Tattoo opinion question. (in General)

I'm thinking that its about time to get one of those fancy tattoo things (or at least one that actually does something beyond give me lovely, lovely XP). But I'm not sure which one. So I thought I'd submit my two ideas to the community at large and people can clue me into anything I'm missing.

My ideas are:
Steel Familiar - If I did this, I'd probably change Antimagic Field to Dispel Magic as this is more of a quick kill idea and AMF isn't gonna help me much in a 3 round fight.

Tattoo of Endurance/Rune of Solitude - These two seem to accomplish the same goal for me, which is to live longer. If I use these, I'd think to change from Fireball to Cone of Cold and probably add a third defensive minion out front (start as a wall, convert to a low-dexterity tank as I get more cash).


So, are these solid long-term ideas (I see holes in each of those ideas, but i suspect there are holes in every idea)? Is the offensive beast going to be better than the defensive idea or visa versa? Are there any low Net Worth strategies I should be considering that I'm not already? Should I forego buying a growing tattoo for a bit longer and keep on borrowing the RoE?

I submit these questions to you, the general viewing public. Help a nooblet out.

I would continue with the RoE as long as possible. Unless you are having trouble fighting and winning vs scores higher than your PR. Extra XP is the one thing you cannot replace at a later date. I personally waited until 800k MPR and know several who waited past that point to use a tattoo.

Also when you do buy a tattoo get absolutely the biggest one you can find even if you need a loan to get it. With NUB (assuming regular BA purchase and fighting) you WILL outgrow just about all of them. If a huge tat that is not the type you want is available reasonably buy it and ink rather than get a smaller one of your type. Once your max tat passes the tat you own either start wearing it to make it grow or plan on insta up if you can.

Most importantly!!! Don't take advice from people who are clueless like myself.

I am still using an RoE, and as long as I can beat targets around the same score that I could even with a large tattoo, I will keep using it (even after my NCB expires). If I add 300-400K PR to my character but can only beat people 100-200K higher in score, I haven't gained a whole lot.

Now, bear in mind that means I am forgoing the growth of a tattoo, which could cause issues later. However, you can get a bigger tattoo later. You can't always buy your way into more MPR...

Greetings new person!

Firstly, no strategy is perfect. I can find holes in most of them, which doesn't mean they are not good ones, just how the game works.

My own personal favourite is the ToE when it comes to tattoos. RoS users will probably say otherwise but a ToE when coupled with decent HP gives me better results than a RoS and boosted AS. And yes, if you use a ToE adding a third minion (or even a fourth) will be a good idea, maximising the tattoo's power. I would add the wall and keep it that way. Walls are great for soaking up damage especially when coupled with the endurance aura. And if you're not worrying about weapon upgrades you can plough as much into the AC as possible. And the more minions you have the more I would opt for CoC.

CoC is great if you are working with a very defensive strategy. It's not for everyone, although it's very powerful you have to work out ways of staying alive long enough for it to do it's job. There are many of these and you already seem to have a handle on them.

FB is not really a good choice on a larger team due to the friendly fire. The bigger you get the more of a chance you have of killing yourself which isn't a good thing!

A couple more points: I'm not the biggest fan of mixed teams - that is mage/tank. Personally I think you're better off focusing on one type of damage and building your team around that - all the rest of the team should be doing is supporting/defending that attack. There are plenty of examples of people doing the opposite however so it's completely up to you.

And as far as tattoos are concerned, if you can afford it get the biggest you can. Even if it is over your max tattoo level. Actually, especially if it is over your max tattoo level - the higher the better. Then you can be sure you are getting the most out of the tattoo at all times.

I suspect that none of this will be a surprise to you and I also suspect you'll be involving yourself in strat discussions in future. Welcome!

I will sort of agree with Sut on his point about MPR; if you keep to your current strategy then stick with the RoE for as long as possible and your character will be huge. But remember not to spread the XP around too much. Too much into AMF leaves you more vulnerable to tank teams for instance, as in battles against them it is (obviously) useless, which means you're operating at a much lower PR than you would against other mage teams.

Off topic: "Help a nooblet out." Hah!! That's hilarious.. :D

On topic: I think everyone should mold their characters/a minion around their tattoo. If you're going to use a RoS you should have all AS on your enchanter, as that seems to be most effective. I think you should be looking into a damage-dealing tattoo like a FF, Jig, etc. The ToE might work, but putting it on your enchanter would be a waste, imo, and you already have a CoI on your mage. Personally I would go FF, because they're so effective in any situation, and you already seem to have a ton going for you in the 'stay alive' spectrum.

Yeah, I was thinking about a FF, but one of the problems I currently have is multi-minion ToE teams. I was thinking a Steel Familiar would be better at centering damage on one guy and overwhelm the ToEs blocking threshold which would in turn trim down the opposing minions which would undilute my Fireball enough to also surpass the ToEs threshold and kill everyone super fast. (I am correct in saying that the ToE has a threshold with how much overall damage it can block, yes?)

The reason I was leaning more toward the RoS than the ToE was the reason above, seems silly to have the ToE on a 20HP auxiliary minion and I'd prefer not to lose a cloak/armor spot on a primary minion. Plus the RoS would protect my Guardian Angel (which is fairly effective when it isn't dispelled).

I'm still probably going to stay with the RoE for a while longer, partially based on the above comments. I'm going to switch it back over to the FB minion when my Cloak rental is over.

Keep talking kids, I'm learnin'.

GA is vastly more effective with 4 minion teams, and I tend to be an annoying jerk about it. For a two minion team (which is a great way to build some types of teams, a lousy strat in my stupid opinion) training FB a quick kill is not a luxury, you must kill your opponent within the first few rounds or you'll find yourself the victim of your own amf most times. the ToE is the ONLY solution to amf (even single minion teams kill themselves with a toe vrs decent [.20] amf). A steel familiar is the best way to get from point a to b. having a ration of HP and DD on your mage similar to the ratio on the familiar (1/4 of DD into HP) with an AS casting enchanter who is also casting a mild dispell magic would be my suggestion.

"Steel Familiar - If I did this, I'd probably change Antimagic Field to Dispel Magic as this is more of a quick kill idea and AMF isn't gonna help me much in a 3 round fight."

DM works better with Fireball, or a FF. FB is the 'quick kill', with the ability to take out whole teams in a small amount of rounds. DM hleps this.

As MM (and a SF) can still only target one minion per round, AMF works better with it.

But, you could always use a RoS and use both. ;)