Need advice for trying out melee build

I am thinking of trying out a melee build in R29 and I am looking for some recommendations to make it as enjoyable (=easy) as possible. Combat is not my strength, so I am not looking to become a GM in anything. I would only like to eventually be able to fight my way through 5 skull adventure areas with a chance of survival and be useful in a party. I am not asking for the best build for a highly skilled (at twitchy combat) PVP or GM player who solos dragons.

1 Armour:
The beginner chain mail and plate mail that I will have in my bank seem to have the same stats, so I will start with chain mail since it weighs much less. I assume that plate mail will be better at higher levels so I can always purchase some later.

2 Weapon:
Starting out on the path of Courage gives me one-handed blade skills. Would this be good for me to stick with? Currently I enjoy using the Dark Elven Kinsman Buckler at night because it gives off light, but if a two-handed weapon would make survival easier, I would switch. I can't remember ever using an axe, but I do have a polearm in my inventory.

3 Dealing with ranged mobs:
How would I deal with them?

4 Magic
Many people have posted that healing is mandatory. Should I invest a lot in that skill? As a mage I hardly ever used healing during a battle. The few HPs that were restored didn't make it seem worthwhile. I had to keep my distance and retreat if the mobs got too close, so I would just exit combat mode and recover in some quiet corner. I did use healing then, to speed up the recovery. Of course the disadvantage was that the mobs also had time to recover.
Should I invest in Earth magic for strength and added damage reduction, or would the heavy armor and the tactics skill trees cover that?

I would be grateful for any advice or tips other players can give me. I probably skipped a lot of important questions.

Thanks!

 

@Kara Brae, playing a melee character can be fun. But the way it plays is different than say a mage or a ranger. I wouldn't be afraid of including magic in your build. The two main magic schools that melee use are life and earth. Earth provides some nice innate bonuses and fizzle chance is way down. While there may be other magic schools that people have been using, up until now fizzle chance had a bug that didn't apply fizzle correctly to plate wearers (and maybe chain users as well.) That's been fixed. For me I only get healing touch as melee. I think it mandatory because there's not really another way to heal yourself in game, and as melee you get hit a lot Melee is a stand your ground, smash people it the face while looking them in the eye play style. The way things stand right now, there is no fun way to play melee if you are a hybrid build. (Based on what is in game I'd venture to say that melee was always meant to be a hybrid build. You can play as a pure melee but it's easier if you add in stuff from the two magic schools mentioned.)

1. I've also been a plate wearer whenever I've done melee. I'm not sure if you get a health bonus if you wear chain, but you do if you wear plate. There might be other downsides. I'll have to check it out. For me, the selection criteria would revolve around health bonus, damage resistance, and damage avoidance.

2. Blades can use one-handed or two-handed blades. You are given the one-handed weapon in the first tie user experience, but going one-handed or two handed is a valid choice. With a two handed weapon you hit harder so things die faster. There is a huge strength bonus with two handed swords that contribute to the killing speed. Bludgeons are fun to play with as well, they have a lot of damage - cc skills. I've not done polearms but I bet they are cool as well. I've not really seen any two-handed sords sold and the ones that drop are ok but not great (they are of the rusty sword variety and those weapons are the best quality). Myself I run around with a two-handed sword: I think it more dps focused, it has a longer range so you don't have to stand in close, and you are able to attack 3 mobs at a time instead of the 2 using a one hander. On the other hand polearms attack 4 at a time and might have even a slightly larger range (but I'm not sure on the range).

3. With ranged mobs, prepare to run. Or you can use root. Fortunately that's in the earth tree so all is good. (This is one of the many reasons I think melee is meant to be a hybrid build.) If you go bludgeons, you have a knockdown that might be beneficial, but I prefer root. (It's been a while since I used bludgeons as I like the dps I get with blades.) You'll also get used to auto swinging as you chase down the mobs. And timing any skills you use when you get in range. This is where a two-handed sword is better, you can hit from further away. With a one hander you have to be closer to hit.

4. I just get healing touch myself. I've not gone deeper into the tree. If you go blades and heavy armor there are a lot of skill choices and not enough slots. I heal a lot during the fight, not so much because it's needed but because of the downtime factor.

My personal preference is the more strength the better. first you get health bonuses because of your str value. Second melee weapons have a damage bonus for str. Getting damage resist and avoidance innates also reduce the damage ou take, so to me they are necessary. Str and health are the two biggest assets you have as a melee. Third is damage, since you kill stuff faster.

Hope that makes sense and helps.

 

The afore mentioned health bonus on plate isn't from the plate itself.. it's from white iron components. Also, I disagree that magic is a necessity. I've never relied on magic this whole time but it is more convenient.

