Post-Cap Priorities

[Maerit]

I'm weighing the value of the 1400 TPs spent on Spell Aiming right now, and re-considering spending those elsewhere. I am aware that spell aiming helps with some sorcerer spells, particularly 720 and 708, but I have yet to find a reason to use those spells when 709 does everything I would need 708 to do, and 720 prevents me from getting treasure.

That being said, I still have 2x spell aim. I thought I'd want to use it for 713 in SoS, but turns out that's a lot of overhead scroll maintenance to get some AS boosting abilities in order to make 713 useful. So, in the end, I won't probably bother to bolt at all.

Here are options I am considering:

1. Finish combat maneuvers. Currently @ 40 ranks for 5/5 cunning defense. I can take the points from SA and get this all the way to 1x and max out disarm as well. While disarm is mostly mitigated and hasn't killed me in a few years, it's an option.

2. 1x in Shield Use. Gets me the option of going without a runestaff for disarm areas and in SoS to prevent my runestaff from being turned - but then you don't get flares or ensorcell activations.

3. Finish climb/swim (60-100 each) and 1x FA/Survival. Skinning becomes an option which I've never bothered with as a sorcerer. Plus, it helps you get around confluence and SoS.

4. 100 ranks of Elemental Lore. Boosts a bunch of MnE while helping 719 hit harder.

5. 60 ranks of Demon Lore. This would really just be utility (save for 704 defense which is unknown, and SmR is not common where I hunt), since 712 activation conditions are extremely uncommon as a sorcerer (I would have to be disarmed, knocked over, and stunned for my DS to drop low enough to be hit). I'd gain the ability to finally phase boxes to avoid encumbrance while gaining 740 gold ring utility - which is handy.

6. 2x AS/MIU - While I won't have exactly enough to do this, I'd be only about 150 TPs short of finishing 2x in these. I do use 714 a lot, and have finally bumped into an ensorcell project that is too hard for my current 3x spells and 1x skills to achieve. I'd gain the duration bonus, be able to unlock and infuse most scrolls pretty easily, and my stock of spells would last a good deal longer.

Of course, all of these things are planned for in the future, but I feel any or most of these options would give me more benefit than I am currently getting out of 2x spell aim. I did use 720 in the DR arena, but it did not improve my speed noticeably since 717 still seemed to be more reliable (without spending a fortune on SA enhancives). Open to suggestions, pros/cons lists!

[khorpulent]

How many exp are you at currently?

The only thing I've ever used SA for was focused 720. I do warcamps a lot, so the loss of loot has never really bothered me. It's a lot of points for one spell, but I sure like having it as an option if I want to 1-shot something, especially if it's already disabled and will need a 199+ roll with 717.

Are you at 2x EMC/SMC yet? Those skills give you more bang for your buck than MIU/AS as far as ensorcelling goes. They also increase your rate of mana recovery and give you a few more uses of mana spellup, for what it's worth.

CM ranks are also definitely useful. Maneuvers are the one thing that kills my sorc, but I still did SA before I did CMAN.

Demonolgy is probably provides more utility, but the extra cast of ensorcell attack bonus with 180 necro ranks is also nice.

[Maerit]

Im sitting at around 11.6mil XP on my sorcerer. I don't have any use for 720 in warcamps because I can reliably ward 90% of things in warcamps with 717 for instant death or run away screaming. The few things I can't ward, I just pain or 719 (depending on the type of warcamp). Actually 708 is the only reason I'd keep SA for warcamps. That can be handy as that is the one place 709 doesn't fit the niche. However, I don't really spend much time in warcamps. Just visit once in a while when I want to rush my necro energy for the week.

I'd be less interested in EMC/SMC (101/101 currently) only because I have no mana problems presently, and extending the life of scrolls would be more valuable than slightly better ensorcell power. So far, the 40 ranks in CMAN have done enough to help me mitigate what was a problem in Nelemar. Charge still kills me, but if I just wear a padded greathelm, it should solve that problem (even though that means 2% hindrance, but meh - better than dying once a week to dumb). Finishing CMAN would help in other areas of the world though, including warcamps!

The scroll infusing boost and the skinning w/ survival options are appealing most to me presently. They both improve utility that is useful in hunting areas (especially since I am considering moving to Sanctum from Nelemar).

My plans for sorcerer lore are 102 demon, 100 necro. 102 is exact break-point for phase, and will be useful when I keep a stockpile of useful scrolls on me that can be burdensome. I do look forward to 40 and 75 breakpoints for 740 also, but all fairly mundane utility that I have survived without for a while.

