what to do now?

[Gurnisson]

I'd suggest staying 1h/shield build, and go for 21/21 at level 33.  It's actually not that bad to go from 32 (about 17 million) to 33 (80'ish million).  I did it within 6 months or so, and I don't even play that often (was averaging about 3 hours a night, about every other day).  Strat battles really help

You meant 34, right?

Level 32: 17,784,806
Level 33: 37,332,277
Level 34: 80,873,140

[Ronin]

You might raise your shield skill and use a lighter shield, to be faster. Just an idea.

[San]

^I agree

[CrazyCracka420]

You meant 34, right?

Level 32: 17,784,806
Level 33: 37,332,277
Level 34: 80,873,140

Apparently I did...forgot I'm 34 trying to get to 35, not 33 trying to get to 34.   

Yeah getting to 33 isn't really that bad if you've decided to stop retiring.  Even getting to 34 wasn't too terribly bad.

But yeah, I'd suggest throwing points into IF and WM.  Shield skill is fine as it is (IMO).  3 riding is pretty pointless also IMO.  Champion Rouncey's can be nice horses (due to their relatively decent speed), but you really have to play smart on them and stay close to teammates (basically just try and support teammates rather than go up against other cav or try to spawn kill enemies/rambo heroes). 

[Mlekce]

I added more wm and got 165 in 1h. I can't describe how big waste of points this was.
Nothing changed,i still need a lot of hits to kill str crutch,only good weapon is +3 warhammer,but 7 athl is a problem.
I am thinking of retiring and lvling up again and make 15/24 build.

[Phew]

I added more wm and got 165 in 1h. I can't describe how big waste of points this was.
Nothing changed,i still need a lot of hits to kill str crutch,only good weapon is +3 warhammer,but 7 athl is a problem.
I am thinking of retiring and lvling up again and make 15/24 build.

Before you respec, try a stabby sword instead of the warhammer. 1h thrust is so good now, why bother getting in kick range to hit for 34blunt when you can strike for 32p from almost three times the range? Warhammer/pick are nice in crowded corridors/etc, but in the open field, thrust is king.

And as a 1h, str/armor crutchers are going to require an absurd number of hits to kill, no matter your gear/spec. Take solace in the fact that since these crutchers require so many hits, you get tons of points (for valor). Low damage (=more points per kill) combined with being a low priority target is why shielders have the easiest path to valor. I hit like a limp noodle with 6PS and my 27p 32c sword, and don't usually get a ton of kills, but I roll in the points. Valor when you had 5x and your team loses is very nice.

[CrazyCracka420]

Going 15/24 as a 1h/shielder makes me think you're a masochist.  5 power strike is just fucking booty, 6 is tolerable with +3 weapons, 7 is where you start to actually feel like you're doing damage to people.

As a 1h/shielder I'd much rather go 24/15 than 15/24.  Ideally at level 30 though you'd be 21/18.  I personally value WM over IF, but I think that's a minority opinion.  I'd rather do a little more damage and swing a little faster than take an extra hit or possibly two.

I'd go with this at level 30:

(click to show/hide)

Strength:        21
Agility:         18

Skill to attr:    8

Ironflesh:   
Power Strike:     7
Shield:           4
Athletics:        6
Weapon Master:    6

One Handed:     154

And this at level 33:

24/18 adding to 8 PS, and 2 IF. 

You probably want 5 shield (if you're using one of those 5 skill shields, I think the 4 skill shields are better).  And you don't seem to think there's a difference between 130 WPF and 150, so maybe only put 2 points into WM and the rest into IF.

[Falka]

I added more wm and got 165 in 1h. I can't describe how big waste of points this was.
Nothing changed,i still need a lot of hits to kill str crutch,only good weapon is +3 warhammer,but 7 athl is a problem.

Heh, did you expect that thanks to 24 wpf points you would kill str build in 2 hits? I have 18-24 build, use only swords, no pics, no maces/hammers and it's more than enough to kill 95% of the playerbase with a reasonable amount of hits. And if you say 7 ath is a problem, getting 1 more ath won't solve your "problem".

[San]

If it takes a decent number hits with 5-6PS, but it's not going to take many less with 8. Most of the damage is with the weapon (and holds). I thought that lower PS made you really weak until I actually tried out a 5PS build. +3Strength and 1PS is only ~10% damage, ~+2 weapon damage.

With high wpf, you can bring both a sword and a mace and they will rarely repair. That's what I am doing currently and it works well.

[Phew]

If it takes a decent number hits with 5-6PS, but it's not going to take many less with 8.

True dat. For instance, let's look at a target with 60 armor and 75 hit points (typical crutch stats), un-held torso strikes with no speed bonus, 110 effective wpf:
With 6 Power Strike:
Takes 12 swings to kill with a 33c weapon
Takes 6 swings to kill with a 34b weapon
With 8 Power Strike:
Takes 10 swings to kill with a 33c weapon
Takes 5 swings to kill with a 34b weapon

...not a big difference. The higher athletics/wpf allowed by the 6 PS build probably made it easier to land those 1-2 extra hits anyway.

Meanwhile, same calcs but this time assuming held strikes to the head with +20% speed bonus:
With 6 Power Strike:
Takes 5 swings to kill with a 33c weapon
Takes 3 swings to kill with a 34b weapon
With 8 Power Strike:
Takes 4 swings to kill with a 33c weapon
Takes 3 swings to kill with a 34b weapon

You can see that achieving held strikes/headshots/speed bonus is far more important than power strike! And it's athletics and wpf that enables these held head strikes with speed bonus. Also that low cut damage swords are pretty damn good if you can deliver held strikes to the head (watch San and Rusty play; they may use fairly weak swords, but every strike is a hold to the head).

[CrazyCracka420]

Not going to disagree with math (or the logic about attackers footwork) but what about defenders footwork that mitigates some of the attackers circumstances?

I know I noticed a pretty big difference between 6 and 7 power strike with a +3 KAS.  Using a 6 PS KAS (unloomed) was pretty painful in a some situtation, but now at 7 PS and +3 I don't think I can remember a time I glanced on anyone (except for a failstab). 

I guess I'm just referring to the amount of glances versus non-glances with the different power strikes.  I think using 5 PS with a 1h'ed cut sword is just painful

[Phew]

I guess I'm just referring to the amount of glances versus non-glances with the different power strikes.

Indeed, the purpose of power strike for 1h swords isn't damage, but glance mitigation. High PS allows you to be poorly positioned and still land clean hits, which is why str 2h are so deadly; they can just swing away and not worry about animation sweet spots. 1h stats/animations aren't as rewarding to high power strike as 2h; you can have 10 PS and still glance like a mutha with a 1h sword, if your positioning is bad.

[oohillac]

Indeed, the purpose of power strike for 1h swords isn't damage, but glance mitigation. High PS allows you to be poorly positioned and still land clean hits, which is why str 2h are so deadly; they can just swing away and not worry about animation sweet spots. 1h stats/animations aren't as rewarding to high power strike as 2h; you can have 10 PS and still glance like a mutha with a 1h sword, if your positioning is bad.

Well said!

This needs to be pasted to the top of the forums to remind the devs every day that their work is not yet done here.