L. 77 Lustrous--Bursty/Tanky--Pure Int Mage
Let me establish something real quick: My builds are not 100% perfect because like everything in PL and in life, nothing is perfect. Oh, and another thing, I am in no way shape or form one of "the best mages."
Some people have cleverly figured out most of my build. (You can calculate the duration of stuns, debuffs, Mana Shield [if you clearly display your attribute page]). Let's establish that Icestorm is set at 1 and so is Revive because putting more would just be wasting points.
Now, Frostbite is set at 4. Why not 9 you ask? Because Frostbite is used only for the stun.
Lightning I have at 9 because of the damage. I mean come on it is third (I believe) most damaging spell when maxed. At just to top it off, it has some nice debuffs.
Heal I leave at 6. Why not 9. Well, simply because you don't need that much health. At 6, it does over 300 health. (I have some friends who keep it at 2. Idk how that works)
Firestorm at 9 because it is a MUST to nuke.
Drain at 9- self-explanatory.
Buffs at 9- self-explanatory.
Here is where things start to get a little ...um.... Interesting for a lack of a better word.
I personally have 9 Nightmare (for pallies and those atrocious bears), 1 on Weakness, and 9 on Mana Shield.
These three skills are based around shredding those tankers.
9 on Mana Shield due to the high armor awarded for the extra tankiness.
1 on Weakness. Well you might ask, Alex, why the hell would you need that. It will not decrease the hit% or attack damage significantly. Think outside the box. This technique is SPECIFICALLY for notorious pallies. Scenario: You hit weakness, and then sooner or later they heal to remove it. NOW, it sets you up for the 9 nightmare. IMMEDIATELY, hit it after they heal. (Yes they might dodge, but that is the risk you gonna take) And nuke nuke nuke. If you do it too slow, they heal, and that would be a waste of 10 points.
The 9 Nightmare is for armor shredding basically. The synergy between nightmare and weakness is SCARY. :)
Some people max weakness for bears. Is it effective? Yes, (If they don't dodge) but what about pallies? They heal right through it. So what about having 9 nightmare and 9 weakness? WASTE OF POINTS. You now lose your nukes because you have to somehow scavenge points to supplement your 9 nightmare.
How about half and half for the debuffs? After experience, it is better to put all your eggs in one basket in this case. It is either you nuke with nightmare or you tank through with weakness.
Now why is this a tanky/nuky build? Take a look. Some people have 1 mana shield. Some people have no debuffs and prefer to max all the damage skills. Some people max heal. You get the idea.
How to beat bears? Pray to the PL gods that your debuffs land.
Combos:
Bears: Very very difficult. There is not really a set combo but I will go through what I use.
1) Buffs and then Kite using fire and stun them with ice
2) Hopefully you know your 12 m range (or feel for the range....To this day I still estimate) and they dont lol.
3) If they manage to beckon you first, POP SHIELD ASAP and then QUICKLY heal!!! If they don't, go to step 4.
4) If they manage to HS you first, heal and shield.
5) Hit your debuffs really quickly.
6) This is a mix of a kite/ nuke combo. You drain, frostbite, lightning, FIRESTORM, and then frostbite again.
7) If you have survived this long, it will be an easy win (usually). Why? Because by them they have exhausted their skills and you have too.
8) Anyway in the match, you need to heal when your health is going low or they stunned you with HS or Stomp. NOTHING ELSE.
9) Keep kiting, and when they lose their Rage (you will see if you look at the bear's foot when those red spikes go away).
10) Now is your time to go in and debuff them and use the combo, drain, frostbite, lightning, ICESTORM, firestorm, and then repeat.
By now, either they have died or you have died. Most likely the latter.
NOTE: Only Mana Shield when they are < 8 m away and HS, and always shield when they first beckon.
Birds: Hmmm...This area, people don't have problems with, but there is a technique in which you can keep your Mana shield and they won't be able to pop it.
1) If they are approaching the 12 m mark and start spamming their nukes, you shield at exactly 1.5 - 2 s before they reach 12 m. This trick I think is even harder to master than beating a bear.
Ok why at that specific time frame? Well, most birds will blast at their opening combo. The blast shot will drain your health pool, but leave your mana shield intact (not popped). And the next auto-attack or next skill with start draining your ample mana pool. However, if you shield too slow, you get two-shotted.
Once that happens, spam basically any damage spell and you will win granted they don't dodge SO much.
*Alternative Route*- I declare this one with low risk and ten times easier than the one above.
Mana Shield before you fight the bird. When the bird opens its combo with blast, immediately heal because the next spell/auto-attack will kill you with your meager health pool. (Essentially, you will not have enough time to react if you do not heal immediately after the pop.)
Then you drain, fire, RUN! and keep fire, frostbite everytime they get close. If all goes well you will prevail! :)
Pallies: I have a set skill sequence I guess is MOST effective (not perfect but good enough)
Kite with fire, heal, and then frostbite. (I put heal in there because they most likely freeze you first or drain) Now go in with frostbite, weakness, *wait for their heal*, and then nightmare--> NUKE!! :) (Sustain path)
The other alternative which is not a really good idea with my build is to CHARGE in and spam all the buttons quickly and hope that the pally does not dodge. (Extremely NUKY)
Rhinos: Just kite them when they Charge!!! and heal when they combo you. If they land charge!!!, immediately heal and you should out-sustain them.
Foxes: Very viable at endgame. Key: They have two dashes, so don't be fooled when they are 16 m and instantly land at your face. Heal when they start their first dash and then mana shield. Follow through on your nuke combo: Drain, frostbite, lightning, icestorm, firestorm. Heal whenever they slow you.
CTF is a whole 'nother story. If enough people want me to write a guide for CTF, I'll do so.
Even though everyone hates pallies, one should start out as one to learn the range and the combos. And then switch to pure. And then if you really good, STAFF!!! :) Let me tell you. You gotta know your mechanics to the T to be able to kill a bear with a Lust Staff.
P.S. This is still viable for 75 and 76 (Just take points off of nightmare) and use fiery.
P.S.S. Not to insult your intelligence, but I hope you know that you need to buff before each fight right???
Sorry guys, I thought this was gonna be short but turns out to be SO long. Enjoy :)
I kept this secret for so long, but here it is. I got nothing to lose now right?