The elemental lore is tempting. The move to Sanctum means using 719 a lot (things melt fast in there), and it will one-shot more reliably with higher elemental lores. I hear stacking Earth and Water is ideal for a sorcerer as fire and air do basically nothing with our spell options.

[Avaia]

202 MIU is helpful, if only for convenience sake. Getting 2 hours per rub from Small Statues and 1:50 per rub from White Crystals is nice.

[Dantx]

My recommended list in order of importance:

Defensive
1x shield use -> prevents disarm, good prone offensive DS, good bolt DS, can spend 50 CM points elsewhere, like 3 in SS, 2 in feint, 3 in cmovement for +6 DS
10 ranks of MoC -> to negate FoF on swarms and if you get disabled/locked and 2 critters walk in, helps on bandits also
max CM -> see above, helps on solo bandits
40 ranks of brawling -> 40 ranks for added DS. It goes by skill bonus, so diminishing returns after the first 40 ranks. Ignore this if you don't go shield use
202 necro lores -> 102 demon, 100 necro, necro is obvious aka 711, demon for phase (very nice for box hunting), 704 (not sure it even helps though), 725 summoning without a chamber, incant 740 also, but i barely use it since magic blocking areas prevent it

Utility
202 SMC -> helps 735, helps mana regen, helps prevent 130 RT
202 EMC -> helps 735, mana regen
202 MIU/AS -> helps 735, scrolls, rubs
1x FA / survival -> skinning = loot
2x HP -> max mana and mana regen, move this up if not CoL, once 2x HP, I recommend leaving CoL for Voln

Offensive
51 ranks of elem lore -> 25 in earth first for the 414, 430 benefits, then do 12 fire since it's the first cycle in 719, after 51 ranks it's diminishing returns, you could probably make a case for 25 earth to be in defensive list
2x SA -> Useful for nelemar GWE and sentry bounties, although I usually just 711 sentries for their loot, nice for grouping doing bandits

If you got any specifics on why I ranked 1 better than the other, let me know and I can explain from experience why I put 1 above the other or if it doesn't really make much difference.


I would just pick from the list in terms of what you want to improve. I think defensive is always best since it's GS4 and offensive really only helps marginal amounts compared to not dying.

[Kupak]

I'm hunting nelemar on my sorc with shield and brawling fully trained up, no need for a staff really. No disarm to deal with. Highly recommended.

[Derex]

I'm hunting nelemar on my sorc with shield and brawling fully trained up, no need for a staff really. No disarm to deal with. Highly recommended.

with 30m exp tho?

havent tried uac sorc so no idea

[Kupak]

Yep, 32m xp but I don't UAC with him, just have brawling and shield for defense, he basically can't get hurt and can't be disarmed. I started doing that after losing that 10x staff in nelemar (tho got it back eventually!)

[Roiken]

the title is post cap priority I think the suggestions are for 9-12 million exp range. =)

[Hammibal]

My priorities post cap were CM and then 3x spells. Both are grinds, but also all determined on how and where you hunt. In the temple, I'm not a huge fan of being disarmed even with an ebladed runestaff, so that to me was a priority. After that, I finished spells because I just hated myself. To follow that up, now I'm working on dodging because I hate myself more than I thought. I was already 2x in SA so that wasn't a big deal. As far as loot goes, I still get plenty even when imploding things.

With nothing to buy or spend money on, the loot is really just a moot point. As long as I'm getting enough gems to keep from having issues when doing gem bounties, I'm satisfied enough.

[Maerit]

Yep, 32m xp but I don't UAC with him, just have brawling and shield for defense, he basically can't get hurt and can't be disarmed. I started doing that after losing that 10x staff in nelemar (tho got it back eventually!)

This is absolutely a great strategy for areas where equipped weapons become a liability. I definitely plan to spend the 1313 TPs to get 101 shield use and the subsequent brawling ranks when it becomes needed. Using 714 and scrolls, the brawling is just a luxury though since you can bolster your DS to absurd levels without brawling by using scrolls (in most areas).

Just wondering if it's better than some of the other options. CMAN might still be more important in general.

