Runestaff Pure Advice? (For RP Reasons)

[nocturnix]

Hey all,

I have returned to the game for awhile after my most recent break. I want to continue working on my pure bard. He is 38 and I think I will try to reroll pure at 40. I know this might be a bit early, but he hunts with a wizard and both are COL so it might be doable if I find the right hunting spots.

Now my question is, I know brawling/shield is superior mechanically. Unfortunately, I really really want to go runestaff for RP reasons. Has anyone tried, or looked into a runestaff pure build and know if its possible? Besides magic skills, do I need dodge 1x? How much will my DS suffer versus shield/brawl? Other mechanical problems? Can I make this work?

I'd be using a sonic runestaff (of course).

Cheers!

[Cereal Killer]

Someone was expounding on their bard's runestaff build months ago. They were in their 60s I think, so it's definitely viable. I can't remember what they were doing in terms of skills, but you'll probably be able to get away without dodge since my shield/brawl pure bard was able to get by with song of mirrors.

[Whirlin]

You likely wouldn't NEED dodging training, however, your DS growth may slow down once you reach your level in bard ranks... since most every self-cast buff caps at level.
Whether or not the DS slowdown would really ever catch up to you, because you're hunting from guarded, I can't say for certain.
However, it's never a bad idea to train in dodge if you have the points available.

[nocturnix]

OK thanks! I will keep you posted once I get there.