Going Brawl/Shield Pure Build...

[nocturnix]

Hi, I just came back to the game and am finally starting to consider the benefits of a brawl/shield channeling build that ive heard so much about.

Currently I am a runestaff using pure. Here are my skills/stats.

XXXXX (at level 33), your current skill bonuses and ranks (including all modifiers) are:
Skill Name | Current Current
| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use..........................| 90 20
Physical Fitness...................| 93 21
Arcane Symbols.....................| 117 29
Magic Item Use.....................| 117 29
Spell Aiming.......................| 50 10
Harness Power......................| 126 33
Spirit Mana Control................| 117 29
Spiritual Lore - Blessings.........| 66 14
Spiritual Lore - Religion..........| 82 18
Spiritual Lore - Summoning.........| 50 10
Perception.........................| 126 33
Climbing...........................| 50 10
Swimming...........................| 50 10
First Aid..........................| 105 25

Spell Lists
Major Spirit.......................| 26

Spell Lists
Minor Spirit.......................| 30

Spell Lists
Cleric.............................| 33



Name: XXXXXX Race: Dwarf Profession: Cleric (shown as: Brother)
Gender: Male Age: 50 Expr: 1225767 Level: 33
Normal (Bonus) ... Enhanced (Bonus)
Strength (STR): 100 (35) ... 100 (35)
Constitution (CON): 76 (28) ... 76 (28)
Dexterity (DEX): 64 (7) ... 64 (7)
Agility (AGI): 65 (2) ... 65 (2)
Discipline (DIS): 69 (19) ... 69 (19)
Aura (AUR): 100 (15) ... 100 (15)
Logic (LOG): 51 (5) ... 51 (5)
Intuition (INT): 100 (25) ... 100 (25)
Wisdom (WIS): 100 (25) ... 100 (25)
Influence (INF): 44 (-13) ... 44 (-13)
Mana: 111 Silver: 0


Ok, I realise my stat placement sucks. I have since learned to roll more rounded characters. I had intended for him to be a pure, and didnt look at playing him long term. Oh well. His voln fu MB will probably be weak.

Here is what I am thinking about FIXSKILLING to:

1x Armor (for brig)
1x Brawl
1x Shield
1x SMC (to 22 ranks or whatever 102 bonus is)
2.5-3x Spells
Summoning lore 15
Blessings lore 10
Religion lore 25

Also will pick up some climbing, MIU, Arcane Symbols, and perception with any leftover points. Going to get rid of spell aiming as i never use it.

Not sure if I can fit all this yet as I am trying to figure out my base stats right now so I can use Tsorans spreadsheet to plan this migration out first.

Any advice?

Also, could someone post a solid Shield/Brawler Pure build that has worked well for them?

[nocturnix]

PS - I am smite currently and plan to hunt undead until I hit the gap. When I do, not sure what I will do then.

[TheWitch]

You'll be fine.

I did the shield/brawl Fu routine with a pansy sylvan sorcerer Voln Master up till level 34, fighting mostly undead. I'd have kept going just like that, except I fixskilled her out of the brawl/shield thing to be a bot for my main with foraging and skinning for alchemy.

You can get a fixstat potion for ~40M or 1M BP's, OR you can find some STR enhancers, OR you can get your AvG badge fixed up with some STR enhancement, OR you can do all of those things.

Rumor has it....this becomes somewhat unviable for sorcerers around level 60 when the MB we can generate gets outpaced. I'm not sure if that holds for clerics, but I wouldn't be surprised. That said, most sorcerers are DE, and a dwarf will come out ahead physically every single time, regardless of stats.

Just do it. A fixskill potion is cheap, if you hate it, and no matter what, you can always cast.

It's friggen fun.

[nocturnix]

Thanks for the advice! I plan to mostly cast anyways, im leveling up an ambushing, brawling voln fu ranger ATM so plan to voln fu alot more on him. For my cleric I am going brawl shield for possibly better defense, and the option when downhunting to channel in offensive with 2 open hands. For quick frying.

I kind of want to save the excitement of using voln fu for when I earn it on my ranger, as I have never done voln fu before really. We will see though.

[nub]

heh your stats look just like mine, made him about a four months before repel was changed to bane/smite

Then when GS4 came along I didn't realize I had a stat change time period.

