Melee Mystic Questions

[SabakuNoTaira]

Hey, I'm new to this game and have just decided to reroll my Warden and make a Mystic. I like how both of the classes can heal and also have access to some strong melee attacks through AAs. So, my main question is, how do my stats rank as a melee Mystic? Is Wis still the most important or does Str take priority for the damage purposes? Also, would it be more beneficial to use a 1H and Shield or a 2H? I can't tell if the defense from the shield is going to be worth enough to lost the DPS of the 2H. My last question, is it a lot harder to gear a melee Mystic than a healing/caster Mystic? It seems like the main gear available to a Mystic would support Wis or Int because the class starts as a casting class and only becomes a melee class through AAs. Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give -Taira

[Rayche]

Yes, Wis and Str will be your primary two stats. Fortunately as you start getting Mystic/Defiler oriented gear it will have a good mix of both. As for 1h or 2h weapons, you are best off to get both. I use a 2 Hander (With damage proc Adornment) for most Melee stuff, and I picked up a 1 Hander (With power tap adornment) for when I'm finding myself needing more power for heals etc.

[Karlen]

Getting a high strength isn't that difficult as mystics have spells that buff their strength quite substantially. I personally use a 2H weapon since I've never noticed that the addition of a shield makes an appreciable difference to my avoidance. Make sure to get the Shaman AA that gives 100% melee crits.  Then get a weapon with a very high variance (the difference between max damage and minimum damage) -- when you crit, it adds 30% to your hit but if the result is less than your max damage, it is automatically increased to max damage +1.  This means that weapons with a high variance will get the maximum benefit from your crit potential (and will almost always hit for the same amount -- my 50-250 staff hits consistently for 374 every time).

[Igu]

My Combat Mystic is my current main. He is 55 and seriously kicks [Removed for Content]. I use a 2H Spear from days that the Agility line required it. My barb Mystic has an Attack Rating about 130 points higher than my 56 SK.  If I miss or am parried by a mob, it means I am fighting an Orange or a tough heroic. Now if they will just fix Dogdog like they said they would <img src="/smilies/2e207fad049d4d292f60607f80f05768.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />.

[Karlen]

>>>If I miss or am parried by a mob, it means I am fighting an Orange or a tough heroic.<<< The final ability in the EoF Combat AA tree makes a big difference here.  I think it is +56 to your combat skills.   Until you get that ability, you will miss annoyingly often.  I recommend trying to get it as quickly as possible (although some effort to get the 100% melee crits AA is also worthwhile).

[Igu]

<p>Oh yes. Avoid the temptation to get the wolf and head right for Weapon mastery. That and a high strength (Spirit of the [bull/elephant/mammoth], bear form and avatar) will have you hitting like mad. Then the 100% CRIT and shaman berserk of the agility tree will make you a killing machine.</p><p>edit: forgot the word CRIT</p>

[rumblepants]

<p>Agreed with previous points. I, too, use a nifty two-hander with a large damage spread. With the ability to respec to either tree, I'm tempted to move points away from the STR line and finish it up my combat lines in EoF so I can get the Weapon Mastery. </p>

[Karlen]

>>>Agreed with previous points. I, too, use a nifty two-hander with a large damage spread. With the ability to respec to either tree, I'm tempted to move points away from the STR line and finish it up my combat lines in EoF so I can get the Weapon Mastery.<<< I'm not sure that the combat line is worth doing without going for Weapon Mastery -- I found I missed way too often without it.  You can't crit if you can't hit.

[rvbarton]

I use a 1h & buckler.  In PVP, I definitely see the difference between using a 2h, vs a 1h/shield combo.  I used the 2h up until they took the weapon restrictions off of the KoS AA line.  Now, I still have the points in the agi line for the beserk ability, but am now working towards the strength line for the buckler.  the bash skill works quite well in PVP.  I also have all CA's in the EoF line, and I do some decent damage.  I am going to respec today to transfer the points from my non CA EoF line AA's, and put them into the buckler line under KoS.  I'm looking forward to giving up the extra run speed from my SoW buff to be able to parry more with my shield.

[schmee]

<p>i use all 4 possible combinations - 1h and 2h, piercing and crushing. this is so come the day when i stumble on the ultimate weapon, i don't look at my skills tab and see Ultimate Weapon (15/350).</p><p>but it also has other benefits. as mentioned above, it's good to switch to high wis shields & one handers for when i'm there to use power (healing/debuffing), and great to switch to my fastest proccing two hander for when i want to solo. i always carry 4 weapons with me as a result, and that too gives me some flexibility, eg having a proc, or not having a proc, when i want it.</p><p>i do the same with boots - carrying 3 diff pairs atm, one from the scattered dusts set (because with two other pieces i'm wearing it kicks in the first benefit of the set), one from ykesha's set (same reason, different benefit), and my old jboots for an extra 10% run speed when travelling (since i use enhanced sow and not a mount).</p><p>it's nice having more room in your personal inventory than in your bank because your strength is so high you can carry around rosewood boxes =p </p><p> i went mithaniel marr btw, with the str/wis pet it's nice to buff those stats.</p>

[Karlen]

>>>it's nice having more room in your personal inventory than in your bank because your strength is so high you can carry around rosewood boxes =p<<< ....until you mentor someone who is level 12 and all your buffs are scaled down.

[rumblepants]

Karlen@Befallen wrote: <blockquote>>>>Agreed with previous points. I, too, use a nifty two-hander with a large damage spread. With the ability to respec to either tree, I'm tempted to move points away from the STR line and finish it up my combat lines in EoF so I can get the Weapon Mastery.<<< I'm not sure that the combat line is worth doing without going for Weapon Mastery -- I found I missed way too often without it.  You can't crit if you can't hit. </blockquote> Well you'd still have to get at least 20 points in the combat line just to get Weapon Mastery. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[xandez]

WIS in gear is more important with mystic than with warden because warden gets better WIS buffs... the WIS / STR gear however is relatively easy to get these days, so... also dont be shy to use leather pieces too if you get much better stats from em, mitigation is not that important imo... (usually the differences are not very big) ++Xan

[Karlen]

>>>Well you'd still have to get at least 20 points in the combat line just to get Weapon Mastery.<<< Unfortunately, it can be a bit painful while you are working on those 20 points -- because until you do, your combat arts are going to be less powerful than your spells (until you have a chance to put 4-5 points into each).  While they are you are going to need to use both your CAs and your spells -- which means that you can't ditch all that INT gear in favour of STR gear -- using both CAs and spells at the same time means that you need to keep up both your INT and STR.