What combat arts to upgrade (lv 19 soon-to-be Zerker)?

[AdamWest007]

<DIV>I have a two rares: a T2 ink and a palladium cluster (T3).  What combat arts should I upgrade to Adept III?  I know that with the Combat Changes it may be hard to say, but any opinion would be appreciated!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks guys.</DIV> <P><SPAN class=time_text></SPAN> </P><p>Message Edited by AdamWest007 on <span class=date_text>09-12-2005</span> <span class=time_text>01:52 PM</span>

[Tudd]

Well, I'm not sure for the T2 ink. Test server is down, so I can't log in to look at the CA's and make a judgement. As far as the T3, well, you might want to hold onto that Palladium for the HQ that uses it, however to answer your question; I'd probably upgrade your stances first. My preference would be to upgrade your defensive stance. Then I'd consider your offensive stance. Defensive stance(I thik it's called Reckless Stance at that level) will do what it sounds like, it will increase your defensive capabilities while reducing your offensive capabilities. Offensive stance(Fury) increases your offensive skills while reducing your defensive capabilities. In addition, it has an AoE attack, with a 10% chance on any hit you land to proc a high damage AoE. This AoE doesn't appear to have any limit to the number of mobs it will affect, although there may be. During testing, I aggro'd 8-10 mobs at a time, and the AoE landed on all that were within range, which if I remember correctly was 5 meters. Have to be careful with this one, because it is not encountered limited. If you have non-aggro mobs close by and this goes off, you may get more than you bargained for. <span>:smileyhappy:</span> At level 29 and 30, you will get two very powerful CA's, IMO. Provoking Defense, at level 29, and Weaponshield at 30. Provoking Defense is a reactive that will root you, and any mob that hits you there is a 10% chance of it firing. It does very good damage. Weaponshield is a counterattack, once you "cast" it, the next 3 hits that are done to you, you will attack back with a high damage hit. It's 30 second duration with a 30 second recast. Note that as of right now, both of these are additional attacks and not direct damage, meaning that the mob can block, parry, etc. However, because it is an additional attack, it also means that procs can go off because of it. Next in line for consideration are your AE's. Furious Onslaught is available in your low 20's I think. Berserker Assault comes a little later on. Furious Onlsaught will hit 5 targets, and is not encounter limited. It does some pretty decent damage, especially at the level you get it. Berserker Assault will hit pretty much any targets that are standing in front of you. I don't think there was a limit to the number of mobs that could be hit by Berserker Assault. Again, I can't log into test to double check, there may have been a limit of something like 10 mobs, but I don't think there was a limit. Anyways, those are my suggestions. As you can see, we get plenty of toys, even at low levels. The good thing is, they are increasing the rate of rare harvests, so if you spend some time harvesting, you can probably russle yourself up some more rares and upgrade a decent number of them. Whatever you pick, you will find that Adept3 is well worth the investment, much more so then under the current system. On average, I noticed that the Adept3 version of a damage CA did roughly twice the damage. <div></div>

[AdamWest007]

Thanks for the helpful info!