[Trouble]

For my cleric I found that shield traning was wasteful. I hunt open-handed most of the time and carry a shield for occassional use. I only have one rank of shield just so it activates the block ability.

I spell tank though, so YMMV.

Here's my build as of a week or two ago (93):

Skill Name | Current Current
| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use..........................| 130 35
Shield Use.........................| 5 1
Brawling...........................| 193 93
Physical Fitness...................| 90 20
Arcane Symbols.....................| 120 30
Magic Item Use.....................| 120 30
Harness Power......................| 193 93
Spirit Mana Control................| 120 30
Spiritual Lore - Blessings.........| 90 20
Spiritual Lore - Religion..........| 161 61
Spiritual Lore - Summoning.........| 70 15
Stalking and Hiding................| 25 5
Perception.........................| 120 30
Climbing...........................| 120 30
Swimming...........................| 120 30

Spell Lists
Major Spirit.......................| 39 (leftovers)

Spell Lists
Minor Spirit.......................| 93 (1x)

Spell Lists
Cleric.............................| 153 (1x +60)

(smite and CoL)

The main drawback I see with this build/combo is that I run out of mana channeling 317 all of the time (I use 312 to finish off anything that lives past the first cast of 317). If I was Bane-aligned it would be a lot easier. Being in CoL though I can wrack if needed.

I also stick with double leather because I hate hindrance, especially on a 17 mana spell. If I was using Bane it wouldn't be as much of a factor.

[mrjrd222]

(at level 43), your current skill bonuses and ranks (including all modifiers) are:
Skill Name | Current Current
| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use..........................| 40 8
Brawling...........................| 145 45
Physical Fitness...................| 105 25
Arcane Symbols.....................| 126 33
Magic Item Use.....................| 120 30
Harness Power......................| 146 46
Spirit Mana Control................| 140 40
Spiritual Lore - Blessings.........| 74 16
Spiritual Lore - Religion..........| 105 25
Spiritual Lore - Summoning.........| 70 15
Perception.........................| 145 45
Climbing...........................| 70 15
Swimming...........................| 50 10
First Aid..........................| 145 45

Spell Lists
Major Spirit.......................| 28

Spell Lists
Minor Spirit.......................| 30

Spell Lists
Cleric.............................| 56


Race: Giantman Profession: Cleric (shown as: Cleric)
Gender: Male Age: 90 Expr: 2034828 Level: 43
Normal (Bonus) ... Enhanced (Bonus)
Strength (STR): 94 (37) ... 94 (37)
Constitution (CON): 59 (14) ... 59 (14)
Dexterity (DEX): 75 (7) ... 75 (7)
Agility (AGI): 97 (18) ... 97 (18)
Discipline (DIS): 86 (18) ... 86 (18)
Aura (AUR): 97 (18) ... 97 (18)
Logic (LOG): 86 (13) ... 86 (13)
Intuition (INT): 71 (10) ... 71 (10)
Wisdom (WIS): 100 (25) ... 100 (25)
Influence (INF): 51 (5) ... 51 (5)
Mana: 143 Silver: 0


Basically my plans/views are...
Don't train in HP till 47 (I was near 2x in it till recently, and untrained a bit, now I'm just leaving it till I reach 1x)
I'm currently pumping Blessings lore till 75 or 80% chrisms.
Then I'll get FA till I'm 2x
Then I'll get spells till at least 240 and +21 in Cleric Circle (Currently I'm not training at all in spells until Blessings and FA are done)
Once I hit 240 / +21 Cleric, I plan on getting my SMC to 2x for extra Slayer CS and mana regen for when I start using 312/317 more often, along with getting up to 140 for extra 102/120 DS and Wall when I need it.

My AS and MIU are a bit weird, but with 30 ranks in MIU and no hinderance I have about 94% chance to use a haste rod (which I use, for instance, when I have a cloud, or call lightning cast at me, or when I'm on a heirloom task for undead that poofs). I train in Perception and AS to be able to see glyph traps and not blow myself up with 125. I haven't missed one since level 31, so I stopped training in AS at that time.

