UAC - Best Attack pattern for Warmage (1s RT)

[Maerit]

So, I've been having fun with my UAC warmage. With 1s RTs, I was primarily spamming un-aimed kicks (as 1x CM and 1x perception is not good enough to consistently aim and hit anything except the legs with kick at only level 26).

I've also been going through the ranks in GoS and fighting pretty much all grimswarm / hated foes (to rank up). The end results have shown that Kick spam is best with damage weighting, but maybe not the best with crit weighting (just achieved rank 15 and earned the major bane sigil).

When I use tier-up mechanics with crit weighting, I can usually dispatch a foe a little faster. Maybe 1-2 seconds faster. However, when I had damage weighting only, it was definitely faster to kick spam as the kick DF was higher and could kill in about 4-5 seconds (4-5 kicks) with relative ease.

Does anyone have any information on:

1. Tier-up, when it becomes the better form of attack for someone with 1s RT
2. When can you reliably aim the different attacks (jab, punch, grapple, kick) - as I assume they vary in difficulty to aim?
3. What are the best locations to aim with each type of attack assuming you can hit those areas?
4. Should you wait to aim until you reach full tier-up?


With 1s RT, and the attacks flying left and right it's not really an inconvenience or slower to tier-up. I still kill my targets in no more than 8 seconds, which is generally 2-3x faster than my Monk was killing things at this level... I'm just trying to optimize my hunting style with UAC as a warmage. It's pretty fun!

[kutter]

My UAC mage is about 5 trains older. I tried playing around with tiers and different flaring boots, gloves, etc and my conclusion was that no matter what, just kicking the shit out of things at 1s kills stuff the fastest. Now he is in Voln, not GoS so hard to compare exactly, but he does have weighted handwraps, which are pretty efficient, but still do not compare to his fire flaring boots, when you get that flare ever 5 seconds or so. I have all 4 attacks hot keyed so if I get a tier up I attack that way, but I do not worry too much about it, things still die pretty damn quick even if I miss it.

I am waiting on the nerf I know is coming soon.

P.S. I have never bothered aiming, to me spells seem way more important. At 15/10 training points, ambush is a very heavy burden to carry, that is an extra spell for only 1x ambush and that will not get you very far in aiming until MUCH later on.

[Maerit]

Yes, I will not be looking at Ambush training until well past cap (so probably never), but I believe you can aim certain attacks (i.e. Jab and maybe Punch) pretty reliably without Ambush training.

[kutter]

As far as I am aware it is not possible to reliably aim without ambush training. I normally just tremor or e-wave them down and kick them to death. Have never bothered with aiming.

[droit]

Ambush and CM training is obviously super expensive for wizards, but the benefits of aiming are worth it later in life. A hasted (celeritous?) jab/followup can easily kill things in 2-3 seconds. If you're hasted anyway, aim all your jabs for the legs for a knockdown and aim punches and kicks at the head, grapples at the neck. I would probably open with one or two jabs hoping for a tier up and move onto kicks if those fail.

[Maerit]

I may have to invest into MSTRIKE before I start doing Ambush (because of it's benefits to ball spells as well as UAC). I'll stay 1x CM all the way to cap.

Right now, at only 26 I'm starting to slow down on spells, prioritize getting into a better armor class (maybe leather BP, but doubles at least) and then start getting to 2x spell aim so I can use some bolts for utility (505, and 906 to disable troll healing). Or I may screw spell aim and get more 500s.... not sure yet.

[Enuch]

If you spend the points for it mstrike can be bonkers for UAC as with UAC one unfocused attack will have two attempts per guy (like a punch punch next target punch punch). I was UAC and Mstrike with a ranger for a little bit and had fire flaring boots and gloves. I decimated warcamps at lower levels. I would look for troll camps and just mow through rooms. I can only imagine a troll camp with fire flaring or fire attuned gear and 1 second rts would be devastating.

[Whirlin]

If you spend the points for it mstrike can be bonkers for UAC as with UAC one unfocused attack will have two attempts per guy (like a punch punch next target punch punch). I was UAC and Mstrike with a ranger for a little bit and had fire flaring boots and gloves. I decimated warcamps at lower levels. I would look for troll camps and just mow through rooms. I can only imagine a troll camp with fire flaring or fire attuned gear and 1 second rts would be devastating.
Yes...

Not as a warmage though... 15/10 per rank... better off finding a slew of +1 MOC Rank enhancives.

[Maerit]

I may aim for something like 15 ranks of MoC as a warmage for the added benefits to bolts, and to be able to use it against 3 targets - though I am not sure how 506 works with MSTRIKE.

[droit]

The nice thing about UAC is that punches, at least, are considered the lightest possible weapons for the aiming calculation. I'm not sure about kicks, but jab/punch/grapple should be relatively easy to aim with a small amount of training.

