Solo CW trouble, need help!

pegasus782

Hey all, first time posting here. I'm a level 65 CW. I would have thought by level 65 I would be strong enough as a character to hold my own in the later quests, but I keep dying. Over and over. I know the weaker armor class isn't helping me (17), but no matter how many times I try to complete some quests (Chapters with Pwent, ghost stories, even PVP), I'm taken out within a minute. Is the CW normally that weak of a player that they're only good in group play? I feel kind of ridiculous playing Domination and being the only one with no kills, and 15 deaths. Are there any recommendations you can make to help me strengthen either my defense or play smarter? (I have a man at arms for companion).

silence1x

Do you have any bonding runestones for your companion?
What level enchants are you using in your gear?
What weapons are you using?
Which path/tree for the CW did you choose?
Do you have a SF enchant so you can pop back to life?
Do you use potions?
Which boons have you chosen?
What's your armor pen % and crit chance %?
Are you using mount insignia bonuses?

Lots of reasons why you're having trouble so if you can provide us with some more information, we can give suggestions.

pegasus782

I'll get back to you on this when I get home! Thanks!

haden42ee

Get your Armor Penetration up so that you can actually do any damage. Get your Life Steal up so that you heal back up by doing damage. Buy rank 7 Dark enchantments, they do both. Ignore all other stats until you reach and play at level 70 and understand through experience why that advice made sense.

Get a defender companion with taunt skill for a couple of extra seconds to deal damage. Young Yeti is quite decent (even though the damage increase is bugged and doesn't work). Blue ones should still be cheap.

For PVP, you need Tenacity (PVP gear) and understanding of CW role in PVP. Most players just ignore PVP after realizing this fact. Even if you don't, I suggest you master your PVE game first.

pegasus782

haden42ee said:

Get your Armor Penetration up so that you can actually do any damage. Get your Life Steal up so that you heal back up by doing damage. Buy rank 7 Dark enchantments, they do both. Ignore all other stats until you reach and play at level 70 and understand through experience why that advice made sense.



Get a defender companion with taunt skill for a couple of extra seconds to deal damage. Young Yeti is quite decent (even though the damage increase is bugged and doesn't work). Blue ones should still be cheap.



For PVP, you need Tenacity (PVP gear) and understanding of CW role in PVP. Most players just ignore PVP after realizing this fact. Even if you don't, I suggest you master your PVE game first.

Great, thanks! I know I have mostly level 7 and 8 enchantments, but I'll focus more on life steal and armor penetration.

haden42ee

One more thing - by the highest-level wearable green armor pieces from AH whenever you level up. You can of course look at blue items too (esp. main hand weapon), but green works just fine. The reason: Hit Points go through massive ramp up from 61 to 70. Wearing an item even 3-4 levels below puts you at a disadvantage.

pegasus782

haden42ee said:

One more thing - by the highest-level wearable green armor pieces from AH whenever you level up. You can of course look at blue items too (esp. main hand weapon), but green works just fine. The reason: Hit Points go through massive ramp up from 61 to 70. Wearing an item even 3-4 levels below puts you at a disadvantage.

Ahh, I never realized that. Thanks! I've been racking up AD recently, too, so I'll do that first thing.

voidgift

Don't feel bad for wiping in Ghost Stories. It is one of the worst nightmares when leveling up. Most poeople team up in zone chat for that one, unless they are lvl 70 and well geared. Mobs in there are way above your level.

frozenfirevr

Use the gear from Elemental Evil Campaign, it'll be of great help. Dodge. Use shield, on tab maybe if you're getting one-shotted too often.

Some bosses are fairly hard, don't hesitate to ask a guildie or zone for help.

Go Renegade with Icy Veins to help your survivability and crit a little. Icy Veins would be of great help, lets you insta-freeze with Icy Terrain, and combined with Chilling Presence, can help with both survivability and damage.

haden42ee

I'd caution against going Icy Veins route. It works wonderfully - against the easy stuff. You'll come to rely on it with your play style. And then you come up against endgame content (heck, even IWD Giants and bears) ... and you'll feel devastated. 73 mobs resist control. Bosses ignore control altogether (except some specific situations). Going with the "I'll DPS and Life Steal" style minimizes that shock.

Before I forget: give Lightning weapon enchantment a try. My CW (2.7k item level) got a massive damage boost with that after the last weapon enchantment improvement.

frozenfirevr

haden42ee said:

I'd caution against going Icy Veins route. It works wonderfully - against the easy stuff. You'll come to rely on it with your play style. And then you come up against endgame content (heck, even IWD Giants and bears) ... and you'll feel devastated. 73 mobs resist control. Bosses ignore control altogether (except some specific situations). Going with the "I'll DPS and Life Steal" style minimizes that shock.

Well, he is at low levels, and a change in playstyle is required before endgame. Till he has enough crit, Renegade would be good for DPS and self-heals, after crit is achieved Thaum would be better. And, Icy Veins is perfectly fine for the endgame too, though Abyss might be better for certain playstyles. Most mobs, except giants, are controllable, Icy Veins lets you get a quick 92%(?) damage boost, and hold them for a sec for your party to go guns blazing, they're usually dead before they can move. Bosses are the only area where it might not be of much help, but bosses were never really a CW's strong point. DPS and LS is pretty much every CW, irrespective of path.

pitshade

Since you said you have good Life Steal, a trick that can increase your survivabily is to cast Icy Terrain and then kite around it so that mobs are always standing im the ice. The DoT procs quickly and as long as you don't get 1 shot, can heal you faster than mobs can attack.

Icy Veins is a good choice and while there certainly things that won't freeze, they are usy slow and easy to dodge. Kill the weak mobs around them first and then pick them apart. Watch their attack patterns to identify when they start a big telegraphed attack. Walk or dodge out of the way and that's when you unleash a flurry of encounters on them. Try and use a burst of encounters starting with Ray of Enfeeblement.

While you should try to avoid using Shield as you get stronger (dodge and Lifesteal will serve you well enough most of the time) don't be too proud to slot it when necessary.

While there is a lot of room for variation in builds, CW lives by understanding mechanics. Look for Sharpedge's guide Google it can't link and work towards understanding what's what. Learn the strengths of your paragon and incorporate them into your playstyle.

Rank 7 and 8 enchants are more than sufficient for your level seriously. Otherwise, as mentioned, Tyranny lairs are not suitable for leas than level 70, despite what the game asks of you. Ghost stories is by far the worst if them as well.

pegasus782

Thanks so much everyone. I've already updated a few things with my character and am already noticing a big difference! I'm able to put up a better fight. I really appreciate everyone's help!

niadan

Google sharpedge cw guide for some bedtime reading.