INT, power and damage

[Madha]

<DIV>As a brand new warlock, I quickly read the forums to figure out the decisive chars of the class. Almost everybody would go for INT with eyes closed, so I picked INT all the way and upgraded my gear accordingly. At 20, my INT is already at 110, less than 90 pts from my lev 50 pally's STR ! I thought Warlocks ruled the world. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Now I just realized that INT only determines power, which is good, undoubtedly, but not as good as I thought. What char determines damage ?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Don't tell me it's STR again... I hardly have 35 or so.</DIV>

[RedDcshnd]

<DIV>Soon a patch is coming out that will calculate spell damage based on the caster's intelligence versus the target's wisdom check, so you are heading in the right direction loading up on INT gear. As it stands now, though, INT is pretty much just for power pool.</DIV>

[Crono1321]

Oh please tell me that is the truth; I have been waiting since November for that to happen.  I could hug you.. <span>:smileyvery-happy:</span> <div></div>

[Korpo]

Also, don't forget that increasing your int past 200 is kind of pointless right now, as the formula for figuring out power you get from int is as such: power = int * (level / 10) when you're 200 or below, and one extra power for every int over 200. <div></div>

[MilkToa]

I solo alot so I try to balance items that increase power and health. Since a warlock can convert health to power, I can do that as needed.  A large, full power bar does me no good when I'm laying face down after being one shotted by a mob.

[Crono1321]

<DIV>You're always going to be low on health, and you'll be grouped 95% of the time anyway; power should come first always.  The only time I can see choosing health over power is if you get 40health from one item and 10power from another.</DIV>

[MilkToa]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Crono1321 wrote:<BR> <DIV>You're always going to be low on health, and you'll be grouped 95% of the time anyway; power should come first always.  The only time I can see choosing health over power is if you get 40health from one item and 10power from another.</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>For a warlock, how much you solo or group is a matter of personal preference. My main is a templar, with him I've grouped (for XP) 99% of the time; I have a warlock alt that is now level 47 and I've soloed (for XP) 95% of the time.  Soloing for XP with my templar was just painfully slow (if I couldn't find a group I either did quests for logged off),  soloing for XP on my warlock is as fast or faster than most groups. </P> <P>My point is, that with good gear and upgraded damage spells you can solo efficiently for XP with a Warlock - whether you choose to do so is up to you. </P>

[Trilari]

I have to disagree with the grouped 95% of the time... I solo a fair amount.  I'd say atleast 50% of the time but probally more.  I try to solo a level for every 1-2 gained from grouped.  Getting 100% of the drops helps keep my gear/spells up to date.  After 40 with bony, i can match the xp of a decent group.  I still can't beat those rare groups you get once a month or so, but I can keep pace with your average xp group.  I tend to focus on INT/power first, then AGI.  Right now my evasion is around 50% for a white con mob.  That extra evasion helps in getting that long cast stun/root off.  Towards end game I'm looking for mp regen items as top priority now... that has caused me to solo all xp from 37-43, but... no tattered robe *sigh*.  Maybe one day the gods will bless me with a rock spawn.  If you decide to solo forever in Feerrot like I did, I'd suggest getting all the magical mitigation you can.  I'm around 3000 magic mitigation right now, which absorbs 70% from a white con.  Makes solo'ing even blue heroic ^^  groups rather easy(magic class groups only).  <div></div>

[Ranvi]

<P>In EQ1 we were happy with just what int gave - mana. We have become more demanding in EQ2...although its essential to boost dmg based on int so that certain serkers with 300+ str don't come 100dps close to us.</P> <P>I tried to make a balance between hp and mana because in certain raids I almost tank (zek instance for example). I also jacked up my int because expansions will have new soft caps (EQ2 doesn't seem to have hard caps...raid buffed I get near 400 int) and stuff...so with decent int I will be able to ditch some of my int gear for more raw mana ones without fear of going below the game's current soft cap on int.</P>

[MilkToa]

