you're regularly running out of life before mana when you have lvl 39 eshield, you're just wasting a skill point to reach lvl. 40.

p.s.: I suppose the same test could be used to answer the question "points into vit, or points into mana?" and "life charms or mana charms?": If you're dying from lack of vit, get more vit, if you're dying from lack of mana, get more mana. Of course, that only applies once you've chosen and reached your ideal eshield lvl and mdr/pdr...meaning it's hard to know where you should have put them until you get there.

[bluedragoon]

i would go for enough strenght for eq, about 100 vita( 600 life without bo ) and rest in nrg. Im just assuming ur not going with block. Ur probably using shako for big life and mana, so 600 isnt that hard to reach i guess.