54 bruiser - which AAs?

[Agnar D'Shar]

Hi - I have a 55 bruiser which mainly does DPS and sometimes tanking. I am not interested in raiding.

 

I need to respec my AAs - they are a mess at the moment. Which way should I go?

 

I currently DW a cesti and fistwraps (I think). Both have +12AGI and +12STR. they are 26 damage rating, with Gleaming Strike. I find that my DPS currently outclasses most people at the same level I group with - of all classes.

 

So I want an AA config that maximises my DPS, but still keeps me useful for the occasional tanking. I level up pretty slowly, so am only really interested in what would work best for me until level 64 or so.

 

Thanks!

Brag

[Quicksilver74]

If you are not interested in raiding, I'd suggest going down the STR line and dropping your weapons for the double attack and DPS boost.  you also gain a crushing debuff which will in turn make your crushing attacks hit harder.  If you get 50 AAs you may want to split up between the STR line and the INT line.  the INT line will give you crits, and the final ability is nice for casual grouping or soloing.   It really helps your survivability. 

 

   So you know though, most bruisers who want max DPS will choose 448 on teh STA, INT and WIS lines for the crits and procs.  That is the best dps setup for sustained dps if you have t7 fabled weapons.  if not you may want to give the STR line a try because the boost you will get is almost equivalent of having fabled weapons. 

[Pnaxx]

Crabb, what would the STR line take the place of in your STA, INT, WIS?

Also, I am buying the dang KoS tonite, so in your opinions, which line should I do first? STA, INT or WIS. Again, I am mainly a soloer and like to kill hardest mobs possibly with my Bruiser. I know that a balanced appraoch is best. I also know that i will do the STR line once I get all the points for it. But intil then, I have 2 maces I use that are mastercrafted inbued...the best ones at my level...Ebon....so I will be using them til I get enough Points for STR or I ding 52. BTW, I use the maces because my weaponsmith buddy and I didn't have a discusssion before hand and so I took what he gave me....I usually like to RP the Bruiser with fist weapons:smileytongue:

And on another note on this topic, I see that I have to do non-repeatable quests blue con or above to recieve AA points. Have you all gotten AA points everytime you completed a quest like this? Also, when I discover new zones, you get AA's too? Andf killing named mobs for the first time? Just asking.:smileytongue:

[ganjookie]

Pnaxx hey broI went down the WIS line at first with 4/4/8/8 then switch over to STR line, and then built up my Int line (still working on it).Once I get decent DW I will drop STR line and put back into WIS, and maybe STA, I havent decided yet.WIth the WIS line I was able to hold aggro pretty well, especially in groups of mobs.  I picked up a nice staff with +4 deflection and some other gear so I was nicely equpiped and able to withstand alot as well as put out some nice AOE damage...powerup win teh game!

[Pnaxx]

Hey Jookie, good to see ye. Is th e Wis line fer tanking mostly?

I was thinkin that I may go with Agi first, then once that is full, put it in Str and redo the Agi line. I am thinking Float like a butterfly and Sting like a bee.

I figure, the Str will give me massive dmg, and the agil will help keep me from gettin hit during the refreshing time of the spells when fear is not up.

 

[Dandeli]

I'd strongly recommend STR line first of all things. Especially if your leveling up.

4488 str Asap. It's like getting free duel wield fabled weapons that upgrade everytime you level. Thats hard to beat while leveling up. The fourth choice in STR would help you with staying alive a lot. Most of us didnt get these luxuries while leveling up.

In EoF I'm rolling a monk for the fun of it, she'll be 4488str ASAP and will stay that until she gets a good pair of fabled weapons at level 70.

Message Edited by Dandelize on 09-27-2006 01:31 PM

[Pnaxx]

Dandelize, Ithought that the STR ine was only good once you get a certain amount of points in it....so until that time, I may as well have them in a line that gives me use while i get enough...then respec them to STR. The thing is, from what I hear, if I go STR from the git go, like now, all those AA's will be wasted til I get enough to lose the weapons. So thats why I am saying going with a line I can use while it gets points and I still have to use weapons, and then switch over.