[Whirlin]

I may aim for something like 15 ranks of MoC as a warmage for the added benefits to bolts, and to be able to use it against 3 targets - though I am not sure how 506 works with MSTRIKE.
I think there are much stronger alternative training options available... With the new air lore requirements, TPs are scarce for a warmage... unless you're preaching bypassing CMAN, MOC, or Earth Lore? but, I couldn't recommend that.

[droit]

I may aim for something like 15 ranks of MoC as a warmage for the added benefits to bolts, and to be able to use it against 3 targets - though I am not sure how 506 works with MSTRIKE.

506 will reduce the MSTRIKE RT, but it will also immediately end the 506 duration. A good way to manage this is to have a script that notifies you when your 506 is about to expire so you can use that MSTRIKE without losing much duration.

[Maerit]

I think there are much stronger alternative training options available... With the new air lore requirements, TPs are scarce for a warmage... unless you're preaching bypassing CMAN, MOC, or Earth Lore? but, I couldn't recommend that.

I'm going to 1x in CMAN, maybe 1x in Lores and try for 15 ranks of MoC by cap. Ambush is the thing I don't plan on training into.

[Donquix]

Aiming is not that difficult at all with UAC attacks. I basically never miss my aimed location, that is of course 2x CM and 20 ranks of ambush, which honestly were just a holdover from when i was THW and didn't bother to dump. I'd think 1x CM as a warmage would still be fine pretty early on in your career.

[Whirlin]

I'm going to 1x in CMAN, maybe 1x in Lores and try for 15 ranks of MoC by cap. Ambush is the thing I don't plan on training into.
I'm not sure where the points are coming from... The only way I can get the math to work out is if you're ignoring Arcane Symbols, MIU AND Spell Aiming, while only doing 2x spell research.

With 513 no longer reducing Physical AS, I don't know why you wouldn't train in spell aiming... If all you really want is a hasted swinger, and nothing wizardly, better off being a bard.

[Maerit]

I'm not sure where the points are coming from... The only way I can get the math to work out is if you're ignoring Arcane Symbols, MIU AND Spell Aiming, while only doing 2x spell research.

With 513 no longer reducing bolting AS, I don't know why you wouldn't train in spell aiming... If all you really want is a hasted swinger, and nothing wizardly, better off being a bard.

Oh, sorry I was thinking anything I put into MOC or Ambush is a post-cap goal. Eventually... basically. I do want to work up to 2x spell aiming soon, but it hasn't been disabling me at all in my early hunting.

In regards to MIU and AS, I wasn't planning on spending too many TPs for either. Just enough to get useful spells off scrolls and activate most of the useful magic items. This character won't really be about enchanting or anything that leverages either of those a great deal.

[kutter]

This is my UAC Warmage for comparison, I hunt the glacier self spelled with no issues. I just wait until after the opening attack and go to town. I know I could probably optimize him some and I will be picking up more wizardly skills soon, but I want to get into LBP in the next 5 trains so other stuff is suffering. Whirlin might be right though, perhaps if you are not looking to enchant, then a bard would be a better UAC build.

(at level 30), your current skill bonuses and ranks (including all modifiers) are:
Skill Name | Current Current
| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use..........................| 96 22
Combat Maneuvers...................| 99 23
Brawling...........................| 131 35
Multi Opponent Combat..............| 2 0
Physical Fitness...................| 120 30
Harness Power......................| 120 30
Elemental Mana Control.............| 114 28
Elemental Lore - Air...............| 105 25
Perception.........................| 120 30
Climbing...........................| 105 25
Swimming...........................| 30 6

Spell Lists
Major Elemental....................| 12

Spell Lists
Minor Elemental....................| 30

Spell Lists
Wizard.............................| 22
Training Points: 100 Phy 0 Mnt (60 Phy converted to Mnt)

[Maerit]

I have raised a couple bards up to 25, and my experience has been that they have a heavy reliance on outside spells to be safe. Where my Warmage can be fully self-buffed and hunt easily with little risk. That's just been my experience with Bards. They seem to have a lot of growing pains, and you won't get the joys of hasted hunting until at least 40 (probably more like 50s) because of the mana cost to keep 1035 going - or so I've heard...

[Jeril]

I'm not sure where the points are coming from... The only way I can get the math to work out is if you're ignoring Arcane Symbols, MIU AND Spell Aiming, while only doing 2x spell research.

With 513 no longer reducing bolting AS, I don't know why you wouldn't train in spell aiming... If all you really want is a hasted swinger, and nothing wizardly, better off being a bard.

Really Whirlin? It never reduced bolt AS it was always physical AS, get your head in the game man.

[Whirlin]

Really Whirlin? It never reduced bolt AS it was always physical AS, get your head in the game man.
I have been misquoted... and did not edit my post

[Maerit]

I have been misquoted... and did not edit my post

I knew what you meant... err said, yes yes.