I cast at 228, which I find sufficient to bind level 46-48 stuff in River's Rest about 75-80% of the time. I then throw and kick with ease. I'm bane aligned, so living are no problem and undead can be bound/fu'd. I really can't say I've had a problem killing anything around my train, or filling up my head with my own mana since about level 20. I sit in offensive (with courage/protection running), a 6x medium shield and 5x doubles with about 290 DS self spelled, 250 with empty hands, 285 with empty hands and a statue, 300+ with empty hands, a statue, and some scroll spells or buffs, while the 46-48 critters swing at about 270-285.

I really enjoy this build, it's been fun and I can get really encumbered and not really care, since anything I'm fighting will be bound or calmed (I calm living for CC)

[nocturnix]

So you mostly bind Fu living and undead? How does fu work on the living?

[Trouble]

So you mostly bind Fu living and undead? How does fu work on the living?

It works fine but your MB is lowered by 26 I believe. That and it burns favor when you use it on the living.

[mrjrd222]

No, I'm bane aligned so I Bane the living, and Bind/Fu the undead, although fu is still effective against living, you just lose the 26 (1 per step) MB bonus against undead. If I find something that happens to be weak to fu that is living, I will sometimes throw and kick it to death and save even more mana. An example of this is bog trolls in the Miasmal Forest in River's Rest, they only have about 100 MB, if that. With 190 or so MB against the living, I can throw and then kick their head in before they can regen, most of the time.

Trolls are also really annoying to Bane to death, so I end up saving plenty of mana, but I lose some favor, not a big deal once you're over say... 50 spins or so.

[Rathain]

1x brawling is a waste of TP's if it's primarily for a defensive build - considering that in offensive with 100 ranks, that is 20 parry DS. In terms of skill bonus, you receive diminishing returns after 40 ranks. The last 50 ranks in brawling confer a DS bonus of +5 in offensive, which isn't worth it to some. Something to also consider - that shield DS bonus is subject to FoF mechanics. Spell garnered DS, however, isn't.

Normal (Bonus) ... Enhanced (Bonus)
Strength (STR): 98 (24) ... 106 (28)
Constitution (CON): 100 (25) ... 100 (25)
Dexterity (DEX): 100 (30) ... 100 (30)
Agility (AGI): 94 (37) ... 94 (37)
Discipline (DIS): 100 (10) ... 100 (10)
Aura (AUR): 100 (30) ... 104 (32)
Logic (LOG): 100 (25) ... 102 (26)
Intuition (INT): 100 (25) ... 100 (25)
Wisdom (WIS): 100 (25) ... 102 (26)
Influence (INF): 84 (27) ... 84 (27)

Rathain (at level 100), your current skill bonuses and ranks (including all modifiers) are:
Skill Name | Current Current
| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use..........................| 40 8
Combat Maneuvers...................| 150 50
Brawling...........................| 156 56
Physical Fitness...................| 201 101
Dodging............................| 150 50
Arcane Symbols.....................| 200 100
Magic Item Use.....................| 200 100
Harness Power......................| 200 100
Spirit Mana Control................| 200 100
Spiritual Lore - Blessings.........| 50 10
Spiritual Lore - Religion..........| 140 40
Spiritual Lore - Summoning.........| 70 15
Survival...........................| 25 5
Perception.........................| 200 100
Climbing...........................| 120 30
Swimming...........................| 120 30
First Aid..........................| 140 40

Spell Lists
Major Spirit.......................| 61

Spell Lists
Minor Spirit.......................| 61

Spell Lists
Cleric.............................| 153

[nocturnix]

So if im going to continue casting only, and not use voln fu, would you say i should stick with a runestaff? Or is it worth it for open handed, and 2 open handed channeling?

[Rathain]

Someone else in the thread gave some pretty sound advice, so I'll piggyback that. If you're having DS issues, get 1 rank of shield use, and keep a shield slung to your back for when you need it.

If you aren't having DS issues, I posted a rough training plan for double open handed casting in a one of the previous threads. I personally like it, and find the crit kills to be worthwhile.

Give both a shot though. Pick up 1 shield rank and walk around with a shield. Once you get a taste of that, sling the shield over your shoulder and go double open handed. See if you enjoy the extra +15% damage to 312 and increased crit potential. If you're not impressed, just build up your shield ranks and go brawl/shield. However, if you like double open handed, migrating out of one shield rank should take no time at all.