My big question now is, which to start with. I was thinkin AGI would be nice, but from what I have been reading, it may not allow me to "Float like a Bee" as I was hoping for.....but I may be wrong on that. I am researching it now. If you or anyone else knows which line would be best for that, lemme know.:smileyvery-happy:

Edit: I wish i could find a place that outlined what Bruisers get in AA's so I know hat effect they have. Like when I see AGI line, I am thinking, "the you can't hit me" line. But that may not be the case.

Edit again" and is everyone sold on the STR lines trade off of no weapon stats anymore vs insane Dmg?

Message Edited by Pnaxx on 09-27-2006 02:04 PM

Message Edited by Pnaxx on 09-27-2006 02:07 PM

[Israphil]

I'm rocking int line 4 8 8 1 currently as a pvp bruiser. I've chosen this for several reasons:1: I have two of the best t5 dw in the game currently, so I'm not interested in str line.2: the 3 second root on eagle spin is absolutely savage in pvp (I realize this may not apply to you, but I don't know for sure). Stun, followed by fear, followed by another series of hits and another stun, followed by mez, broken by root, and then another stun...can immobilize someone for nearly 30 seconds. Freakin precious.3: the extra crit rate is amazing. As soon as I get enough points to get my 5th point in + deflection, i'll probably be switching and adding wis line for crane twirl, which i started with and loved. 8% chance to aoe is amazing, and an aoe knockdown stun is fantastic.I personally would not recommend strength line, as if you consciously equip yourself, you can get a much greater benefit out of other aa lines. str line, in my experience, makes your fists roughly equivalent to mastercrafted nonimbued weapons. This is fine and good, but it's mastercrafted nonimbued weapons vs decent legendary+ weapons coupled with a high crit rate and an extra effective stun, as eagle spin works like walk the plank in that it roots them, turns their back to you, and forces em to stay that way.Bottom line: If you're looking to hit 70 in the quickest and most inexpensive way possible, go strength line. If you're looking to explore the full potential of your class along the way, either go wisdom if you 2h primarily, or int if you dw primarily, and then switch into the other regardless. In the end, I will probably end up int/wis/sta 4 4 8 for the crane twirl, crit rate, and mantis bolt. But that's a long way down the road, as I'm chilling at an awesome 22 aa currently, and don't plan on leveling to 70 anytime soon.

[ganjookie]

I wouldn't recomend going STR first.  I personally think its a waste of AA to start with until you can use it to its full potential.  Generally better weapons in lower tiers are easier to come by then nice fabled..but tahts just me..

[Agnar D'Shar]

So being the OP I though I would post to tell you how I got on.

Previously, my level 52 PvE bruiser had all his 11 points in the AGI line. I used the best DW weapons I could find. I out DPS'd most group members and with my 64% avoidance could tank reasonably well.

So I tried switching to the STR line. Dropped both my weaponds and put all points into STR - 4/4/3 at the moment.

Now I DPS slightly better than I did before. Plus I get that "wow - no weapons bruiser feel". I did not find that my weapon procs made much difference before, so I am not noticing their absence now. However I do notice a small increase in crits and a small decrease in ripostes against me.

The weapons I got rid of were +12STR +12AGI with gleaming strike. The loss in agility by dropping them, COMBINED with taking 12 points out of the agility line has lost me.... wait for it.... about three percent avoidance! That's all!

So I am happy with the switch to the STR line, and know that every single extra point I put into it will increase my DPS considerably.

Thought you might like to know.

[Israphil]

3% is a lot of avoidance to lose...in my opinion. But if the offensive gain was significant enough to make it worthwhile for you, then go for it man. It really comes down to going with what you feel is most effective for you.

