Melee Wardens? (Use of Warden AA Tree to Maxamize Combat Damage)

[Bobkat]

<DIV>Hello Warden friends.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>First of all, let me say this.. I have spent 2 years leveling a Conjuror to level 70 (along with quite a few AAs) mostly solo and I absolutely love the Conjuror class but I have a few Warden friends and I always marveled at how well they can solo and how useful they are in a group. With the respect I have for my Warden friends and a strong desire to try out the low level EoF content, I decided to make a Warden alt.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>This gets me to the topic I wanted your opinions and feedback on. So far my Fae Warden is level 28 and I absolutely LOVE playing her! It has taken me a while to get use to not having a pet to keep mobs busy but the ability to self buff and the regenerative heals are simply amazing! But I still find myself primarily soloing or grouping in small groups and I simply can't seem to get comfortable with just standing back and either Root-Burning (solo) or non combat Healing (group).. I have this overwhelming desire to step up and to toe to toe the the mobs whenever possible.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I've noticed that several of the AAs in the Warden tree unlock alternate elemental based spells that act a bit more like a combat skill. These spells (Cold Slice, Fire Strike, etc) are on the same reuse timer as our elemental nukes but they are much higher damage,much shorter range, and pretty much require you to be front and center with the mob in question.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Has anyone had experience building a Battle Warden (tm)? I am seriously considering working up the Melee line of AAs to maximize combat damage while still using my Master II selections to up my primary single target Regen line.. I am also considering focusing stats on a combination of Strength and Wisdom (the melee based AAs are impacted by STR for their damage maximums).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My thought would be to work through the Melee Warden branch to bring all the Melee skills to level 5 then when I hit 20 AAs select the final Warden tree skill that increases Melee crit chance.. Once I reached this goal on the Warden tree, I would switch to the Druid AA tree and split my points between Wis (to increase Power pool) and Str (to increase maximum melee damage). Along the way, I would still try to maintain Adept III for all my group and single target Heals and would use my Master 2 selections (as said above) to enhance the single target Regen line so I can retain my value to groups.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>What are your thoughts or opinions on the Battle Warden concept? Do any of you have first hand experience along these lines? Since I only have experience with Wardens up to level 28, how might this change in the higher end?</DIV>

[Dragonreal]

hehe you should read around a bit on the boards ;p there's been lots of posts about this build already.. both of ppl hating the line and those loving it. It is a viable way to play and what you plan on doing pretty much is exactly what you need to do with it (except I would say skip the wis line and take sta or agi line instead and don't take cold slice).<div></div>

[Bobkat]

<DIV>Hahah!.. Thanks for the reply Dragonrealms.. lol.. I did start trying to sift through the other posts but many seem to either be primary threads about Furies versus Wardens for Max DPS or general AA discussions for Wardens. I get the feeling not many people are considering the combat warden style from a solo and small group perspective. I also got the feeling most people were talking about end game level 70 with 100AAs and stats near the soft caps.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I wanted to focus the discussion here on Wardens specifically (I do not want to debate the differences between Furies and Wardens and don't want anyone degenerating the conversation into a class war) and to focus on the level progression up from a newbie making selections along the way.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>You mention the Cold Slice AA line as being a poor selection. Can you elaborate on your thoughts in that area? Also, you mention sticking to STR only versus a split between STR and WIS.. Currently I find myself running low on power very often and I feel the WIS would be a big help but does this become a non issue later on with the Warden class? Or do you simply focus on WIS gear to achieve the power pool and reserve all the AAs for the STR line?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>By the way, I am geared in Mastercrafted Imbued equipment made for me by a guild member but not in Legendary or Fabled since most of that gear comes form content I can't navigate with the small groups I usually take part in.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG>Edit </STRONG>- Dragon, I see your point regarding Cold Slice with regards to the lower debuff it provides (saw your post on it in another thread). I'll keep that in consideration since it is a valid point depending on play style.</DIV><p>Message Edited by Bobkat on <span class=date_text>01-02-2007</span> <span class=time_text>02:16 PM</span>

[Writer Cal]

<P>The duration on Cold Slice is shorter than the recast, and the debuff on it is smaller compared to the spell version, which has a bigger debuff and longer duration.  This means you can pretty much keep up the debuff on the spell version constantly.</P> <P>More debuff to make other attacks do more damage + keeping that debuff up all the time = much better choice, imo.</P> <P>ETA -- oops, you got it while I was posting.  dang it.</P><p>Message Edited by Writer Cal on <span class=date_text>01-02-2007</span> <span class=time_text>02:21 PM</span>

