Brawling/Shield Wizard

[Darcthundar]

Anyone use this build and is it viable?

Thanks

[Maerit]

One of my wizards does, and it's more than viable, it's possibly better.

Pros:
Can't be hit with disarm and weapon attacks (weapon fire, pixie banana, sos snake)
Use a zelnorn shield for added bolt AS
Shields aid in blocking maneuvers and better DS when in higher stances or prone
Ensorcelled shields give you better TD by further reducing your CvA

Cons:
All things runestaff related are lost, which can be significant offensive power if you have a super nice runestaff.
Less TPs to get the necessary skills and DS
Easier to achieve max enchanting skill and other utility because of the training plan

Another pro is that when you also get 1x cman, you can use 506 and brawl magic immune/resist targets, but you'll probably want to put the shield away at that point.

[kutter]

My UAC wizard does not use a shield, he is a straight brawler and he is about 150K EXP from cap so it is certainly viable.

Now this is just my opinion, but after speaking to other people that have built one, and several of them quit at it, you cannot half-ass it. You cannot be a true casting wizard and a brawler. My wizard has been 1X brawl and 1X CM since inception. He got 425 at 25 and you need good gear and all the enhancives you can find.

As for the enchanting part, his bonus at 98 is about 450, if I recall correctly, which is good enough to take a katana from 30-33 with no issues. But he is nowhere near my capped pure which is closer to 600. I have a friend that thinks I am crazy for doing it, but I tell ya, it is just fun, yes a pure wizard is far more dangerous and handles mobs much better, but I still love playing him.

[Maerit]

I think the point here is not to use brawling as a form of attack, but rather to replace a runestaff with brawl/shield use training for defense. Could be mistaken though. If the OPs intention is to actually use unarmed combat to attack, you must train combat maneuvers to 1x, and you will not be able to use the shield because it tanks your MM too hard.

My giant wizard is a pure, but uses a Zelnorn Greatshield + ebladed gloves (the 4x plays into your parry DS formula). He has over 700DS in guarded, and the 8x shield also adds +20 to his bolt AS. It works beautifully. That character is basically invincible now with 30 CER (10 CER armor, 10 CER GoS sigil and 10 CER from 520), and 235 HP.

[kutter]

Maerit are you full 1X in brawling then for that build but do not use any physical attacks? That seems like a lot of TP's for defense, but clearly it works, I assume you train in spell aim as well. What did you have to give up to get the points?

[Methais]

Keep in mind wizards are getting nerfed this year and this build might not even exist in any viable form anymore after.

[kutter]

Keep in mind wizards are getting nerfed this year and this build might not even exist in any viable form anymore after.

I had read that Rapidfire was on the chopping block but nothing about celerity, is there discussion about that as well? It's like they are trying to run players off.

[Methais]

I had read that Rapidfire was on the chopping block but nothing about celerity, is there discussion about that as well? It's like they are trying to run players off.

Nobody really knows, including Simu probably, so I'm just expecting the worst.

1035 is getting wrecked, so it's pretty likely that Celerity could too. Hopefully someone will remind those retards that we can still only 1x in weapon skills.

[Maerit]

Maerit are you full 1X in brawling then for that build but do not use any physical attacks? That seems like a lot of TP's for defense, but clearly it works, I assume you train in spell aim as well. What did you have to give up to get the points?

Yes, full 1x in brawling and 1x in shield use. As mentioned in my Pros/Cons list - it's higher TPs to go this route, but there are significant pros. He's a pure, so fully pure trained in spell aim. I'd say it is a post-cap training style that works well for a lot of capped hunting grounds (nelemar, OTF, and SoS) to completely mitigate the disarm factor in those areas. Zelnorn is another nice boon for a static AS boost, but you lose the random AS boost from ensorcell procs.

1035 is getting wrecked, so it's pretty likely that Celerity could too. Hopefully someone will remind those retards that we can still only 1x in weapon skills.

Naijin specifically said 506 wasn't being reviewed because wizards can only 1x/1x while Bards can 2x/2x making the power difference significant.

[kutter]

So I guess we will default to playing rogues, warriors, and monks so they can achieve 'balance'. Such bullshit.