<P>I assume that eventually most high level characters (including warlocks) will end up with multiple sets of equipment that are used based on the type of encounter. Obviously, while you're still leveling maintaining multiple sets of equipment isn' worth it if you out grow it in a few levels.  For me, since I solo most of the time and almost never loose a fight because I'm out of power, I haven't trield to maximize my intelligence. It usually isn't a problem on raids either because we almost always have an enchanter. </P> <P>I'm sure all of this will change when the combat changes go live (and INT effects damage generated and WIS effects damage taken)  but that could be months away. In the mean time, I'd suggest just tuning your equipment to your play style.</P>

[Crono1321]

If you have at least 2k power and use canni's effectively, you should never run out of power. <div></div>

[Deathspell]

Are they going to introduce new gear as well then? E.g. the D'Morte and Fog Grinnin gear has very high INT but it utterly sucks when it comes to resistances and other stats. When I entered the lvl 40's I removed the grey INT gear and replaced it with orange gear that has no or a lot less INT. I tested this in Rivervale and picked a caster, a nymph or undertow, whatever... Old gear: hight INT, low resistances: I resisted not one attack and the mob owned me, badly. New gear: less INT, high resistances: many of their attacks resisted and I was able to be a fight for them. What's the point in doing a lot of damage if you cannot take one little hit yourself? Please note, that we are already at very light armor, we can use all we can get. I do not believe in the new combat system if they don't adjust gear and/or mobs. Since we'll always get very light armor, etc... I really would value it more if they gave the mage class more AGI. <div></div>

[Crono1321]

Agreed, but is it better to average your stats out, or have 1-2 that are exceptional?  No matter how much you try you won't be able to take more than a few hits as a mage, and most mobs you solo are not casters.  What eq2 needs is some type of mana shield to protect you from damage at the cost of your mana or something (Diablo style).  <div></div>

[kr8ztwin]

prolly a stupid question but i'm new to the warlock class but:  Does INT currenty affect resistances as well?  I've buffed up my INT like crazy and I noticed I get ALOT less resists (almost none) when fighting yellow heroics.  With my inquis (all wis/low int) I was resisted quite often on the same types of mobs. 

[StonyStratford]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> kr8ztwin wrote:<BR>prolly a stupid question but i'm new to the warlock class but:  Does INT currenty affect resistances as well?  <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV>Don't think so, sorry. They are completely seperate stats. Assuming you are at the moment a fairly low level (being new to warlock class), it may be that you are still killing the same mobs you did a level or 2 ago. Level > resist stats.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Usually, you only need resist stats when you are a) into T4 and above, or b) killing boss mobs (such as the named dragon in CL) - which is a rare fight.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>But I could be wrong - I am sure a few raiding Warlocks can add to this.</DIV>

[Deathspell]

Well, I think I do average my stats, I don't blindly buy the highest INT thing I can find. Obviously I prioritize INT, but I just compare and buy the best item (according to my financial status as wel ofcoz). Agreed, not all mobs are casters, but they are by far the worst. Tanks do fear casters, hehe. Again, I opt for mage class to have more AGI out of the box. Just throw in some "training quests" where you can increase you AGI, so people can still choose and work on it if they want it. Something like the Armor Class quests. <div></div>

[Crono1321]

<span><blockquote><hr>Deathspell wrote:Well, I think I do average my stats, I don't blindly buy the highest INT thing I can find. Obviously I prioritize INT, but I just compare and buy the best item (according to my financial status as wel ofcoz). Agreed, not all mobs are casters, but they are by far the worst. Tanks do fear casters, hehe. Again, I opt for mage class to have more AGI out of the box. Just throw in some "training quests" where you can increase you AGI, so people can still choose and work on it if they want it. Something like the Armor Class quests. <div></div><hr></blockquote> Yes I think I said that; don't buy a +int if that's all it's going to give you.  Of course the robe I am wearing now has +17agility so I don't think I need to hunt for much more of that...I never EVER run out of power, so yes at around 2500power I can say stop worrying about it...long raids, 20 minute battles where you get 200 adds...I always end up with 10-50% power left, warlocks have great canni and power recovery abilities, and [expletive ninja'd by Faarbot]ing amazing DpM so at around 2500 power I would say start going for stamina.</span><div></div>