Interestingly enough, I use scroll infusion a lot to hunt Nelemar with easy to manage scrolls. Having 202 ranks in AS now, I can get 3 hours 50+ minutes with 2 invokes from a scroll. I run - 202, 303, 507, 601, 905, 1204 and 1712 from scrolls. This gives me enough DS to be in neutral stance, laying down, stunned, and disarmed to avoid being hit by normal AS based attacks in the temple. Most of the spells are pretty common, and I wrote a script to spell up and re-infuse the scroll, so the tedium is minimal.

In the end, I chose to do 202 ranks in AS and 101 ranks in Survival. I thought I was going to start hunting in SoS and the survival would be handy for the desert, but then when I went there the Corrosive Acid maneuver basically destroyed me. Room with 5 lurks all chain casting corrosive acid eventually killed me, and when I thought that was a fluke, I went back for a second attempt 15 minutes later, and the same thing happened (even though I was running every known SmR and CML spell from scrolls I could find). Enter room, corrosive acid stun before I can even cast 709, DS of over 700 while prone and stunned, and keep getting plinked with acid maneuver until dead... Seems like you need a hunting partner for SoS now.

[Dantx]

Get 101 ranks in shield use and get a tower shield

You don't need all 101 ranks in brawling. Just get 200 silver gloves, and 411 them for 4x gloves.

Then get 40 ranks of brawling (it works off bonus so after 40 ranks, it's diminishing returns).

The econ, survivability build for nelemar is:

101 ranks of shield use
40 ranks of brawling
10 ranks of MoC -> so you can actually hunt 3-5 targets in a room and not get massive DS pushdowns from FoF
0 ranks of CM

Hunt with shield and open hand, like Kupak said.

[Xred]

Why do you guys hunt in Nelmar and not OTF?
If both places disarm?

[Avaia]

Why do you guys hunt in Nelmar and not OTF?
I’d both places disarm?

I dislike OTF for two reasons -

1) Corpse-looting Ithzir.

2) OTF is chock-full of low-mid '90s level creatures that do little but get in the way, yet can still be deadly if they get lucky.

[Maerit]

Why do you guys hunt in Nelmar and not OTF?
I’d both places disarm?

OTF would be just as doable as Nelemar. I don't really care about rescues because it's faster to just depart and use salve. The corpse stealing thing is incredibly dumb, and OTF tends to swarm more consistently than Nelemar with a bunch of low-level critters. Plus, the Ithzir fade thing is obnoxious.

The main reason I stay away personally is how unfriendly EN is for Dark Elves. I hunt multiple characters on Teras, and it works very well, but it's starting to be too redundant. Once I have sufficient mana utility, I may consider going Voln and moving to Icemule and do some Rift hunting.

Tried the confluence, hated it. Every creature is 711, 705x2. Boring.
Tried Sanctum, and decided I won't go back until 1x in CMAN and have shield use for additional block chance vs the corrosive spit maneuver.
Grimswarm is an easy option for my sorcerer, but he's not in GoS, so can't use warcamps to get saturated.

Gonna be Nelemar for another ~2000 TPs me thinks.

[Kupak]

Why do you guys hunt in Nelmar and not OTF?
If both places disarm?

In & out in 60-90 seconds and no chance of corpse being looted.

[Xred]

Have any of you tried Necroing? I used crystals, diamond and a ithzer champ, armed him with a claid and and it’s fairly amazing. If I get manuvered it just beats up everything in the room.

[Maerit]

Have any of you tried Necroing? I used crystals, diamond and a ithzer champ, armed him with a claid and and it’s fairly amazing. If I get manuvered it just beats up everything in the room.

730 is fun, but requires too much maintenance for most folks. Gotta carry around a claid, or something useful to eblade, for your animate. Need to maintain it, and get lucky with a sacrifice to refresh the 10 min duration. If I had a soulstone wand, I'd keep an animate all the time, but as it stands, they're just useful sometimes.

I get an animate for bandits. Kill first group, 730 one of the biggest bandits and give it an ebladed lance or maul - then when you get stunned it saves the day.

[Vishnell]

Have any of you tried Necroing? I used crystals, diamond and a ithzer champ, armed him with a claid and and it’s fairly amazing. If I get manuvered it just beats up everything in the room.Love using 730. The changes to this spell make it usable consistently. Animate a bandit (+18 levels) with a 3sec RT and hand it an e-bladed lance. Amazing! And only need to feed it every 30 minutes.

Sent from my LG-G710 using Tapatalk

[Xred]

What is a soul stone wand? Sounds great.

[wetsand]

What is a soul stone wand? Sounds great.

https://gswiki.play.net/Hollow_soulstone_wand