[Dragonreal]

what I said about the AAs is that you should take str (minimum of 4488 for a small grp player) adn then take agility (444<img src="/smilies/b2eb59423fbf5fa39342041237025880.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> or stamina (also 444<img src="/smilies/b2eb59423fbf5fa39342041237025880.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> line to give you a healing boost.<div></div>

[Bobkat]

<DIV>Thanks Winter and Dragon. I've been trying to catch up on the bits and pieces related to this discussion on the other threads here too and I can see you have both offered some very good opinions in those threads as well.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The more I read about this, the more viable it seems as an option for a solo or small group warden. In order to avoid forking other threads in progress, I think I'll leave this thread be and perhaps post some questions on a few of the other active threads. Thanks again for your input and suggestions!</DIV>

[Skivley101]

<P>The reason you might consider the cold slice would be if your having problems with it getting resisted on even and above cons if your disruption skill isnt above max cap.   Cant remember what level you get your first single target mele buff....but putting this on your self makes it so you hit with CA's almost all the time.</P> <P>One thing you might consider doin with your AA's on build order would be getting the fire and cold strike minimums...then switching to the druid str line going to attleast 4 pts in the heal proc. This line really helps the mele warden out.</P> <P>Like stated before i wouldnt bother with putting pts in Wis line ....8 pts for 32 wis aint great. Instead get your buffs for wis and pwr adept3 atleast, At lvl 35 youll be able to scribe spirit of the bat that will help out on your pwr.... youll have to purchace or have it made .... definately get the adept3</P> <P>And if you didnt notice allready the agi line has a charm animal that is great for solo utility.....So you dont have to miss having pets :smileyvery-happy:</P>

[Bobkat]

<DIV>Skivley, Thanks for the tip! I did not notice the Agi line pet before but I'll look into that as soon as I get off of work tonight. I also see your point regarding the Wis line since 32 points of WIS are pretty easy to make up for with gear selection.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The combat warden sounds more and more interesting to me the more I think about it.. If I keep enjoying the Warden as much as I currently am, you all might have a new Warden Main amongst your ranks soon (my poor Conjuror may just have to collect dust for a while).</DIV>

[Zygwen]

I have a 44 warden that went down combat line. Works great, been soloing named heroic since getting the 75% melee crit skill. I managed to solo Chamber of Immortality at 43. I plan to dump the next 20 or so points in the Str druid line for more melee goodness. Personally I like cold slice. The melee attacks land much better than spells when you are getting hit. <div></div>

[xandez]

<div></div><div></div><blockquote><hr>Writer Cal wrote:<div></div> <div></div> <p>The duration on Cold Slice is shorter than the recast, and the debuff on it is smaller compared to the spell version, which has a bigger debuff and longer duration.  This means you can pretty much keep up the debuff on the spell version constantly.</p><p><font color="#ff9900">Yes, but... If you focus on getting higher STR than INT (which you should do, if you plan on being a melee warden), then the dmg cold slice does is about x2 compared to the spell version... so, why not take and use it (i know i do).</font></p><p><font color="#ff9900">Havent tested the overall effect thou, so... but you wont loose the spell version either, thus its safe to experiment (have to do that some day, when not feeling lazy <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />)</font></p> <p>More debuff to make other attacks do more damage + keeping that debuff up all the time = much better choice, imo.</p><p><font color="#ff9900">Well... could be, but like i said earlier i kinda like the bigger dmg of cold slice and since i really cant remember the debuff numbers atm... you could be right afterall <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></font></p><hr></blockquote><font color="#ff9900">++Xan</font><p>Message Edited by xandez on <span class=date_text>01-03-2007</span> <span class=time_text>08:57 AM</span>

[Skivley101]

<P>Howdy ....ya waht he said ....LOL   I really just wanted to test my new signature</P> <P><IMG src="http://www.eq2requiem.com/images/mksig.jpg"></P> <P>Okies my sig got a face lift</P> <P> </P> <P> </P><p>Message Edited by Skivley101 on <span class=date_text>01-03-2007</span> <span class=time_text>03:09 PM</span>

[xandez]

nice sig <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />++Xan<div></div>

[Dalwar]

<P>SOE i want my greatsword !!! </P> <P>Melee warden with 8 points in serene symbol rocks <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> </P> <P>Add some gear with stun stile mesmerize proc on and there is no class that can kill you ;-P </P> <P>So nerf is comming they already ner mit buff ;-( </P>