Seeking advice on archer rogue

[Okli]

So, I'm rather new to the game and I think I've hit a rough spot. I built this character to cap out at level 100. That being said, my prime requisites are pretty low at level 15. I did not want to go with a "cookie cutter" build but I'm finding myself discouraged at the grind that is a long term build. I find myself hunting below my level and getting drawn out of hiding quite often. With a lower DS and AS, I find myself getting into very close calls. I've yet to join any society or guild. I have, however, mastered fletching. Any input as far as hunting ideas or tips would be great. Also, discussion on stats and skills are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

My training:

Armor 1x
CM 1x
Ranged 2x
Ambush 2x
PT 1x
Dodge 2x
Disarm 2x
Picking 2x
Stalking 3x
Perception 2x
Climbing .3x
Swimming .3x

Race: Human Profession: Rogue
Level: 15 Gender: Male Age: 23

Experience:
Experience: 286825 Next level at: 302000 exp.
Exp. until next lvl: 15175
Fame: 100771 Deeds: 9 Deaths this level: 0
Your mind is as clear as a bell.

Wealth:
Silvers: 519 coins

Skills:
Skill Name | Current Current
| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use..........................| 74 16
Combat Maneuvers...................| 74 16
Ranged Weapons.....................| 124 32
Ambush.............................| 124 32
Physical Fitness...................| 74 16
Dodging............................| 124 32
Disarming Traps....................| 124 32
Picking Locks......................| 124 32
Stalking and Hiding................| 148 48
Perception.........................| 138 39
Climbing...........................| 30 6
Swimming...........................| 30 6

Spell Lists
Minor Elemental....................| 2
Training Points: 75 Phy 75 Mnt
(Use SKILLS BASE to display unmodified ranks and goals)

333 days remain until the annual FIXSKILLS is to be granted, on 05/20/2015.

Your 30 day migration period will begin when you choose to degrade a skill.

Further information can be found in the FAQs.

Spell Ranks:
Minor Elemental :2

Stats: Normal (Bonus) ... Enhanced (Bonus)
Strength (STR): 67 (13) ... 67 (13)
Constitution (CON): 75 (12) ... 75 (12)
Dexterity (DEX): 78 (14) ... 78 (14)
Agility (AGL): 67 (8) ... 67 (8)
Discipline (DIS): 78 (14) ... 78 (14)
Aura (AUR): 85 (17) ... 85 (17)
Logic (LOG): 78 (19) ... 78 (19)
Intuition (INT): 67 (13) ... 67 (13)
Wisdom (WIS): 89 (19) ... 89 (19)
Influence (INF): 33 (-8) ... 33 (-8)

[Rhovan]

If you are having trouble at lower levels, try getting a few spells from people. They can really be a big boost.

So why haven't you joined a society? Society boosts can be pretty significant, so get on it.

Are you using 4x gear? It's really pretty easy to come by. Get some e-bladed arrows too. Just bring multiple small stacks to someone who can help. Bundle the same type of element together and you can have up to 1000 or so charges on them.

Last, I'd really suggest going 2x armor use so you can be in brigandine now. It'll help when you do get pulled out of the shadows. Just let it sit at 30 ranks after that. You can decide later how far you want to go with armor.

[Okli]

Like I said, I'm pretty new and still learning all the terminology but isn't 4x gear usable only after the 20th training? Also, most training suggestions I have read suggest 1x armor and at least 2x dodge. Is there a particular chart that shows how many ranks one must have to use a certain armor? Again, I am new and just full of questions. For instance, for some societies creature skins are required for advancement. Will not training in first aid and survival hinder my skinning that much?

[Roblar]

10th training for 4x gear (basically half the levels for the enchant bonus)

Here's a chart:

http://www.krakiipedia.org/wiki/Material

And a chart for armor use ranks:

http://www.krakiipedia.org/wiki/Armor_Use


Will not training in first aid and survival hinder me too terribly in successful skinning?

Confused here what you mean, but training in those two skills won't hinder but aid your skinning successes. Also, you can hire other players to assist you in acquiring those skins for that society's tasks if you don't want to train in it yourself.

Welcome to the game and good luck!

[Okli]

I edited that. I was worried that skinning some higher level creatures might require training in first aid and survival.

[Roblar]

I just read your first post too; if you're having issues and are still within your first 30 days, you can change your stats out of maxing at cap.

That may make it more fun now and less of a grind, you can always switch the stats later on as you gain bounty points.

[Roblar]

I edited that. I was worried that skinning some higher level creatures might require training in first aid and survival.

