Maerit
01-11-2022, 06:33 PM
PSA - If you're not post-cap enough to have lots of TPs for spell ranks (i.e. 40 MnS and 20 MnM) with all the lore for decent 1202 armor class & telepathy - I highly recommend Mental Acuity + Kroderine Soul build. Mental Acuity was previously bugged, so you would actually get ZERO magical redux, but that has been fixed, so now the build actually has merit.
Firstly, it frees up a ton of TPs to boost your MoC, PF, and Lores so you can maximize your damage and better manage your stamina.
Secondly, you gain magical redux, which basically means you can face tank spells. What would normally kill me w/out KS will generally just leave me injured sometimes with only a couple minors. Example - Dark Catalyst:
A deathsworn fanatic jabs a trembling finger at you!
CS: +408 - TD: +356 + CvA: +5 + d100: +100 - +20 == +137
Warding failed!
You feel a surge of intense energy suddenly tear violently at your body! You feel drained!
... and hits for 17 points of damage!
... 10 points of damage!
Burst of flames to chest toasts skin nicely.
... 10 points of damage!
An icy blast to the back! Sleeping will not be easy tonight.
... 10 points of damage!
Heavy spark to left leg. You cringe in surprise.
... 10 points of damage!
Light strike to your chest.
Finally, if you learn how to use Absorb Magic, you can be even harder to hit with magic than in general. Absorb Magic has a 10s duration and only a 30s CD. That means if you just kept it going non-stop, you'd have magic immunity to spells ~30% of the time. However, it has other perks. If you successfully absorb a spell, you then gain +25 stamina + 25 HP, and +20 strength enhancive bonuses for 2 minutes. Many targets you know can force this effect.
Example: Stunned opponent running 712:
You attempt to kick a pale scaled shaper!
You have decent positioning against a pale scaled shaper.
UAF: 684 vs UDF: 641 = 1.067 * MM: 127 + d100: 68 = 203
... and hit for 66 points of damage!
Hard kick to upper arm tears several muscles!
The scaled shaper is stunned!
** Necrotic energy from your vultite-toed boots overflows into you! **
You feel energized!
A dark shadowy tendril rises up from a pale scaled shaper, writhes its way towards you and lashes out malevolently...
The magic of the scaled shaper's spell unravels violently, spiraling into you and darkening your metallic grey veins to black!
Your strength swells and you are fortified by the absorbed energy!
You feel significantly stronger.
You feel a fiery sensation spread through your body, bringing with it a feeling of increased fortitude.
You feel a brisk sensation spread through your body, bringing with it extra energy and extending your physical reserves.
The biggest downside is that you're going to take a lot of minors. While this is annoying and requires healing in town, there is (in my opinion) less risk of instantly dying to magic than the standard monk build. Physical attacks aren't going to kill you either, but they will leave you with a bunch of wounds to manage.
(this was a 10+ minute run through SoS before I finally become encumbered)
You have minor bruises on your neck, some minor cuts and bruises on your right arm, some minor cuts and bruises on your right leg, some minor cuts and bruises on your right hand, some minor cuts and bruises on your left hand, minor cuts and bruises on your chest, minor cuts and bruises on your abdominal area, and a bruised left eye.
One way to mitigate this (testing pending) is the CMAN Internal Power at Rank 5 (significant investment). This allows you to turn those Rank 1 minors into scars without an herb. And, you can train away the RT with Transformation Lore. The main benefit there is that you can avoid stacking wounds by repeatedly turning any minors into a scar before it becomes a bleeding / rank 2 wound.
Does it a beat a fully spell tanked Monk w/ 140? Unlikely, but in some areas of the game you cannot run a lot (or any) outside spells, and in those cases you might be better able to survive. At the very least, I find myself having to get out the jar of salve far less often with this setup @ level 98 when a shaper drops a condemn on me, or I get hit by a dark catalyst.
Skill Name | Actual Actual
| Bonus Ranks Goals In-Game Time to Goal
Two Weapon Combat..................| 5 1 1
Combat Maneuvers...................| 298 198 198
Brawling...........................| 298 198 198
Multi Opponent Combat..............| 235 135 135
Physical Fitness...................| 397 297 297
Dodging............................| 397 297 297
Mental Lore - Telepathy............| 120 30 30
Mental Lore - Transformation.......| 140 40 40
Perception.........................| 250 150 150
Climbing...........................| 201 101 101
Swimming...........................| 201 101 101
First Aid..........................| 120 30 30
Spell Lists
Minor Mental.......................| 20 20
Redux: 44.21% physical, 38.02% magical
I use +10 transformation lore runestaves to get to Augmented Chain (50 Transformation lore), and w/ 30 Telepathy I have 35% reduction to stamina cost with 1213 active. So even though you cast your spells for stamina, the cost is actually pretty low. Spells I use are generally just 1207, 1218 (to dispel negative effects) and maybe 1201 outside of re-casting my buffs when they get low or dispelled.
