Strat Talk: breaking down the top (in General)

I'm stuck in a pickle at the moment - I chose my current setup for maximum flexibility and long term viability. I had been to the top previously, only to see it slip away as my adaptability dwindled.

When I returned, I found that my char was mediocre with the RoBF based setup I had - middling damage from two sources, and defense that couldn't cut it, even when backed by a massive pool of natural HP.

I moved to the ToA to deal with the EC levels up here, and while it gave me back my fightlist - I don't see it working long term.

I've tried almost all tat options, and many different weapon combinations (even retraining a skill to try archery and evasion).

Anyone got any ideas?

1st question, why the HoC with no ranged weapon equipped? Maybe a SoD with pumped up x and use the ToA pth?

Is a Nub run out of the question? I see the prob of mpr difference between you and the top. You are around 2m lower than the top active chars, thats what around 15m lvls you are down. The exbow works against the tank teams because of your massive + but isn't the damage pretty low? How much exp you have in antimagic? Could you drop that for DM and use a SoD?

Drop the melee weapon and just use an ELB and train archery. You could untrain BL and VA. I would expect to see your damage go up and it will be dealt earlier in the round.

I tried a similar strategy 2 minion TE with BL, VA and BoTH. It is not that it did not do okay but I could do much more damage with ELB and had better survivability because I was doing more damage earlier in the fight.

It is very sad but I think melee is very underpowered and not really worth using much. Which also means BL and VA are not as useful.

Your AMF is useless against a decent DD, and your VA fizzles against a decent DM. You might be better off with more HP/ST/DX (or Archery) and a Mage Shield.

If I had your character I would do the above, add a Mageseeker, and switch to a Halidon familiar. HoC/AoJ/DBs/BGs/MgS FTW!

If EC is too much of a problem, I'd stick with the ToA and use an ELB.

In either case I'd stick with a melee weapon for melee. But if you get to melee having done zero damage, you're giving yourself zero chance against magic-based characters.

The MsK worked way better than the ELB, the nerf still hurts

Edy: I unequip my exbow when fighting for a challenge bonus

Pop: I don't consider an account change and NUB an option

Red: When I tried that (I actually retrained, and have gear suited to that build) it didn't work as well as I'd hoped, as I said before the MsK actually worked better

salt: True and True - AMF and VA are a tiny percentage of my XP - Junction is an interesting option, but the EC up here makes it very unattractive

I do realize my sentimentality is the biggest problem I have, even if I went NCB I suspect I would be unhappy leaving this char behind

I wouldn't suggest scrapping the character, you have a big single minion, would hiring another minion or minions be a possibility? would kill slots help you any?

certainly Ed, but it kills the intent of this char which was long term flexibility

I could spend $200M (if I could find $200M) on a big minion, use my existing equipment and turn this team into an actual competitor. I would also essentially ensure another run later to get back to the size and XP concentration I need.

k, got it, you want to stay single minion, what about a SoD and HF to take advantage of ranged rounds?

Hmm, I think I tried SoD, but it's worth trying again