If you really want to survive melee, caution is required. Try to take mobs one at a time until you get a feel for what you can do and don't be afraid to back off if it looks like you're not going to win. Don't wait for the last second to make the call. When it's obvious the fight isn't in your favor it's time to leave.

1: Armor is all about resistance and avoidance. How much damage you're NOT going to take. When you finally get crafted.. get epic. White iron includes some health bonuses but meteoric has more resistance. So it's a trade off there.. I say epic not because it has better base stats.. but because the more material you use, the better bonuses you have.. and full epic uses the most material.

Off hand defense is a trade off between a little more resistance and a little more damage. Shields of course offer a little more resistance but not a lot of offensive options.. where as dual wielding and 2 handed weapons each have defensive innates you can build up and offer more offense.

2: Weapons of choice are a matter of style and preference. Ideally, no particular weapon is especially better than another.. they're just different. So far, and acknowledging that a lot has changed, I've done dual wielding, sword & shield and polearms. Dual wielding was nice because the off hand attack doesn't require focus or have a cooldown when it's not locked in.. but it doesn't appear to take weapon skill of the weapon in hand into account. It uses the off hand skill regardless what you're holding.

Polearms were nice as you could pull ranged attackers into melee range.. always keep pull locked so it's ready to use. Not sure what ranged attackers consider a good distance anymore though.. but at the time they used to get just barely out of range.. which was close enough for Pull.

I haven't done bludgeons yet.

3: If you're inclined. Fight fire with fire. It's extra work but being able to pull out a bow and not have to chase anything down is a nice option. Otherwise, in the absence of magic or a sturdy bow.. you will be chasing stuff down. If none of that works for you.. there are places with very few ranged mobs.. but you'll be sticking mostly to wolves, bears and spiders.

4: I very rarely ever die solo.. and I've never once cast a healing spell in all this time. BUT.. I also have to back off and recover as previously mentioned.. which I at least.. don't mind so much. I understand it's the price I pay for not using magic.

At the moment, magic innates are very low cost and easy investments. If you're looking to simply be practical in your build then there's no reason not to take advantage of a little a magic. For a little extra boost I might also suggest a little fire magic to flame up your weapon. I will certainly be doing a more hybrid builds with my other characters. (Though Bowen will still be more of a purist).

 

~Just Some Comments and Investigations into Skill Building~

~Hypothesized Studies in Quick Grinding & Leveling~
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/sota-basic-training-programs.49024/
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/f...-chrs-skill-building.47802/page-2#post-540728

~Not Recommended, Yet Under Investigation~
I am currently on my 7th or 9th new chr build within the past 2 releases studying the effects of differing skill building and how they stack up between one another.

This is a peek at my current one week old ~Nystal TimeLord~ build; ( @Chris an example under the current settings of a grinder, make what you will of it)

Healthy 76
Train Dexterity 65
Blade Speed 71
Armor Weak Points 70
Vital Points 90
Blade Mastery 68
Train Strength 57
Swiftness 65
Acrobatics 83
Angles 60
Redirection 55
Bladed Combat 81
Whirling Blades 52
Shield Bash 44
--------------------
Thrust 20
Double Slash 20
Riposte 20
Rend 20
Parry 10
Dodge 10
Evasion 10
Bolster Balance 10
Distract 10
Light 10
Flame Fist 5
Healing Touch 5
Heightened Awareness 1

~That's All Not What I Recommend, Yet Offers Some Strange Perspectives~
From the above you can see some strange differences. Those strange differences came from a strict regiment of disciplined play in skill building.

I built the above, by locking skills, all skills at first, leaving only "Healthy" to rise. Within the list you can see an odd cascade of skills descending downward. The list is in the order in which I chose to gain them in descending progression. Each time each skill reached 50, I would then keep it open and gaining, while proceeding to the following skill to then raise it to a level of 50... and so on... The (---------) is where I currently am, while waiting for Shield Bash to reach 50.

The skills below the line, are skills I haven't used, or have frozen at lower levels awaiting their release to begin gaining.

This one week old ~Nystal TimeLord~ character is currently not having any problem hunting in a 5 scull area.
*Special Note; I know for fact that I would be hunting in deeper gaming, higher skull number area if I had just allowed all my skills to naturally develop, yet I have found that by restricting some skills as in the above example, this creates a sling shot effect on the character's abilities later in that characters life. Whether or not that sling shot effect will only propel the character back to where the normally natural skill gain character's performance level or beyond it, is purely speculative. Yet I have found that naturally skill gaining characters tend to reach places where, if those core skills had been GM or better trained before hand, then they would have been much better off. Meaning that there are always blockage through hunting difficulties, whether you have locked, or naturally skill gained. My current quest, is to find out whether or not such a training system mentioned above is actually worth the while in following it. "I say again, The above is not recommended only because it's later effects have not been yet found or proven in any way!"