Message Edited by rckmer on 09-28-2006 12:21 PM

[Pnaxx]

Well, thank you all fer the input. STR is a ways away so no need for me to stress that now anyway:smileysurprised:

I am almost to my.....SECOND......AA:smileyvery-happy: So , it aint like they are comin real fast. At this point, I am doing alot of exploring for the points and killin named mobs when I run across their path.:smileywink: Funny thing is, in Zek, the drops off named are horrible so far....I killed 2 yesterday and no Metal Chest!:smileysad: Hehe, whoa is me.

So, someone mentioned the Wis, InT and the Agi lines are what they started with, everyone agreeing that the STR is something you dabble with after you gett all the points to make it worth while. I guess when the moment of truth hits, Illl pick the second point to put it in somewhere. The nice thing is, there are no bad choices and anything helps....so it's all good.

Thanks for you inputs everyone....sorry I hijacked the Thread! I am so selfish:smileysad:

[Pnaxx]

Took my sacred second point and went AGI.:smileywink:

[Pnaxx]

Good Lord! It is takin me forever to get AA's. I have gotten no real love from wandering around getting them from discovery areas. So now i am doing solo quests. Blah. I am not sure if I have the patience to keep off XP til I get a decent amount of AA's or not.  Blah! Hehe My goal was to turn XP off and rack up the AA's.....so now I amy have to get them as I level.

Message Edited by Pnaxx on 10-01-2006 01:32 PM

[Agnar D'Shar]

Well - it took me till level 55 to get 14 AA points. I did not try very hard though - average amount of nameds killed and few collection quests.

 

But this might give you a benchmark against what to expect.

[Pnaxx]

Thanks Agnar. I see that it will indeed take a while. I still have xp turned off and am doing quests in SS right now, and it seems to be he easiest way to rack up AA's, so I will have my 3rd shortly. Hehe, I will; be going crazy soon unless I relax and level.

[Kaedi]

I would go sta line first, then switch to str .... get str to 4 4 8 then go back to sta again (initial 8 points in sta are never wasted, hps and hp debuff) for 4 4 8,  then int 4 4 8

At any time in the process the str line can be respecced to wis for added resistances, crane sweep (staff of the flappig wing) and the ae proc buff which works with any weapon type

[mrcurtlo]

Im a 54 bruiser with 16 aa all in STR so 4/4/7 I double attk 84% atm. The STR line rocks at T6 and ive notice I crit more than with weps at least it seems that way. the guy who said that STR line is like mastercrafted without procs is full of it. Try double attks for 350/225 wich I see often. I bet his legendary doesnt hit that hard not to meantion u get 20% DPS that is HUGE!!!!

Ill trade 26str and 26agi for 20% dps any day. really look at your attk rating when u take away 26str its like minus 40 er so wich is nothing compared to 20% DPS boost.

As for first AA,s I went for STA because the range CA is nice to pull with and its debuffs like 50 STA from target plus dmg. Pretty nice dmg fer first hit.

[Agnar D'Shar]

Simple question - how many times can you respec your AAs?

 

Does it cost each time, if so how much?

[DeepWalk]

After the freebie respecs, it does increase in cost with each, and if I remember rightly after about 5 or 6 respecs, it's 12p per....found that out the hard way with my defiler when I was playing around with different lines...never thought it would get that high, but I lucked out and liked the one I ended up with As for bruiser (my secondary char, but I love him ....I found the STA line to be handy while levelling (90% solo or DPS..we have too many tanks in our guild) for a few reasons:1) the special attack is based on thrown weapon, so the choice of melee weapons has no bearing, and all we can use is thrown...that, and reducing the targets' STA     reduces their max+calculated HP, and being over a minute in duration it can make single-target fights much faster2) the extra damage proc doesn't go off a lot, but another damage proc is always a good thing 3) Deflection upgrades are always nice for staying alive4) Mantis Leap is a riot..smack em around a few times, Mezz or Fear,  then jump in with the flurry attack..priceless Did like the WIS line as a tank, but not so much solo...personal pref, there....as are most AA picks, reallyAs always, the above is the whys of my choice, to help yours if possibleThuris, the Big Buffed Barbarian Bruiser