Training advice?

[undernolights]

Hey there--I just returned to the game and my empath is about to train to 51. Wondering if anyone has thoughts on how to train with the following existing skills/stats. She is primarily a hunting empath at the mo' and I wanna continue on that trajectory.

Normal (Bonus) ... Enhanced (Bonus)
Strength (STR): 90 (35) ... 90 (35)
Constitution (CON): 83 (26) ... 59 (14)
Dexterity (DEX): 59 (-1) ... 59 (-1)
Agility (AGI): 75 (7) ... 75 (7)
Discipline (DIS): 91 (20) ... 91 (20)
Aura (AUR): 70 (5) ... 70 (5)
Logic (LOG): 91 (15) ... 91 (15)
Intuition (INT): 68 (9) ... 68 (9)
Wisdom (WIS): 100 (25) ... 100 (25)
Influence (INF): 91 (25) ... 91 (25)

(at level 50), your current skill bonuses and ranks (including all modifiers) are:
Skill Name | Current Current
| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use..........................| 50 10
Shield Use.........................| 145 45
Combat Maneuvers...................| 74 16
Edged Weapons......................| 151 51
Physical Fitness...................| 147 47
Arcane Symbols.....................| 70 15
Magic Item Use.....................| 70 15
Spell Aiming.......................| 198 98
Harness Power......................| 183 83
Spirit Mana Control................| 90 20
Mental Lore - Manipulation.........| 40 8
Mental Lore - Transformation.......| 90 20
Survival...........................| 120 30
Perception.........................| 143 43
Climbing...........................| 90 20
Swimming...........................| 90 20
First Aid..........................| 220 120

Spell Lists
Major Spirit.......................| 25

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

Spell Lists
Empath.............................| 50
Training Points: 0 Phy 132 Mnt (32 Mnt converted to Phy)
(Use SKILLS BASE to display unmodified ranks and goals)

[undernolights]

She mostly swings when hunting, just casts the basic good stuff (1106, empathic assault, unbalance).

[Kithor]

My strategy is generally to focus as much as I can on my hunting style: If you mostly swing I'd drop down to 1x HP and put the extra into CM, 1x spells (keep empath ranks = level) until you're down to 2x spell and put those points into CM also. Consider switching your lores to blessing lore for extra AS. If you don't use bolts (and I doubt you use wizard wands with 15 ranks in MIU) don't bother with spell aiming.. you don't have any of the lores that make the bolts we have available really useful so there's no reason to use them.. and use the extra points for CM or blessing lore. You don't need to worry about magic skills since you're not using a runestaff, so focus on how you hunt.

Definitely more armor use if you primarily swing a weapon, brig at a minimum (35 ranks to reduce spell hindrance to it's minimum). If you were using a 2-hander I'd say going past brig would be a good idea, but with a shield you'll have a higher DS so it shouldn't be a big issue.

[undernolights]

Thanks for the advice. Question: not entirely sure what you mean re: the spells...1x til I'm down to 2x? Sorry to be dense. Is it important to train 1x level in minor and major spiritual (I know I need to keep current with the empath circle).

I do not use wizard wands, but does spell aiming help with fire spirit or anything else important? At the end of the day, I use those kinda spells to help with my hunting, but I'd rather be able to solidly swing.

Besides blessings, do you think there are any key lores to train in? I have been confused about lores ever since they were implemented forever go.

I just realized I have a fix skills, so I'm trying to look at the big picture now. Guess that's all my questions for now.

Hope this makes sense. Thanks so much!


My strategy is generally to focus as much as I can on my hunting style: If you mostly swing I'd drop down to 1x HP and put the extra into CM, 1x spells (keep empath ranks = level) until you're down to 2x spell and put those points into CM also. Consider switching your lores to blessing lore for extra AS. If you don't use bolts (and I doubt you use wizard wands with 15 ranks in MIU) don't bother with spell aiming.. you don't have any of the lores that make the bolts we have available really useful so there's no reason to use them.. and use the extra points for CM or blessing lore. You don't need to worry about magic skills since you're not using a runestaff, so focus on how you hunt.

Definitely more armor use if you primarily swing a weapon, brig at a minimum (35 ranks to reduce spell hindrance to it's minimum). If you were using a 2-hander I'd say going past brig would be a good idea, but with a shield you'll have a higher DS so it shouldn't be a big issue.

[Kithor]

well you're *just* over 2x in spells right now.. at level 50 2x spells would be 104 spell ranks, and you have 105. So next level I'd only train one spell rank, and make it an empath rank to keep your empath ranks equal to your level. At that point you'd be at exactly 2x in spells.. 106 ranks at level 51, and for future levels I'd stick to 2 spells per level.

Spell aiming is only used for bolt spells: Fire spirit and Empathic Assault, and the bolt version of Web if you get it. They are nice (especially if you train in the lores that enhance them), but consider if the TPs spent to 2x spell aiming are worth it if you rely primarily on your weapon. Personally I'd train more in CM and stick to using my mana for Spirit Strike while hunting, or for throwing a Bone Shatter at something to stun it while I deal with other things in the room. More CM ranks will also give you access to more CMANs like feint and dirtkick, which are good for lowering a target's stance (which is the main reason I'm guessing you'd resort to spells in the first place)

If you want a good list of every spell each lore affects try here:
http://carabele.com/odds/LoreBenefits.htm

a few things are out of date (like the mana bread) but it's mostly reliable.

[undernolights]

Thanks for the advice! It's really helpful.

-s


well you're *just* over 2x in spells right now.. at level 50 2x spells would be 104 spell ranks, and you have 105. So next level I'd only train one spell rank, and make it an empath rank to keep your empath ranks equal to your level. At that point you'd be at exactly 2x in spells.. 106 ranks at level 51, and for future levels I'd stick to 2 spells per level.

Spell aiming is only used for bolt spells: Fire spirit and Empathic Assault, and the bolt version of Web if you get it. They are nice (especially if you train in the lores that enhance them), but consider if the TPs spent to 2x spell aiming are worth it if you rely primarily on your weapon. Personally I'd train more in CM and stick to using my mana for Spirit Strike while hunting, or for throwing a Bone Shatter at something to stun it while I deal with other things in the room. More CM ranks will also give you access to more CMANs like feint and dirtkick, which are good for lowering a target's stance (which is the main reason I'm guessing you'd resort to spells in the first place)

If you want a good list of every spell each lore affects try here:
http://carabele.com/odds/LoreBenefits.htm

a few things are out of date (like the mana bread) but it's mostly reliable.