Firstly, it frees up a ton of TPs to boost your MoC, PF, and Lores so you can maximize your damage and better manage your stamina.
Secondly, you gain magical redux, which basically means you can face tank spells. What would normally kill me w/out KS will generally just leave me injured sometimes with only a couple minors. Example - Dark Catalyst:
A deathsworn fanatic jabs a trembling finger at you!
CS: +408 - TD: +356 + CvA: +5 + d100: +100 - +20 == +137
Warding failed!
You feel a surge of intense energy suddenly tear violently at your body! You feel drained!
... and hits for 17 points of damage!
... 10 points of damage!
Burst of flames to chest toasts skin nicely.
... 10 points of damage!
An icy blast to the back! Sleeping will not be easy tonight.
... 10 points of damage!
Heavy spark to left leg. You cringe in surprise.
... 10 points of damage!
Light strike to your chest.
Finally, if you learn how to use Absorb Magic, you can be even harder to hit with magic than in general. Absorb Magic has a 10s duration and only a 30s CD. That means if you just kept it going non-stop, you'd have magic immunity to spells ~30% of the time. However, it has other perks. If you successfully absorb a spell, you then gain +25 stamina + 25 HP, and +20 strength enhancive bonuses for 2 minutes. Many targets you know can force this effect.
Example: Stunned opponent running 712:
You attempt to kick a pale scaled shaper!
You have decent positioning against a pale scaled shaper.
UAF: 684 vs UDF: 641 = 1.067 * MM: 127 + d100: 68 = 203
... and hit for 66 points of damage!
Hard kick to upper arm tears several muscles!
The scaled shaper is stunned!
** Necrotic energy from your vultite-toed boots overflows into you! **
You feel energized!
A dark shadowy tendril rises up from a pale scaled shaper, writhes its way towards you and lashes out malevolently...
The magic of the scaled shaper's spell unravels violently, spiraling into you and darkening your metallic grey veins to black!
Your strength swells and you are fortified by the absorbed energy!
You feel significantly stronger.
You feel a fiery sensation spread through your body, bringing with it a feeling of increased fortitude.
You feel a brisk sensation spread through your body, bringing with it extra energy and extending your physical reserves.
The biggest downside is that you're going to take a lot of minors. While this is annoying and requires healing in town, there is (in my opinion) less risk of instantly dying to magic than the standard monk build. Physical attacks aren't going to kill you either, but they will leave you with a bunch of wounds to manage.
(this was a 10+ minute run through SoS before I finally become encumbered)
You have minor bruises on your neck, some minor cuts and bruises on your right arm, some minor cuts and bruises on your right leg, some minor cuts and bruises on your right hand, some minor cuts and bruises on your left hand, minor cuts and bruises on your chest, minor cuts and bruises on your abdominal area, and a bruised left eye.
One way to mitigate this (testing pending) is the CMAN Internal Power at Rank 5 (significant investment). This allows you to turn those Rank 1 minors into scars without an herb. And, you can train away the RT with Transformation Lore. The main benefit there is that you can avoid stacking wounds by repeatedly turning any minors into a scar before it becomes a bleeding / rank 2 wound.
Does it a beat a fully spell tanked Monk w/ 140? Unlikely, but in some areas of the game you cannot run a lot (or any) outside spells, and in those cases you might be better able to survive. At the very least, I find myself having to get out the jar of salve far less often with this setup @ level 98 when a shaper drops a condemn on me, or I get hit by a dark catalyst.
Skill Name | Actual Actual
| Bonus Ranks Goals In-Game Time to Goal
Two Weapon Combat..................| 5 1 1
Combat Maneuvers...................| 298 198 198
Brawling...........................| 298 198 198
Multi Opponent Combat..............| 235 135 135
Physical Fitness...................| 397 297 297
Dodging............................| 397 297 297
Mental Lore - Telepathy............| 120 30 30
Mental Lore - Transformation.......| 140 40 40
Perception.........................| 250 150 150
Climbing...........................| 201 101 101
Swimming...........................| 201 101 101
First Aid..........................| 120 30 30
Spell Lists
Minor Mental.......................| 20 20
Redux: 44.21% physical, 38.02% magical
I use +10 transformation lore runestaves to get to Augmented Chain (50 Transformation lore), and w/ 30 Telepathy I have 35% reduction to stamina cost with 1213 active. So even though you cast your spells for stamina, the cost is actually pretty low. Spells I use are generally just 1207, 1218 (to dispel negative effects) and maybe 1201 outside of re-casting my buffs when they get low or dispelled.