Skinning does require training in those two skills. If you ar being successful without it, it may be luck or a high dexterity stat.

http://www.krakiipedia.org/wiki/SKIN_(verb)

[Larch]

Enchanted gear is usable at Enchantment/2 levels so +20 gear is 20/2 = 10th level gear. This link shows how many ranks in armor you'll need to train off various hindrances. (http://www.krakiipedia.org/wiki/Armor_Use) 30 ranks to train off the round time and maneuver penalty of brigandine which is a pretty big step up from double leathers and not terribly hard to train for. You look to be rushing into spells which seems a little early to me, but someone more experienced could speak to that. If you dropped spells completely and reduced perception to 2x, then you could get into brig right now.

Council of Light does require skins, but doesn't require that you be the one to skin so you could purchase the skins from someone else. That's the easiest society to master, but you'll have to train some in harness power in order to have the mana to keep their signs up.

Your strength is set for growth so your round time is going to be a long time in dropping to a comfortable level unless you're routinely getting a wizard to cast Strength on you. This link is a detailed guide on archery in Gemstone. (http://forum.gsplayers.com/showthread.php?49785-quot-The-Art-of-the-Bow-quot-GSIV-Archery-Guide) You probably want to train in Surge of Strength as a combat maneuver to help out your round times.

As far as getting pulled out of hiding you can avoid hunting perceptive creatures (typically animals and the undead) or train in various cmans to either increase your hiding ability or decrease critters ability to search you out.

[MrMortimur]

Setting yourself for such a long term goal is certainly going to make the lower-mid levels a bit more of a challenge. That said, rogues are very versatile and have the TPs to really be quite good at multiple things. Great advice already given, I'd add that you will also have an ARMOR buff you can learn. Both for rogues are great but I believe you'll find armored stealth to be of instant benefit to you. You will also be able to train in shadow mastery as one of your CMANs which is amazing for a sniping rogue, though the reduced RT for sneaking is more of an appeal than the unknown hide bonuses.

>armor help stealth
Skill Name: Armored Stealth
Mnemonic: stealth
Other Requirements: None.
Available to: Rogues.
Prerequisites:
None
Armor Point Cost:
Rank 1: 20
Rank 2: 30
Rank 3: 40
Rank 4: 50
Rank 5: 60
Description: Adjusts a person's armor so that it can help mask their movements. Provides a bonus to Stealth rolls equal to (Rank * 2 * (5 - Armor Group)).

[Okli]

It appears that the general consensus is that I should scrap my spells and some perception to get 30 ranks of armor to fit into brigandine. Are there any other opinions on this?

[Versin]

That is what you should do. Also, join a society, set your LOG to 100 if you are in your first 30 days, and ask people for help with spells (most will oblige!).


It appears that the general consensus is that I should scrap my spells and some perception to get 30 ranks of armor to fit into brigandine. Are there any other opinions on this?

[Okli]

I guess I'll go ahead a scrap the spells and lower the perception. That should get me to 30 ranks in armor. I also plan on training in harness power. I've read that 3x in hiding is overdoing it, so I suppose I could free up some TP there. I swear there is an insane amount of data to pour over for this game. I suppose that is one thing that makes it interesting.

[MrMortimur]

2.5x hiding would be required at your llevel IMO with the spells and buffs you have available, but if you envision yourself as a sniper then 3x would be just fine also. You'll find as a rogue that every few levels you can just afford MOAR STUFF. Spells really can wait and you'll find needing to use spells will lower your experience for opening your own boxes. 2x pick/disarm will get you started, once you start to have trouble hopefully you can manage closer to 2.5x or lores, either self cast or imbeds.

[Okli]

2.5x hiding would be required at your llevel IMO with the spells and buffs you have available, but if you envision yourself as a sniper then 3x would be just fine also. You'll find as a rogue that every few levels you can just afford MOAR STUFF. Spells really can wait and you'll find needing to use spells will lower your experience for opening your own boxes. 2x pick/disarm will get you started, once you start to have trouble hopefully you can manage closer to 2.5x or lores, either self cast or imbeds.

How much training in harness power would you suggest? Also, I went up on my armor training to 30 ranks but my character info says I only have 24 ranks. This is because of skill migration, correct?

[MrMortimur]

If you choose CoL as your society then 5-10 ranks would suffice. As you level, you'd actually need less ranks since the duration of signs increase with level. I want to say from levels 70-99 I still only have 5 ranks of HP for a total of 25 mana (15 mana from HP ranks and 10 from stats)

[Rhovan]

Get your perception back up as soon as you can. It's cheap for a rogue and is needed for archery.

[Rhovan]

I'll also mention, I seem to be atypical, but I didn't really need to 2x my picking for a long time. I just upped them as needed and stayed closer to 1.3x or so for a long time from what I remember. I also didn't typically hunt the undead though either. If you do want to be a picker, stay away from scarabs until you get some arcane symbols. There is no set number, but 20 should be completely safe. I think other skills contribute so you can drop that number later, but it's safer at a younger level.