Propinions on shielder/archer hybrid build(s)

[Jarlek]

Y U HAVE 1 IF?

Goddamnit your gonna use a shield anyway, just put the damn point there. There's not a single reason for you to go 1 IF over 1 extra shieldskill.

[Dooz]

 

I liked 55 hp better than 53, and I don't mind if the shield breaks a little faster as I can further practice/enjoy blocking/dueling.

[MrShine]

I liked 55 hp better than 53, and I don't mind if the shield breaks a little faster as I can further practice/enjoy blocking/dueling.

Go with what you prefer, one of the big weaknesses of the 18/18 build is the lack of hp as you seem to recognize, although I personally think that the extra point in shield will serve you much more than the extra 2 hp in terms of survival.  There will be very few instances where going from 53 to 55 hp will afford you one extra hit.  Stacking IF or going more strength heavy on the other hand...

I personally LOVE ironflesh and I try to incorporate it into any build, however as a stand alone point it is essentially worthless.  My 2 cents, the build you described isn't going to be gimped, nor will changing from 4-5 shield going to be super noticeable. 

[[ptx]]

Well, apart from looking like an utter noob with a shielder/archer hybrid, you're also going to be extremely inefficient. Also, it really makes no sense, why use a shield? You got your bow to fight against other ranged, and with that few points in shielding you will suck in melee a lot.

[Socrates]

Seems to work good. Although being a hybrid with most things in cRPG is gimped so don't expect to do well. This build puts more points in Bow Prof since it's needed more to be accurate than 1h Prof.

Level 30 (4 420 577 xp)

    Strength: 15
    Agility: 21
    Hit points: 50

    Attributes to skills: 2
    Skills to attributes: 6

    Ironflesh: 0
    Power Strike: 5
    Shield: 5
    Athletics: 7
    Riding: 0
    Horse Archery: 0
    Power Draw: 5
    Power Throw: 0
    Weapon Master: 7

    One Handed: 91
    Two Handed: 1
    Polearm: 1
    Archery: 150
    Crossbow: 1
    Throwing: 1

[Dooz]

Go with what you prefer, one of the big weaknesses of the 18/18 build is the lack of hp as you seem to recognize, although I personally think that the extra point in shield will serve you much more than the extra 2 hp in terms of survival.  There will be very few instances where going from 53 to 55 hp will afford you one extra hit.  Stacking IF or going more strength heavy on the other hand...

I personally LOVE ironflesh and I try to incorporate it into any build, however as a stand alone point it is essentially worthless.  My 2 cents, the build you described isn't going to be gimped, nor will changing from 4-5 shield going to be super noticeable.

I see, makes sense. 

ptx, like I mentioned, I'd be using a shield because I'd be a shielder. Who just happens to also carry around a bow and arrow. And I'm not concerned about looking like a noob, I am a noob, and don't care who knows it.

Socrates, I don't think I'd want there to be more focus on archery wpf than 1h, for the reason I mention above. This build would have a focus on melee, archery secondary. I understand it makes both weaker in the end but........... but what? That's the question. But what. Hopefully fun. 

[Socrates]

I know, but if you actually want to think about using Archery you're going to have to put enough points in it to be accurate which is above 140.

[Sammael]

Your archery accuracy will be quite poor, which when I play with archery wpf that low i tend to just get frustrated. I like the concept, and I have previously done a 1h/shield/archery gen, but I went up to 135 wpf in archery, which is where I felt it was relatively accurate (and that was with armor weight of around 8 total).

To be honest, archery just doesn't work very well unless you make a significant skill and wpf investment. Additionally, I find that using anything below a tatar bow is terribly frustrating. Your damage will be so low that even people in medium armors can just shrug off your arrows.

Crossbows and to a lesser extent, throwing, are much better choices for a ranged supplement to a mainly melee build.


In any case, play around with it and add pd/wpf to archery slowly to your STF character. This will let you add points until you get to what you find acceptable in terms of damage/accuracy.

Good luck!

[Zekerage]

Level 30 (4 420 577 xp)

    * Strength: 15
    * Agility: 18

    * Attributes to skills: 2

    * Power Strike: 5
    * Shield: 4
    * Athletics: 6
    * Riding: 6
    * Horse Archery: 3
    * Power Draw: 5
    * Weapon Master: 6

    * One Handed: 90
    * Archery: 140

That's the build I've recently hashed out for fun. It has the ability to do 1h Cav, shielder, archery, and if I want, Mounted archery, well (in my opinion). I understand that I won't be the best at any of those, but I should be able to do well enough. My equipment will be as follows:

MW Horn Bow, Mw Bodkins, Mw Nordic Champion sword, Elite Cavalry shield, Destrier, Leather boots, Mail gauntlets, and Blue tunic over mail.

First and Foremost, I'll be a shielder/1h cav, but if a 2h/polearmer is closing in or an archer is taking pop shots at my shield wall, I can whip out my bow, and somewhat reliably lay down some arrows. Archery will indeed be supplementary, and while some people may say "90 wpf isn't enough in 1h", I say to them "I've done pretty damn well with 1 wpf and 0-2 PS in 1h using a damn carpenter's hammer".

Understanding that CRPG is partially a game about numbers, it's also a game about skill. But realize that, above all, it's a Game. Have fun .

-Zylo

[Jarlek]

That looks really nice Zekerage! I'm one of those "the wpf is too damn low!" guys, mainly because it's supposed to be the main weapon and not the secoundary (plus the nice speed bonus is really nice ) but I know that you can easily be good enough with 1wpf and 0ps even with the carpenter "hammer". That's mainly because it's a normally fast weapon but more importantly it's also blunt. 90wpf might be too little for the swords and stuff, but take a mace out and it's tincan bashing time! 

I'll think about making an alt like that, if you don't mind, but since he wont have any 'looms (never give outfit tips if you're thinking about looms) I'm gonna take Horn Bow, Bodking (you want high damage because you're not gonna fire a lot), Winged Mace (my fav 1h) and a shield (e.cav on horse, heavy round on foot).

I can't wait to try it out after I'm done with my hoplite alt. You think I should max out 1h or archery first as I lvl?

[Zekerage]

Well, considering that technically, Shielder/1h cav will be your main focus, I'd start by getting either 15 str or at least enough str for your items, get your PS up, and then get 3-4 riding asap. The bow probably won't even make an appearance (despite the investment) until later. See, the thing I've realized about this build, and any build like it is this..... It'll be a BITCH to level up. If I were to respec right now (from lvl 29 or 30), I'd still only be lvl 24-27, and using the calculator, I can only be extremely mediocre, if sub-par at best. Like most builds, it shines at lvl 30.

Also, I know I shouldn't base builds on/include Heirlooms, but I'm just saying that the build might possibly work for me because Heirlooms give you quite a bit of leeway when it comes to stats and wpf.

-edit: If I were to Respec into this build right now, I'd be right about here:

Level 27 (2 359 534 xp)

    * Strength: 15
    * Agility: 18

    * Skills to attributes: 2

    * Power Strike: 5
    * Shield: 4
    * Athletics: 2
    * Riding: 4
    * Power Draw: 5
    * Weapon Master: 6

    * One Handed: 90
    * Archery: 136

While that's not terrible, and it's doable, I'm still missing 9 skill points that are pretty necessary. I won't have the 3 HA, I won't have 6 athletics, and I won't have 6 riding. None of those are really essential to pulling this off, and I could just avoid firing from horse back, and I hate being slow (low athletics), but I'll have a horse, so, Y'know.