Brawling/Shield Wizard

[Darcthundar]

Anyone use this build and is it viable?

Thanks

[Maerit]

One of my wizards does, and it's more than viable, it's possibly better.

Pros:
Can't be hit with disarm and weapon attacks (weapon fire, pixie banana, sos snake)
Use a zelnorn shield for added bolt AS
Shields aid in blocking maneuvers and better DS when in higher stances or prone
Ensorcelled shields give you better TD by further reducing your CvA

Cons:
All things runestaff related are lost, which can be significant offensive power if you have a super nice runestaff.
Less TPs to get the necessary skills and DS
Easier to achieve max enchanting skill and other utility because of the training plan

Another pro is that when you also get 1x cman, you can use 506 and brawl magic immune/resist targets, but you'll probably want to put the shield away at that point.

[kutter]

My UAC wizard does not use a shield, he is a straight brawler and he is about 150K EXP from cap so it is certainly viable.

Now this is just my opinion, but after speaking to other people that have built one, and several of them quit at it, you cannot half-ass it. You cannot be a true casting wizard and a brawler. My wizard has been 1X brawl and 1X CM since inception. He got 425 at 25 and you need good gear and all the enhancives you can find.

As for the enchanting part, his bonus at 98 is about 450, if I recall correctly, which is good enough to take a katana from 30-33 with no issues. But he is nowhere near my capped pure which is closer to 600. I have a friend that thinks I am crazy for doing it, but I tell ya, it is just fun, yes a pure wizard is far more dangerous and handles mobs much better, but I still love playing him.

[Maerit]

I think the point here is not to use brawling as a form of attack, but rather to replace a runestaff with brawl/shield use training for defense. Could be mistaken though. If the OPs intention is to actually use unarmed combat to attack, you must train combat maneuvers to 1x, and you will not be able to use the shield because it tanks your MM too hard.

My giant wizard is a pure, but uses a Zelnorn Greatshield + ebladed gloves (the 4x plays into your parry DS formula). He has over 700DS in guarded, and the 8x shield also adds +20 to his bolt AS. It works beautifully. That character is basically invincible now with 30 CER (10 CER armor, 10 CER GoS sigil and 10 CER from 520), and 235 HP.

[kutter]

Maerit are you full 1X in brawling then for that build but do not use any physical attacks? That seems like a lot of TP's for defense, but clearly it works, I assume you train in spell aim as well. What did you have to give up to get the points?

[Methais]

Keep in mind wizards are getting nerfed this year and this build might not even exist in any viable form anymore after.

[kutter]

Keep in mind wizards are getting nerfed this year and this build might not even exist in any viable form anymore after.

I had read that Rapidfire was on the chopping block but nothing about celerity, is there discussion about that as well? It's like they are trying to run players off.

[Methais]

I had read that Rapidfire was on the chopping block but nothing about celerity, is there discussion about that as well? It's like they are trying to run players off.

Nobody really knows, including Simu probably, so I'm just expecting the worst.

1035 is getting wrecked, so it's pretty likely that Celerity could too. Hopefully someone will remind those retards that we can still only 1x in weapon skills.

[Maerit]

Maerit are you full 1X in brawling then for that build but do not use any physical attacks? That seems like a lot of TP's for defense, but clearly it works, I assume you train in spell aim as well. What did you have to give up to get the points?

Yes, full 1x in brawling and 1x in shield use. As mentioned in my Pros/Cons list - it's higher TPs to go this route, but there are significant pros. He's a pure, so fully pure trained in spell aim. I'd say it is a post-cap training style that works well for a lot of capped hunting grounds (nelemar, OTF, and SoS) to completely mitigate the disarm factor in those areas. Zelnorn is another nice boon for a static AS boost, but you lose the random AS boost from ensorcell procs.


1035 is getting wrecked, so it's pretty likely that Celerity could too. Hopefully someone will remind those retards that we can still only 1x in weapon skills.

Naijin specifically said 506 wasn't being reviewed because wizards can only 1x/1x while Bards can 2x/2x making the power difference significant.

[kutter]

So I guess we will default to playing rogues, warriors, and monks so they can achieve 'balance'. Such bullshit.

[drumpel]

Naijin specifically said 506 wasn't being reviewed because wizards can only 1x/1x while Bards can 2x/2x making the power difference significant.

I hope that's the case with 506, otherwise my reduxmage is screwed if he can't swing at 1 second intervals. He's a mutant unlike any other wizard and swinging is his only means of attack. He can't fall back to bolting and his CS is too lacking to hit targets that are even 10 levels under him. He solely relies on 909 for knocking stuff down or feinting to open up targets so he can hack them to bits.

I don't use rapid fire on any of my wizrads, but I don't want to see it nerfed again because GMs are fucktards.

[MokiePrime]

I have a small shield (I think it is small, it might be medium and I am currently too lazy to check) with a DEX and MOC enhancive that I thought might be fun with a brawling/shield wizard, just because the idea of having a wizard with 5 ranks MOC out the gate amuses me. I have no idea if this is a good idea, but this thread is making me thing at least it isn't the very worst idea.

[Methais]

Naijin specifically said 506 wasn't being reviewed because wizards can only 1x/1x while Bards can 2x/2x making the power difference significant.

Hopefully that sticks, but I'm taking it with a grain of salt until wizard nerf 2.0 is finished.

[Maerit]

I have a small shield (I think it is small, it might be medium and I am currently too lazy to check) with a DEX and MOC enhancive that I thought might be fun with a brawling/shield wizard, just because the idea of having a wizard with 5 ranks MOC out the gate amuses me. I have no idea if this is a good idea, but this thread is making me thing at least it isn't the very worst idea.

If you plan to pure, it'll be fine and the MOC helps with FOF to offset swarms (though all the AE spells wizards have offset FOF even better). If your intent is to use UCS, it's going to hinder you significantly. MM is the primary factor in hitting / damage for UCS. Your UAF helps, but your MM is the most important factor, and shields significant hurt MM. At full 1x shield use, a small shield is -22 MM. That is like reducing your chance to hit/damage/and crit tier by 22% (just for ease of conversion). It's basically the worst thing you can do as a wizard wanting to deal damage with brawling.

Better to put the shield away, cast 919, and then go to town. At cap, you'll need at least +25 brawling, +30 AGI/STR to be relevant. Better to max out the AGI/DEX (902 takes care of the brawling enhancive for you). This only boosts your UAF. You also want to disable the target's EBP as much as possible since that directly relates to your MM.

If you attack a target that is not disabled in any way, you'll have around an 80-90MM.
If you attack a target that you e-waved, but did not disable in any other way your MM might be in the 90-100 range.
If you SLEEP (501) a target, you'll see the next UCS attack go over 100 MM (regularly) because of how much that lowers their EBP.
Using the UCS tier-up mechanic gets you MM boosts for each tier as well, so always tier-up (you know, past like level 25ish).

If you DIRTKICK + 909 Stomp you'll get to push that 100+ MM again.

Basically, UCS warmage is all about maxing out your MM by leveraging as many enhancives and EBP reduction abilities you can, and avoiding anything that will hurt your MM (like shields, or brawling weapons).