~Old Player Speculations and Perspectives~
You can take other player's opinions on skill buildings how you wish, yet most players here have not been studying new player skills from any hands on perspective, other than what they now know and what they experienced "way back when" when the characters they now play were young so long ago. Most players you see now that have high skills, only have them from having kept the same character and steadily rising. They may know many things, yet draw their current viewpoints and conclusions from stat skill sheets without ever having actually done what's necessary to know first hand what they are talking about. Our game's "things & skills" have changed <---<<< that's a fact and will change more before 24/7. That is why I have studied so many different builds of new characters before I regret having lost the chance to do so, in our currently delete'full gaming world... "test, test. test, and thy will know, whether or not those that say they know, have been providing great and true information, or were only offering well intended false advise"...

I like facts I've seen and experienced for myself, and I encourage others to also do so...
To thine own self be true, but to others, make certain it's true lest you are failing your friends...

There are many things I now know, that I don't share with but special others, because our forums can be a very misleading world full of bravado and self replicating myths which are not facts.
Best of Luck to You Avatars!
Let truth by thy friend...
~Time Lord~

(Comments, rhetoric, pro and con, always welcomed)

 

Most has been covered. Ill list some points.

Weapon:
2hand sword do more dmg/higher crits and can hit up to 3 enemies at the same time.
1hand swords have more defense if you use a shield.

Skills:
2 skills that are a major benefit are Root and Body Slam. Root of course petrifies enemies into frozen punching bags. Body slam cuases an auto sprint towards to enemy from a pretty good distance, and also stuns apon hit. This a huge helping skill against ranged enemies as u chase them down and stun them, then u can root. Which if you root and attack from behind, it hits for more because your ignoring some dmg resistance.

Magic:
Earth is good, after that its your choice.

 

~Leostorm Rocks Hard!~
Good advise!...
~TL~

 

@Bowen, you probably won't see the difference plate makes with health if you are using White Iron plate with health bonuses.

If you 1) take off all your armor, 2) grab a normal piece of chest armor, either mail or plate bought or reward, and 3) put on the normal chest piece, you'll see your health go up. It goes up by the same amount for both chain and plate.

@Kara, there doesn't seem to be much to choose between chain and plate. Probably going to make a set of similar chain for myself and see what happens.

 

If you're looking for "easy" Leostorm nailed it. I just want to emphasize how important the skills that stun are because they turn the battle in your favor at all levels. Defense really doesn't matter much when something is rooted or stunned, since they just stand there and let you whack away at them. Even at very low skill levels they can help you take on mobs much higher than your level.

As for life magic, it's very powerful once raised up. You will be a great addition to any party once you can cast healing touch, ray, and grace effectively. If you are looking for easy, do not pass on life magic, it's just way too overpowered at the moment. Every time you regain health by passive regeneration you are wasting time that you could be fighting. I don't have a ton of free time to play some days, so when I'm in the game I like to make the most of it.

 

"Stick them with the pointy end"

 

Personally, I don't "feel" much differences between wearing epic plate mail vs augmented chain mail suits. I chose chain mail over plate because of the fizzle rate is lower (I play melee/hybrid with some spells). I normally end up killing the mobs faster than having to worry about absorbing the damage. Those crowd control glyph also help mitigate the need to absorb the hit as well.

As for weapon-wise, I find blade combat with two-handed sword to be the most satisfying choice of melee combat.

 

Just be prepared to get off to a slower start than you did with a mage. Mage starts with 30 fire fist and 20 fire arrow, which is way stronger vs. beginner level mobs than starter level melee/range stuff for whatever reason.

 

I'm not worried about that. In the past several releases my mage has carried a melee weapon, and I have had to use it when in close range between spell cool downs. The result has been that my blades or polearms skill advances much more quickly than my spells do. This is due to the fact that I can no longer outrun mobs like I used to back in Release 12-18. They invariably catch up to me and I have to take a stand.

 

~From Time Lord's #9 Nystal TimeLord Mentioned Above~


~The Outcome~
Here's what that character's outcome was after a week and a half, which is his finishing line of this basic ~TL~ training.

His creation was to stick with a discipline of locking all skills while raising one, then as that skill reached 50, he would unlock the next down this list;
His final outcome;

Healthy 77
Train Dexterity 66
Blade Speed 72
Armor Weak Points 72
Vital Points 91
Blade Mastery 69
Train Strength 59
Swiftness 67
Acrobatics 86
Angles 64
Redirection 60
Blade Combat 91
Whirling Blades 62
Shield Bash 70
Thrust 64
Double Slash 57
Rend 55

I kept a fixed deck through this and then at the end and thereafter, switched to a totally random deck using nothing but the skills above. I also unlocked his focus and healing touch thereafter as well as his intelligence...
If this character were to proceed through his life, I would then never lock any skills added. Yet any skills added would then become his balancing of the using every circle of skills to his best advantage. Thus he began his life as a "class restricted" character.

It's my speculation and course from that point and the point of view I have gained from SOTA Champion PvP Competitors, that any limiting by character class will only hinder the character's ability to build decks that are best suited to any particular situation, be that PvP, PvM or PvE. Each of these and what challenges our game presents then becomes a matter of what cards the player chooses to build a deck from and then further, what deck build to be employed as a tactic best suited to any situation.

If we look at how the above example did progress, we can see where some skills outstretched others that were afterward gained. I believe that in this way, we can begin to better see which skills could rise faster than others. Blade Combat within the list is a good example of this.

My experience in using this character after all of this was accomplished, was that I found he could rely on Thrust easily combined during combat for Combo with Double Slash... and Whirling Blades easily combining with Rend for Combo. I adjusted their positions within the combat user bar so that the first 3 were for Thrust, the next 2 for Double Slash, the next 3 for Whirling Blades and the final 2 for Rend. This allowed for easy pop-up within sectors of the user bar where they could then combine closely with their companioned skill for easy combining.

As far as healing skills, this character heals after the battle and as far as defensive skills, he actually has none. I believe that with added Focus Skills, he could then add them, as well as other needed magic skills to his user bar once he was allowed to expand his deck on the user combat bar.

It's not what I recommend, it's just a case study within one way of new character building.
It's just the facts for consideration so others could see what such a character build training program might look like in it's outcome.
So I hope it just saved other allot of time working on such a thing and wondering how it might later better effect them...
~Time Lord~

 

Thanks for all the great tips. Will be following this thread.

 

I switched from plate to chain some time ago as a GM blade and healer, see nothing but negatives wearing plate.

 

I did a bludgeon character last release and it was a surprising amount of fun once I could afford good plate armour. Basically wade into a whole bunch of enemies and swing your axe around and they all die very quickly. Chasing the archers and mages around is a bit of an annoyance but manageable with the god armour.

When I've gotten stuff levelled up I usually keep some ranged spells locked, fireball and fire arrow usually, try and set as many of them as possible on fire and then chase down and melee the archers one by one before proceeding to the mages if I last that long. Having a pet is also handy. What I tend to do a lot, though, is die

What I've noticed is that the quick cool down and low cost of healing touch lead to it being generally more effective than healing ray at any time because it just levels up so fast. Use the XP elsewhere unless you want to get the party oriented healing stuff.

 

Our last release and final wipe i finally made up my mind. I love melee yet i can't stand being one dimensional, so i fore went the heavy plate in favor of chain and a shield and did my best to create a Paladin, the goal being something like an off-tank while being an of-healer too; and i was quite pleased with the results. After a good amount of time focusing on Earth, Water, Life, Heavy, shield and blade the melancholy reared its ugly head. So if i could be a moderate 'Paladin' i made the choice to create his opposite; a Dark Knight. No more shield in favor of a 2-hander, Death, and Fire and this change reignited my passion for the game. Fun is what this game should be about and i quickly fell in love with my my new DPS char. He's no where near ready yet but it rekindled my enthusiasm.
know some of you think I have spread my sell too thin but i'm convinced that my finished product will let me partake in facets of combat however i choose and do it well. I may even throw lightning and chaos on my DPS Knight. I'm alreasy doing poison and my throw in off-hand attack. So long live my shapechanger, Here here to Fun and hard work. Maybe if I ask Darksatarr very nicely he will fashion me a Janus coat of Arms.

The Schizoprenic Knight,
Malkhelm​

ooooooo, I sense a back story coming on...TheVault.Com, get ready. I sense a lovable anti-hero waiting in the wings. I may be crazy but I believe is feasable

 

There are so many techniques. I do not use healing when in combat mode, chainmail, polearm. Concentrate on defensive stuff. Always run down every mage in range first, archers second and then clean up the melee mobs. Strength, dexterity, intel in that order. If you are a group player, I guess the healing tree may be important, but for the melee build other defensive stuff, avoidance and resistance, glancing blow are more important. Without the healing (perhaps a pot or two) you must have an escape route in mind when facing multiple mobs. You gotta get out of town at 25% health and hope no new ranged mobs pop up. I am fighting all tier 5, adv level 96, solo some bosses. It takes a huge amount of time or some very good friends to put a good suit together. It is important, but not so much as the skills. I can make some pretty good +9 to +12 stuff nowdays, but the cost is so high that I cannot in good faith ask others to supply so much material for a possible failure. So with gear, just get the best you can and it will be good enough.